Chapter II: Part 2

So mayest thou live till, like ripe fruit, thou drop
Into thy mother’s lap, or be with ease
Gathered, not harshly plucked, for death mature.
This is old _age_, but then thou must outlive
Thy youth, thy strength, thy beauty, which will change
To withered, weak, and grey.
_Milton._

O my coevals! remnants of yourselves!
Poor human ruins, tottering o’er the grave!
Shall we, shall _aged_ men, like _aged_ trees,
Strike deeper their vile root, and closer cling,
Still more enamoured of this wretched soil?
Shall our pale, withered hands be still stretched out,
Trembling at once with eagerness and _age_?
With avarice and convulsions griping hard?
Grasping at air! For what has earth beside?
Man wants but little, nor that little long:
How soon must he resign his very dust,
Which frugal nature lent him for an hour!
_Young._

_Age_ should fly concourse, cover in retreat
Defects of judgment, and the will subdue;
Walk thoughtful on the silent solemn shore
Of that vast ocean it must sail so soon;
And put good works on board; and wait the wind
That shortly blows us into worlds unknown.
_Young._

But were death frightful, what has _age_ to fear?
If prudent, _age_ should meet the friendly foe,
And shelter in his hospitable gloom.
_Young._

The seas are quiet when the winds are o’er,
So calm are we, when passions are no more!
For then we know how vain it was to boast
Of fleeting things, so certain to be lost.
Clouds of affection from our youthful eyes
Conceal the emptiness which _age_ descries:
The soul’s dark cottage, battered and decayed,
Lets in new lights through chinks that time has made.
Stronger by weakness, wiser men become
As they draw near to their eternal home;
Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view,
That stand upon the threshold of the new.
_Waller._

The fruits of _age_, less fair, are yet more sound
Than those a brighter season pours around;
And, like the stores autumnal suns mature,
Through wintry regions unimpaired endure.
_Cowper._

_Age_, by long experience well informed,
Well read, well tempered, with religion warmed,
That fire abated which impels rash youth,
Proud of his speed, to overshoot the truth,
As time improves the grape’s authentic juice,
Mellows and makes the speech more fit for use,
And claims a reverence, in his shortening day,
That ’tis an honour and a joy to pay.
_Cowper._

How pure
The grace, the gentleness of virtuous _age_!
Though solemn, not austere; though wisely dead
To passion, and the wildering dreams of hope,
Not unalive to tenderness and truth,--
The good old man is honoured and revered,
And breathes upon the young-limbed race around
A grey and venerable charm of years.
_Robert Montgomery._

Youth, with swift feet, walks onward in the way,
The land of joy lies all before his eyes;
_Age_, stumbling, lingers slower day by day,
Still looking back, for it behind him lies.
_Frances Ann Kemble._

Oh! Youth is firmly bound to earth,
When hope beams on each comrade’s glance:
His bosom-chords are tuned to mirth,
Like harp-strings in the cheerful dance;
But _Age_ has felt those ties unbound,
Which fixed him to that spot of ground
Where all his household comforts lay;
He feels his freezing heart grow cold,
He thinks of kindred in the mould,
And cries, amid his grief untold,
“I would not live alway.”
_William Knox._

He passeth calmly from that sunny morn,
Where all the buds of youth are newly born,
Through varying intervals of onward years,
Until the eve of his decline appears;
And while the shadows round his path descend,
And down the vale of _age_ his footsteps tend,
Peace o’er his bosom sheds her soft control,
And throngs of gentlest memories charm the soul;
Then, weaned from earth, he turns his steadfast eye
Beyond the grave, whose verge he falters nigh,
Surveys the brightening regions of the blest,
And, like a wearied pilgrim, sinks to rest.
_Willis G. Clark._

The _aged_ Christian stands upon the shore
Of Time, a storehouse of experience,
Filled with the treasures of rich heavenly lore;
I love to sit and hear him draw from thence
Sweet recollections of his journey past,
A journey crowned with blessings to the last.
_Mrs. St. Leon Loud._

Why should old _age_ escape unnoticed here,
That sacred era to reflection dear;
That peaceful shore where passion dies away,
Like the last wave that ripples o’er the bay;
O, if old _age_ were cancelled from our lot,
Full soon would man deplore the unhallowed blot;
Life’s busy day would want its tranquil even,
And earth would lose her stepping-stone to Heaven.
_Caroline Gilman._

ALMIGHTY.

