FEATHERS FOR ARROWS.








FEATHERS FOR ARROWS;
OR,
Ihusttations from mn  tote Gook.
By C. H: SPURGEON.
NEW YORK:
SHELDON & COMPANY,
BOSTON:
GOULD & LINCOLN.








PREFACE.
7iHERE is no necessity in these times to advocate the
free use of similitudes in public teaching. Far more
needful is it to assist our brethren to find a supply
of these indispensable aids to understanding. To some it is
difficult to create a comparison, although they know how to
use it with effect when it is once suggested to them; and the
most fertile minds are frequently stimulated to further production by reading the thoughts of others. It is not, therefore,
I hope, an impertinence on my part to present to the Christian
public a bundle of illustrations original and collected. My aim
has not been to amuse the reader, but to furnish FEATHERS
FOR ARROWS for the servants of Christ Jesus.
Whenever I have been permitted sufficient respite from
my ministerial duties to enjoy a lengthened tour, or even a
short excursion, I have been in the habit of carrying with
me a small Note Book, in which I have jotted down any
illustrations which have occurred to me by the way.  My
recreations have been all the more pleasant because I have
made them subservient to my life-work.  The Note Book
has been useful in my travels as a mental purse. If not
fixed upon paper, ideas are apt to vanish with the occasion
which suggested them. A word or two will suffice to bring
an incident or train of thought to remembrance; and therefore, it would be inexcusable in a minister, who needs so
much, not to preserve all that comes in his way.




vi.                      PREFACE.
From the pencil-marks of the pocket-book my notes have
been enlarged into more permanent manuscript, and have been
of great service to me. Out of hundreds of metaphors and
anecdotes thus collected, I have used the main body in my
constant sermonisings; but as enough remained unused to
make me feel competently rich in illustrations, I determined
to offer a portion of my hoard to my fellow workers, feeling
the less difficulty in so doing because the ingatherings of
continual observation more than replace the material expended
in this distribution. Moreover, indebted as every preacher
must be to the illustrations of others, it is but just, that, if he
be able, he should make some return: in that spirit my
contribution is hereby offered.
To the nucleus formed by cullings from my Note Book, my
readings, in an attempt to expound the Psalms,* have enabled
me to add many quaint comparisons and ancient stories,
which from their very age are probably newer than the latest
novelties to modem readers. A few clippings from favourite
writers, such as James Hamilton and William Arnot have
been thrown in almost of necessity, for one feels a sort of
obligation, by the exhibition of golden nuggets, to give note
to others of the mines where treasure lies piled  up in
glittering heaps. To make the gathering still more varied,
scraps from  newspapers and magazines are interspersed,
-fragments preserved  in  such  odd  times and  circumstances, that out of what basket they first fell I cannot say,
whether they are new or old I know not; I can only say that
they were new to me. The whole collection is now presented
to teachers and preachers as a sincere offering of hearty
"brother-help." If there be here a single illustration which
shall assist one of my Master's servants in his efforts to
impart truth, I shall be greatly gratified. Desiring to do this
and every other word and deed, "in the name of the Lord
*" The Treasury of David." By.C. H. SPURGEON. Vol. I. Psalm I. to XXVI.
London: Passmore and Alabaster, i8, Paternoster Row. Price 8s.




PREFACE.                     vii.
Jesus, giving thanks unto God and the Father by him,"
I prepared these figures and metaphors, that they may serve
as feathersfor arrows —arrows of gospel truth which I pray
may be made sharp in the hearts of the King's enemies.
According to  D'Israeli's canon, "a preface being the
entrance to a book, should invite by its beauty," but he might
have equally well remarked that a preface being merely a
porch, no one ought to be long detained in it. Believing in
this last rule, and begging the reader's lenient criticism, I
invite him to such entertainment as this little volume may
afford: being myself,
His willing servant,
CLAPHAM,
February, I870.      t           / 
At my request, Messrs. Thomas Nelson &O  Sons have
undertaken the publication of this work for me in the United
States, and I trust that this arrangement will be respected
by other Publishers there.








MY NOTE BOOK.
ABASEMENT-To be rejoiced in.
WHEN Latimer resigned his bishopric, Foxe tells us that
as he put off his rochet from his shoulders he gave a skip on
the floor for joy, "feeling his shoulders so light at being discharged of such a burden." To be relieved of our wealth or
high position is to be unloaded of weighty responsibilities,
and should not cause uS to fret, but rather to rejoice as those
who are lightened of a great load. If we cease from office in
the church, or from public honours, or from power of any sort,
we may be consoled by the thought -that there is just so much
the less for us to answer for at the great audit, when we must
give an account of our stewardship..4BPENCE FROM WEEK-NIGHT SERVICES.
"PR'VER-MEETING and lecture as usual on W ednesday
evening, in the lecture-room. Dear brethren, I urge you all
to attend the weekly meetings.' Forsake not the assembling
of yourselves together."' Some of the " dear brethren" deported themselves in this way: Brother A. thought it looked
like rain, and concluded that his family, including himself of
course, had better remain at home. On Thursday evening it
was raining very hard, and the same brother hired a carriage,
1




2                  MY NOTE BOOK.
and took his whole family to the Academy of Music, to hear
M. Agassiz lecture on the "Intelligence of the Lobster."
Brother B. thought he was too tired to go, so he stayed at
home and worked at the sledge he had promised to make for
Billy. Sister C. thought the pavements were too slifppery. It
would be very dangerous for her to venture out. I saw her
next morning, going down street to get her old bonnet
"done up." She had an old pair of stockings drawn over
her shoes. Three-fourths of the members stayed at home.
God was at the prayer-meeting. The pastor was there, and
God blessed them. The persons who stayed at home were
each represented by a vacant seat. God don't bless empty
seats.- United Presbyterian.
ACCESS.
THERE are many locks in my house and all with different
keys, but I have one master-key which opens all. So the
Lord has many treasuries and secrets all shut up from carnal
minds with locks which they cannot open; but he who walks
in fellowship with Jesus possesses the master-key which will
admit him to all the blessings of the covenant; yea, to the very
heart of God. Through the Wellbeloved we have access to
God, to heaven, to every secret of the Lord.
ACTIVITY-a Help to Courage.
COURAGE maintains itself by its ardent action, as some
birds rest on the wing. There is an energy about agility that
will often give a man a fortitude which otherwise he might
not have possessed. We can picture the gallant regiment at
Balaclava riding into the valley of death at a dashing gallop,
but we could scarcely imagine their marching slowly up to the
guns, coolly calculating all the deadly odds of the adventure.
There is much in our obeying as our Lord did, " straightway."
When the Lord gives his servants grace to follow out their convictions as soon as they feel them, then they act courageously.




MY NOTE BOOK.                     3
First thoughts are best in the service of God, they are
like Gideon's men that lapped. Second thoughts come up
timorously and limpingly, and incite us to make provision for
the flesh, they are like those men whom Gideon discarded
because they went down on their knees to drink, they took
things too leisurely to be fit for the Lord's battles.
ADVENT-Looking for the.
I WAS told of a poor peasant on the Welsh mountains who,
month after month, year after year, through a long period of
declining life, was used every morning, as soon as he awoke,
to open his casement window, towards the east, and look out
to see if Jesus Christ was coming. He was no calculator, or
he need not have looked so long; he was no student of
prophecy, or he need not have looked at all; he was ready,
or he would not have been in so much haste; he was willing, or
he would rather have looked another way; he loved, or it would
not have been the first thought of the morning. His Master
did not come, but a messenger did, to fetch the ready one
home. The same preparation sufficed for both, the longing
soul was satisfied with either. Often when, in the morning,
the child of God awakes, weary and encumbered with the
flesh, perhaps from troubled dreams, perhaps with troubled
thoughts, his Father's secret comes presently across him, he
looks up, if not out, to feel, if not to see, the glories of that
last morning when the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
shall arise indestructible; no weary limbs to bear the spirit
down; no feverish dreams to haunt the vision; no dark
forecasting of the day's events, or returning memory of the
griefs of yesterday.-Fry.
AFFLICTION-Attendant upon Honour.
IN the ancient times, a box on the ear given by a master to
a slave meant liberty, little would the freedman care how hard
was the blow. By a stroke from the sword the warrior was




4                   MY NOTE BOOK.
knighted by his monarch, small matter was it to the new-made
knight if the royal hand was heavy. (When the Lord intends
to lift his servants into a higher stage of spiritual life, he
frequently sends them a severe trialA he makes his Jacobs to
be prevailing princes, but he confers the honour after a night
of wrestling, and accompanies it with a shrunken sinew. Be
it so, who among us would wish to be deprived of the trials
if they are the necessary attendants of spiritual advancement?
AFFLICTION-Awakening Gratitude.
AFFLICTIONS when sanctified make us grateful for mercies
which aforetime we treated with indifference. We sat for
half-an-hour in a calf's shed the other day, quite grateful
for the shelter from the driving rain, yet at no other time
would we have entered such a hovel. Discontented persons
need a course of the bread of adversity and the water of
affliction, to cure them of the wretched habit of murmuring.
Even things which we loathed before, we shall learn to prize
when in troublous circumstances.  We are no lovers of
lizards, and yet at Pont St. Martin, in the Val D'Aosta, where
the mosquitoes, flies, and insects of all sorts drove us nearly
to distraction, we prized the little green fellows, and felt quite
an attachment to them as they darted out their tongues and
devoured our worrying enemies.  Sweet are the uses of
adversity, and this among them-that it brings into proper
estimation mercies aforetime lightly esteemed.
AFFLICTION-Endears the Promises.
WE never prize the precious words of promise till we are
placed in conditions in which their suitability and sweetness
are manifested. We all of us value those golden words, " When
thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither
shall the flame kindle upon thee," but few if any of us have
read them with the delight of the martyr Bilney, to whom this
passage was a stay, while he was in prison awaiting his




MY NOTE BOOK.                     5
execution at the stake.  His Bible, still preserved in the
library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, has the passage
marked with a pen in the margin. Perhaps, if all were known,
every promise in the Bible has borne a special message to
some one saint, and so the whole volume might be scored in
the margin with mementoes of Christian experience, every
one appropriate to the very letter.
AFFLICTION-Effects of, in different People.
"How different are summer storms from winter ones! In
winter they rush over the earth with their violence; and if
any poor remnants of foliage or flowers have lingered behind,
these are swept along at one gust.  Nothing is left but
desolation; and long after the rain has ceased, pools of
water and mud bear tokens of what has been. But when the
clouds have poured out their torrents in summer, when the
winds have spent their fury, and the sun breaks forth again
in glory, all things seem to rise with renewed loveliness from
their refreshing bath. The flowers, glistening with rainbows,
smell sweeter than before; the grass seems to have gained
another brighter shade of green; and the young plants which
had hardly come into sight, have taken their place among
their fellows in the borders, so quickly have they sprung
among the showers. The air, too, which may previously have
been oppressive, is become clear, and soft, and fresh. Such,
too, is the difference when the storms of affliction fall on
hearts unrenewed by Christian faith, and on those who abide
in Christ. In the former they bring out the dreariness and
desolation which may before have been unapparent. The
gloom is not relieved by the prospect of any cheering ray to
follow it; of any flowers or fruits to show its beneficence.
But in the true Christian soul,'though weeping may endure
for a night, joy cometh in the morning.'t A sweet smile of
hope and love follows every tear; and tribulation itself is
turned into the chief of blessings."




6                   MY NOTE BOOK.
AFFLICTION-an Incentive to Zeal.
THERE is an old story in the Greek annals of a soldier under
Antigonus who had a disease about him, an extremely painful
one, likely to bring him soon to the grave. Always first in the
charge was this soldier, rushing into the hottest part of the
fray, as the bravest of the brave. His pain prompted him to
fight, that he might forget it; and he feared not death, because
he knew that in any case he had not long to live. Antigonus,
who greatly admired the valour of his soldier, discovering his
malady, had him cured by one of the most eminent physicians
of the day; but, alas! from that moment the warrior was
absent from the front of the battle. He now sought his ease;
for, as he remarked to his companions, he had something
worth living for-health, home, family, and other comforts,
and he would not risk his life now as aforetime. FSo, when our
troubles are many we are often by grace made courageous in
serving our God; we feel that we have nothing to live for in
this world, and we are driven, by hope of the world to come,
to exhibit zeal, self-denial, and industry.  But how often is it
otherwise in better times! for then the joys and pleasures of
this world make it hard for us to remember the world to come,
and we sink into inglorious ease./
AFFLICTION-Increased with our Strength.
"I HAD," said Latimer, describing the way in which his
father trained him as a yeoman's son, " my bows bought me
according to my age and strength; as I increased in them so my
bows were made bigger and bigger." Thus boys grewinto crossbowmen, and by a similar increase in the force of their trials,
Christians become veterans in the Lord's host. The affliction
which is suitable for a babe in grace would little serve the
young man, and even the well-developed man needs severer
trials as his strength increases. God, like a wise father, trains
us wisely, and as we are able to bear it he makes our service
and our suffering more arduous. As boys rejoice to be treated




MY NOTE BOOK.                     7
like men, so will we rejoice in our greater tribulations, for
here is man's work for us, and by God's help we will not
flinch from doing it.
AFFLICTION-Making us long for Heaven.
WE had traversed the Great Aletsch Glacier,-and were very
hungry when we reached the mountain tarn half-way between
the Bel Alp and the hotel at the foot of the AEggischorn; there
a peasant undertook to descend the mountain, and bring us
bread and milk. It was a very Marah to us when he brought
us back milk too sour for us to drink, and bread black as a
coal, too hard to bite, and sour as the curds. What then?
Why, we longed the more eagerly to reach the hotel towards
which we were travelling.  We mounted our horses, and
made no more halts till we reached the hospitable table
where our hunger was abundantly satisfied.  Thus our
disappointments on the road to heaven whet our appetites
for the better country, and quicken the pace of our pilgrimage
to the celestial city.
AFFLICTION-Noble Piety nourished amid.
"THE pine, placed nearly always among scenes disordered
and desolate, brings into them all possible elements of order
and precision. Lowland trees may lean to this side and that,
though it is but a meadow breeze that bends them, or a bank
of cowslips from which their trunks lean aslope. But let
storm and avalanche do their worst, and let the pine find only
a ledge of vertical precipice to cling to, it will nevertheless
grow straight. Thrust a rod from its last shoot down the
stem, it shall point to the centre of the earth as long as the
tree lives."   Amid the sternest trials the most upright
Christians are usually reared. The divine life within them so
triumphs over every difficulty as to render the men, above all
others, true and exact. What a noble spectacle is a man
whom nothing can warp, a firm, decided servant of God,
defying hurricanes 6f temptation!




8                   MY NOTE BOOK.
AFFLICTION-Overruled to promote Joy.
OUR afflictions are like weights, and have a tendency to bow
us to the dust, but there is a way of arranging weights by
means of wheels and pulleys, so that they will even lift us
up. Grace, by its matchless art, has often turned the heaviest
of our trials into occasions for heavenly joy. " We glory in
tribulations also." We gather honey out of the rock, and oil
out of the flinty rock.
AFFLICTION-Revealing Christians.
WHEN the green leaves bedeck the trees and all is fair, one
cannot readily find the birds' nests, but when the winter lays
bare the trees, anyone, with half-an-eye, may see them. Thus
amid the press of business and prosperity the Christian may
scarcely be discerned, his hidden life is concealed amid the
thick and throng of the things of earth; but let affliction come,
a general sickness, or severe losses in the family, and you shall
see the Christian man plainly enough in the gracious patience
by which he rises superior to trial. The sick bed reveals
the man; the burning house, the sinking ship, the panic on
the exchange, all these make manifest the hidden ones. In
rmany a true believer, true piety is like a drum which nobody
hears of unless it be beaten.
AFFLICTION-Right View of.
OUR crosses are not made of iron, though painted sometimes with iron colours; they are formed of nothing heavier
than wood. Yet they are not made of pasteboard, and will
never be light in themselves, though our Lord can lighten
them by his presence. The Papists foolishly worship pieces
of wood supposed to be parts of the true cross; but he who
has borne the really true cross, and known its sanctifying
power, will value every sliver of it, counting his trials to be
his treasures, his afflictions argosies of wealth, and his losses
his best gains.




MY NOTE BOOK.                    9
AFFLICTIONS-Tokens of Divine Regard.
LAWNS which we would keep in the best condition are
very frequently mown; the grass has scarcely any respite
from the scythe. Out in the meadows there is no such
repeated cutting, they are mown but once or twice in the
year. Even thus the nearer we are to God, and the more
regard he has for us, the more frequent will be our adversities.
To be very dear to God, involves no small degree of chastisement.
AFFLICTIONS-Winning the Heart for God.
PAYSON thus beautifully writes:-" I have been all my life
like a child whose father wishes to fix his undivided attention.
At first the child runs about the room, but his father ties up
his feet; he then plays with his hands until theylikewise are tied.
Thus he continues to do, till he is completely tied up. Then,
when he can do nothing else, he will attend to his father.
Just so has God been dealing with me, to induce me to place
my happiness in him alone. But I blindly continued to look
for it here, and God has kept cutting off one source of enjoyment after another, till I find that I can do without them
all, and yet enjoy more happiness than ever in my life before."
AGE-No Care for Sin.
ACCORDING to hEsop, an old woman found an empty jar
which had lately been full of prime old wine, and which still
retained the fragrant smell of its former contents.  She
greedily placed it several times to her nose, and drawing it
backwards and forwards said, " Oh, most delicious! How nice
must the wine itself have been, when it leaves behind in the
very vessel which contained it so sweet a perfume!"
Men often hug their vices when their power to enjoy them
is gone. The memories of revelling and wantonness appear to
be sweet to the ungodly in their old age. They sniff the empty
bottles of their follies, and only wish they could again be




10                  MY NOTE BOOK.
drunken with them. Age cures not the evil heart, but exhibits
in a ridiculous but deeply painful light the indelible perversity
of human nature.
AMBITION.
AMBITION is like the sea which swallows all the rivers and
is none the fuller; or like the grave whose insatiable maw for
ever craves for the bodies of men. It is not like an amphora,
which being full receives no more, but its fulness swells it till
a still greater vacuum is formed. In all probability, Napoleon
never longed for a sceptre till he had gained the baton, nor
dreamed of being emperor of Europe till he had gained the
crown of France. Caligula, with the world at his feet, was
mad with a longing for the moon, and could he have gained
it the imperial lunatic would have coveted the sun. It is in vain
to feed a fire which grows the more voracious the more it is supplied with fuel; he who lives to satisfy his ambition has before
him the labour of Sisyphus, who rolled up hill an ever-rebounding stone, and the task of the daughters of Danaus, who are
condemned for ever to attempt to fill a bottomless vessel with
buckets full of holes. Could we know the secret heart-breaks
and wearinesses of ambitious men, we should need no
Wolsey's voice crying, " I charge thee, fling away ambition,"
but we should flee from it as from the most accursed bloodsucking vampire which ever uprose from the caverns of hell.
APOSTATES.
IN the long line of portraits of the Doges, in the palace at
Venice, one space is empty, and the semblance of a black
curtain remains as a melancholy record of glory forfeited.
Found guilty of treason against the state, Marino Falieri was
beheaded, and his image as far as possible blotted from
remembrance.  As we regarded the singular memorial we
thought of Judas and Demas, and then, as we heard in spirit
the Master's warning word, " One of you shall betray me," we




MY NOTE BOOK.                    11
asked within our soul the solemn question, " Lord, is it I?"
Every one's eye rests longer upon the one dark vacancy than
upon any one of the many fine portraits of the merchant
monarchs; and so the apostates of the church are far more
frequently the theme of the world's talk than the thousands of
good men and true who adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour
in all things. Hence the more need of care on the part of
those of us whose portraits are publicly exhibited as saints,
lest we should one day be painted out of the church's gallery,
and our persons only remembered as having been detestable
hypocrites.
APPEARANCE-We must Not Judge by.
WHATEVER truth there may be in phrenology, or in
Lavater's kindred science of physiognomy, we shall do well
scrupulously to avoid forming an opinion against a man from his
personal appearance. If we so judge we shall often commit the
greatest injustice, which may, if we should ever live to be disfigured by sickness or marred by age, be returned into our
own bosom to our bitter sorrow. Plato compared Socrates
to the gallipots of the Athenian apothecaries, on the outside
of which were painted grotesque figures of apes and owls, but
they contained within precious balsams. All the beauty of a
Cleopatra cannot save her name from being infamous; personal attractions have adorned some of the grossest monsters
that ever cursed humanity. Judge then no man or woman
after their outward fashion, but with purified eye behold the
hidden beauty of the heart and life.
ASSURANCE-Excellence of.
BELIEVE me, the life of grace is no dead level, it is not a
fen country, a vast flat. There are mountains, and there are
valleys. There are tribes of Christians who live in the lowlands, like the poor Swiss of the Valais, who live between the
lofty ranges of mountains in the midst of the miasma, where




12                  MY NOTE BOOK.
the air is stagnant and fever has its lair, and the human frame
grows languid and enfeebled. Such dwellers in the lowlands
of unbelief are for ever doubting, fearing, troubled about
their interest in Christ, and tossed to and fro; but there are
other believers, who, by God's grace, have climbed the
mountain of full assurance and  near communion, their
place is with the eagle in his eyrie, high aloft; they are
like the strong mountaineer, who has trodden the virgin
snow, who has breathed the fresh, free air of the Alpine
regions, and therefore his sinews are braced, and his limbs
are vigorous; these are they who do great exploits, being
mighty men, men of renown.
ATTENDANCE AT PUBLIC WORSHIP-Invitations to.
IN Edinburgh a Sabbath-school teacher was once visiting
in a close, and in one of the top flats of a stair, found a poor
family living in a small but clean room. From conversation
with the father and mother, she soon discovered that it was
one of those cases where, from the long illness of the father,
the family had fallen from comparative comfort to poverty.
He was now, however, better, and had been able for some
time to work a little, so as to keep his family from destitution,
but by no means to enable them to live in comfort. Having
learned so much of their worldly concerns, their visitor next
began to speak of their souls' interests. She asked them if
they went to any church. " No," said the father, " We used
to go long ago, before I took ill; but we went no more after
that."  "But," said she, "you have been better for a good
while."  "Oh," said the father, "nobody ever. asked us to
come!" "Well," said the visitor, "I'll ask you now," and
she directed him to a church where he would hear the glad
tidings from a faithful minister. Next Sabbath several of the
children were at her Sabbath-school, and told her that that
day their family had been at church. Since that day they
have been hearers of the Word. How many souls are perishing




MY NOTE BOOK.                    13
in Edinburgh and other towns, "because, though all things are
now ready, NOBODY EVER ASKED THEM TO COME!"  Will
not the blood of their souls be required at the hand of those
who profess to have tasted a Saviour's love, and yet make
not one effort to pluck brands out of the fire?-Scottish
Sunday School Teacher's Magazine.
ATTENDANCE AT PUBLIC WORSHIP-Young should be Trained.
THE question is often asked how shall we get our workingclasses to attend public worship.  The answer may be
supplied by an incident of my boyhood. On the mantelshelf of my grandmother's best parlour, among other marvels
was an apple in a phial. It quite filled up the body of the
bottle, and my wondering enquiry was, " How could it have
been got into its place?" By stealth I climbed a chair to see
if the bottom would unscrew, or if there had been a join in
the glass throughout the length of the phial. I was satisfied
by careful observation that neither of these theories could be
supported, and the apple remained, to me an enigma and
a mystery.  But as it was said of that other wonder, the
source of the Nile"Nature well known no mystery remains,"so was it here. Walking in the garden I saw a phial placed
on a tree bearing within it a tiny apple, which was growing
within the crystal; now I saw it all; the apple was put into
the bottle while it was little, and it grew there. Just so must
we catch the little men and women who swarm our streetswe call them boys and girls-and introduce them within the
influence of the church, for alas! it is hard indeed to reach
them when they have ripened in carelessness and sin.
ATTENTION-Difficulty of Winning.
BUCHSELL, in his "Ministerial Experiences," says, " I was
surprised to observe that for some Sundays a rustic, whom I




14                  MY NOTE BOOK.
had never seen there before, now regularly made his appearance in church, but in the most open way in the world settled
himself to sleep as soon as he was seated, and snored so loud
that one heard him even during the singing. A boy, to whom
I had often spoken, and who had an open, merry expression
of face, was in the habit of placing himself not far from the
snorer, and I now requested him to sit more immediately
bhind him, and to touch him from time to time in order to
keep him awake. At first the lad refused to do this, but the
promise of a groschen led him to comply. During the whole
service, I could see the contest carried on between the little
fellow and his somnolent neighbour, and by a glance of my
eye I sought to encourage the former to keep up the rousing
process. On the following Sunday the rustic came again, and
so did the boy, whom I begged to continue his good offices
as before, but he declined; and when I held out the bribe of
the groschen, he told me that the peasant had already given
him two, on condition that he should not be disturbed."
Let us do what we will to enlist the attention of our hearers,we
shall not find it an easy task. With our illustrations and anecdotes we may as it were be giving ONE groschen to secure the
ear, but the world, the flesh, and the devil, with their cares,
pleasures, and distractions,will always be offeringTwogroschen
to our one. Yet by God's grace we shall win the day, and
conquer not alone the ear but the heart.
BIBLE.
THE historical matters of Scripture, both narrative and
prophecy, constitute as it were the bones of its system;
whereas the spiritual matters are as its muscles, bloodvessels and nerves. As the bones are necessary to the human
system, so Scripture must have its historical matters. The
expositor who nullifies the historical ground-work of Scripture
for the sake of finding only spiritual truths everywhere, brings
death on all correct interpretation. —. A. Bengel.




MY NOTE BOOK.                     15
BIBLE-Cause of Interest in it.
THE lifeboat may have a tasteful bend and beautiful
decoration, but these are not the qualities for which I prize
it; it was my salvation from the howling sea! So the interest
which a regenerate soul takes in the Bible, is founded on a
personal application to the heart of the saving truth which it
contains. If there is no taste for this truth, there can be no
relish for the Scriptures. —7. W. Alexander, D.D.
BIBLE-How to Deal with its Difficulties.
AN old man once said, "For a long period I puzzled
myself about the difficulties of Scripture, until at last I came
to the resolution that reading the Bible was like eating fish.
When I find a difficulty I lay it aside, and call it a bone.
Why should I choke on the bone when there is so much
nutritious meat for me? Some day, perhaps, I may find that
even the bone may afford me nourishment."
BIBLE-How to Read.
To some the Bible is uninteresting and unprofitable, because they read too fast. Amongst the insects which subsist
on the sweet sap of flowers, there are two very different
classes. One is remarkable for its imposing plumage, which
shows in the sunbeams like the dust of gems; and as you
watch its jaunty gyrations over the fields, and its minuet
dance from flower to flower, you cannot help admiring its
graceful activity, for it is plainly getting over a great deal of
ground.  But, in the same field there is another worker,
whose brown vest and business-like straight-forward flight
may not have arrested your eye. His fluttering neighbour
darts down here and.there, and sips elegantly wherever he
can find a drop of ready nectar; but this dingy plodder makes
a point of alighting everywhere, and wherever he alights he
either finds honey or makes it. If the flower-cup be deep, he
goes down to the bottom; if its dragon-mouth be shut, he




16                 MY NOTE BOOK.
thrusts its lips asunder; and if the nectar be peculiar or recondite, he explores all about till he discovers it, and then
having ascertained the knack of it, joyful as one who has
found great spoil, he sings his way down into its luscious
recesses. His rival, of the painted velvet wing, has no
patience for such dull and long-winded details. But what is
the end? Why, the one died last October along with the
flowers; the other is warm in his hive to-night, amidst the
fragrant stores which he gathered beneath the bright beams
of summer.
Reader, to which do you belong?-the butterflies or bees?
Do you search the Scriptures, or do you only skim them?
Do you dwell on a passage till you bring out some meaning,
or till you can carry away some memorable truth or immediate
lesson? or do you flit along on heedless wing, only on the
look-out for novelty, and too frivolous to explore or ponder
the Scriptures?  Does the Word of God dwell in you so
richly, that in the vigils of a restless night, or in the bookless
solitude of a sick room, or in the winter of old age or exclusion
from  ordinances, its treasured truths would perpetuate
summer round you, and give you meat to eat which the world
knows not of?-7ames Hamilton, D.D.
BIBLE-Judged by its Fruits.
A ROMAN Catholic priest in Belgium rebuked a young
woman and her brother for reading that "bad book,"
pointing to the Bible. "Mr. Priest," she replied, "a little
while ago my brother was an idler, a gambler, a drunkard,
and made such a noise in the house that no one could stay
in it.  Since he began to read the Bible, he works with
industry, goes no longer to the tavern, no longer touches
cards, brings home money to his poor old mother, and our
life at home is quiet and delightful. How comes it, Mr.' Priest,
that a bad book produces such good fruits?"




MY NOTE BOOK.                   17
BIBLE-Power of its Authority.
THE mother of a family was married to an infidel who
made jest of religion in the presence of his own children; yet
she succeeded in bringing them all up in the fear of the Lord.
I asked her one day how she preserved them from the influence of a father whose sentiments were so opposed to her own.
This was her answer: " Because to the authority of a father
I do not oppose the authority of a mother, but that of God. From
their earliest years my children have always seen the Bible
upon my table. This holy book has constituted the whole of
their religious instruction. I was silent that I might allow it
to speak. Did they propose a question, did they commit a
fault, did theyperform a good action, I opened the Bible, and the
Bible answered, reproved, or encouraged them. The constant
reading of the Scriptures has wrought the prodigy which surprises you.-Adolphe Monod.
BIBLE-To be Read with Delight.
WHEN Mr. Hone, who wrote the " Every-day Book," and
was of sceptical views, was travelling through Wales, he
stopped at a cottage to ask for a drink of water, and a little
girl answered him, " Oh, yes! sir, I have no doubt mother will
give you some milk. Come in."  He went in and sat down.
The little girl was reading her Bible.  Mr. Hone said,
"Well, my little girl, you are getting your task?"  " No, sir,
I am not," she replied, "I am reading the Bible." "Yes,"
said he, " you are getting your task out of the Bible?" " Oh,
no," she replied, " it is no task to read the Bible; I love the
Bible." "And why do you love the Bible?" said he. Her
simple, child-like answer was, " I thought everybody loved
the Bible." Her own love to the precious volume had made
her innocently believe that everybody else was equally delighted to read God's Word. Mr. Hone was so touched with
the sincerity of that expression, that he read the Bible himself,
2




18                  MY NOTE BOOK.
and instead of being an opponent to the things of God, came
to be a friend of divine truth.
BIBLE-The Spirit more than the Letter.
IT is easy enough to be learned in the letter of the Word,
and yet to miss the spirit. If no other instance were before
us, the Jewish people would furnish us with a most convincing
one, for they have wholly missed the meaning of the Scriptures,
and yet, Lightfoot tells us, "They have summed up all the
letters in the Bible to show that one hair of that sacred head
is not perished. Eight hundred and forty-eight marginal notes
are observed and preserved, for the more facility of the text:
the middle verse of every book noted; the number of the
verses in every book reckoned: and not a vowel that misseth
ordinary grammer which is not marked."
BIBLE-Why Priests Withhold it.
THE true reason why the Papists forbid the Scriptures to
be read is not to keep men from errors and heresies, but to
keep them from discovering those which they themselves impose upon them. Such trash as they trade in would never go
off their hands if they did not keep their shops thus dark;
which made one of their shavelings so bitterly complain of
Luther for spoiling their market, saying that but for him
they might have persuaded the people of Germany to eat
hay. Anything, indeed, will go down a blind man's throat.Gurnal.
BIGOTRY.
SOME men magnify the importance of their own little clique
of believers by denying the godliness of all who differ from
them.  They remind one of Bishop Hacket's story. "At
Wimbledon," says he, " not far from me, a warrener promised
Thomas, Earl of Exeter, that he should have a burrow of
rabbits, all of them of what colour he pleased.'Let them be




MY NOTE BOOK.                      19
all white,' said that good Earl. Whereupon the warrener
killed up all the rest but the white rabbits, and sold
them away, and left not enough to serve the earl's table."
A sorry few would be left to serve the Lord, and preserve the
name of Christ upon earth, if some men's judgments could be
final. Blessed be God, the Judge of saints is not the rabbi
of any of the rival synagogues.
BODY AND SOUL.
"Two things a master commits to his servants' care,"
saith one, "the child and the child's clothes." It will be
a poor excuse for the  servant to  say, at his master's
return, "Sir, here are all the child's clothes, neat and
clean, but the child is lost!" Much so with the account
that many will give to God of their souls and bodies at the
great day. "Lord, here is my body; I was very grateful for
it; I neglected nothing'that belonged to its content and
welfare; but as for my soul, that is lost and cast away for
ever. I took little care and thought about it! "-Flavel.
BOOKS-How to make them Intelligible.
JOHN KEBLE, the author of "The Christian Year," in a
letter to Mr. (afterwards Sir) J. T. Coleridge, thus writes:"Have you read a little publication of Miller's, which I sent
to James Coleridge, and if you have, how do you like it?
Lest you should think his style in this new book too obscure
for the'Plain People,' I must tell you that he made Moliere's
experiment, for he gave the sermons to his servant, quite a
rustic lad, to read before he printed them, and the man said
he understood them all except the fifth, which accordingly M.
made plainer, till the youth professed himself satisfied with
it. And his father, the clerk of the parish, had given the
greatest proof of his understanding even of this the obscurest
part, for he said to Miller,'Oh, yes! sir, I see what you mean,
you mean such-and-such people (naming them) by the one




20                  MY NOTE BOOK.
of your two classes, and such-and-such by the other.' I call.
this a very satisfactory experiment, quite as much so as most
of Sir Humphrey Davy's." In a letter to another friend on
the same subject, Keble further adds:-" I wonder whether
people that write tracts for the poor, generally take this
method; it seems mere common sense for them to do so,
and yet one can hardly think they do."
BOOKS-Tried by Time and Posterity.
CALL it by what name you please-dream, vision, or
revery-we found ourselves in a large room, the walls of
which were concealed by well-packed shelves of books, from
the ponderous folio to the minute thirty-twoxmo, and in al
the variety of dress which a skilful handicraft could devise.
While cursorily gazing on these intellectual stores, our
attention was arrested by the entrance of two personages
of -mild  and  venerable  aspect, who very  courteously
introduced  themselves, and stated the object of their
visit.  They bore the significant names of TIME  and
POSTERITY, and intimated that they had come to pay their
semi-centennial visit, to weigh the merits of authors, and
determine their destiny. The task seemed to us an herculean
one, where the volumes were numbered by thousands; and
we were curious to know by what process they were to
ascertain the character of so many candidates for fame. We
might, however, have spared our surprise, had we reflected
that TIME was a gentlemen who had seen much of the world,
and professed great experience, and POSTERITY was no less
distinguished for the solidity of his judgment. They were
well prepared for an expeditious performance of their work,
and, in truth, we felt no small degree of horror in witnessing
the results of their essay.  By the way, we should have
mentioned that they were provided with a capacious crucible,
under which was burning a large and steady flame. Into it
volume after volume was thrown, and the ordeal through




MY NOTE BOOK.                    2?
which they had to pass was one of fire. "Goodly volumes,
these," said TIME, taking up a brace of octavos on metaphysics, "let us test their quality." Placed in the crucible,
they were instantly converted into cinders.  "Dust and
ashes," said POSTERITY. This was the doom of many an
ostentatious volume, whose promising title availed as little as
its interior embellishments. TIME rather soliloquised than
addressed POSTERITY, while subjecting volume after volume.
He would remark, "Deadborn this; its claims for perpetuity
died afhidst the types." "An old heresy under the slight
disguise of a new dress."  "Nonsense, fustian, bombast."
A whole row of poets succeeded each other in their descent
into the heated crucible, with no more sympathy on the part
of the executioner than a contemptuous exclamation. What
is called light literature could scarcely be kept in the
crucible long enough to be converted into thin smoke. Whole
tons of periodicals and reviews shared the same fate. Occasionally we observed an unscorched leaf or two remained
in the crucible, which POSTERITY carefully gathered and
deposited in his portefeuille. At intervals, a whole volume
would escape-this, however, was very rare; for in the
instances in which they preserved their original shape, large
portions of these fortunate volumes were burned out. For
the most part, the large books fared worse than the smaller
ones, from which we were led to infer, that facility in writing
was quite a different thing from ability, and that a lumbering
ship may be dashed on the rocks, over which a small boat
may safely ride. Whole piles of periodicals (our own did not
entirely escape) were soon converted into ashes. " Fabrications," said TIME, as he hurled volume after volume of history
into the crucible. Some leaves, however, of most of them
escaped, out of which POSTERITY remarked, he would make
up a small volume of true history worthy of preservation.
Many books of religious controversy, and many more of
worldly controversies on all subjects went in with the




22                  MY NOTE BOOK.
ominously expressed doom, " Dust and ashes," and so they
came out. We perceived a most offensive effluvium arise, as
certain " Philosophical Disquisitions," and " Light of Reason"
were submitted to the fiery test. Thus went forward the
process, the further details of which might be tedious to
enumerate, and in a very brief time the great library had so
far disappeared that POSTERITY carried off what was left in
a small but beautiful cabinet, made of enduring materials.
We were left to wonder how human brains and iron presses
worked to so little effect in this world of ours.-Preslyterian.
BOLDNESS (holy)-Congruous with the Gospel.
HOLY boldness honours the gospel. In the olden times,
when Oriental despots had things pretty much their own
way, they expected all ambassadors from the West.to lay
theirmouths in the dust if permitted to appear before his
Celestial Brightness, the Brother of the Sun and the Cousin
of the Moon.  Certain money-loving traders agreed to all
this, and ate dust as readily as reptiles; but, when England
sent her ambassadors abroad, the daring islanders stood
bolt-upright. They were told that they could not be indulged
with a vision of the Brother of the Sun and Cousin of the
Moon, without going down on their hands and knees. " Very
well," said the Englishmen, " we will dispense with the luxury;
but tell his Celestial Splendour, that it is very likely that his
Serenity will hear our cannon at his palace gates before long,
and that their booming is not quite so harmless as the cooing
of his Sublimity's doves." When it was seen that ambassadors
of the British Crown were no cringing petitioners, our empire
rose in the respect of Oriental nations. It must be just so
with the cross of Christ. Our cowardice has subjected the
gospel to contempt.  Jesus was humble, and his servants
must not be proud; but Jesus was never mean or cowardly,
nor must his servants be. There was no braver man than
Christ upon earth. He could stoop to save a soul, but he




MY NOTE BOOK.                    23
would stoop to nothing by which his character might be
compromised, or truth and righteousness insulted. To preach
the gospel boldly is to deliver it as such a message ought to
be delivered. Blush to preach of a dying Saviour? Apologise
for talking of the Son of God condescending to be made
man, that he might redeem us from all iniquity? Never!
Oh! by the grace of God let us purpose, with Paul, " to be
yet more bold," that the gospel may be yet more fully preached
throughout all ranks of mankind.
"I'll preach thy Word though kings should hear,
Nor yield to sinful shame."
BREVITY.
DR. COTTON MATHER wrote over his study-door in large
letters, BE  SHORT.  Callers upon ministers will please
make a note of this; as also brethren who are lengthy at the
prayer-meeting; Sunday-school teachers, in all their devotional exercises and addresses; speakers at public meetings,
who have nothing to say; and ministers who are given to
prosiness.
CARNAL SECURITY.
A NUMBER of men are upstairs in a house, amusing themselves with a game of cards. What is that? The window is
red! What is that cry in the streets? "The house is onfire!"
says one. " Oh," answers another, "shuffle the cards again,
let us finish the game; we have plenty of time."  "Fire!
Fire! Fire "  The cry rises more sharply from the streets,
but the gamblers continue their game.  One of them
swaggeringly boasts, " It's all right, my brave boys, yon door
leads to the roof, and we can get out at the last minute. I
know the way over the leads —it's all right, go ahead with
the game." Presently one of them nervously enquires; "Are
you sure that we can get through that door?" and he goes
to try, but finas it locked. "Never mind," is the answer,




24                 MY NOTE BOOK.
" I have the key." "But are you sure you have the key?"
"Oh, yes! I am sure I have, here it is; try it for yourself,
and do not be such a coward, man; try it." The man tries
the key. " It will not turn," says he. " Let me try," says his
friend. He puts it in the lock, but lo, it will not turn! " 
God!" he-shrieks, "it's the wrong key " Now, sirs, will ye
go back to your game again?  No, now they will strain
every nerve, and labour with might and main to open the door,
only to find that it is all too late for them to escape.
So many of our hearers are saying, "Oh, yes! what the
preacher says is well enough, but you know we can repent
whenever we like; we have power to obtain the grace of
God whenever we please; we know the way; have we not
been told over and over again simply to trust Christ?and we can do that whenever we please-we are safe
enough." Ah, but suppose you cannot believe wheneveryou
please?  Suppose the day shall come when you shall call
upon the Lord, and  he will not answer; when you
shall stretch out your hand, but no man shall regard! Suppose you should one day cry, " Lord, Lord, open to us," and the
answer should be, "I never knew you, depart, ye cursed!"
O procrastinator, if you think that you can repent now, why
doyou not repent now? You believe that you have full power
to do so! Oh, do it, do it, and do not trifle with that power,
lest when the power is gone, you find, too late, that in one sense
you never possessed it!
CENS0IOUSNESS-Who most Guilty of.
PEDLEY, who was a well-known natural simpleton, was
wont to say, " God help the fool." None are more ready to
pity the folly of others than those who have a small share of
wit themselves. "There is no love among Christians," cries
the man who is destitute of true charity. " Zeal has vanished,"
exclaims the idle talker. "0 for more consistency," groans
out the hypocrite. "We want more vital godlihess," protests




MY NOTE BOOIK.                  25
the false pretender. As in the old legend, the wolf preached
against sheep-stealing, so very many hunt down those sins in
others which they gladly shelter in themselves.
CHANGE-Love of.
IT will be found that they are the weakest-minded and the
hardest-hearted men that most love variety and change; for the
weakest-minded are those who both wonder most at things new,
and digest worst things old; in so far that everything they
have lies rusty, and loses lustre from want of use. Neither
do they make any stir among their possessions, nor look
over them to see what may be made of them, nor keep any
great store, nor are householders with storehouses of things
new and old; but they catch at the new-fashioned garments,
and let the moth and thief look after the rest; and the
hardest-hearted men are those that least feel the endearing
*and binding power of custom, and hold on by no cords of
affection to any shore, but drive with the waves that cast up
mire and dirt.- 7ohn Ruskin.
CHARITY-Spies out the Good Points in all.
MR. Jameson says, " The following beautiful epilogue
had a powerful effect on my mind:"-"Jesus," says the
story, "arrived one evening at the gates of a certain city,
and he sent his disciples forward to prepare supper while he
himself, intent on doing good, walked through the streets into
the market-place.  And he saw, at the corner of the market,
some people gathered together looking at some object on the
ground; and he drew near to see what it might be. It was a
dead dog with a halter round his neck, by which he appeared
to have been dragged through the dirt; and a viler, a more
abject, a more unclean thing never met the eyes of man. And
those who stood by looked on with abhorrence.' Faugh!'
said one, stopping his nose,'it pollutes the air!''How long,'
said another,' shall this foul beast offend our sight?'' Look




26                  MY NOTE BOOK.
at his torn hide,' said a third,'one could not even cut a shoe
out of it.''And his ears,' said a fourth,'all draggled and
bleeding.'' No doubt,' said a fifth,'he has been hanged for
thieving.' And Jesus heard them, and looking down compassionately on the dead creature, he said,'Pearls are not
equal to the whiteness of his teeth.' Then the people turned
to him  with amazement, and  said among  themselves,' Who is this? This must be Jesus of Nazareth, for only he
could find something to pity and approve even in a dead
dog.' And, being ashamed, they bowed their heads before
him, and went each on his way."
"I can recall at this hour the vivid, yet softening and
pathetic, impression left on my fancy by this old Eastern
story. It gave me pain in my conscience, for it- seemed
thenceforward so easy and so vulgar to say satirical things,
and so much nobler to be benign and merciful; and I took
the lesson so home that I was in great danger of falling into
the opposite extreme-of seeking the beautiful even in the
midst of the corrupt and the repulsive."
CHILDREN-Perseverance Needed in Teaching.
IN dibbling beans the old practice was to put three in each
hole: one for the worm, one for the crow, and one to live and
produce the crop. In teaching children, we must give line
upon line, and precept upon precept, repeating the truth
which we would inculcate, till it becomes impossible for
the child to forget it. We may well give the lesson once
expecting the child's frail memory to lose it; twice, reckoning
that the devil, like an ill bird, will steal it; thrice, hoping that
it will take root downward, and bring forth fruit upward to
the glory of God.
CHILDREN-their Future.
IN the early French revolution, the schoolboys of Bourges,
from twelve to seventeen years of age, formed themselves into




MY NOTE BOOK.                  27
Band of Hope. They wore a uniform, and were taught drill.
On their holidays, their flag was unfurled, displaying in shining
letters the sentence-" TREMBLEZ, TYRANS, NOUS GRANDIRONS!" (Tremble, Tyrants, we shall grow up!). Without
any charge of spurious enthusiasm, we may, in imagination,
hear the shouts of confidence and courage, uttered by the
young Christians of the future, as they say, "Tremble, O
enemy, we are growing up for God!"-Mr. S. R. Pattison's
Address at the Meeting of the Baptist Union, I869.
CHRIST-his Eye our Stimulus.
THERE is a touching fact related in a history of a Highland
chief, of the noble house of M'Gregor, who fell wounded by
two balls, at the battle of Prestonpans. Seeing their chief
fall, the clan wavered, and gave the enemy an advantage.
The old chieftain, beholding the effect of his disaster, raised
himself up on his elbow, while the blood gushed in streams
from his wounds, and cried aloud, "I am  not dead, my
children; I am looking at you to see you do your duty."
These words revived the sinking courage of his brave Highlanders. There was a charm in the fact that they still fought
under the eye of their chief. It roused them to put forth
their mightiest energies, and they did all that human strength
could do to turn and stem the dreadful tide of battle.
And is there not a charm to thee, O believer, in the fact that
you contend in the battle-field of life under the eye of your
Saviour? Wherever you are, however you are oppressed by
foes, however exhausted by the stern strife with evil, the eye
of Christ is fixed most lovingly upon thee. Nor is Jesus the
only observer of your conduct. You are also " a spectacle
unto angels." You are " compassed about by a cloud of witnesses."  Human and angelic minds, animated, the good by
love, and the evil by hate, are the spectators of your deeds.
Thus is the theatre of your life made sublime; and you contend for salvation under circumstances sufficiently grand, and




28                  MY NOTE BOOK.
with results before you sufficiently awful, to arouse your mo,
latent powers, and to stimulate you to strive bravely, vigor
ously, and perseveringly even unto victory.-D. Wise.
CHRIST-To be Followed above all.
IN a letter of Abelard to Eloisa, the following paragraph
occurs:-" I will be no philosopher, if so be I must needs
fight against St. Paul; I will be no Aristotle, if so be I be
separated from Christ." If all students were thus resolved to
hold with the great Teacher at all hazards, we should not see
such frequent victims of "philosophy, falsely so called."
Unlettered ignorance is a great evil, but learned ignorance is
worse, and such is all learning which decoys the heart from
Jesus.
CHRIST-Love of, Proved.
IN the French revolution, a young man was condemned to
the guillotine, and shut up in one of the prisons. He was
greatly loved by many, but there was one who loved him more
than all put together. How know we this? It was his own
father, and the love he bore his son was proved in this way:
when the lists were called, the father, whose name was exactly
the same as the son's, answered to the name, and the father
rode in the gloomy tumbril out to the place of execution, and
his head rolled beneath the axe instead of his son's, a victim
to mighty love. See here an image of the love of Christ to
sinners; for thus Jesus died for the ungodly.
CHRIST-the Soul's only Defence.
THERE is an ancient parable which says that the dove
once made a piteous complaint to her fellow birds, that
the hawk was a most cruel tyrant, and was thirsting for
her blood. One counselled her to keep below-but the
hawk can stoop for its prey; another advised her to soar aloft —




MY NOTE BOOK.                    29
put the hawk can Inount as high as she. A third bade her
hide herself in the woods, but alas! these are the hawk's own
estates, where he holds his court. A fourth recommended
aer to keep in the town, but there man hunted her, and she
feared that her eyes would be put out by the cruel falconer to
make sport for the hawk. At last one told her to rest herself
n the clefts of the rock, there she would be safe, violence
tself could not surprise her there.
The meaning is easy; reader, do not fail to catch it,
and to act upon it.  The dove is thy poor defenceless
soul.  Satan is thy cruel foe; wouldst thou not escape
from him?  Thy poverty cannot protect thee, for sin can
stoop to the poor man's level and devour him  in the
cottage, and drag him to hell from a hovel. Thy riches are
no security, for Satan can make these a snare to thee, and if
thou shouldst mount ever so high, the bird of prey can follow
thee and rend thee in pieces! The busy world with all its
cares cannot shelter thee, for here it is that the great enemy
is most at home; he is the prince of this world, and seizes
men who find their joys therein as easily as a kite lays hold
upon a sparrow. Nor can retirement secure you, for there
are sins peculiar to quietude, and hell's dread vulture soars
over lonely solitudes to find defenceless souls, and rend them
in pieces. There is but one defence. O may you and I fly
to it at once! Jesus was wounded for sin; faith in him saves
at once and for ever.
CHRIST JESUS-the Marrow of Theology.
THE late venerable and godly Dr. Archibald Alexander, of.
Princeton, United States, had been a preacher of Christ for
sixty years, and a professor of divinity for forty. He died on
the 22nd October, I85I. On his death-bed, he was heard to
say to a friend, "All my theology is'reduced to this narrow  compass-Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners."




