Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1858-07-08
Humility Refnre God,

L Jlllk InaJ NleM OF WuhJ we are DelOre
God of our leanness, of our littleness, OF
our weakness and imperfection, is enough
to keep down the risings of any mans
pride | think there are times when,
if a man should receive full, clear view of
what he is himself, in comparison with
what God is, all hope and almost life itself
would be crushed out of him And it is only
when God reveals himself in the person Of
Jesus Christ, pardoning sins, and overlook.
ing our errors and imperfections, that we are
enabled to have hope But while, in the
view Of God, every Christian feels that no
is not only sinful, but ANONYMOUSLY SO, and
degraded beyond all expression, yet there is
in his experience Of the love which Christ has
for him Notwithstanding his weakness and
impurity, a certain boldncss that lifts him up
and gives him confidence to stand in the very
presence of God
Did you ever see child, which through
Il period Of days and weeks had little by lit
tie been gathering ugliness, and seemed to
be aching for whipping? By-and-by he
comes to u state in which it is plain that
there must be break-out; and an occasion
occurs, perhaps. from some triAing circum-
stance, in which he is brought to direct is
sue with the parent, and the question is, who
shall conquer, the mother or the child !? She
expostulates, but the child grows red and
swells with anger she pleads with him, and
uses all her power to bring him to recon-
citation on the basis of Justice; but nothing
will do; and at last, when everything else
has failed, and she has been unable by gener-
al means to subdue his naughty pride-if
she does what she ought to do, she gives him
a sound whipping! He is quickly subdued
and filled with shame, yet not entirely hum
bled ; but when he sees the much-loving
mother who has wept with even more pain
and suffering than the child himself, going
about the room,-a kind of living music to
the chld's unconscious feeling taking her
seat at last in some window-nook with sor-
row upon her face, he comes to himself, and,
thinking moment, feels that all the old
dark food of uginess has gone away and an
entirely new feeling begins to take possession
of him. He looks at the face Of the mother,
with love swelling in his heart, and wishes
that he was sitting at her feet. And when
she says. " Nv child, why do you not come
to me ?"-with another burst of tears, not of
pain and wounded feeling, but of joy and
love!-hc throws himself into her arms and
buries his head in her bosom All ! if [
remember Alright. ! can recount many SINH
lar experiences in my own early life; and |
am brought back into the remembrance of
such chidhoods scenes because the relation
of my own disobedient heart to my mother
When she punished me, is the best lllustra-
ton which | can give you of the relation of
the soul Of a rebellipg child Of God to his
chastsing hand. When after being pulled
up with pride and vanity, from being en-
gagged in worldlg pursuits, and being con-
tented with mere worldly moralities, l am
suddenly, by afliction Or disappointments,
or by the direct visitation of Gods Holy
Spirit, humbled and brought to the very earth
with contrition, oh who can tell how sweet
is it to take hold of the outstretched hand OF
the Lord Jesus Christ, andgo up into the con-
confidence and embrace of his love | am moth
ing myself l am entirely humbled and sub
dued only feel his love in my heart, and my
heart swells with love in return. These are
days of sweetness These. are days of
heavenly joy These are days of true hui
miIity 0 how lowly man bows, and how
lowly he walks, who has view of his own
littlencss and emptiness in comparison with
the greatness and the fullness of the ever
living and ever-loving GQd .. &c.,