Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

Jan. 11, 1893.A FAMILY PAPEE.LOVE IT. I LOVE IT,AND WHO WILL DARE&=^TO CHIDE ME FORLOVINGTHE OLD ARM CHAIRTO A LITTLE GIRL.' Act in the living present, a heart within, a Oodo'erhead."By Prof. J. M, Littlejohn.A wish is Life, a Life is Love ;Love hateth strife, Love leads above ;Love fills a heart, a heart makes true ;Truth is a part of God and you.Columbia College, New York.A CHAT WITH A PRINCE.The Prince of Wales once heard an unexpectedsermon from a little girl; and it cameabout in this way: A nobleman, a widower, hada little daughter under ten years of age. Hewas very fond of his daughter, though his engagementsprevented him from seeing much ofher. The child was therefore chiefly in thesociety of her governess or in the nursery.Now, her nurse was an earnest Christian woman.She felt for her motherless little charge,bear for others."and early stored the child's mind with Scripturaltruths. The father used sometimes to" I see what you mean, my dear. I will tellyou how it is. When my hands and feet growamuse his little daughter by asking riddles; andweary, and my boys demand more attentionone night, when she came in after dinner forthan usual, and I am—oh! so tired, I say todessert, she said to her father, who was not amyself—Christian:"... but not so tired as they"Father, do you know what is whiter thanWho have no oare all daysnow?"For loved ones, young or old."No," said he, somewhat puzzled, "I do not."The weariest hand" Well," replied the child, "a soul washed inIs empty, having no commandthe blood of Jesus is whiter than snow."Of loving lips ; no care of age or youth.The nobleman was surprised, and asked:No lips to call for it in truth ;"Who told you that?'"Nurse," was the reply.The nobleman did not discuss this point, andconversation changed to other topics; but afterwardshe privately requested the nurse, whoseopinions he respected, not to mention thesematters to his daughter, as at her tender agehe feared she might take too "gloomy" a viewof life. The incident was accordingly forgotten;but not long after the Prince of Wales was visitingthe house, and the little girl was allowedto be present. The prince, with his usualaffability, noticed the child, aud, thus encouraged,she said:"Sir, do yoa know what is whiter than snow?"The prince, not seeing the drift of her question,smiled as he answered:"No.""Well," she said, "a soul washed in the bloodof Jesus is whiter than snow."The remark was overheard by the father; hislittle girl's words were used to carry convictionto his heart; he became an earnest and devotedChristian, and thousands will hereafter rise upand call him blessed. Now, perhaps you maybe tempted lo think that little girl was forwardor precocious; but she was not. She hadlearned a truth which is better than rank, orBURDENS." Bear ye one another's burdens." Thewords kept repeating themselves in my brain.How can we? I thought, we have not oldsick mothers to care for; invalid friends tocheer ; restless cbildren to entertain, or any ofthe trying commonplace happenings that comeinto many lives.Surely burden beariner means that whichwill weigh us down huavily ; which will constantlydeprive us of our own ease and pleasure;be ever present with us like the bundle uponChristian's back. Ought we to go through lifethus harassed by the burdens of others? Surelyour own seem heavy enough at times withoutany added weight.A knock at my door interrupted my reflections.Mrs. Barlow, my neighbor, had come.' 'Don't disturb yourself the lea8t,my dear, butlet me wait upon myself. You see I havebrought my mending. Things will wear out, Ifind, almost faster than I can repair them. Nowfor a cosy hour. It is so dull outside, this grateflreseems all the mor^ pleasant."" I am glad you have come, my friend, for Iwas wading into deep waters all by myself, andneed a helping hand. Mrs. Barlow, do yourburdens nearly overcome you?"My friend opened wide her blue eyes." My burdens? You will have to name themto me, my dear."" Well, I know you always seem cheerful, butthose three boys of yours—do they not nearlydrive you crazy? And then there is all thework you are called upon to do in the church.These are the burdens I mean, the ones youFrom purple dawn till night, no wealth to holdDearer than fretted gold."When Mrs. Sarlow had rolled up her mendedstockings and