30                  MY NOTE BOOK.
CHRIST-our only Hope.
ON a huge cross by the side of an Italian highway hung a
hideous caricature of the Beloved of our souls, who poured
out his life for our redemption. Out of reverence to the
living Christ we turned aside, disgusted from the revolting
image, but not until we had espied the words SPES UNICA,
in capitals over its head. Here was truth emblazoned on an
idol. Yes, indeed, Jesus, our now exalted, but once crucified
Lord is the sole and only hope of man. Assuredly, O Lord
Jesus, thou art spes unica to our soul.
"Other refuge have we none,
Hangs our helpless soul on thee."
We found this diamond in the mire of superstition: does it
sparkle any the less?
CHRIST-our only Rest.
MY heart can have no rest, unless it leans on Jesus Christ
wholly, and then it feels his peace. But I am apt to leave
my resting-place, and when I ramble from it, my heart will
quickly brew up mischief. Some evil temper now begins to
boil, or some care would fain perplex me, or some idol wants
to please me, or some deadness or some lightness creeps upon
my spirit, and communion with my Saviour is withdrawn.
When these thorns stick in my flesh, I do not try, as heretofore, to pick them out with my own needle, but carry all
complaints to Jesus, casting every care upon him. His office
is to save, and mine to look for help.-John Berridge.
CHRIST-Riches of his Grace.
SIR Richard Whittington entertained King Henry V. at
the Guildhall with unparalleled magnificence. The braziers
in the hall were supplied with logs of rare, sweet-scented
wood for fuel; but they burned with a far more delicious
fragrance when the noble citizen bringing forth the king's




MY NOTE BOOK.                     31
bonds for the repayment oithe large sum of  60o,ooo (equal
to ~90oooo nbw), thrust them into the blazing fire, saying, that
he was too happy thus to discharge the king's obligations.
When the handwriting which was against us is put away, we
receive a choice mercy indeed. That blessed fire of Christ's
most fragrant sufferings hath consumed all his people's sins;
this is royal bounty with an emphasis.
CHRIST-Sympathy with his People.
" IF," says Augustine, "a man should come up to embrace
thee, to kiss and honour thee upward, and beneath with a
pair of shoes beaten full of nails, tread upon thy bare foot;
the head shall despise the honour done unto it, and for the
foot that smarteth, say, Why treadest thou upon me? So
when feigned gospellers honour Christ our Head, sitting in
heaven, and oppress his members on earth, the Head shall
speak for the feet that smart, and say, Why treadest thou on
me?" Paul had a zeal toward God, but he did tread upon
Christ's feet on earth, for whom the Head crieth forth of
heaven, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Although
Christ sitteth on the right hand of his Father, yet lieth he on
earth; he suffereth all calamities here on earth, he is many
times evil entreated here on earth.-Bernard Gilpin.
CHRIST-the Preacher's Theme.
THE pulpit is intended to be a pedestal for the cross,
though, alas! even the cross itself, it is to be feared, is sometimes used as a mere pedestal for the preacher's fame. We
may roll the thunders of eloquence, we may dart the coruscations of genius, we may scatter the flowers of poetry, we may
diffuse the light of science, we may enforce the precepts of
morality, from the pulpit; but if we do not make Christ the
great subject of our preaching, we have forgotten our errand,
and shall do no good. Satan trembles at nothing but the
cross: at this he does tremble; and if we would destroy his




32                 MY NOTE BOOK.
power, and extend that holy and.benevolent kingdom, whicl
is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, it must be
by means of the CROSS. —. A. anames.
CHRIST-the Preacher's great Theme.
THE best sermon is that which is fullest of Christ. A
Welsh minister, when preaching at the chapel of my dear
brother Jonathan George, was saying that Christ was the
sum and substance of the gospel, and he broke out into the
following story:-A young man had been preaching in the
presence of a venerable divine, and after he had done, he
foolishly went to the old minister and enquired, " What do you
think of my sermon, sir?"  "A very poor sermon indeed,"
said he. " A poor sermon!" said the young man, " it took me
a long time to study it."  "Ay, no doubt of it." "Why, then,
do you say it was poor; did you not think my explanation of
the text to be accurate? "Oh, yes," said the old preacher,
" very correct indeed." "Well, then, why do you say it is a
poor sermon? Didn't you think the metaphors were appropriate, and the arguments conclusive?"  "Yes, they were
very good, as far as that goes, but still it was a very poor
sermon."  "Will you tell me why you think it a poor
sermon? "   Because," said he, " there was no Christ in it."
"Well," said the young man, " Christ was not in the
text; we are not to be preaching Christ always, we must
preach what is in the text."- So the old man said, "Don't
you know, young man, that from  every town, and every
village, and every little hamlet in England, wherever it may
be, there is a road to London " " Yes," said the young man.
"Ah!" said the old divine, " and so from every text in Scripture there is a road to the metropolis of the Scriptures, that is
Christ. And, my dear brother, your business is, when you
get to a text, to say,'Now, what is the road to Christ?' and then
preach a sermon, running along the road towards the great
metropolis-Christ. And," said he, " I have never yet found




MY NOTE BOOK.                    33
[l text that had not a plain and direct road to Christ in it;
and if ever I should find one that has no such road, I will
make a road, I would go over hedge and ditch but I would
get at my Master, for a sermon is neither fit for the land nor
yet for-the dunghill, unless there is a savour of Christ in it."
CHRIST-Trophies of his Power.
BEFORE many a Popish shrine on the Continent one sees
exhibited a great variety of crutches, together with wax
models of arms, legs, and other limbs. These are supposed
to represent the cures wrought by devotion at that altar; the
memorials of the healing power of the saint. Poor miserable
superstition all of it, and yet what a reminder to the believer
in Jesus as to his duty and his privilege! Having pleaded at
the feet of Jesus, we have found salvation; have we remembered
to record this wonder of his hand? If we hung up memorials
of all his matchless grace, what crutches, and bandages, and
trophies of every sort should we pile together! Temper
subdued, pride humbled, unbelief slain, sin cast down, sloth
ashamed, carelessness rebuked. The cross has healed all
manner of diseases, and its honours should be proclaimed
with every rising and setting sun.
CHRIST-Welcoming Sinners.
WE are told that in stormy weather it is not unusual for
small birds to be blown out of sight of land on to the sea.
They are often seen by voyagers out of their reckoning and
far from the coast, hovering over the masts on weary wings
as if they wanted to alight and rest themselves, but fearing
to do so. A traveller tells us that on one occasion, a little
lark, which followed the ship for a considerable distance, was
at last compelled through sheer weariness to alight. He was
so worn out as to be easily caught. The warmth of the hand
was so agreeable to him that he sat down on it, burying his
little cold feet in his feathers, and looking about with his
3




34                  MY NOTE BOOK.
bright eye not in the least afraid, and as if feeling assurec
that he had been cast amongst good kind people whom he
had no occasion to be so backward in trusting. A touching
picture of the soul who is aroused by the Spirit of God and
blown out of its own reckoning by the winds of conviction;
and the warm reception which the weary little bird received
at the hands of the passengers conveys but a faint idea ol
that welcome which will greet the worn-out, sin-sick souls
who will commit themselves into the hands of the only Saviour,
CHRIST-With us in Trial.
ONE thing which contributed to make Caesar's soldier:
invincible was their seeing him always take his share it.
danger, and never desire any exemption from labour and
fatigue. We have a far higher incentive in the war for truth
and goodness when we consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.
CHRISTIAN-Manifest by his Life.
LONGFELLOW in his Hiawatha sings of"The pleasant watercourses,
You could trace them through the valley,
By the rushing in the Spring-time,
By the alders in the Summer,
By the white fog in the Autumn,
By the black line in the Winter."
So traceable are the lives of really gracious men and
women. They are not solicitous to be observed, but the
gracious "signs following" are sure to reveal them. Like
their Master they cannot be hid.
CHRISTIAN-Professor cannot be Neutral.
IT appears that Themistocles, when a boy, was full of
spirit and fire, quick of apprehension, naturally inclined to




MY NOTE BOOK.                    35
bold attempts, and likely to make a great statesman. His
hours of leisure and vacation he spent not, like other boys, in
idleness and play, but he was always inventing and composing
declamations, the subjects of which were either impeachments
or defences of some of his schoolfellows; so that his master
would often say, "Boy, you will be nothing common or indifferent, you will either be a blessing or a curse to the
community."  So remember, you who profess to be followers
of the Lord Jesus, that to you indifference is impossible; you
must bless the church and the world by your holiness, or you
will curse them both by your hypocrisy and inconsistency.
In the visible church it is most true that "no man liveth unto
himself, and no man dieth unto himself,"
CHRISTIAN-a Royal Personage.
A POOR but pious woman called upon two elegant young
ladies, who, regardless of her poverty, invited her to sit down
with them in the drawing-room, and entered into conversation
with her upon religious subjects. While thus employed, their
brother, a dashing youth, by chance entered, and appeared
astonished to see his sisters thus engaged.  One of them
instantly exclaimed, " Brother, don't be surprised; this is a
king's daughter, though she has not yet put on her fine
clothes."-Pioneer.
CHRISTIAN-What he should be.
A CHILD of God should be a visible Beatitude, for joy and
happiness, and a living Doxology, for gratitude and adoration.
CHRISTIAN'S LIFE-The Power of.
THERE is a spot on the Lago Lugano, where the song of
the nightingale swells sweetly from the thickets on the shore
in matchless rush of music, so that the oar lies motionless
and the listener is hushed into silent entrancement; yet we did
not see a single bird, the orchestra was as hidden as the notes




36                  MY NOTE BOOK.
were clear. Such is a virtuous life, and such the influence o.
modest holiness; the voice of excellence is heard when the
excellent themselves are not seen.
CHURCH-her Glory in Tribulation.
LOOKING from the little wooden bridge which passes over
the brow of the beautiful waterfall of Handeck, on the Grimsel,
one will at a certain hour of a bright day be surprised to see
a rainbow making an entire circle, surrounding the fall like a
coronet of gems, or a ring set with all the brilliants of the
jeweller. Every hue is there
"In fair proportion, running from the red
To where the violet fades into the sky."
We saw two such bows, one within the other, and we fancied
that we discovered traces of a third. We had looked upon such
a sight but once before, and were greatly delighted with "that
arch of light, born of the spray, and coloured by the sun." It
was a fair vision to gaze upon, and reminded us of the mystic
rainbow, which the seer of Patmos beheld, which was round
about the throne, for it strikes us that it was seen by John as
a complete circle, of which we see but the half on earth; the
upper arch of manifest glory we rejoice to gaze upon, but the
lower and foundation arch of the eternal purpose, upon which
the visible display of grace is founded, is reserved for our
contemplation in another world. When we read in the first
verse of the tenth chapter of Revelation, "I saw another
mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud:
and a rainbow was upon his head," it greatly assists the imagination to conceive of a many-coloured circlet, rather than
a semicircle.
We lingered long watching the flashing crystal, dashed
and broken upon a hundred craggy rocks, and tossed into
the air in sheets of foam, to fall in wreaths of spray; we




MY NOTE BOOK.                    37
iould not have tired for hours if we could have tarried to
dmnire the harmonious hues of that wheel within a wheel,
" Of colours changing from the splendid rose,
To the pale violet's dejected hue;",ut we were on a journey, and were summoned to advance.
ls we mounted our mule and rode silently down the pass,
mid the pine forests and the over-hanging mountains, we
ompared the little stream to the church of God, which in
eaceful times flows on like a village brook, quiet and obscure,
lessed and blessing others, but yet little known or considered
y the sons of men. Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus,
ire greater than all the waters of Israel, and the proud ones
of the earth despise that brook which flows "hard by the
oracle of God," because her waters go softly and in solitary
places; but when the church advances over the steeps of
opposition, and is dashed adown the crags of persecution,
then, in her hour of sorrow, her glory is revealed. Then she
lifts up her voice, like the sea, and roars as a boiling torrent,
quickening her pace till that mighty river, the river Kishon,
sweeps not with such vehemence of power. Her sons and
daughters are led to the slaughter, and her blood is cast
abroad, like the foam of the waters, but onward she dashes
with irresistible energy, fearing no leap of peril; and then it is
that the eternal God glorifies her with the rainbow of his
everlasting grace, makes the beauty of her holiness to shine
forth, and, in the patience of the saints, reveals a heavenly
radiance, which all men behold with astonishment. The
golden age of true religion is the martyr period; war breeds
heroes, and suffering unto blood in striving against sin draws
forth men of whom the world is not worthy. So far from
enduring loss by opposition, it is then that the cause of God
receives its coronation. The rainbow of the divine presence
in the fulness of majesty encircles the chosen people when
tribulation, affliction, and distress break them, as the stream




38                  MY NOTE BOOK.
is broken by the precipitous rocks adown which it boldly
casts itself, that its current may advance in its predestined
channel.  When, at any time, our forebodings foretell the
coming of evil times for the church, let us remember that before the Spirit revealed to the beloved disciple the terrible
beasts, the thundering trumpets, the falling stars, and the
dreadful vials, he bade him mark with attention that the
covenant rainbow was round about the throne. All is well, for
God is true.
CHURCH-To be Purged.
WHEN Oliver Cromwell was about to turn the Members o
Parliament out of their chamber, he pointed to the mace, and
cried, "Take away that bauble! " When HE shall come, who
will effectually purge the church, he will say much the same
of many ecclesiastical ornaments, now held in high repute.
Gowns, and altars, and banners, and painted windows, will
all go at one sweep with "take away those baubles." Nor
will the rhetorical embellishments and philosophies of modern
pulpits be any more tenderly dealt with. " Take away this
bauble" will be the signal for turning many a treasured folly
into perpetual contempt.
CIRCUMSTANCES.
HORACE SMITH truly and wittily remarks, " If a letter were
to be addressed to that most influential word, circumstances,
concluding thus-' I am, sir, your very obedient humble
servant,' the greater part of the world might subscribe it
without deviating from the strictest veracity."
COMING TO CHRIST-as a Sinner.
A GREAT monarch was accustomed on certain set occasions
to entertain all the beggars of the city. Around himwere placed
his courtiers, all clothed in rich apparel; the beggars sat at
the same table in their rags of poverty. Now it came to pass,
that on a certain day, one of the courtiers had spoiled his




MY NOTE BOOK.                   39
silken apparel, so that he dared not put it on, and he felt, " I
Lannot go to the king's feast to-day, for my robe is foul." He
sat weeping till the thought struck him, "To-morrow when
the king holds his feast, some will come as courtiers happily
decked in their beautiful array, but others will come and be
made quite as welcome who will be dressed in rags. Well,
well," said he, "so long as I may see the king's face, and sit at
the royal table, I will enter among the beggars." So without
mourning because he had lost his silken habit, he put on the
rags of a beggar, and he saw the king's face as well as if he:ad worn his scarlet and fine linen. My soul has done this
ull many a time, when her evidences of salvation have been
dim; and I bid you do the same when you are in like case:
if you cannot come to Jesus as a saint, come as a sinner;
only do come with simple faith to him, and you shall receive
joy and peace.
COMING TO CHRIST-as a Sinner.
IN one of the coal-pits of the north, while a considerable
number of the miners were down below, the top of the pit fell
in, and the shaft was completely blocked up. Those who
were in the mine, gathered to a spot where the last remains of
air could be breathed. There they sat and sang and prayed
after the lights had gone out because the air was unable to
support the flame. They were in total darkness, but a gleam
of hope cheered them when one of them said he had heard
that there was a connection between that pit and an old pit
which had been worked years ago. He said it was a long
passage through which a man might get by crawling all
the way, lying flat upon the ground; he would go and
see if it were passable.  The passage was very long,
but they crept through it, and at last they came out
to light at the bottom  of the other shaft, and their
lives were saved,
If my present way of access to Christ as a saint is blocked




40                 MY NOTE BOOK.
up by doubts and fears, if I. cannot go straight up the shaft
and see the light of my Father's face, there is an old working,
the old-fashioned way by which sinners have gone of old,
by which poor thieves go, by which harlots go. I will creep
along it, lowly and humbly; I will go flat upon the ground.
I will humble myself till I see my Lord, and cry, " Father, I am
not worthy to be called thy son,, make me as one of thy hired
servants, so long as I may but dwell in thy house'" In our
very worst case of despondency we may still come to Jesus as
sinners. "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners."
Call this to mind, and you may have hope.
COMMUNION WITH CHRIST-its Inlfuence on our Views.
WHEN you have been sitting in a well-lighted room and
are suddenly called into the outer darkness, how black it
seems; and thus when a man has dwelt in communion with
God, sin becomes exceeding sinful, and the darkness in
which the world lieth appears like tenfold night.
COMMUNION WITH CHRIST —oy of.
No sooner do you pass the brow of the St. Gothard pass,
on your way to Italy, than you perceive that, beyond all
question, you are on the sunny side of the Alps. The snow
lying there is nothing in comparison to the vast accumulation
upon the Swiss side of the summit, the wind ceases to be
sharp and Lutting, and a very few minutes' ride brings you into
a balmy air which makes you forget that you are so greatly
elevated above the sea level. There is a very manifest difference
between the southern side and the bleak northern aspect.
He who climbs above the cares of the world, and turns his
face to his God, has found the sunny side of life. The world's
side of the hill is chill and freezing to a spiritual mind, but the
Lord's presence gives a warmth of joy which turns winter
into summer.  Some pilgrims to heaven appear never to
have passed the summit of religious difficulty; they are still




MY NOTE BOOK.                   41
toiling over the Devil's Bridge, or loitering at Andermatt, or
plunging into the deep snowdrifts of their own personal unworthiness, ever learning, but never coming to a full knowledge of the txith; they have not attained to a comfortable
perception of the glory, preciousness, and all-sufficiency of
the Lord Jesus, and therefore abide amid the winter of
heir doubts and fears. If they had but faith to surmount.heir spiritual impediments, how changed would everything
become! It is fair travelling with a sunny land smiling
before your eyes, especially when you retain a grateful remembrance of the bleak and wintry road which you have traversed;
but it is sorry work to be always stopping on the Swiss side
of the mountain. How is it that so many do this?
COMMUNION WITH GOD-Power of.
IN driving piles, a machine is used by which a huge weight
is lifted up and then made to fall upon the head of the pile. Of
course the higher the weight is lifted the more powerful is the
blow which it gives when it descends. Now, if we would tell
upon our age and come down upon society with ponderous
blows, we must see to it that we are uplifted as near to God as
possible. All our power will depend upon the elevation of our
spirits. Prayer, meditation, devotion, communion, are like
a windlass to wind us up aloft; it is not lost time which
we spend in such sacred exercises, for we are thus accumulating
force, so that when we come down to our actual labour for
God, we shall descend with an energy unknown to those
to whom communion is unknown.
COMMUNION OF SAINTS.
COMMUNION is strength, solitude is-weakness. Alone, the
fine old beech yields to the blast, and lies prone upon the
sward: in the forest, supporting each other, the trees laugh
at the hurricane. The sheep of Jesus flock together; the
social element is the genius of Christianity.




42                  MY NOTE BOOK.
COMUNION OF SAINTS.
WHAT the circulation of the blood is to the human body,
that the Holy Spirit is to the body of Christ which is the
church. Now, by virtue of the one life-flood, every limb of
the body holds fellowship with every other, and as long as
life lasts that fellowship is inevitable. If the hand be unwashed
the eye cannot refuse communion with it on that account; if
the finger be diseased the hand cannot, by binding a cord
around it, prevent the life-current from flowing. Nothing but
death can break up the fellowship, you must tear away the
member, or it must of necessity commune with the rest of the
body. It is even thus in the body of Christ; no laws can
prevent one living member of Christ from fellowship with
every other, the pulse of living fellowship sends a wave through
the whole mystical frame; where there is but one life, fellowship is an inevitable consequence. Yet some talk of restricted
communion, and imagine that they can practise it. If they be
alive unto God they may in mistaken conscientiousness deny
their fellow Christians the outward sign of communion, but
communion itself falls not under any rule or regulation of
theirs. Tie a red tape round your thumb and let it decree'
that the whole body is out of fellowship with it; the thumb's
decree is either ridiculously inoperative, or else it proves
injurious to itself. God has made us one, one Spirit quickens
us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with
his Son Jesus; to deny fellowship with any believer in Jesus
is to refuse what you must of necessity give, and to deny in
symbol what you must inevitably render in reality.
CONSCIENCE-Hardening.
IT is a very terrible thing to let conscience begin to grow
hard, for it soon chills into northern iron and steel. It
is like the freezing of a pond. The first film of ice is scarcely
perceptible; keep the water stirring and you will prevent the
frost from hardening it; but once let it film over and remain




MY NOTE BOOK.                    43
luiet, the glaze thickens over the surface, and it thickens
still, and at last it is so firm that a waggon might be drawn
over the solid ice. So with conscience, it films over gradually,
until at last it becomes hard and unfeeling, and is not crushed
even with ponderous loads of iniquity.
CONSECRATION.
TRAVELLERS have said that they have discovered gardens
of Solomon, which were of old enclosed as private places
wherein the king walked in solitude; and they have also found
wells of a most deliciously cold water, dexterously covered,
so that no person unacquainted with the stone in the wall,
which either revolved or slid away with a touch, could have
found the entrance to the spring. At the foot of some lofty
range of mountains a reservoir received the cooling streams
which flowed from melted snows; this reservoir was carefully
guarded and shut out from all common entrance, in order that
the king alone might enter there, and might refresh himself
during the scorching heats. Such is the Christian's heart.
It is a spring shut up, a fountain sealed, a garden reserved
for Jesus only. O come, Great King, and enjoy thy possessions.
CONSISTENCY.
MILTON excuses Oliver Cromwell's want of bookish application in his youth thus:-" It did not become that hand to
wax soft in literary ease which was to be inured to the use of
arms and hardened with asperity; that right arm to be softly
wrapped up among the birds of Athens, by which thunderbolts
were soon afterwards to be hurled among the eagles which
emulate the sun."
Carnal ease and worldly wisdom are not becoming in the
soldier of Jesus Christ. He has to wrestle against principalities
and powers, and has need of sterner qualities than those
which sparkle in the eyes of fashion or adorn the neck of
elegance.




44                  MY NOTE BOOK.
CONSISTENCY.
"I SHALL not attend Sabbath-school any more," said a
young girl to one of her class. " Why not?" asked her friend.
" Because my mother is going to send me to the dancingschool, and I think it very inconsistent to attend both at the
same time." Children are sure to reason, if their parents do
not. " Lead us not into temptation," let children pray; for are
they not often led there?
CONTENTMENT.'
MAKING a day's excursion from Botzen in the Tyrol, we
went along the very narrowest of roads, mere alleys, to which
our country lanes would be turnpike roads. Well, you may
be sure that we did not engage an ordinary broad carriage,
for that would have found the passage as difficult as the
needle's eye to the camel; but our landlord had a very narrow
chaise for us, just the very thing for threading those fourfeet passages. Now, I must make you hear the moral of it,
you fretful little gentlemen. When you have a small estate,
you must have small wants, and by contentment suit your
carriage to your road.  "Not so easy," say you?  "Very
necessary to a Christian," say I.
CONVERSATION.
IN Andrew Fuller's diary is the following entry:" Jan. 3, 1782. This afternoon being on a visit, as I stepped
aside from the company, I overheard one of them saying,'I
love Mr. Fuller's company, it is so diverting.'This expression
moved me much. Oh, wretch that I am! Is this to have my
speech seasoned with grace? O Lord, forgive me! Some
humbling thoughts for the above in prayer."
"4. Tender this morning in remembering the above circumstance. Lord, make me more spiritual in time to come."
CONVERSATION-Edifying.
THE Spaniards in Chili believed that no water was so




MY NOTE BOOK..                 45
Wholesome or of so delicate a flavour as that which flowed
through veins of gold; certainly no conversation is so edifying
to the hearers as that which pours forth from a heart stored
with sacred knowledge, sanctified experience, devout contemplations, and such like precious treasures.
CONVERSION-a Radical Change.
I PASSED by a piece of common Which some lord of the
manor or other had been enclosing, as those rascals always
will if they can, to rob the poor of their rights, and filch every
morsel of green grass upon which we may freely plant our
feet; but I noticed that the enclosers had only railed it round,
but had not dug it up, nor ploughed it, nor planted it; and
though they had cut down the gorse, it was coming up again;
of course it would, for it was a common still, and a bit of
fence or rail could not alter it; the furze would come peeping
up, and ere long the enclosure would be as wild as the heath
outside. But this is not God's way of working. When God
encloseth a heart that has laid common with sin, does he cut
down the thorns and the briers and then plant fir trees?
(Isaiah lv. I3.) No, no; but he so changeth the soil, that
from the ground itself, from its own vitality, there spontaneously starts up the fir tree and the myrtle. This is a
most wonderful result. You take a man and leave him at
heart the same godless man. You mend his habits; you
make him go to church, or to the meeting-house; you clothe
him; you break his wine bottle; you rinse his mouth out, so
that he does not talk so filthily; and altogether you say,
"He's now a respectable man."  Ah! but if these outward
respectabilities and rightnesses are only skin deep, you
have done nothing. At least, what you have done is no great
wonder; there is nothing in it to be proud of. But suppose
this man can be so changed, that just as freely as he was
wont to curse he now delights to pray, and just as heartily as
he -hated religion he now finds pleasure in it, and just as




46                  MY NOTE BOOK.
earnestly as he sinned he now delights to be obedient to the
Lord; ah! then, this is a wonder, a miracle which mal
cannot accomplish, a marvel which only the grace of God car
work, and which gives to God his highest glory.
CONVERSION-a Complete Surrender.
WHEN Henry VIII. had determined to make himself head
of the English Church, he insisted upon it that convocation
should accept his headship without limiting and modifying
clauses. He refused to entertain any compromises, and vowed
that "he would have no tantums," as he called them. Thus
when a sinner parleys with his Saviour he would fain have a
little of the honour of his salvation, he would save alive some
favourite sin, he would fain amend the humbling terms of
grace-but there is no help for it, Jesus will be all in all, and
the sinner must be nothing at all. The surrender must be
complete, there must be no tantums, but the heart must.
without reserve submit to the sovereignty of the Redeemer.
CONVERSIONS (Sudden)-not all Genuine.
FISH sometimes leap out of the water with great energy,
but it would be foolish to conclude that they have left the
liquid element for ever, in a moment they are swimming
again as if they had never forsaken the stream; indeed, it was
but a fly that tempted them aloft, or a sudden freak, the water is
still their home, sweet home. When we see long-accustomed
sinners making a sudden leap at religion, we may not make
too sure that they are converts; perhaps some gain allures
them, or sudden excitement stirs them, and if so they will be
back again at their old sins. Let us hope well, but let us not
commend too soon.
CONVICTION —of Sin.
THERE is something to be learned from the conduct of the
Papists to our sires. If any poor wretch recanted and so




MY NOTE BOOK.                    47
escaped the fire, they were accustomed to make him carry a
Cagot at the next burning, as if to let him see what he had
escaped, and make him  confess what he had deserved.
Depend upon it, conviction of sin is much like this carrying
of the fagot. Well do I remember when I felt the sentence
of death within me, and trembled lest it should be executed:
my conscience was a minor hell, a fagot of the pile of Tophet.
But, blessed be God, we are thus judged and sentenced in
ourselves that we may not be condemned with the world.
We bear the fagot that we may not be burned with it.
CORRUPTIONS-Hard to Die.
A CAT once sprang at my lips while I was talking, and bit
me savagely. My friend in whose house it occurred, decreed
that the poor creature should die. The sentence he executed
personally, to the best of his ability, and threw the carcase away.
To his surprise, the cat walked into the house the next day.
Often and often have I vowed death to some evil propensity, and have fondly dreamed that the sentence was
fulfilled, but alas! in weaker moments I have had sad cause
to know that the sinful tendency still survived.
CORRUPTIONS-Hated by the Saints.
WHEN Venice was in the hands of the Austrians, those
alien tyrants swarmed in every quarter; but the Venetians
hated them to the last degree, and showed their enmity upon
all occasions. When the Austrian officers sat down at any
of the tables in the square of St. Mark, where the Venetians
delight on summer evenings to eat their ices and drink their
coffee, the company would immediately rise and retire,
showing by their withdrawal that they abhorred their oppressors. After this fashion will every true Christian treat his
inbred sins; he will not be happy under their power, nor
tolerate their dominion, nor show them favour. If he cannot
expel them, he will not indulge them.




48                 AMY NOTE BOOK.
CORRUPTIONS-Indulgence of.
THE man of the world in the olden time bowed to th(
fallen statue of Jupiter, by way of bespeaking the favour o:
the god in the event of his being again lifted on his pedestal.
What are those provisions for the flesh, which too many
Christians so readily make, but a kind of homage to the old
man whom they profess to have renounced?
CORRUPTIONS-Overcome by Grace.
MY gardeners were removing a large tree which grew near
a wall, and as it would weaken the wall to stub up the roots,
it was agreed that the stump should remain in the ground.
But how were we to prevent the stump from sprouting, and so
disarranging the gravel-walk. The gardener's prescription
was, to cover it with a layer of salt. I mused awhile, and
thought that the readiest way to keep down my ever-sprouting
corruptions in future would be to sow them well with the salt
of grace. 0 Lord, help me so to do.
CORRUPTIONS-Overcome Gradually.
WHEN Sir Christopher Wren was engaged in demolishing
the ruins of old St. Paul's in order to make room for his new
cathedral, he used a battering-ram with which thirty men
continued to beat upon a part of the wall for a whole day.
The workmen, not discerning any immediate effect, thought
this a waste of time; but Wren, who knew that the internal
motion thus communicated must be operating, encouraged
them to persevere. On the second day, the wall began to
tremble at the top, and fell in a few hours. If our prayers
and repentances do not appear to overcome our corruptions,
we must continue still to use these gracious battering-rams,
for in due time by faith in Jesus Christ the power of evil shall
be overthrown. Lord, enable me to give hearty blows by the
power of thy Holy Spirit until the gates of hell in my soul
shall be made to totter and fall.




MY NOTE BOOK.                     49
IORRUPTIONS-Strengthened by Habit.
IN preparing places for planting new trees, the diggers
ound it needful in certain spots to lay aside the spade and
Ise the pick-axe. In those positions there had been a well-,ravelled carriage road, and hence it was hard to deal with it.
How often, when we are under sanctifying influences, do we
fnd certain hard points of our character which are not
touched by ordinary influences; these are most probably sins
in which we have become hardened, tracks worn by habitual
transgression. We must not wonder if the severest processes
of affliction should be tried upon us, if the pick-axe is used
instead of the spade, that our stony places may yet yield soil
for the plants of grace and holiness,
CORRUPTIONS-Seen even in Solitude.
GEORGE SHADFORD wrote:-" One day a friend took me
to see a hermit in the woods. After some difficulty we found
his hermitage, which was a little place like a hog-sty, built of
several pieces of wood, covered with bark of trees, and his
bed consisted of dry leaves. There was a narrow beaten path
about twenty or thirty yards in length by the side of it, where
he frequently walked to meditate."
"If one offered him food, he would take it, but if money
was offered him, he would be angry. If anything was spoken
which he did not like, he broke out into a violent passion.
He had lived in this cell seven cold winters, and after all his
prayers, counting his beads, and separating from the rest of
mankind, still corrupt nature was all alive within him. -
Alas! alas! what will it avail us whether we are in England
or Ireland, Scotland or America; whether we live amongst
mankind, or retire into a hermitage, if we still carry with us
our own hell, our corrupt evil tempers?  Without a new
heart and a right spirit, no condition can deliver a man from
the thraldom  of his sins.  Neither publicity nor solitude
avails anything until grace prevails with us. The devil can
4




G03      ~     MY NOTE BOOK.
tempt in the wilderness as well as in the crowd. We war
not hermitages but heavenly-mindedness.
CORRUPTIONS-Vitality of.
THE yew tree appears to renew itself out of its own decay
the decayed wood at the centre of an old yew is graduall'
formed into rich vegetable mould, and fresh verdure springs
from it. How like is this to our inward corruptions, whici
have a marvellous* vitality, so that one sin feeds upon th(
death of another. If we are cured of some one fault, we grow
proud of the amendment; or if we perceive ourselves to be in
the wrong and strive against the evil, we are too apt to despond
and become unbelieving. So pride and unbelief, two master
evils, grow out of the decay of other sins.
COURAGE-Strengthened by past Deliverances.
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, being in a dangerous storm in the
Thames, was heard to say," Must I who have escaped the
rage of the ocean, be drowned in a ditch!" Will you,
experienced saints, who have passed through a world of
tribulation lie down and die of despair, or give up your
profession because you are at the present moment passing
through some light affliction? Let your past preservation
inspire you with courage and constrain you to brave all storms
for Jesus' sake.
COVETOUSNESS.
COVETOUS men must be the sport of Satan, for their grasping avarice neither lets them enjoy life nor escape from the
second death. They are held by their own greed as surely as
beasts with cords, or fish with nets, or men with chains.
They may be likened to those foolish apes which in some
countries are caught by narrow-necked vessels; into these
corn is placed, the creatures thrust in their hands, and when
they have filled them they cannot draw out their fists unless




MY NOTE BOOK.                   51
they let go the grain; sooner than do this they submit to be
captured. Are covetous men then so like to beasts? Let them
ponder and be ashamed.
COVETOUSNESS-its Insidiousness.
BEWARE of growing covetousness, for of all sins this is one
of the most insidious. It is like the silting up of a river. As the
stream comes down from the land, it brings with it sand and
earth, and deposits all these at its mouth, so that by degrees,
unless the conservators watch it carefully, it will block itself
up, and leave no channel for ships of great burden. By daily
deposit it imperceptibly creates a bar which is dangerous to
navigation. Many a man when he begins to accumulate
wealth commences at the same moment to ruin his soul, and
the more he acquires, the more closely he blocks up his liberality,
which is, so to speak, the very mouth of spiritual life. Instead
of doing more for God he does less; the more he saves the
more he wants, and the more he wants of this world the less he
cares for the world to come.
CUTTLE-FISH-Persons who Resemble a.
IT was an old Pythagorean maxim, "Sepiam ne edito,"
" never eat the cuttle-fish." The cuttle-fish has the power of
emitting a black-liquid which dyes the water and enables it
to conceal itself. Have nothing to do with those who darken all
around them that they themselves may be unseen; honest men
love light, and only the evil find darkness to be congenial.
When an author is too obscure to be understood, leave him
till he knows how to write; when a preacher is mystical,
high-flown, sophistical, shun him, for it is most likely he
labours to conceal some latent heresy; when a man's policy
is deep and artful, flee from him, for he means no good. No
deceiver or double-tongued man must be admitted within the
circle of your confidence. Remember the advice, never eat a
cuttle-fish.




52                  MY NOTE BOOK.
DANCING.
WHEN I hear of a dancing party I feel an uneasy sensation
about the throat, remembering that a far greater preacher had
his head danced off in the days of our Lord. However pleasing
the polkas of Herodias might be to Herod, they were death
to John the Baptist. The caperings and wantonings of the
ball-room are death to the solemn influences of our ministry,,
and many an ill-ended life first received its bent for evil amid
the flippancies of gay assemblies met to trip away the hours.
DANGER-of the Christian.
WHEN the instructed Christian sees his surroundings, he
finds himself to be like a defenceless dove flying to her nest
while against her tens of thousands of arrows are levelled.
The Christian life is like that dove's anxious flight, as it
threads its way between the death-bearing shafts of the
enemy, and by constant miracle escapes unhurt. The enlightened Christian sees himself to be like a traveller, standing
on the narrow summit of a lofty ridge; on the right hand and
on the left are gulfs unfathomable, yawning for his destruction;
if it were not that by divine grace his feet are like hinds' feet,
so that he is able to stand upon his high places, he would
long ere this have fallen to his eternal destruction.
DAY BY DAY.
A  CELEBRATED modern writer says, "Take care of the
minutes, and the hours will take care of themselves."  This
is an admirable remark, and might be very seasonably
recollected when we begin to be " weary in well-doing," from
the thought of having much to do. The present moment is
all we have to do with in any sense; the past is irrecoverable;
the future is uncertain; nor is it fair to burthen one moment
with the weight of the next. Sufficient unto the moment is
the trouble thereof. If we had to walk a hundred miles, we
should still have to set but one step at a time, and this process




MY NOTE BOOK.                   53
continued would infallibly bring us to our journey's end.
Fatigue generally begins, and is always increased, by calculating in a minute the exertion of hours. Thus, in looking
forward to future life, let us recollect that we have not to sustain all its toil, to endure all its sufferings, or encounter all
its crosses at once. One moment comes laden with its own
little burthens, then flies, and is succeeded by another no
heavier than the last; if one could be borne, so could another,
and another. Even in looking forward to a single day, the
spirit may sometimes faint from an anticipation of the duties,
the labours, the trials to temper and patience, that may be
expected. Now, this is unjustly laying the burthen of many
thousand moments upon one.- Youth's Magazine for November, I819.
DAY BY DAY.
A PERSON says, " I cannot understand how I am to get
along when I leave my father's house." Why should you see
it till that time comes? What if a person going on a journey
of five years should undertake to carry provisions, and clothes,
and gold enough to last him during the whole time, lugging
them as he travelled, like a veritable Englishman, with all
creation at his back! If he is wise he will supply himself at
the different points where he stops. When he gets to London,
let him buy what he needs there; when he gets to Paris, let
him buy what he needs there; when he gets to Rome, let him
buy what he needs there; and when he gets to Vienna,
Dresden, Munich, St. Petersburg, and Canton, let him buy
what he needs at these places! He will find at each of them,
and all the other cities which he visits, whatever things he
requires. Why, then, should he undertake to carry them
around the globe with him? It would be the greatest folly
imaginable. And as to gold, why should he load down his
pockets with that? Let him take a circular letter of credit,
which is good, yet not usable till he arrives at the places




4d4                  MY NOTE BOOK.
where he needs it. When he gets to London, let him presen
it to Baring Brothers; when he gets to Paris, let him presen:
it to the Rothschilds. And as he proceeds, let him place it
in the hands of the bankers of the various places at which he
stops; and he will get the means for prosecuting his journey.
Now God gives every believer a circular letter of credit for
life, and says, "Whenever you get to a place where you need
assistance, take your letter to the Banker, and the needed
assistance will be given you."-Henry Ward Beecher.
DEATH.
"PAID the debt of nature."  No; it is not paying a debt;
it is rather like bringing a note to the bank to obtain solid
gold in exchange for it. In this case you bring this cumbrous
body which is nothing worth, and which you could not wish
to retain long; you lay it down, and receive for it from
the eternal treasures-liberty, victory, knowledge, rapture.Foster.
DEATH.
THE hour of death may be fitly likened to that celebrated
picture in the National Gallery, of Perseus holding up the
head of Medusa. That head turned all persons into stone
who looked upon it. There is a warrior represented with a
dart in his hand; he stands stiffened, turned into stone, with
the javelin even in his fist. There is another with a poignard
beneath his robe, about to stab; he is now the statue of an
assassin, motionless and cold. Another is creeping along
stealthily, like a man in ambuscade, and there he stands a
consolidated rock; he has looked only upon that head, and
he is frozen into stone. Such is death. What I am when
death is held before me, that I must be for ever. When my
spirit departs, if God finds me hymning his praise, I shall
hymn it in heaven; if he finds me breathing out oaths, I shall
follow up those oaths in hell.




MY NOTE BOOK.                    55
PEATI-of a Believer.
OLD Mr. Lyford being desired, a little before his death,
to let his friends know in what condition his soul was, and
what his thoughts were about that eternity to which he seemed
very near, he answered with a cheerfulness suitable to a
believer and a minister, " I will let you know how it is with
me;" and then, stretching out a hand that was withered and
consumed with age and sickness-"Here is," said he "thegrave,
the wrath of God, and devouring flames, the just punishment
of sin, on the one side; and here am I, a poor sinful soul, on
the other side; but this is my comfort, the covenant of grace
which is established on so many sure promises, has saved me
from all. There is an act of oblivion passed in heaven.  I
willforgive their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no
more. This is the blessed privilege of all within the covenant,
among whom I am one."-Fromn T. Rogers, on " Trouble of
Mind."
DEATH-Desired by few.
BURCKHARDT states, that although the Arabs are strict
predestinarians, yet when the plague visited Medina, many of
the townsmen fled to the desert, alleging as an excuse that
although the distemper was a messenger from heaven sent to
call them to a better world, yet being conscious of their own
unworthiness, and that they did not merit this special mark of
grace, they thought it more advisable to decline it for the
present, and make their escape from the town. If it really
came to the point with those of us who talk of longing for
death as a great deliverance, should we not cling to life?  It
is a question perhaps more easily asked than answered.
DEATH-Differently Viewed by different Characters.
IT is a blessed thing to know the Saviour, and to feel that
your soul is safe. You have been in a ship when it entered the




$3                 MY NOTE BOOK.
harbour, and you have noticed the different looks of the
passengers as they turned their eyes ashore. There was
one who, that he might not lose a moment's time, had got
everything ready for landing long ago; and now he smiles
and beckons to yonder party on the pier, who in their turn,
are so eager to meet him, that they almost press over the
margin of the quay; and no sooner is the gangway thrown
across, than he has hold of the arm of one, and another is
triumphant on his shoulder, and all the rest are leaping
before and after him on their homeward way. But there is
another, who showed no alacrity. He gazed with pensive eye
on the nearer coast and seemed to grudge that the trip was
over. He was a stranger going amongst strangers, and though
sometimes during the voyage he had a momentary hope that
something unexpected might occur, and that some friendly
face might recognise him in regions where he was going an
alien and an adventurer, no such welcoming face is there, and
with reluctant steps he quits the vessel, and- commits himself
to the unknown country. And now that everyone else has
disembarked, who is this unhappy man whom they have
brought on deck, and whom, groaning in his heavy chains, they
are conducting to the dreaded shore? Alas! he is a felon and
a runaway, whom they are bringing back to take his trial there;
and no wonder he is loath to land.
Now, dear brethren, our ship is sailing fast. We shall
soon hear the rasping of the shallows, and the commotion
overhead, which bespeak the port in view. When it comes
to that, how shall you feel? Are you a stranger, or a convict,
or are you going home? Can you say, " I know whom I have
believed"? Have you a Friend within the veil? And however much you may enjoy the voyage, and however much you
may like your fellow passengers, does your heart sometimes
leap up at the prospect of seeing Jesus as he is, and so being
ever with the Lord? —ames Hamilton, D.D.




MY NOTZ DOOK.                    57
pEATH-Peace in.
THE late Mr. Young of Jedburgh, was once visiting the
death-bed of an aged member of his congregation, who was
hourly looking for his last change. "Well, my friend," said
the minister, "how do you feel yourself to-day?"  "Very
weel, sir," was the calm and solemn answer, "Very weel, but;ust a wee confused wi' the flittin'."-Children's Missionary'ecordfor I 857.
DEATH-Realised.
WHEN Bernard Gilpin was privately informed that his
nemies had caused thirty-two  articles to be drawn up
igainst him  in the strongest manner, and presented to
Bonner, bishop of London, he said to his favourite domestic,
At length they have prevailed against me. I am accused
to the bishop of London, from whom there will be no escaping.
God forgive their malice, and grant me strength to undergo
the trial." He then ordered his servant to provide a long
garment for him, in which he might go decently to the stake,
and desired it might be got ready with all expedition. " For
I know not," says he, " how soon I may have occasion for it."
As soon as this garment was provided, it is said, he used to
put it on every day, till the bishop's messengers apprehended
him. It were well if we all thus realised to ourselves the
hour of our departure. We ought by anticipation to sleep in
our shrouds, and go to bed in our sepulchres. To put on our
cerements now is wisdom.
DEATH-its Revealing Power.
TO-DAY the world is like a masquerade. High carnival is
being held, and men wear their masks and dominoes, and
strut about, and we think that man a king, and this a mighty
Oriental prince, and this a haughty Indian chief. But the
time is over for the masque; daylight dawns; strip off your
garnishings; every one of you put on your ordinary garments.




58                 MY NOTE BOOK.
Who goes out to the unrobing-room with greatest confidence!
Why, the man who feels that his next dress will be a far mor
glorious vestment. Who shall go to that disrobing-room witi
the greatest tremor? Why, those who feel that the splendid
character they once wore will give place to beggary and
meanness; when for robes they shall have rags; for riches
poverty; for honour, shame; and for regal splendour, hissing
and reproach.  If any of our readers seem  to be wha
they are not, let them be wise enough to think of the spade
the shroud, and the silent dust; let every one among us nov
put his soul into the crucible, and as we shall test ourselves i:
the silence of the dying hour, so let us judge ourselves now.
DECISION FOR CHRIST.
AFTER the disgraceful defeat of the Romans, at the battle of
Allia, Rome was sacked, and it seemed as if, at any moment,
the Gauls might take the Capitol. Among the garrison was a
young man of the Fabian family, and on a certain day the
anniversary of a sacrifice returned, when his family had
always offered sacrifice upon the Quirinal Hill. This hill
was in the possession of the Gauls; but when the morning
dawned, the young man took the sacred utensils of his god,
went down from the Capitol, passed through the Gallic sentries, through the main body, up the hill, offered sacrifice, and
came back unharmed. It was always told as a wonder
among Roman legends. This is just how the Christian
should act when decision for Christ is called for. Though he
be a solitary man in the midst of a thousand opponents, let
him, at the precise moment when duty calls, fearless of all
danger, go straight to the appointed spot, do his duty, and
remember that consequences belong to God, and not to us.
I pray God that after this style we may witness for Christ.
DEEP THINGS —Understood by Experienced Men.
THE outlay in opening a mine is usually so great that the
Spaniards say, that to prepare a mine one must spend another




MY NOTE BOOK.                    59
line. To open up the hidden preciousness of the promises,
re need a mine of experience, and to gain this last a man
ieeds an inexhaustible mine of grace.
DESPONDENCY.
COLTON declares that in moments of despondency Shakepeare thought himself no poet; and Raphael doubted his
ight to be called a painter. We call such self-suspicions
norbid, and ascribe them to a hypochondriacal fit; in what
)ther way can we speak of those doubts as to their saintship,
ihich occasionally afflict the most eminently holy of the
lord's people!
DESPONDENCY-its quick Eye for Evils.
MY friend Smith told me, that once on a time he had
Mr. Jones to preach in his church. Smith's church holds
fifteen hundred people, and is perfectly filled by its congregation, of this circumstance Smith is pardonably proud.
When Mr. Jones preached, the church was quite crowded,
save that three seats (not pews, seats for a single person each)
were vacant in a front gallery. But so keen was Mr. Jones's
eye for darks, to the oblivion of lights, that after service he
merely said to Smith that he had remarked three seats empty
in the gallery. Not one thought or word had he for the
fourteen hundred and ninety-seven seats that were filled.
Smith was a little mortified. But by-and-by he remembered
that the peculiar disposition of Mr. Jones was one that would
inflict condign punishment upon itself. Then he was sorry
rather than angry. Yes, my friend, let us be glad if we have
an eye for thelights of life, rather than for its darks!-Autumn
Holidays of a Country Parson.
DESTITUTION-of London.
WE have no reason to congratulate ourselves on what we
are doing, if we only think of the great work which still




60                 MY NOTE BOOK.
remains undone. The reclaiming of men in this city is likdigging out those noble monuments of the past so lon,
buried amid the ruins of Nineveh. In excavating this vas
population you have as it were laid bare the head of a huge
winged bull, until you can observe that it has a human countenance and will well repay you for your toils. Are yoi
going to congratulate yourselves that you have succeede~
thus far? Why, there are the colossal feet, and the mighty
wings, and all the rest of the body; all these are to be uncovered from the ruins, and the whole mass uplifted from the
depth in which it lies imbedded. But, because you have don(
a little to bless London, and have brought a thousand, three
thousand, ten thousand to hear the word of God, are you to
sit down and say, "It is done." What is to be done with the
rest of the three millions? Where are the other tens of
thousands who are not hearing the word? Where is the
great outlying mass of our leviathan city?
DIGNITY OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER-to be Maintained.
ANTISTHENES, the founder of the sect of the Cynics, when
he was told that Ismenias played excellently upon the flute,
answered properly enough, "Then he is good for nothing
else, otherwise he would not have played so well." Such also
was Philip's saying to his son, when, at a certain entertainment, he sang in a very agreeable and skilful manner, " Are
you not ashamed to sing so well?" Even so, when one who
professes to be of the seed royal of heaven, is able to
rival the ungodly in their cunning, worldliness, merriment,
scheming, or extravagance, may they not blush to possess
such dangerous capacities?  Heirs of heaven have something better to do than to emulate the children of darkness.
DILIGENCE.
SELECT a large box and place in it as many cannon-balls
as it will hold, it is after a fashion full, but it will hold more if




MY NOTE BOOK.                   61,naller matters be found. Bring a quantity of marbles, very.any of these may be packed in the spaces between the
trger globes; the box is full now, but only full in a sense,
will contain more yet. There are interstices in abundance,
ito which you may shake a considerable quantity of small
hot, and now the chest is filled beyond all question, but yet
aere is room. You cannot put in another shot or marble,
iuch less another cannon-ball, but you will find that several
ounds of sand will slide down between the larger materials,
nd even then between the granules of sand, if you empty
onder jug there will be space for all the water, and for the
ame quantity several times repeated. When there is no
pace for the great, there may be room for the little; where
he little cannot enter, the less can make its way; and where
the less is shut out, the least of all may find ample room and
verge enough. Now, the diligent preacher may not be able
to preach more sermons, his engagement book is crowded.
He may not be able to offer more public prayers, or to
search the word of God more constantly; there is as much
time occupied with these things as could well be given to
them. Still there must be stray moments, occasional intervals and snatches, which might hold a vast amount of little
usefulnesses in the course of months and years. What a
wealth of minor good, as we may think it to be, might be
shaken down into the interstices of ten years' work, which
might prove to be as precious in result, by the grace of God,
as the greater works of the same period. Little fishes are
sweet, and these little works might possess in blessing what
they lacked in bulk.
DISCONTENT-Chronic with some,
" SOME people are never content with their lot, let what will
happen. Clouds and darkness are over their heads, alike
whether it rain or shine. To them every incident is an accident,
and every accident a calamity. Even when they have their




62                  MY NOTE BOOK.
own way, they like it no better than your way, and, indeed, co:
sider their most voluntary acts as matters of compulsio.
We saw a striking illustration the other day of the infirmit
we speak of in the conduct of a child, about three years ol(
He was crying because his mother had shut the parlol
door. " Poor thing," said a neighbour, compassionately, " yc
have shut the child out." " It's all the same to him," said tl
mother; "he would cry if I called him in and then shut tl
door. It is a peculiarity of that boy, that if he is left rathe
suddenly on either side of a door, he considers himself sh,
out, and rebels accordingly."  There are older children wl
take the same view of things."
DISPOSITION-Distorting.
How terribly bad looking-glasses distort the countenance
the man who looks into one of them sees his hair dishevelled,
his forehead smutty, his nose blotched, his eyes out of line,
and a dozen other imaginary mischiefs. How like to those
morbid, melancholy dispositions which pervert everything
into gloom, and compel the most lovely characters to write
bitter things against themselves! They may also be likened
to depraved judgments, which lead men to impute deformity to
perfection, and to censure even innocence itself. It were well
if all these good-for-nothing mirrors could be smashed to
atoms, and the truth-reflecting glass of the word of God hung
up in their places.
DIVINE GOODNESS-Unceasing.
IT is by no means pleasant when reading an interesting
article in your magazine to find yourself pulled up short with
the ominous words, " to be continued." Yet they are words
of good cheer if applied to other matters. What a comfort
to remember that the Lord's mercy and lovingkindness is to
be continued! Much as we have experienced in the long
years of our pilgrimage, we have by no means outlived




MY NOTE BOOK.                     G3
ernal love.  Providential goodness is an endless chain, a
ream which follows the pilgrim, a wheel perpetually re)lving, a star for ever shining, and leading us to the place
here he is who was once a babe in Bethlehem. All the
olumes which record the doings of divine grace are but part
f a series to be continued.,OCTRINES-not for Controversy.
"A HUGE fragment of rock from an adjacent cliff fell upon
horizontal part of the hill below, which was occupied by
he gardens and vineyards of two peasants. It covered part
)f the property of each, nor could it be easily decided to
whom the unexpected visitor belonged: but the honest rustics
instead of troubling the gentlemen of the long robe with their
dispute, wisely resolved to end it by each party excavating the
half of the rock on his own grounds, and converting the whole
into two useful cottages, with comfortable rooms, and cellars
for their little stock of wine, and there they now reside with
their families. After such a sort will wise men deal with the
great doctrines of the gospel; they will not make them the
themes of angry controversy, but of profitable use. To fight
over a doctrine is sorry waste of time, but to live in the quiet
enjoyment of it is the truest wisdom."
DOCTRINES-Duplicate Nature of.
FIRST to the right, then to the left, the road was ever
ascending but always twisting, and thus, by easy marches,
we were able to reach the summit of the pass; a straight line
would have been shorter for the eagle's wing, but no human
foot could have followed it. Nobody called us inconsistent
for thus facing about; we kept the road, and no one could
complain.
If we honestly desire to gain the heights of divine truth,
we shall find many zigzags in the road: here our face




64                  MY NOTE BOOK.
will front divine sovereignty with all its lofty grandeur, a:
anon we shall turn in the opposite direction, towards tl
frowning peaks of human responsibility. What matters it
we appear to be inconsistent, so long as we keep to the higl
way of Scripture, which is our only safe road to knowledge
Angels may, perhaps, be systematic divines; for men
should be enough to follow the word of God, let its teaching
wind as they may.
DOCTRINES-False.
IN "Babbage's Economy of Manufactures," we are tol
that "some years since, a mode of preparing old clover an,
trefoil seeds, by a process called'doctoring,' became s(
prevalent as to attract the attention of the House of Comn
mons. By this process old and worthless seed was rendered
in appearance equal to the best. One witness tried some
doctored seed, and found that not above one grain in a hundred grew."
Is it not to be feared that a doctored gospel is becoming
very common among us, and if so it is no wonder that conversions are but few. Only pure truth is living seed.
DOCTRINES-False,
THERE are no greater foes to sheep than wild dogs. In
dome regions, sheep were no longer to be found, because
these fierce creatures utterly devoured the flocks. The church
has never had worse enemies than false teachers; infidels
and persecutors do but mild injury to her, but her heretical
preachers have been as evening wolves.
DOCTRINES OF GRACE.
OUR forefathers were very fond of clipping their plants and
training their flowers into quaint and grotesque forms; so
that we read of great guns wrought in rosemary and sweet
briers. He would have been very foolish who would have




MY NOTE BOOK.                     65!rembled at cannons which only shot forth flowers and darted
perfume. Let the poor trembler who is sincerely seeking
Jesus, rest assured that the seemingly dreadful doctrines of
election and predestination are not one whit more terrible,
and are far more sweetly fragrant.
DOCTRINES (Mysterious) —to be Believed.
THOSE huge boulders which lie along the valley of Storo in
the Tyrol, are of a granite unknown in the neighbourhood; they
must have come from a great distance. Now it might be hard to
explain the method by which they arrived in the valley, but it
would be absurd to deny that they are there. Most unaccountable is the fact, but a very strong and stubborn fact it is, for
there they lie, huge as houses, and yet perfectly alien to the
country. There are truths in Scripture which puzzle us, we
cannot understand their relation to other portions of revelation, they are mysteries, apparently alien to the spirit of other
passages. What then? Suppose we cannot account for them,
that does not alter the fact that there they are, and it would
be extreme folly to deny their existence because they puzzle
us. Rather let us find room for adoring faith where reason is
lost in wonder.
DOCTRINES-Ultra-Calvinistic.
GRIFFITHS says that travellers in Turkey carry with them
lozenges of opium, on which is stamped " mash Allah," the
gift of God. Too many sermons are just such lozenges.
Grace is preached but duty denied. Divine predestination is
cried up but human responsibility is rejected. Such teaching
ought to be shunned as poisonous, but those who by reason
of use have grown accustomed to the sedative, condemn all
other preaching, and cry up their opium lozenges of high
doctrine as the truth, the precious gift of God. It is to be
feared that this poppy-juice doctrine has sent many souls to
sleep who will wake up in hell.
5




66                   MY NOTE BOOK.
DOING GOOD-a Blessing to Ourselves.
IF we view this microcosm, the human body, we shall fini
that the heart does not receive the blood to store it up, bu'
while it pumps it in at one valve, it sends it forth at another
The blood is always circulating everywhere, and is stagnant
nowhere; the same is true of all the fluids in a health:
body, they are in a constant state of expenditure. If one cell
stores for a few moments its peculiar secretion, it only retains
it till it is perfectly fitted for its appointed use in the body;
for if any cell in the body should begin to store up its secretion, its store would soon become the cause of inveterate
disease; nay, the organ would soon lose the power to secrete
at all, if it did not give forth its products. The whole of
the human system lives by giving. The eye cannot say to
the foot, I have no need of thee, and will not guide thee; for
if it does not perform its watchful office, the whole man will
be in the ditch, and the eye will be covered with mire. If the
members refuse to contribute to the general stock, the whole
body will become poverty-stricken, and be given up to the
bankruptcy of death. Let us learn, then, from the analogy
of nature, the great lesson, that to get, we must give; that to
accumulate, we must scatter; that to make ourselves happy,
we must make others happy; and that to get good and
become spiritually vigorous, we must do good, and seek the
spiritual good of others.
DOUBTS-Foolish.
A CHRISTIAN once, in doubt and discouragement, considered the darkness that overspread her soul as a proof that
she was finally cast away. She stumbled over mole-hills
when she should have been removing mountains. To an old
minister who was trying to comfort her, with impassioned
emphasis she said, "Oh! I'm dead, dead, twice dead, and
plucked up by the roots! " After a pause, he replied, "Well,
sitting in my study the other day, I heard a sudden scream



MY NOTE BOOK.                   67
John's in the well! John's fallen into the well!' Before I
could reach the spot, I heard the sad and mournful cry,
John's dead-poor little Johnny's dead!' Bending over the:urb, I called out,' John, are you dead?'' Yes, grandfather,'
replied John,'I'm dead.' I was glad to hear it from his own
mouth."
Many doubts are so absurd that the only way to combat
them is by gentle ridicule.
DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS.
FARADAY notes that whilst at breakfast at Llangollen, he
heard a Welsh harper playing in very excellent style, and he
adds, "wishing to gratify myself with a sight of the interesting bard, I went to the door and beheld-the boots / I must
confess I was sadly disappointed and extremely baulked." It
is no small stumbling-block to souls when they observe that
professors who preach and talk like men inspired, live as
meanly as worldlings themselves.
DWARFS-Spiritual.
THERE was once in London a club of small men, whose
qualification for membership lay in their not exceeding five
feet in height; these dwarfs held, or pretended to hold, the
opinion that they were nearer the perfection of manhood than
others, for they argued that primeval men had been far more
gigantic than the present race, and consequently that the way
of progress was to grow less and less, and that the human
race as it perfected itself would become as diminutive as
themselves. Such a club of Christians might be established
in most cities, and without any difficulty might attain to an
enormously numerous membership; for the notion is common
that our dwarfish Christianity is, after all, the standard, and
many even imagine that nobler Christians are enthusiasts,
fanatical and hot-blooded, while they themselves are cool
because they are wise, and indifferent because they are
intelligent.




