The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-02-07

SM IA MM earth's dust the
IN M#W H%N MyWf chant of the sing
" xV Va ing a~rchangels be-
fore the throne, Great and marvellous
are thy works, Lord God Almighty"
What a rebuke is this conception of
science to that false view of God.
which makes Him incapable of paying
attention to the minute things of the
world and Of life. Verify, He Is the
God of the telescope, yea. of the mi
croscope, also. And the scripture Is
In harmony with the findings of SCI
ence when it says. 81 am poor and
needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon
me (Psa. 40:17). Our text sug-
gests this thought of Gods care for
the individual, for the elder" who is
the Apostle JOHN, addresses himself In
this portion of Holy Writ to 1.-THE elect
lady," rather than to some group Of
men or women.
The wonder Of his simple inscrip-
tion is increased when we keep In mind
the sex of the recipient of the letter.
An Oriental is astonished to find that
two books of our Bible, Ruth and
Esther, bear the names of
Even more astonishing is 1t to find this
second epistle of John. a canonical
book of Scripture, to consist of the let
ter of an apostle to a Christian lady
and her children. The status of wom-
en- in heather lands Is well known. We
have heard of the Chinaman who
placed over a pond the inscription.
"Please do not drown girls here"
A God of the Fatherless.
1t is surmised that the ''elect lady,
was a widow. Her children are men,
toned, but not her husband. There
seems to be a purpose in wishing for
her mercy" from God the Father ~.
81. We are reminded of the spirit Of
consideration In the early church for
those who were widows indeed'-a
spirit which abides in the church even
to this day. Some years ago Father
Taylor, as he was called, ministered
in the Seaman's Bethel In Boston.
While ~uneducated In the schools, he
was marvelously gifted. Practically
every visitor to Boston went to hear
him preach, Charles Dickens being
among the number. On one occasion a
sailors widow, clad In mourning, fol-
lowed by her five fatherless children,
came down the aisle as the service be-
gan and . seats at the front Of the
chapel. Father Taylor was greatly
moved at the sight and began his
prayer by saying: "Oh, Lord, we are,
this morning, a widow and five chill
dren." There was stirring in his heart
the same compassion which stirred in
the breast Of the Apostle John, and
which was born in the heart of Him
who bids us visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction."
We do not know the name of this
matron, but she was ~"elect" in the
sense that she was an eminent saint.
Yet she evidently had something to do
besides being religious, for she had
brought up children. An old writer
has well said: "A woman Is of great
use as a Christian, who walks with
meekness of wisdom along the COM
monplace ways of life, loving her hus-
band and training her children In the
Lord" 1t is not difficult to persuade
women to attend meetings and devote
time to various kindly activities: but
1t is important to persuade them that
Divine service begins at home, and
that the patient and affectionate dis
charge of maternal and domestic duty
Is acceptable and beautiful in the sight
of the Lord.
Henry w. Grady and His Mother.
What an influence have such moth
ers been in the worldl DIR. J. Wilbur
Chapman used to tell of a time when
Henry w. Grady. editor of the Attain
to Constitution, felt he was letting his
earlier ideals slip away. So he quietly
disappeared from his office one Thurs
day and did not return until the fol-
lowing Tuesday. He went to his moth
er's home In the country and asked her
to treat him as she did when he was
a boy. She gave him the dishes he
used to like and at evening sang to him
a lullaby. Before retiring, the big man
would put his head In her lap and say.
snow l lay me-" and she would stoop
over his bed and kiss him goodnight.
He went back to his work with a shin.
ing face and a new vision.
Before closing, we would call atten.
ton to the example here set before us
as to prOpriety in dealing with those
of the opposite sex. Note the dignity
with which John addresses the "elect
lady" His love for her is "in he
truth and "for the truths sake" Wv.
1, Pa high and worthy Christian af.
lection, purged Of all earthly elements.
How needful 1t is, as workers for
Christ, to avoid even the appearance of
evil Another apostle, in giving In
struction TO a young preacher, laws
down a rule which all would do well to
follow, when he bids Timothy to deal
with 'the elder women as mothers; the
younger as sisters, with all purity" Il
Tim. 5:2).