Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-02-28
itellelous.

not changed with changing time.
If Gods spirit abide with thee all,
things will be easy from the spirit and
love. For there is nothing which
makes the soul 80 courageous and ven
turesomc for anything as a good hope
Plain, straightforward morality and
everyday righteousness are better than
all emotion and all dogmatism and all
churchism, says the world, and Chris
tianity says much the same; but plain
straightforward righteousness and
everyday morality comes most surely
when a man is keeping close TO Christ.
We have but chewed the husks OF
religion, which are often bitter, and
have never eaten the kernel until we
feel that there is nothing in our power
that we would not do for God, and
nothing in our substance we would not
give to him, and nothing in ourselves
that we would not consecrate to him
-[Spurgeon.
What a deep comfort to the soul is
the humble but firm consciousness that
the all-seeing Savior has perfect
knowledge Of its love to him. Others
may doubt or misjudge him, but Christ
will not There Is no prejudice in his
mind, which often arises from ignor-
ance. Love enters knowledge and
secures right understanding. Mercy
sweeps the divine heart Of all that
might hinder its mission.
If we were blind, we should know
very little either of the things which
are seen, or the things which are not
SEEM" and thing of beauty could be
no Joy to us. But as we are not blind
and as we are promised all things
beautiful in another world, and as the
same God is supposed to rule all worlds,
why should we be denied the limited
enjoyment of that here, Of which We
are to enjoy such a superabundance
hereafter?
What is needed, therefore, above all
things, is the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, and until this great blessing is
enjoyed, there will be nothing that can
properly be called prosperity in the
churches. Arevival is needed in which
Christians shall be quickened to faith
fulness, so that many will be added to
the number of the saved; nor will there
be less of this need "until the Spirit
be poured upon us from on high" Till
then, there will be painful desolations
in Zion, and the danger will not be
small that "Ichabod" may be written
on her crumbling walls to tell that her
glory has departed.
Frequently in the Scriptures, God is
said to put men to the trial. 1t is, per-
haps, the common impression, upon
reading such passages, that the purpose
of the trial is TIE publication Of our
natures from dress, as precious metal
is parted from haser material in the
furnace. But often the thought of the
writer goes beyond this; he looks at
trials as of value, not only because it
purifies, but because it develops and
reveals inherent qualities; = tests gen.
uineness. He is thinking of the pro.
cess of assaying more than that of re.
fning. The temptation of Christ did
not purify; it tested and revealed.
The pure gold of his nature could not
be refined, but pure gold can be tested
and its purity established. The
temptation of Christ served to mani
fest to the consciousness of the God.
man and to the world the genuineness
of his virtue
1t is true that the laborer Is worthy
of his hire, but the clergymen do not
ply their work with hire from men as
their main object. They are Christ's
servants, and the real reward comes
from him. But Christian society is
often heartless and cruel when it de-
mands from clergymen so much extra
of time and labor, physical
and mental, and is satisfied to pay them
off in formal expressions of gratitude
Preachers are required to come and 90
and 60 and come, in extra services
through all weather, and meekly sub
nit or suffer the imputation Of sordid
motives if they even hint at the appli.
cation of Il New Testament rule.
Since the minister's salary is usually
adjusted to the lowest current cost of
living, should not the pastor, when
called upon to perform extra service at
the altar, the tomb, on the platform,
public addresses, and special sermons,
time, expense, exposure, and
labor, be remembered by those imme-
diately benefited and interested, by
kind, hearty and generous consider
atoms?
1t was an ancient oracle which gave
the caution, "Say not the former times
are better than these, for thou dost not
inquire wisely concerning the matter"
This is caution to be evermore heed.
ed but there is another caution of the
same mandatory oracle which enioins
"a search for the old paths" to the end
of abiding therein, with the added
promise in doing this of finding "rest to
the SOUL" These two teachings of the
oracle of the Holy Writ can never well
be disjoined. They never should be,