68                  MY NOTE BOOK.
EARNEST OF THE SPIRIT-the Pledge of Heaven.
IN the early times when land was sold, the owner cut a tui
from the greensward and cast it into the cap of the purchase
as a token that it was his; or he tore off the branch of a tre
and put it into the new owner's hand to show that he was er
titled to all the products of the soil; and when the purchase
of a house received seizin or possession, the key of the door
or a bundle of thatch plucked from the roof, signified that th
building was yielded up to him. The God of all grace ha
given to his people all the perfections of heaven to be thei
heritage for ever, and the earnest of his Spirit is to them th
blessed token that all things are theirs. The Spirit's work c
comfort and sanctification is a part of heaven's covenan
blessings, a turf from the soil of Canaan, a twig from the tree
of life, the key to mansions in the skies. Possessing the
earnest of the Spirit we have received seizin of heaven.
EDIFICATION-the Aim of Christian Speech.
WHEN Handel's oratorio of the "Messiah" had won the
admiration of many of the great, Lord Kinnoul took occasion
to pay him some compliments on the noble entertainment
which he had lately given the town. " My lord," said Handel,
"I should be sorry if I only entertained them; I wish to
make them better."  It is to be feared that many speechmakers at public meetings could not say as much; and yet
how dare any of us waste the time of our fellow immortals in
mere amusing talk! If we have nothing to speak to edification, how much better to hold our tongue!
ELECTION.
ANDREW FULLER remarks, in a letter to two relatives: " I
used to think that the doctrine of election was a reason why
we need not pray, and I fear there are many who split upon
this rock, who think it is to no purpose to pray, as things will
be as they will be. But I now see that the doctrine of election




MY NOTE BOOK.                   69
is the greatest encouragement instead of a discouragement to
prayer. He that decreed that any one should be finally saved,
decreed that it should be in the way of prayer; as much as he
that has decreed what we shall possess of the things of this
life, has decreed that it shall be in the way of industry; and
as we never think of being idle in common business, because
God has decreed what we shall possess of this world's good,
so neither should we be slothful in the business of our souls,
because our final state is decreed."
ENQUIRERS-not to be Discouraged.
AT the Synod of Moscow, held by King Goutran, A.D. 585,
bishops were forbidden to keep dogs in their houses, or birds
of prey, lest the poor should be bit by these animals instead of
being fed. Should not all ministers be equally concerned
to chase away all morose habits, angry tempers and repulsive
manners, which might discourage the approach of enquiring
souls who desire to know of us the way of salvation? Sundayschool teachers may also take the hint.
ETERNAL THINGS AND FLEETING.
AFAR off one can hardly tell which is mountain and which
is cloud. The clouds rise with peaks and summits, all apparently as solid, and certainly as glistening, as the snow-clad
Alps, so that the clearest eye might readily be deceived. Yet
the mountain is unsubstantial as the cloud, and the cloud is
never permanent as the mountain. So do the things of time
appear to be all-important, far-reaching and enduring, and
eternal things are not always of equal weight to the soul
with those nearer at hand. Yet, despite all our instinctive
judgments may suggest to the contrary, nothing earthly can
ever be lasting, nothing in time can be worth considering
compared with eternity. The cloudy philosophies of men
may assume the shape of eternal truth, but the wind shall




73                 MY NOTE BOOK.
scatter them, while the great mountains of the divine word
shall stand fast for ever and ever.
EVIDENCE-Experimental.
I HAVE been informed that not long ago a certain infidel
lecturer gave an opportunity to persons to reply to him after his
oration, and he was of course expecting that one or two rashly
zealous young men would rise to advance the common arguments for Christianity, which he was quite prepared, by hook
or crook, to battle with or laugh down. Instead of reasoners,an
old lady, carrying a basket, wearing an ancient bonnet, and
altogether dressed in an antique fashion, which marked both
her age and her poverty, came upon the platform. Putting
down her basket and umbrella, she began and'said, " I paid
threepence to hear of something better than Jesus Christ, and
I have not heard it. Now, let me tell you what religion has
done for me, and then tell me something better, or else you've
cheated me out of the threepence which I paid to come in.
Now," she said, "I have been a widow thirty years, and I was
left with ten children, and I trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ in
the depth of poverty, and he appeared for me and comforted
me, and helped me to bring up my children so that they have
grown up and turned out respectable. None of you can tell
what the troubles of a poor lone woman are, but the Lord
has made his grace all-sufficient.  I was often very sore
pressed, but my prayers were heard by my Father in heaven,
and I was always delivered. Now, you are going to tell me
something better than that-better for a poor woman like me!
I have been to the Lord sometimes when I've been very low
indeed, and there's been scarcely anything for us to eat, and
I've always found his providence has been good and kind to
me. And when I lay very sick, I thought I was dying, and
my heart was ready to break at leaving my poor fatherless boys
and girls, and there was nothing kept me up but the thought
of Jesus and his faithful love to my poor soul; and you tell




MY NOTE BOOK.                   71
mne that it was all nonsense. Those who are young and foolish
may believe you, but after what I have gone through I know
there is a reality in religion and it is no fancy. Tell me
something better than what God has done for me, or else, I
tell you, you have cheated me out of my threepence. Tell me
something better." The lecturer was a good hand at an argument, but such a mode of controversy was novel, and therefore
he gave up the contest, and merely said, "Really, the dear
old woman was so happy in her delusion he should not like to
undeceive her." "No," she said, "that won't do. Truth is
truth, and your laughing can't alter it. Jesus Christ has been
all this to me, and I could not sit down in the hall and hear
you talk against him without speaking up for him, and asking
you whether you could tell me something better than what
he has done for me. I've tried and proved him, and that's
more than you have."
Herein is power, logic invincible, reasoning not to be
gainsayed. The testing, and proving of God; getting his
love really shed abroad in the heart, this is the great internal
evidence of the gospel.
EVILS (little)-Making Way for Greater.
THE carpenter's gimblet makes but a small hole, but it
enables him to drive a great nail. May we not here see a
representation of those minor departures from the truth which
prepare the minds of men for grievous errors, and of those
thoughts of sin which open a way for the worst of crimes!
Beware, then, of Satan's gimblet.
EXAGGERATION.
IN certain ancient Italian frescoes Mary Magdalene is
drawn as a woman completely enveloped in her own hair,
which reaches to her feet and entirely wraps up her body as
in a seamless garment. These queer draughtsmen must needs
exaggerate; granted that the woman had long hair, they




72                  MY NOTE BOOK.
must enfold her in it like a silkworm in its own silk. The
practice survives among the tribe of talkers, everything with
them is on the enlarged scale; a man with ordinary abilities
is a prodigy, another with very pardonable faults is a monster.
a third with a few failings is a disgrace to humanity. Truth
is as comely and beautiful as a woman with flowing hair,
but exaggeration is as grotesque and ugly as the Magdalene,
all hair from head to foot.
EXCUSES.
BISHOP W-, we are told, was one day rebuking one of
of his clergy for fox-hunting. " My lord," was the clergyman's
answer, "every man must have some relaxation. I assure
you I never go to balls."  " Oh," said the bishop, " I perceive
you allude to my having been to the Duchess of S's
party, but I give you my word that I was never in the same
room with the dancers!" "My lord," responded the clergyman, "my horse and I are getting old, and we are never in
the same field with the hounds."  Thus each had satisfied
his conscience, because of some point beyond which he had
not gone.  What he had done was to be overlooked on
account of what he had not done. The habit of making
precisely similar excuses is all but universal; though we see
the absurdity of it in others we continue to practise it
ourselves.
EXPERIENCE.
A CHRISTIAN'S experience is like a rainbow, made up of
drops of the grief of earth, and beams of the bliss of heaven.
EXPERIENCE-Boasting of its Depth.
IN my house there is a well of extraordinary depth which
reminds me of something better than the boasted deep experience of certain censorious professors, who teach that to feel
sin within is the main thing, but to be delivered from it of




MY NOTE BOOK.                     73
Imall consequence. When this well was commenced, the
owner of the place resolved to have water, cost what it might.
The well-sinkers dug through mud, and clay, and stone, but
found no water; here was the deep experience of the corruptionist, all earth and no living spring, the filth revealed but
not removed, the leper discovered but not healed. Another
hundred feet of hard digging deep in the dark, but no waterstill deeper experience. Then a third hundred feet, and still
dirt, but no crystal-the very finest grade of your deeply experimental professor, who ridicules the joys of faith, as being
of the flesh and presumptuous. Still on, on, on went the
workers, till one day leaving their tools to go to dinner, upon
their return they found that the water was rising fast, and
their tools were drowned. Be this last my experience-to go
so deep as to reach the springs of everlasting love, and find
all my poor doings and efforts totally submerged, because the
blessed fountains of grace have broken in upon me, covering
all the mire, and rock, and earth of my poor, naturally evil
heart.
EXPERIENCE-Necessary to a Minister.
BUCHSEL says:-" Orthodoxy can be learnt from others;
living faith must be a matter of personal experience. The
Lord sent out his disciples, saying,'Ye shall testify of me,
because ye have been with me from the beginning.' He only
is a witness who speaks of what he has seen with his own
eyes, heard with his own ears, and handled with his own
hands. Orthodoxy is merely another form of rationalism, if
it be learnt from without."
EXPERIENCE-Teaching the Value of Grace.
IN the olden time when the government of England had
resolved to build a wooden bridge over the Thames at Westminster, after they had driven a hundred and forty piles into
the river, there occurred one of the most severe frosts in




74                  MY NOTE BOOK.
the memory of man, by means of which the piles were torn
away from their strong fastenings, and many of them snapped
in two. The apparent evil in this case was a great good; it
led the commissioners to reconsider their purpose, and a substantial bridge of stone was erected.
How well it is when the fleshly reformations of unregenerate men are broken to pieces, if thus they are led to fly
to the Lord Jesus, and in the strength of his Spirit are brought
to build solidly for eternity.  Lord, if thou sufferest my
resolves and hopes to be carried away by temptations and the
force of my corruptions, grant that this blessed calamity may
drive me to depend wholly on thy grace, which cannot fail me.
EXPERIENCE-Variety of.
RUSKIN, that most accurate observer, says:-" Break off
an elm-bough  three feet long, in full leaf, and lay it
on the table before you, and try to draw it, leaf for leaf.
It is ten to one if in the whole bough (provided you do not
twist it about as you work) you find one form of a leaf exactly
like another; perhaps you will not even have one complete.
Every leaf will be oblique, or foreshortened, or curled, or crossed
by another, or shaded by another, or have something or other
the matter with it; and though the whole bough will look
graceful and symmetrical, you will scarcely be able to tell how
or why it does so, since there is not one line of it like another."
If such infinite variety prevails in creation, we may reasonably expect to find the same in the experience of the saints.
Uniformity is no rule of spiritual life.  Let us not judge
others because their feelings have not been precisely similar
to ours. All the saints are led in a right way, but no two of
them precisely in the same way. Far be it from us to set up
a standard and expect all to be conformed to it; if we reject
all believers who labour under infirmities, o.r are marred with
faults, our fellowship will be scant indeed.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   75
AITH.
THE stupendous Falls of Niagara have been spoken of
1 every part of the world; but while they are marvellous
o hear of, and wonderful as a spectacle, they have been
"ery destructive to human life, when by accident any have
)een carried down the cataract.  Some years ago, two
ren, a bargeman and a collier, were in a boat and
)und themselves unable to manage it, it being carried so
Wiftly down the current that they must both inevitably be
orne down and dashed to pieces. At last, however, one
nan was saved by floating a rope to him, which he,rasped. The same instant that the rope came into his hand,
a log floated by the other man. The thoughtless and confused bargeman, instead of seizing the rope, laid hold on the
log. It was a fatal mistake, they were both in imminent
peril, but the one was drawn to shore because he had a connection with the people on the land, whilst the other, clinging
to the loose, floating log, was borne irresistibly along, and
never heard of afterwards. Faith has a saving connection
with Christ. Christ is on the shore, so to speak, holding the
rope, and as we lay hold of it with the hand of our confidence, he pulls us to shore; but our good works having no
connection with Christ are drifted along down to the gulf of
fell despair. Grapple our virtues as tightly as we may, even
with hooks of steel, they cannot avail us in the least degree;
they are the disconnected log which has no holdfast on the
heavenly shore.
FAITH.
THE Emperor Napoleon I. was reviewing some troops
upon the Place du Carrousel, in Paris; and, in giving an
order, he thoughtlessly dropped the bridle upon his horse's
neck, which instantly set off on a gallop. The emperor was
obliged to cling to the saddle. At this moment a common
soldier of the line sprang before the horse, seized the bridle,




76                   MY NOTE BOOK.
and handed it respectfully to the emperor. " Much obligea
to you, captain," said the chief, by this one word making the
soldier a captain.  The man believed the emperor, and,
saluting him, asked, " Of what regiment, sire?" Napoleon.
charmed with his faith, replied, "Of my guards!" and galloped
off.
Now, what will the soldier do? If he imitates those who
before believing wish to see and feel, and like the apostle
Thomas wait for palpable proof before relying upon testimony, he will say, " a captain of the guard always wears a
captain's uniform, and mine is only that of a common soldier.
I cannot, therefore, believe myself a captain;" and the soldier
would return to the ranks. But if, on the contrary, he believes
fully and implicitly the emperor's word, and that his rank
as captain of the guard depends not upon the uniform he
wears, but that the uniform must be the consequence and
evidence of his rank (and this will be his thought if he honours
the emperor), he will not hesitate because of his dress, nor
will he return to the line. And such, indeed, was the conduct
of the man. As soon as the emperor left, the soldier laid
down his gun, saying, " He may take it who will," and instead
of returning to his comrades, he approached the group of
staff officers. On seeing him, one of the generals scornfully
said, "What does this fellow want here?"  "This fellow,"
replied the soldier proudly, " is a captain of the guard." " You?
my poor friend! You are mad to say so!" "He said it,"
replied the soldier, pointing to the emperor, who was still in
sight. " I ask your pardon, sir," said the general respectfully,
" I was not aware of it."
Here, then, was exhibited a manifold faith. Since first
the soldier believed the emperor, upon his word, because he
heard him (as the Samaritans said of the Saviour), and afterwards, on the soldier's word, the general believed the emperor.
You now see how a person may be sure that God gives
peace: it is by believing his testimony, just as this soldier




MY NOTE BOOK.                     77
believed that of his emperor. That is to say, as he believed
himself to be a captain before wearing his uniform; so on the
word and promise of God, one believes himself to be a child
of Jesus, before being sanctified  by his Spirit." —Ccsar
Malan, D.D.
FAITH-Appropriating.
I ONCE heard a father tell, that when he removed his
family to a new residence, where the accommodation was
much more ample, and the substance much more rich and
varied than that to which they had previously been accustomed,
his youngest son, yet a lisping infant, ran round every room,
and scanned every article with ecstacy, calling out, in childish
wonder at every new sight, " Is this ours, father? and is this
ours?"  The child did not say "yours," and I observed that
the father while he told the story was not offended with the
freedom. You could read in his glistening eye that the
infant's confidence in appropriating as his own all that his
father had, was an important element in his satisfaction.
Such, I suppose, will be' the surprise, and joy, and appropriating confidence, with which the child of our Father's
family will count all his own, when he is removed from the
comparatively mean condition of things present, and enters
the infinite of things to come.  When the glories of heaven
burst upon his view, he does not stand at a distance, like a
stranger, saying, "  God, these are thine." He bounds forward to touch and taste every provision which those blessed
mansions contain, exclaiming, as he looks in the Father's
face, " Father, this and this is ours."  The dear child is glad
of all the Father's riches, and the Father is gladder of his
dear child.-W. Arnot.
FAITH-a Death Grip.
A SEA captain related at a prayer-meeting in Boston a
short time ago a thrilling incident in his own experience.




78                 MY NOTE BOOK.
" A few years ago," said he, " I was sailing by the island o
Cuba, when the cry ran through the ship,'Man overboard!'
It was impossible to put up the helm of the ship, but 1
instantly seized a rope and threw it over the ship's sterr
crying out to the man to seize it as for his life. The sailo
caught the rope just as the ship was passing. I immediatel'
took another rope, and making a slip noose of it, attached i
to the other, and slid it down to the struggling sailor, ant
directed him to pass it over his shoulders and under his arms
and he would be drawn on board. He was rescued; but ht
had grasped that rope with such firmness, with such a death
grip, that it took hours before his hold relaxed, and his hanc
could be separated from it. With such eagerness, indeed,
had he clutched the object that was to save him, that the
strands of the rope became imbedded in the flesh of his
hands!"
Reader, has not God let down from  heaven a rope to
every sinner on the earth, is not every strand a precious
promise, and ought we not to lay hold on it as for our very
life?-The Family Treasury for I859.
FAITH-God's Regard for it.
A SWALLOW having built its nest upon the tent of Charles V.,
the emperor generously commanded that the tent should
not be taken down when the camp removed, but should remain
until the young birds were ready to fly. Was there such
gentleness in the heart of a soldier towards a poor bird which
was not of his making, and shall the Lord deal hardly with
his creatures when they venture to put their trust in him! Be
assured he hath a great love to those trembling souls that fly
for shelter to his royal courts.  He that buildeth his nest
upon a divine promise shall find it abide and remain until
he shall fly away to the land where promises are lost in
fulfilments.




MY NOTE BOOK.                        79
FAITH-God's Trial of.
AT the battle of Crescy, where Edward the Black Prince,
then a youth of eighteen years of age,-led the van, the
king, his father, drew up a strong party on a rising ground,
and there beheld the conflict in readiness to send relief where
it should be wanted. The young prince being sharply charged,
ind in some danger, sent to his father for succour; and as
the king delayed to send it, another messenger was sent to
crave immediate assistance. To him the king replied, " Go,
tell my son that I am not so inexperienced a commander as
not to know when succour is wanted, nor so careless a father
as not to send it." He intended the honour of the day should
be his son's, and therefore let him with courage stand to
it, assured that help should be had when it might conduce most to his renown. God draws forth his servants to
fight in the spiritual warfare, where they are engaged, not
only against the strongholds of carnal reason, and the exalted
imaginations of their own hearts, but also in the pitched field
against Satan and his wicked instruments. But they, poor
hearts, when the charge is sharp, are ready to despond, and
cry with Peter, " Save, Lord, we perish;" but God is too
watchful to overlook their exigencies, and too much a Father
to neglect their succour. If help, however, be delayed, it is
that the victory may be more glorious by the difficulty of
overcoming.
FAITH-Overcoming Temptation.
WHEN a traveller was asked whether he did not admire the
admirable structure of some stately building, " No," said he,
"for I've been at Rome, where better are to be seen every day."
0 believer, if the world tempt thee with its rare sights and
curious prospects, thou mayst well scorn them, having been,
by contemplation, in heaven, and being able, by faith, to see
infinitely better delights every hour of the day. " This is the
victory which overcometh the world, even our faith."




80                 MY NOTE BOOK.
FAITH-Stimulating Endeavour.
SEE the spider casting out her film to the gale, she feel
persuaded that somewhere or other it will adhere and forr
the commencement of her web.  She commits the slende
filament to the breeze believing that there is a place provide,
for it to fix itself. In this fashion shouldwe believinglycast fort
our endeavours in this life, confident that God will find a plac
for us. He who bids us pray and work will aid our efforts an
guide us in his Providence in a right way. Sit not still i
despair, O son of toil, but again cast out the floating threa
of hopeful endeavour, and the wind of love will bear it t
its resting place.
FAITH-the Summary of Virtue.
THE Jews in the Talmud have the saying, "The whole law
was given to Moses at Sinai, in six hundred and thirteen
precepts." David, in the fifteenth Psalm, brings them all
within the compass of eleven. Isaiah brings them to six,
Isaiah xxxiii. 15; Micah to three, Micah vi. 8; Isaiah, again,
to two, Isaiah lvi.; Habakkuk to this one, "The just shall
live by faith." Habakkuk ii. 4.-Lightfoot.
FAITH-Triumph of.
DURING an earthquake that occurred a few years since,
the inhabitants of a small village were generally very much
alarmed, but they were at the same time surprised at the
calmness and apparent joy of an old lady whom they all knew.
At length one of them, addressing the old lady, said: " Mother,
are you not afraid?" "No," said the mother in Israel; "I
rejoice to know that I have a God that can shake the world."
FAITH-and Works.'TWAS an unhappy division that has been made between
faith and works. Though in my intellect I may divide them,
just as in the candle I know there is both light and heat, but




MY NOTE BOOK.                   81
yet put out the candle, and they are both gone; one remains
not without the other: so it is betwixt faith and works. Nay,
in a right conception, fides est opus: if I believe a thing
because I am commanded, that is opus. —The Table Talk of
John Selden.
FALSE CONFIDENCES.
SOME years ago, there was a bridge at Bath in so crazy a
condition, that cautious persons chose rather to make a long
circuit than run the risk of crossing it. One day, however,
a very nervous lady, hurrying home to dress for the evening,
came suddenly upon the spot without, till that moment, remembering the danger. The sight of the bridge reminded
her of its ruinous state, just as she was about to set her foot
upon it. But what was she to do? If she went on, the frail arch
might give way under her; to go round would be fatiguing
and attended with much loss of time. She stood for some
minutes trembling in anxious hesitation; but at last a lucky
thought occurred to her, she called for a sedan-chair, and was
carried over in that conveyance! You may laugh, perhaps,
at this good lady's odd expedient for escaping danger
by shutting out the view of it.  But is not something
of the same kind happening around you every day? Those
people who are alarmed and perplexed at the danger
of having to judge for themselves in religious matters, think
to escape that danger by choosing to take some guide as an
infallible one, and believe or disbelieve as he bids them.
What is this but crossing the crazy bridge in a sedan-chair?
In determining to believe whatever their guide affirms, they
are in reality choosing to make every single exercise of faith
which follows that original determination; and they are
choosing to believe he is infallible into the bargain, There
are at least as many chances of error as before against every
single article of faith in the creed which they adopt upon
their guide's authority; and there are also additional chances
6




82                   MY NOTE BOOK.
against that authority itself. Thus, in order to get over more
safely, they put not only their own weight, but that of the
sedan-chair also, upon the tottering arch.-Excelsior.
FALSE HOPES-Danger of.
A SAILOR while clinging with others to a waterlogged
vessel, observed great swarms of sharks and other ferocious
fish swimming on all sides, as if waiting for their prey. If
men had eyes might they not clearly see evil spirits gathering
around the sinking hulks of Romanism and self-righteousness,
watching for their expected victims?
FEAR OF SIN.
THE old naturalist, Ulysses Androvaldus, tells us that a
dove is so afraid of a hawk, that she will be frightened at the
sight of one of its feathers.  Whether it be so or not, I
cannot tell; but this I know, that when a man has had a
thorough shaking over the jaws of hell, he will be so afraid of
sin, that even one of its feathers-any one sin-will alarm
and send a thrill of fear through his soul. This is a part of
the way by which the Lord turns us when we are turned
indeed.
FOG —a Figure of our Partial Knowledge.
BEING once surrounded by a dense mist on the Styhead
Pass in the Lake District, we felt ourselves to be transported
into a world of mystery where everything was swollen to a
size and appearance more vast, more terrible, than is usual on
this sober planet. A little mountain tarn, scarcely larger than
a farmer's horse-pond, expanded into a great lake whose
distant shores were leagues beyond the reach of our poor
-optics; and as we descended into the valley of Wastwater,
the rocks on one side like the battlements of heaven, and the
descent on the other hand, looked like the dreadful lips of a
yawning abyss; and yet when one looked back again in the




MY NOTE BOOK.                   83
morning's clear light there was nothing very dangerous in the
pathway, or terrible in the rocks.  The road was a safe
though sharp descent, devoid of terrors to ordinary mountain
climbers.  In the distance through the fog the shepherd
"stalks gigantic," and his sheep are full-grown lions.
Into such blunders do we fall in our life-pilgrimage; a
little trouble in the distance is, through our mistiness,
magnified into a crushing adversity. We see a lion in the
way, although it is written that no ravenous beast shall go
up thereon. A puny foe is swollen into a Goliath, and the
river of death widens into a shoreless sea.
Come, heavenly wind, and blow the mist away, and then
the foe will be despised, and the bright shores on the other
side the river will stand out clear in the light of faith!
FOREBODINGS-Falsified.
JOHN CONDOR, afterwards D.D., was torn at Wimple in
Cambridgeshire, June 3, I714. His grandfather, Richard
Condor, kissed him, and, with tears in his eyes, said, "Who
knows what sad days these little eyes are likely to see?"
things wearing at that time a threatening aspect, relative to
Dissenters. Dr. Condor remarked upon mentioning the above
circumstance, "These eyes have, for more than sixty years,
seen nothing but goodness and mercy follow me, and the
churches of Christ, even to this day."
Thus many a desponding prophecy is falsified by events
most blessed. We write bitter things, and God blots them
out and writes gracious things in lieu thereof. Many a
gloomy vaticinator might save himself his depression of spirit
if he would remember that " the Lord reigneth," and " he will
speak peace unto his people."
FORMALISM-Tricks of.
IN Mrs. Grant's "Letters from the Mountains" (I806), is
the following anecdote of the then Duchess of Gordon. "The




84                 MY NOTE BOOK.
duchess said that on Sunday she never saw company, nor
played cards, nor went out: in England, indeed, she did so,
because every one else did the same, but she would not introduce those manners into this country (Scotland). I stared at
these gradations of piety growing warmer as it came northward, but was wise enough to stare silently."
The tricks of formalism and hypocrisy are evermore the
same. Man is regarded more than God. What Mrs. Grundy
may say has far more influence with many than what the
Lord may say. This is miserable meanness and rank impiety.
FORMALITY-Habits of, Worthlesu.
THAT honoured servant of Christ, Richard Knill, notes in
his journal the following amusing incident of the force of
habit, as exemplified in his horse. "Mr. and Mrs. Loveless
would have me live with them, but they charged me very little
for my board, whereby I was enabled, with my salary, to
support seven native schools. These were so situated that I
could visit them all in one day. My horse and gig were seen
constantly on the rounds; and my horse at last knew wRere
to stop as well as I did. This nearly cost a Bengal officer his
life. Captain Page, a godly man, who was staying with us
until a ship was ready to take him to the Cape, one morning
requested me to lend him my horse and gig to take him to
the city. The captain was driving officer-like, wherithe horse
stopped suddenly, and nearly threw him out. He inquired,'What place is this? The answer was,'It's the Sailors'
Hospital.' They started again, and soon the horse stopped
suddenly, and the captain was nearly out as before.'What's
this?-' A school, sir,' was the reply. At last he finished his
business, and resolved to return another way. By doing this
he came near my schools, and again and again the horse
stopped. When he got home, he said,'I am glad that I have
returned without broken bones, but never will I drive a
religious horse again.'"




MY NOTE BOOK.                    85
Persons who go to places of worship from mere habit and
without entering into the devotions of the service, may here
see that their religion is only such as a horse may possess, and
a horse's religion will never save a man.
FRIENDSHIP OF THE WORLD-Vanity.
THE vanity of all friendship which is not founded in true
principle, was never more plainly  expressed than  in an
honest, but heartless, sentence of one of Horace Walpole's
letters. "If one of my friends happens to die, I drive down
to St. James's Coffee-house, and bring home a new one."
The name of " friend " is desecrated in a worldling's mouthbut there is a friend.
FRIVOLITIES-Render Men Callous to the Gospel.
"WHEN Bonaparte put the Duke d'Enghien to death, all
Paris felt so much horror at the event that the throne of the
tyrant trembled under him. A counter-revolution was expected, and would most probably have taken place, had not
Bonaparte ordered a new ballet to be brought out, with the
utmost splendour, at the Opera. The subject he pitched on
was " Ossian, or the Bards."  It is still recollected in Paris,
as perhaps the grandest spectacle that had ever been exhibited
there.  The consequence was that the murder of the Duke
d'Enghien was totally forgotten, and nothing but the new ballet
was talked of."
After this fashion Satan takes off men's thoughts from their
sins, and drowns the din of their consciences. Lest they
should rise in revolt against him, he gives them the lusts of
the flesh, the vanities of pride, the cares of this world, or the
merriment of fools, to lead away their thoughts. Poor silly
men are ready enough for these misleading gaieties, and for
the sake of them the solemnities of death and eternity are
forgotten.




86                   MY NOTE BOOK.
FRIVOLITY OF MIND.
IF over that little heap of dust you hold a good magnet,
should there be present a nail, or a needle, or a few iron
filings, they will at once spring up and cling to the attracting
bar. And were there only a magnet strong enough, it might
soon become the monopolist of that metal, which, after all,
is more precious than silver or gold.
If now, on your coat-sleeve, or on the woollen table-cover
you rub a stick of wax or amber, you impart to this substance
also an attractive power.  But it is a magnet of a very
different sort. Hold it ever so near that knife or needle, and
there is no movement.  Hold it near the carpet, or, better
still, insinuate it into some unswept corner, and every loose
particle, the, thread-clippings and paper-shavings, the stray
feathers, and silky fibres, will instantly leap up to it, and
convert its bald apex into a little mass of rubbish.
Some minds have a powerful affinity for what is sterling
and useful. Themselves strong like the loadstone, they are
constantly acquiring facts, and principles, and maxims of
wisdom. They gain the respect of others. They become
master-spirits, moving and controlling their fellows. If in
business, they turn out successful merchants; if students,
they step forth the chiefs of their profession; if thrown into
public life, they graduate into the highest ranks of statesmanship, and become the moulders of an age, the disposers
of an empire, the movers of mankind.
But some minds have an attraction quite as intense for
what is frivolous.  In early life they do not "take to " tasks
and lessons; and all throughout they retain the intellectual
langour, which deprecates instruction and refuses to apply.
Their theory of life is perpetual recreation, and ignoring the
commandment which says, " Six days shalt thou labour, and
do all thy work," they never know the sweetness of a true
Sabbatic repose. Unused to self-denial, and seldom roused to




MY NOTE BOOK.                   t7
exertion, if they enter business you soon hear that they have
" stopped;" and in a learned profession, if they do not " stop,"
it is only because they never could get on.-Excelsior.
GENEROUS FEELING-towards Brethren.
" ONE incident gives high proof of the native generosity
of Turner's nature. He was one of the hanging committee, as
the phrase goes, of the Royal Academy. The walls were full
when Turner's attention was attracted by a picture sent in by
an unknown provincial artist by the name of Bird.'A good
picture,' he exclaimed.'It must be hung up and exhibited.''Impossible!' responded the committee of academicians.'The arrangement cannot be disturbed. Quite impossible!''A good picture,' iterated Turner,'it must be hung up;'
and, finding his colleagues to be as obstinate as himself, he
hitched down one of his own pictures, and hung up Bird's in
its place."  Would to God that in far more instances the
like spirit ruled among servants of the Lord Jesus. The
desire to honour others and to give others a fair opportunity
to rise should lead ministers of distinction to give place to
less eminent men to whom it may be of essential service to
become better known. We are not to look every man on his
own things, but every man also on the things of others.
GIVING.
A WOMAN who was known to be very poor, came to a
missionary meeting in Wakefield, and offered to subscribe a
penny a-week to the mission fund.  "Surely," said one,
"you are too poor to afford this?"  She replied, "I spin so
many hanks of yarn a-week for my living, and I'll spin one
hank more, and that will be a penny a-week for the society."
GOD-Acting as a Father.
A KING is sitting with his council deliberating on high
affairs of state involving the destiny of nations, when




88                   MY NOTE BOOK.
suddenly he hears the sorrowful cry of his little child who has
fallen down, or been frightened by a wasp; he rises and runs
to his relief, assuages his sorrows and relieves his fears.
Is there anything unkingly here?  Is it not most natural?
Does it not even elevate the monarch in your esteem? Why
then do we think it dishonourable to the King of kings, our
heavenly Father, to consider the small matters of his children?
It is infinitely condescending, but is it not also superlatively
natural that being a Father he should act as such?
GOD-his Benevolenoe in Creation.
THE benevolence of our great Creator is chanted even by
things unpleasant to the ear. " The nuptial song of reptiles,'
says Kirby, "is not, like that of birds, the delight of every
heart; but it is rather calculated to disturb and horrify thin
to still the soul. The hiss of serpents, the croaking of frogs
and toads, the moaning of turtles, the bellowing of crocodiles
and alligators, form their gamut of discords." Here, also, we
may read beneficent design. Birds are the companions of
man in the lawn and forest, in his solitary walks, amidst his
rural labours, and around the home of his domestic enjoyments. They are, therefore, framed beautiful to the eye, and
pleasing to the ear; but of the reptile tribes, some are his
formidable enemies, and none were ever intended to be his
associates. They shun cultivation, and inhabit unfrequented
marshes or gloomy wilds. Their harsh notes and ungainly
or disgusting forms, serve therefore to warn him of danger, or
to turn his steps to places more fit for his habitation.-H.
Duncan's Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons.
GOD-is Light.
SUPPOSE the case of a cripple who had spent his life in a
room where the sun was never seen. He has heard of its
existence, he believes in it, and indeed, has seen enough of its
light to give him high ideas of its glory.. Wishing to see the




MY NOTE BOOK.                      89
in, he is taken out at night into the streets of an illuminated.ty. At first he is delighted, dazzled; but after he has had
ime to reflect, he finds darkness spread amid the lights, and.e asks, "Is this the sun?"  He is taken out under the
starry sky, and is enraptured; but, on reflection, finds that
night covers the earth, and again asks, "Is this the sun?"
He is carried out some bright day at noontide, and no
sooner does his eye open on the sky than all question is at an
end. There is but one sun.  His eye is content: it has seen
its highest object, and feels that there is nothing brighter.
So with the soul: it enjoys all lights, yet amid those of art
mnd nature, is still enquiring for something greater.  But
wvhen it is led by the reconciling Christ into the presence of
the Father, and he lifts up upon it the light of his countenance,
all thought of anything greater disappears. As there is but
one sun, so there is but one God. The soul which once
discerns and knows him, feels that greater or brighter there
is none, and that the only possibility of ever beholding more
glory is by drawing nearer.-Rev. W. Arthur.
GOD-Love of.
ALL things that are on earth shall wholly pass away,
Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye.
The forms of men shall be as they had never been;
The blasted groves shall lose their fresh and tender green;
The birds of the thicket shall end their pleasant song,
And the nightingale shall cease to chant the evening long;
The kine of the pasture shall feel the dart that kills,
And all the fair white flocks shall perish from the hills;
The goat and antlered stag, the wolf and the fox,
The wild boar of the wood, and the chamois of the rocks,
And the strong and fearless bear, in the trodden dust shall lie;
And the dolphin of the sea, and the mighty whale shall die,
And realms shall be dissolved, and empires be no more;
And they shall bow to death, who ruled from shore to shore;




90                  MY NOTE BOOK.
And the great globe itself (so the holy writings tell),
With the rolling firmament, where the starry armies dwell,
Shall melt with fervent heat-they shall all pass away,
Except the love of God, which shall live and last for aye.
William Cullen Bryan
GOD-Vague Conceptions of.
"ONE day, in conversation with the Jungo-kritu, head
pundit of the College of Fort William, on the subject of God
this man, who is truly learned in his own shastrus, gave mt
from one of their books, this parable:-' In a certain countr
there existed a village of blind men. These men had hear(
that there was an amazing animal called the elephant, bu
they knew not how to form an idea of his shape. One day
an elephant happened to pass through the place: the villagers
crowded to the spot where this animal was standing. One
of them got hold of his trunk, another seized his ear, another
his tail, another one of his legs, etc. After thus trying to
gratify their curiosity they returned into the village, and
sitting down together they began to give their ideas on what
the elephant was like: the man who had seized his trunk said
he thought the elephant was like the body of the plantain
tree; the man who had felt his ear said he thought he was
like the fan with which the Hindoos clean the rice; the man
who had felt his tail said he thought he must be like a snake,
and the man who had seized his leg, thought he must be like
a pillar. An old blind man of some judgment was present,
who was greatly perplexed how to reconcile these jarring
notions, respecting the form of the elephant; but he at
length said, "You have all been to examine this animal, it is
true, and what you report cannot be false: I suppose, therefore, that that which was like the plaintain tree must be his
trunk; that which was like a fan must be his ear; that which
was like a snake must be his tail, and that which was like a
pillar must be his body." In this way, the old man united all




MY NOTE BOOK.                    91
eir notions, and made out something of the form of the.phant.  Respecting God,' added the pundit,'we are all
nd; none of us has seen him; those who wrote the
astrus, like the old blind man, have collected all the
asonings and conjectures of mankind together, and have,deavoured to form some idea of the nature of the Divine
eing.'"
The pundit's parable may be appropriately applied to the
fience of theology. Some Christians see one truth and some
lother, and each one is quite sure that he has beheld the
hole. Where is the master-mind who shall gather up the
ith out of each creed, and see the theology of the Bible in
completeness?-a sublimer sight than the believers in the
nms have yet been able to imagine.
JODLINESS-No Burden to True Saints.
THE Princess Elizabeth carried the crown for her sister in
the procession at Mary's coronation, and complained to
Noailles of its great weight. "Be patient," was the adroit
answer, "it will seem lighter when on your own head.' The
outward forms of godliness are as burdensome to an unregenerate man as was the crown to the princess; but let him
be born again and so made a possessor of the good things of
divine grace, and they will sit easily enough upon his head,
as his glory and delight.
GOLD-Places of its Abundance Undesirable.
DID the eye ever rest upon a more utter desolation than
that which surrounds the gold mines near Goldau in the
Hartz mountains? It is worse than a howling wilderness, it
is a desert with its bowels torn out, and scattered in horrid
confusion. More or less this is true of all gold mining regions,
and Humboldt, when writing of the Pearl Coast, says that it
presents the same aspect of misery as the countries of gold
and diamonds. Is it so then? Are riches so near akin to




92                   MY NOTE BOOK.
horror? Lord, let me set my affections on better things, a:
seek for less dangerous wealth.
GOSPEI-Duty of Spreading it.
HUBER, the great naturalist, tells us, that if a single wa
discovers a deposit of honey or other food, he will return
his nest, and impart the good news to his companions, wl
will sally forth in great numbers to partake of the fare whic
has been discovered for them. Shall we who have foun
honey in the rock Christ Jesus, be less considerate of o;
fellow men than wasps are of their fellow insects? Ought v
not rather like the Samaritan woman to hasten to tell t'
good news?  Common humanity should prevent one of
from concealing the great discovery which grace has enable
us to make.
GOSPEL-Jesus the Sum of.
IN a village church in one of the Tyrolese valleys, we saw
upon the pulpit an outstretched arm, carved in wood, the
hand of which held forth a cross. We noted the emblem as
full of instruction as to what all true ministry should be, and
must be-a holding forth of the cross of Christ to the multitude as the only trust of sinners. Jesus Christ must be set
forth evidently crucified among them. Lord, make this the
aim and habit of all our ministers.
GOSPEL-needs no Meretricious Adornments.
WHEN Dionysius, the tyrant, sent Lysander some rich
Sicilian garments for his daughters, he refused them, alleging
that " He was afraid these fine clothes would make them look
more homely." The truth of God is so comely in itself that the
trappings of oratory are far more likely to lessen its glory
than to increase it. Paul saith that he preached the gospel
" not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be
made of none effect."




MY NOTE BOOK.                    9s
ISPEL-needs Spiritual Ears to Appreciate it.
_LPHONSE KARR heard a gardener ask his master per-;sion to sleep for the future in the stable; "for," said he,
iere is no possibility of sleeping in the chamber behind the
-enhouse, sir; there are nightingales there which do nothing
t guggle, and keep up a noise all the night." The sweetest
inds are but an annoyance to those who have no musical.; doubtless the music of heaven would have no charms to,nal minds, certainly the joyful sound of the gospel is unpreciated so long as men's ears remain uncircumcised.
)SPEL-Nothing else will Satisfy.
*TAKE away a toy from a child, and give him another, and
e is satisfied; but if he be hungry no toy will do. As new-,orn babes, true believers desire the sincere milk of the Word;
and the desire of grace in this way is grace.-7ohn Newton.
GOSPEL-should be Preached Constantly.
WHEN Le Tourneau preached the Lent sermon at St.
Benoit, at Paris, Louis XIV. enquired of Boileau, " if he knew
anything of a preacher called Le Tourneau, whom everybody was running after?"  "Sire," replied the poet, "your
Majesty knows that people always run after novelties; this
man preaches the gospel." Boileau's remark as to the novelty
of preaching the gospel in his time, brings to mind the candid
confession of a Flemish preacher, who, in a sermon delivered
Before an audience wholly of his own order, said, "We are
worse than Judas; he sold and delivered his Master, we sell
him too, but deliver him not."
GOSPEL-to be Preached Simply.
OF the works of a famous alchymist of the thirteenth
century, it is said that, "whoever would read his book to find
out the secret would employ all his labour in vain." All the
gold makers who have written upon their favourite mystery




94                 MY NOTE BOOK.
are in the like predicament, no one can comprehend w
the secret is which they pretend to divulge. May we
shrewdly guess that if they had any secret to tell they wo
put it in intelligible language, and that their pompous i
involved sentences are only a screen for their utter ignora:
of the matter?  When we hear preachers talking of div
things in a style savouring more of metaphysical subtle
than of gospel plainness; when the seeking sinner cani
find out the way of salvation because of their philosophic
jargon, may we not with justice suspect that the preacl
does not know the gospel, and conceals his culpable ignoran
behind the veil of rhetorical magniloquence? Surely if t;
man understood a matter so important to all his hearers 
the way of salvation, he would feel constrained to tell it ou
in words which all might comprehend.
GOSPEL (Simple)-the Need of the Wisest.
DURING an illness, that illustrious scholar Bengel sent for
a student in the Theological Institution, and requested him
to impart a word of consolation. The youth replied, " Sir, I
am but a pupil, a mere learner; I don't know what to say
to a teacher like you." "What!" said Bengel, "a divinity
student, and not able to communicate a word of scriptural
comfort!" The student, abashed, contrived to utter the text,
" The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth us from
all sin." "That is the very word I want," said Bengel, " it is
quite enough," and taking him affectionately by the hand
dismissed him.
GRACE.
PAYSON, when dying, expressed himself with great earnestness respecting the grace of God as exercised in saving lost
men, and seemed particularly affected that it should be
bestowed on one so ill-deserving as himself.  " Oh, how
sovereign! Oh, how sovereign! Grace is the only thing that




MY NOTE BOOK.                    05
th make us like God. I might be dragged through heaven,
th, and hell, and I should be still the same sinful, polluted
etch, unless God himself should renew and cleanse me.";ACE-Equal tq our Day.
WHENEVER the Lord sots his servants to do extraordinary
)rk he always gives them extraordinary strength; or if
puts them  to unusual suffering he gives them unusual
tience. When we enter upon war with some petty New
aland chief, our troops expect to have their charges defrayed,
id accordingly we pay them gold by thousands, as their
cpenses may require; but when an army marches against a
Brim monarch, in an unknown country, who has insulted the
3ritishflag, we pay, as we know to our cost, not bythousands but
by millions. And thus, if God calls us to common and ordinary
trials, he will defray the charges of our warfare by thousands,
but if he commands us to an unusual struggle with some tremendous foe, he will discharge the liabilities of our war by
millions, according to the riches of his grace in which he has
abounded towards us through Christ Jesus.
GRACE-Maturity in.
MATURITY in grace makes us willing to part with worldly
goods; the green apple needs a sharp twist to separate it
from the bough; but the ripe fruit parts readily from the
wood. Maturity in grace makes it easier to part with life
itself; the unripe pear is scarcely beaten down with much
labour, while its mellow companion drops readily into the
hand with the slightest shake. Rest assured that love to the
things of this life, and cleaving to this present state, are sure
indications of immaturity in the divine life.
GRACES-should be Seasonable.
IT is said in praise of the tree planted by the rivers of
water, that it bringeth forth its fruit in its season; good men




96                   MY NOTE BOOK.
should aim to have seasonable virtues. For instance, a
giving spirit is golden if it display itself in the moment wl
an injury is received; it is but silver if it show itself ui
speedy reflection, and it is mere lead if it be manifested al
a long time for cooling. The whole matter reminds us of;
Warwickshire estimate of swarms of bees.
"A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spune (spoon);
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly."
GRACE-Triumphant over Trial.
" IN one place near the Hospice of St. Bernard, I met with
a curious natural conservatory.  The under surface of the
snow having been melted by the warmth of the soil, which in
Alpine regions is always markedly higher than that of the
air, was not in contact with it.  A snowy vault was thus
formed, glazed on the top with thin plates of transparent ice;
and here grew a most lovely cushion of the Aretia Helvetica,
covered with hundreds of its delicate rosy flowers, like a
miniature hydrangea blossom. The dark colour of the soil
favoured the absorption of heat; and, prisoned in its crystal
cave, this little fairy grew and blossomed securely from the
very heart of winter, the unfavourable circumstances around
all seeming so many ministers of good, increasing its strength,
and enhancing its loveliness."
This delightful little sketch  of nature by Mr. Hugh
Macmillan may be paralleled in the kingdom of grace; for in
the cold shade of poverty, protected from a thousand temptations by that very scant, and in the centre of sinful society,
stimulated to a bolder confession by the surrounding opposition, we have met with the rarest specimens of grace.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   97'Where every influence appeared to be deadly, the most
rigorous spiritual life has been produced.'RATITUDE.
THERE is a very touching little story told of a poor woman
vith two children, who had not a bed for them to lie upon,
tnd scarcely any clothes to cover them. In the depth of
winter they were nearly frozen, and the mother took the door
)f a cellar off the hinges, and set it up before the corner
where they crouched down to sleep, that some of the draught
and cold might be kept from them. One of the children
whispered to her, when she complained of how badly off they
were, "Mother, what do those dear little children do who
have no cellar door to put up in front of them? " Even there,
you see, the little heart found cause for thankfulness.
GROWTH IN GRACE.
WE have the likenesses of our boys taken on every birthday, and twelve of the annual portraits are now framed in
one picture, so that we see them at a glance from their babyhood to their youth. Suppose such photographic memorials
of our own spiritual life had been taken and preserved, would
there be a regular advance, as in these boys, or should we
still have been exhibited in the perambulator? Have not
some grown awhile, and then suddenly dwarfed? Have not
others gone back to babyhood?  Here is a wide field for
reflection.
GROWTH IN GRACE.
LETTUCES, radishes, and such like garden crops, are soon
out of the ground and ready for the table, a month almost
suffices to perfect them; but an oak requires long centuries
to come to the fulness of its growth. Those graces which are
most precious and durable will cost us longest to produce;
those good things which spring up hastily may have some
7




98                  MY NOTE BOOK.
transient worth about them, but we cannot look for perman.
ence and value in them. There is no need to deplore the
slowness of our spiritual growth, if that which comes of it be
of a solid character.
GROWTH IN GRACE.
THE vendors of flowers in the streets of London, are wont
to commend them to customers by crying, "All a blowing
and a growing." It would be no small praise to Christians it
we could say as much for them, but, alas! of too many
professors the cry would truthfully be, "All a stunting and
a withering."
ORUMBLERS.
A HEAVY waggon was being dragged along a country lane
by a team of oxen. The axle-trees groaned and creaked
terribly, when the oxen turning round, thus addressed the
wheels:-'" Halloa, there! why do you make so much noise?
we bear all the labour, and we, not you, ought to cry out!"
Those complain first in our churches who have least to do.
The gift of grumbling is largely dispensed among those who
have no other talents, or who keep what they have wrapped
up in a napkin.
HABITS-Destructive Power of.
THE surgeon of a regiment in India relates the following
incident:-" A soldier rushed into the tent, to inform me
that one of his comrades was drowning in a pond close
by, and nobody could attempt to save him in consequence of
the dense weeds which covered the surface. On repairing to
the spot, we found the poor fellow in his last struggle, manfully attempting to extricate himself from the meshes of ropelike grass that encircled his body; but, to all appearance, the
more he laboured to escape, the more firmly they became




MY NOTE BOOK.                    99
coiled round his limbs. At last he sank, and the floating
plants closed in, and left not a trace of the disaster. After
some delay, a raft was made, and we put off to the spot, and
sinking a pole some twelve feet, a native dived, holding on by
the stake, and brought the body to the surface. I shall never
forget the expression of the dead man's face-the clenched
teeth, and fearful distortion of the countenance, while coils of
long trailing weeds clung round his body and limbs, the
muscles of which stood out stiff and rigid, whilst his hands
grasped thick masses, showing how bravely he had struggled
for life."
This heart-rending picture is a terribly accurate representation of a man with a conscience alarmed by remorse,
struggling with his sinful habits, but finding them too strong
for him. Divine grace can save the wretch from his unhappy
condition, but if he be destitute of that, his remorseful
agonies will but make him more hopelessly the slave of his
passions. Laocoon, in vain endeavouring to tear off the
serpents' coils from himself and children, aptly portrays the
long-enslaved sinner contending with sin in his own strength.
"Can the Ethiopian  change his skin, or the leopard his
spots?"
HAPPINESS OF BELIEVERS.
ONE of my hearers had seven children, who had come in
rapid succession; he was hard-working and well spoken of.
His children were all asleep when I went in, and as I expressed
the pleasure the sight of their peaceful little faces gave me,
the father said, " Ay, these are fine times for them; they need
not to take any thought for themselves." On the Sunday the
man was in church. I dwelt much upon the happy state of
children, exempt from care as they were, and went on to say
that believers were the children of God, that the Lord had
commanded them to be careful for nothing, and promised
that he would care for them. -The man understood me, and




100                 MY NOTE BOOK.
it evidently pleased him to hear his expression repeated from
the pulpit.-Bichsel.
HEAD-Christ.
EVERY one knows that it would be far better to lose our feet
than our head. Adam had feet to stand with, but we have
lost them by his disobedience; yet glory be to God, we have
found a Head, in whom we abide eternally secure, a Head
which we shall never lose.
HEARERS.
JEDEDIAH BUXTON, the famous peasant, who could multiply
nine figures by nine in his head, was once taken to see Garrick
act. When he went back to his own village, he was asked
what he thought of the great actor and his doings. " Oh! "
he said, "he did not know, he had only seen a little man
strut about the stage, and repeat 7,956 words." Here was
a want of the ability to appreciate what he saw, and the exercise of the reigning faculty to the exclusion of every other.
Similarly our hearers, if destitute of the spiritual powers by
which the gospel is discerned, fix their thoughts on our words,
tones, gestures, or countenance, and make remarks upon us
which from a spiritual point of view are utterly absurd. How
futile are our endeavours without the Holy Spirit!
HEARING.
" I HAVE an ear for other preachers," Sir John Cheke used
to say, "but I have a heart for Latimer." Here is a very
clear and main distinction. Too often men hear the Word
sounding its drums and trumpets outside their walls, and they
are filled with admiration of the martial music, but their city
gates are fast closed and vigilantly guarded, so that the
truth has no admittance, but only the sound of it. Would to
God we knew how to reach men's affections, for the heart is
the target we aim at, and unless we hit it we miss altogether.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   101
HEARING —Carelessly.
WE crossed and recrossed the river several times by
the ferry-boat at Basle.  We had no object in the world
but merely amusement and curiosity, to watch the simple
machinery by which the same current is made to drift
the boat in opposite directions from  side to side.  To
other passengers it was a business, to us a sport. Our
hearers use our ministry in much the same manner when
they come to it out of the idlest curiosity, and listen to us as
a means of spending a pleasant hour. That which should
ferry them across to a better state of soul, they use as a mere
pleasure-boat, to sail up and down in, making no progress
after years of hearing. Alas! it may be sport to them, but
it is death to us, because we know it will ere long be death
to them.
HEARING-for Others.
THE negro preachers are often marked by great shrewdness and mother wit; and will not only point the truth, but
barb it, so that if once in it will stick fast. One of these was
once descanting with much earnestness on different ways in
which men lose their souls. Under one head of remark, he
said that men often lose their souls through  excessive
generosity. " What! " he exclaimed, " you tell me you never
heard of that before?  You say, ministers often tell us we
lose our souls for our stinginess, and for being covetousbut who ever heard of a man that hurt himself by going too
far t'other way? I tell you how they do it. They sit down
under the sermon, and when the preacher touch upon this sin
or that sin, they no-take it to themselves, but give this part of
the sermon to one brother, and that part to another brother.
And so they give away the whole sermon, and it do them no
good. And that's the way they lose their souls by being too
generous."
There is great truth in this remark. The want of a self



102                  MY NOTE BOOK.
applying conscience causes much of the best of preaching to
fall like rain upon a rock, from which it soon runs off; or if
a little is caught in a hollow, it only stagnates, and then dries
away, leaving no blessing behind. A sermon, however true
and forcible, thus disposed of, does no good to those among
whom  it is so silently distributed, while it leaves him who
squanders its treasures to perish at last in the poverty and
emptiness of his soul.
HEARING-Useless Alone.
WHAT a mistake to imagine that, by hearing first one
preacher and then another, we can derive benefit to our
souls! More is wanted than such hearing. A raven may
fly from cage to cage, but it is not thereby changed into a
dove. Go from room  to room of the royal feast, and the
sight of the tables will never stay thy hunger. Reader, the
main thing is to have and hold the truth personally and
inwardly; if this be not seen to, thou wilt die in thy sins,
though ten thousand voices should direct thee to the way of
salvation. Pity indeed is it that the bulk of hearers are
hearers only, and are no more likely to go to heaven than the
seats they sit on in the assembly of the saints.
HEART-its Aberrations.'
THE compass on board an iron vessel is very subject to
aberrations; yet, for all that, its evident desire is to be true to
the pole.  True hearts in this wicked world, and in this
fleshly body, are all too apt to swerve, but they still show their
inward and persistent tendency to point towards heaven and
God. On board iron vessels it is a common thing to see a
compass placed aloft, to be as much away from the cause of
aberration as possible: a wise hint to us to elevate our affections and desires; the nearer to God the less swayed by worldly
influences.




MY NOTE BOOK.                  103
HEART (Broken)-its Prevalence with God.
WHAT man among you can stand against his children's:ears? When King Henry II., in the ages gone by, was provoked to take up arms against his ungrateful and rebellious
son, he besieged him in one of the French towns, and the
son being near to death, desired to see his father, and confess his wrong-doing; but the stern old sire refused to look
the rebel in the face. The young man being sorely troubled
in his conscience, said to those about him, " I am dying, take
me from my bed, and let me lie in sackcloth and ashes, in
token of my sorrow for my ingratitude to my father." Thus
he died, and when the tidings came to the old man outside
the walls, that his boy had died in ashes, repentant for his
rebellion, he threw himself upon the earth, like another David,
and said, "Would God I had died for him." The thought of
his boy's broken heart touched the heart of the father. If ye,
being evil, are overcome by your children's tears, how much
more shall your Father who is in heaven find in your bemoanings and confessions an argument for the display of his
pardoning love through Christ Jesus our Lord? This is the
eloquence which God delights in, the broken heart and the
contrite spirit.
HEART-Hardness of.
LIGHTFOOT says:-" I have heard it more than once and
again, from the sheriffs who took all the gunpowder plotters,
and brought them up to London, that every night when they
came to their lodging by the way, they had their music and
dancing a good part of the night. One would think it strange
that men in their case should be so merry." More marvellous
still is it that those between whom and death there is but a
step, should sport away their time as if they should live on
for ages.  Though the place of torment is within a short
march of all unregenerate men, yet see how they make mirth,
grinning and jesting between the jaws of hell!




104                MY NOTE BOOK.
HEART-must be Renewed.
A MAN may beat down the bitter fruit from an evil tree
until he is weary; whilst the root abides in strength and
vigour, the beating down of the present fruit will not hinder
it from bringing forth more. This is the folly of some men;
they set theiiselves with all earnestness and diligence against
the appearing eruption of lust, but leaving the principle and
root untouched, perhaps unsearched out, they make but little
or no progress in this work of mortification. —ohn Owen.
HEART-Seat of Spiritual Disease.
SOME malady which you do not understand troubles and
alarms you. The physician is called. Thinking that the
illness proceeds from a certain inflammatory process on a
portion of your skin, you anxiously direct his attention to the
spot.  Silently, but sympathisingly, he looks at the place
where you have bidden him look, and because you have
bidden him look there, but soon he turns away. He is busy
with an instrument on another part of your body. He presses
his trumpet tube gently to your breast, and listens for the
pulsations which faintly but distinctly pass through. He
looks and listens there, and saddens as he looks. You again
direct his attention to the cutaneous eruption which annoys
you. He sighs and sits silent. When you reiterate your
request that something should be done for the external
eruption, he gently shakes his head, and answers not a word.
From  this silence you would learn the truth at last, you
would not miss its meaning long.
O miss not the meaning of the Lord when he points to
the seat of the soul's disease: " Ye WILL not come." These,
his enemies, dwell in your heart.- W. Arnot.
HEAVEN.
" WHO," saith an old divine, " chides a servant for taking
away the first course at a feast when the second consists of




MY NOTE BOOK.                   105
Lar greater delicacies?"  Who then can feel regret that this
present world passeth away, when he sees that an eternal
world of joy is coming? The first course is grace, but the
second is glory, and that is as much better as the fruit is
better than the blossom.
HEAVEN-Our Future Condition in.
You will very often perceive in your rain-water certain ugly
little things, which swim and twist about in it, always trying
if they can to reach the surface, and breathe through one
end of their bodies. What makes these little things so lively,
these innumerable little -things like very small tadpoles, why
are they so energetic? Possibly they have an idea of what they
are going to be. The day will come when all of a sudden
there will emerge from the case of the creature which now
navigates your bason, a long-legged thing with two bright
gauze-like wings, which will mount into the air, and on a
summer's evening will dance in the sunlight.  It is nothing
more nor less than a gnat in one of its earliest stages. Mark
in that creature an image of your present self; you are an
undeveloped being; you have not your wings as yet, and are
earthbound, and yet sometimes in your activity for Christ,
when the strong desires for something better are upon you,
you leap in foretaste of the bliss to come.
HEAVEN-an Incentive to Diligence.
JULIUS CAESAR coming towards Rome with his army, and
hearing that the senate and people had fled from it, said,
" They that will not fight for this city, what city will they
fight for?"  If we will not take pains for the kingdom of
heaven, what kingdom will we take pains for?
HEAVEN-None Admitted but those Like Jesus.
AT heaven's gate there stands an angel with charge to
admit none but those who in their countenances bear the




106                 MY NOTE BOOK.
same features as the Lord of the place. Here comes 
monarch with a crown upon his head. The angel pays him
no respect, but reminds him that the diadems of earth have
no value in heaven. A company of eminent men advance
dressed in robes of state, and others adorned with the
gowns of learning, but to these no deference is rendered,
for their faces are very unlike the Crucified. A maiden
comes forward, fair and comely, but the celestial watcher
sees not in that sparkling  eye and ruddy cheek the
beauty for which he  is looking.  A  man of renown
cometh up heralded by fame, and preceded by the admiring clamour of mankind; but the angel saith, "Such
applause may please the sons of men, but thou hast no
right to enter here." But free admittance is always given to
those who in holiness are made like their Lord. Poor they
may have been; illiterate they may have been; but the angel
as he looks at them smiles a welcome as he says, " It is
Christ again; a transcript of the holy child Jesus. Come in,
come in; eternal glory thou shalt win. Thou shalt sit in
heaven with Christ, for thou art like him."
HEAVEN-to be Shut Out of at Last.
SEVERAL years ago we heard an old minister relate the
following incident:-" He had preached the Word for many
a year in a wood hard by a beautiful village in the Invernessshire Highlands, and it was his invariable custom, on dismissing his own congregation, to repair to the Baptist Chapel
in this village to partake of the Lord's Supper with his
people assembled there. It was then usual to shut the gates
during this service, in order that communicants might not
be exposed to any disturbance through persons going out or
coming in. On one occasion the burden of the Lord pressed
upon his servant with more than ordinary severity, and
anxious to deliver it and clear his soul, he detained his
hearers a little beyond the time, and consequently had to




MY NOTE BOOK.                    107
urry to the chapel. As he drew near he noticed the dooreeper retire from the outer gate, after having shut it. He
illed to him, quickening his pace at the same time, but his
-y was not heard, the attendant retreated inside and the
linister came up'just in time' to see the door put to, and
iear it fastened from within. He walked round the chapel
coking up at the windows, but could gain no admittance;
here was only one door, and that door was shut. He listened.nd heard the singing, and thought how happy God's people
vere inside, while he himself was shut out. The circumstance
nade an impression upon him at the time which he could
lever afterwards forget, and he was led to ask himself the
luestion,'Shall it be so at the last? Shall I come up to the
rate of heaven only in time to be too late, to find the last
ransomed one admitted, and the door everlastingly shut?"'
HEAVEN-a Sustaining Prospect.
ONE Palmer, of Reading, being condemned to die, in
Queen Mary's time, was much persuaded to recant, and
among other things a friend said to him, " Take pity on thy
golden years and pleasant flowers of youth, before it be too
late." His reply was as beautiful as it was conclusive-" Sir,
I long for those springing flowers which shall never fade
away."  When he was in the midst of the flames he exhorted
his companions to constancy, saying, " We shall not end our
lives in the fire, but make a change for a better life; yea, for
coals we shall receive pearls."  Thus do we clearly see, that
although " if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are
of all men most miserable," yet the prospect of a better and
enduring substance enables us to meet all the trials and
temptations of this present life with holy boldness and joy.
HEAVEN-its Variety.
WE cannot stay to read the catalogue now, but heavenly
joys shall be like the tree of life in the New Jerusalem, which




108                 MY NOTE BOOK.
brings forth twelve manner of fruits, and yields her fruit ever
month.  Robert Hall used to cry, "0 for the everlastin
rest!" but Wilberforce would sigh to dwell in unbroken lov(
Hall was a man who. suffered-he longed for rest; Wilbei
force was a man of amiable spirit, loving society and fellow
ship-he looked for love.  Hall shall have his rest, anc
Wilberforce shall have his love. There are joys at God',
right hand, suitable for the spiritual tastes of all those wh(
shall come thither.  The heavenly manna tastes to ever)
man's peculiar liking.
HEAVENWARD.
MY horse invariably comes home in less time than he makes
the journey out. He pulls the carriage with a hearty good
will when his face is towards home. Should not I also both
suffer and labour the more joyously because my way lies
towards heaven, and I am on pilgrimage to my Father's
house, my soul's dear home and resting place?
HOLY WATER.
HOLY water, indeed! a vile mixture, neither fit for man
nor beast. You see this liquid virtue at the doors of all the
churches ready for the brows of the faithful, but what is far
more curious, you observe it in little pots placed for use in the
cemeteries; and that the passer-by may give the dead a
showery benediction, there are little sprinkling brushes in the
pots with which to scatter the precious mixture. A mother's
tears over her dead babe are far more in place than such
foolery. Holy water! bah! See how the rain pours down
from yonder black cloud which has passed over the rugged
crags of Pilatus; that sort of holy water is infinitely more
likely to moisten the clay of the defunct, and bring plenteous
blessing to the living, than all the hogsheads of aqueous fluid
that priests ever mumbled over. Holy water, indeed! If
there be such a thing, it trickles from the eye of penitence,




MY NOTE BOOK.                  109
bedews the cheek of gratitude, and falls upon the page of
holy Scripture when the word is applied with power. Standing
where, when the rain is over, one can see the fair Lake of
Lucerne brimming with crystal, and the clouds among the
Alpine peaks all charged with moisture, rendered golden by
the sun's clear shining, one feels indignant at the idea that
the little driblets of nastiness in yonder pots and shells should
be venerated, and all nature's reservoirs accounted common
or unclean. It needs no small measure of prudence to restrain
a man from tumbling pots and pans and holy liquids headlong to the ground. Human folly, how far wilt thou not go
when priests lead thee by the nose!
HOPE.
ONCE on a time, certain strong labourers were sent
forth by the great King to level a primeval forest, to plough
it, to sow it, and to bring to him the harvest. They were
stout-hearted and strong, and willing enough for labour, and
much they needed all their strength and more. One stalwart
labourer was named Industry-consecrated work was his.
His brother Patience, with thews of steel, went with him, and
tired not in the longest days under the heaviest labours. To
help them they had Zeal, clothed with ardent and indomitable
energy. Side by side there stood his kinsman Self-denial, and
his friend Importunity. These went forth to their labour,
and they took with them, to cheer their toils, their well-beloved
sister Hope; and well it was they did, for they needed the
music of her consolation ere the work was done, for the forest
trees were huge and demanded many sturdy blows of the axe
ere they would fall prone upon the ground. One by one the
giant forest kings were overthrown, but the labour was
immense and incessant. At night when they went to their
rest, the day's work always seemed so light, for as they crossed
the threshold, Patience, wiping the sweat from his brow,
would be encouraged, and Self-denial would be strengthened




110                 MY NOTE BOOK.
by hearing the sweet voice of Hope within singing, "Goc
will bless us, God, even our own God, will bless us." The)
felled the lofty trees to the music of that strain; they clearec
the acres one by one, they tore from their sockets the hugi
roots, they delved the soil, they sowed the corn, and waitec
for the harvest, often much discouraged, but still held to their
work as by silver chains and golden fetters by the swee'
sound of the voice which chanted so constantly, " God, ever
our own God, will bless us." They never could refrain frorr
service, for Hope never could refrain from song. They were
ashamed to be discouraged, they were shocked to be despair.
ing, for still the voice rang clearly out at noon and eventide,
"God will bless us, God, even our own God, will bless us.'
You know the parable, you recognise the voice: may you
hear it in your souls to-day!
HOPE.
IT is reported that in the Tamul language there is no word
for hope. Alas! poor men, if we were all as destitute of the
blessed comfort itself as these Tamul speakers are of the
word! What must be the misery of souls in hell where they
remember the word, but can never know hope itself!
HUMILITY.
WISE men know their own ignorance and are ever ready to
learn. Humility is the child of knowledge. Michael Angelo
was found by the Cardinal Farnese walking in solitude amid
the ruins of the Coliseum, and when he expressed his
surprise, the great artist answered, " I go yet to school that I
may continue to learn." Who among us can after this talk
of finishing our education? We have need to learn of all
around us.  He must be very foolish who cannot tell us
something; or more likely we must be more foolish not to be
able to learn of him.