had left me alone once more, Istill conned the old refrain, " Bear ye oneanother's burdens." But I have no boys, notone, and as far as leading a meeting in church,it would prove a dismal failure. It takes allmy courage to repeat a verse of Scripture.Then a s ggestion came to my mind. PerhapsI am in search of too great "burdens-"No great grief or trial need come, and yet thereare " burdens."street, and found ere I knew it a song hadwealth, or titles, or estates; and, childlike, thetruth slipped out in her conversation. Thetiuth she liad learned was this: The soul needscleansing, and the blood of Christ can effectuallycleanse from every stain.Oae is lonely away from home. A newsy, 9. The spiritual independence of the churchbright letter will lighten her burden. Another , of Christ.is kept closely confined by household cares ; a ^ 10 The right and dut,y of dissent from ancheerful invitation to walk or drive may give immoral constitution of civil government.new strength and vigor. A new comer in 11, Tbe duty of social Covenanting and thechurch feels strange and forlorn ; a few introductionsand a kindly smile do much to cheer ing.permanent obligation of religious Covenant­the pathway.12. The applications of the doctrine in the" Perform a good deed, speak a kind word, form of a practical testimony to the civil governmentwhere tbe E. P. bestow a pleasant smile, and you will receiveresides.the same in return. The happiness you bestowupon others is reflected back to your ownbosom."I rose quickly and dressed myself for thecome to my lips :" Hope on, hope ever ! yet the time shall comeWhen man to man shall be a friend and brother.And this old world sball be a happy home.And all earth's family love one another !Hope on, hope ever !"HELPFUL CORNER.[Address all communications for this departmentto Rev. Wm. Littlejohn, editor, Mediapolis, Iowa.]I. Study oi Woeds.The more study I give to the English language,the more beauty, power and significanceI find displayed in words, the vehicleby which thoughts are expressed. Job says,"How forcible are right words!" "A word fitlyspoken," says Solomon, "is like apples of goldiu pictures of silver." The power of languagehas been duly estimated by few people. Language,is the embodiment of the ideas andt motions of a great poet or thinker. Speechis truly termed " a divine gift." It is the divinestamp of dignity upon intelligent creation,the crowning gift to man, without which, "reasonwould have been comparatively valueless."A learned authoi has said, " In every relationof life, at every moment of our active being, inevery thing we think or do, it is on the meaningand inflection of a word that the directionof our thoughts, and the expression of our will,turn. The soundness of our reasonings, theclearness of our belief and of our judgment,the influence we exert upon others, and themanner in which we are impressed by our fellowmen—all depend upon a knowledge of thevalue of words."The words to be studied and illustrated thisweek are,—matter, name, occupation, parasite,quality and right.II. The Study of the Pkinciples,Questions,12. Who drafted the Solemn League andCovenant? Give also its date, and by whomsigned.13. What was its effect upon the church andnation at that time?14. Was the Solemn League and Covenanta necessity?15. What were some of the attainments ofthe second Eeformation?Several excellent answers have been receivedto the question, "What are the principlesmost peculiar to the Covenanter Church?''The following twelve have long been knowuto the church:1. Christ's mediatorial dominion in generp].2. His exclusive headship over the church.3, The supremacy and ultimate authority ofthe Word of God in the church.4. Civil government is a moral ordinance ofGod.5. Christ's headship over tbe nations.6. The subjection of the nations to God andto Christ.7. The Word of God is the supreme rule inthe state.8, TLe duty of the nations is to acknowledgeand support the true Christian religion.III. Miscellaneous.Origin of word. Sandwich. In Knight^sEng. Vol. 7, we find an accoant of the originof sandwich. "The reputation of LordSandwich has survived as one of the mostprofligate in his private life, and one of themeanest in his public career His club gamblinghas given a name to a bit of beef betweentwo slices of bread, the only food he took for24 hours without ever quitting his game.'