Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 27, 1881
THE BIRTH OF SAMUEL.
By Ellen G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
THE reign of judges in Israel closes with Samuel, than whom few purer or more illustrious characters are presented in the sacred record. There are few, also, whose life-history contains lessons of greater value to the thoughtful student. The father of Samuel was Elkanah, a Levite, who dwelt at Ramah, in Mount Ephraim. He was a person of wealth and influence, a kind husband, and a man who feared and reverenced God. Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, was a woman of piety and devotion. Humility, conscientiousness, and a firm reliance upon God, were ruling traits in her character. Of Hannah it might truly be said, in the words of the wise man: "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her."
Elkanah's love for his chosen companion was deep and unchanging; yet a cloud shadowed their domestic happiness. The home was not made joyful by the voice of childhood. At length the strong desire to perpetuate his name led the husband, as it had led many others, to adopt a course which God did not sanction—that of introducing into the family a second wife, to be subordinate to the first. This act was prompted by a lack of faith in God, and was attended with evil results. The peace of the hitherto united and harmonious family was broken. Upon Hannah the blow fell with crushing weight. All happiness seemed forever swept away from her life. She bore her trials uncomplainingly, yet her grief was none the less keen and bitter.
Peninnah, the new wife, was a woman of inferior mind, and of envious and jealous disposition. As years passed on, and sons and daughters were added to the household, she became proud and self-important, and treated her rival with contempt and insolence.
Elkanah faithfully observed the ordinances of God. The worship at Shiloh was still maintained, yet it had become irregular, and in some respects incomplete. Hence, Elkanah had no regular employment at the tabernacle, to whose service, being a Levite, he was to be especially devoted. Notwithstanding this, his zeal in the service of God was unfaltering. With his family he went up to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice at the appointed gatherings.
Yet even amid the sacred festivities connected with the worship of God, the evil spirit that had cursed his home intruded. After the other sacrifices had been made, it was customary for the peace-offering to be presented. A specified portion of this was given to the priest, and then the offerer, after distributing to each member of his family a share of the remainder, united with them in a solemn yet joyous feast. Upon these occasions Elkanah gave the mother of his children a portion for herself and for each of his sons and daughters, and then as a token of regard for Hannah, his first and best-loved wife, he gave her a double portion. This excited the envy and jealousy of the second wife, and she boldly asserted her claims to superiority as one highly favored of God; and she tauntingly pointed to the fact that Hannah had no children, as proof of the Lord's displeasure toward her.
This scene was enacted again and again, not only at the yearly gatherings, but whenever circumstances furnished an opportunity for Peninnah to exalt herself at the expense of her rival. The course of this woman seemed to Hannah, a trial almost beyond endurance. Satan employed her as his agent to harass, and if possible exasperate and destroy one of God's faithful children. At last, as her enemy's taunts were repeated at one of the yearly feasts, Hannah's courage and fortitude gave way. Unable longer to conceal her feelings, she wept without restraint. The expressions of joy on every hand seemed mockery to her. She could not partake of the feast.
Her husband, knowing the cause of her grief, sought to comfort her with the assurance of his unchanged affection, and gently chides her for yielding thus to sorrow: "Why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?" But it was impossible for Elkanah fully to understand her feelings or to appreciate the cause.
Hannah brought no reproach against her husband for his unwise marriage. The grief which she could share with no earthly friend, she carried from Him alone who hath said, "Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee." There is a mighty power in prayer. Our great adversary is constantly seeking to keep the troubled soul away from God. An appeal to Heaven by the humblest saint is more to be dreaded by Satan than the decrees of cabinets or the mandates of kings. Hannah's prayer was unheard by mortal ear, but entered the ear of the Lord of hosts. Earnestly she pleaded that God would take away her reproach, and grant her the boon most highly prized by women of that age,—the blessing of motherhood. As she wrestled in prayer, her voice uttered no sound, but her lips moved and her countenance gave evidence of deep emotion. And now another trial awaited the humble suppliant. As the eye of Eli the high priest fell upon her, he hastily decided that she was intoxicated. Feast-ing revelry had well-nigh supplanted true godliness among the people of Israel. Instances of intemperance, even among women, were of frequent occurrence, and now Eli determined to administer what he considered a deserved rebuke. "How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee."