MY NOTE BOOK.                    111
HUMILITY.
THE whole Roman language, even with all the improvements of the Augustan age, does not afford so much as a
name for humility (the word from whence we borrow this, as
is well known, bearing in Latin a quite different meaning), no,
nor was one found in all the copious language of the Greeks,
till it was made by the great Apostle. —7ohn Wesley.
HUMILITY.
"OF all trees, I observe, God hath chosen the vine, a low
plant that creeps, upon the helpful wall; of all beasts, the soft
and patient lamb; of all fowls, the mild and guileless dove.
Christ is the rose of the field, and the lily of the valley.
When God appeared to Moses, it was not in the lofty cedar,
nor the sturdy oak, nor the spreading plane; but in a bush,
a humble, slender, abject shrub; as if he would, by these
elections, check the conceited arrogance of man."-Owen
Feltham.
HUMILITY AND CHEERFULNESS.
"OBSERVE the peculiar characters of the grass which adapt
it especially for the service of man, are its apparent humility
and cheerfulness. Its humility, in that it seems created only
for lowest service, appointed to be trodden on, and fed upon.
Its cheerfulness, in that it seems to exult under all kinds of
violence and suffering. You roll it, and it is the stronger
the next day; you mow it, and it multiplies its shoots, as if it
were grateful; you tread upon it, and it only sends up richer
perfume. Spring comes, and it rejoices with all the earth,
glowing with variegated flame of flowers, waving in soft
depth of fruitful strength. Winter comes, and though it will
not mock its fellow plants by growing then, it will not pine
and mourn, and turn colourless or leafless as they.  It is
always green, and is only the brighter and gayer for the hoarfrost."




112                 MY NOTE BOOK.
So Ruskin poetically writes of the grass; should it not be
thus with believers? Their flesh is like to grass for perishing,
it were well if their spirits were like to grass for humility and
cheerfulness in service.
HYPOCRISY.
IN the olden times even the best rooms were usually of
bare brick or stone, damp, and mouldy, but over these in
great houses when the family was resident, were hung up
arras or hangings of rich materials, between which and the
wall-persons might conceal themselves, so that literally walls
had ears. It is to be feared that many a brave show of
godliness is but an arras to conceal rank hypocrisy; and this
accounts for some men's religion being but occasional, since
it is folded up or exposed to view as need may demand. Is
there no room for conscience to pry between thy feigned
profession and thy real ungodliness, and bear witness against
thee?  Remember, if conscience do it not, certainly "the
watcher and the Holy One" will make a thorough search
within thee.
HYPOCRISY.
IN the pursuit of pastoral duty, I stood a little while ago in
a cheesemonger's shop, and being in a fidgety humour, and
having a stick in my hand, I did what most Englishmen are
sure to do, I was not content with seeing, but must needs
touch as well. My stick came gently upon a fine cheese in
the window, and to my surprise a most metallic sound
emanated from it.  The sound was rather hollow, or one
might have surmised that all the tasteholes had been filled
up with sovereigns, and thus the cheese had been greatly
enriched, and the merchant had been his own banker. There
was, however, a sort of crockery jingle in the sound, like the
ring of a huge bread or milk pan, such as our country friends
use so abundantly; and I came to the very correct conclusion




MY NOTE BOOK.                   113
that I had found a very well got-up hypocrite in the shop
window. Mark, from this time, when I pass by, I mentally
whisper, "Pottery;" and the shams may even be exchanged
for realities, but I shall be long in believing it. In my mind
the large stock has dissolved into potsherds, and the fine
show in the window only suggests the potter's vessel. The
homely illustration is simply introduced because we find
people of this sort in our churches, looking extremely like
what they should be, yet having no substance in them, so
that if, accidentally, one happens to tap them somewhere or
other with sudden temptation or stern duty, the baked earth
gives forth its own ring, and the pretender is esteemed no
longer.
HYPOCRISY.
THE shops in the square of San Marco were all religiously
closed, for the day was a high festival: we were much
disappointed, for it was our last day, and we desired to take
away with us some souvenirs of lovely Venice; but our
regret soon vanished, for on looking at the shop we meant
to patronise, we readily discovered signs of traffic within.
We stepped to the side door, and found when one or two
other customers had been served, that we might purchase to
our heart's content, saint or no saint. After this fashion too
many keep the laws of God to the eye, but violate them in the
heart. The shutters are up as if the man no more dealt with
sin and Satan; but a brisk commerce is going on behind the
scenes. From such deceit may the Spirit of truth preserve us.
HYPOCRISY-Easy, but Dangerous.
THE counterfeit will always have some admirers, from its
cheapness in the market. One must dig deep in dark mines
for gold and silver; the precious treasure must be brought
from far across the seas; it must be melted down, it must
pass through many assays, and the dies must be worked with
8




114                MY NOTE BOOK.
ponderous engines before the coin can be produced; all this
to the sluggish many is a heavy disadvantage.  Hush!
hearken! steal silently upstairs; the spirit of deceit invites
you to her chamber; a little plaster of Paris, a fire, a crucible,
molten lead, the mould, and there is your money, sir, without
troubling Peru, Potosi, California, or the Mint. Slink out and
change your fine new shillings, and yout fortune's made
without the ignoble waste of sweat and labour. But be quiet,
for a detective may be near, a coarse-minded minion of
unpoetic law, who may cruelly block up your road, or even
lead you into prison.  Short cuts to wealth have brought
many to the hulks; and, let me add, there are short cuts to
godliness which have brought many to perdition.!
HYPOCRISY-a Fall Fatal.
"THE meteor, if it once fall, cannot be rekindled." When
those who once flashed before the eyes of the religious public
with the blaze of a vain profession, fall into open and scandalous sin, it is impossible to renew their glory. Once break
the egg of hypocrisy, and who can repair the damage?
HYPOCRISY-Present Age Suitable to.
THERE was an age of chivalry, when no craven courted
knighthood, for it involved the hard blows, the dangerous
wounds, the rough unhorsings, and the ungentle perils of the
tournament; nay, these were but child's play: there were
distant eastern fields, where Paynim warriors must be slain
by valiant hands, and blood must flow in rivers from the
Red-cross knights. Then men who lacked valour preferred
their hawks and their jesters, and left heroes to court death
and glory on the battle-field. This genial time of peace breeds
carpet knights, who flourish their untried weapons, and bear
the insignia of valour, without incurring its inconvenient
toils. Many are crowding to the seats of the heroes, since




MY NOTE BOOK.                   115
prowess and patience are no more required.  The war is
over, and every man is willing to enlist. When Rome commenced her long career of victory, it was no pleasant thing to
be a soldier in the Roman legions. The power which smote
the nations like a rod of iron abroad, was a yoke of iron at
home. There were long forced marches, with hunger and
cold and weariness; heavy armour was the usual load when
the legionary marched at ease; but " ease " was a word he
seldom used. Rivers were forded; mountains were scaled;
barbarians were attacked; proud nations were assailed;
kingdoms were subdued. No toil too stern for the scarred
veteran, no odds too heavy, no onslaught too ferocious, no
arms too terrible.  Scarcely were his wounds healed, ere
he was called to new fields; his life was battle; his home
the tent; his repast was plunder; his bed the battle-field;
while the eagle's bloody talons removed all need of sepulchre
for his slaughtered body. But afterwards when Rome was
mistress of the world, and the Praetorian cohorts could sell
the imperial purple to the highest bidder, many would follow
the legions to share their spoils. It is not otherwise to-day.
Into the triumphs of martyrs and confessors few are unwilling to enter; in a national respect to religion, which is
the result of their holiness, even ungodly men are willing
to share. They have gone before us with true hearts valiant
for truth, and false traitors are willing to divide their
spoils.
HYPOCRISY-of no Service.
COALS of fire cannot be concealed beneath the most sumptuous apparel, they-will betray themselves with smoke and
flame; nor can darling sins be long hidden beneath the most
ostentatious profession, they will sooner or later discover
themselves, and burn sad holes in the man's reputation. Sin
needs quenching in the Saviour's blood, not concealing under
the garb of religion.




116                 MY NOTE BOOK.
HYPOCRITES-Discovered on nearer Inspection.
How many are like that famous painting of the olden time,
in which the artist depicted what seemed at a distance a holy
friar with a book before him, aid his hands crossed in devotion, looking like a saint indeed, but when you came close to
the venerable impostor, you found that his hands, though
clasped, enclosed a lemon, and instead of a book there was a
punch-bowl into which he was squeezing the juice. To seem
to be, answers men's purposes so well, that it is little marvel
if pretenders swarm like the flies in Egypt's plague; yet if
they would remember the last great day, men would abhor
hypocrisy.
HYPOCRITES-Season for.
AFTER a refreshing shower which has made all the flowers
to smile till the teardrops of joy stand in their eyes, you will see
your garden-paths spotted over with slugs and snails. These
creatures lay concealed till the genial rain called them forth
to make their slimy way towards whatsoever they might
devour.  After this fashion revivals, of necessity, develop
hypocrites, yet who would deplore the shower because of the
snails, and who would rail at "times of refreshing" because
mere pretenders are excited to make a base profession of a
grace to which they are strangers?
HYPOCRITES-Seeking their own Advantage.
GOD is in the hypocrite's mouth, but the world is in his
heart, which he expects to gain through his good reputation.
I have read of one that offered his prince a great sum of
money to have leave once or twice a-day to come into his
presence, and only say, "God save your Majesty!"  The
prince wondering at this large offer for so small a favour,
asked him, " What advantage would this afford him? " "0
sire," saith he, "this, though I have nothing else at your
hands, will get me a name in the country for one who is a




MY NOTE BOOK.                   117
great favourite at court, and such an opinion will help me to
more at the year's end, than it costs me for the purchase."
Thus some, by the name they get for great saints, advance
their worldly interests, which lie at the bottom of all their
profession.-Gurnall.
HYPOCRITES-their Sinister Motives.
SEE yonder eagle, how it mounts! Does it care for the
ethereal blue, or aspire to commune with the stars of heaven!
Not a whit; such airy considerations have no weight with the
ravenous bird; and yet you will not wonder that it soars aloft
when you remember that it thus obtains a broader range of
vision, and so becomes the more able to provide for its nest. The
bird mounts towards heaven, but it keeps its eye evermore upon
the outlook for its prey. No celestial impulse is needed, its
love of blood suffices to bear it aloft. It soars only that it
may flash downwards with fell swoop upon the object of its
desires. Wonder not that men with the hearts of devils yet
mount like angels: there is a reason which explains it all.
HYPOCRITICAL CONFESSIONS.
You have heard, no doubt, of beggars who tie a leg up
when they go a-begging, and then make a hideous lamentation
of their lameness. Why, this is just your case, sir, when you
go to church a-praying, which is begging, you tie your
righteous heart up, and then make woeful outcry for mercy
on us miserable sinners.  O sir, these tricks may pass
a while unnoticed, but Jesus Christ will apprehend such
cheats at last, and give them their desert.-John Berridge.
IGNORANCE.
PAYSON well says," Oh! when we meet in heaven, we shall
see how little we knew about it on earth."
IGNORANCE-of One's Own Heart.
"AFTER all, I do not hate God. No, sir; you will not make




118                 MY NOTE BOOK.
me believe that. I am a sinner, I know, and do many wicked
things; but after all, I have a good heart-I don't hate God."
Such was the language of a prosperous worldling. He was
sincere, but sadly deceived. A few months afterwards, that
God who had given him so many good things, crossed his
path in an unexpected manner. A fearful torrent swept down
the valley, and threatened destruction to this man's large
flour mill. A crowd were watching it, in momentary expectation of seeing it fall, while the owner, standing in the
midst of them, was cursing God to his face, and pouring out
the most horrid oaths.
He no longer doubted or dented that he hated God. But
nothing in that hour of trial came out of his mouth which was
not previously in his heart. God's account of the unrenewed
heart is true: it is "deceitful above all things," as well as
"desperately wicked."  He who is wise will believe God's
account of the state of his heart by nature, rather than the
deceitful heart's account of itself.
IGNORANCE-Possible in Most Constant Hearers.
SAMUEL WESLEY visited one of his parishioners as he was
upon his dying bed-a man who had never missed going to
church in forty years. " Thomas, where do you think your
soul will go?"  "Soul! soul!" said Thomas. "Yes, sir,"
said Mr. Wesley, "do you not know what your soul is?"
"Ay, surely," said Thomas; "why, it is a little bone in the
back that lives longer than the body." "So much," says
John Wesley, who related it on the authority of Dr. Lupton,
who had it from his father, "had Thomas learned from hearing sermons, and exceedingly good sermons, for forty years."Anecdotes of the Wesleys. By the Rev. J. B. Wakeley.
IMITATION-of Good Men, its Limit.
PLUTARCH says that among the Persians those persons
were considered most beautiful who were hawk-nosed, for no




MY NOTE BOOK.                  119
other reason than that Cyrus had such a nose. In Richard
the Third's court humps upon the back were the height of
fashion.  According as the various potentates who have
condescended to rule mankind have lisped, or stuttered or
limped, or squinted, or spoken through their noses, these
infirmities have been elevated into graces and commanded
the admiration of silly mortals. But is there not more than
a possibility that what we ridicule in the kingdoms of earth
may have its counterpart in the church? Is there not a
tendency among Christians to imitate the spiritual infirmities
of their religious leaders, or oftener still of departed saints?
We may follow holy men so far as they follow Christ; the
mischief is that we do not readily stop where we should, but
rather where we should not. Bunyan, Whitfield, Wesley,
Calvin, Luther, yes, by all means imitate them-but not
indiscriminately, not slavishly, or you will do so ridiculously.
One is your Master, to copy him in every jot and tittle will be
safe enough.
INSIGNIFICANT SUBJECTS-Not Fit for the Pulpit.
CARLYLE in narrating an instance of the preservation of
etiquette at the court of Louis XVI., while the mob were
demanding entrance into his private apartments, and the
empire was going to pieces, compares it to the house-cricket
still chirping amid the pealing of the trump of doom. When
trivial subjects are descanted upon from the pulpit, while
souls are perishing for lack of knowledge, the same comparison may be used; as for instance, when a congregation
is collected, and the preacher talks about the drying up of
the Euphrates, or ventilates his pet theory for reconciling
Moses and geology. Why cannot these things be kept for
other assemblies? What can the man be at? Nero fiddling
over burning Rome is nothing to it! Even the women
knitting in front of the guillotine were not more coolly cruel.
We tolerate the cricket for his incongruous chirp; but go to,




120                 MY NOTE BOOK.
thou silly trifler at the sacred desk, we cannot frame excuse
for thee, or have patience with thee.
IMMUTABILITY OF GOD.
THERE be many Christians most like unto young sailors,
who think the shore and the whole land doth move when they
ship, and they themselves are moved. Just so not a few
do imagine that God moveth, and saileth, and changeth
places, because their giddy souls are under sail, and subject
to alteration, to ebbing and flowing. But the foundation of
the Lord abideth sure.-Samuel Rutherford.
INACTIVITY-The Evils of.
WHAT a riournful sight the observer may see in some of
the outskirts of our huge city; row after row of houses all
untenanted and forlorn. The owners had far better let them
at the lowest rent than suffer them to remain empty, for the
boys make targets of the windows, enterprising purveyors for the
marine store shops rend off all the lead, thieves purloin every
movable fitting, damp swells the window frames and doors,
and mustiness makes the whole place wretched to all the
senses; into the bargain the district gets a bad name which
it probably never loses. Better a poor tenant than a house
running to ruin unused. The similitude may well suggest
the desirableness of an object and a service to those Christians
whose time is wasted in slothful ease. All sorts of mischief
happen to unoccupied professors of religion; there is no evil
from which they are secure; better would it be for them to
accept the lowest occupation for the Lord Jesus, than remain
the victims of inaction.
INCONSISTENCIES.
THE orthodox Greek churchman is scandalised at the imageworship of the Romanist; it is flat idolatry, and he denounces
it vehemently. But what are those pictures in the Russian




MY NOTE BOOK.                  121
churches, many of them made to stand out in relief with
solid plates of gold and silver? Why, these are pictures of
the Virgin or of her Son, as the case may be, and your antiidolatrous Greek bows before these with voluntary humility.
He hates image-worship, you see, but stands up  for
picture-worship.  Behold how  sinners disagree in name
and unite in spirit! Put Greek and Roman in a sack
together, and let the greatest idolater out first:  the
wisest solution would be to keep them both in the sack, for
Solomonhimselfwouldbe puzzledto select themost guilty. Are
there not such inconsistencies among ourselves? Do we not
condemn in one form what we allow in another?  Do we
not censure in our neighbours what we allow in ourselves?
This query need not be answered in a hurry; the reply will
be the more extensive for a little waiting.
INCONSISTENCY.
MARK ANTONY once yoked two lions together, and drove
them through the streets of Rome, but no human skill can
ever yoke together the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the
Lion of the Pit. I did see a man once trying to walk on both
sides of the street at one time, but he was undoubtedly drunk;
and when we see a man labouring day by day to walk on both
sides of the street, morally-in the shady side of sin and the
sunny side of holiness, or reeling in the evening, at one time
towards the bright lights of virtue, and anon staggering back
to sin in dark places, where no lamp is shining-we say of
him, "He is morally intoxicated," and wisdom adds, "He
is mad, and if the Great Physician heal him not, his madness
will bring him to destruction."
INCONSISTENCY-Glossed Over.
" SILK is interdicted by Mussulman law as being an excrement.  They elude this prohibition by mixing a very little
cotton with it." After the same manner it is growing too




122                MY NOTE BOOK.
common at what are called Penny Readings, to indulge in
the idlest jesting and absurdity, and then to pass off the
whole entertainment respectably by singing the doxology, or
pronouncing the benediction; the religion being to the
foolery, in the proportion of the bread to the sack in Falstaff's reckoning. Do men imagine that Christ's laws are to
be as easily evaded as Mahomet's?  Do they dream that
the "very little cotton" will sanctify all the forbidden fabric?
The illustration may be applied in many other ways besides
that which we have here indicated.
INDOLENCE-a Shameful Sickness.
THERE once lived in Ghent a beggar, who was accustomed
to collect alms upon the pretence that he had a secret disease
lying in his bones and weakening his whole body, and that
he dared not for shame mention the name of it. This appeal
was exceedingly successful, until a person in authority more
curious than the rest, insisted upon following him, and examining him  at home.  At last the beggar confessed as
follows:-" That which pains me you see not; but I have a
shameful disease in my bones, so that I cannot work; some
call it sloth, and others term it idleness." Alas! that so
many in our churches should be so far gone with THIS SAME
SICKNESS.
INFIRMITIES —Use of.
" SOME of the arable land along the shore on the southeast coast of Sutherland, is almost covered with shore stones,
from the size of a turkey's egg to eight pounds weight.
Several experiments have been made to collect these off the
land, expecting a better crop; but in every case the land
proved less productive by removing them; and on some small
spots of land it was found so evident, that they were spread
on the land again, to ensure their usual crop of oats or
pease." We would fain be rid of all our infirmities which,




MY NOTE BOOK.                   123
to our superficial conceptions, appear to be great hindrances
to our usefulness, and yet it is most questionable if we should
bring forth any fruit unto God without them. Much rather,
therefore, will I glory in infirmities that the power of Christ
may rest upon me.
INFLUENCE.
LORD PETERBOROUGH speaking on one occasion of the
celebrated Fenelon, observed:-" He is a delicious creature;
I was forced to get away from him as fast as I possibly
could, else he would hage made me pious." Would to God
that all of us had such an influence over godless men.
INGRATITUDE-to God.
THE Staubach is a fall of remarkable magnificence, seeming to leap from heaven; its glorious stream reminds one of
the abounding mercy which in a mighty torrent descends
from above.  In the winter, when the cold is severe, the
water freezes at the foot of the fall, and rises up in huge
icicles like stalagmites, until it reaches the fall itself, as though
it sought to bind it in the same icy fetters. How like is this
to the common conduct of men! Divine favours frozen by
human ingratitude, are proudly lifted in rebellion against the
God who gave them.
INTEREST-in Holy Work to be Maintained.
IT is of the utmost importance to keep up our interest in
the holy work in which we are engaged, for the moment our
interest flags the work will become wearisome. Humboldt
says that the copper-coloured native of central America, far
more accustomed than the European traveller to the burning
heat of the climate, yet complains more when upon a journey,
because he is stimulated by no interest. The same Indian
who would complain, when in botanising he was loaded with
a box full of plants, would row his canoe fourteen or fifteen




124                MY NOTE BOOK.
hours together against the current without a murmur, because
he wished to return to his family. Labours of love are light.
Routine is a hard master.  Love much, and you can do
much. Impossibilities disappear when zeal is fervent.
INVITATIONS OF THE GOSPEL-the Sinner's Warrant.
IN the courts of law if a man be called as a witness, no
sooner is his name mentioned, though he may be at the end
of the court, than he begins to force his way up to the witness
box. Nobody says, " Why is this man pushing here?" or, if
they should say, "Who are you?" it would be a sufficient
answer to say, " My name was called." " But you are not
rich, you have no gold ring upon your finger!" "  No, but
that is not my right of way, but I was called." " Sir, you are
not a man of repute, or rank, or character! " " It matters not,
I was called. Make way."  So make way, ye doubts and
fears, make way, ye devils of the infernal lake, Christ calls
the sinner. Sinner, come, for though thou hast nought to
recommend thee, yet it is written, "Him that cometh unto
me I will in no wise cast out."
IRASCIBLE PERSONS-Not to be Provoked.
IN the Jardin des Plantes we saw a hooded snake in a
most unamiable condition of temper.  There was a thick
glass and a stout wire between us, and we did nothing but
look at him, yet he persisted in darting at us with the utmost
vehemence of malice, until the keeper requested us to move
away, with the advice that it was not well to irritate such
creatures. When one meets with an irascible person, on the
look out to pick a quarrel, ill conditioned, and out of elbows
with the whole world, it is best to move on, and let him
alone. Even if he can do you no harm, and if his irritation
be utterly unreasonable, it is best to remove all exciting causes
of provocation, for it is never wise to irritate vipers. You
do not on purpose walk heavily across the floor to teach a




MY NOTE BOOK.                  125
gouty man that you have no respect for his tender feelings
since he ought not to be so susceptible; neither should you
vex those afflicted with a bad temper, and then plead that
they have no right to be so excitable. If our neighbours'
tempers are gunpowder, let us not play with fire.
JESUITS.
THE cat having a long time preyed upon the mice, the poor
creatures at last, for their safety, contained themselves within
their holes; but the cat finding his prey to cease, as being
known to the mice that he was indeed their enemy and a cat,
deviseth this course following, namely, changeth his hue,
getting on a religious habit, shaveth his crown, walks gravely
by their holes; and yet perceiving that the mice kept their
holes, and looking out, suspected the worst, he formally, and
father-like, said unto them, "Quod fueram non sum, frater,
caput aspice tonsum —  brother, I am not as you take me for;
I am no more a cat; see my habit and shaven crown."  Hereupon some of the more credulous and bold among them were
again, by this deceit, snatched up; and therefore when afterwards he came, as before, to entice them forth, they would
come out no more, but answered, "Talk what you can, we
will never believe you; you bear still a cat's heart within
you." And so here the Jesuits, yea, and priests too, for they
are all joined in the tails, like Samson's foxes: Ephraim
against Manasseh, and Manasseh against Ephraim, and both
against Judah.-Sir E. Coke.
JOY-at Finding Salvation.
WE are told of some Turks, who have, upon the sight of
Mahomet's tomb, put out their eyes, that they might not
defile them, forsooth, with any common object, after they had
been blessed with seeing one so sacred. I am sure many
gracious souls there have been, who, oy a prospect of.
heaven's glory set before the eye of their faith, have been so




126                 MY NOTE BOOK.
ravished by the sight, that they desired God even to seal up
their eyes by death, with Simeon, who would not by his
good-will have lived a day after that blessed hour in which
his eyes had beheld the salvation of God.-W. Gurnall.
JOY OF OUt RBELIGION-as an Evidence of its Truth.
How I long for my bed! Not that I may sleep-I lie
awake often and long! but to hold sweet communion with
my God. What shall I render unto him for all his revelations
and gifts to me? Were there no historical evidence of the
truth of Christianity, were there no well-established miracles,
still I should believe that the religion propagated by the
fishermen of Galilee is divine. The holy joys it brings to me
must be from heaven. Do I write this boastingly, brother?
Nay, it is with tears of humble gratitude that I tell of the
goodness of the Lord."-Extractfrom a Private Letterfrom
Bapa Padmanji, one of the Native Converts in India.
lJUDGVMENT-Comparable to Balances.
OUR judgment may be compared to the scales and weights
of the merchant. It should be correct, but it seldom is quite
accurate; even ordinary wear and tear in this world will
suffice to put it out of gear.  We had need call in the
Rectifier full often, and entreat him to search out our secret
shortcomings, lest we deviate from equity and know it not.
It would be well if the scales of conscience would turn even
at the finest dust, but how rarely is this the case! False
weights and balances are an abomination unto the Lord, yet
many use them, they weigh their neighbours so as to underestimate them, and they use balances far too favourable to
themselves; they give the Lord a portion sadly too small,
and to their own pleasures a dowry much too great. Tradesmen who have one set of weights to buy with and others to
sell with, are evidently rogues, and we may convict ourselves




MY NOTE BOOK.                   127
of injustice at once if we find ourselves severe to other mrn
and lenient to ourselves. Fraudulent shopkeepers will use a
movable piece of metal, by removing which they can lighten
the weight or the scale, and we too may have a convenient
indignation which we may restrain or indulge according as
the person whose fault we judge may be the object of our
goodwill or our displeasure.  Some of the marine-store
dealers, and buyers of kitchen-stuff at the back door, pretend
to judge of weight by the feeling of their hand, and herein
they are no worse than those who settle everything by
prejudice and will not wait for reason. A railway traveller
assured me that he had been weighed a dozen times at
different stations, and only twice did the machines give the
same report, his opinion of their correctness was not very
high; for the same reason, of how little worth are the
opinions of the many as to the preachers of the gospel, for
scarcely two in a score are of the same mind! There is a
great weighing time coming, for which it will be well to be
prepared, for woe unto the man whom the infallible balances
shall find wanting.
JUDGMENT-DAY-Forgotten.
Is it not foolish to be living in this world without a thought
of what you will do at last? A man goes into an inn, and as
soon as he sits down he begins to order his wine, his dinner,
his bed; there is no delicacy in season which he forgets to
bespeak.  He stops at the inn for some time.  By-and-by
the bill is forthcoming, and it takes him by surprise. "I
never thought of that-I never thought of that!" "Why,"
says the landlord, "here is a man who is either a born fool
or else a knave. What! never thought of the reckoningnever thought of settling with me!" After this fashion too
many live.  They eat, and drink, and sin, but they forget
the inevitable hereafter, when for all the deeds done in the
body, the Lord will bring us into judgment.




128                 MY NOTE BOOK.
JUDGMENT-Perverted.
WHEN a traveller is newly among the Alps, he is constantly
deceived in his reckoning. One Englishman declared that
he could climb the Righi in half-an-hour, but after several
panting hours the summit was still a-head of him; yet when
he made the boast, some of us who stood by were much of
his mind-the ascent seemed so easy. This partly accounts
for the mistakes men make in estimating eternal things: they
have been too much used to molehills to be at home with
mountains. Only familiarity with the sublimities of revelation can educate us to a comprehension of their heights and
depths.
JUDGMENTS-Effects of.
IN the province of Quito, after the tremendous earthquake
of 1797, a number of marriages were contracted between
persons who had neglected for many years to sanction their
union by the sacerdotal benediction. Children found parents
by whom  they had never till then been acknowledged;
restitutions were promised by persons who had never been
accused of fraud; and families who had long been at enmity
were drawn together by the tie of common calamity. But if
this feeling seemed to calm the passions of some, and open
the heart to pity, it had a contrary effect on others, rendering
them more rigorous and inhuman.-Alexander Von Humboldt.
KINGDOM OF CHRIST-its Glories.
THE palace of Versailles with its countless representations
of battles, sieges, stormings, surprises, and all other forms of
wholesale and retail murder, is dedicated, according to an
inscription on its front, " To all the glories of France." Bah!
As well consecrate a shambles to all the glories of a butcher.
But what a glorious spiritual palace is the church, and how
truly is it dedicated to all the glories of the Lord Jesus!
Within its walls hang the memorials of battles far more




MY NOTE BOOK.                   129
worthy of the historian's quill than those of Austerlitz or
Wagram; victories are there commemorated which put to
the blush all the achievements of Charlemagnes or Napoleon;
for the contests are with evil principles, and the conquests are
triumphs over iniquity and rebellion; there are no garments
rolled in blood; fire and vapour of smoke are not there, but
the efficacy of atonement, the energy of grace, the Omnipotence of the Holy Ghost, the puissance of eternal love, all
these are there, and happy are the eyes that see them. May
the life of each one of us contribute a new work of celestial
art to those which already represent to angels and heavenly
intelligences, "the glories of Christ."
KNOWLEDGE-Lies not in Mere Words.
I HEARD two persons on the Wengern Alp talking by the
hour together of the names of ferns; not a word about their:
characteristics, uses, or habits, but a medley of crack-jaw
titles, and nothing more. They evidently felt that they were
ventilating their botany, and kept each other in countenance
by alternate volleys of nonsense. Well, friend, they were
about as sensible as those doctrinalists who for ever talk over
the technicalities of religion, but know nothing by experience
of its spirit and power. Are we not all too apt to amuse
ourselves after the same fashion?  He who knows mere
Linnean names, but has never seen a flower, is as reliable in
botany, as he is in theology who can descant upon supralapsarianism, but has never known the love of Christ in his
heart.
"True religion's more than doctrine,
Something must be known and felt."
LETHARGY OF SOUL.
Two of my hearers perished by a fire in their own house.
They were not consumed by the flames, but they were suffocated by the smoke. No blaze was ever visible, nor could
9




130                 MY NOTE BOOK.
any remarkable sign of fire be seen from the street, yet they
died as readily as if they had been burned to ashes by raging
flames. In this way sin also is deadly. Comparatively few
of our hearers are destroyed by outrageous and flaming vices,
such as blasphemy, theft, drunkenness, or uncleanness; but
crowds of them  are perishing by that deadly smoke of
indifference which casts its stifling clouds of carelessness
around them, and sends them asleep into everlasting destruction. 0 that they could be saved from the smoke as well as
from the flame!
LIFE.
JOHN MACKINTOSH thus writes to his biographer, Norman
Macleod:-" May it not be said that the movement of our
age is towards life?  I sometimes fancy that I can discern
three epochs in the Reformed Churches, corresponding in the
main to those three weighty epithets-via, veritas, vita.
The Reformers themselves, no doubt, laid the stress chiefly
upon the first (via). It was on this Popery had gone most
astray, obscuring the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
The epoch following was essentially dogmatic (veritas), when
the doctors drew up'systems' of the truth. It was now,
indeed, Christ as veritas / but the dogma taken alone led to
coldness, dogmatism, sectarianism, and formality.  Happy
will it be for the church, if, not forgetting the other two, she
shall now be found moving on to the third development of
Christ as vita-the life, which will regulate the two former
aspects, while it consummates and informs them.  This life
must develop the individual, and on individuals the church
depends; for in God's sight it is no abstraction."
LIFE OF THE BELIEVER-Interesting.
I HEARD a gentleman assert that he could walk almost
any number of miles when the scenery was good; but, he
added, "When it is flat and uninteresting, how one tires!"




MY NOTE BOOK.                   131
What scenery enchants the Christian pilgrim; the towering
mountains of predestination, the great sea of providence, the
rocks of sure promise, the green fields of revelation, the river
that makes glad the city of God, all these compose the
scenery which surrounds the Christian, and at every step
fresh sublimities meet his view.
LIFE-Explains Religion.
ONE of our party greatly needed some elder-flower water
for her face upon which the sun was working great mischief.
It was in the Italian town of Varallo, and not a word of
Italian did I know. I entered a chemist's shop and surveyed
his drawers and bottles, but the result was nil.  Bright
thought, I would go down by the river, and walk until I
could gather a bunch of elder-flowers, for the tree was then
in bloom. Happily the search was successful: the flowers
were exhibited to the druggist, the extract was procured.
When you cannot tell in so many words what true religion is,
exhibit it by your actions. Show by your life what grace can
do. There is no language in the world so eloquent as a holy
life. Men may doubt what you say, but they will believe
what you do.
LIFE-the Need of the Sinner.
WE visited two palaces in Venice, and realised the contrast
of life and death. The first was tenanted by a noble family,
who delighted to maintain it in good repair, to adorn it with
fresh beauties, and to furnish it in the most sumptuous
manner. Everything was fresh, fair, bright, and charming.
From the paving of mosaics in the hall one looked up to
ceilings glowing with the creations of the artist's pencil, and
in every chamber paintings, statues, ormolu, tapestry, and
all things else of the richest kind surrounded you. The
other was a palace, too, with marble pillars, and carved work,
but the stones were loosening, and the columns shifting, grass




132                  MY NOTE BOOK.
grew in the halls, and the roofs let in the rain, decay was
there and desolation, and yet the palace was as noble in its
architecture as the first. Thus when God dwells in a man,
all his powers and faculties are bright with a sacred light,
and joy and peace and beauty adorn his entire manhood;
but if the Holy Spirit depart, the heart being empty and void
becomes a ruin, everywhere decaying, and alas! too often
haunted by the demons of vice and iniquity.
LIFE-the Power of an Earnest.
THE upper galleries at Versailles are filled with portraits,
many of them extremely valuable and ancient. These are the
likenesses of the greatest men of all lands and ages, drawn by
the ablest artists. Yet most visitors wander through the
rooms with little or no interest; in fact, after noticing one or
two of the more prominent pictures, they hasten through the
suite of chambers and descend to the other floors. Notice the
change when the sight-seers come to fine paintings like those
of Horace Vernet, where the men and women are not inactive
portraits but are actively engaged. There the warrior who
was passed by without notice upstairs, is seen hewing his
way to glory over heaps of slain, or the statesman is observed
delivering himself of weighty words before an assembly of
princes and peers. Not the men but their actions engross
attention. Portraits have no charm when scenes of stirring
interest are set in rivalry with them. After all, then, let us be
who or what we may, we must bestir ourselves or be mere
nobodies, chips in the porridge, forgotten shells of the shore.
If we would impress we must act. The dignity of standing
still will never win the prize, we must run for it. Our influence over our times will arise mainly from our doing and
suffering the will of God, not from our office or person. Life,
life in earnest, life for God, this will tell on the age; but
mere orderliness and propriety, inactive and passionless, will
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MY NOTE BOOK.                  133
LIFE-The Hidden.
STANDING by the telegraphic wires one may often hear the
mystic wailing and sighing of the winds among them, like the
strains of an /Eolian harp, but one knows nothing of the
message which is flashing along them. Joyous may be the
inner language of those wires, swift as the lightning, farreaching and full of meaning, but a stranger intermeddles not
therewith. Fit emblem of the believer's inner life; men hear
our notes of outward sorrow wrung from  us by external
circumstances, but the message of celestial peace, the divine
communings with a better land, the swift heart-throbs of
heaven-born desire, they cannot perceive: the carnal see but
the outer manhood, but the life hidden with Christ in God,
flesh and blood cannot discern.
LIFE-Power of the Inner.
ON a winter's day I have noticed a row of cottages, with a
deep load of snow on their several roofs; but as the day
wore on, large fragments began to tumble from the eaves of
this one and that other, till, by-and-by, there was a simultaneous avalanche, and the whole heap slid over in powdery
ruin on the pavement, and before the sun went down you saw
each roof as clear and dry as on a summer's eve. But here
and there you would observe one with its snow-mantle unbroken, and a ruff of stiff icicles around it. What made the
difference? The difference was to be found within. Some
of these huts were empty, or the lonely inhabitant cowered
over a scanty fire; whilst the peopled hearth and the highblazing fagots of the rest created such an inward warmth that
grim winter melted and relaxed his gripe; and the loosened
mass folded off and tumbled over on the trampled street. It
is possible by some outside process to push the main volume
of snow from the frosty roof, or chip off the icicles one by
one. But they will form again, and it needs an inward heat
to create a total thaw. And so, by sundry processes, you may




134                 MY NOTE BOOK.
clear off from a man's conduct the dead weight of conspicuous
sins; but it needs a hidden heat, a vital warmth within, to
produce such a separation between the soul and its besetting
iniquities, that the whole wintry incubus, the entire body of
sin, will come spontaneously away. That vital warmth is the
love of God abundantly shed abroad-the kindly glow which
the Comforter diffuses in the soul which he makes his home.
His genial inhabitation thaws that soul and its favourite sins
asunder, and makes the indolence and self-indulgence and
indevotion fall off from their old resting-place on that dissolving heart. The easiest form of self-mortification is a fervent
spirit. —ames Hamilton, D.D.
LIFE-Reviewed.
HERE is a good searching question for a man to ask himself as he reviews his past life:-Have I written in the snow?
Will my life-work endure the lapse of years and the fret of
change? Has there been anything immortal in it, which will
survive the speedy wreck of all sublunary things? The boys
inscribe their names in capitals in the snow, and in the
morning's thaw the writing disappears; will it be so with my
work, or will the characters which I have carved outlast the
brazen tablets of history? Have I written in the snow?
LIFE-Spiritual.
How like to a Christian a man may be and yet possess no
vital godliness! Walk through the British Museum, and you
will see all the orders of animals standing in their various
places, and exhibiting themselves with the utmost possible
propriety. The rhinoceros demurely retains the position in
which he was set at first, the eagle soars not through the
window, the wolf howls not at night; every creature, whether
bird, beast, or fish, remains in the particular glass case
allotted to it; but we all know that these are not the creatures,
but only the outward semblances of them. Yet in what do




MY NOTE BOOK.                    135
they differ? Certainly in nothing which you could readily
see, for the well-stuffed animal is precisely like what the
living animal would have been; and that eye of glass even
appears to have more of brightness in it than the natural eye
of the creature itself; there is a secret inward something
lacking, which, when it has once departed, you cannot
restore. So in the churches of Christ, many professors are
not living believers, but stuffed Christians. They possess all
the externals of religion, and every outward morality that you
could desire; they behave with great propriety, they keep
their places, and there is no outward difference between
them and the true believer, except upon the vital point, the
life which no power on earth can possibly confer. There is
this essential distinction, spiritual life is absent.
LIFE-Uncertainty of.
" IT fareth with most men's lives, as with the sand in a
deceptive hour-glass; look but upon it in outward appearance,
and it seemeth far more than it is, because it riseth up upon
the sides, whilst the sand is empty and hollow in the midst
thereof, so that when it sinks down in an instant, a quarter of
an hour is gone in a moment. Thus many men are mistaken
in their own account, reckoning upon threescore and ten
years, the age of a man, because their bodies appear strong
and lusty. Alas! their health may be hollow, there may be
some inward infirmity and imperfection unknown to them, so
that death may surprise them on a sudden, and they be cut
down like the grass."
LIFE —Uncertain Tenure of.
THERE is a talk of giving fixity of tenure in Ireland; can
they find it in England, or for the matter of that, in all the
world? No, we are all tenants, liable to be ejected without
an hour's notice. How death must laugh at our leases and




136                  MY NOTE BOOK.
our bonds! Cobwebs are not more frail. A bubble has as
sure a tenure as a man.
"What boots your houses and your lands?
In spite of close-drawn deed and fence,
Like water,'twixt your cheated hands,
They slip into the graveyard's sands,
And mock your ownership's pretence."
LIFE-to be Viewed in Reference to its End.
THE way is good, says Chrysostom, if it be to a feast, though
through a dark and miry lane; if to an execution not good,
though through the fairest street of the city. Non qua sed
quo. Not the way but the end is to be mainly considered.
LIGHT-Detested by the Wicked.
A SLUTTISH housemaid when scolded for the untidiness of
the chambers exclaimed, " I'm sure the rooms would be clean
enough if it were not for the nasty sun which is always showing
the dirty corners." Thus do men revile the gospel because it
reveals their own sin.  Thus all agitations for reforms in
Church and State are opposed, and all manner of mischief
attributed to them as if they created the evils which they
bring to light. The lover of the right courts anything which
may manifest the wrong, but those who love evil have never
a good word for those disturbing beams of truth which show
up the filthy corners of their hearts and lives.
LITTLE. THINGS-Whereunto they may Grow.
WHEN the air balloon was first discovered, a matter-offact gentleman contemptuously asked Dr. Franklin what was
the use of it. The doctor answered this question by asking
another:-" What is the use of a new-born infant? It may
become a man."  This anticipation of great things springing
from small beginnings should induce us to put into practice
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MY NOTE BOOK.                     137
souls. What if we ourselves and our work should be little in
Zion; cannot the Lord cause the grandest issues to proceed
from insignificant beginnings? Who hath despised the day
of small things?
LIVES-Wrecked.
SAILING down the Thames one occasionally sees a green
flag in tatters, inscribed with the word WRECK, floating in the
breeze over a piece of a mast, or the funnel of a steamer which
is just visible above the water. Alas! how many lives might
thus be marked, and how  needful that they should be so
labelled, lest they prove ruinous to others! The debauched,
the self-righteous, the spendthrift, the miserly, the apostate,
the drunken, how wisely might the flag be placed over them,
for they each are a WRECK!
LONGINGS-of the Soul often Painful.
HAVE you never seen a caged eagle with its breast or wing
bleeding from blows received by dashing against the wire of
its cage? The poor creature dreamed of the forest and the
craggy rock, and, filled with aspirations for sublimest flight,
it stretched its wings and flew upward, only to bring itself
into sharp contact with its prison. Even thus the new-born
nature, stirred in its inmost depths with longings suitable to
its celestial origin, aspires after the joys of heaven, stretching
all its wings to soar towards perfection; but alas! we who are
in this body do groan, we find the flesh to be a prison, and
so the more we long the more we pine, and pining we sigh
and cry, and wound our hearts with insatiable desires and
bleeding discontents. The pangs of strong desire for the
presence of the Lord in glory, who among believers has not
felt them? Who among us has not found our flight upward
brought to a painful pause by the stern facts of flesh and
blood, and earth and sin?




138                MY NOTE BOOK.
LOVE OF GOD-Shed Abroad by the Holy Ghost.
FREQUENTLY at the great Roman games, the emperors, in
order to gratify the citizens of Rome, would cause sweet
perfumes to be rained down upon them through the awning
which covered the amphitheatre.  Behold the vases, the
huge vessels of perfume! Yes, but there is nought here to
delight you so long as the jars are sealed; but let the vases
be opened, and the vessels be poured out, and let the drops
of perfumed rain begin to descend, and every one is refreshed
and gratified thereby. Such is the love of God. There is a
richness and a fulness in it, but it is not perceived till the
Spirit of God pours it out like the rain of fragrance over the
heads and hearts of all the living children of God.  See,
then, the need of having the love of God shed abroad in the
heart by the Holy Ghost!
LUST.
OUR lusts are cords. Fiery trials are sent to burn and
consume them. Who fears the flame which will bring him
liberty from bonds intolerable?
MAN-Fallen.
WE saw at Hanover the unfinished palace of the deposed
monarch: we were shown his state and private carriages and
his stables of cream-coloured horses. A saddening sight to
see all the emblems of sovereignty and no king; the insignia
of royalty and the monarch for ever exiled. How like to
human nature, which has so much about it prepared for the
service of the King of kings, so much of faculty for heavenly
occupation, but the king has departed and the house is left
desolate, and all the furnishing thereof perverted to alien
uses. Thought, imagination, judgment, memory, all fit to be
yoked to celestial chariots, become the very hacks of the
devil, and the body once a palace now a haunt of thieves.
Alas, alas! poor manhood!




MY NOTE BOOK.                   139
MAN (THE GOOD)-Beneficial Influence of.
ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT thus writes of the cowtree:-"On the barren flank of a rock grows a tree with
coriaceous and dry leaves. Its large woody roots can scarcely
penetrate into the stone. For several months of the year not
a single shower moistens its foliage. Its branches appear
dead and dried; but when the trunk is pierced there flows
from it a sweet and nourishing milk. It is at the rising of
the sun that this vegetable fountain is most abundant. The
negroes and natives are then seen hastening from all quarters,
furnished with large bowls to receive the milk, which grows
yellow, and thickens at its surface. Some empty their bowls
under the tree itself, others carry the juice home to their
children."
May not the earnest Christian ministering good on all
sides be imaged in this marvellous tree? He is in his own
esteem full often a withered and dead tree, but there is within
him a living sap, which wells up with blessing tq all around.
His surroundings are all against him, the soil in which he
grows is hostile to grace, yet he not only lives on, but
luxuriates. He derives nothing from earth, his fountain is
from above, but he enriches the sons of earth with untold
blessings, and though they often wound him they experimentally know his value. To him full many of the poor and
needy look up as to a friend in need, he is full of the milk of
human kindness; where he cannot give in golden coin he
distributes comfort in sympathy and words of cheer.
MAN (THE GOOD)-Beneficial Influence of.
IN a hot summer's-day, some years ago, I was sailing with
a friend in a tiny boat, on a miniature lake, enclosed like a
cup within a circle of steep, bare Scottish hills.  On the
shoulder of the brown sun-burnt mountain, and full in sight,
was a well with a crystal stream trickling over its lip, and
making its way down towards the lake. Around the well's




140                 MY NOTE BOOK.
mouth and along the course of the rivulet, a belt of green
stood out in strong contrast with the iron surface of the rocks
all around. We soon agreed as to what should be made of it.
There it was, a legend clearly printed by the finger of God
on the side of these silent hills, teaching the passer-by how
needful a good man is, and how useful he may be in a desert
world.-W. Arnot.
MAN-Natural State of.
A MUSICAL amateur of eminence, who had often observed
Mr. Cadogan's inattention to his performances, said to him
one day, "Come, I am determined to make you feel the
power of music, pay particular attention to this piece." It
was played. "Well, what do you say now?" "Just what I
said before." "What! can you hear this and not be charmed?
I am surprised at your insensibility! Where are your ears?"
"Bear with me, my lord," replied Mr. Cadogan, " since I too
have had my surprise; I have from the pulpit set before you
the most striking and affecting truths; I have found notes
that might have awaked the dead; I have said, Surely he will
feel now; but you never seemed charmed with my music,
though infinitely more interesting than yours. I too might
have said-' Where are his ears?"'
Man, until sovereign grace opens his ears, is deaf to the
heavenly harmonies of the love of God in Christ Jesus,
although these are the ravishment of angels and the wonder
of eternity.
MAN-Perversion of his Faculties.
ACCORDING to the fable, the tail of the snake obtained precedence of the head and led the way in the creature's
journeying. Being altogether blind the new guide dashed
against a stone at one moment, and the next came violently
against a tree, and at last drowned both itself and the head
in the river of death. Here may be seen the unhappy condition of men in whom their baser nature is dominant, the




MY NOTE BOOK.                    141
animal controlling the intellectual. They invert the order of
nature, they rebel against common sense; their course cannot
but be unwise and dangerous, and their end must be fatal.
God made man upright, and placed his thoughtful faculties
aloft in the place of sovereignty, but man in his folly permits
the appetites which he holds in common with the brute
creation to reign supreme, while the mind, which ought to
rule, is degraded to meanest servitude.
MAN-a Stain on the Universe.
RUSKIN says: —" The Savoyard's cottage, standing in the
midst of an inconceivable, inexpressible beauty, set on some
sloping bank of golden sward, with clear fountains flowing
beside it, and wild flowers, and noble trees, and goodly rocks,
gathered round into a perfection as of Paradise, is itself a
dark and plague-like stain in the midst of the gentle landscape. Within a certain distance of its threshold the ground
is foul and cattle-trampled; its timbers are black with smoke,
its garden choked with weeds and nameless refuse, its chambers empty and joyless, the light and wind gleaming and
filtering through the crannies of their stones."
Alas! too fit an illustration of unregenerate manhood in
the midst of divine mercies, surrounded with displays of
boundless goodness.
"Every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile."
MEANS OF GRACE-their Disuse a Sad Loss.
MY.Eolian harp is not sounding and yet a fine fresh wind
is blowing in at the window. Why hear I not its soft mystic
strains? I remember, it was put away in the lumber room
and some of its strings are broken. There is a gracious revival
in the church, and believers are greatly refreshed by the visitations of God's Spirit, but I am in a sadly worldly unbelieving
condition. May it not be because I neglect private prayer,
and have not been regular at the prayer-meeting; my family




142                MY NOTE BOOK.
concerns and business cares have kept my heart in the lumber
room, and my soul has lost her first love? Yes, these are the
reasons. Lord, tune my heart, and I will again seek the places
where the heavenly wind of thy Spirit blows graciously and
refreshingly. How can I bear to be silent when thy daily
mercies are all around me singing of thy love?
MEDITATION-to be Practised.
THOSE who would be in health do not sit still in their
houses to breathe such air as may come to them, but they
walk abroad and seek out rural and elevated spots that they
may inhale the invigorating breezes; and thus those godly
souls who would be in a vigorous spiritual state, do not
merely think upon such holy doctrines as may come into their
minds in the ordinary course of thought, but they give time
to meditation, they walk abroad in the fields of truth, and
endeavour to climb the heights of gospel promises. It is said
that Enoch walked with God: here is not an idle but an
active communion. The road to bodily health is said to be a
footpath, and the way to spiritual health is to exercise one's
self in holy contemplation.
MERCIES (TEMPORAL)-an Argument.
IF the Lord has enriched you in temporals, though you
have not feared him, have you not every reason to expect
that he will do as well for you in spirituals, if you ask him to
do so? You call at a friend's house on horseback; he takes
your horse into the stable, and is remarkably attentive to it;
the creature is well groomed, well housed, well fed; you are
not at all afraid that you will be shut out, there is surely a
warm place in the parlour for the rider, where the horse is so
well accommodated in the stable. Now, your body, which we
may liken to the horse, has enjoyed temporal prosperity in
abundance, and surely the Lord will take care of your soul if
you seek his face! Let your prayer be, " My God, my Father,




MY NOTE BOOK.                  143
be my guide. Since thou hast dealt so well with me in these
external matters, give me true riches, give me to love thy
Son and trust in him, and so be henceforth thy child."
MERCY-Abuse of.
A CERTAIN member of that parliament wherein a statute
for the relief of the poor was passed, was an ardent promoter of that Act. He asked his steward when he returned
to the country, what the people said of that statute. The
steward answered, that he heard a labouring man say, that
whereas formerly he worked six days in the week, now he
would work but four; which abuse of that good provision so
affected the pious statesman that he could not refrain from
weeping.  Lord, thou hast made many provisions in thy
Word for my support and comfort, and hast promised in my
necessities thy supply and protection; but let not my presumption of help from thee cause my neglect of any of those
means for my spiritual and temporal preservation which thou
hast enjoined.
MERCY-Contiual.
A BENEVOLENT person gave Mr. Rowland Hill a hundred
pounds to dispense to a poor minister, and thinking it was too
much to send him all at once, Mr. Hill forwarded five pounds
in a letter, with simply these words within the envelope, " More
to follow." In a few days' time, the good man received another
letter by the post-and letters by the post were rarities in those
days; this second messenger contained another five pounds,
with the same motto, "And more to follow." A day or two
after came a third and a fourth, and still the same promise,
"And more to follow." Till the whole sum had been received the astonished minister was made familiar with the
cheering words, "And more to follow."
Every blessing that comes from God is sent with the selfsame message, " And more to follow." "I forgive you your




144                MY NOTE BOOK.
sins, but there's more to follow."  "I justify you in the
righteousness of Christ, but there's more to follow."  "I
adopt you into my family, but there's more to follow." "I
educate you for heaven, but there's more to follow."  "I
give you grace upon grace, but there's more to follow."  " I
have helped you even to old age, but there's still more to
follow." " I will uphold you in the hour of death, and as you
are passing into the world of spirits, my mercy shall still
continue with you, and when you land in the world to come
there shall still be MORE TO FOLLOW."
MERCY-Dissolves the Heart.
You may have heard of some persons condemned to
execution, who at the scaffold have been so obdurate and
stiff-necked that not a cry or a tear came from them; yet,
just as they have been going to lay their necks upon the
block, when a pardon has come, and they were at once
discharged from guilt, imprisonment, and death, they that
could not weep a tear before, no sooner saw the pardon sealed,
and themselves acquitted, than they dissolved into tears of joy,
thankfulness, and surprise.  So it is with believers. The
more they see Christ in the pardon of sin, and the love of
God in Christ to receive and embrace them, the more they
melt. —Tobias Crisp.
MERCY-its Effect on the Soul.
A MAN convicted of high treason and condemned to die
is not only pardoned, but taken into the favour of his
sovereign. He is riding in the royal carriage, and on the
road he sees some of his fellow traitors pinioned and manacled,
led forth in the midst of officers to die for the offence in which
he had as deep a hand as they. What think you, will he not
entreat the gracious monarch to extend his clemency to his
fellow rebels? Will not the tears stand in his eyes as he
admires the difference which his sovereign's free mercy has




MY NOTE BOOK.                   145
made? Will he not be moved with emotions impossible to
describe, of mingled joy and grief, pity and gratitude,
wonder and compassion? Christian, see your likeness here
drawn to the life, you must surely feelready to fall down on your
knees, and cry, " Lord, why dost thou reveal thy mercy to me
and not to these? Save them also, O Lord, for thy name's
sake."
MERCY-Excellence of.
I REMEMBER well being taken one day to see a gorgeous
palace at Venice, where every piece of furniture was made
with most exquisite taste, and of the richest material, where
statues and pictures of enormous price abounded on all hands,
and the floor of each room was paved with mosaics of marvellous art, and extraordinary value. As I was shown from
room to room, and allowed to roam amid the treasures by its
courteous owner, I felt a considerable timidity, I was afraid
to sit anywhere, nor did I hardly dare to put down my foot,
or rest my hand to lean. Everything seemed to be too good
for ordinary mortals like myself; but when one is introduced
into the gorgeous palace of infinite goodness, costlier and
fairer far, one gazes wonderingly with reverential awe at the
matchless vision. "How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O
God!" " I am not worthy of the least of all thy benefits. Oh!
the depths of the love and goodness of the Lord."
MERCY-Seen in our Lives.
WHAT a rugged, precipitous, ungainly pass is that Col
D'Obbia! It was shrewd common sense, and true humanity
which suggested the erection of that poor little hospice at the
summit. Never was a shelter more opportune, a refuge more
welcome. One could not have expected to find a retreat in
so desolate a region, but there it was, and we were received
into it with cordiality. The great Lord of pilgrims has taken
care that in the hardest parts of oifr road to the Celestial
10




