The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1868-12-30

of the true mother, and the strong talth
of the true Christian. For feeble wo'
man to act thus, manifests far stronger
faith than appeared in the disciples when,
after his victory over death, they asked,
g Master, wilt thou now restore the king
dom to Israel p
4. This mother was humble. This is
evinced by the manner of her approach.
The mother of two. such sons might have
been somewhat confident and bodies
pecially as that mother was the kinswo-
man of Jesus according to the flesh, and
on terms of intimate social intercourse
with him. And yet, on none of these
things does she presume. "She came
rcOrshiPping him. She takes the low
est place of the humblest supphant.
She first adores, then offers supplication.
We have thus grouped four marks of
her weakness, and four proofs of her
piety. Thus, as we said in former
number, the Scriptures represent human
nature just as it is. Even its heroes
and herOines are presented with good
and evil strangely blended in their char
acters. Blemishes are to be expected in
the brightest luminaries of the Church on
earth, as dark spots may be seen on the
disk of the natural sun.
We should all learn from this nara
tive to be charitable in the judgments We
form of each other. None are required
to exercise any measure of charity to-
wards others, which they do not need
from others.
Parents need much of the wisdom
which cometh from above. 1t is some
times even harder to see the faults of our
children than of ourselves. 1t is highly
probable that there was ambition in the
hearts of James and John, never sus-
pected by their fond mother.
There is danger here on both sides
danger all around us. That which blinds
us to the faults of our children tends in
an equal degree to magnify in our own
eyes their real or supposed excellencies,
thus while we fail to reprove where re-
proof is merited, we as foolshly praise
where no praise is due. 1t is notmore COM
mon to think more highly of ourselves
than we ought to think, than it is thus
to think of our children. An old preach
er said two centuries ago, that pride is
the iunermost garment which we put on
first, and put off last" This is equally
true, whether our pride respect ourselves
or our children.
If this mother were less ambitious than
her sons, and if she made this request
at their instance, then it follows that pa
rents may be lead into temptation as
readily by their children as their children
are by them. Many parents suffer their
children to influence them very improper
ly as to the school they patronize, the
church they attend, the raiment they
wear, the food they eat, &c. A style
of living is often adopted far too expen-
sive for the parents purse merely to
crafty their children's pride.
And yet if this mother did seek pre-
eminence for persons, she sought it in
the service of Christ. She seems not
tc have sought for them worldly wealth
or fame. Censure her as We may, there
are many mothers in the Presbyterian
Church, who are not only more ambitious
than she, but whose ambition is of a far
more reprehensible character. Such is
the ambition of that mother who prefers
her daughters marrying rich fool, to
marrying "a poor but talented preacher;
and Of her who prefers her sons being
clustering politician, and even third
rate member of Congress, to his being a
self.denying, successful minister of the
Gospel. W. 5. W.
Lexington, Va.