Hannah had been communing with God. She believed that her prayer had been heard, and the peace of Christ filled her heart. Hers was a gentle, sensitive nature, yet she yielded neither to grief nor to indignation at the unjust charge of drunkenness in the house of God. With due reverence for the anointed of the Lord, she calmly repelled the accusation and stated the cause of her emotion. "No my Lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto." Convinced that his reproof had been unjust, Eli replied, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him."
In her prayer, Hannah had made a vow that if her request were granted, she would dedicate the child to the service of God. This vow she made known to her husband, and he confirmed it in a solemn act of worship, before leaving Shiloh.
Hannah's prayer was answered, and she received the gift for which she had so earnestly entreated. As she looked upon the pledge of divine favor she called the child Samuel—Asked of God.
As soon as the little one was old enough to be separated from its mother, she fulfilled her solemn vow. She loved her child with all the devotion of a mother's heart; day by day her affections entwined about him more closely as she watched his expanding powers, and listened to the childish prattle; He was her only son, the especial gift of Heaven; but she had received him as a treasure consecrated to God, and she would not withhold from the Giver his own. Faith strengthened the mother's heart, and she yielded not to the pleadings of natural affection.470
Once more Hannah journeyed with her husband to Shiloh, taking the child to present him unto the Lord, and bearing also gifts for sacrifice and thank-offering. Reaching the tabernacle, she sought the presence of the high priest. He did not recognize her. There was indeed a striking contrast between the pallid, grief-stricken suppliant and the grateful, happy mother. Hannah related the circumstances of her previous interview, and then presented to the priest, in the name of God, her precious gift, saying: "For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he liveth, he shall be lent to the Lord." Eli was surprised and deeply impressed by the faith and devotion of this woman of Israel. Himself an over-indulgent father, he was awed and humbled as he beheld this mother's great sacrifice in parting with her first and only child, that she might devote him to the service of God. He felt reproved for his own selfish love, and in humiliation and reverence he bowed before the Lord and worshiped.
God had granted Hannah the desire of her heart; she had been highly favored of Heaven, and she felt that she could do no less in token of her gratitude than to make a public acknowledgment of the divine mercy and loving-kindness. The spirit of inspiration came upon her, and although a retiring and timid woman, her voice was now heard in the assembly of the people, sounding forth the praise of God:—
"My heart rejoiceth in the Lord; mine horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I rejoice in thy salvation." The horn is in some animals the weapon of attack and defense; by the use of this figure, Hannah would acknowledge that her deliverance had come from God. In her exultation, there is no vain triumph of self. She rejoices not in Samuel, not in her own prosperity, but in the Lord. The song continues: "There is none holy as the Lord; for there is none beside thee; neither is there any rock like our God." She extols the perfection of Deity. In the character of God, are wisdom, purity, truth, goodness, and mercy combined, immutable and complete. All human holiness is mingled with imperfection. All idols of the nations are vain and worthless. God is our only refuge and support; and those who trust in him will never be confounded.
"Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed." While here referring to Peninnah's boastful and insolent conduct, Hannah seems also to speak to all the enemies of true godliness, who glory in themselves, and insult and despise the children of faith. Pride and boasting cannot deceive God. He is acquainted with the hearts and the lives of all. By him actions are weighed. He distinguishes men's characters, and weighs their motives in the balance. When he sees that it will be for the good of man and for his own glory, he will interpose in behalf of his people. In due time he will reward the righteous and punish the wicked.