146                 MY NOTE BOOK.
City there should be blessed resting places, where beneath the
shade of promises, weary ones may repose within the shelter
of love. God's hospice may be confidently looked for whenever the way is more than ordinarily difficult.
MERITS.
A SHIP on her way to Australia met with a very terrible
storm, and sprung a leak. As evils seldom come alone, alittle
while after another tempest assailed her. There happened
to be a gentleman on board, of the most nervous temperament, whose garrulous tongue and important air were
calculated to alarm  all the passengers.  When the storm
came on, the captain, who knew what mischief may be done by
a suspicious and talkative individual, managed to get near him
with a view to rendering him quiet. The gentlemen addressing
the captain, said in a tone of alarm, "What an awful storm;
I am afraid we shall go to the bottom, for I hear the leak is
very bad." "Well," said the captain, "as you seem to know
it, and perhaps the others do not, you had better not mention
it to any one, lest you should frighten the passengers or
dispirit my men.  Perhaps as it is a very bad case, you
would lend us your valuable help, and then we may possibly
get through it. Would you have the goodness to stand here
and hold hard on this rope; pray do not leave it, but pull as
hard as ever you can till I tell you to let it go." So our
friend clenched his teeth, and put his feet firmly down, and
kept on holding this rope with all his might, till he earnestly
wished for a substitute.  The storm abated; the ship was
safe, and our friend was released from his rope-holding.
He expected a deputation would bring him the thanks of all
the passengers, but they were evidently unconscious of his
merits; for it is too often the case that we forget our greatest
benefactors. Even the captain did not seem very grateful;
so our hero ventured, in a roundabout style to hint, that
such valuable services as his, having saved the vessel, ought




MY NOTE BOOK.                    147
to be rewarded at least with some few words of acknowledgment; when he was shocked to hear the captain say, " What,
sir, do you think you saved the vessel? Why, I gave you that
rope to hold to keep you engaged, that you might not be in
such a feverish state of alarm."
The self-righteous may here see how  much men contribute to their own salvation apart from Christ. They think
they can certainly save themselves, and there they stand
holding the rope with their clenched teeth and their feet
tightly fixed, while they are really doing no more than our
officious friend, who was thus befooled. If ever you get to
heaven, you will find that everything you did towards your
own salvation, apart from the Lord Jesus, was about as useful
as holding the rope; that in fact, the safety of the soul lies
somewhere else, and not in you; and that what is wanted
with you is just to get out of the way, and let Christ come in
and magnify his grace.
MINISTER.
THE sharp shrill cry of "Acqua! Acqua!" constantly pierces
the ear of the wanderer in Venice and other towns of sultry
Italy. There is the man who thus invites your attention.
Look at him. On his back he bears a burden of water, and
in his hand a rack of bottles containing essences to flavour
the draught if needed, and glasses to hold the cooling liquid.
In the streets of London he would find but little patronage,
but where fountains are few and the days are hot as an oven,
he earns a livelihood and supplies a public need. The present
specimen of water-dealers is a poor old man bent sideways,
by the weight of his daily burden. He is worn out in all but
his voice, which is truly startling in its sharpness and distinctness. At our call he stops immediately, glad to drop his
burden on the ground, and smiling in prospect of a
customer. He washes out a glass for us, fills it with sparkling water, offers us the tincture which we abhor, puts it back




148                 MY NOTE BOOK.
into the rack again when we shake our head, receives half-adozen soldi with manifest gratitude, and trudges away across
the square, crying still, " Acqua! Acqua! " That cry, shrill as
it is, has sounded sweetly in the ears of many a thirsty soul,
and will for ages yet to come, if throats and thirst survive so
long.  How  forcibly it calls to our mind the Saviour's
favourite imagery, in which he compares the grace which
he bestows on all who diligently seek it, to "living water;"
and how much that old man is like the faithful preacher of
the word, who, having filled his vessel at the well, wears himself out by continually bearing the burden of the Lord, and
crying, " Water! water! " amid crowds of sinners, who must
drink or die. Instead of the poor Italian water-bearer, we
see before us the man of God, whose voice is heard in the
chief places of concourse, proclaiming the divine invitation,
" Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters! " until
he grows grey in the service, and men say, "Surely those
aged limbs have need of rest;" yet rest he courts not, but
pursues his task of mercy; never laying down his charge till
he lays down his body, and never ceasing to work until he
ceases to live.
At the door of Saint Mark's Cathedral, we bought a glass
of what should have been the pure element, but when we
began to drink, a pungent flavour of something which had
previously been in the cup, made us leave the rest of our purchase, thirsty though we were. The water was good enough,but
the vessel which held it imparted an evil taste to it; the like
has often happened in the ministry, the gospel preached has
been true and divine, but the unhallowed savour of an inconsistent life, or a bitter disposition, has marred the sweetness
of the Word. May all of us by whom the Lord hands out the
water of life, see that we are clean and pure in conversation,
vessels fit for the Master's use. Men who are very thirsty will
drink out of any cup, however dirty; but no conceivable advantage can arise from filth, and hundreds will turn away from the




MY NOTE BOOK.                   149
water because of it, and thus a very faulty ministry may be
useful because of the truth contained in it, but its sinfulness can do no good, and may serve as an excuse to the
ungodly for refusing the gospel of Christ.
In the square of the Doge's palace are two wells, from
which the sellers of water obtain their stock-in-trade, but we
can hardly compare either of them with the overflowing
spring from which the preacher of righteousness draws his
supplies. One of the wells is filled artificially and is not much
used for drinking, since the coldness and freshness of water
springing naturally from earth's deep fountains is lacking. It
is to be feared that many preachers depend for their matter
upon theological systems, books, and mere learning, and hence
their teaching is devoid of the living power and refreshing
influence which is found in communion with "the spring of
all our joys." The other well yields most delicious water,
but its flow is scanty. In the morning it is full, but a crowd
of eager persons drain it to the bottom, and during the day
as it rises by driblets, every drop is contended for and borne
away, long before there is enough below to fill a bucket. In
its excellence, continuance and naturalness, this well might
be a fair picture of the grace of our Lord Jesus, but it fails to
set him forth from its poverty of supply. He has a redundance,
an overflow, an infinite fulness, and there is no possibility-of
his being exhausted by the draughts made upon him, even
though ten thousand times ten thousand should come with a
thirst as deep as the abyss. We could not help saying,
"Spring up, O well," as we looked over the margin covered
with copper, into which strings and ropes-continually used
by the waiting many-had worn deep channels. Very little
of the coveted liquid was brought up each time, but the
people were patient, and their tin vessels went up and down
as fast as there was a cupful to be had. 0 that men were
half as diligent in securing the precious gifts of the Spirit,
which are priceless beyond compare! Alas! how few have




150                MY NOTE BOOK.
David's thirst for the well of Bethlehem. The cans sent
down had very broad sides, so that they dropped down flat
upon the bottom of the well, and were drawn up less than
half full; larger vessels would have been useless, and so,
indeed, would small ones if they had not been made to lie
quite down upon their sides, along what we must call the
floor of the well, and had they have been erect they would
not have received a drop.  Humility is always a profitable
grace; pride is always as useless as it is foolish. Only by
bowing our minds to the utmost before the Lord, can we expect
to receive his mercy, for he promises grace unto the humble in
that same verse which foretells his resistance of the proud. If
there be grace anywhere, contrite hearts will get it. The
lower we can fall, the sooner will the springing water of grace
reach us, and the more completely shall we be filled with it.
It would be a great misfortune for those who buy their
water in the streets, if the itinerant vendors should begin to
fill their casks and bottles from muddy streams. At Botzen,
in the Tyrol, we saw many fountains running with a liquid of
a very brown colour, and a seller of such stuff might cry
" ACQUA!" very long and very loudly before we should partake
of his dainties. Sundry divines in our age have become weary
of the old-fashioned well of which our fathers drank, and
would fain have us go to their Abana and Pharpar, but we
are still firm in the belief that the water from the rock has
no rival, and we shall not, we hope, forsake it for any other.
May the Lord send to our happy land more simple gospel,
more Christ-exalting doctrine, more free-grace teaching, more
distinct testimony to atoning blood and eternal love. In most
of the Swiss villages there are streaming fountains by the dozen,
and the pure liquid is to be had at every corner; may we yet
see the Word of God as abundantly distributed in every town,
village, and hamlet in England. Meanwhile, having recorded
the prayer, we resolve, by divine grace, to cry more loudly
than ever, "Acqua! Acqua! "




MY NOTE BOOK.                    151
MINISTER.
HOWEVER learned, godly, and eloquent a minister may be,
he is nothing without the Holy Spirit. The bell in the
steeple may be well hung, fairly fashioned, and of soundest
metal, but it is dumb until the ringer makes it speak; and in
like manner the preacher has no voice of quickening for the
dead in sin, or of comfort for living saints until the divine
Spirit gives him a gracious pull, and bids him speak with
power. Hence the need of prayer from both preacher and
hearers.
MINISTER-Need of Personal Tenderness.
SPEAKING of the temper requisite to the right discharge of
ministerial duty, Payson said, " I never was fit to say a word
to a sinner, except when I had a broken heart myself; when
I was subdued and melted into penitency, and felt as though
I had just received pardon to my own soul, and when my
heart was full of tenderness and pity. No anger, no anger.'
XINISTER-Self-dissatisfaction of.
" SWIFT of foot was Hiawatha,
He could shoot an arrow from him,
And run forward with such fleetness,
That the arrow fell behind him! "
The fable is even less than truth with the fervent preacher:
he darts arrows of fire in flaming speech, but his eagerness
to win souls far outruns his words. He projects himself far
beyond his language. His heart outstrips his utterance. He
embraces souls in his love, while his words as yet are but on
the wing. Often and often will he weep when his sermon is
over, because his words " fell behind him; " yet has he cause
for joy, that he should have received so divine a spirit from
his Master's hand: his very dissatisfaction proves his zeal.




152                 MY NOTE BOOK.
MINISTER-Should be a Nursing Father.
IN a church in Verona stands, or rather sits, a wooden
image of St. Zeno, an ancient bishop, with knees so ludicrously
short that there is no lap on which a babe could be dandled.
He was not the first nor the last ecclesiastic who has been
utterly incapable of being a nursing father to the church.
It were well if all ministers had a heavenly instinct for the
nourishing and bringing up of the Lord's little ones. Is there
not much lack in this?
MINISTRY-Best Men Needed for it.
" AMONGST the Jesuits they have a rule, that they who are
unapt for greater studies, shall study cases of conscience." Is
this to be adopted among Protestants, and when a man is too
brainless to succeed in any common calling, is he therefore
to argue that he is called to the ministry? This mischievous
notion fills pulpits, but it empties pews. The fact is, the very
pick of our Christian men are wanted for a work
"Which well might fill an angel's heart,
Did fill a Saviour's hands."
MISTAKES-Our Aptness to Make.
WE were riding along in the afternoon of a lovely but
blazing day from Varallo to Riva, and to quench our thirst
on the road we carried with us some bottles of an excellent
lemonade. The empty bottles were of no use to us, and one
of them was given to a friend on the box seat of the carriage
to throw away. He happened to be the essence of gentleness
and liberality, and seeing two very poor peasant women
trudging along with huge empty baskets strapped on their
backs, he thought it would delight them if he dropped the
bottle into one of their receptacles; a bottle being far more
a godsend there than in England.  Alas, for our friend's
happiness during the whole of the next twenty-four hours!
The motion of the carriage made him miss his aim, and the




MY NOTE BOOK.                   153
bottle fell on the head of the woman instead of into her
basket. There was a shrill cry, and a good deal of blood and
speedy faintness. Of course, we were all in an instant binding
up the wound with silver, and our friend we feel sure used
golden ointment, so that the poor old creature would have
cheerfully had her head broken ten times to receive such a
sum as she obtained by way of solatium; but still the accident
saddened us all, and especially our dear tended-hearted friend
from whose hand the missile was dropped. How often has
his case been- ours! We meant to cheer a troubled conscience
and instead thereof we wounded it yet more. We intended
nothing but love, but our words gave pain; we had miscalculated, and missed our aim. This has both astonished us and
caused us the deepest regret. Yet such a blunder has made
us the more careful, and has humbled us under a sense of
our readiness to err, and moreover it has led us to be still
more liberal in the use of that precious treasure of the gospel,
which easily recompenses for all our blundering.  Loving
reader, be careful with your kindnesses, but be not too much
depressed should they fail to comfort. The Lord knows your
intentions.
XONEY-MAKING-Nothing but Play.
MR. RUSKIN, in his lecture on " Work,"* says:-" Whatever we do to please ourselves, and only for the sake of the
pleasure, not for an ultimate object, is'play,' the'pleasing
thing,' not the useful thing.... The first of all English
games is making money. That is an all-absorbing game;.
and we knock each other down oftener in playing at that than
at foot-ball, or any other rougher sport; and it is absolutely
without purpose; no one who engages heartily in that game
ever knows why. Ask a great money-maker what he wants
* In "The Crown of Wild Olive, Three Lectures on Work,
Traffic, and War." By John Ruskin, M.A., I866.




154                 MY NOTE BOOK.
to do with his money-he never knows. He doesn't make it
to do anything with it. He gets it only that he may get it.'What will you make of what you have got?' you ask.'Well, I'll get more,' he says. Just as at cricket, you get
more runs. There's no use in the runs, but to get more of
them than other people is the game. And there's no use in
the money, but to have more of it than other people is the
game. So all that great foul city of London there-rattling,
growling, smoking, stinking-a ghastly heap of fermenting
brickwork, pouring out poison at every pore-you fancy it is
a city of work?  Not a street of it! It is a great city of
play; very nasty play, and very hard play, but still play.
It is only Lord's Cricket Ground without the turf-a huge
billiard-table without the cloth, and with pockets as deep as
the bottomless pit, but mainly a billiard table after all."
MONEY-MAKING-No Time for.
A GENTLEMAN of Boston (U. S.), an intimate friend of
Professor Agassiz, once expressed his wonder that a man of
such abilities as he (Agassiz) possessed should remain contented with such a moderate income. " I have enough," was
Agassiz's reply. " I have not time to make money. Life is
not sufficiently long to enable a man to get rich, and do his
duty to his fellow men at the same time." Christian, have
you time to serve your God and yet to give your whole soul
to gaining wealth? The question is left for conscience to
answer.
MORALIST.
THE dahlia would surely be a very empress among flowers
if it had but perfume equal to its beauty; even the rose
might need to look to her sovereignty. Florists have tried
all their arts to scent this lovely child of autumn but in vain,
no fragrance can be developed or produced; God has denied
the boon, and human skill cannot impart it. The reflecting




MY NOTE BOOK.                   155
mind will be reminded of those admirable characters which
are occasionally met with, in which everything of good
repute and comely aspect may be seen, but true religion, that
sweet ethereal perfume of grace, is wanting; if they had but
love to God, what lovely beings they would be, the best of the
saints would not excel them, and yet that fragrant grace they
do not seek, and after every effort we may make for their
conversion, they remain content without the one thing which is
needful for their perfection. O that the Lord would impart
to them the mystic sweetness of his grace by the Holy Spirit!
MOTIVES.
THERE are overshot water-wheels and undershot. In the
one case the motive power falls from above, in the other the
water turns the wheel from below; the first is the more
powerful. Men, like wheels, are turned by forces from various
sources, and too many move by the undercurrent-mercenary
desires and selfish aims drive them; but the good man's
driving force falls from above; let him endeavour to prove to
all men that this is the most mighty force in existence.
MOTIVES.
STANDING near the remarkable spring at Ewell, in Surrey,
and watching the uprising of the waters, one sees at the
bottom of the pool innumerable circles with smaller circles
within them, from which extremely fine sand is continually
being upheaved by the force of the rising water.  Tiny
geysers upheave their little founts, and from a myriad openings
bubble up with the clear crystal. The perpetual motion of
the water, and the leaping of the sand are most interesting.
It is not like the spring-head in the field, where the cooling
liquid pours forth perpetually from a spout, all unseen, till it
plunges into its channel; nor like the river-head where the
stream weeps from a mass of mossy rock; but here are the
fountains of earth's hidden deeps all unveiled and laid bare,
the very veins of nature opened to the public gaze. How




153               MY NOTE BOOK.
would it amaze us if we could in this fashion peer into the
springs of human character and see whence words and
actions flow! What man would wish to have his designs
and aims exposed to every onlooker? But why this aversion
to being known and read of all men?  The Christian's
motives and springs of action should be so honest and pure
that he might safely defy inspection. He who has nothing
to be ashamed of has nothing to conceal.  Sincerity can
afford, like our first parents in Paradise, to be naked and not
ashamed.
If other men cannot read our motives, we ought at least to
examine them  carefully for ourselves.  Day by day with
extreme rigour must we search into our hearts. Motive is
vital to the goodness of an action. He who should give his
body to be burned might yet lose his soul if his ruling passion
were obstinacy, and not desire for God's glory. Self may be
sought under many disguises, and the man may be utterly
unaware that thus he is losing all acceptance with God. We
must not impute ill motives to others, but we must be equally
clear of another more fascinating habit, namely, that of imputing good motives to ourselves. Severity in estimating our
own personal character very seldom becomes excessive; our
partiality is usually more or less blinding to our judgment. We
will not suspect ourselves if we can help it; evidence must be
very powerful before it can convince us of being governed by
sordid aims.  The stream  of generosity does not always
spring from gratitude to God. Zeal is not at all times the
offspring of deep-seated faith. Even devotional habits may
be fostered by other than holy affections. The highest wisdom
suggests that we spend much patient and impartial consideration upon a matter so fundamental as the heart's intent in the
actions which it directs. " If thine eye be single, thine whole
body shall be full of light." Dear reader, stand by thine inner
springs and watch, and make faithful notes of what thou
seest, lest thou be deceived.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   157
NATURE-Need of Renewal.
A VICIOUS horse is none the better tempered because the
kicking straps prevent his dashing the carriage to atoms;
and so a man is none the better really because the restraints
of custom and providence mayprevent his following that course
of life which he would prefer. Poor fallen human nature behind the bars of laws, and in the cage of fear of punishment, is
none the less a sad creature; should its Master unlock the door
we should soon see what it would be and do. A young
leopard which had been domesticated, and treated as a pet,
licked its master's hand while he slept, and it so happened
that it drew blood from a recent wound; the first taste of
blood transformed'the gentle creature into a raging wild beast;
yet it wrought no real change, it only awakened the natural
ferocity which had always been there. A change of nature is
required for our salvation-mere restraints are of small
value.
NATURES-the Two in a Christian,
A CHRISTIAN lives in two worlds at one and the same
time —the world of flesh and the world of spirit.  It is
possible to do both.  There are certain dangerous gases,
which from their weight fall to the lower part of the place
where they are, making it destructive for a dog to enter, but
safe for a man who holds his head erect. A Christian, as
living in the world of flesh, is constantly passing through
these. Let him keep his head erect in the spiritual world,
and he is safe. He does this so long as the Son of God is the
fountain whence he draws his inspiration, his motives, encouragement, and strength.-George Philip.
NOVELTY-Influence of.
YES, the people gathered in crowds around the statue, and
looked at it again and again. It was not the finest work of




158                 MY NOTE BOOK.
art in the city, nor the most intrinsically attractive. Why,
then, did the citizens of Verona stand in such clusters around
the effigy of Dante on that summer's evening? Do you guess
the reason?  It was a fete in honour of the poet?  No,
you are mistaken; it was but an ordinary evening, and there
was nothing peculiar in the date or the events of the day.
You shall not be kept in suspense, the reason was very simple,
the statue was new, it had, in fact, only been unveiled the day
before. Every one passes Dante now, having other things to
think of; the citizens are well used to his solemn visage, and
scarcely care that he stands among them. Is not this the
way of men? I am sure it is their way with us ministers.
New brooms sweep clean. What crowds follow a new man!
how they tread upon one another to hear him, not because he
is so very wise or eloquent, much less because he is eminently
holy, but he is a new man, and curiosity must gratify itself!
In a few short months, the idol of the hour is stale, flat, and
unprofitable; he is a mediocrity; there are scores as good as
he; indeed, another new man, at the end of the town, is far
better. Away go the wonder-hunters! Folly brought them,
folly removes them: babies must have new toys.
OBEDIENCE.
"SIR," said the Duke of Wellington to an officer of
engineers, who urged the impossibility of executing the
directions he had received, " I did not ask your opinion, I
gave you my orders, and I expect them to be obeyed." Such
should be the obedience of every follower of Jesus. The
words which he has spoken are our law, not our judgments
or fancies. Even if death were in the way it is"Not ours to reason whyOurs, but to dare and die;"
and, at our Master's bidding, advance through flood or
flame.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   159
OBEYING GOD-with Delight.
" I WISH I could mind God as my little dog minds me,"
said a little boy, looking thoughtfully on his shaggy friend;
" he always looks so pleased to mind, and I don't." What a
painful truth did this child speak! Shall the poor little dog
thus readily obey his master, and we rebel against God, who
is our Creator, our Preserver, our Father, our Saviour, and the
bountiful Giver of everything we love?-Christian Treasury.
OMNISCIENCE.
A PLATE of sweet cakes was brought in and 1i,'upon the
table. Two children played upon the hearthrai before the
fire. "Oh, I want one of these cakes!" cried the little boy,
jumping up as soon as his mother went:out, and going on
tiptoe towards the table. "No, no," said his sister, pulling
him back; "no, no; you must not touch."  "Mother won't
know it; she did not count c t them," he cried, shaking her off,
and stretching out his hand. " If she didn't, perhaps God
counted," answered the other.  The little boy's hand was
stayed. Yes, children, be sure that God counts — Children's
Missionary Recordfor 1852.
ORDER IN DUTY-its Beauty.
LINNYEUS, the great Swedish botanist, observing the beautiful order which reigns among flowers, proposed the use of
a floral clock, to be composed of plants which open and
close their blossoms at particular hours; as for instance the
dandelion which opens its petals at six in the morning, the
hawkweed at seven, the succory at eight, the celandine at
nine, and so on; the closing of the flowers being marked
with an equal regularity so as to indicate the progress of the
afternoon and the evening.
"Thus has each hour its own rich hue,
And its graceful cup or bell,
In whose coloured vase may sleep the dew,
Like a pearl in an ocean shell."




160                 MY NOTE BOOK.
Would it not be a lovely thing if thus with flowers of grace
and blossoms of virtue we bedecked every passing hour;
fulfilling all the duties of each season and honouring him
who maketh the outgoings of the morning and the evening to
rejoice!  Thus with undeviating regularity to obey the
influence of the Sun of Righteousness, and give each following
moment its due, were to begin the life of heaven beneath the
stars.
ORDER-of Gracious Operations.
" A DISCUSSION arose between some members of a Bible
class, in reference to the first Christian exercise of the converted soul. One contended that it was penitence or sorrow;
another that it was fear, another love, another hope, another
faith, for how could one fear or repent without belief? Elder
G-, overhearing the discussion, relieved the minds of the
disputants with this remark:-' Can you tell which spoke of
the wheel moves first? You may be looking at one spoke,
and think that it moves first, but they all start together. Thus,
when the Spirit of God operates upon the human heart, all the
graces begin to affect the penitent soul, though the individual
may be more conscious of one than another."'
PEACE-of a Believer.
THE believer's peace is like a river for continuance. Look
at it, rising as a little brook among the mosses of the lone green
hill; by-and-by it leaps as a rugged cataract; anon it flows
along that fair valley where the red deer wanders, and the
child loves to play. With hum of pleasant music the brook
turns the village mill. Hearken to its changeful tune as it
ripples over its pebbly bed, or leaps adown the wheel, or
sports in eddies where the trees bend down their branches to
kiss the current. Anon the streamlet has become a river,
and bears upon its flood full many a craft.  Then its bosom
swells, bridges with noble arches span it, and, grown vaster




MY NOTE BOOK.                   161
still, it becomes an estuary, broad enough to be an arm of
old Father Ocean, pouring its water-floods into the mighty
main. The river abides the lapse of ages, it is no evanescent
morning cloud, or transient rain-flood, but in all its stages it
is permanent.
"Men may come, and men may go,
But I flow on for ever."
Evermore, throughout all generations, the river speedeth to its
destined place. Such is the peace of the Christian. He has
always reason for comfort. He has not a consolation like a
swollen torrent which is dried up under the hot sun of adversity,
but peace is his rightful possession at all times. Do you enquire
for the Thames? You shall find it flowing in its own bed in
the thick black night, as well as in the clear bright day. You
shall discover the noble river when it mirrors the stars or sends
back the sheen of the moon, as well as when multitudes of
eyes gaze upon the pompous pageantry of civic procession
at midday. You may see its waves in the hour of tempest
by the lightning's flash, as well as in the day of calm when
the sun shineth brightly on them. Ever is the river in its
place.. And even thus, come night, come day, come sickness,
come health, come what will, the peace of God which passeth
all understanding will keep the Christian's heart and mind,
through Jesus Christ.
Nor must we exclude the idea of progress. You can leap the
Thames at Cricklade, for the tiny brook is spanned by a narrow
plank across which laughing village girls are tripping; but who
thinks of laying down a plank at Southend, or at Grays? No,
the river has grown-how deep! At the mouth of it, comparable to the sea-how broad!  There go the ships, and even
leviathan might play therein.  Such is the Christian's peace.
At the first, little temptations avail to mar it, and the troubles
of life threaten to evaporate it. Be not dismayed, but quietly
wait.  When the Christian is somewhat grown, and has
11




162                 MY NOTE BOOK.
wandered for awhile along the tortuous course of a gracious experience, his peace will gather force like a flowing
stream. Wait twenty or thirty years, till he has traversed
yonder rich lowlands of fellowship with Christ in his sufferings, and conformity to his death, and you shall ma-rk that the
believer's rest will be like a river deep and broad, for he shall
know the peace which was our Master's precious legacy; and
he will cast all his care upon God, who careth for him.
True peace will increase till it melts into the eternal rest of
the beatific vision, where
"Not a wave of trouble rolls
Across the peaceful breast."
PEACE-False.
YOUR peace, sinner, is that terribly prophetic calm which
the traveller occasionally perceives upon the higher Alps.
Everything is still. The birds suspend their notes, fly low,
and cower down with fear. The hum  of bees among the
flowers is hushed. A horrible stillness rules the hour, as if
death had silenced all things by stretching over them his
awful sceptre. Perceive ye not what is surely at hand? The
tempest is preparing; the lightning will soon cast abroad its
flames of fire. Earth will rock with thunder-blasts; granite
peaks will be dissolved; all nature will tremble beneath the
fury of the storm. Yours is that solemn calm to-day, sinner.
Rejoice not in it, for the hurricane of wrath is coming, the
whirlwind and the tribulation which shall sweep you away and
utterly destroy you.
PEACE OF PARDON-Not a Mere Forgetfulness.
I HAVE spilled the ink over a bill and so have blotted it
till it can hardly be read, but this is quite another thing'from
having the debt blotted out, for that cannot be till payment
is made.  So a man may blot his sins from his memory, and
quiet his mind with false hopes, but the peace which this will




MY NOTE BOOK.                   163
bring him is widely different from that which arises from
God's forgiveness of sin through the satisfaction which Jesus
made in his atonement. Our blotting is one thing, God's
blotting out is something far higher.
PERFECTION-Marred by the World.
THE bloom of the hawthorn or White May looks like snow
in Richmond Park, but nearer London or by the road side
its virgin whiteness is sadly stained. Too often contact with
the world has just such an effect upon our piety; we must
away to the far off garden of Paradise to see holiness in its
unsullied purity, and meanwhile'we must be much alone with
God if we would maintain a gracious life below.
PERSECUTION.
THE cold water of persecution is often thrown on the
church's face to fetch her to herself when she is in a swoon of
indolence or pride.
PERSECUTION-Not to be Feared.
Do not fear the frown of the world. When a blind man
comes against you in the street you are not angry at him, you
say, He is blind, poor man, or he would not have hurt me.
So you may say of the poor worldlings when they speak evil
of Christians-they are blind.-M'Cheyne.
PERSEVERANCE.
"A POOR woman had a supply of coal laid at her door by a
charitable neighbour. A very little girl came out with a small
fire-shovel, and began to take up a shovelful at a time, and
carry it to a sort of bin in the cellar. I said to the child,' Dyou expect to get all that coal in with that little shovel?'
She was quite confused at my question, but her answer was
very striking,'Yes, sir, if I work long enough."'
Humble worker, make up for your want of ability by




164                 MY NOTE BOOK.
abundant continuance in well-doing, and your life-work will not
be trivial. The repetition of small efforts will effect more than
the occasional use of great talents.
PERSEVERANCE-in Doing Good.
AN old man in Watton, whom Mr. Thornton had in vain
urged to come to church, was taken ill and confined to his
bed. Mr. Thornton went to the cottage, and asked to see
him. The old man, hearing his voice below, answered, in no
very courteous tone, "I don't want you here, you may go
away." The following day the curate was again at the foot
of the Stairs. " Well, my friend, may I come up to-day, and
sit beside you?" Again he received the same reply, " I don't
want you here." Twenty-one days successively Mr. T. paid his
visit to the cottage, and on the twenty-second his perseverance
was rewarded. He was permitted to enter the room of the
aged sufferer, to read the Bible, and pray by his bedside.
The poor man recovered, and became one of the most regular
attendants at the house of God.-Memoirs of Rev. Spencer
Thornton.
PERSEVERANCE-Necessity of.
IN the heathery turf you will often find a plant chiefly
remarkable for its peculiar roots; from the main stem down
to the minutest fibre, you will find them all abruptly terminate,
as if shorn or bitten off, and the quaint superstition of the
country people alleges, that once on a time it was a plant of
singular potency for healing all sorts of maladies, and therefore the great enemy of man in his malignity bit off the roots,
in which its virtues resided.  The plant with this odd
history, is a very good emblem of many well-meaning but
little-effecting people. They might be defined as radicbus
fprmorsis, or rather inceptis succisis. The efficacy of every
good work lies in its completion, and all their good works
terminate abruptly, and are left off unfinished. The devil




MY NOTE BOOK.                   1C5
frustrates their efficacy by cutting off their ends; their unprofitable history is made up of plans and projects, schemes
of usefulness that were never gone about, and magnificent
undertakings that were never carried forward; societies that
were set agoing, then left to shift for themselves, and forlorn
beings who for a time were taken up and instructed, and just
when they were beginning to show symptoms of improvement
were cast on the world again. —James Hamilton, D.D.
PERSONAL EFFORT-Needed for Success.
ACCORDING  to Christ's law, every Christian is to be
active in spreading the faith, which was delivered, not to
the ministers, but to the saints, to every one of them, that
they might maintain it, and spread it according to the
gift which the Spirit has given them.  Shall I venture a
parable? A certain band of warlike knights had been exceedingly victorious in all their conflicts. They were men of
valour and of indomitable courage; they had carried everything
before them, and subdued province after province for their
king. But on a sudden they said in the council-chamber,
" We have at our head a most valiant warrior, one whose arm
is stout enough to smite down fifty of his adversaries; would it
not be better if, leaving a few such as he to go out to the fight,
the mere men-at-arms, who make up the ordinary ranks, were
to rest at home? We should be much more at our ease; our
horses would not so often be covered with foam, nor our
armour be bruised, the many would enjoy abundant leisure, and
great things would be done by the valiant few." Now, the foremost champions, with fear and trembling, undertook the task
and went to the conflict, and they fought well, as the rolls of
fame can testify; to the best of their ability they unhorsed
their foes and performed great exploits. But still, from the
very hour in which that scheme was planned and carried out
no city was taken, no province was conquered. Then the
knights met together, and said, " How is this? Our former




166                MY NOTE BOOK.
prestige is departed, our ranks are broken, our pennons are
trailed in the dust, what is the cause of it?" When outspoke the champion, and said, " Doubtless it is so, and for a
reason clear and plain. How did you think that a slender
band could do the work of all the thousands? When you all
went to the fight, and every man took his share, we dashed
upon the foe like an avalanche, and crushed him beneath our
tramp; but now that you stay at home, and put us, who are but
a handful, to fight every battle, how can you expect that great
things should be done?" So each man resolved to put on
his helmet and his armour once again, and hasten to the
battle, and lo, the angel of victory returned.
If we are to subdue the earth, every one of us must join in
the fight. We must not exempt a single soldier of the cross,
neither man nor woman, rich nor poor; but each must fight
for the Lord Jesus according to his ability, that his kingdom
may come, and that his will may be done in earth even as it
is in heaven. We shall see great things when all agree to this
and put it in practice.
PERSONAL WORK.
I ONCE heard a story of an American, who declared he
could fight the whole British army, and when he was asked
how he could draw so long a bow as that, he said, " Why,
this is what I would do: I know I am the best swordsman in
the world, so I would go and challenge one Britisher, and kill
him; then take another, and kill him. Thus," said he, "I
only want time enough and I would kill the whole British
army." It was a ridiculous boast, but there is something in
it which I could not bring out so well in any other way. If
we want to conquer the world for the Lord Jesus Christ, rest
assured we must do it in the Yankee's fashion; we must take
men one by one, and these ones must be brought to Christ,
or otherwise the great mass must remain untouched. Do not
imagine for a moment that you are going to convert a nation




MY NOTE BOOK.                  16%
at once; you are to convert the men of that nation, one by
one, through the power of God's Holy Spirit. It is not for
you to suit your machinery, and arrange your plans for the
moving of a mass as such, you must look to the salvation of
the units.
POOR-as Hearers.
JOHN WESLEY always preferred the middling and lower
classes to the wealthy. He said, " If I might choose, I should
still, as I have done hitherto, preach the gospel to the joor."
Preaching in Monktown church, a large old, ruinous building,
he says, "I suppose it has scarce had such a congregation
during this century. Many of them were gay, genteel people,
so I spoke on the first elements of the gospel, but I was still
out of their depth.  Oh, how hard it is to be shallow enough
for a polite audience!"-Anecdotes of the Wesleys.
POPERY.
LIGHTFOOT observes:-" Yoke-fellows, indeed, are the
Jew and Romanist above all people of the world, in a deluded fancying their own bravery and privilege above all the
world besides. He that comes to read the Jewish writings,
especially those that are of the nature of sermons, will find
this to be the main stuffing of them, almost in every leaf and
page.' How choice a people is Israel! how dearly God is in
love with Israel! what a happy thing it is to be of the seed
of Abraham! how blessed the nation of the Jews above all
nations!' And such stuff as this all along. And is not the
style of the Romanists the very same tune?' How holy the
Church of Rome! what superiority and pre-eminence hath
the church above all churches, and all the men in the world
are heretics, and apostates, and cast-aways, if they be not
Romanists.' Whereas if both these people would but impartially look upon themselves, they would see that there are
such brands upon them as are upon no nation under heaven
now extant."




168                  MY NOTE BOOK.
POSITION-No Barrier to Grace.
GRACE makes itself equally at home in the palace and the
cottage. No condition necessitates its absence, no position
precludes its flourishing.  One may compare it in its power
to live and blossom in all places to the beautiful blue-bell of
Scotland, of which the poetess sings:"No rock is too high, no vale too low,
For its fragile and tremulous form to grow:
It crowns the mountain
With azure bells,
And decks the fountain
In forest dells.
It wreathes the ruin with clusters grey,
Bowing and smiling the livelong day."
PRACTICE-Necessary to Perfection.
A NEIGHBOUR near my study persists in practising upon
the flute. He bores my ears as with an auger, and renders
it almost an impossibility to think. Up and down his scale
he runs remorselessly, until even the calamity of temporary
deafness would almost be welcome to me. Yet he teaches
me that I must practise if I would be perfect; must exercise
myself unto godliness if I would be skilful; must, in fact,
make myself familiar with the word of God, with holy living,
and saintly dying. Such practice, moreover, will be as charming as my neighbour's flute is intolerable.
PRAYER-and Activity.
"A SCHOLAR at aboarding-school near London was remarked
for repeating her lessons well. A school companion, who was
idly inclined, said to her one day,'How is it that you always
say your lessons so perfectly?' She replied,'I always pray
that I may say my lessons well.''Do you?' replied the
other,' then I'll pray too.' But, alas! next morning she could
not repeat one word of her lesson.  Very much confounded,




MY NOTE BOOK.                   169
she ran to her friend.'I prayed,' said she,'but I could
not repeat a word of my lesson.''Perhaps,' rejoined the
other,'you took no pains to learn it.''Learn it! learn
it!' answered the first,' I did not learn it at all. I didn't
know I needed to learn it, when I rayedthat I might say
it.' She loved her idleness, poor girl; and her praying was
but a mockery."
PRAYER-Believing.
Is it not a sad thing that we should think it wonderful for
God to hear prayer? Much better faith was that of a little
boy in one of the schools in Edinburgh, who had attended a
prayer-meeting, and at last said to his teacher who conducted
it, " Teacher, I wish my sister could be got to read the Bible;
she never reads it." " Why, Johnny, should your sister read
the Bible?" "Because if she should once read it, I am sure
it would do her good, and she would be converted and be
saved." "Do you think so, Johnny?"  " Yes, I do, sir, and
I wish the next time there's a prayer-meeting, you would ask
the people to pray for my sister that she may begin to read
the Bible." "Well, well, it shall be done, John."
So the teacher gave out that a little boy was very anxious
that prayer shoull be offered that his sister might begin to
read the Bible. John was observed to get up and go out.
The teacher thought it very rude of the boy to disturb the
people in a crowded room, and so the next day when the lad
came, he said, "John, I thought it was very rude of you to
get up in the prayer-meeting and go out. You ought not to
have done so." " Oh, sir," said the boy, " I did not mean to
be rude; but I thought I should just like to go home and see
my sister reading her Bible for the first time."
Thus we ought to believe, and watch with expectation for
answers to our prayer. Do not say, " Lord, turn my darkness
into light," and then go out with your candle as though you




170                MY NOTE BOOK.
expected to find it dark. After asking the Lord to appear for
you, expect him to do so, for according to your faith so be it
unto you.
PRAYER-for Help to Pray.
IN Dr. Ryland's memoir of Andrew Fuller is the following
anecdote. At a conference at Soham, a friend of slender
abilities being asked to pray, knelt down, and Mr. Fuller and
the company with him, when he found himself so embarrassed,
that, whispering to Mr. Fuller, he said, "I do not know how
to go on." Mr. F. replied in a whisper, " Tell the Lord so." The
rest of the company did not hear what passed between them,
but the man taking Mr. Fuller's advice began to confess his
not knowing how to pray as he ought to pray, begging to
be taught to pray, and so proceeded in prayer to the satisfaction of all the company.
PRAYER-Helpful to Study.
IN Payson's diary is the following entry: " Sept. 23.-Was
quite dull and lifeless in prayer, and in consequence had no
success in study."
PRAYER-its Power Against Satan.
THERE is a huge rock upon the Swiss side of the St.
Gothard road, about which an old legend is told by the
natives of the neighbouring village. The devil was whisking
this enormous stone along very merrily at early dawn of day,
when he was met by a devout old woman, who being somewhat alarmed, uttered a prayer at the sight of the unexpected
traveller. Such was the power of her prayer, that the demon
dropped his burden at once, and there it lies, an indisputable
proof that the devil is no match for old ladies who know how
to invoke the aid of heaven. Mother Church has sanctioned
many a worse legend than this, for a truthful moral lies upon
the surface. Let interceding believers make the fiend tremble




MY NOTE BOOK.                   171
always, by praying without ceasing. The weakest saint upon
his knees is victorious over all the powers of hell.
PRAYER-its Power to Soften Asperities.
" Two neighbours, a cooper and a farmer, were spending
the evening together. Both were professors of religion, but of
different communions. Their conversation was first upon
topics relating to practical religion, but after a time it diverged
to the points of difference between the two denominations to
which they belonged. It first became a discussion, and then a
dispute. The cooper was the first to perceive its unprofitable
and injurious tendency, and remarked,'We are springing
apart from each other, let us put on another hoop-let us
pray.' They kneeled down and prayed together, after which
they spent the remainder of the evening lovingly together, conversing on the things of the kingdom in which they both felt an
equal interest. The suggestion of the cooper was an excellent
one, and it were well if it were acted on more frequently by
those who, like him, are members of the household of Christ."
PRAYER-Sweet Uses of.
ON the first of May in the olden times, according to annual
custom, many inhabitants of London went into the fields to
bathe their faces with the early dew upon the grass under the
idea that it would render them beautiful. Some writers call
the custom superstitious; it may have been so, but this we
know, that to bathe one's face every morning in the dew of
heaven by prayer and communion, is the sure way to obtain
true beauty of life and character.
PRAYER-Simile of.
PRAYER pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above
in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray
so languidly; others give but an occasional pluck at the rope;
but he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope
boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might.




172                  MY NOTE BOOK.
PRAYEB-Suocess in.
THESE lads to gain the fruit must shake the tree,
Good reader, mark the lesson writ for thee!
If from the tree of promis'd mercy thou
Wouldst win the good which loadeth every bough,
Then urge the promise well with pleading cries,
Move heaven itself with vehemence of sighs;
Soon shall celestial fruit thy toil repay-'Tis ripe, and waits for him who loves to pray.
What if thou fail at first, yet give not o'er,
Bestir thyself to labour more and more;
Enlist a brother's sympathetic knee,
The tree will drop its fruit when two agree:
Entreat the Holy Ghost to give thee power,
Then shall the fruit descend in joyful shower.




MY NOTE BOOK.                    173
PRAYERS-of a Father.
PHILIP JAMES SPENER had a son of eminent talents, but
perverse and extremely vicious. All means of love and persuasion were without success. The father could only pray,
which he continued to do, that the Lord might yet be pleased
to save his son at any time and in any way. The son fell
sick; and while lying on his bed in great distress of mind,
nearly past the power of speech or motion, he suddenly started
up, clasped his hands, and exclaimed: "My father's prayers,
like mountains, surround me!" Soon after his anxiety ceased
a sweet peace spread over his face, his malady came to a
crisis, and the son was saved in body and soul. He became
another man. Spener lived to see his son a respectable man,
in public office, and happily married. Such was the change
of his life after his conversion. —. E. Puritan.
PREACHER-Learns by Communion with God.
IT is related that one of his hearers once asked, " How is
it that Mr. Bramwell always has something that is new to tell
us when he preaches?" " Why," said the person interrogated,
" you see Brother Bramwell lives so near the gates of heaven
that he hears a great many things that we don't get near
enough to hear anything about."
PREACHER-Must Feed the People.
FROM the deck of an Austrian gunboat we threw into the
Lago Garda a succession of little pieces of bread, and presently small fishes came in shoals, till there seemed to be, as
the old proverb puts it, more fish than water. They came to
feed, and needed no music. Let the preacher give his people
food, and they will flock around him, even if the sounding
brass of rhetoric, and the tinkling cymbals of oratory are silent.
PREACHER-Must Feed the People.
EVERYBODY knows that large flocks of pigeons assemble at
the stroke of the great clock in the square of St. Mark: believe




174                  MY NOTE BOOK.
me, it is not the music of the bell which attracts them, they
can hear that every hour. They come, Mr. Preacher, for
food, and no mere sound will long collect them. This is a hint
for filling your meeting-house; it must be done not merely by
that fine, bell-like voice of yours, but by all the neighbourhood's being assured that spiritual food is to be had when
you open your mouth. Barley for pigeons, good sir; and the
gospel for men and women. Try it in earnest and you cannot fail; you will soon be saying, "Who are these that fly as a
cloud, and as doves to their windows?"
PREACHER-to Avoid a Lofty Style.
IN the town of Goslar, in the Hartz mountains, there is in
the principal square a fountain evidently of mediaeval date,
but the peculiarity of its construction is that no one can reach
the water so as to fill a bucket or even get a drink to quench
his thirst. Both the jets, and the basin into which they fall,
are above the reach of any man of ordinary stature; yet the
fountain was intended to supply the public with water, and it
fulfils its design by a method which we never saw in use
before; every person brings a spout or trough with him long
enough to reach the top of the fountain and bring the water
down into his pitcher. We are afraid that all our reverence
for antiquity did not prevent the full exercise of our risible
faculties; sixpennyworth of mason's work with a chisel would
have made the crystal stream available to all; but no, every
one must bring a trough or go away unsupplied.
When preachers of the gospel talk in so lofty a style that
each hearer needs to bring a dictionary, they remind us of
the absurd fountain of Goslar. The use of six-syllabled jawbreaking words is simply a most ludicrous vanity. A little
labour on the part of such pedants would save a world of
profitless toil to their hearers, and enable those uneducated
persons who have no means of reaching the preacher's altitude to derive some measure of instruction from his ministry.




MY NOTE BOOK.                  175
PREACHER-Should be Faithful unto Death.
THE minister of Christ should feel like the old keeper of
Eddystone lighthouse. Life was failing fast, but summoning
all his strength, he crept round once more to trim the lights
before he died. May the Holy Ghost enable his servants
to keep the beacon fire blazing, to warn sinners of the rocks,
shoals, and quicksands which surround them.
PREACHERS-to be Acquainted with Human Nature.
MICHAEL ANGELO, when painting an altar-piece in the
conventual church, in Florence, in order that the figures might
be as death-like as possible, obtained permission of the prior
to have the coffins of the newly-buried opened and placed
beside him during the night;-an appalling expedient, but successful in enabling him to reproduce with terrible effect, not
the mortal pallor only, but the very anatomy of death. If we
would preach well to the souls of men we must acquaint ourselves with their ruined state, must have their case always on
our hearts both by night and day, must know the terrors of
the Lord and the value of the soul, and feel a sacred sympathy
with perishing sinners. There is no masterly, prevailing
preaching without this.
PREACHERS-Different.
THOSE that are all in exhortation, no whit in doctrine, are
like to them that snuff the lamp, but pour not in oil. Again,
those that are all in doctrine, nothing in exhortation, drown
the wick in oil, but light it not; making it fit for use if it had
fire put to it, but as it is, rather capable of good than profitable for the present. Doctrine without exhortation makes
men all brain, no heart; exhortation without doctrine makes
the heart full, leaves the brain empty. Both together make a
man. One makes a wise man, the other good; one serves
that we may know our duty, the other that we may perform
it. I will labour in both, but I know not in whether more.




176                 MY NOTE BOOK.
Men cannot practise unless they know; and they know in
vain if they practise not.-Bishop Hall.
PREACHERS-How they Gain Perspicuity.
MR. WARBURTON, one of the inspectors of schools, mentions in his report for I863, that he has nowhere heard
such good reading as in a girls' school in Berkshire, than
which none in his district bears a better character for instruction in what are called the higher subjects. The clergyman,
who is also the acting manager, is rather deaf, and the girls,
who are frequently heard by him without book, are obliged to
read with unusual clearness and distinctness of tone and
articulation, in order that he may not lose a word. The
inspector considers the pleasure with which he listened to the
girls' reading to be in great measure attributable to the fact
of their ordinarily having to make what they read intelligible
to one who cannot hear so well as many persons do.
The best of teachers are those who have laboured to be understood by the dullest capacities. Preachers who all along have
aimed to suit the educated never become so simple or efficient
as those who have made a point of explaining even the
elements of faith to the ignorant.
PREACHERS-Too Learned for Real Service.
THE great bell of Moscow is too large to be hung, the
question arises, what was the use of making it?  Some
preachers are so learned that they cannot make themselves
understood, or else cannot bring their minds to preach plain
gospel sermons; here, too, the same question might be
asked.
PREACHERS-Not to Preach Themselves.
WE ascended the Sacro Monte at Orta, expecting to find
that its holy hill was like that at Varallo, consecrated to
representations of the life of Christ. To our disappointment




MY NOTE BOOK.                   177
we found that everything was to the honour and glory of St.
Francis of Assisi, who nevertheless was represented as saying,
" God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ."  Too often when the preacher should think
only of his Master, and labour only to set forth the Redeemer's
glories, he is occupied with his own style and oratory, and so
honours himself at the expense of his Lord.
PREACHERS-Speak After Death.
THERE are strange legends extant of churches which have
been swallowed by earthquakes, or buried beneath fallen
mountains. The rustics declare that they have heard the
bells still ringing, far down in the bowels of the earth, just as
they did when they hung aloft in the tower. Take the bells
to be preachers and the legend is true, for being dead they yet
speak, and from their graves they sound forth lessons not less
powerful than those with which they made their pulpits
resound while they were yet with us.
PREACHING-Best Manner of.
THE celebrated actor Garrick having been requested by
Dr. Stonehouse to favour him with his opinion as to the
manner in which a sermon ought to be delivered, sent him
the following judicious answer:" MY DEAR PUPIL,-You know how you would feel and speak
in a parlour concerning a friend who was in imminent danger
of his life, and with what energetic pathos of diction and
countenance you would enforce the observance of that which
you really thought would be for his preservation. You could
not think of playing the orator, of studying your emphases,
cadences, and gestures, you would be yourself, and the interesting nature of your subject, impressing your heart, would
furnish you with the most natural tone of voice, the most'
proper language, the most engaging features, and the most
suitable and graceful gestures. What you would thus be in
12




178                MY NOTE BOOK.
the parlour, be in the pulpit, and you will not fail to please,
to affect, and to profit. Adieu, my dear friend."
PREACHING-Fruit and Flowers.
AT Hampton Court Palace every one regards with wonder
the enormous vine loaded with so vast a multitude of huge
clusters: just outside the vine-house is as fine a specimen of
the wistaria, and when it is in full bloom, the cluster-like
masses of bloom, cause you to think it a flower-bearing vine,
as the other is a fruit-bearing vine. Fit emblems these two
famous trees of two ministries, both admired, but not equally
to be prized; the ministry of oratory, luxuriant in metaphor
and poetry, and the ministry of grace, abounding in sound
teaching and soul saving-energy.  Gay as are the flowerclusters of the wistaria, no one mistakes them for the luscious
bunches of the grape; yet, there are many simpletons in
spiritual things who mistake sound for sense, and seem to
satisfy their hunger not on solid meat, but on the jingle of a
musical dinner bell.
PREACHING-its Force the Main Consideration.
I HAD tried to drive certain long brass-headed nails into a
wall, but had never succeeded except in turning up their
points, and rendering them  useless.  When a tradesman
came who understood his work, I noticed that he filed off all
the points of the nails, the very points upon whose sharpness
I had relied; and when he had quite blunted them, he drove
them in as far as he pleased. With some consciences our
fine points in preaching are worse than useless. Our keen
distinctions and nice discriminations are thrown away on
many; they need to be encountered with sheer force and
blunt honesty. The truth must be hammered into them by
main strength, and we know from whom to seek the needed
power.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   X'79
1?REACHING-Need of Prayer and Unction.
IN a Romish book by Father Faber of the Oratory, we find
the following:-" Do you remember the story of that religious,
a Jesuit I think, who was a famous preacher, and whose
sermons converted men by scores?  It was revealed to him
that not one of the conversions was owing to his talents or
eloquence, but all to the prayers of an illiterate lay-brother
who sat on the pulpit steps praying all the time for the success
of the sermon. There is another story, a very strange one.
I will not vouch for its being true, but I will quote it for the
sake of the wise teaching it contains. A certain religious,
a very popular preacher, was expected one day in a convent
of his order, where he was a stranger. In the afternoon he
arrived, or rather an evil spirit who personated him, arrived,
to see what mischief he could do. It so happened that there
was to be a sermon on hell preached that day by one of the
monks, but he was ill and unable to preach. So they asked
this devil to preach on hell, which he did; and, as may be
supposed from his experience, a most wonderful sermon it
was. However, on the arrival of the real preacher, the evil
one was discovered, and was obliged to disclose himself, and
his malicious designs.  Among other things he was asked
how it was not against his interests to preach such a frightening sermon about hell, as it would keep people from sin.'Not at all,' he replied,'there was no unction with it, so
it could do no harm!"'
PREACHING-Personal.
Two Chinese jugglers have been making a public exhibition of their skill. One of them is set up as a target, and the
other shows his dexterity by hurling knives which stick into the
board at his comrade's back, close to the man's body. These
deadly weapons fix themselves between his arms and legs, and
between each of his fingers, they fly past his ears, and over his
head, and on each side of his neck. The art is not to hit




180                MY NOTE BOOK.
him. Are there not to be found preachers who are remarkably
proficient in the same art in the mental and spiritual departments?
PREDESTINATION.
THEY that talk of nothing but predestination, and will not
proceed in the way of heaven till they be satisfied on that
point, do as a man that would not come to London, unless at
his first step he might set his foot upon the top of St. Paul's.The Table Talk of 7ohn Selden.
PRESUMPTION-Rebuked by Trial.
" THE Brahmins say that Benares is not a part of this sinful
earth; but that it is on the outside of the world. An earthquake, however, which was lately felt there, has rather
nonplussed them, as it proves that what shakes the earth,
shakes Benares too." It is easy enough for those who have
been long at ease to imagine themselves protected from the
common lot of men, but a shaking trial in their estates or
persons soon convinces them that they are as other men are.
Spiritual presumption leads many professors to imagine that
they are beyond the power of temptation, and are no longer
such frail beings as their fellow Christians; let but the Lord
conceal his face, or Satan assail them, and in their sore
trouble they will discover that they are men of like passions
with the rest.
PRIDE.When men refuse to hear the gospel from the lips of a
gracious but uneducated preacher, they remind us of the
Spaniard in South America, who suffered severely from the
gout, but refused to be cured by an Indian. " I know," said
he, " that he is a famous man, and would certainly cure me,
but he is an Indian, and would expect to be treated with
attentions which I cannot pay to a man of colour, and therefore I prefer remaining as I am."




MY NOTE BOOK.                   181
PRIDE-in Dictating to God.
THE petty sovereign of an insignificant tribe in North
America every morning stalks out of his hovel, bids the sun
good-morrow, and points out to him with his finger the
course he is to take for the day. Is this arrogance more
contemptible than ours when we would dictate to God the
course of his providence, and summon him to our bar for his
dealings with us? How ridiculous does man appear when he
attempts to argue with his God!
PRIESTS-Superstitious Reverence of.
A WRITER on the manners and customs of India, says:" I was informed that vast numbers of Shoodras drink the
water in which a Brahmin has dipped his foot, and abstain from
food in the morning till this ceremony be over. Some persons
do this every day, and others vow to attend to it for such
a time, in order to obtain the removal of disease. Persons
may be seen carrying a small quantity of water in a cup, and
intreating the first Brahmin they see to put his toe in it.
This person then drinks the water, and bows or prostrates to
the Brahmin, who gives him a blessing. Some persons keep
water thus sanctified in their houses."
How  few steps would land Tractarians in the same
degradation! Their priests are the channels of grace to
them, from them they receive regeneration and absolution,
and from their hands they receive the god of bread whom
they adore and eat. Believing all this of their sacerdotal
fathers, to drink the water in which they wash their feet would
be no humiliation; their minds have stooped to drink far
fouler puddle, they may well put their bodies on the same level.
PROCRASTINATION.
IT is a snowy day, and some boys have put a few bricks
together, making a sort of square box of them; they have set
up one on edge on a piece of stick, and have scattered under




182                MY NOTE BOOK.
it a few crumbs. Here comes a robin, and he picks up a
crumb or two, and while he is feeding, down comes the brick!
" I did not wait long," says the robin, "but I am caught / I
did not wait long, but I cannot get out / I did not wait long,
but I have lost my liberty! I did not wait long, but it may
be I shall lose my life!" Ah! little robin, thou shalt be a
preacher to some here. They have gone a little into sin, and
they are inclined to-night to wait a little while. Take care
that this is not your dolorous note one of these days, "I did
not wait long, but the devil caught me in his trap/ I did
not wait long, but I waited too long! I did not wait long,
but I lost my soul for ever!" God grant that this may not
be your lot.
PROCRASTINATION.
IN Nebuchadnezzar's image, the lower the members, the
coarser the metal: the farther off the time, the more unfit.
To-day is the golden opportunity, to-morrow will be the silver
season, next day but the brazen one, and so on, till at last I
shall come to the toes of clay, and be turned to dust.Thomas Fuller.
PROCRASTINATION.
BE not like the foolish drunkard who, staggering home one
night, saw his candle lit for him. "Two candles!" said he,
for his drunkenness made him see double, " I will blow out
one," and as he blew it out, in a moment he was in the dark.
Many a man sees double through the drunkenness of sin; he
has one life to sow his wild oats in, and then he half expects
another in which to turn to God; so, like a fool, he blows out the
only candle that he has, and in the dark he will have to lie
down for ever. Haste thee, traveller, thou hast but one sun,
and after that sets, thou wilt never reach thy home. God
help thee to make haste now!




