The Republican journal., 1877-12-06
Jewels of Thought and Devotion.

Jewels of Thought and Devotion.
Lord, with how small thing
Tho', canst prop up the heart against the grave
A little glimmering
Is all we crave:
The coming OF a love
That hath no being
The thin point of little star above
Flashing and fleeing,
Contents our being.
The house that never will be built; the gold
That never VIII be told:
The task we leave undone when we are cold
The dear face that returns not, but is living
Licked by a leopard, in an Indian cave;
The coming rest. that cometh not, till, signing
We turn our weary eyes upon the grave.
And Lord how should we dare
Thither in peace to fall,
But for feeble glimmering even there
Falsest perchance, Of all
W e are children i'll thy hands indeed.
And thou hast easy comfort for our need
The shining of a lamp, the tinkling Of bell,
Contents us well.
Robert Buchanan.
Thank God for the trunk of the tree which ear
rieS the sap into the branches, and even TO the
outermost leaves Thank God for the whole Bible
not merely for the four gospels [Dr. j. H. Vim
cent
Every kindly word and feeling ey cry good deed
and thought. every noble action and impulse is like
the ark-sent dove, and returns from the troubled
waters OF life bearing green olive branch to the
soul.
The lowest resignation is not to be found in
martyrdom it is only to be found when we have
covered our heads in silence and felt. a am not
worthy to be a martyr: the truth shall prosper.
but not by me" [George Eliot
He that is much in prayer shall grow r in
grace. He shall thrive and increase most that is
busiest III this which is our very traffic with
heaven, and tetches the most precious commodi-
ties thence. leighton
The existing order of things is hardly ever qucs
toned by the ordinary mind. 1t is accepted as
matter of course. In fact, it is never called in
question except by a philosopher or Il fool.
Rev DR.. Mark Hopkins,
Human reason, after guessing and roaming from
sect to sect, yearns for Lord and Master, not to
crush 1t down but to take it up, weak, bewildered
and weary. and fold it in that divine reason whence
it borrows ngor and illumination.
There is no human duty 50 lofty and imperative
as that of breaking the cntanglements of purely
private interests. pleasures ard ambitions, and
taking up with brave and unselhsh hearts the
task of lettering the world we live in.
As we recognize that our sweetest affections
our tairest imaginings, the hopes that soar on
boldest wing. the peace whose tranquility is most
perfect are manifestations Of the Divine life flow
my INTO our life so ali that is best in rs will re
ceye its highest inspirations and there will shine
from us upon Others something Of that light which
we have caught from the face Of God.
In the old days there were angels who came and
took men by the hand and led them away from the
city Of destruction We see no white winged an
gels now. But yet men are led away from threat
cnIng destruction: hand is put into theirs which
leads them forth towards calm and bright land,
50 that they look no more backward and the hand
may be little ehilds. [George Eliot
ENTITY PROFESSORS | think great many pro
They look like stately books; and on the back of
them in inscribed in large letters History of Eng
land, History of the Crusades;" but when you
open them you find nothing but emptiness, with
the exception of the dice and counters. And MANY
men bear the name Christian" who are inside all
emptiness and rattllng nothing Bethune.
The public morals lie before lis to-day injured
by the neglect of law, that school master of many
minds injured by the material pursuits of the era
which led the multitude away from the soul in
iurcd by the form Of reason which attempts to find
God by an argument rather than by the instinct
OF the heart injured by a theology which does
not sufficiently eXalt a virtuous life. These are
adverse winds which beat back the ship of the
soul as il struggles toward the better shore. True
the theology that tell people to do nothing. that
" doing will undo is an immortal one. Prof
Swing.
In view OF the passing years and of the lmta
t0us thereof. there are certain things which YOU
viii not escape, but which you will be overtaken
by first or last Your eye will betray you Your
shaking hand will tell the story. Your whitening
hair tells it already. You remember when YOU
SO Young that you like deer How
heavy your foot is now You remember when.
scornng to wait to climb over a fence you put
your hand on the top rail and sprang over at IA
bound How patient you are now in climbing
fence! You remember when. on coming
to a hill, you went rejoicing up, almost wishing it
were higher. Now how willing you are to pause
on its summit, and regain your lost breath Now
and then man puts these things together, and
SAYS. IL am not as young as once was, and can
not bear much as | once could | suppose
some men could open a vein in their arm and see
their life ebb away, though not many but see
our life ebblng away continually. One symptom
comes crying, Be ready TO depart and or ever
that out Of sight another courier from the other
life SAYS, prepare to depart" And scarcely has
that gone, before another messenger appears say
lug, Il am sent to begin to take down the taber-
nace. / will take something away from your
ears Another takes something away from the
eyes. Another takes little away from the heart
Another diminisheS the cells and weakens the
force OF the lungs The digestion grows less ard
less strong. Men walk more and run less, and sit
more, and stand less They love quiet and begin
10 things in subdued light. They don't want
10 quarrel as much as they used to- 1t Is too much
trouble: and people say, Grace is growing in
them" because their force is diminishing. Many
see these things and mourn and the voice of men
in antiquity was sigh in view of their decaying
strength; but how much nober is the voice of the
word Of God which says, Though the outward
man perish yet the inward man is renewed day
by day" Take what you will from the hair, from
the ear. from the eye, from the tongue, from the
head or from the foot, and give me al equivalent
in the spirit, and will part with them joyfully
Old age has nothing but emancipation in it. To
die here that we may live beyond is to perish as
al egg that we may fly an eagle. [Beechcr.