"The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread, and they that were hungry ceased. How often, even in this life, do we see the ungodly brought to shame and confusion. Do they aspire to distinction and worldly honor? Are they proud of their valor and military skill? Their bows are broken, and they themselves overcome by a weak and despised company; for God hath girded the stumbling ones with strength. Do they trust in their riches, and indulge in luxury and extravagance while trampling upon the rights of the poor? They may themselves meet with reverses, and be reduced to the necessity of toiling for bread to satisfy their hunger, while many who have endured hardship and privation are blessed with plenty.
"The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich; he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory, for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven he shall thunder upon them. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed."
Hannah's words were prophetic, both of David, who should reign as king of Israel, and of Christ, the Messiah, the Lord's anointed. Thus in a sublime and sacred song, referring first to the proud boastings of an insolent and contentious woman, were ultimately set forth, the humiliation of the proud and exaltation of the humble, the destruction of the enemies of God, and the complete and final triumph of his faithful servants.
Having given utterance to this triumphant burst of praise, Hannah quietly returned to her home at Ramah, leaving the child Samuel to minister in the house of God, under the care and instruction of Eli, the high priest.
WAITING FOR THE MORNING.
THERE is no roof in all the world,
Of palace or of cot,
That hideth not some burdened heart
Nigh breaking for its lot!
The earth is filled with pain, and tears,
And closer draws the gloom;
And light or balm there can be none
Till Christ, the Lord, shall come.
O morn, when like a summer bird
My spirit shall go free,—
When I shall see thee as thou art,
And be, my God, like thee!
Like-thee! Like thee! all spotless white—
This heart, this will, as thine!—
O love of God, O blood of Christ!
O grace, and power divine!
My Saviour, who doth know the thirst
The longing spirit feels,—
O Bridegroom, now so long afar,
Why stay thy chariot-wheels?
Were ever eyes so dim with tears,
Breasts so oppressed with care?
Did ever hearts so yearn to catch
Thy whisper from the air?
Thou lonely one, lift up thy head!
Array thee for the feast!
He that hath tarried long is near!
The glow is in the east!
O Morning Star, so soon to lead
Thy chosen one away,—
O Sun of Righteousness, bring in
The everlasting day!
—Day Dawn.
THE GOSPEL HOPE.
By J. N. Loughborough
BY J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH, SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND.
WE have learned from the Scriptures of the one gospel hope of an inheritance at last in the kingdom of God, to be received by those who are made immortal, at the resurrection of the righteous, at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have noted many promises which speak of the reward of God's people and locate it at Christ's second coming.
In further proof on this subject, we call attention to the testimony of St. Paul to the Philippians, "For our conversation [literally, as the Greek word polituma signifies, our citizenship] is in Heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body." Phil. 3:20, 21.
Some persons, intent on sustaining their position of a consummation of the hope at death, have told us that Christ comes at death. There is no place in the entire Bible that calls death Christ's coming. Some have quoted, as proof of such a doctrine, the words of our Lord in Matt. 24:44. "Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the son of man cometh." It is true death oftentimes overtakes men when they little expect it, but those words in St. Matthew relate to a time when Christ shall come in the glory of his Father with all the holy angels with him (verses 30, 31), an event which surely does not take place at death.
That the disciples of Christ did not understand him to mean death when he spake of his coming, is evident from their construction of the words of the Lord respecting St. John. "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die; yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" St. John 21:20-23. If they had supposed that Christ's coming meant death, how should they conclude that St. John would not die? They had no such idea, neither did they cherish a hope of reward at death. St. Paul said of himself that he labored if by any means he "might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Phil. 3:11.
Our Saviour's testimony to his disciples, when he was about to leave them, has an important bearing on the time of rewards. He said, "Little children, yet a little while I am with you, ye shall seek me; and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come, so now say I unto you." St. John 13:33. By turning to chap. 7:33, 34, we see what he had said to the Jews. "Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me; and where I am, thither ye cannot come." The testimony of our Saviour that the disciples could not go with him caused St. Peter to inquire, "Lord, whither goest thou?" Jesus answered him, "Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterward. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice." St. John 13:36-38. This testimony of Christ troubled the mind of the disciples. He is going back to his Father, going to Heaven, but they cannot go. In the next words, recorded in the opening of the next chapter, he gives consolation to their troubled hearts. "Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." St. John 14:1-3. The text presents no hope of being with Christ until he comes again. "I will come again, and receive you unto myself."