MY NOTE BOOK.                   183
PROCRASTINATION.
" A Swiss traveller," says a writer in the Edinburgh Review,
"describes a village, situated on the slope of a great mountain,
of which the strata shelve in the direction of the place.
Huge crags, directly overhanging the village, and massy
enough to sweep the whole of it into the torrent below, have
become separated from the main body of the mountain in the
course of ages by great fissures, and now scarce adhere to it.
When they give way, the village must perish; it is only a
question of time, and the catastrophe may happen any day.
For years past engineers have been sent to measure the width
of the fissures, and report them constantly increasing. The
villagers, for more than one generation, have been aware
of their danger; subscriptions have been once or twice
opened to enable them to remove; yet they live on in their
doomed dwellings, from year to year, fortified against the
ultimate certainty and daily probablility of destruction by
the common sentiment,'Things may last their time and
longer.'"
Like the dwellers in this doomed village, the world's inhabitants have grown careless and secure in sin. The scoffers of
the last days are around us, saying," Where is the promise of
his coming?  For since the fathers fell asleep, all things
continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." But
in saying this, they are too confident. Nothing is permanent
that has sin about it, nothing secure that has wrath above it,
and flames of fire beneath it. Sin has once deluged the world
with water, it shall deluge it again with waves of fire. Sodom
and Gomorrah are the types that foreshadow the doom of
those that live ungodly in these latter times, and he who can
walk this reeling world unmoved by all the tokens of its fiery
doom, must either have a rock of refuge where his soul may
rest secure, or else must have fallen into a strange carelessness, and a sad forgetfulness of God.




184                 MY NOTE BOOK.
PROCRASTINATION-Deprecated.
Do any of you remember the loss of the vessel called
the " Central America"? She was in a bad state, had sprung
a leak and was going down, and she therefore hoisted a signal
of distress. A ship came close to her, the captain of which
asked, through the trumpet, "What is amiss?" "We are in
bad repair, and are going down: lie by till morning," was the
answer. But the captain on board the rescue-ship said, " Let
me take your passengers on board now."  "Lie by till
morning," was the message which came back. Once again
the captain cried, "You had better let me take your passengers on board now." " Lie by till morning," was the reply
which sounded through the trumpet. About an hour-and-ahalf after, the lights were missing, and though no sound was
heard, she and all on board had gone down to the fathomless
abyss.  O unconverted friends, for God's sake, do not say,
" Lie by till morning." To-day, even to-day, hear ye the voice
of God.
PROFESSION-The Vanity of Mere.
FORGET not that the pretence of religion without the power
of it is one of the most comfortless things in the world. It
is like a man who should call his servant, and say to him," Is
the larder well stored?" "There is nothing, sir, not even a
mouldy crust." " Let the cloth be laid," saith he; and it is
laid, and all the appurtenances thereof. "And now," he says,
" I will sit down to my meal, and you shall wait upon me." The
empty dishes are brought in proper course; from invisible
joints he cuts imperceptible slices, and from the empty plates
he lifts upon his fork mouthfuls of nothingness and dainty
morsels of vacuum. There, the cloth can be removed, the
feaster has finished the atmospheric banquet, and rises from
the table free from any charge of immoderate eating. Now,
this may be a very pleasant operation for once, although its




MY NOTE BOOK.                    185
charms require a very poetic and imaginative mind to appreciate them; but if continued several days, this unsubstantial
festival would, I conceive, become somewhat undesirable and
cheerless, and in the end the guest might perish amid his
empty platters. Yet such must be the life of the man who
professes to feed on the bread of heaven and knows not its
sustaining virtues, who boasts of drinking the water of life and
has never sipped that heavenly stream.
PROFESSORS (MERE)-have no Changes;
Artificial piety, like flowers in wax, droops not in the hour
of drought, but the fair lily of true grace hangs its head if the
rain of heaven be denied. True faith, like fire, has its attendant smoke of unbelief, but presumption like a painted flame
is all brightness. Like ships at sea, true Christians have their
storms; but mere professors, like pictured galleys on the canvas,
ride on an unruffled ocean. Life has its changes;'tis death
that abideth the same. Life has muscle, sinew, brain, spirit,
and these vary in physical condition; but the petrified limbs
of death lie still until the worm has devoured the carcase.
Life weeps as well as smiles, but the ghastly grin of death
relaxes not with anxiety or fear. Moab hath no changes; he
is "settled upon his lees: he has not been emptied from
vessel to vessel." "They are not in trouble as other men,
neither are they plagued like other men." As no weather can
give ague to marble, as no variation of temperature can bring
fever to iron, so to some men the events of life, the temptations of prosperity, or the trials of adversity,bring little change.
Yet were it better to ebb and flow for ever like the sea, than rot
in endless stagnation of false peace. Better to be hunted by
the hounds of hell, and so driven to the shelter of the cross,
than to dwell at ease and be fattening for the devil's shambles.
PROFESSORS-Too Often Deceptive.
"IN the sweet valley between Chamouni and the Valais, at




186                 MY NOTE BOOK.
every turn of the pleasant pathway, where the scent of the
thyme lies richest upon its rocks, we shall see a little cross
and shrine set under one of them, and go up to it, hoping to
receive some happy thought of the Redeemer, by whom all
these lovely things were made, and still consist. But when
we come near, behold, beneath the cross a rude picture of
souls tormented in red tongues of hell fire, and pierced by
demons."-Ruskin.
Too often the house of a fair professor turns out to be
much the same; the beauty at a distance changes into hideous
deformity when near. Oh, to be found, when closest watched,
better than observers would at first sight have conceived us
to be!
PROGRESS-Measure of.
SAILORS would be loath to sail without using their log to
test their pace, and show their progress. The wonder is that
so many Christian professors navigate the sea of life, and are
utterly careless whether they are making headway or drifting
from their course. Should we not all cast overboard our log?
There are various ways by which with readiness we may
measure our progress: our prayers, our labours, our patience,
our faith, our communion with God, our humility, may all
serve as logs by which to measure our sailing pace.
PROMISES.
GOOD old Spurstow says that some of the promises are
like the almond tree-they blossom hastily in the very earliest
spring; but, saith he, there are others which resemble the
mulberry tree-they are very slow in putting forth their leaves.
Then what is a man to do, if he has a mulberry tree promise
which is late in blossoming? Why, he is to wait till it does.
If the vision tarry, wait for it till it come, and the appointed
time shall surely bring it.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   187
PROMPTNESS-in Doing Good.
QUICK must be the hand if an impression is to be made
upon the melted wax. Once let the wax cool and you will press
the seal in vain. Cold and hard it will be in a few moments,
therefore let the work be quickly done. When men's hearts
are melted under the preaching of the Word, or by sickness,
or the loss of friends, believers should be very eager to stamp
the truth upon the prepared mind. Such opportunities are to
be seized with holy eagerness. Reader, do you know of
such? If you be a lover of the Lord Jesus, hasten with the
seal before the wax is cool.
PROPHECY-Too Often Interpreted by Imagination.
ALL along the Oker Thal, in the Hartz, there are huge
rocks towering up among the fir-clad hills, to which the
peasants have appended names according as they fancy them
to bear resemblance to chairs, horses, cobblers, or cocked
hats. The likeness in most cases is such as only fancy can
make out when she is in her most vigorous mood, nevertheless
this rock must needs be called a man, and that a church, and
there has no doubt been many a quarrel between rival
observers who have discovered each a different image in the
one pile of rock; yet the stones are not churches, chairs, or
cobblers, and the whole business is childish and nonsensical.
Interpreters of prophecy during the last few centuries have
been most of them in the same position; one of them sees in
the sublimities of the Revelation the form of Louis Napoleon
where two or three hundred years ago half Christendom saw
the Pope, and the other half Martin Luther. The other day
one of the seers saw Sebastopol in the prophecies, and now
another detects the Suez Canal, and we feel pretty sure that
the Council at Rome will soon be spied out in Daniel or
Ezekiel. The fact is, when fancy is their guide men wander
as in a maze. Spiritualistic interpreters see, like children




188                 MY NOTE BOOK.
gazing into the fire, not what is really before them, but what
is in their own heads. Great truths are in the Prophets and
in the precious book of Revelation, but your fanciful theologians turn these sublimities of truth into the toys of children,
when they give their imagination  license to act as an
expositor.
PROSPERITY-Evils of.
Too long a period of fair weather in the Italian valleys creates
such a superabundance of dustthat the traveller sighs for a
shower. He is smothered, his clothes are white, his eyes smart,
the grit even grates between his teeth and finds its way down
his throat; welcome are the rain clouds, as theypromise to abate
thenuisance. Prosperity long continuedbreeds a-plague of dust
even more injurious,for it almostblinds the spirit and insinuates
itself into the soul; a shower or two of grief proves a mighty
blessing, for it deprives the things of earth of somewhat of
their smothering power. A Christian making money fast is
just a man in a cloud of dust, it will fill his eyes if he be not
careful. A Christian full of worldly care is in the same condition, and had need look to it lest he be choked with earth.
Afflictions might almost be prayed for if we never had them,
even as inlong stretches of fair weather men beg for rain to
lay the dust.
PROVIDENCE.
AN old authority assures us that "the Jews fancy, concerning the cloud that conducted Israel through the wilderness, that it did not only show them the way, but also plane
it; that it did not only lead them in the way which they must
go, but also fit the way for them to go upon it; that it cleared
all the mountains and smoothed all the rocks; that it cleared
all the bushes and removed all the rubs."
What is probably a mere legend as to the type is
abundantly true of the providence of God, which it so




MY NOTE BOOK.                     189
accurately represents. Our gracious God not only leads us
in the way of mercy, but he prepares our path before us,
providing for all our wants even before they occur.
PROVIDENCE-the Guardian of our Weakness.
THAT image in Lowell's poem of "The Changeling" fascinates me. It is so much what I am and ever wish to be.
"I feel as weak as a violet
Alone'neath the awful sky."
Unable to defend myself and apparently undefended, yet
guarded by omnipotent love,' I would fain pour out a perfume
of praise to the Great Invisible who watches over me, and
would feel that under the care of Providence I may claim the
sweetness of the poet's next stanza.
"As weak, yet as trustful also;
For the whole year long I see
All the wonders of faithful nature
Still worked for the love of me.
Winds wander and dews drip earthward,
Rains fall, suns rise and set,
Earth whirls, and all but to prosper
A poor little violet."
PROVIDENCE-Rightly Places us.
SUPPOSE the mole should cry, "How I could have honoured
the Creator had I been allowed to fly!" it would be very
foolish, for a mole flying would be a most ridiculous object;
while a mole fashioning its tunnels and casting up its castles,
is viewed with admiring wonder by the naturalist, who perceives
its remarkable suitability to its sphere. The fish of the sea
might say, "How could I display the wisdom of God if I
could sing, or mount a tree, like a bird;" but a dolphin in a tree
would be a very grotesque affair, and there would be no wisdom




190                 MY NOTE BOOK.
of God to admire in trouts singing in the groves; but when
the fish cuts the wave with agile fin, all who have observed it
say how wonderfully it is adapted to its habitat, how exactly
its every bone is fitted for its mode of life. Brother, it is just
so with you. If you begin to say, " I cannot glorify God
where I am, and as I am," I answer, neither could you anywhere if not where you are.  Providence, which arranged
your surroundings, appointed them so that, all things being
considered, you are in the position in which you can best
display the wisdom and the grace of God.
PRUDENCE (FALSE)-its Mischief.
JAMES the First once said of armour, that "it was an excellent invention, for it not only saved the life of the wearer,
but it hindered him  from  doing harm to anybody else."
Equally destructive to all usefulness is that excessive prudence
upon which some professors pride themselves; not only do
they escape all persecution, but they are never able to strike
a blow, much less fight a battle for the Lord Jesus.
PUlFFERY-Spiritual.
WHEN we read the exaggerated accounts which are so
frequently issued, lauding to the skies the successful labours
of certain evangelists of doubtful vocation, we are reminded
of the battle of Aliwal, of which an officer wrote, " Aliwal was
the battle of the despatch, for none of us knew we had fought
a battle until the particulars appeared in a document which
did more than justice to every one concerned." Is there not
quite enough religious fiction abroad without filling corners
of newspapers and magazines therewith?  We know who
they were of old who sounded a trumpet before them. God's
real works of grace are too sublime to need the arts of puffery
to publish them.




MY NOTE BOOK.                  191
PULPIT.
CLEMENS BRENTANO, a literary acquaintance of Dr.
Krummacher, and a Catholic, once said to the doctor, "Till
you Protestants pull down the chatter-box," (" Plapperkasten,")
he meant the pulpit, " or, at least, throw it into the corner,
where it ought to be, there is no hope of you." I could only
reply to him, "It is true indeed, that our'Plapperkasten'
stands greatly in the way of you Catholics."
The pulpit is the Thermopylae of Protestantism, the tower
of the flock, the Palladium of the church of God. Well
might Paul magnify his office, for not only Glasgow but the
city of our God "flourishes by the preaching of the word."
PURPOSE —Unity of.
IT is said of Thomas Pett, the miser, that his pulse rose
and fell with the funds. He never lay down or rose that he
did not bless the inventor of compound interest. His one
gloomy apartment was never brightened with coal, candle,
or the countenance of a visitor, and he never ate a morsel at
his own expense.  Of course he made  money, for he
gave himself wholly to it; and we ought not to forget that
the same single-mindedness and self-denial would make
Christians rich towards God. What is wanted in the service
of Christ, is the same unity of purpose which has ruled all
men who have won the object for which they lived. He who
makes God's glory the one only aim before which all other
things bow themselves, is the man to bring honour to his
Lord.
PURPOSE —Unity of.
WHEN Audubon the celebrated American ornithologist was
in Paris he grew quite weary of it, and his diary does not
contain a cheerful word about that gay city until he writes,
"The stock-pigeon roosts in the trees of the garden of the




192                 MY NOTE BOOK.
Tuileries in great numbers; blackbirds also do the same, and
are extremely noisy before dark; some few rooks and magpies
are seen there also. In the Jardin, or walks of the Palais
Royal, common sparrows are prodigiously plentiful.  The
mountain finch passes in scattered numbers over Paris at this
season, going northerly." So also when in London the great
naturalist was quite out of his element, and only seemed
pleased when a flight of wildfowl passed over the city. Here
was the secret of his success-his complete absorption in his
one study-birds alone had charms for him. We who would
attain to eminence in the service of Christ must let the love
of souls, in an equal way, master and engross us. When
writing a paper for the Natural History Society upon the
habits of the wild pigeon, Audubon says, "So absorbed
was my whole soul and spirit in the work, that I felt as if I
were in the woods of America, among the pigeons, and my
ears were filled with the sound of their rustling wings." We
should all write, speak, and preach for our Lord Jesus far more
powerfully if our love to the Lord were a passion so dominant
as to make the great realities of eternity vividly real and
supremely commanding in our minds.
QUARRELS.
IN most quarrels there is a fault on both sides. A quarrel
may be compared to a spark, which cannot be produced
without a flint as well as a steel; either of them may hammer
on wood for ever, no fire will follow.-South.
QUESTIONS-Foolish Theological.
THE follies of the schoolmen should be a warning to all
those who would mingle metaphysical speculations or prophetical theories with the simple doctrines of the Bible.
There was among those learned men such a rage for Aristotle, that his ethics were frequently read to the people
instead of the gospel, and the teachers themselves were




MY NOTE BOOK.                   193
employed either in wresting the words of Scripture to support
the most monstrous opinions, or in discussing the most trivial
questions. Think of men gravely debating whether the angel
Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary in the shape of a serpent, of a dove, of a man, or of a woman? Did he seem to
be young or old? In what dress was he? Was his garment
white or of two colours? Was his linen clean or foul? Did
he appear in the morning, noon, or evening? What was the
colour of the Virgin's hair? &c. Think of all this nonense
veiled in learned terms and obscure phrases! While human
minds were engaged in weaving such cobwebs as these, no
progress was made in real'knowledge, and the gloom of the
dark ages deepened into tenfold night. We are much in
danger of the same evil from another quarter. The reign of
obscure nonsense and dogmatic trifling may yet return. An
ultra-spiritual sect has arisen whose theological language is a
jargon, whose interpretations are mystical, whose prophetical
hypotheses are ridiculous, and whose arrogance is superlative. To leave the consideration of well-known and soulsaving truths to fight over unimportant subtleties, is to turn
our corn fields into poppy gardens. To imagine that the
writers of unintelligible mysticism are men of great depth, is
to find wisdom in the hootings of owls. True spirituality
shuns the obscure and the dilettanti, and delights in the plain
and practical; but there is much to fascinate in the superfine
shams of the hour.  Quintilian justly observes that the
obscurity of an author is generally in proportion to his incapacity; and we might add, that the ferocity of a bigot is
frequently in proportion to the absurdity of his belief. Some
are zealots for a certain theory of 666, and the two witnesses,
and the little horn, who would be far better employed in
training up their children in the fear of God, or listening for
their instruction to a sober preacher of the word of God. It
is a most fitting thing to be looking for the coming of the
Lord, but a most miserable waste of time to be spinning
13




194                 MY NOTE BOOK.
theories about it, and allowing the millions around us to
perish in their sins. Ragged-schools, orphanages, streetpreaching, tract distributing, almsgiving, these are the present
and pressing questions for the Christian church; whether
the stream of the Euphrates is likely to diminish, or the Dead
Sea to flow into the Mediterranean, may be settled in less
needy times.
REASON AND FAITH.
AN old writer says:-Faith and Reason may be compared
to two travellers: Faith is like a man in full health, who can
walk his twenty or thirty miles at a time without suffering;
Reason is like a little child, who can only, with difficulty,
accomplish three or four miles. " Well," says this old writer,
" on a given day Reason says to Faith,'0 good Faith, let me
walk with thee;' Faith replies,'O Reason, thou canst never
walk with me!' However, to try their paces, they set out
together, but they soon find it hard to keep company. When
they come to a deep river, Reason says,'I can never ford
this,' but Faith wades through it singing. When they reach
a lofty mountain, there is the same exclamation of despair;
and in such cases, Faith, in order not to leave Reason behind,
is obliged to carry him on his back; and," adds the writer,
"oh! what a luggage is Reason to Faith!"
REGENERATION-Need of.
A RAW countryman having brought his gun to the gunsmith for repairs, the latter is reported to have examined it,
and finding it to be almost too far gone for repairing, said,
" Your gun is in a very worn-out, ruinous, good-for-nothing
condition, what sort of repairing do you want for it?" " Well,"
said the countryman, " I don't see as I can do with anything
short of a new stock, lock, and barrel; that ought to set it
up again." " Why," said the smith, " you had better have a
new gun altogether." " Ah!" was the reply, " I never thought




MY NOTE BOOK.                   195
of that; and it strikes me that's just what I do want. A
new stock, lock, and barrel; why that's about equal to a new
gun altogether, and that's what I'll have."
Just the sort of repairing that man's nature requires. The
old nature cast aside as a complete wreck and good for nothing,
and a new one imparted.
RELIGION-Must be Personal.
" A LITTLE girl, whom we will call Ellen, was some time ago
helping to nurse a sick gentleman, whom  she loved very
dearly. One day he said to her,'Ellen, it is time for me to
take my medicine, I think. Will you pour it out for me?
You must measure just a table-spoonful, and then put it in
that wine-glass close by.' Ellen quickly did so, and brought
it to his bedside; but, instead of taking it in his own hand,
he quietly said,' Now, dear, will you drink it for me?''Me
drink it! What do you mean?  I am sure I would, in a
minute, if it would cure you all the same; but you know it
won't do you any good, unless you take it yourself.''Won't
it, really? No, I suppose it will not. But, Ellen, if you can't
take my medicine for me, I can't take your salvation for you.
You must go to Jesus, and believe in him for yourself.' In
this way he tried to teach her that each human being must
seek salvation for himself, and repent, and believe, and obey,
for himself."
RELIGION-Taken upon Trust.
IT is a preposterous thing that men can venture their souls
where they will not venture their money; for they will take
their religion upon trust, but would not trust a synod about
the goodness of half-a-crown.- William Penn.
RELIGIOUS LIFE-Not mere Imitation.
"AT one of the late grand reviews in Eastern Prussia, says
a German paper, a brigade of artillery was ordered to pass at




196                  MY NOTE BOOK.
-full gallop over a piece of uneven ground, intersected by a
ditch full of water. One of the guns, from the horses not
making a sufficient spring, got stuck in the ditch. The first
gunner, a man of great strength, jumped down into the water
and, setting his shoulders to one of the wheels, lifted it out of
the mud, and, resuming his seat, the gun crossed the ditch.
Prince Augustus, of Prussia, who came up at the moment,
cried,' Bravo, my lad,' and tearing off a strip from his sash,
gave it to the artilleryman, telling him to fasten it to his
sword-belt in remembrance. In the evening, the soldier, when
in his barracks, was surprised by receiving a gratuity of I50
golden crowns. A short time afterwards, another artilleryman
having heard this anecdote, wished in his turn to display his
strength. Prince Augustus, when one day at the arsenal of
Berlin, ordered a 24-pounder to be mounted on its carriage.
The man in question immediately raised the piece from the
ground, and, unassisted, put it on its carriage. The prince,
however, said,'This man is a fool: he has risked his limbs,
and wasted his strength without any necessity. Let him be
under arrest for three days."
Thus, Galignanis Messenger furnishes us with a warning
against being mere copyists. An action may from the tim e
and circumstances be noble and praiseworthy in one man,
but another would render himself ridiculous who, forgetting the
surrounding circumstances, should merely repeat the action
itself. True grace, like a truly soldierly spirit, guides its possessor as emergencies arise, but that mimicry of religion which
only follows precedents is to be despised.
REMEMBRANCE-How to be Had in.
SIR BERNARD BURKE thus touchingly writes in his Vicissitudes of Families -" In I850 a pedigree research caused
me to pay a visit to the village of Fyndern, about five miles
south-west of Derby. I sought for the ancient hall. Not a
stone remained to tell where it had stood! I entered the




MY NOTE BOOK.                   197
church. Not a single record of a Finderne was there! I
accosted a villager, hoping to glean some stray traditions of
the Findernes.'Findernes!' said he,'we have no Findernes
here, but we have something that once belonged them: we
have Finderne'flowers.'' Show them me,' I replied, and the
old man led me into a field which still retained faint traces of
terraces and foundations.' There,' said he, pointing to a bank
of'garden flowers grown wild,''there are the Findernes'
flowers, brought by Sir Geoffrey from  the Holy Land,
and do what we will, they will never die!"'
So be it with each of us. Should our names perish, may
the truths we taught, the virtues we cultivated, the good works
we initiated, live on and blossom with undying energy,
"When time his withering hand hath laid
On battlement and tower."
REPENTANCE-Must be Real.
THE gondoliers at Venice, when we were sojourning in that
queen of the Adriatic, frequently quarrelled with each other,
and used such high words and ferocious gestures that we were
afraid murder would come of it; yet they never came to
blows, it was only their rough way of disputing. Often and
often have we heard men upbraiding themselves for their sins,
and crying out against the evil which their follies have wrought
them, yet these very people have continued in their transgressions, and have even gone from bad to worse. They
barked too much at sin to fall to and destroy it.  Their
enmity to evil was mere feigning; like the sword-play of
the stage, which looks like earnest fight, but no wounds are
given or received. Let those who play at repentance remember
that they who repent in mimicry shall go to hell in reality.
REPENTANCE —(Thorough)-Searohes Out Sin.
WHEN a wound in a soldier's foot refuses to heal, the
surgeon examines it very minutely, and manipulates every




198                  MY NOTE BOOK.
part.  Each bone is there, and in its place; there is no
apparent cause for the inflammation, but yet the wound refuses to heal. The surgeon probes and probes again, until
his lancet comes into contact with a hard foreign substance.
"Here it is," saith he, " a bullet is lodged here; this must
come out, or the wound will never close." Thus may some
concealed sin work long disquiet in a seeking soul. May the
Lord search us and try us, and see if there be any evil way
in us, and lead us in the way everlasting.
REPROOFS-to be Given in Love.
PREACHING on John xiii. i4-the duty of disciples to wash
one another's feet-Mr. Finlayson, of Helmsdale, observed,
" One way in which disciples wash one another's feet is by
reproving one another. But the reproof must not be couched
in angry words, so as to destroy the effect; nor in tame, so as
to fail of effect Just as in washing a brother's feet, you must
not use boiling water to scald, nor frozen water to freeze
them."
RESIGNATION-Sustained by Faith.
THE habit of resignation is the root of peace. A godly
child had a ring given him by his mother, and he greatly
prized it, but on a sudden he unhappily lost his ring, and he
cried bitterly. Recollecting himself, he stepped aside and
prayed; after which his sister laughingly said to him, " Brother,
what is the good of praying about a ring —will praying bring
back your ring'?  " No, sister," said he, "perhaps not, but
praying has done this for me, it has made me quite willing to
do without the ring, if it is God's will; and is not that almost
as good as having it? Thus faith quiets us by resignation,
as a babe is hushed in his mother's bosom. Faith makes us
quite willing to do without the mercy which once we prized;
and when the heart is content to be without the outward
blessing, it is as happy as it would be with it; for it is at rest,




MY NOTE BOOK.                   199
RESIGNATION-Want of, Rebuked.
A LADY who had lost a beloved child, was so oppressed
with grief, that she even secluded herself from the society of
her own family, and kept herself locked in her chamber, but
was at length prevailed on by her husband to come down
stairs, and take a walk in the garden. While there, she
stooped to pluck a flower; but her husband appeared as
though he would hinder her. She plaintively said, "What!
deny a flower! "  He replied, " You have denied God your
flower, and surely you ought not to think it hard in me to
deny you mine."  The lady suitably felt the gentle reproof,
and had reason to say, "A word spoken in season, how good
is it! "
RESOLUTION-Overcoming Difficulties.
LOOK at that bare perpendicular mountain side-why, it is
worse than perpendicular, it overhangs the lake; yet the bold
Tyrolese have carried a road right along the bald face of
the rock, by blasting out a gallery, or, as it looks fr6m below,
by chiselling out a groove. One would have readily written
down that feat as impossible, and yet the road is made, and
we have travelled it from Riva into the Tyrol, the Lago Garda
lying far below our feet. Henceforth that road shall be to us
a cheering memory when our task is more than usually
difficult. If anything ought to be done it shall be done. With
God in front, we shall soon leave difficulties in the rear,
transformed into memorials of victory.
RESPONSIBILITY.
JOHN BROWN, of Haddington, said to a young minister,
who complained of the smallness of his congregation, " It is
as large a one as you will want to give account for in the day
of judgment."  The admonition is appropriate; not to
ministers alone, but to all teachers.




200                   MY NOIE BOOK.
RESURRECTION.
The doctrine of the resurrection is full ofjoy to the bereaved.
It clothes the grave with flowers, and wreathes the tomb with
unfading laurel. The sepulchre shines with a light brighter than
the sun, and death grows fair, as we say, in full assurance of
faith, " I know that my brother shall rise again." Rent from
the ignoble shell the pearl is gone to deck the crown of the
Prince of Peace; buried beneath the sod the seed is preparing to bloom in the King's garden. Altering a word or
two of Beattie's verse we may even now  find ourselves
singing:
"'Tis night and the landscape is lovely no more:
Yet ye beautiful woodlands I mourn not for you;
For morn is approaching your charms to restore,
Perfumed with fresh fragrance, and glittering with dew:
Nor yet for the ravage of winter I mourn;
Kind nature the embryo blossom will save;
The spring shall yet visit the mouldering urn;
The day shall yet dawn on the night of the grave."
REVIVAL-Absence and Presence of.
THE decline of a revival is a great testing season.  It
discovers the true believers by chilling the false. A frosty
night or two suffices to nip all the exotic plants of a garden;
but the hardy shrubs, the true natives of the soil, live on
even in the severest cold. Converts raised in the hot-bed of
excitement soon droop and die if the spiritual temperature of
the church falls below summer heat: what are these worth
compared with the hardy children of divine grace, whose
inward life will continue in enduring vigour when all around
is dead! Yet we do not desire to see the revival spirit droop
among us, for even the evergreens of our garden delight in a
warmer season, for then they send forth their shoots and
clothe themselves with new leaves; and thus it will be seen




MY NOTE BOOK.                  201
that the best of the saints are all the better for the holy glow
of the " times of refreshing."
REWARD-of Benevolence Sometimes Immediate.
OCCASIONALLY a benevolent action wrought in faith brings
with it an instantaneous recompens.e in kind; therein Providence is seen as smiling upon the deed. The lateJohn Andrew
Jones, a poor Baptist minister, whilst walking in Cheapside,
was appealed to by some one he knew for help. He had but
a shilling in the world, and poised it in his mind, to give or not
to give? The greater distress of his acquaintance prevailed,
and he gave his all, walking away with a sweet remembrance of
the promise, " He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth unto
the Lord, and that which he hath given, will he pay him
again." He had not gone a hundred yards further before he
met a gentleman who said, " Ah, Mr. Jones, I am glad to see
you. I have had this sovereign in my waistcoat pocket this
week past for some poor minister, and you may as well have
it." Mr. Jones was wont to add, when telling the story, " If I
had not stopped to give relief I should have missed the gentleman and the sovereign too."
RICH-Danger of the.
A HOLY woman was wont to say of the rich-" They are
hemmed round with no common misery; they go down to
hell without thinking of it, because their staircase thither is of
gold and porphyry."
RICHES-Danger of.
CROSSING the Col D'Obbia, the mule laden with our
luggage sank in the snow, nor could it be recovered until its
load was removed; then, but not till then, it scrambled out
of the hole it had made, and pursued its journey. It reminded
us of mariners casting out the lading into the sea to save the
vessel, and we were led to meditate upon the dangers ot




202                MY NOTE BOOK.
Christians heavily laden with earthly possessions, and the wise
way in which the gracious Father unloads them  by their
losses that they may be enabled to pursue their journey to
heaven, and no longer sink in the snow of carnal-mindedness.
RICHES-Ruined by.
Do not be over-anxious about riches. Get as much of
true wisdom and goodness as you can; but be satisfied with
a very moderate portion of this world's good. Riches may
prove a curse as well as a blessing.
I was walking through an orchard, looking about me, when
I saw a low tree laden more heavily with fruit than the rest.
On a nearer examination, it appeared that the tree had been
dragged to the very earth, and broken by the weight of its
treasures. " Oh!" said I, gazing on the tree, "here lies one
who has been ruined by his riches."
In another part of my walk, I came up with a shepherd,
who was lamenting the loss of a sheep that lay mangled and
dead at his feet. On enquiry about the matter, he told me
that a strange dog had attacked the flock, that the rest of
the sheep had got away through a hole in the hedge, but that
the ram now dead had more wool on his back than the rest,
and the thorns of the hedge held him fast till the dog had
worried him.  "Here is another," said I, "ruined by his
riches."
At the close of my ramble, I met a man hobbling along on
two wooden legs, leaning on two sticks. "Tell me," said I,
" my poor fellow, how you came to lose your legs?" " Why,
sir," said he, "in my younger days I was a soldier. With a
few comrades I attacked a party of the enemy, and overcame
them, and we began to load ourselves with spoil. My comrades were satisfied with little, but I burdened myself with as
much as I could carry. We were pursued; my companions
escaped, but I was overtaken and so cruelly wounded, that I
only saved my life afterwards by losing my legs., It was a




MY NOTE BOOK.                   203
bad affair, sir; but it is too late to repent of it now." "Ah,
friend," thought I, " like the fruit tree, and the mangled sheep,
you may date your downfall to your possessions. It was your
riches that ruined you."
When I see so many rich people, as I do, caring so much
for their bodies, and so little for their souls, I pity them from
the bottom of my heart, and sometimes think there are as'many ruined by riches'as by poverty. "They that will be
rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." I Tim. vi. 9. The prayer will suit you, perhaps, as
well as it does me, "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed
me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny
thee, and say; Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal,
and take the name of my God in vain."  Prov. xxx. 8, 9.Old Humphrey.
RISING IN THE WORLD-Ambition for.
AMBITION, a good enough thing within reasonable bounds, is
averyApollyon among men,when it gets the mastery over them.
Have you ever seen boys climbing a greasy pole to reach a
hat or a handkerchief? If so, you will have noticed that the
aspiring youths for the most part adopt plans and tricks
quite as slimy as the pole; one covers his hands with sand,
another twists a knotted cord, and scarcely one climbs fairly,
and he is the one boy whose chance is smallest. How plainly
see we the politician's course in these young rascals; the
Right Honourable Member for the town of Corruption vies
with the equally Right Honourable representative for the
county of Bribery; the most noble Conservative place-hunter
will not be outdone by the Liberal office-lover; a man must
have done a world of planing and shaving, chopping and
chiselling, before he can reach the Treasury Bench. Nor
less so is it in the path of trade. Small dealers and great
contractors eager to rise, are each in their measure to Satan




204                  MY NOTE BOOK.
what a covey of partridges are to a sportsman, fair game if
he can but reach them. The hasty desire to rise is the cause
of many a fall. Those who see the glittering heaps of gold
before them are frequently in so much haste to thrust their
arms in up to the elbow among the treasure that they take
short cuts, leave the beaten road of honest labour, break
through hedges, and find themselves ere long in a ditch. It
is hard to keep great riches without sin, and we have heard that
it is harder still to get them. Walk warily, successful friend!
Growing wealth will prove no blessing to thee unless thou
gettest growing grace.  Prosperity destroys a fool and endangers a wise man; be on thy guard, good friend, for
whether thou be the one or the other, thy testing hour is come.
SABBATH-Need to be Awakened for.
AT Harzburg, in the Hartz Mountains, we were awakened
early in the morning, according to an ancient custom, by the
sound of a trumpet, which made us pray that when the last
trumpet sounds it may awaken us to an endless Sabbath. It
were well if all hearts and minds heard at the dawn of the
Lord's-day, "The sound as of a trumpet," so that every
faculty might be aroused to the highest activity of holy service.
Sleepy hearing, praying, and singing are terrible; sleepy
preaching and teaching are worse, yet how common they
are, and how needful is the trumpet at the ear of many!
SABBATH-Views of Heaven then Enjoyed.
WHEN a gentleman was inspecting a house in Newcastle,
with a view to hiring it as a residence, the landlord took him
to the upper window, expatiated on the extensive prospect,
and added, "You can see Durham  Cathedral from  this
window on a Sunday"' " Why on a Sunday above any other
day?" enquired our friend, with some degree of surprise.
The reply was conclusive enough. "Because on that day
there is no smoke from those tall chimneys." Blessed is the




MY NOTE BOOK.                  205
Sabbath to us when the earth-smoke of care and turmoil no
longer beclouds our view; then can our souls full often behold
the goodly land, and the city of the New Jerusalem.
SAFETY OF BELIEVERS.
A BRITISH subject may be safe although surrounded by
enemies in a distant land-not that he hath strength to contend alone against armed thousands, but because he is a
subject of our queen. A despot on his throne, a horde of
savages in their desert, have permitted a helpless traveller to
pass unharmed, like a lamb among lions-although like lions
looking on a lamb, they thirsted for his blood-because they
knew his sovereign's watchfulness, and feared his sovereign's
power. The feeble stranger has a charmed life in the midst
of his enemies, because a royal arm unseen encompasses him
as with a shield. The power thus wielded by an earthly
throne may suggest and symbolise the perfect protection of
Omnipotence. A British subject's confidence in his queen
may rebuke the feeble faith of a Christian. " 0 thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" What though there be
fears within and fightings without, he who bought his people
with his own blood cannot lose his inheritance, and will not
permit any enemy to wrest from his hand the satisfaction of
his soul. The man with a deceitful heart and a darkened
mind, a feeble frame and a slippery way, a fainting heart and
a daring foe-the man would stumble and fall: but the
member of Christ's body cannot drop off; the portion of the
Redeemer cannot be wrenched from his grasp. " Ye are his."
Christ is the safety of a Christian.-W. Arnot.
SAFETY OF FEEBLE SAINTS.
You can buy complete sets of all the flowers of the Alpine
district at the hotel near the foot of the Rosenlaui glacier,
very neatly pressed and enclosed in cases.  Some of the




206                 MY NOTE BOOK.
flowers are very common, but they must be included, or the
flora would not be completely represented. The botanist is
as careful to see that the common ones are there, as he is to
note that the rarer specimens are not excluded. Our blessed
Lord will be sure to make a perfect collection of all the
flowers of his field, and even the ordinary believer, the everyday worker, the common convert, will not be forgotten. To
Jesus' eye, there is beauty in all his plants, and each one is
needed to perfect the flora of Paradise. May I be found
among his flowers, if only as one out of myriad daisies, who
with sweet simplicity shall look up and wonder at his love for
ever.
SAINTS-Preserve the World.
WE saw in Venice a picture of St. Mark and other holy
champions delivering the fair city from the devil, who had
resolved to raise a great storm in the Adriatic, flood the
lagunes, and drown the inhabitants of the "bride of the sea."
All mere legend and lie, but for all that capable of mirroring
the truth that the intercession of saints and God's peculiar
regard for them have oftentimes delivered the church.
SAINTS-their Real Worth.
A PIECE of plate may become battered and scratched, so
that its beauty is hopelessly gone, but it loses not its real
worth; put it into the scale, and its weight and not its fashion
shall be the estimate of its preciousness; throw it into the
melting-pot and its purity will show its actual value.  So
there are many outward circumstances which may spoil the
public repute in which a Christian is held, but his essential
preciousness remains unchanged.  God values him  at as
high a rate as ever. His unerring balance and crucible are
not guided by appearances. How content may we be to be
vile in the sight of men if we are accepted of the Lord!




MY NOTE BOOK.                  207
SAINTS-What they should be.
IN the Cathedral of St. Mark, in Venice-a marvellous
building, lustrous with an Oriental splendour far beyond description-there are pillars said to have been brought from
Solomon's Temple; these are of alabaster, a substance firm
and durable as granite, and yet transparent, so that the light
glows through them. Behold an emblem of what all true
pillars of the church should be-firm in their faith, and
transparent in their character; men of simple mould, ignorant
of tortuous and deceptive ways, and yet men of strong will,
not readily to be led aside, or bent from their uprightness.
A few such alabaster men we know; may the great Masterbuilder place more of them in his temple!
SALVATION-in Christ.
WE lately read in the papers an illustration of the way of
salvation. A man had been condemned in a Spanish court
to be shot, but being an American citizen and also of English
birth, the consuls of the two countries interposed, and declared that the Spanish authorities had no power to put him
to death. What did they do to secure his life, when their
protest was not sufficient? They wrapped him up in their
flags, they covered him with the Stars and Stripes and the
Union Jack, and defied the executioners. " Now fire a shot
if you dare, for if you do so, you defy the nations represented
by those flags, and you will bring the powers of those two great
empires upon you." There stood the man, and before him the
soldiery, and though a single shot might have ended his life,
yet he was as invulnerable- as though encased in triple steel.
Even so Jesus Christ has taken my poor guilty soul ever since
I believed in him, and has wrapped around me the blood-red
flag of his atoning sacrifice, and before God can destroy me
or any other soul that is wrapped in the atonement, he must
insult his Son and dishonour his sacrifice, and that he will
never do, blessed be his name.




208                 MY NOTE BOOK.
SALVATION-Near.
IT is said that some years ago a vessel sailing on the
northern coast of the South American continent, was observed
to make signals of distress. When hailed by another vessel,
they reported themselves as " Dying for water!" " Dip it
up then," was the response, "you are in the mouth of the
Amazon river."  There was fresh water all around them, they
had nothing to do but to dip it up, and yet they were dying of
thirst, because they thought themselves to be surrounded by
the salt sea. How often are men ignorant of their mercies?
How sad that they should perish for lack of knowledge!
Jesus is near the seeker even when he is tossed upon oceans of
doubt. The sinner has but to stoop down and drink and
live; and yet he is ready to perish, as if salvation were hard to
find.
SALVATION-Theme for Thought.
I HAVE heard of a certain divine, that he used always to
carry about with him a little book. This tiny volume had
only three leaves in it; and truth to tell, it contained not a
single word. The first was a leaf of black paper, black as jet;
the next was a leaf of red-scarlet; and the last was a leaf of
white, without spot. Day by day he would look upon this
singular book, and at last he told the secret of what it
meant. He said, "Here is the black leaf, that is my sin,
and the wrath of God which my sin deserves; I look, and
look, and think it is not black enough to represent my
guilt, though it is as black as black can be. The red leaf
reminds me of the atoning sacrifice, and the precious blood;
and I delight to look at it, and weep, and look again.
The white leaf represents my soul, as it is washed in Jesus'
blood and made white as snow." The little book was fuller of
meaning than many a learned folio.




MY NOTE BOOK.                     209
SCEPTICS AND CONTROVERSIAL DIVINES.
THE old fable tells us of a boy who mounted a scavenger's
cart with base intent to throw dirt at the moon; whereat
another boy, with better intentions, but scarcely less folly,
came running with a bason of water to wash the moon, and
make its face clean again.  Certain sceptics are for ever
inventing new infidelities with which they endeavour to defile
the fair face of the gospel, and many ministers forsake the
preaching of Christ, and him crucified, to answer their endless quibbles: to both of these the ancient fable may be
instructive.
SCHOOLS.
BY order of Government the roads in Prussia are lined on
each side with fruit trees. Riding once, early in September,
from Berlin to Halle, an American traveller noticed that some
of the trees had a wisp of straw attached to them.  He
enquired of the. coachman what it meant.  He replied that
those trees bore choice fruits, and the straw was a notice to
the public not to take fruit from those trees without special
permission. " I fear," said the traveller, " that in my country
such a notice would be but an invitation to roguish boys to
attack those very trees."  "Haben Sie keine Schules?" (" Have
you no schools?") was his significant rejoinder. Rest assured,
dear reader, that next to godliness, education is the mainstay
of order.
SCHOOLS.
RIDING the other day over Westminster Bridge I observed
a noble bull quietly walking along, although there was a perfect hurly-burly of cabs, horses, carriages, whips and men all
around him.  I wondered to see the powerful beast walking
so demurely, and only ceased to marvel when I noticed that
a herdsman had his hand in a large ring which was inserted in
the creature's nose. Here, thought I, is a parable. We ask full
often, however it comes to pass that in this age of progress,
14




210                MY NOTE BOOK.
when all things seem to be in action, John Bull suffers himself to be duped by priests both Romish and Anglican. It is
easy to see that there is a ring in his nose, or he would never
be led by the nose so readily. That ring is ignorance.
Schools, especially Sabbath schools, are the best means of
removing that ring. Catechise the children, let the whole
population be taught; especially let the gospel be brought to
bear on the rising generation, and by God's grace John Bull
will be free, and his first effort will be to toss the priests and
make them fly aloft like Sancho Panza in the blanket.
SCOFFER-Silenced.
"A  MINISTER of the Presbyterian Church, in America,
delivered a series of discourses against Infidelity, in a town
in Louisiana, on the Red River, some of the citizens of
which were known to be sceptical. A few days afterwards he
took passage in a steamer ascending the Mississippi, and
found on board several of the citizens of that town, among
whom was a disciple of Tom Paine, noted as the ringleader
of a band of infidels. So soon as he discovered the minister,
he commenced his horrid blasphemies; and when he perceived him reading at one of the tables, he proposed to his
companions to go with him to the opposite side of the table
and listen to some stories that he had to tell upon religion
and religious men which he said would annoy the old preacher.
Quite a number, prompted by curiosity, gathered around him
to listen to his vulgar stories and anecdotes, all of which were
pointed against the Bible and its ministers. The preacher
did not raise his eyes from the book which he was reading,
nor appear to be in the least disconcerted by the presence of
the rabble. At length the infidel walked up to him, and
rudely slapping him on the shoulder, said, "Old fellow, what
do you think of these things?" He calmly pointed out of the
door, and said, " Do you see that beautiful landscape spread
out in such quiet loveliness before you?" " Yes." " It has




MY NOTE BOOK.                    211
a variety of flowers, plants, and shrubs, that are calculated to
fill the beholder with delight."  "Yes."  "Well, if you were
to send out a dove, he would pass over that scene and see in
it all that was beautiful and lovely, and delight himself in
gazing at and admiring it; but if you were to send out a
buzzard over precisely the same scene, he would see in it
nothing to fix his attention, unless he could find some rotten
carcass that would be loathsome to all other animals, in which
case he would alight and gloat upon it with exquisite pleasure."
" Do you mean to compare me to a buzzard, sir," said the infidel,
colouring very deeply. " I made no allusion to you, sir,"
said the minister, very quietly. The infidel walked off in confusion, and went by the name of " The Buzzard " during the
remainder of the passage."
SCRIPTURES-and Men's Books.
THERE is gold in the rocks which fringe the Pass of the
Splugen, gold even in the stones which mend the roads, but
there is too little of it to be worth extracting. Alas, how like
too many books and sermons! Not so the Scriptures, they
are much fine gold; their very dust is precious.
SCRIPTURES-Reading of.
LORD BACON tells of a certain bishop who used to bathe
regularly twice every day, and on being asked why he bathed
thus often, replied, " Because I cannot conveniently do it
three times." If those who love the Scriptures were asked
why they read the Bible so often, they might honestly reply,
"because we cannot find time to read it oftener." The appetite for the Word grows on that which it feeds on. We would
say with Thomas a Kempis, " I would be always in a nook
with a book."
SCRIPTURBE-versus System.
THE late William Jay, in his "Practical Illustrations of
Character," says, " What a difference must a Christian and a




212                MY NOTE BOOK.
minister feel, between the trammels of some systems of
divinity and the advantage of Scripture freedom, the glorious
liberty of the sons of God. The one is the horse standing in
the street in harness, feeding indeed, but on the contents of a
bag tossed up and down; the other, the same animal in a
large, fine meadow, where he lies down in green pastures, and
feeds beside the still waters.
SELF-Watchfulness over.
AN old writer, speaking of men as stewards of God, urges
upon them as wise traders and servants to look to themselves
carefully, and take care of four houses which are under their
charge.  I.-Their warehouse, or heart and memory, wherein
they should store up precious things, holy affections, grateful
remembrances, celestial preparations, etc. Without a good
stock in the warehouse there can be no good trade. 2.-Their
workhouse, or their actions, wherein they retail to others
for God's glory the grace entrusted to them; teaching the
ignorant, comforting the poor, visiting the sick, etc. We
must be active, or we cannot be acceptable servants. 3.Their clock-house, meaning their speech, which must always,
like a well-timed bell, speak the truth accurately; and meaning
also their observance of time, redeeming it by promptly
doing the duties of every hour. We must use time well, or
our spiritual gains will be small. 4.-Their counting-house,
or their conscience, which is to be scrupulously watched,
and no false reckonings allowed, lest we deceive our own
souls. The Master will call for our accounts, let us keep
them honestly.
SELF-CONCEIT-its Danger.
QUINCTILIAN said of some in his time that they might have
become excellent scholars had they not been so persuaded of
their scholarship already. Grant, most gracious God, that I
may never hold so high an opinion of my own spiritual health
as to prevent my being in very deed full of thy grace and fear!




MY NOTE BOOK.                     213
SELF-DISSATISFACTION-a Spur.
"DURING the nine years that I was his wife," says the
widow of the great artist Opie, " I never saw him satisfied
with one of his productions, and often, very often, have I
seen him enter my sitting-room, and throwing himself in an
agony of despondence on the sofa, exclaim,' I never, never
shall be a painter as long as I live!"' It was a noble despair,
such as is never felt by the self-complacent daubers of signboards, and it bore the panting aspirant up to one of the
highest niches in the artistic annals of his country.  The
selfsame dissatisfaction with present attainments is a potent
force to bear the Christian onward tocthe most eminent
degree of spirituality and holiness.
SELF-EXAMINATION-its Right Office.
A HIGHLANDER who purchased a barometer under a mistaken idea of its purpose, complained that he could not see
that it had made any improvement in the weather; and those
who use signs and evidences for an intent which they will
never answer, will be sure to complain that their faith is not
increased, though they are always practising self-examination.
Yet a barometer has its uses, and so have evidences of grace.
To feel the pulse is an admirable thing; the mistake is to put
this in the place of strengthening food or tonic medicine.
SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS —Destroyed by Conviction of Sin.
THE squirrel in his wire cage continually in motion but
making no progress, reminds me of my own self-righteous
efforts after salvation, but the little creature is never one half so
wearied by his exertions as I was by mine.  The poor
chiffonier in Paris trying to earn a living by picking dirty
rags out of the kennel, succeeds far better than I did in my
attempts to obtain comfort by my own works. Dickens's
cab-horse, which was only able to stand because it was never




214                 MY NOTE BOOK.
taken out of the shafts, was strength and beauty itself compared with my starveling hopes propped up with resolutions
and regulations. Wretches condemned to the galleys in the
days of the old French kings, whose only reward for incessant
toils was the lash of the keeper, were in a more happy plight
than I when under legal bondage. Slavery in mines where
the sun never shines must be preferable to the miseries of a
soul goaded by an awakened conscience to seek salvation
by its own merits. Some of the martyrs were shut up in a
dungeon called Little-ease; the counterpart of that prisonhouse I well remember. Iron chains are painful enough, but
what is the pain when the iron enters into the soul! Tell us
not of the writhings of the wounded and dying on the battlefield; some of us, when our heart was riddled by the artillery
of the law, would have counted wounds and death a happy
exchange.  O blessed Saviour, how blissful was the hour
when all this horrid midnight of the soul was changed into
the day-dawn of pardoning love!
SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS-Ruin of Many.'"A GENTLEMAN in our late civil wars," says Cowley,
" when his quarters were beaten up by the enemy, was taken
prisoner, and lost his life afterwards, only by staying to put
on a band, and adjust his periwig: he would escape like a
person of quality, or not at all, and died the noble martyr of
ceremony and gentility." Poor fool, and yet he is as bad
who waits till he is dressed in the rags of his own fancied
fitness before he will come to Jesus. He will die a martyr to
pride and self-righteousness.
gELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS-Vanity of.
WHEN the lofty spire of Old St. Paul's was destroyed by
lightning, there were many superstitious persons who were
amazed beyond measure at the calamity, for in the cross




MY NOTE BOOK.                  215
there had long been deposited relics of certain saints, which
were counted fully sufficient to avert all danger of tempests.
With what amazement will ignorant, self-righteous sinners
see their own destruction come upon them, notwithstanding
all the refuges of lies in which they trusted.
SELF-SEEKING.
A CERTAIN king had a minstrel whom he commanded to
play before him. It was a day of high feasting; the cups
were flowing and many great guests were assembled. The
minstrel laid his fingers among the strings of hMp harp, and
woke them all to the sweetest melody, but the hymn was to
the glory of himself. It was a celebration of the exploits of
song which the bard had himself performed, and told how he
had excelled high-born Hoel's harp, and emulated soft
Llewellyn's lay. In high-sounding strains he sang himself and
all his glories. When the feast was over, the harper said to
the monarch, " 0 king, give me thy guerdon; let the minstrel's
mede be paid." Then the monarch replied, " Thou hast sung
unto thyself, pay thyself; thine own praises were thy theme;
be thys If the paymaster." The harper cried, " Did I not
sing sweetly? 0 king, give me thy gold!" But the king
answered, "So much the worse for thy pride, that thou
shouldst lavish such sweetness upon thyself.  Get thee
gone, thou shalt not serve in my train."
If a man should grow grey-headed in the performance of
good works, yet when at the last it is known that he has done
them all for himself, that he may be honoured thereby, his
Lord will say, " Thou hast done well enough in the eyes of
man, but so much the worse, because thou didst it only to
thyself, that thine own praises might be sung, and that thine
own name might be extolled."
SERMONS-Bad, Not to be Listened to.
SOME sermons are not to be listened to at all, just as some
meats are not to be eaten. Against the siren's song the only




216                MY NOTE BOOK.
safety was deaf ears. Only a gross simpleton would leap into
a pit full of rattlesnakes to see if they would do him any
harm; a wise man is content to leave the experiment untried.
Despite the usual fashion of this age, which runs greedily
after cleverness even when associated with the most poisonous
sentiments, we affirm that it is a participation in other men's
sins to assist in furnishing an auditory for deceivers. Mere
talent ought not to attract us; carrion, well dressed and
served upon Palissy ware, is still unfit for men. Who thrusts
his arm into the fire because its flame is brilliant? Who
knowingly drinks from a poisoned cup because the beaded
bubbles on the brim reflect the colours of the rainbow? As
we would not be fascinated by the azure hues of a serpent,
so neither should we be thrown off our guard by the talents
of an unsound theologian. To hear or read sufficiently to
judge, is allowable to the man who, by reason of use, has had
his senses exercised to discern, and whose business it is to
warn others; but where error is manifest upon the surface, to
expose our minds to its pernicious influence is as great a
madness as to test the strength of the fever by lying in its
lair. Godly, scriptural teaching is surely not so rare that
we need go down to Egypt for help; there are streams
enough in Israel without our drinking of the polluted water
of Sihor.
SERMONS-Brilliant but Useless.
SIR ASTLEY COOPER, on visiting Paris, was asked by the
surgeon en chef of the empire how many times he had performed a certain wonderful feat of surgery. He replied that
he had performed the operation thirteen times. " Ah, but,
monsieur, I have done him one hundred and sixty time. How
many times did you save his life?" continued the curious
Frenchman, after he had looked into the blank amazement of
Sir Astley's face. "I," said the Englishman, "saved eleven out
of the thirteen. How many did you save out of one hundred




MY NOTE BOOK.                   217
and sixty?" " Ah, monsieur, I lose dem all; but de operation
was very brilliant."
Of how many popular ministries might the same verdict be
given! Souls are not saved, but the preaching is very brilliant.
Thousands are attracted and operated on by the rhetorician's
art, but what if he should have to say of his admirers, " I
lose them all, but the sermons were very brilliant! "
SERMONS-Must be Full of Christ.
"I HAVE had to interline your sermon all through and through
with the name of Christ," was the criticism which an aged parishioner once passed upon the discourse of ayoung pastor. Said
the lamented M'Cheyne, "Some speculate on doctrines about
the gospel, rather than preach the gospel itself." "I see a man
cannot be a faithful minister, until he preaches Christ for
Christ's sake."-Christian Treasury.
SERMONS-Must have the Gospel in them.
A FRIEND called on the Rev. T. Charles, of Bala, on
Sunday afternoon, September I I, 1814, after having been in
church. "Well," said he, "how did you like Mr. M-?
Was there enough of gospel in the sermon to save a sinner?
If not, it was of little consequence what was preached. I
hope Bala people will never take up with anything short of
that."
SERVANTS (GOD'S)-their Ruling Motive.
You cannot serve two masters-you must serve one or
other. If your work is first with you, and your fee second,
work is your master, and the Lord of work, who is God. But
if your fee is first with you, and your work second, fee is your
master, and the lord of fee, who is the devil; and not only
the devil, but the lowest of devils-" the least erected fiend
that fell."  So there you have it in brief terms-work first,
you are God's servants; fee first, you are the fiend's. And it




218                  MY NOTE BOOK.
makes a difference, now and ever, believe me, whether you
serve him who has on his vesture and thigh written, " King
of kings," and whose service is perfect freedom; or him on
whose vesture and thigh the name is written, "Slave of
slaves," and whose service is perfect slavery.-John Ruskin.
SERVICE-Christian to be ever Ready for.
BRUTUS visiting Ligarius found him ill, and said, " What,
sick, Ligarius?"  "No, Brutus," said he, "if thou hast any
noble enterprise in hand, I am well." So should the believer
say of Christ; what might excuse us from other labour shall
never prevent our engaging in his service.
SERVICE-Preparations for.
" METHOUGHT I looked and saw the Master standing,
and at his feet lay an earthen vessel. It was not broken,
not unfitted for service, yet there it lay, powerless and useless,
until he took it up.  He held it awhile, and I saw that he
was filling it, and anon, I beheld him  walking in his garden,
whither he had'gone down to gather lilies.' The earthen
vessel was yet again in his hand, and with it he watered his
beauteous plants, and caused their odours to be shed forth
yet more abundantly. Then I said to myself,'Sorrowing
Christian, hush! hush! peace, be still! thou art this earthen
vessel; powerless, it is true, yet not broken, still fit for the
Master's use.  Sometimes thou mayst be laid aside altogether from active service, and the question may arise, what
is the Master doing with me now? Then may a voice speak
to thine inmost heart,'he is filling the vessel, yes, only filling
it ready for use.' Dost thou ask in what manner? Nay, be
silent. Is it not all too great an honour for thee to be used
by him at all? Be content, whether thou art employed in
watering the lilies, or in washing the feet of the saints.'
Truly, it is a matter of small moment.  Enough, surely
enough, for an earthen vessel to be in the Master's hands,
and employed in the Master's service."




MY NOTE BOOK.                   219
SERVICE-the Road to Honour.
WHEN the Spartan king advanced against the enemy,
he had always with him some one that had been crowned in
the public games of Greece. And they tell us, that a Lacedaemonian, when large sums were offered him on condition that
he would not enter the Olympic lists, refused them. Having
with much difficulty thrown his antagonists in wrestling, one
put this question to him, " Spartan, what will you get by this
victory?"  He answered with a smile, "I shall have the
honour to fight foremost in the ranks of my prince." The
honour which appertains to office in the church of God lies
mainly in this-that the man who is set apart for such service
has the privilege of being first in holiness of example,
abundance of liberality, patience of longsuffering, zeal in
effort, and self-sacrifice in service. Thou gracious King of
kings, if thou hast made me a minister or deacon in thy
church, enable me to be foremost in every good word and
work, shunning no sacrifice, and shrinking from no suffering.
SERVICE OF GOD-to be Constant.
LOOK at yon miller on the village hill. How does he grind
his grist? Does he bargain that he will only grind in the
west wind, because its gales are so full of health? No, but the
east wind, which searches joints and marrow, makes the millstones revolve, and together with the north and the south it
is yoked to his service. Even so should it be with you who
are true workers for God; all your ups and your downs, your
successes and your defeats, should be turned to the glory of
God.
SERVICE OF GOD-the Honour of.
OF the old hero the minstrel sang"With his Yemen sword for aid;
Ornament it carried none,
But the notches on the blade."




