Milford chronicle., 1906-11-23

same for Christ. Can you not make
your Christian home the place Of spir-
itual refuge for those who have no
Christian homes and who can be won
for Jesus by gathering them around
your Preside during the winter even
ings?
But I cannot close this talk on even
ing occupations without placing a spe-
cial emphasis upon the fact that at
least part Of each evening should
be consecrated to God for studying
his holy word and for prayer. 1t
should be the time when we should
go off alone to read the Bible or TO
open the dear book in the midst of our
loved ones and find in it the messages
which God has written for US and the
divine commandments which teach Us
how to live and how to die. The ma
iority of people never study the Bible
lntelligently They rarely read it
alone. 1t is to them a sealed book eX-
cept as it is interpreted for them by
the pulpit 1t is just as much a sealed
book as during the dark ages, when no
Iayman was allowed to touch it any
more than profane hands could touch
the holy Of holies during Mosaic
times.
Rending the bible.
You rarely read the Bible. Yet you
are an intelligent woman You are
one Of the leaders of the woman's
club. You take a very active part in
that organization Only a short time
ago you read before it am essay on
Robert ana Elizabeth Barrett Brown
ing. Why did you not take that sun
day school class of young girls tic
other day when our Sunday school sn-
perintendent asked you TO do 1T? You
made this excuse and that excuse and
the other excuse. You did not tell the
real reason. The real reason why you
did not become a teacher Of that class
of young girls was because you did
not know your Bible. and you were
ashamed to expose your Ignorance.
Your ignorance of the Bible is so APP
palling that do not believe You know
whether the book Of Corinthians is inI
the Old Testament or the New. I dol
not believe you could tell me. to save
your life. why Jesus was born in Beth
lehem or why Moses was not allowed
to enter the promised land. Now you
would laugh at woman who was so ig-
norant as to suppose that Goethe wrote
Hamlet or that Alfred TennysOn
was the author of "Thanatopsis." Yet
you are so ignorant Of Gods word that
YOU could not become a teacher Of a
Sunday school class Of little girls So,
my friends, some part Of each evening
ought to be held sacred for Bible study
and prayer. Carefully guard at least
half an hour as sacred for Bible study
and for prayer. Then you should turn
to God and say: Master, teach me
thy will. Master, let me talk TO thee.
This is thy quiet hour when thou canst
put thy amounting hand upon me to fit
me for the duties Of the coming day
and for holy communion with thee on
the approaching Sabbath" In this
darkening twilight can you not, with
an earnest, prayerful voice, repeat these
beautiful lines of Emma c. Embrey:
Morn is the time to act noon to endure,
But, oh, If thou wOuldst keep the spirit /
pure,
Turn from the beaten path by worldlings
Go forth at eventide in heart to walk
with God.
One night during the last sickness Of |
the sailOr-preacher, Father Taylor of |
Boston, the nurse heard some one talk
ing earnestly in the next room. He
was very much surprised, because he
had left the aged preacher only a few
minutes before lying in bed alone. So
he went into the slckroom, and there
he found the evangelist standing in
his nightgown before a looking glass
and pleading with himself to accept |
Christ. The old man was saying to
himself: "You are sinner. Don't
you know you are? You are an old |
man. The grave is directly in your
path. Repent of your sins. Accept
Christ now. There IS yet time" Was
not that a beautiful way for Father
TAYLOR to spend his last night on
earth? Aye, would not that be a beau
Iful way for US to spend a part of
every evening on earth? After the
hard work of the day is over, after
our babies have gone to bed, let US
steal away a little while and open our
Bibles. Let US see ourselves in Gods
looking glass. Let us talk with God.
Let us plead with God. Let US then
empty ourselves Of self and be filled
with the spirit Of Christ Then will
our evenings be spent Alright. Then,
with a renewed spiritual power shall
we go forth to labor for God in the
work Of the coming day.
Copyright. 1906. by Louis Klopsch.l