With the above, harmonizes well the exhortation of St. James, "Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." St. James 5:7, 8.
With longing desire for that day, St. John, in reply to our Saviour's words, "I come quickly," responds, "Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus." Rev. 22:20. So should every heart of God's people cry out, Come, and make an end of woe and sin. Come, and raise the righteous dead, and change the righteous living; bestow immortality to each. Come, thou righteous Judge, and take thy saints with thee to that blessed home prepared in Paradise, the city of God.
The advocates of reward at death assert that our Saviour teaches such a doctrine when he says, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matt. 10:28. It is claimed from this that man must be in possession of a part that still lives when the body is dead, or in other words, that it is immortal. Archdeacon Blackburn said of this text, "Our translators thought to avoid the contradiction in Matt. 10:28, by translating the word psuchee by the word soul. . . . It ought to have been translated life, and then in opposition to soma, which means in many places, the present life, it would only denote the future life, to which the whole person was to be restored at the resurrection." Man may take the life of the body, the present life, but the future, eternal life, the immortality to be given at the resurrection, he cannot take from us; but if we do not live in the fear of God, and obey him, he can and will cut us off from receiving that life, by destroying us in gehenna.
It is claimed, from the testimony of Solomon, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:7), that there is some part of man that goes at death to receive its reward. Let it be borne in mind that the above text says nothing of a reward at death, but in chapter nine of this same book of Ecclesiastes we are plainly told that the dead are not being rewarded, and that there is no knowledge in sheol, whither they have gone. See Eccl. 9:3-6, 10. The whole question in this text turns upon the nature and meaning of the term spirit, as here used. It is the spirit that God gave that is to return to him, and as it is said to return to God when the body returns to the earth, we would suppose it to have reference to the spirit God gave to man when he formed him of the ground. If we turn to Gen. 2:6, 7, we read that God "breathed into his [man's] nostrils the breath of life." In Gen. 7:22, margin, this is called, "The breath of the spirit of life." This spirit is that life element contained in the atmosphere which supports life, whether in vegetation, animals, or man. The manifestation of this life is in accordance with the nature of the organism with which it is brought in contact. In the plant growth it is vegetable life. In the animal it is animal life with a manifestation of a low order of intelligence, by some writers called instinct. In the more refined brain organism of man, this life development is a higher grade of intelligence, with moral faculties and moral life resulting.
While this spirit or life principle is in man he thinks, reasons, reflects, wills, loves, adores, and praises his Maker, but there is no evidence that this spirit of life is an entity capable of maintaining these powers separated from the body. The evidence of Scripture and facts in human experience are just the reverse of all this. The dead are not only said to "know not anything," Eccl. 9:5, and to "praise not the Lord," Ps. 115:17, but in the day that man returns to his earth his very thoughts perish, Ps. 146:4, and we are pointed to the resurrection as the time when he who has made the Lord his hope shall be rewarded.
In confirmation of these Scripture statements, that there is no consciousness in death, we would instance the fact that even in life, injury to the brain, which is the organ of thought, reduces even a living man to a state of total unconsciousness.