220                 MY NOTE BOOK.
What nobler decoration of honour can any godly man seek
after than his scars of service, his losses for the cross, his
reproaches for Christ's sake, his being worn out in his
Master's service!
SERVING GOD-the Sure Reward of.
WHEN Calvin was banished from ungrateful Geneva, he
said, " Most assuredly if I had merely served man, this would
have been a poor recompense; but it is my happiness that I
have served him who never fails to reward his servants to
the full extent of his promise."
8HAMS.
WHAT multitudes of mahogany-handled drawers there are
to be met with in daily life labelled in black on a gold
ground, with swelling and mysterious names of precious
healing drugs; but, alas! they are handles which do not pull
out, or drawers that are full of nothing. What myriads of
empty bottles make up yonder enormous stock in the Universal
Emporium so largely advertised!  What a noble army of
canisters filled with air stand marshalled in shining ranks, as
if they were fresh from China, and brimming with the fragrant
leaf! Now in mere business such things may answer well
enough; but bring them into your moral dealings, and you
shall soon become contemptible.  One smiles at the busy
tradesman arranging the shams in his window, but we are
indignant with men who exhibit unreal virtues and excellences; he thinks that he makes a fair show in the flesh, but
when we have found him out once, even what may be genuine
in him is subjected to suspicion, and the man's honoutr is
hopelessly gone.
SIN.
THOSE who give themselves up to the service of sin, enter
the palace of pleasure by wide portals of marble, which




MY NOTE BOOK.                  221
conceal the low wicket behind which leads into the fields, where
they are in a short time sent to feed swine.-7ames D. Burns.
SIN.
ONE danger of secret sin is that a man cannot commit
it without being by-and-by betrayed into a public sin. If
a man commit one sin, it is like the melting of the lower
glacier upon the Alps, the others must follow in time. As
certainly as you heap one stone upon the cairn to-day, the
next day you will cast another, until the heap reared stone by
stone shall become a very pyramid. See the coral insect at
work, you cannot decree where it shall stay its pile. It will
not build its rock as high as you please; it will not stay until
an island shall be created. Sin cannot be held in with bit
and bridle, it must be mortified.
SIN-Aroused by the Law.
A CONTENTED citizen of Milan, who had never passed
beyond its walls during the course of sixty years, being ordered
by the governor not to stir beyond its gates, became immediately miserable, and felt so powerful an inclination to do
that which he had so. long contentedly neglected, that on his
application for a release from this restraint being refused, he
became quite melancholy, and at last died of grief. How well
this illustrates the apostle's confession that he had not known
lust, unless the law had said unto him, "Thou shalt not
covet!" "Sin," saith he, " taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence."  Evil
often sleeps in the soul, until the holy command of God is
discovered, and then the enmity of the carnal mind rouses
itself to oppose in every way the will of God. " Without the
law," says Paul, "sin was dead."  How vain to hope for
salvation from the law, when through the perversity of sin, it
provokes our evil hearts to rebellion, and works in us neither
repentance nor love.




222                MY NOTE BOOK.
SIN-may be Committed by Proxy.
ACCORDING to an old writer, no Capuchin among the
Papists may take or touch silver. This metal is as great an
anathema to them as the wedge of gold to Achan, at the
offer whereof they start back as Moses from the serpent; yet
the monk has a boy behind him who will receive and carry
home any quantity, and neither complain of metal nor
measure. Such are those who are great sticklers themselves
for outward observance in religion, but at the same time
compel their servants to sin on their account. They who sin
by substitute shall be damned in person.
SIN-its Encroaching Nature.
WHEN a sin is let in as a suppliant, it remains in as a
tyrant. The Arabs have a fable of a miller who one day was
startled by a camel's nose thrust in the window of the room
where he was sleeping. " It is very cold outside," said the
camel, " I only want to get my nose in." The nose was let
in, then the neck, and finally the whole body. Presently the
miller began to be extremely inconvenienced at the ungainly
companion he had obtained in a room certainly not big enough
for both. "If you are inconvenienced you may leave," said
the camel; " as for myself, I shall stay where I am." There
are many such camels knocking at the human heart. Take,
for instance, compliance with a single worldly custom-dancing.
First, the custom creeps humbly to the door of the heart,
and says, "Let me in; what am I but putting one foot
before another? certainly you do not object to music, and I
would not for the world have a full band." So in comes the
nose of the camel, and it is not long before the entire body
follows. The Christian then finds his heart occupied in full
figure by the very vice which a little while before peeped in
so meekly. " Being up," it says to him, " all night at a ball,
with the eyes dazzled by lights, and the ears stunned with a




MY NOTE BOOK.                   223
full band, interferes, you say, with your private devotions.
So it does. But your private devotions will have to go, for I
will not." —Episcopal Recorder.
SIN-its Hardening Effects.
DR. PRESTON tells us of a professor who on one occasion
was found drunk, and when much depressed on account of his
folly, the devil said to him, by way of temptation, " Do it
again, do it again; for," said he, " the grief you feel about it
now you will never feel any more if you commit the sin
again." Dr. Preston says that the man yielded to the temptation, and from that time he never did feel the slightest
regret at his drunkenness, and lived and died a confirmed
sot, though formerly he had been a very high professor.
SIN-How to Overcome.
Sin is to be overcome, not so much by maintaining a
direct opposition to it, as by cultivating opposite principles.
Would you kill the weeds in your garden, plant it with good
seed: if the ground be well occupied there will be less need
of the labour of the hoe. If a man wished to quench fire, he
might fight it with his hands till he was burnt to death; the
only way is to apply an opposite element.-Andrew Fuller.
SIN-Insidious Nature of.
IN the gardens of Hampton Court you will see many trees
entirely vanquished and well nigh strangled by huge coils of
ivy, which are wound about them like the snakes around the
unhappy Laocoon: there is no untwisting the folds, they are
too giant-like, and fast fixed, and every hour the rootlets of
the climber are sucking the life out of the unhappy tree. Yet
there was a day when the ivy was a tiny aspirant, only asking
a little aid in climbing; had it been denied then, the tree had
never become its victim, but by degrees the humble weakling grew in strength and arrogance, and at last it assumed




224                 MY NOTE BOOK.
the mastery, and the tall tree became the prey of the creeping,
insinuating destroyer. The moral is too obvious. Sorrowfully do we remember many noble characters which have been
ruined little and little by insinuating habits. Drink has been
the ivy in many cases. Reader, see to it, lest some slowly
advancing sin overpower you: men who are murdered
by slow poisoning die just as surely as those who take
arsenic.
SIN-Loathed by a Christian.
AN Arminian arguing with a Calvinist remarked, " If I believed your doctrine, and were sure that I was a converted
man, I would take my fill of sin." " How much sin," replied
the godly Calvinist, " do you think it would take to fill a true
Christian to his own satisfaction?" Here he hit the nail on
the head. " How can we that are dead to sin live any longer
therein?" A truly converted man hates sin with all his heart,
and even if he could sin without suffering for it, it would be
misery enough to him to sin at all.
SIN-Man's Readiness to Invent Excuse for.
A TRAVELLER in Venezuela illustrates the readiness of men
to lay their faults on the locality, or on anything rather than
themselves, by the story of a hard drinker who came home
one night in such a condition that he could not for some time
find his hammock. When this feat was accomplished, he
tried in vain to get off his big riding-boots. After many
fruitless efforts he lay down in his hammock, and soliloquised
aloud, " Well, I have travelled all the world over; I lived five
years in Cuba, four in Jamaica, five in Brazil, I have travelled
through Spain and Portugal, and been in Africa, but I never
yet was in such an abominable country as this, where a man is
obliged to go to bed with his boots on."
Commonly enough are we told by evildoers in excuse for
their sins that no man could do otherwise were he in their




MY NOTE BOOK.                  225
position, that there is no living at their trade honestly, that in
such a street shops must be open on a Sunday, that their health
required an excursion to Brighton on the Sabbath because
their labours were so severe, that nobody could be religious
in the house in which they were engaged, and so on, all to
the same effect, and about as truthful as the soliloquy of the
drunkard of Venezuela.
SIN-One, the Soul's Ruin.
THERE was but one crack in the lanthorn, and the wind
has found it out and blown out the candle. How great a
mischief one unguarded point of character may cause us!
One spark blew up the magazine and shook the whole country
for miles around.  One leak sank the vessel and drowned all
on board.  One wound may kill the body; one sin destroy
the soul.
SIN-One, the Soul's Ruin.
WHILE I was walking in the garden one bright morning, a
breeze came through and set all the flowers and leaves a
fluttering. Now that is the way flowers talk, so I pricked up
my ears and listened.
Presently, an old elder tree said, Flowers, shake off your
caterpillars!"
" Why?" said a dozen altogether-for they were like some
children, who always say "Why," when they are told to do
anything-bad children those!
The elder said, " If you don't, tney'll eat you up alive."
So the flowers set themselves a shaking till the caterpillars
were shaken off.
In one of the middle beds there was a beautiful rose, who
shook off all but one, and she said to herself, " Oh, that's a
beauty! I'll keep that one."
The elder overheard her, and called out, " Ohe caterpillar
is enough to spoil you."
15




226                  MY NOTE BOOK.
" But," said the rose, "look at his brown and crimson fur,
and his beautiful black eyes, and scores of little feet; I want
to keep him; surely one won't hurt me."
A few mornings after, I passed the rose again; there was
not a whole leaf on her; her beauty was gone; she was all
but killed, and had only life enough to weep over her folly,
while the tears stood like dew-drops on her tattered leaves.
"Alas! I didn't think one caterpillar would ruin me."-C. A.
Davis,
SIN-Power over the Unregenerate.
So long as a man is dead in trespasses and sin, there is no
iniquity which may not get the mastery of him. Where the
body is, thither will the vultures of hell be gathered together.
The devil finding him dead, calls up his hosts of temptations
and his bands of evils to feed on him. The great destroyer,
who at other times is as a lion, often plays the part of a
jackal, whose cry, when it finds its prey, is said to sound
exactly like the words"Dead Hind55, dead Hind56!
Where, where, where, where?
Here, here, here, here!"
Nothing but the new life can secure a man from the worst
fiends in the Pandemonium of vice, for they gather like a
scattered pack to a feast when they hear their master cry —
Dead sinner, dead sinner!
Where, where, where, where t
Here, here, here, here!
Vices seldom come alone; where there is room for one devil,
seven other spirits more wicked than himself will find a
lodging. We may say of sins as Longfellow of birds of prey,
in his song of Hiawatha:"Never stoops the soaring vulture
On his quarry in the desert,




MY NOTE BOOK.                   227
On the sick or wounded bison,
But another vulture watching,
From his high aerial look-out
Sees the downward plunge and follows;
And a third pursues the second,
Coming from the invisible ether,
First a speck, and then a vulture
Till the air is dark with pinions."
SIN-Punishment of.
WHAT a diabolical invention was the "Virgin's kiss," once
used by the fathers of the Inquisition! The victim was
pushed forward to kiss the image, when, lo, its arms enclosed
him in a deadly embrace, piercing his body with a hundred
hidden knives. The tempting pleasures of sin offer to the
unwary just such a virgin's kiss. The sinful joys of the flesh
lead, even in this world, to results most terrible, while in the
world to come the daggers of remorse and despair will cut
and wound beyond all remedy.
SIN-the Toil of it.
HENRY WARD BEECHER says, "There was a man in the
town where I was born who used to steal all his firewood.
He would get up on cold nights and go and take it from his
neighbours' wood-piles. A computation was made, and it was
ascertained that he spent more time and worked harder to
get his fuel, than he would have been obliged to if he had
earned it in an honest way, and at ordinary wages. And this
thief is a type of thousands of men who work a great deal
harder to please the devil than they would have to work to
please God."
BIN-its Wide Consequences.
SAGES of old contended that no sin was ever committed
whose consequences rested on the head of the sinner alone;




228                 MY NOTE BOOK.
that no man could do ill and his fellows not suffer. They
illustrated it thus:" A vessel sailing from Joppa, carried a
passenger, who, beneath his berth, cut a hole through the
ship's side. When the men of the watch expostulated with
him, "What doest thou, 0 miserable man?" the offender
calmly replied, "What matters it to you?  The hole I have
made lies under my own berth."
This ancient parable is worthy of the utmost consideration.
No man perishes alone in his iniquity; no man can guess the
full consequences of his transgressions.
SINS-the most Attractive, the most Deadly.
IT is notable that nearly all the poisonous fungi are
scarlet or speckled, and the wholesome ones brown or grey, as
if to show us that things rising out of darkness and decay are
always most deadly when they are well dressed.-Ruskin.
SINS-Home-born, our Worst Foes.
THE old proverb hath it, "Here's talk of the Turk and
the Pope, but'tis my next neighbour that does me the most
harm." It is neither popery nor infidelity that we have half
so much cause to dread as our own besetting sins. We want
more Protestants against sin, more Dissenters from carnal
maxims, and more Nonconformists to the world. Our own
besetting sins require far more of our watchfulness than State
blunders or ecclesiastical abuses.
SINS-How Men Treat them.
WHAT swarms of rabbits the traveller sees on the commons
and fields near Leatherhead (in Surrey), and yet a few miles
further on at Wootton one scarcely sees a single specimen of
that prolific race. The creature is indigenous to both places,
but at Leatherhead he is tolerated and therefore multiplies,
while at the other places the gamekeepers diligently shoot
down all they see. Sins are natural to all men, but it makes




MY NOTE BOOK.                   229
all the difference whether they are fostered or kept under;
the carnal mind makes itself a warren for evil, but a gracious
spirit wages constant war with every transgression.
SINNERS-their Company to be Avoided.
WHEN a man is known to suffer from a sadly contagious
disease, none of his friends will come near the house. There
is little need to warn them off, they are all too alarmed to come
near. Why is it men are not as much afraid of the contagion
of vice?  How  dare they run risks for themselves and
children  by allowing evil companions to frequent their
house? Sin is as infectious and far more deadly than the
small-pox or fever. Flee, then, from every one who might lead
you into it.
SINNERS-Madness of.
A RECENT traveller, relating the incidents of his voyage to
India, writes:-" Flocks of greedy albatrosses, petrels, and
Cape pigeons, crowded around the ship's stern. A hook was
baited with fat, when upwards of a dozen albatrosses instantly
rushed at it, and as one after another was being hauled on
deck, the remainder, regardless of the struggles of the
captured, and the vociferations of the crew, kept swimming
about the stern. Not even did those birds which were indifferently hooked and made their escape, desist from seizing
the bait a second time." Thus to the letter do ungodly men
rush at the baits of Satan; they see others perish, but remain
careless, and even when they are all but destroyed themselves
they persist in their infatuation.
SLANDER.
WE saw in the Museum at Venice an instrument with which
one of the old Italian tyrants was accustomed to shoot
poisoned needles at the objects of his wanton malignity: we
thought of gossips, backbiters, and secret slanderers, and




230                MY NOTE BOOK.
wished that their mischievous devices might come to a speedy
end. Their weapons of innuendo, shrug, and whisper, appear
to be as insignificant as needles, but the venom which they
instil is deadly to many a reputation.
SLANDER-to be Despised.
ONE of our ancient nobility had inscribed over his castle
gate these words, which we commend to all persons who are
thin-skinned in the matter of private gossip or public opinion.
THEY SAY.
WHAT DO THEY SAY?
LET THEM SAY.
SLANDER-How to Overcome it.
SOME person reported to the amiable poet Tasso that a
malicious enemy spoke ill of him to all the world. " Let him
persevere," said Tasso, " his rancour gives me no pain. How
much better is it that he should speak ill of me to all the
world, than that all the world should speak ill of me to him."
SLANDER-Rebuked.
THE Rev. B. Jacobs, of Cambridgeport, could, when
necessary, administer reproof very forcibly, though the gentleness of his character was always seen in the manner in
which it was done. Some young ladies at his house were one
day talking about one of their female friends. As he entered
the room, he heard the epithets "odd," "singular," &c.,
applied. He asked and was told the name of the young lady
in question, and then said, very gravely, " Yes, she is an odd
young lady; she is a very odd young lady; I consider her
extremely singular."  He then added very impressively, " She
was never heard to speak ill of an absent friend." The
rebuke was not forgotten by those who heard it.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   231
SMOOTH PLACES-Peril of.
After crossing the Grimsel, on the way down towards
Handeck, the traveller traverses a road cut in red marble, so
smoothly polished that, even when it is divested of its usual
thin coating of snow, it is dangerous in the extreme. Notwithstanding that steps are hewn, and rough marks made
across the granite, he would be foolhardy who should try to
ride along the slippery way, which is called Helle Platte, or
Hell Place, for reasons which glisten on its surface. " Dismount," is the word, and none are slow to obey it. There
are many such Hell Places on the road to the celestial citysmooth places of pleasure, ease, flattery, self-content, and the
like; and it will be the wisest course if any pilgrim has been
fond of riding the high horse, for him to dismount at once
and walk humbly with his God. That enchanted ground of
which Bunyan tells us that the air naturally tended to make
one drowsy, is just the spot to which we refer; men had need
be watchful whose path lies through that deceitful country.
It has been said that in a calm sea every man is a pilot,
but we take leave to doubt it; calms have dangers quite unknown to storms, and rocks and quicksands are none the
less perilous because the deceitful sea which covers them
smiles softly on the mariner. Not to be tempted is a great
temptation. Safety breeds carelessness, and carelessness is
the mother of ruin.  When Mansoul was at peace, Mr.
Carnal-security invited her citizens to his fatal feasts, and the
Prince Immanuel withdrew himself; let the result warn us
against a repetition of the evil.
SO-" God so Loved," etc.
PLINY declares that Cicero once saw the Iliad of Homer
written in so small a character that it could be contained in
a nutshell. Peter Bales a celebrated caligrapher, in the days
of Queen Elizabeth, wrote the whole Bible so that it was shut




232                 MY NOTE BOOK.
up in a common walnut as its casket.  In these days of
advanced mechanism even greater marvels in miniature have
been achieved, but never has so much meaning been compressed into so small a space as in that famous little word
"So," in the text which tells us that "God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
SORROW-Benefit of.
Two seeds lie before us-the one is warmed in the sun, the
other falls from the sower's hand into the cold dark earth, and
there it lies buried beneath the soil. That seed which suns
itself in the noontide beam may rejoice in the light in which
it basks, but it is liable to be devoured by the bird; and
certainly nought can come of it, however long it may linger
above ground; but the other seed, hidden beneath the clods
in a damp, dark sepulchre, soon swells, germinates, bursts its
sheath, upheaves the mould, springs up a green blade, buds,
blossoms, becomes a flower, exhales perfume, and loads the
wings of every wind. Better far for the seed to pass into the
earth and die, than to lie in the sunshine and produce no
fruit; and even thus for thee the future in its sorrow shall be
as a sowing in a fertile land; tears shall moisten thee, grace
shall increase within thee, and thou shalt grow up in the likeness of thy Lord unto perfection of holiness, to be such a
flower of God's own planting as even angels shall delight
to gaze upon in the day of thy transplanting to celestial soil.
SORROW-for Sin, Absorbing.
WHEN that famous statesman Mirabeau died, all France
bewailed his loss, and men for some hours could think or
speak of little else. A waiter in one of the Restaurants of
the Palais Royal, after the manner of his race, saluted a
customer with the usual remark, " Fine weather, Monsieur,"




MY NOTE BOOK.                   233
"Yes, my friend," replied the other, " very fine; but Mirabeau
is dead."
If one absorbing thought can thus take precedence of every
other in the affairs of life, is it so very wonderful that men
aroused to care for the life to come should be altogether
swallowed up with grief at the dread discovery that they are
by reason of sin condemned of God? Fine or foul may the
weather be, but if the soul be under the wrath of God its
woeful condition will make it careless of surroundings. If his
former security be dead, and the fear of coming judgment be
alive in the man's heart, it is little wonder if eating and drinking be forgotten, if sleep forsake his eyelids and even household joys become insipid. Let but the one emotion be great
enough, and it will push out every other. The bitterness of
spiritual grief will destroy both the honey of earthly bliss and
the quassia of bodily pain.
SORROWS-Leading to Conversion.
AUGUSTINE says that his God was "mercifully rigorous"
to him, besprinkling with most bitter alloy all his unlawful
pleasures, " that he might seek pleasures without alloy."
SOUL-Needing Something to Cling to.
THE soul of man is a clasping, clinging soul, seeking to
something over which it can spread itself, and by means of
which it can support itself. And just as in a neglected garden
you may see the poor creepers making shift to sustain themselves as best they can; one convolvulus twisting round
another, and both draggling on the ground; a clematis
leaning on the door, which will by-and-by open and let the
whole mass fall down; a vine or a passion-flower wreathing
round a prop which all the while chafes and cuts it; so in
this fallen world it is mournful to see the efforts which human
souls are making to get some sufficient object to lean upon
and twine around. —ames Hamilton, D.D.




234                 MY NOTE BOOK.
SOULS-Care for.
IN Switzerland, where land is very precious because rock
abounds and the rugged soil is chary in its yieldings, you see
the husbandman looking after a little tuft of grass growing on
one of the edges of a lofty cliff. From  the valley he had
caught a sight of it and thought of clambering up to where it
grew, but the rock was all too steep. From a ledge nearer
the top of the precipitous wall he looked down, but could see
no pathway to the coveted morsel of green. That armful of
grass would feed his goat, or help to fill the cottage loft with
winter fodder for the cow. Every armful is an item, and he
cannot forego that tempting clump. He looks, and looks,
and looks again, but looks in vain. By-and-by, he fetches
his bold boy who can follow wherever a chamois can climb,
but the boy after a hard scramble comes back with the tidings,
" Father, it cannot be done."  Father's answer is, " Boy, it
must be done."  It is only an armful, and would not be
worth a farthing to us, but to the poor mountaineer even a
farthing or a farthing's worth is precious. The grass waves
its flowers in the breeze and scorns the daring climbers from
below; but where there is a will, there is a way; and what
cannot be reached from below may be gained from above.
With a rope slung round him, or firmly grasped in his accustomed hand, with a stout stake or tree to hold it up above,
the Switzer is let down till he gets to the jutting crag, there
he stands with his sickle, reaps the grass, ties it into a bundle,
puts it under his arm, and climbing back again, joyfully
returns with his little harvest. Poor pay, you think, for such
dangerous toil; but, fellow worker for Jesus, I wish we were
as venturesome for souls, and as careful of them, as these
poor peasants are concerning miserable bundles of grass. I
wish that we sometimes looked up or down upon apparently
inaccessible spots, and resolved to reach immortal souls who
are to be found there, and pined to bring them to Christ.




MY NOTE BOOK.                  235
SOULS-the Crisis of.
OFTEN, when travelling among the Alps, one sees a small
black cross planted upon a rock, or on the brink of a torrent,
or on the verge of the highway, to mark the spot where men
have met with sudden death by accident. Solemn reminders
these of our mortality! but they led our mind still further; for
we said within us, if the places where men seal themselves
for the second death could be thus manifestly indicated, what
a scene would this world present! Here the memorial of a
soul undone by yielding to a foul temptation, there a conscience seared by the rejection of a final warning, and yonder
a heart for ever turned into stone by resisting the last tender
appeal of love. Our places of worship would scarce hold the
sorrowful monuments which might be erected over spots
where spirits were for ever lost-spirits that date their ruin
from sinning against the gospel while under the sound of it.
SOULS-Love of.
THOMAS FULLER, in his " Worthies," gives the following
interesting account of one Gervase Scroop, Knight:-" He
engaged with his majesty in Edgehill fight, where he received
twenty-six wounds, and was left on the ground amongst the
dead. Next day his son Adrian obtained leave from the
king to find and fetch off his father's corpse: and his hopes
pretended no higher than to a decent interment thereof.
Hearty seeking makes happy finding. Indeed, some more
commended the affection than the judgment of the young
gentleman, concerning such a search in vain amongst many
naked bodies, with wounds disguised from themselves, and
where pale death had confounded all complexions together.
However, he having some general hint of the place where
his father fell, did light upon his body, which had some heat
left therein. This heat was, with rubbing, within a few minutes,
improved into motion; within some hours, into sense;, that




236                 MY NOTE BOOK.
sense, within a day, into speech; that speech, within certain
weeks, into a perfect recovery; living more than ten years
after, a monument of God's mercy and his son's affection."
True love to souls will seek them out with all the eagerness
of this heroic son, and, finding them, will be as persevering in
attempts to save. Not all at once shall we see all we could
wish in the objects of our holy care, but no difficulties must
daunt us; we must continue by God's grace to agonise for
their souls till we see them safe in Christ. The little awakened
interest which cheers us must be nursed into anxiety, and
through the Holy Spirit we must labour to see anxiety turned
into' hope, and hope to faith and salvation. None are too far
gone for zeal and prayer. Love is ever hopeful and God is
ever gracious. Let us renew our search, and the Lord send
us good speed to-day.
SPECULATIONS-their Folly.
WHILE a minister of my acquaintance was riding in a raiIway carriage, he was saluted by a member of an exceedingly
litigious and speculative sect. " Pray, sir," said the sectary,
"what is your opinion of the seven trumpets?"  "I am not
sure," said the preacher, "that I understand your question,
but I hope you will comprehend mine: What think you of
the fact that your seven children are growing up without God
and without hope? You have a Bible-reading in your house
for your neighbours, but no'family prayer for your children."
The nail was fastened in a sure place, enough candour of
mind remained in the professor to enable him to profit by
the  timely rebuke.  It were greatly to be desired that
Christians who are so much given to speculate upon the
prophecies, would turn their thoughts and leisure to the
perishing myriads by whom we are surrounded, and sow in
the fields of evangelisation rather than in the cloudland of
guess-work interpretation.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   237
SPIRIT OF GOD-the Fire from Heaven.
SUPPOSE we saw an army sitting down before a granite
fort, and they told us that they intended to batter it down, we
might ask them, "How! "  They point to a cannon ball.
Well, but there is no power in that; it is heavy, but not more
than half-a-hundred or perhaps a hundredweight; if all the
men in the army hurled it against the fort they would make
no impression. They say, "No, but look at the cannon!"
Well, but there is no power in that. A child may ride upon
it; a bird may perch in its mouth. It is a machine, and
nothing more. " But look at the powder." Well, there is no
power in that; a child may spill it; a sparrow may peck it.
Yet this powerless powder and powerless ball are put in the
powerless cannon: one spark of fire enters it, and then, in
the twinkling of an eye, that powder is a flash of lightning,
and that cannon ball is a thunderbolt which smites as if it
had been sent from heaven.
So is it with our church'or school machinery of this day;
we have the instruments necessary for pulling down strongholds, but 0 for the fire from heaven!
SPIRITUAL WARITH-How to Maintain it.
PHILIP HENRY'S advice to his daughter: "If you would
keep warm in this cold season (January, I692), take these
four directions: I. Get into the sun; under his blessed
beams there are warmth and comfort. 2. Go near the fire.'Is not my word like a fire?'  How many cheering passages
are there!  3. Keep in motion and action-stirring up the
grace and gift of God that is in you. 4. Seek Christian
communion.' How can one be warm alone?"'
STERNNESS.
IT is said of that eminent saint and martyr, Bishop Hooper,
that on one occasion a man in deep distress was allowed to
go into his prison to tell his tale of conscience, but Bishop




238                MY NOTE BOOK.
Hooper looked so sternly upon him, and addressed him so
severely at first, that the poor soul ran away, and could not
get comfort until he had sought out another minister of
a gentler aspect. Hooper really was a gracious and loving
soul, but the sternness of his manner kept the penitent off.
SUBMISSION-to the Divine Will.
PAYSON was asked, when under great bodily affliction, if
he could see any particular reason for this dispensation.
" No," replied he, "but I am as well satisfied as if I could see
ten thousand; God's will is the very perfection of all reason."
SUFFERING-True Service.
OLD BETTY was converted late in life, and though very
poor, was very active. She visited the sick; out of her own
poverty she gave to those who were still poorer; collected a
little money from others when she could give none of her
own, and told many a one of the love of the Saviour. At
last she caught cold and rheumatism, and lay in bed month
after month, pain-worn and helpless. A good minister went
to see her, and asked, if after her active habits she did not
find the change very hard to bear. "No, sir, not at all.
When I was well, I used to hear the Lord say day by day,'Betty, go here; Betty, go there; Betty, do this; Betty, do
that;' and I used to do it as well as I could; and now I hear
him  say every day,'Betty, lie still and cough.' " —ames
Hamilton, D.D.
SYMPATHY-Fruit of Experience.
HONE in his "Year Book," has the following anecdote of
Charles Pratt, Earl Camden, when Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas. " Being on a visit to Lord Dacre, at Alveley,
in Essex, he walked out with a gentleman, a very absent
man, to a hill, at no great distance from the house, upon
the top of which stood the stocks of the village. The Chief




MY NOTE BOOK.                  239
Justice sat down upon them, and after awhile, having a mind
to know what the punishment was, he asked his companion
to open them and put him in. This being done, his friend
took a book from  his pocket, sauntered on, and so completely forgot the judge and his situation that he returned to
Lord Dacre's. In the meantime, the Chief Justice being tired
of the stocks, tried in vain to release himself. Seeing a
countryman pass by, he endeavoured to move him to let him
out, but obtained nothing by his motion.'No, no, old
gentleman,' said the countryman,'you was not set there
for nothing,' and left him until he was released by a servant
of the house despatched in quest of him. Some time after he
presided at a trial in which a charge was brought against a
magistrate for false imprisonment, and for setting in the
stocks. The counsel for the magistrate in his reply, made
light of the whole charge, and more especially setting in the
stocks, which he said everybody knew was no punishment at
all. The Chief Justice rose, and, leaning over the bench, said,
in a half-whisper,' Brother, have you ever been in the stocks?''Really, my lord, never.''Then I have,' said the judge,'and
I assure you, brother, it is no such trifle as you represent.'"
A little experience of the real trials of life, as endured by the
poor, the sick, and the desponding, would be of essential
service to many professors, and especially to those religious
teachers whose path in life has been smooth and prosperous.
Nothing promotes true sympathy like a kindred experience.
SYMPATHY-How Learned.
THE story goes that Harry the Eighth wandering one night
in the streets of London in disguise, was met at the bridgefoot by some of the watch, and not giving a good account of
himself was carried off to the Poultry Compter, and shut up
for the night without fire or candle. On his liberation he
made a grant of thirty chaldrons of coals and a quantity of
bread for the solace of night prisoners in the Compter.




240                MY NOTE BOOK.
Experience brings sympathy.  Those who have felt sharp
afflictions, terrible convictions, racking doubts and violent
temptations, will be zealous in consoling those in a similar
condition. It were well if the great Head of the church would
put unsympathising pastors into the Compter of trouble for
a season until they could weep with those that weep.
TASTE-Spiritual, Needful for Heavenly Joys
THE unfitness of unrenewed souls for heaven, may be
illustrated by the incapacity of certain uneducated and
coarse-minded persons for elevated thoughts and intellectual
pursuits.  When a little child, I lived some years in my
grandfather's house. In his garden there was a fine old
hedge of yew of considerable length, which was clipped and
trimmed till it made quite a wall of verdure. Behind it was
a wide grass walk, which looked upon the fields, and afforded
a quiet outlook. The grass was kept mown, so as to make
pleasant walking. Here, ever since the old Puritanic chapel
was built, godly divines had walked, and prayed, and meditated. My grandfather was wont to use it as his study. Up
and down it he would walk when preparing his sermons, and
always on Sabbath-days when it was fair, he had half-anhour there before preaching.  To me it seemed to be a
perfect paradise, and being forbidden to stay there when
grandfather was meditating, I viewed it with no small degree
of awe. I love to think of the green and quiet walk at this
moment, and could wish for just such a study. But I was
once shocked and even horrified by hearing a farming man
remark concerning this sanctum  sanctorum, "It' ud grow
a many'taturs if it wor ploughed up." What cared he for
holy memories?  What were meditation and contemplation
to him? Is it not the chief end of man to grow potatoes and eat
them? Such, on a larger scale, would be an unconverted man's
estimate of joys so elevated and refined as those of heaven,
could he by any possibility be permitted to gaze upon them.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   241
TEMPER-Important.
THE Adige at Verona appears to be a river quite broad
and deep enough for navigation, but its current is so rapid as
to make it quite unserviceable. Many men are so rash, and
impetuous, and at the same time so suddenly angry and
excited, that their otherwise most valuable abilities are rendered useless for any good purpose.
TEMPTATION.
MANY horses fall at the bottom of a hill because the driver
thinks the danger past and the need to hold the reins with
firm grip less pressing. So it is often with us when we are
not specially tempted to overt sin, we are the more in danger
through slothful ease. I think it was Ralph Erskine who
said, "There is no devil so bad as no devil." The worst
temptation that ever overtakes us, is, in some respects, preferable to our becoming carnally secure and neglecting to
watch and pray.
More the treacherous calm I dread
Than tempests rolling overhead."
TEMPTATIONS.
NOTICE the invention used by country people to catch
wasps. They will put a little sweet liquor into a long and
narrow-necked phial.  The do-nothing wasp comes by,
smells the sweet liquor, plunges in and is drowned. But the
bee comes by, and if she does stop for a moment to smell,
yet she enters not, because she has honey of her own to
make; she is too busy in the work of the commonwealth to
indulge herself with the tempting sweets. Master Greenham,
a Puritan divine, was once waited upon by a woman who was
greatly tempted. Upon making enquiries into her way of
life, he found she had little to do, and Greenham said, " That
is the secret of your being so much tempted. Sister, if you
16




242                 MY NOTE BOOK.
are very busy, Satan may tempt you, but he will not easily
prevail, and he will soon give up the attempt." Idle Christians
are not tempted of the devil so much as they tempt the
devil to tempt them.
TEMPTATIONS.
ONE of the ancient fathers, we are told, had, before his
conversion, lived with an ill woman, and some little time
after, she accosted him as usual. Knowing how likely he
was to fall into sin, he ran away with all his might, and she
ran after him, crying, " Wherefore runnest thou away? It is
I."  He answered, "I run away because I am not I. I am a
new man."
TEMPTATIONS-from Friends, to be watchfully Resisted.
THE lady in Millais' famous picture would fain save her
lover's life from the massacre of Bartholomew, by binding the
popish badge around his arm; he kisses her for her love, but
firmly removes the badge. So when the dearest friends we
have, out of mistaken tenderness would persuade us to avoid
persecution by relinquishing principle, and doing as others
do, we should thank them for their love, but with unbending
decision refuse to be numbered with the world. Moses must
have loved Pharaoh's daughter for her kindness, but he
refused to be called her son.
TERROR-of Convicted Consciences.
IN certain places on Alpine summits the way is peculiarly
dangerous on account of the frequent falling of avalanches,
and the traveller walks in dread of instant destruction.
Samuel Rogers puts it thus:
"Then my guide
Lowering his voice addressed me:'Through this gap
On and say nothing; lest a word, a breath,
Bring down the winter's snow, enough to whelm
An army,"




MY NOTE BOOK.                 243
Thus when alarmed by an awakened conscience men walk in
fear from hour to hour, trembling lest a thought or word of
sin should bring down upon them the impending wrath of
God. Thrice happy is he who has traversed that awful gap
of terror and now breathes freely because sin is pardoned, and
therefore every apprehension is removed.
TEXTS-Memorable.
ONE looks with interest on that ancient stone at Kingstonupon-Thames, upon which so many Saxon kings were crowned,
but far more reverent is the gaze we fix upon those texts of
Scripture whereby (through God's grace) many have been
made kings unto our God. We rail them off in a special
enclosure and place them where the highways meet, that
others may look on them and find their coronations at the
selfsame spot.
THEOLOGY-Ought Not to be Petrified Scripture.
PETRARCH'S works are said to have laid so long in the
roof of St. Mark's, at Venice, that they became turned into
stone; by what process deponent sayeth not. To many men
it might well seem that the Word of God had become petrified,
for they receive it as a hard, lifeless creed, a stone upon which
to sharpen the daggers of controversy, a stumbling-block for
young beginners, a millstone with which to break opponents'
heads, after the manner experienced by Abimelech at Thebez.
A man must have a stout digestion to feed upon some men's
theology; no sap, no sweetness, no life, but all stern accuracy,
and fleshless definition. Proclaimed without tenderness, and
argued without affection, the gospel from such men rather
resembles a missile from a catapult than bread from a Father's
table. Teeth are needlessly broken over the grit of systematic
theology, while souls are famishing. To turn stones into
bread was a temptation of our Master, but how many of his
servants yield readily to the far worse temptation to turn




244                MY NOTE BOOK.
bread into stone! Go thy way, metaphysical divine, to the
stone-yard, and break granite for McAdam, but stand not in
the way of loving spirits who'would feed the family of God
with living bread. The inspired Word is to us spirit and
life, and we cannot afford to have it hardened into a huge
monolith, or a spiritual Stonehenge-sublime, but cold,
majestic, but lifeless; far rather would we have it as our own
household book, our bosom companion, the poor man's counsellor and friend.
THREE WHATS.
"NEVER forget the three Whats.  First, What from?
Secondly, What by? And, thirdly, What to? What from?
Believers are redeemed from hell and destruction. What by?
By the precious blood of Christ. What to? To an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away."
TITHES.'Tis ridiculous to say the tithes are God's part, and therefore the clergy must have them; why, so they are if the
layman has them.'Tis as if one of my Lady Kent's maids
should be sweeping this room, and another of them should
come and take away the broom, and tell for a reason why she
should part with it,'tis my lady's broom; as if it were not my
lady's broom which of them soever had it.-Table-Talk of
John Selden.
TO-DAY.
" IT is not after the storm has arisen, or the telegraph has
reported that his ship has struck, that the merchant runs to
insure his goods. He effects the insurance while the sun is
shining and the air calm; he effects the insurance before the
ship has cleared from the dock, or at all events before the
ship has left the river. Go and do likewise, living, but dying
men! Now is the accepted time; to-day, according to the




MY NOTE BOOK.                    245
true testimony of his adversaries,'This man receiveth
sinners.'  God with us is waiting; still his terms are,'Whosoever will.'  To-day you may enter into life; tomorrow the door may be shut."
TONGUE-the.
I SAW a terrible fire some time ago, or rather I saw the
reflection of it in the sky, the heavens were crimsoned with
it. It burned a large manufactory to the ground, and the
firemen had hard work to save the buildings which surrounded
it. They poured streams of water on it from fifteen engines,
but it licked it up, and would have its course till the walls
gave way. That terrible fire was kindled by afarthing rushlight!  Some years ago, I saw the black ashes of what the
night before was a cheerful farm-yard, with its hay-ricks,
corn-stacks, stables, and cow-sheds; and lying about upon
them were the carcases of a number of miserable horses and
bullocks, which had perished in the flames. All that was'done by a lucifer-match!  In America the Indians strike a
spark from a flint and steel, and set fire to the dry grass, and
the flames spread and spread until they sweep like a roaring
torrent over prairies as large as England, and men and cattle
have to flee for their lives. " Behold, how great a matter a
little fire kindleth! " And the tongue is a fire / A few rash
words will set a family, a neighbourhood, a nation, by the
ears; they have often done so. Half the law-suits, and half the
wars have been brought about by the tongue. —James Bolton.
TRANSFORMATIONS OF GRACE.
A SHORT time ago the manufacturers of lighting gas were
puzzled to know how to dispose of the coal-tar left in the
retorts.  A more useless, nauseous substance was hardly
known to exist. Chemistry came to the rescue, and to-day
not less than thirty-six marketable articles are produced from
this black, vile, sticky slime-solvents, oils, salts, colours,




246                MY NOTE BOOK.
flavours. You eat a bit of delicious confectionery, happily
unconscious that the exquisite taste which you enjoy so
keenly comes from coal-tar; you buy at the druggist's a tiny
phial of what is labelled " Otto of Roses," little dreaming that
the delicious perfume is wafted, not from " the fields of Araby,"
but from the foul gas retort.
Christianity is a moral chemistry. Well weIe it for nations
if it held a higher place among their social economics. Tarsaving is all well enough, but soul-saving is better. Grace
transforms a villain into an honest man, a harlot into a
holy woman, a thief into a saint. Where foetid exhalations
of vice alone ascended, prayer and praise are to be found;
where moral miasmata had their lair, righteousness and temperance pitch their tent. Every sort of good thing is produced
by godliness, and that too in hearts once reeking with all
manner of foulness. Should not this stay every persecuting
hand, hush every railing tongue, and incite every sanctified
spirit to continued and increasing energy.
TRIALS-of Young Believers.
DUNCAN in his Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons, tells us,
-There is an insect (musca pumniionis), which is accustomed
to deposit its eggs in the very core of the pbumula, or primary
shoot of wheat, so that this shoot is completely destroyed
by the larvae. Did the plant possess no means within itself,
no means of repairing this injury, the whole previous labour
of the husbandman would, in this case, have been in vain.
But this destruction occurring in the spring of the year, when
the vegetable power of the plant is in its greatest vigour, an
effect is produced somewhat analogous to that of heading
down a fruit tree. Shoots immediately spring up from the
knots, the plant becomes more firmly rooted, and produces
probably a dozen stems and ears, when but for the temporary
mischief it might have sent forth one only. Thus may it
often occur that those early trials which appear almost to




MY NOTE BOOK.                  247
destroy the faith of young believers are their best friends,
since they never would have been so useful had they been
left to flourish as their heart desired.
TRINITY-its Mystery.
IT was reported of Alanus, when he promised his auditory
to discourse the next Sunday more clearly of the Trinity, and
to make plain that mystery, while he was studying the point
by the sea-side, he spied a boy very busy with a little spoon
trudging often between the sea and a small hole he had
digged in the ground. Alanus asked him what he meant. The
boy answers, " I intend to bring all the sea into this pit."
Alanus replies, "Why dost thou attempt such impossibilities,
and misspend thy time?" The boy answers, " So dost thou,
Alanus: I shall as soon bring all the sea into this hole, as
thou bring all the knowledge of the Trinity into thy head.
All is equally possible; we have begun together, we shall
finish together; saving of the two, my labour hath more hope
and possibility of taking effect."-Thomnas Adams.
TROUIBLE-Needed.
SPEAKING of a Norwegian summer, the- Rev. H. Macmillan
says:-" The long daylight is very favourable to the growth
of vegetation, plants growing in the night as well as in the
day in the short but ardent summer. But the stimulus of
perpetual solar light is peculiarly trying to the nervous
system of those who are not accustomed to it. It prevents
proper replose and banishes sleep. I never felt before how
needful darkness is for the welfare of our bodies and minds.
I longed for night, but the farther north we went, the farther
we were fleeing from it, until at last, when we reached the
most northern point of our tour, the sun set for one hour and
a half. Consequently, the heat of the day never cooled down,
and accumulated until it became almost unendurable at last.
Truly for a most wise and beneficent purpose did God make
light and create darkness.'Light is sweet, and it is a




248                 MY NOTE BOOK.
pleasant thing to the eyes to behold the sun.' But darkness
is also sweet, it is the nurse of nature's kind restorer, balmy
sleep, and without the tender drawing round us of its curtains
the weary eyelid will not close, and the jaded nerves will not
be soothed to refreshing rest. Not till the everlasting day
break, and the shadows flee away, and the Lord himself shall
be our light, and our God our glory, can we do without the
cloud in the sunshine, the shade of sorrow in the bright light
of joy, and the curtain of night for the deepening of the sleep
which God gives his beloved."-Rev. Hugh Macmillan's
"Holidays on High Lands."
TRUTH.
"HE will guide you into all truth."  John xvi. 13. Truth
may be compared to some cave or grotto, with wondrous
stalactites hanging from the roof, and others starting from
the floor; a cavern glittering with spar and abounding in
marvels. Before entering the cavern you enquire for a guide,
who comes with his lighted flambeau. He conducts you
down to a considerable depth, and you find yourself in the
midst of the cave. He leads you through different chambers.
Here he points you to a little stream rushing from amid the
rocks, and indicates its rise and progress; there he points
to some peculiar rock and tells you its name, then takes you
into a large natural hall, tells you how many persons once
feasted in it, and so on. Truth is a grand series of caverns, it
is our glory to have so great and wise a conductor as the
Holy Spirit. Imagine that we are coming to the darkness of
it. He is a light shining in the midst of us to guide us. And
by the light he shows us wondrous things. He teaches us by
suggestion, direction, and illumination.
TRUTH-Qualifications for Learning.
RUSKIN, in reference to painters, declares, that "A person
false at heart may, when it suits his purposes, seize a stray




MY NOTE BOOK.                   249
truth here or there; but the relations of truth, its perfectness,
that which makes it wholesome truth, he can never perceive.
As wholeness and wholesomeness go together, so also sight
with sincerity; it is only the constant desire of, and submissiveness to truth, which can measure its strange angles,
and mark its infinite aspects, and fit them and knit them into
the strength of sacred invention."
The like remark, with keener edge, applies to those who
would be disciples in Christ's school, or aspire to be teachers
in his church.
TRY.
No man is likely to accomplish much who moodily indulges
a desponding view of his own capacities. By God's help the
weakest of us may be strong, and it is the way to become so,
to resolve never to give up a good work till we have tried our
best to achieve it. To think nothing impossible is the privilege
of faith. We deprecate the indolent cowardice of the man
who always felt assured that every new enterprise would be
too much for him, and therefore declined it; but we admire
the pluck of the ploughman who was asked on his crossexamination if he could read Greek, and replied he did not
know, because he had never tried. Those Suffolk horses which
will pull at a post till they drop are worth a thousand times
as much as jibbing animals that run back as soon as ever the
collar begins to press them.
UNBELIEF-Wickedness of.
THE late Dr. Heugh, of Glasgow, a short time before he
breathed his last, said, "There is nothing I feel more than
the criminality of not trusting Christ without doubt-without
doubt. Oh, to think what Christ is, what he did, and whom
he did it for, and then not to believe him, not to trust him!
There is no wickedness like the wickedness of unbelief!"




250                 MY NOTE BOOK.
UNDERSTANDING-No Time for.
" How is it, my dear," inquired a schoolmistress of a little
girl, "that you do not understand this simple thing?" " I do
not know, indeed," she answered, with a perplexed look; " but
I sometimes think I have so many things to learn that I have
not the time to understand."
Alas! there may be much hearing, much reading, much
attendance at public services, and very small result, and all
because the word was not the subject of thought, and was
never embraced by the understanding. What is not understood is like meat undigested, more likely to be injurious than
nourishing.
UNGODLY MEN-Much Alike.
IN the Aosta Valley we were tormented by the recklessness
of a driver who was drunk. Glad enough were we to change
him for a sober man-sober as we thought; but, alas! we
had only seen him in the morning, and before the afternoon
had much advanced his sobriety was gone, and we would
willingly have taken back the discarded sot of yesterday.
Ungodly men are very much alike when the time of temptation has fully come. The difference between one sinner and
another is rather created by outward than by inward causes.
Put them in-like circumstances, and they would be much the
same. All swine are not in the mire, but they all love it.
UNION TO CHRIST.
Two friends are said to come into Vulcan's shop, and to
beg a boon of him: it was granted. What was it? that he
would either beat them on his anvil, or melt them in his furnace, both into one. But without fiction, here is a far greater
love in Christ; for he would be melted in the furnace of
wrath, and beaten on the anvil of death, to be made one with
us. And to declare the exceeding love, here were not both




MY NOTE BOOK.                   251
to be beaten on the anvil, or melted in the furnace; but without us, he alone would be beaten on the anvil, he alone
melted that we might be spared.-Thomas Adams.
UNITY-Among Christians to be Desired.
MELANCTHON. mourned in his day the divisions among
Protestants, and sought to bring the Protestants together by
the parable of the war between the wolves and the dogs. The
wolves were somewhat afraid, for the dogs were many and
strong, and therefore they sent out a spy to observe them.
On his return, the scout said, " It is true the dogs are many,
but there are not many mastiffs among them. There are
dogs of so many sorts one can hardly count them; and as for
the worst of them," said he, " they are little dogs, which bark
loudly, but cannot bite. However, this did not cheer me so
much," said the wolf, "as this, that as they came marching
on, I observed they were all snapping right and left at one
another, and I could see clearly that though they all hate the
wolf, yet each dog hates every other dog with all his heart."
I fear it is true still; for there are many professors who snap
right and left at their own brethren, when they had better
save their teeth for the wolves. If our enemies are to be put
to confusion, it must be by the united efforts of all the people
of God: unity is strength.
UNTRUTH-in Religious Giving.
LOUIS XI. made a donation to the Virgin Mary of the
whole county of Boulogne, retaining, however, for his own
use, the revenues thereof!  A solemn deed was drawn up,
signed, sealed, and delivered, and it bears date 1478. What
a ridiculous farce! The instrument gives away just nothing
at all. But are there no such farces among us? When men
of mean and miserly dispositions sing certain of our hymns,
are they not guilty of just such a pretence of generosity?




252                 MY NOTE BOOK.
With abundance of goods in their power, they fumble for a
threepenny-piece in their pockets, singing, meanwhile,
"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all."
USEFULNESS-Better than Mere Capacity.
A MONSTROUS vat, certainly, is the great tun of Heidelberg. It might hold eight hundred hogsheads of wine at the
least; but what is the use of such wasted capacity, since, for
nearly a hundred years, there has not been a drop of liquor
in it! Hollow and sounding, empty and void and waste;
vintages come and go, and find it perishing of dry rot. An
empty cask is not so great a spectacle after all, let its size be
what it may, though old travellers called this monster one of
the wonders of the world. What a thousand pities it is that
many men of genius and of learning are, in respect of usefulness, no better than this huge but empty tun of Heidelberg!
Very capacious are their minds, but very unpractical. Better
be a poor household kilderkin, and give forth one's little
freely, than exist as a useless prodigy, capable of much and
available for nothing.
USEFULNESS-the Least Christian to Aim at.
MANY true saints are unable to render much service to the
cause of God. See, then, the gardeners going down to the
pond, and dipping in their watering-pots to carry the refreshing liquid to the flowers. A child comes into the garden and
wishes to help, and yonder is a little watering-pot for him.
Note well the little water-pot, though it does not hold so much,
yet carries the same water to the plants; and it does not
make any difference to the flowers which receive that water,
whether it came out of the big pot or the little pot, so long




MY-NOTE BOOK.                   253
as it is the same water, and they get it. You who are as
little children in God's church, you who do not know much,
but try to tell to others what little you know; if it be the
same gospel truth, and be blessed by the same Spirit, it will not
matter to the souls who are blessed by you whether they were
converted or comforted under a man of one or ten talents.
USEFULNESS -Wisdom Needed for.
IN order to reach their hearts on sacred and divine things,
he strove to cultivate the art of conciliating even the careless
and indifferent, by talking to them, in the first instance, on
subjects in which they would be interested; and in this
taught a precious lesson, which all who are engaged in evangelistic labour would do well to learn and exemplify. When
acting as a regular district visitor in Whitechapel, London,
he happened to visit a currier, to whom he was unknown, and
his knowledge of the various processes of tanning and the
preparation of leather, elicited the remark, "Ah, I see you
are in the trade yourself, sir."-From Dr. Dujfs "Life of
Lord Haddo, fifth Earl of Aberdeen."
WANTS.
ON a tradesman's table I noticed a book labelled WANT
BOOK. What a practical suggestion for a man of prayer!
He should put down all his needs on the tablets of his heart,
and then present his want book to his God. If we knew all
our need, what a large want book we should require! How
comforting to know that Jesus has a supply book, which
exactly meets our want book! Promises, providences, and
divine visitations, combine to meet the necessities of all the
faithful.
WARFARE-Spiritual.
IN the road from Bellinzona to Lugano, on the Monte
Cenere, we met with a detachment of carbineers, who had a




254                 MY NOTE BOOK.
station in the forest upon the mountain; we learned that
they had been placed there by the Italian government
because a party of bandits had been impudent enough to rob
the mail. We felt all the safer from knowing that protectors
were so near at hand. Soldiers are needed where brigands
are abroad; nobody advises the letting of freebooters alone.
We are occasionally asked by lovers of quietude why we
draw our swords so frequently against the Ritualists and
other Romanisers: is it not a sufcient answer that we are
soldiers of the King of kings, and that these traitorous thieves
not only rob the King's subjects of the gospel, but the King
himself of his glory? Our churches need just now a strong
detachment of bold and qualified champions to occupy themselves with hunting down the Popish brigands by faithful
preaching, and hanging them up upon the gallows of scorn.
Cursed is he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully in
this matter at this momentous hour, when men's souls are
destroyed, and Christ's name is dishonoured. Carbineers of
the cross, take sure aim, and give good account of the foe.
WARNINGS.
A VERY skilful bowman went to the mountains in search of
game. All the beasts of the forest fled at his approach. The
lion alone challenged him  to combat. The bowman immediately let fly an arrow, and said to the lion, " I send thee
my messenger, that from him thou mayst learn what I myself shall be when I assail thee." The lion thus wounded
rushed, away in great fear, and on a fox exhorting him to be
of good courage, and not to run away at the first attack:
"You counsel me in vain, for if he sends so fearful a
messenger, how shall I abide the attack of the man himself?"
If the warning admonitions of God's ministers fill the
conscience with terror, what must it be to face the Lord
himself?  If one bolt of judgment bring a man into a cold




MY NOTE BOOK.                   255
sweat, what will it be to stand before an angry God in the
last great day?
WATCHFULNESS.
WHILE the Austrian general was staying at the Hotel de
Ville, upon the Grand Canal, at Venice, we lodged at the
same house, and so often as we passed his rooms, whether by
day or night, we encountered two sertries on guard at the
door. Our heart said to itself, whenever the King of kings
deigns to make a chamber of our spirit, let us set holiness
and devotion to be sentries at the entrance. When our
Beloved visits us he must not be disturbed; ill thoughts
must be repulsed, and carnal desires kept at a distance.
With drawn swords let watchfulness preserve the sanctity of
Immanuel's rest. "I charge you, 0 ye daughters of Jerusalem,
by the roes and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up,
nor awake my love, till he please."
WATCHFULNESS-when Special Need of.
When cast by providence among sinful persons who respect
us, we ought to be peculiarly watchful. The hatred of the
ungodly when poured upon Christians in the form of persecution, is seldom harmful to their spiritual nature, but the
friendship of the world is always to be suspected. When the
servants of the high priest allowed Peter to warm his hands
at the fire, had Peter been a wise man, he would have been
afraid that evil would come of it.  We are disarmed by
kindness, but it is never safe to be disarmed in an enemy's
country. " Who," says the old proverb, " could live in Rome
and yet be at war with the pope?" Who can have much to
do with sinners and not have something to do with their sins?
The smiling daughters of Moab did more mischief to Israel
than all Balak's frowning warriors. All Philistia could not
have blinded Samson if Delilah's charms had not deluded




256                 MY NOTE BOOK.
him.  Our worst foes will be found among our ungodly
friends. Those who are false to God, are not likely to be
true to us. Walk carefully, believer, if thy way lie by the
sinner's door, and especially if that sinner hath acted a
friendly part to thee.
WEALTH-Involves Danger.
IT was as much as we could do to keep our feet upon the
splendid mosaic floor of the Palace Giovanelli, at Venice: we
found no such difficulty in the cottage of the poor glassblower
in the rear. Is it one of the advantages of wealth to have
one's abode polished till all comfort vanishes, and the very
floor is as smooth and dangerous as a sheet of ice, or is this
merely an accidental circumstance typical of the dangers of
abundance? Observation shows us that there is a fascination
in wealth which renders it extremely difficult for the possessors
of it to maintain their equilibrium; and this is more especially
the case where money is suddenly acquired; then, unless
grace prevent, pride, affectation, and other mean vices stupify
the brain with their sickening fumes, and he who was respectable in poverty, becomes despicable in prosperity. Pride may
lurk under a threadbare cloak, but it prefers the comely
broadcloth of the merchant's coat: moths will eat any of our
garments, but they seem to fly first to the costly furs. It is
so much the easier for men to fall when walking on wealth's
sea of glass, because all men aid them to do so. Flatterers
haunt not cottages: the poor may hear an honest word from
his neighbour, but etiquette forbids that the rich man should
enjoy the like privilege; for is it not a maxim in Babylon,
that rich men have no faults, or only such as their money,
like charity, covereth with a mantle? What man can help
slipping when every body is intent upon greasing his ways, so
that the smallest chance of standing may be denied him?
The world's proverb is, " God help the poor, for the rich can
help themselves;" but to our mind, it is just the rich who




MY NOTE BOOK.                  257
have most need of heaven's help. Dives in scarlet is worse
off than Lazarus in rags, unless divine love shall uphold him.
WILL-the Seat of Inability.
NELSON could not see the signal for suspending battle
because he placed the glass to his blind eye, and man cannot
see the truth as it is in Jesus because he has no mind to do
so. Ungodly men are, as the country people say, " like the
hogs in a harvest field," who come not out for all your shouting; they cannot hear because they have no will to hear.
Want of will causes paralysis of every faculty. In spiritual
things man is utterly unable because resolvedly unwilling.
WILL-Not Violated by Grace.
WHEN we see a casket wrenched open, the hinges torn
away, or the clasp destroyed, we mark at once the hand of
the Spoiler; but when we observe another casket deftly
opened with a master-key, and the sparkling contents revealed,
we note the hand of the Owner. Conversion is not, as some
suppose, a violent opening of the heart by grace, in which
will, reason, and judgment are all ignored or crushed. This
is too barbarous a method for him who comes not as a
plunderer to his prey, but as a possessor to his treasure.
In conversion, the Lord who made the human heart deals
with it according to its nature and constitution. His key
insinuates itself into the wards; the will is not enslaved
but enfranchised; the reason is not blinded but enlightened,
and the whole man is made to act with a glorious liberty
which it never knew till it fell under the restraints of grace.
WILL OF MAN-Adverse to the Gospel.
WHEN the dove was weary she recollected the ark, and
flew into Noah's hand at once: there are weary souls who
know the ark, but will not fly to it. When an Israelite had
slain, inadvertently, his fellow, he knew the city of refuge, he
17




258                   MY NOTE BOOK.
feared the avenger of blood, and he fled along the road to the
place of safety; but multitudes know the refuge, and every
Sabbath we set up the sign-posts along the road, but yet they
come not to find salvation. The destitute waifs and strays
of the streets of London find out the night refuge and ask for
shelter; they cluster round our workhouse doors like sparrows
under the eaves of a building on a rainy day; they piteously
crave for lodging and a crust of bread; yet crowds of poor
benighted spirits, when the house of mercy is lighted up, and
the invitation is plainly written in bold letters, " Whosoever
will, let him turn in hither," will not come, but prove the
truth of Watts's verse"Thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come."'Tis strange,'tis passing strange,'tis wonderful!
WISDOM-Our, under Differing Circumstances.
IT is a wise thing to exhibit prudence and hopefulness in
their proper degrees and seasons.  Some are so exultant at
success as to become rash, and thereby secure for themselves
a disaster, others are so depressed by a defeat as to be incapable of future action.  The old Latin distich is worth
quoting.
"Si modo victus eras, ad craslina bella parato;
Si modo victor eras, ad crastina bella paveto."
"If conquer'd, for to-morrow's fight prepare;.
If conqueror, of to-morrow's fight beware."
When we are most unsuccessful in our Lord's work we should
rally all-our forces for new attempts, hoping that the tide will
turn, and believing that to perseverance the crown is certain.
On the other hand when the Lord favours us with the largest
degree of blessing we must watch with holy anxiety lest by
any negligence or sin we should grieve the Holy Spirit and
so forfeit all hope of future triumph.




