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BRIEF THOUGHTS

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 7, 1869

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 34, No. 24.

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BRIEF THOUGHTS.

By JOS. CLARKE

RETIREMENT for reading, meditation, and prayer, is necessary to fit us for doing good to our fellow-men, whether we labor in a public or private life.
If you would write, do it when you have something to say, not when you can spare the time.
The most important plans and thoughts may be rendered useless by being forgotten; therefore note them upon paper.
The only true way to know how well off one is, is to make the best of everything.
If you would be useful, do good when an opportunity occurs; neglect not one chance of benefiting others, if it is in your power.
If you are lavish of anything, be so of good deeds.
Living near to God, we are surprised that we could so long live at a distance from him. What light, what joy, what peace, what comfort it imparts. But when we grope in darkness, how strangely it is forgotten that a little before we were so highly privileged.
The Christian who departs from God, soon becomes no Christian; he becomes a sinner, intensely so.
Of all God's attributes, his long-suffering seems the most wonderful to the contrite heart.
The world looks small, and Heaven large, to the Christian; and Heaven looks small, and the world large, to the sinner. Reader, on which side are you?
The mercy of God falls like the rain upon all. Being so full and free, it is despised. When it ceases it will be valued.
The events of the world's closing history hasten, just as the waters of the Niagara river hasten when near the falls.
Men generally look for great events at hand, and each one hopes that these events will be fortunate for him; so they leave the matter.
Satan is satisfied if he can influence men to laugh when they should weep and mourn.
Few realize the power of example. If parents could do this, more than half the difficulty of training the young to virtue would be overcome.
A bad temper in a parent, is communicative to the child like the leprosy; and children cannot thus be so much to blame if they manifest the same temper toward each other.
JOS. CLARKE.