I will first call attention to the case of Mr. William Humphrey, late of East Townsend, Huron Co., Ohio, U. S. A. In August, 1858, he said to me one evening, at the close of a discourse on the state of the dead, "Elder, you have explained tonight eighteen days of my life that I never knew what to do with before." Why, said I, how is that? He said, "When I was about eighteen years of age, I was working in a turning shop in the town of Goshen, Litchfield Co., Connecticut. I was engaged one day in turning a large wooden drum wheel for a shingle machine. I had nearly471finished the job, when a young lady who worked in the house of my employer, came in and asked, 'What are you doing, Bill?' I answered, Wait a minute, and I will show you. I was going to start the lathe and sand-paper off the drum, which completed the job. I carelessly hoisted the gate and let the water onto the water-wheel, but perceived I had too much motion on the lathe. I thought, I will go and shut the gate; but at that instant the drum burst into four pieces, and a piece weighing about sixty pounds struck me on the breast, shoulder, and head, dislocating my shoulder, breaking the collar bone twice, and crushing my right temple so that the skull bones were badly depressed upon the brain. I was taken into the house for dead. Physicians said it was useless to perform an operation on my skull, as I could not live. My skull was so badly fractured that they could not raise it from the brain. I lay unconscious of everything, yet taking some nourishment in the shape of gruel, which I swallowed when placed in my mouth. By the eighteenth day the edges of the skull had knit together, the inflammation had subsided, and consciousness returned, of which I had been deprived during this whole period. I called out, Shut that gate; for the last I remembered was starting to shut the gate. Since that time when I have heard it preached that the mind of man exists independent of the body, and never loses its consciousness, I would think of those eighteen days, and I could not harmonize the two. "But," said he, "It is all straight now."
Dr. Richmond mentions the case of a woman whose brain was exposed in consequence of the removal of a considerable portion of its bony covering by disease. He says, "I repeatedly made pressure on the brain, and each time suspended all feeling, and all intellect, which were immediately restored when the pressure was withdrawn." The same writer mentions another case. He says, "There was a man who had been trepanned, and who perceived his intellectual faculties failing, and his existence drawing to a close, every time the effused blood collected upon the brain so as to produce pressure."
Prof. Chapman, in one of his lectures says, "I saw an individual with his skull perforated, and the brain exposed, who was accustomed to submit his brain to be experimented upon by pressure, and who was exhibited by the late Prof. Weston to his class. His intellectual and moral faculties disappeared on the application of pressure to the brain. They were held under the thumb, as it were, and restored at pleasure to their full activity by discontinuing the pressure."
Of all facts, the following, related by Sir Astley Cooper, in his Surgical Lectures, is the most remarkable: "A man by the name of Jones received an injury on his head while on board a vessel in the Mediterranean, which rendered him insensible. The vessel soon after made Gibraltar, where Jones was placed in the hospital, and remained several months in the same insensible state. He was then carried on board the frigate Dolphin to Deptford, and from thence was sent to St. Thomas' Hospital, London. He lay constantly on his back, and breathed with difficulty. When hungry or thirsty, he moved his lips and tongue. Mr. Clyne, the surgeon, found a portion of the skull depressed, trepanned him, and removed the depressed portion. Immediately after this operation the motion of his fingers occasioned by the beating of the pulse ceased, and in three hours he sat up in bed, sensation and volition returned, and in four days he got up out of his bed and conversed. The last thing he remembered was the circumstance of taking a prize in the Mediterranean. From the moment of the accident, thirteen months and a few days, oblivion had come over him, and all recollection had ceased. Yet on removing a small portion of bone which pressed upon the brain, he was restored to the full possession of the powers of his mind and body."
The facts above quoted show that thought and consciousness are dependent upon the natural action of the brain. Shall we conclude that when the brain of man is consumed, and he turned again to dust, that he still thinks and remembers, when the Scriptures plainly tell us he does not think, and that he knows nothing?
A knowledge of these facts clearly show us why it is that the coming of Christ and the resurrection are presented as our only hope. We repeat, If there is no second coming of Christ there will be no resurrection of God's people, and if no resurrection, St. Paul says in writing to the Corinthians, our hope is all confined to this life. 1 Cor. 15:19. If no resurrection, he would adopt the saying of the Epicures (that saying was the motto, and the epitaph of Sardanapalus), "Let us eat and drink for to-morrow we die." Verse 32. If no resurrection, the saints of God already dead are perished, verse 18, i. e., there is an end of them and all their hopes.