MY NOTE BOOK.                   259
WISDOM —To Win Souls.
WE are not wide enough awake in doing good. Pardon
the reference, for the sake of the lesson; it shall be borrowed
from Dr. Marigold's cart. When a Cheap-Jack has a little
knot of people round his van, he eyes them all, and feels sure
that the man who is standing over there is a butcher, and
that yonder young lad has more money than brains, and that
the girl near him is out with her sweetheart and is soon to
be married; now, mark, he will hold up the exact articles
which are likely to attract these customers, and in his harangue,
he will have jokes and telling sentences which will turn
butcher, and lad, and lass into purchasers. He cares not a
jot for elegance, but very much for force. He knows that his
trade will be better pushed by homely remarks and cutting
sentences than by the prosiest prettinesses which were ever
delivered; and he gains his end, which is more than those of
you will do who talk to people about their souls with as much
richness of diction as"The girl who at each pretty phrase let drop
A ruby comma, or pearl full-stop,
Or an emerald semicolon."
Dr. Marigold is sharp and shrewd, because self-interest
makes him  so, and his extemporary observations are so
patly uttered and adroitly arranged, that he wins the attention
of all, and the custom of many. Would to God that preachers
and other workers for God had a tithe as much commonsense as Cheap-Jack, and were half as earnest to bring men
to Jesus Christ as Cheap-Jack is to bring them to buy that
tea-tray and set of real china! 0 that we were as wise to
win the ear and heart of the particular case with which we
have to deal, as he is in extorting a laugh and compelling the
attention of the passer-by!




260                 MY NOTE BOOK.
WOMEN-Preaching.
WHEN Boswell told Johnson one day that he had heard a
woman preach that morning at a Quaker's meeting, Johnson
replied, " Sir, a woman preaching is like a dog's walking on
his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to
find it done at all." We will add that our surprise is all the
greater when women of piety mount the pulpit, for they are
acting in plain defiance of the command of the Holy Spirit,
written by the pen of the apostle Paul.
WORD-Ways of Treating it.
THERE are two ways of treating the seed. The botanist
splits it up, and discourses on its curious characteristics; the
simple husbandman eats and sows; sows and eats. Similarly
there are two ways of treating the gospel. A critic dissects
it, raises a mountain of debate about the structure of the
whole, and relation of its parts; and when he is done with
his argument, he is done; to him the letter is dead; he
neither lives on it himself, nor spreads it for the good of
his neighbours; he neither eats nor sows. The disciple of
of Jesus, hungering for righteousness, takes the seed whole;
it is bread for to-day's hunger, and seed for to-morrow's
supply. W. Arnot.
WORD OF GOD-Everliving.
How  wonderfully has the Lord provided for the continuance of the vegetable world; he causes the plant to scatter
broadcast a multitude of seeds, and bids the winds convey
them far and wide. The fowls of the air are commissioned
to bear berries and fruits to their proper soils, and even
to bury them  in the earth; while scores of four-footed
creatures, engaged in storing up food for themselves, become
planters of trees, and propagators of plants. Seeds bear a
charmed life about them, they will germinate after being




MY NOTE BOOK.                   261
buried for centuries; they have been known to flourish when
turned up from the borings of wells from  the depth of
hundreds of feet, and when ponds and lakes have been dried,
the undrowned vegetable life has surprised the beholders by
blossoming with unknown flowers. Can we imagine that God
has been thus carefulof the life of the mere grass of the field,
which is the very emblem of decay, and yet is negligent of
his Word which liveth and abideth for ever? It is not to be
dreamed of. Truth, the incorruptible seed, is ever scattering
itself, every wind is laden with it, every breath spreads it; it
lies dormant in a thousand memories, it preserves its life in
the abodes of death. The Lord has but to give the word,
and a band of eloquent men shall publish the gospel, apostles
and evangelists will rise in abundance, like the warriors who
sprang from the fabled dragon's teeth; converts will spring
up like flowerets at the approach of spring, nations shall be
born in a day, and truth, and God the Lord of truth, shall
reign for ever.
WORKS-and our Salvation.
WILLIAM WICKHAM being appointed by King Edward to
build a stately church, wrote in the windows, " This work
made William  Wickham."  When charged by the king for
assuming the honour of that work to himself as the author,
whereas he was only the overseer, he answered that he meant
not that he made the work, but that the work made him,
having before been very poor, and then in great credit.
Lord, when we read in thy Word that we must work out our
own salvation, thy meaning is not that our salvation should
be the effect of our work, but our work the evidence of our
salvation.
WORLD-Deception of.
ESsoP'S fable says:-" A pigeon oppressed by excessive
thirst, saw a goblet of water painted on a sign-board. Not




262                MY NOTE BOOK.
supposing it to be only a picture, she flew towards it with a
loud whirr, and unwittingly dashed against the sign-board,
and jarred herself terribly. Having broken her wings by the
blow, she fell to the ground, and was killed by one of the bystanders."
The mockeries of the world are many, and those who
are deluded by them  not only miss the joys they looked
for, but in their eager pursuit of vanity bring ruin upon their
souls. We call the dove silly to be deceived by a picture,
however cleverly painted, but what epithet shall we apply to
those who are duped by the transparently false allurements
of the world!
WORLD-a Huge Desert.
LIVING in the midst of the church of God is like sailing
down the Nile in a boat. One is charmed with the luxuriance
of either bank, and with much that is beautiful immediately
around; but, alas! at a little distance on either side lies a vast
uncultivated, we had almost said hopeless, desert. Some are
at rest because they never look beyond the borders of the
church, but those whose sympathies reach to all humanity
will have to carry a life-long " burden of the Lord."
WORLD-its Instability.
QUEEN ELIZABETH once said to a courtier, "They pass
best over the world who trip over it quickly; for it is but a
bog: if we stop, we sink."
WORLD-Not to Build too Confidently oft it.
IN Chili where the ground is subject to frequent shocks of
earthquake, the houses are built of lowly height and of unenduring structure; it is of little use to dig deep foundations,
and pile up high walls where the very earth'is unstable; it
would be foolish to build as for ages when the whole edifice
may be in ruins in a week. Herein we read a lesson as to




MY NOTE BOOK.                    263
our worldly schemes and possessions: this poor fleeting
world deserves not that we should build our hopes and joys
upon it as though they could last us long. We must treat it
as a treacherous soil, and build but lightly on it, and we shall
be wise.
WORLD-Vanity of Pursuit of.
MY friends, do you remember that old Scythian custom,
when the head of a house died? How he was dressed in his
finest dress, and set in his chariot, and carried tbout to his
friends' houses; and each of them placed him at his table's
head, and all feasted in his presence! Suppose it were
offered to you, in plain words, as it is offered to you in dire
facts, that you should gain this Scythian honour, gradually,
while you yet thought yourself alive. Suppose the offer were
this: You shall die slowly; your blood shall daily grow cold,
your flesh petrify, your heart beat at last only as a rusty
group of iron valves. Your life shall fade from you, and sink
through the earth into the ice of Caina; but day by day your
body shall be dressed more gaily, and set in higher chariots,
and have more orders on its breast, crowns on its head, if
you will. Men shall bow before it, stare and shout round it,
crowd after it up and down the streets; build palaces for it,
feast with it at their tables' heads all the night long; your
soul shall. stay enough within it to know what they do, and
feel the weight of the golden dress on its shoulders, and the
furrow of the crown edge on the skull; no more. Would
you take the offer, verbally made by the death angel? Would
the meanest among us take it, think you?  Yet practically
and verily we grasp at it, every one of us, in a measure; many
of us grasp at it in its fulness of horror. Every man accepts
it who desires to advance in life without knowing what life is;
who means only that he is to get more horses, and more
footmen, and more fortune, and more public honour, andnot more personal soul. He only is advancing in life whose




264                 MY NOTE BOOK.
heart is getting softer, whose blood warmer, whose brain
quicker, whose spirit is entering into living peace. —ohn
Ruskin.
WORLDLY MERRIMENT.
I THINK the men of this world like children in a dangerous
storm in the sea, that play and make sport with the white
foam of the waves thereof coming in to sink and drown them;
so are men making fool's sports with the white pleasures of a
-stormy world that will sink them. But, alas! what have we
to do with their sports which they make? If Solomon said
of laughter that it was madness, what may we say of this
world's laughing and sporting themselves with gold and
silver, and honours, and court, and broad large conquests,*
but that they are poor souls, in the height and rage of a fever
gone mad? Then a straw, a fig, for all created sports and
rejoicing out of Christ.-Samuel Rutherford.
WORLDLINESS.
THERE is a poor creature at Aosta who does not know the
value of money, and only cares for eating, drinking, and
sleeping. He is undoubtedly an idiot; but what is he who
does not know the value of his soul?
WORLDLINESS-its Blinding Influence.
SUPPOSE I were shut up within a round tower, whose
massive wall had in some time of trouble been pierced here
and there for musketry; suppose, further, that by choice or
necessity, I am whirled rapidly and incessantly round its
inner circumference, will I appreciate the beauties of the
surrounding landscape or recognise the features of the men
who labour in the field below? I will not! Why? Are there
* Acquisitions.




MY NOTE BOOK.                    265
not openings in the wall which I pass at every circuit? Yes;
but the eye, set for objects near, has not time to adjust itself
to objects at a distance until it has passed the openings; and
so the result is the same as if it were a dead wall all round.
Behold the circle of human life! of the earth, earthy it is,
almost throughout its whole circumference. A dead wall, very
near and very thick, obstructs the view. Here and there,
on a Sabbath or other season of seriousness, a slit is left open
in its side. Heaven might be seen through these; but, alas!
the eye which is habitually set for the earthly cannot, during
such momentary glimpses, adjust itself to higher things.
Unless you pause and look steadfastly, you will see neither
clouds nor sunshine through these openings, or the distant
sky. So long has the soul looked upon the world, and so
firmly is the world's picture fixed in its eye, that when it is
turned for a moment heavenward, it feels only a quiver of
inarticulate light, and retains no distinct impression of the
things that are unseen and eternal.-W. Arnot.
WORLDLINGS-Brutishness of.
LUTHER was told of a nobleman who, above all things,
occupied himself with amassing money, and was so buried in
darkness that he gave no heed to the word of God, and even
said to one who pleaded with him, " Sir, the gospel pays no
interest."  "Have you no grains?" interposed Luther; and
then he told this fable:-"A lion making a great feast, invited
all the beasts, and with them some swine. When all manner
of dainties were set before the guests, the swine asked,' Have
you no grains?' Even so," continued Luther, "even so it is,
in these days, with carnal men; we preachers set before them
the most dainty and costly dishes, such as everlasting salvation, the remission of sins, and God's grace; but they, like
swine, turn up their snouts, and ask for money. Offer a cow
a nutmeg, and she will reject it for old hay."




266                 MY NOTE BOOK.
YOUTHFUL PIETY-Advantage of.
IN an election the first votes recorded count all the day
long, and so encourage the party all through the anxious
hours of polling. When men give in their names for Jesus
and his cause in the morning of their lives, their whole
existence influences their time, and their encouragement to
the good cause is life-long. Young people, remember this!
ZEAL,
HUMBOLDT, in his travels, observes, " It seems remarkable
that in the hottest as well as the coldest climates, people
display the same predilection for heat. On the introduction
of Christianity into Iceland, the inhabitants would be baptised only in the hot springs of Hecla; and in the torrid zone,
in the plains as well as on the Cordilleras, the natives flock
from all parts to the thermal waters." The fact is not less
noteworthy that men love spiritual warmth. Cold truth, even
cold gospel truth, is never attractive. Ministers must be
fervent, their spirit earnest, and their style energetic, or the
many will not resort to them. Religion is a dish to be served
hot; when it once becomes lukewarm it is sickening.  Our
baptism must be with the Holy Ghost and with fire if we
would win the masses to hear the gospel.
ZEAL.
WHEN the Spartans marched into battle they advanced
with cheerful songs, willing to fight; but when the Persians entered the conflict, you could hear, as the regiments
came on, the crack of whips by which the officers drove the
cowards to the fray. You need not wonder that a few Spartans
were more than a match for thousands of Persians, that in fact
they were like lions in the midst of sheep.  So let it be with
the church; never should she need to be forced to reluctant
action, but full of irrepressible life, she should long for conflict
against everything which is contrary to God.  Were we




MY NOTE BOOK.                  267
enthusiastic soldiers of the cross we should be like lions
in the midst of herds of enemies, and through God's help
nothing would be able to stand against us.
ZEAL-Causing Unity.
THERE was a blacksmith once who had two pieces of iron
which he wished to weld into one, and he took them just as
they were, all cold and hard, and put them on the anvil, and
began to hammer with all his might, but they were two
pieces still, and would not unite. At last he remembered
what he ought never to have forgotten; he thrust both of them
into the fire, took them out red-hot, laid the one upon the
other, and by one or two blows of the hammer they very
soon became one.
ZEAL FOR SOULS.
A TRAVELLER was journeying in the darkness of night
along a road that led to a deep and rapid river, which, swollen
by sudden rains, was chafing and roaring within its precipitous banks. The bridge that crossed the stream had been
swept away by the torrent, but he knew it not. A man met
him, and after enquiring whither he was bound, said to him
in an indifferent way" Are you aware that the bridge is
gone?" "No," was the answer. "Why do you think so?"
" Oh, I heard such a report this afternoon, and though I am
not certain about it, you had perhaps better not proceed."
Deceived by the hesitating and undecided manner in which
the information was given, the traveller pushed onward in the
way of death, Soon another meeting him, cried out in consternation. " Sir, sir, the bridge is gone!" "Oh! yes," replied the
wayfarer, " some one told me that story a little distance back;
but from the careless tone with which he told it, I am sure it
is an idle tale." "Oh, it is true, it is true!" exclaimed the
other. "I know the bridge is gone, for I barely escaped
being carried away with it myself. Danger is before you and




268                MY NOTE BOOK.
you must not go on." And in the excitement of his feelings,
he grasped him by the hands, by the arms, by the clothes,
and besought him  not to rush upon manifest destruction.
Convinced by the earnest voice, the earnest eyes, the earnest
gestures, the traveller turned back, and was saved. The intelligence in both cases was the same; but the manner of
its conveyance in the one gave it an air of a fable, in the
other an air of truth.
So it is only through a burning zeal for the salvation of the
lost-a zeal glowing in the heart, and flashing out in the look
and action and utterance-that the confidence of unbelief can
be overcome, and the heedless travellers of the broad way
won to the path of life and happiness. Love is the most
potent logic: interest and sympathy are the most subduing
eloquence.- Christian Work.




INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
The reader will please to note that this is NOT A COMPLETE INDEX, but, as the
illustrations are already arranged alphabetically under distinct heads, this is a
SUPPLEMENTARY index to make the work more useful. Persons seeking any
subject should first look to the alphabet of the work, and failing there, the
supplement may be helpful.
Page                                   Page
Abasement, to be rejoiced in..  Children should be trained  to
Aberrations of the heart.... 102        attend worship...... 13
Abuse of mercy...... 43   Chastisement, a token of Divine
Access.    2        regard.9
Activity, a Help to Courage.2              (See Affliction, Trials)
-and Prayer.....  68   Cheerfulness, Humility and               xiI
Advent, second.......         3    Christ, purging his church..    38
Affliction (See Trials)...   3-9            Coming to, as a sinner 33, 38
Agassiz, Professor... 154      -    our views influenced by
Alabaster, Saints like pillars of    207   communion with....        40
Ambition.....203                              Joy of Communion with. 40
Anger, Provoke not those given to 124          Faith has saving connecAngelo, Michael...... 175    tion with..                              75
Antisthenes, Saying of....  70             the Sum of the Gospel    92
Apes, Covetous men like.... 50               Epilogue of Jesus..   25
Appropriating Faith....          77   -       his sympathy with  his
Aptness to make mistakes, Our..  52       people....              3
Arnot, W......    77, I04, 205, 265            the Head..             oo
Babbage  a...._..  64                 glory of his kingdom.. I28
Salvation in....    207
Babes in Grace                   67           near                      208
Backsliders                                   ne       ar......208
Backsliders......... to be preached.... 217
Beecher, Henry Ward...54,227   -             Union.      250
Believers, Life of, interesting..  30       Fulness of, for our wants 253
Safety of, (See Saints)..    205   Christian Character to be maintained 6o
Benevolence, reward of..        20    --       Safety of, wherein  it
Berridge, John........ 30, II7             consists                      52
Besetting sin                   228              wo Natures in.... i5
Bible'2...                         Two Natures in.     157
Bible.........d...           21  -   Peace of..6o......6
-   how to deal with difficulties of     Christians revealed by affliction..   8
-      and priests.......  8              Neutrality impossible to  34
Book with three leaves.......208             kings.35
Brethren, generous feeling towards 87   Clover and trefoil seeds, process
Broken Heart     103   Clover and trefoil seeds, process
Broken Heart..........  3                of "doctoring".64
BryanthD, Poem of.ecotef         8 1   Coal-pit, Anecdote of....      39
Buchsell, Dr., Anecdote of... 3   Coming of Christ (see Advent)..
Calumny..........229, 230   Communion with Christ.... 4
Care cast upon God.... 99                with God.... 4
Cellar door..          97          -     of saints.... I, 42
Carlyle. T......9                          -     helps a preacher..  73
Carnal Security.. 231, 241              (Watchfulness)       255,Children, future of              26   Company, Sinful, to be avoided.. 229
- -     to be taught with pa-          Complaining chronic with some.  6i
tience....           26        (Grumblers).....   98, 99




270                       INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
Page                                      Page
Conceit......   212   Eloquence, Garrick on....            177
Confidence, False..               8I   Endeavour stimulated by faith..  80
Congregation large enough.. 99   Enemies of Christ, contending with 253
Conquest of self, gradual.      48   Exaggeration in religious news.  90
Consequences of sin....         227   Examination, Self......  213
Contemplation........42    Excuses illustrated....           224
Contentment (Gratitude)             97   Experience                      72-74
Controversy, Doctrines not for      63          -   the best evidence.70
Conversion, by reading Bible..   6             - necessary to a minister  73
Sudden....        46   Eye of Christ our stimulus....  27
-~      ~ —    a complete surrender  46 ^Faculties of man perverted...40
-   regeneration  n.. 294    Faith, in its degree                 Ii
its bearing on sin 223, 224   -     appropriating (Assurance)   77
-   Trials leading to.. 233         God's regard for              78
~_____- illustrated.. 242, 245, 257       -    Trial of  78
Conviction of sin, Self-righteous-              StimuTrial of.....endeavour.  79
ness destroyed by.          23            the sum of virtue.. 
- — Decision for Christ re-                in prayer..  169
quires.......... 169
quires                         58           and reason....     94
(See Zeal)..  266..94
Creation, God's benevolence-in.88              sustains resignation.. 
(Salvation)....... 208
Crisis of souls..                         a      a......... 22352
Cromwell, Oliver.          38   False prudence, Mischief of.. Io9
cMltons remark                   Fault-finding (Censoriousness).. 24
concerning...      43        (Inconsistencies)... 20
Cross of Christ..              30, 3    Fellowship                       4, 42
Crosses                              8.......23
(See Afflictions,Chastisement,       Fish, Someonverts like.. 46
Trials,&c.)                 Floral clock.59
Cuttle-fish, Persons who resemble  51 Folly of worldlings                    262
Dahlia, Moralists like the..  154   Forebodings falsified....            83
Dante, Statue of.....57   Formalism, Tricks of..       83
Day of judgment forgotten..       127   Formality worthless....         84
Death, A martyr's......          107   Freezing an image of conscience" Debt of Nature "......  54          hardening.....           42
Deliverances strengthen courage.50   Frivolities render men callous          85
Difficulties overcome...         99   Frivolity......                 86
Diligence in doing good.... 87   Fuller, A., Extract from his diary  44
Discord (see Quarrels).....  92            -   on election.....      68
Melancthon on..       251            - anecdote about prayer 170
Doctrine and exhortation... 75   Fuller, Thomas.82
Doubts and fears......  59, 66   G                  
Drake, Sir Francis, Saying of       50   Gentleness (Sternne....         25'     Gentleness (Sternness)...... 237
Earthen  vessel, The  Christian          God, as a Father...                87
worker an........   28   -    as light....        88
Ease, Peril of.......     23, 241   -     Benevolence of, in Creation. 88
- not for Christians...      43          Vague conceptions of..       90
Edifying conversation, Secret of 44   -    Goodness of, unceasing.62
Education (Schools)... 2..           -    Immutability of..  20
Effects of affliction, Various..     -    Love of.                  89,231
Effort, Personal..... I65, I66    -  to be feared..... 254
Election............  65   Godliness no burden to saints                   9
encourages to pray..  68   Gospel, Boldness congruous with. 22
(Predestination)...  8o   -- -      duty of spreading it.. 92




INDEX OF SUBJECTS.                              271
Page                                     Page
Gospel, eternity of.....   o60    Heart won to God by trials.   9
*.~ - Jesus the Sum of..  92  Heaven.                                 4..I4 —1o8
---- needs no adornments           92       -- made desirable by Afflictions  7
----  needs spiritual ears         93       -- and the Sabbath..       204
~ —-  nothing else will satisfy. 93      --  not for the ungodly..       240
---- to be preached constantly           Heavenward..o8
and simply...... 93    Hermit, Description of a                 49
--      (Simple),the wisest need it 94    Highland chief, Anecdote of       27
---- invitations of, the sinner's        Holiness, Bible reading promotes  16
warrant........ 124    Holy Spirit (see Spirit, Holy)
Grace, Corruptions overcome by    48    Holy Water... 1o8
----    Doctrines of...... 64    Hone, William, "Every Day Book" 17
----  does not violate will  ~ 257    Honour, Affliction attendant upon   3
~ —-- equal to our day..         95      --    of service of God..   219
----   evidenced by works..261    Hope.......    o, 1o
-----  found in all places...    168    -    only in Christ........ 30
-------- Growth in....    97, 98, i86    Hopes, False.                      82. —  Maturity in                  95    Human Ability, Effects of belief in  23
----  Means of, neglected, a sad         Humboldt, Alexander yon.. 128, 139
loss......... 141    Humility........, iii
--    Payson on.94    Hyper-Calvinists, their teaching  65
--    Riches of Christ's..        30    Hypocrisy..             112 —117, 220
~ —---  triumphs over trial..      95     dleness, Spiritual.20
Graces, Seasonableness of.. 159, 258             shameful...              122
Gracious operations, order of.. 6o.. 
Gratitude, Christians should mani-       Imitability of God o1f8
fest their. ~Immutability of God..G..                       120
- aafest their b. y     35    Inability lies in the will....   257,  eawakened by affliction e1 486    Inconsistency, Excuses for.. 72, 120
Growth, measure of (see Grace).. 186    Indolence                      241, 249
Gurnall William.....8,117    Infatuation of Sin.. 229
Infidel silenced........        22o
Habit, Corruptions strengthened          Infirmities, Use of               22
by.'~    Influence  of communion  with
--     Destructive power of sinful 98           ce  of communion  with
Hamilton, Dr. James   6, 56, 134,        Influence of a Chstian  over t
Haidel and Lord Kinnoul..             Influene of a Chstian  over the
HardnessofHeart..   20- 3    Ingratitude, Man's, to God..     123
Hardening of Conscience           42    Insensibility of the natural man..40
Hearers, Ignorance of constant.i.8    Instability of worldly things       262
— _   The poor as.. 267
Hearing the Gospel......              Jesuits...      25
carelessly..    2io     Jesus, (see Christ, Faith, Gospel)
for others.. o       Joy in Affliction........  8
useless alone.. 102    -    of Hope....     o09
Heart, Aberrations of..      0.. 2    -    of our Religion, evidence of
-   a broken........103                   its truth.........126
a Christian's, what it is like  43    -    at finding Salvation....125
dissolved by mercy..  144    Judgment of our fellows....  ii
-    enmity of, to the Gospel   257             -- comparable to balances 126
- hardened by sin...223    ---       -- Day of, forgotten.. i27
-   Hardness of....               103. pervertt....... 128
---- Ignorance of our..        117    Judgments, effects of.     128
----- Image taken from the        66    Jupiter, fallen statue of....48
- Preacher to aim at the.  oo
-       regeneration needed... o04    Keble, John, on Books......   19
-    seat of spiritual disease.. 104    Kindness spies good points in all.. 25
--    Truth in........248    Knowledge, Partial, like fog.. 82




272                       INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
Page                                      Page
Knowledge, not mere words.. 129   "Ministerial Experiences," Dr.
Buchsell's...13
Latimer, Hugh......                  Ministers (see Preacher, Sermons)
Law arouses sin                    221   Motives...                      155
Letter of the Word, The Spirit            --        of God's servants.... 217
more thr ance........ x8   Mysteries to be believed     65
Liberality, instanceof......  87   Napoleon I                                 io
Life, Christian known by his        34             and the soldier.         75
-    power of a Christian's         35             and the Duc d'Enghien  85
-    of Believer interesting..    130   Narratives of Scripture..      14
-'he Sinner's need of..      I3I   Narrowness of Mind....             8
-    Power of an earnest  1..      132   Neutrality not for Christians        34
- The hidden..            1... 33 Nineveh...6o
- The inner..                      133   Novelty, Influence of..            157
-  written in the snow.. 34   --  hunting..                        25
- Spiritual..........34
-  Uncertainty of..                35  Obedience....               158, 159
-    viewed as to its end..     136   Omniscience......                 59
- wrecked...  137 One sin.... 225
-     Religious, not mere imitation 195   Opportunities to be made          219
--  What is true...   263    Patience in teaching children        26
Light, detested by the wicked.. 136    payson, E., Death-bed sayings 94, 117
Little Things....       136                 on prayer and study 170
Lofty style, Preacher to avoid..174    Peace.....60o —62
London, Destitution of..            59         in death....5, 57, 94
Longfellow's Hiawatha..            34    -      False..162
Longings, The Soul's.... 37, 151   -     of pardon.         x62
Lord's-day and trumpet..          204    Perfection, attained by practice..168
----    Heaven seen on..        204    Perseverance163 164
Losses (see Affliction, Chastise-              — _    needed in teaching  26
ment, Trial, etc.)                   Persecution....       163
Love of God.                      89 Personal religion..                  195
-    shed abroad by his Spirit    138                       t  cause of in-    promoted by prayer.. 7..               terest in the Bible.           15
Lukewarmness (Zeal)...     266   Perspicuity, how  preachers may
Lyford, Mr., Death-bed sayings of 55          gain..                         76
Macmillan, Hugh..             96,248   Pleasures of sin                220, 228
Magdalene, Italian frescoes of..  71   Popery...          167
Man, Ingratitude of..             123   Posterity and Time trying books..  20
Fallen....     138, 140   Power, Fellowship with God gives  41
-    The good (see Saints)..      139             of Sin.......      226
- a stain on the universe...141   -               of the Holy Spirit..   237
Martyr, Death of a.... 107   Prayer and Activity...... x68
Masquerade, The World a..          57   ----     Believing....     169
Meditation to be practised...    142      -      Election  an encourageMedusa, Perseus and...... 54                ment to.68
Melancholy..          62          -a Father's...... 173
Memory of the just.... 196          --   for help to pray          170
Mercy, Abuse of......   143          -.     helps study.70
-~  - continual....           143   - -    Meetings......
~ —- -    dissolves the heart.... 144       -      Preachers need..      179
-Excellency of......  45              --   Satan overcome by.. 170
- -     seen in our lives..      145     - -  Simile of.171
Mercies, Temporal, an argument 142   - - softens asperities..              171
Merriment, Worldly......264                    Success in.....172
Metaphysics (see Theology).. 243         --   Sweet uses of....17
Milton, John, on Oliver Cromwell 43   Preacher....  173 —179, 25-217




INDEX OF SUBJECTS.                              278
Page                                     Page
Preacher a nursing father.   152   Reward of serving God...... 220
----   Bad, not to be heard.. 215   Riches, undesirable.                  9
----  brilliant but useless.. 216   ---- Danger of.... 256
--  Christ the theme of the 31, 32   - -   Evils of....188,2 202
--        Communion  with  God           --        Gathering, nothing but
helps....           173              play......       53
- -    like Italian water-dealer i47   ---    No time for getting.. 154
--        must aim at the heart.. ioo   River, Covetousness like silting up
~ -  needs Holy Spirit..    Ioo     of a.....                    51
------  needs tenderness..  151   Ruskin, John, 25, 142, 153, i86, 218,
~ —-----  not to trifle....     9                            228, 248, 264
~ —-  Self-dissatisfaction of    I51. Rutherford, S....                 20
-— ~   should be the best of men 152
--  Simplicity of the..  92, 93   Saints.........                205-207
~ —-  to avoid a lofty style.. 174   ---- Communion of                41, 42
~ —---   to join exhortation with                (See Believer)
doctrine........ 175   Salvation......         207, 208
Women should not be... 26    -- --  by Christ alone....  28
Preachihg must be simple..  92, 93        -- Joy at finding..            125
~ Constant....      93   Satan overcome by prayer...70
Holy Spirit needed for.. ioo   Schoolmen, Foolish questions of. 192
----   Power of, with conscience 254   Seasonableness of grace  95, I59, 258
Value of........ x9    Self............                        215
Predestination..           65   Self-dissatisfaction, the minister's x52
Pride......8o, 8                                       a spur.... 213
Priests, withhold the Bible.... i8   Self-righteousness.. 2..  213, 214
-   Superstitious reverence of 8i          --              illustrated.. 146
Procrastination..... I.82 —284   Sermons..215-217
- "-To-day"... 244   --       Christ should be their
~ —--    and Carnal Security  23         theme..                        32
Profession, Graceless.... 115, i84         (See Preacher, Preaching)..   9
Progress of evil..  221, 223, 228   Sin...220-229
Promises........  i86  -  age no cure for..                                9
Prophecy......              87   -    blotted out.....62
Providence, (Day-by-Day) 53, 88, 88, 89   -     Conviction of.46
Proxy, Sinning by..   222 - Fear of.....    82
Prudence (Wisdom)..           258   -    Habits of, destructive..      98
92, 236   - seen to be sinful......  40
Questions, Foolish...... 92,236be searched out                          97
Rainbow seen as a circle..       36   Sincerity needful in repentance.. 197
Readiness of service...... 218   Sinner, Coming to Christ as a           38
Reading the Bible......            5            the gospel his warrant to
- _~ — with delight. 7             come to Christ...... 124
Rebukes to be wise......  98        needs life....    131
Red tape......          42    -       Fallen nature of.. 138, I40
Regeneration, Need of.. 0o4, 257, 194,           Insensibility of....  40
242, 245           faculties perverted....  40
Religion............95    (See Man)..                                    41
Repentance......... 97   Sinners welcomed to Christ..  33
-   sorrow for sin..              232            Company of, to be avoided 229
Resignation..   98, 199, 238            hate light........ 36
Resolution....249   Slavery of sin....       227
Responsibility..                  x99   Snow, Life written in the..      134
Rest only in Christ..              30   Solitude, Corruptions seen even in  49
Resurrection.......... 200 [ Soul......'......233-235
Revivals, develop hypocrites      116   -    and Body........  29
~  AbsenCe and presence of 200   -    Lethargy of..29
18




274                     INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
Page                                   Page
Soul. Longings of, painful.... 137   Trinity, Mystery of the...247
Soul-winning....... 234, 235   Trophies of Christ's power...33
Speech, Aim of Christian..     68   Truth, Pure, is living seed..   64
Spirit, Holy, earnest of..... 68         in the heart.... 248
- -    Need of, in preaching
(See Hearers)..  - Ioo0, 151   Unbelief in contrast withassurance  ii
---     Love of God shed abroad            -    Wickedness of.... 249
by....  138   Uncertainty of life...... 135
----   guides into all truth.. 248   Unity, Zeal promotes.. 267
Spiritual disease, its root in heart 104   Unity of purpose..          9
Spiritual life (see-Life)......      134   Usefulness.......    252, 253
Study, Prayer helpful to....70
Substitution illustrated...... 28   Variety of experience.74
Sudden conversions.... 46   " Via, veritas, vita"..     130
Sympathy....238, 239   Violet,Providence illustrated bythe 189
- -     of Christwith his people 31   Virtue, Faith the summary of.. 80
System versus Scripture.. 211, 243
Systematic divines..      64   Warrant, the sinner's, for faith..24
Warmth, Spiritual......   237
Temptation......    241, 242   Watchfulness over self....212
overcome by faith.. 79   Wealth....... 201, 202
develops character.. 250   Week-night services. 
Tenderness, Preacher's need of 69, 151   Wesleys, J. and S..... I, 118
Texts, Memorable....            243   Whats, Three....           244
Theology, Jesus the marrow of..  29   Whittington, Story of...... 30
Time, Books tried by posterity and  20   Wicked (See Sinners)
Economy of...... 60   Winning souls, Wisdom in.. 253, 259
-     Things of, fleeting.... 69             -      Zeal needed in.. 267
Tithes............ 244   Wisdom in rebuking....   I98
Tongue........   245   Words, Knowledge not mere.. 129
Trial of Faith....            79   Works, Faith and...... 80
Trials attendant upon honour..   3   -       explain religion.... 131
-     awakening gratitude..   4   -        and salvation...... 26x
-     Benefit of......          232   World... 26 —265
Christ with us in...  34           blessed by the saints..    206
Different effects of....   5         evil influence of.... x63
-   endear the promises....  4            Friendship of, vanity..  85
-     Fiery, consume lusts.... 138   -      its power over Christians.. 255
Grace triumphs over.... 96   Worldliness..        264
incite to zeal..          6   Worship, Public, absence from..   I
increased with our strength   6                     Invitations to at-     leading to conversion.. 233      tend......  I.
-     make us long for heaven..  7                     Children should
-     needful........    247              attend......  13
-     Noble piety nourished amid   7                     Neglect of, a sad
of young believers.... 246           loss..........   141
-     promote joy.            8   Wrecks, Many lives are.. 37
-     rebuke presumption.... 180
-     reveal Christians....  8   Yew-tree, figure of our corruptions 50
rightly viewed.....   8   Young, Mr., and dying friend..  57
the church's glory.... 36   Young Christians, Trials of.. 246
-     tokens of divine regard..      Youthful piety....  266
-     win the heart for God  9. 
(See Affliction, Chastisement)     Zeal...........66, 267




INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.
GENESIS.                   I. SAMUEL.                JOB.  (Continued.)
Chap. & Verse        Page
Chap. & Verse        Page  Chap. & Verse         Page  Chap. & Verse          Page
iii. 2............224: 30...........                XiX. 25.....       200
v. 24. 242  i......9....8  xx.....220,22......     2.....2208)X. II......                              221
xvi. 13..           59......33  XX. 14, 23.........227
xviii. 19........  13  XV  7.........I55, 206  xxxiv. 32...... 65, 197
xviii. 26-32.....206                                   xxxvi. 26.....  247
xxv. 33...... 265         II. SAMUEL.            xxxvii 19.........70
xlii. 36......... 6 2238                     PSALMS.
xlviii.........   173.26..........238  Number & Verse   Page
EXODUS.              xxiii.  5    -.. 55, 57 i. 2......  15, 211
i 3.........    95
iv. Ix............ 89            I. KINGS.             vi. -6......   223
xi. 7............   5
i.7......     iii......o  x4...... X....... o80
xx. 5..2                   x.  2....................72
xx......           xvii.   o.......     x......... 
xx...........7 2222                         xv.............   80
xxxiv. 20......            x....   8 27  4.        296xxii 20     
TTMT XXXiVi. i29.o- X.......     8
x.  7...............
xx..X..........                                              2322
NUMBERS.                                           XiX. 13.~.~   82
xiv. 242    V11. 2........      94  xxi. o......... 227
Xi. 26'....          229 " V''   xii,9.....xi......     62,143
~xi. 26.........   33  XXX. 2........7
vxi. 2i7....         9                               xxx6..........
xxv.i......       255    II. CHRONICLES.    xxx7,I........2i8
xxxii. 3........         ii.                                2           28, 52
xxixxxi. 7........5
DEUTERONOMY...i.......  233  xxxi. 75......... ~ 8
Viii. 12, 14...... 23, 256       NEHEMIA                xxxil. 2....... 207
Cxvi. i6........87            xxxii. 4........ 223
xxx ii.              1 3.. 8.......   92  xxxiv..2.....   97
XXXii. 28...... 265                              xxxiv. o.....        253
XXXiii. 9......... v                         xXxviii. 2 -......   2... 3
XXXi. 25...       6, 52,~ 9. 92                          XX- xxx.........5.:22IIlxxx.        6......  l......    2
JOSHUA.               8ii.... xlv. 5.....    200
TT 1.           v. 27..8   XlVi. C2....NI.'8o
xxiv1.25.                8v 17..247 xlix. 7.......  95
xxv.5.... xv..                       50 l.........33
iv.237,,.,,,,,,,,, 181 xxm.i, zg...   28, 28
xi JUDGES.           viii... 2489i  7............ 2
J"'4...'.  81 lix. 7..........          103
xv. 8, 19.....   50  xi —9                   247 liii. 5.. 4...6. ~   66
XVi............. 255  xv. III.......    41 Iv. 4-8......... 242




276                 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.
PSALMS. (Con.)              PSALMS. (Con.)                CANTICLES.
Number & Verse   Page  Number & Verse   Page  Number & Verse   Page
Iv. 6.........      137  cxlix. 4......        206
lvii 8.............204  cxlix. 5...... 126!: 3........       38
Iviii. 4, 5......... I40      PROVERBS.              iv...........
lxii. o.........202  Chap. & Verse      Page. 2..          8  
lxiv. 4............ 229  i 17.         229
xvii. 6.........      i32202                      ISAIAH.
lix. 3.        233 "''", " ".        266''  "''   Chap. & Verse  Page
xviiX.31.........  143  111 1,.........19  Chap.  &    Verse 
lxix. 3......     2      1...... 1                  223 
i...                       2652  i. x2, 87 4.........
lxxixi.. 5......... 242  i                     229  i. 18 
lxxi. 54............ 7..      i.....               228
lxxii. 7.......      6   i.23.......          2  ii2..    
9,   3,232..2..26..2...... 66
lxxiii....      6-......85,   1    vi. 8.........     
lxxvii.. 4..     282.....          2    x. 5.        78
lxxi.......... 207    i.7.2.........  6 
IXXXiI22  xi x...5li. 23.2A                                              2 "''0!xxiii. x8, ig... 91, i83, 23   vii. 22............ 1
lxxxi. ii....257xi 3. 248  xxi........ 228
lxxiii. 25........ 125 ix. 7..........228xx.                            78
lxxxviii. 4......  242                 xxvii 5......... 2 68
lxxvii.......      242  xi...........               xi.....      2
ixxix. 29   xii.i.                       4.        6   xxxi.i......24...       226....X..i.                6  xiv. 22.214..., 227  xxix.i3........  20
ixxxi.                                                          16..2.......257'I 5.5.21 " "' ~xiV. 35.xx.i...... I2.
xxxv.......... 83 xi. 25............  6  xxx. 
lxxxviii. 6,7...         xivx2.... 2..     2   xxx3... 90              251
Cu.x2-20.       213ixv. 2286, xl. 6.         235
cm:. i......            93  xi......            xxxii.........  6,219
ci. 33............  2  x....... 195,20       ii..........
xciv. 6,3, 9, 28...233........32    xxxvi. 6 2.43
XCVii.30.......  4,     92:iV:::            83  xiv.:30                      Xxl ~"2 -5 ~~
cxi    -..3. 257  xViiii..24.        8   xlivI. 4...2......   0
cii............. 32    i0   xVi. 20......223,264
CvM  3g 3nk..,                        "'  "' 3' xllV. 262.......... 22 
cXiii......x.... 42  xliv. 3......... 2
cXvi. 6,I.        20196628   233xvixi.3.........  1xxii. 6...4..... 
cXvii. 0........ 38  xxii.               2       li........   20 
cxviii.289xii.29....                            li.. 27.i. 230
cxix.9...... 242  xxiii: 26.:.:.:::46  lv. -'"           24 8~'
cxix.......... 276  xxiv. 2.........25  lv..                        26
cxix.6.........  2.x.          xv.......... x 22   298. "   ~55 
cxix.67...           26......26  xxvi.4           0...2 2...8....          o 
cxix. 97...7   x...x....i. 7x..... 0 v.  22.        260 
cxixi....2.         44  xxviii..     264,265  l. 23'.                214
cxix.                    8 27.....2 22. x... 8,9,.20   l48
cxxvi.ii3'2"...            xi'.2......... 33 2264  lix.                2 6.8
cxxvii.                  8........................ 23
CX~x. 123..li I.                               2.........  
CXXXI.  1,  2v.........      lx IV   I............ 2   20.
cxvxxi.2,                2  v........       lxvii. 24......24,. 9i
cxxix...23,2.............. 2 27 i  29. 38 
cxl........   9.... 0...87       JE        AH.
cxii........              x. 1............... 10....        6
cxii. 2.......2. X             92. 2............  22
cxii. 3.......... 4.            CLE. 8 9  ASTxS.      Iii. x.........  66
Cxix.II3,,,,.Ix.. xx................        174
cxv:...........                          88  xi.... 247  x.2......  16,97
cxlvi...........2. xxii..........                        49 99
CXXXI. I, 2......... xe   v. 13......             Ivi..o.......9
Cxviii. 2   9......... 259i. 2  4................247
CA3.....29xi 110...x. 9...7 4...
Cxliv.4....  I3        8..................3.
CXXX, I-3..~  ~~~ ~~.2I3  Y,2,,,....... 219x3iii...6.........221
CXXix. I, 2......    269  x.  6......         7         6 xx.   zi,6'., 29
CxIV.   6......     88  xi:7............ 247 Xv i. 2.......
cxvi4.............                     X         23....... 49, 99




INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.                                  277
-JEREMIAH. (Con.)                 HABAKKUK.                MATTHEW. (Con.)
Chap. & Verse        Page Chap. &     Verse Page  Chap.  &         Verse  Page
xv. i6............ 243  ii. 2............ 93
xvii. 5............ 8i ii. 3.......... 86  xi. 3o............ 91
xvii. 9......   118  ii. 4...... 80,213  Xli. 20...                   78
xvii. O..            ii.  3....... 2  ii. 133......    104, 57
xvii. 23.234. 4............ 2oo00  xiii. 5..... i
xvii. i6...         2...20  Xl. 267 iii. 6............  xi. 9........  250
xxiii.4......... I73  iii. 17............   9  xiii. 22...   85,201
xxiii 29...  237                                xv. 31... 66, 205
xlviii. io.'...   254           ZEPHANIAH.              xvi. 26........  9
xlviii. ii.... 85  i. 8............ 202  xvii. 8........... 30
1. 4........... 253  iii. 12...........  X5......... 173
xviii. 14......... 205
LAMENTATIONS.                   ZECHARIAH.              xix. 24.....5, 256
iv. 6......... xxi.   266
-o1.16 1i 3....        212424
iii. 1-18......... 242                          136.. xi      _ _.......... X.........             Xiii. 5......... 2I1
ili. 22............ 97.                          xxiii. 8, io......... ix8
uEZEKIEL. x          ii.   2    3..       38    iv...... 9557
iii. i8,1 2 ~ 9...   1299  II. 5 ".   "'''  203  xxv. io......... o06
xvi. 49......  21                                     xxvi. 21......... 
xviii. 26......             17..... MALACHI 205 xxvi. 39.....5,  238
xxi. io......     227                                xxiv.  38........~ 232
xxxiii. 8,.         199        MATTHEW.                xxviii. 8......... 72
xxxiii. 3........251 iii..........  266
xxxiii. 31,32.....        ii. 12............ 38  xxi        MAR 44  K.
xxiii. 32.........    00    v. 8.............  210  o.........    52
DANIEL. 9........        26  Viii.................. 123 viii. 36.........64
iii. 26    ~...... 67 V.2..3..    205  vi.39                                     238 5
XXi.....V.........                              ix. 43-47...  -   "225
HOSEA.               i. 138, 9........ 44. 28,54
V.225699                          xx vi23.  8...2...    67
ii. 6      ~....     233  iii.23....... 210,264. 24......... 20, 256
i. 3..i. 2                       2 V.......  38
ivxx.  32........          v........ 44,121  xii. 42.........  287
vi4 17...... 20   Vi.25........            2... 19  xiii. 37...  -... 47.                227.  V.........   52, 53  xiv.8............252
V..  "'... v..        i.........         206  xiv. 38.........23
vii. 3-5.......  24  xiv. 54......... 255
JOEL.              vii. 9............243
i...  ii. i6... 2  v.. 2 5.2215    -.LUK.'   "'  "'  "'  vii. 26-20......    34. 29......       95 125
OBADIAHi               V. 26.82  iii. 6............266
vi6i. 25........... 79 v. 24...    201...     ~       ~        ix..................38............. 20
MICAH. i            X. 26............ 115  viii. 18......... 20o
M    A                  Ax... 36.......... 228  x. 23.........       8
iii. 8............ 267  x......           5    x. 38........ 173
vi. 8............ 8   X. 39.....           263  xi. 3....            52
vii. 5.......         8   xi. 5......... 167  xi. II.......... 243
v                     i. 12.........       72  X. 20......... 5035
NAHUM.                i. 2............ 13  xii. 403 7......... 57
i.6...               254i.......... 3374 xv.38......                       245
i. 6,............ 254 m. 28~............ 33 xv. z............ 245




278                 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.
LUKE. (Con.)                ACTS. (Con.)              ROMANS. (Con.)
Chap. & Verse       Page  Chap.& Verse           Page  Chap. & Verse          Page
xv. 25.........       221 iv. 32............ 251 Xi. 33, 34......... go90
XV  22.. 4 0''' 2    V:-........-.0. ii6  Xii. 3........  252
xv.2.........266 Xii....          42
AxvJ V.v..      i.......... 25920    xii. 8............  251
xvi. 15..        12  V. 30......  5..
ix.. 42...267...4..    32  X1i. 22... 172
xvii. 4                267.....         233  xii. i......   25
xxiv 49            4, 237xv. 130.                   8   xii. ~8..22...... 124
xvi. 31..208  xii.               2......  6.. 
JOHN.              XVI. 21...... 25, 157  xiii.......  48, 225
i 42.i92 xx....64 Xiv.22..         20
ii. 5..........238  x.  3....... 40
ii. 36........   93.x. 2631........ 138,  xivi. 17...     63
11. 3, 7...... 04,94  xxviii. 27........ 13    I. CORINTHIANS.
ii. 6.......... 231       ROMANS               i. 17.....         92
11. 20.... 2 36;~.........i234  i.28                     29 2,
i              ". 23 3.70 x......22 i. 23.    32, 92,217
iv....     3  1. 27.........  223  1i. 13........72
v. 3......... 64.... 2378,216.                           26............226  ii............. 28
v     ~ i 3............ 7    14,1........   84    i. 4 2.........  192
~i. 29............     2.....250     11............248
v3i. 3                     2............. -4       53 x   I   247
vi.  3........ 2.......... 93 240, 265
v 406.       52,24..        -75                        1............ 133
V^163........' 1,243  IV.20..... 1.....  84       4.............   72
vii. 4...........     2I.
ii: 38.249........MAN.2i Iv 20.., 2..67
iii. 2......                                     6,8.....6,8..... 249
x.8                         v 7...28 i. 12-15....... 20
Xi.24       3..20.                          4, 2         23
Xi. 32.22   vi............43.                        21..  77
i............ 2.. 224.9............ 27
X i. 24.8........ 22..          v.9....                 229
xiv..73...0......... 245  vI. 29...182
xiv...........   226  Vii. 31.........69, 262
xiv. 29.....9.. 2 5.        05
xv...V....              i...............   22  iX. 2........... 228.                        VII. 23......... 4228  X..
xvi. 23.        2     vii. 24       4 4            i. 32............ 
xi           v................. 14. i..........  77
i. 89 V... 12.82.i. 1........... 22
xxi. 15"..'.2  ~~"
xvi. 25...                vi........... -8~
XX.2....                    viii.  2........  2 ii. 30.........         2
-vi. 63..............24....    2   v.  33....... 6.  22..i..            - 7,......2  21   x   36....  7     5 i i. 1...... 23, 236 25
Xii;  37............                73    ii.    25............   15
xvi. 23...........                                  X 23.   2.................    8.......... 
vxi. 15    ~~ ~   152  Viii. 2...24... 42       2   Xi.......... 3.9
xvi i...x.3.. 24...               24xv. 362....       232
nl9. 29....62 x. 20.... 1200 xv. 42-.58... 200
vi. 13......           73.. 33..xv. 58........
iv.23............   810 xi 20...,...258XV.    3........   43




INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.                                  279
II. CORINTHIANS.                 EPHESIANS.    I. THESSALONIANS.
Chap. & Versi         Page  Chap. & Verse          Page  Chap. & Verse          Page
i. 9........ 46, 213  i. 3, 4....~  64'5. 5......... 129
i. 22............    68    i............    94    ii.6 6...      90
ii. 17............ 64  i. 7........... 30   ".... 7   69,151, I52
iii. 2............  131  I.. i............... 131  266
111......131 11.1.... 266
11iii. 2,3......... 34. 7, 8...........   94  V.3...... 23, 62, 183
iii. 6...... 18,243  ii.8......... 75  V.6.                    26
11iii. 12...       92,174  ii.8...........   2          7...... 172
7............ 211  iii.8........... 27  V. 22                               82
iv. I............99  ii1.12.......... 2  V. 25............79
iv 2............ 79  iV.2............ X92
iv. 5......     5..    4.....15           97  II THESSALONIANS.
iv. 18......... 69.v. 25........       42.3.... 68
v. 4.........54, 137  iV. 30...... 2.... 55  iii. 0o,......... 24x. II............ 175.- 32..... 237
v. 12.........112, 220  v~ i............ 60               I. TIMOTHY.
v. 14............  155    v.   5....... 212, 24 
v. 17......57, 194, 242  v.I 6......  23, 60, 212............87..........  63
vi. 2......... 82, 244  V. 30......... 42, 250  i.
vi. 17.......        63  vi. 8...               220!'3............ x63
vii. 4'............  198    vi..... i5......        29, 38, 39
viii. iI........ 98   vi. 1o............ 43253      19  ~.  ~.  ~.  137
ix. 6........... 20I                                              3.... -   -    7
Viii. II... 252 vi. 2...            43, 253
ii.  2 x22... 260
xi. 23-30.....         22..   219  PHILIPPIANS.           iii. 3.              27
xi~ 30............   6
3.   iii~.             2 52
xii. 5.....................2..x..I5
~:1 — - ^i. 2 0............  2 1 9
xii. 5,......... 22!V. 2.........   42
X1i. 5, 2o0 I...        22   i.2....  56, 91 iv. 7.........142, 68
xii. 7............ 247    i. 23............   105    v.6...........263
xii. 9......   95  ii. 3,4............ 87 v.3...... 120,241
xi 9i. 9,......   96    ii...........    229
xiii. 5...  23.2............25  vi. 6........        9
xiu ii........ 1ii.        3............i. 8   v. 8,... 50, 202, 262
111. 12,13 2.........  i   vi. io.........   91
GALATIANS.             iii. 3......... 11, 23. 92,19...              77
iii. 14....         168  vi. 17......   188, 23.
1.7... 64......  4..29..........                           28
i. 8......... 215  iV. 6              9..      53
i. z6......... 158, 228   V 13......            249       II. TIMOTHY.
ii. 6............ 252  i. 9............ 253  ii.6                        73
ii       N         S..... 213..ii. 9, 3......... 219
ii 20..      9       COLOSSIANS.              ii. 16............ 192
iii. i............  92. ig.   92o
1112.............   20
iv. 38....        23 i i.          1          00  11.23.....  92, 236
iv. 31........  213.8............ 93.24...               69, 192237
v. 7....46, 264  11.4                      30.5..........112,220
v. 15......... 251  111. 2............ 262...       25
vi. 5...........  5.  3...3.......  133  iiL'............264
vi. 8............ 220  111.5........ 48, 228  111. 13....               222
vi. 9...26,48,64  i. iI..........             217  iv.6............ 57
vi. io............ 219  i. 12,13...           237 iv. io.......... 217
vi. 12............ 220         I 3. ii. 13....... 92...
iii. 14.........      111.24...... 2179 220.
vi. 15............ 257 iV............. 212...... 241
vi............. 29  i......44, 68, 22 i.         6........... 113




280                 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE TEXTS.
TITUS.  (Con.)               JAMES. (Con.)                I. JOHN. (Con.). V           Chap. & Verse                       Page  Chap. & Verse           Page
iin............   3  i-......... 72,225  1.7..........       94
iii. 9......... 192,236  ii6............ 251. 9........... 103
ii. 18.......  131  11.15......... 60,256
HEBREWS.              ii.20............  8   ii. 2o......... 179,248
ii.3.......30......                  11.27.                195':1'4' x1.8......231, 239  iii.,6.........'... 45
ii. 14, I8......238,239  iv."' 6......~.             
iii. 7.... 4  v.-3                      91,202  111.2.......105
iii. 7-...    ~......       46,8   v.... 869
iii. 7-25....      23  iv.   52    V.4
ii 13. 222, 223, 244 iv...... 2  v............269
iii. 18............235230  V......                26
iv. 7...'.235, 244                 I. PETER.                    II. JOHN.
iv...o.......'
iv. 15.. 2.     238, 239                          68........... 24
iv.i6...........87.4....07,244        o,.........22
V. 2.. 2...... 4238,239    7............ 79. 14...........           05            JUDE.
5vi.............           8.                244... 266
Viii. 2.               55 i. 23-25.... 26o  3.
i. 26.....11.  230...... 210. 34.               11.9....... 35, 128          REVELATION.
xi. 26......... 230  i 6                                                      35
xii............. 27  1124... ~     207 i..........127
xii.3.34   I...                  2......  204.......                     i. 8...              237..              220
xii. 64...............                                 22075
xii. 6i...    i.........  Ii'..........  19.        229
xii. 16............ 265  v7......ii. 23.....      220
xiii. 5...       10, 44, 6         II. PETER........ 2,135
xiii. 14.........    7,262  l.     i.         iii.   6............266
iii  17.........   99    5.....    186    iii.  17.........    2..  214
JAMES.                 I-3........     vi. 16............ 254
11. 2............    14    vii. I4........  208
i. 5...  1..... ~ 170  ii. 14........... 117  x............. 36
6............ i    ii............          216  xv. 5                    93
i. 12............ 79    22..........           46  xvii. 14......   218. 5..... 227  4.........83  xix. i6......... 218
1.17.......~... 89  iii. 6...........    65  xxi.8............ 249
i. 19... 24                                      XXii. 2.........07. 22...........JOHN.                                xxio. 4........ io6
i. 23,4.....     02...1.......... 42  XXii.........54
i25.......           1 i. 4...........   40  xxii. 17...... 12,245
C    THEEND.