There is a hope for God's people. It is the Father's will that the dead shall not be lost, but have eternal life; and to this end Christ our Lord will raise them up at the last day (St. John 6:40), and give them immortality, and the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world.
MY INFLUENCE.
By W. H. Baldwin
"Gather up my influence and bury it with me," were the dying words of a young man to the weeping friends at his bedside, as stated to the speaker a while since, by one to whom he was dear. What a wish was this! what deep anguish of heart there must have been as the young man reflected upon his past life!—a life which had not been what it should have been. With what deep regrets must his very soul have been filled as he thought of those young men he had influenced for evil!—influences which he felt must, if possible, be eradicated, and which led him faintly but pleadingly, to breathe out such a dying request—"Gather up my influence and bury it with me."
My young friends, the influence of your lives, for good or evil, cannot be gathered up by your friends after your eyes are closed in death, no matter how earnestly you may plead in your last moments on earth. Your influence has gone out from you; you alone were responsible; you had the power to govern, to shape; your influence no human being can withdraw. Such a request cannot be fullfilled. It is impossible. Your relatives and friends cannot "gather up your influence and bury it with you." Young men, live noble, true, heroic lives. Possess this "moral courage" in full proportions, and at all times—everywhere.—W. H. Baldwin.
"I DIDN'T ASK TO BE SAVED."
JOHN HAYNE was a young man much given to the use of profane and reckless speeches, and when the village pastor was talking to him about his soul's welfare one day, and asked him if he was not grateful for the offer of salvation, he said,
"No, why should I be? I didn't ask to be saved."
"Well, you will have to ask, or you will not share in the unspeakable blessing," replied the minister, and noticing a look of surprise now stealing over the young man's bold face, he continued,
"A young relative of mine was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, and for hours was in a state verging upon unconsciousness. After lying a long time on the damp ground he became aware that there were voices near him, and although he could not move as much as one of his fingers, or his eyelids even, he thought he felt a hand softly placed upon his heart. Then he became aware that a nurse, he knew that it was a woman by her voice, was pleading with the regimental surgeon, who was on the field, to make one more effort to save some poor fellow's life. Presently he realized that he was the object of her solicitude.
"'He is so fine looking and so strongly built,' said the nurse. 'His natural vitality must be great; besides, sir,' she continued in a reverent tone, he may have a wife, or a mother, or a sister praying for his safety now.'
"'It's no use to spend time over him,' said the surgeon gruffly, 'but if you wish to stay by him you can. I can do nothing for him, and must move on. Remember, if you remain, you will run the risk of being left alone here in the night on the field.'"
"'Very well,' replied the nurse bravely, 'I will take the risk, and shall do all in my power to resuscitate and save this poor fellow, and only immediate attention can avail now.'"
"Presently the soldier became conscious that his jaws were being gently forced open, and that some powerful stimulant had been given him. It was not long before he revived sufficiently to be carried to the hospital, and in good time he entirely recovered. His life had been saved through the prompt and faithful efforts of that devoted nurse.
"Now what if I should tell you," continued the pastor as he earnestly looked into the face of the young man who had just made the coarse and flippant speech, but who was all attention now—"what if I should tell you that that soldier was ashamed of the noble young woman who risked so much to save his life—that he subsequently went about bragging that he had never asked her to save him—that he had not the least acquaintance with her—that he refused to do any service to him, and never mentioned her name except in a slighting, reviling way?"
"I should say that he was a mean, contemptible ingrate," replied John Hayne, impulsively. "He was not fit to live; his life was not worth saving."
"Very well," said the pastor, "but this nurse only by a little temporary sacrifice of comfort on her part, at the same time being in the pay of the Government, was the means of prolonging the soldier's paltry life for a few brief years in this world of care and sorrow. Jesus Christ, the divine Lord, suffered on the cross and died for you, to redeem you from sin, and now offers to make you an heir of eternal life. And yet I have never known you to speak of him or of those who love and try to follow him, with common respect even."
"My dear sir," replied John Hayne, "I have never thought of this thing in that light before. Of course an ungrateful person is the meanest person living. I promise as much as this now: I will never use the Lord's name lightly again."
The Lesson of Ingratitude
By Annie A. Preston
The pastor did not press the subject any further at that time. He had set the young man to thinking. Not long afterwards John Hayne was converted, and he says that little lesson on ingratitude brought him to a saving knowledge of Christ.—Mrs. Annie A. Preston.
A TRUE MAN.
ANDREW MARVELL, Milton's friend, favored the Restoration, but he satirized the vices of Charles II., and the corruptions of his court. The satires caused such a sensation that the king determined to win Marvell over to the court party. Threats, flattery, caresses, and bribes were tried, but Marvell's honor kept him steadfast to the right.
Lord Treasurer Danby had been Marvell's school-fellow, and Charles' Ministers employed him to offer a bribe to the honest old patriot, who would vote in Parliament for his country. He called upon Marvell in his garret, and at parting slipped into his hand an order on the treasury for £1,000.
"My Lord," calls out Marvell, having looked at the paper as the nobleman was getting into his carriage, "I request another moment."
They went up again to the garret, and Jack, the servant-boy, was called.
"Jack, child, what had I for dinner yesterday?"
"Don't you remember, sir? you had the little shoulder of mutton that you ordered me to bring from a woman in the market."
"Very right, child. What have I for dinner to-day?"
"Don't you know, sir, that you bid me lay by the blade-bone to broil?"
" 'Tis so, very right, child; go away."
"My Lord," said Marvell, turning to the Treasurer, "do you hear that? Andrew Marvell's dinner is provided; there's your piece of paper. I want it not. I knew the sort of kindness you intended. I live here to serve my constituents; the Ministry may seek men for their purpose; I am not one."
When Andrew Marvell died, his constituents carved on his tombstone: "Beloved by good men; feared by bad; imitated by few; and scarce paralleled by any."
THE ONE NAME.
By Dr. Bethune
Jesus! How does the very word overflow with exceeding sweetness, and light, and joy, and love, and life; filling the air with odors, like precious ointment poured forth; irradiating the mind with a glory of truths in which no fear can live; soothing the wounds of the heart with a balm that turns the sharpest anguish into a delicious peace, shedding through the soul a cordial of immortal strength. Jesus! the answer to all our doubts, the spring of all our courage, the earnest of all our hopes, the charm omnipotent against all our foes, the remedy for all our weakness, the supply of all our wants, the fullness of all our desires. Jesus! at the mention of whose name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. Jesus! our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption; Jesus! our elder brother, our blessed Lord and Redeemer. Thy name is the most transporting theme of the church, as they sing going up from the valley of tears to their home on the mount of God; thy name shall ever be the richest chord in the harmony of Heaven, where the angels and the redeemed unite their exulting, adoring songs around the throne of God. Jesus! thou only canst interpret thy own name, and thou hast done it by thy works on earth, and thy glory at the right hand of the Father.—Dr. Bethune.
ALL OUR CASH.
HERE is a true anecdote and one showing us a very practical way of testing the character of our Christian profession. An old Methodist preacher once offered the following prayer in prayer-meeting: "Lord, help us to trust thee with our souls." "Amen," was responded by many voices. "Lord, help us to trust thee with our bodies." "Amen," was responded with as much warmth as ever. "Lord, help us to trust thee with all our money;" but to this petition the "Amen" was not forthcoming. Is it not strange that when religion touches some men's pockets it cools their ardor at once and seals their lips? We often hear men talk of the "peace of God in the heart," and to the phrase we raise no objection; but it has often occurred to us that if the "peace of God" could only get in some people's pockets it would be a blessed thing.—Sabbath Reading.