I am the _Almighty_ God.--Genesis, xvii. 1.

If thou return to the _Almighty_, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

Yea, the _Almighty_ shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

For then shalt thou have thy delight in the _Almighty_, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.--Job, xxii. 23, 25, 26.

And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the _Almighty_.--Ezekiel, i. 24.

These are thy glorious works, Parent of good;
_Almighty!_ this thy universal frame,
Thus wondrous fair; thyself how wondrous then;
Unspeakable! who sitt’st above the heavens,
To us invisible, or dimly seen
In these thy lowest works; yet these declare
Thy goodness beyond thought and power divine.
Speak, ye who best can tell, ye sons of light,
Angels! for ye behold him, and with songs
And choral symphonies, day without night,
Circle his throne rejoicing: ye in heaven,
On earth join all ye creatures to extol
Him first, him last, him midst, and without end.
_Milton._

What though th’ _Almighty’s_ regal throne
High o’er yon azure heaven’s exalted dome,
By mortal eye unkenned; where east, nor west,
Nor south, nor blustering north has breath to blow:
Albeit he then with angels and with saints
Holds conference, and to his radiant host
E’en face to face, stands visibly confest;
Yet know that not in presence nor in power,
Shines he less perfect here: ’tis man’s dim eye
That makes the obscurity.
_Christopher Stuart._

Tell me, hast ever thought upon the Being
Whom we _Almighty_ call? Hast ever sent
Thy prayerful thoughts unto His holy throne?
And felt His power, and trembled at the thought?
If not, I cannot call thee man! thou art
A stone, a clod, a dull insensate thing.
_Old Play._

_Almighty_ Father, gracious Lord,
Kind guardian of my days,
Thy mercies let my heart record
In songs of grateful praise.

In life’s first dawn, my tender frame,
Was thy indulgent care,
Long ere I could pronounce thy name,
Or breathe the infant prayer.

Each rolling year new favours brought
From thy exhaustless store;
But ah! in vain my lab’ring thought,
Would count thy mercies o’er.

While sweet reflection, through my days,
Thy bounteous hand would trace;
Still dearer blessings claim my praise,
The blessings of thy grace.
_Steele._

_Almighty_ Father of mankind,
On thee my hopes remain;
And, when the day of trouble comes,
I shall not trust in vain.

Thou art our kind preserver, from
The cradle to the tomb,
And I was cast upon thy care,
E’en from my mother’s womb.

Thou wilt not cast me off, when age
And evil days descend;
Thou wilt not leave me in despair
To mourn my latter end.

Therefore in life I’ll trust in thee,
In death I will adore;
And after death will sing thy praise,
When time shall be no more.
_Logan._

AMBITION.

A high look, and a proud heart, and the ploughing of the wicked is sin.--Proverbs, xxi. 4.

Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.--Obadiah, 4.

Woe unto you Pharisees, for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.--Luke, xi. 43.

Twice told the period spent on stubborn Troy,
Court favour, yet untaken, I besiege;
_Ambition’s_ ill-judged efforts to be rich.
Alas! _Ambition_ makes my little, less;
Embittering the possessed: why wish for more?
Wishing, of all employments, is the worst.
_Young._

Woe to thee, wild _Ambition_! I employ
Despair’s low notes thy dread effects to tell;
Born in high heaven, her peace thou could’st destroy;
And but for thee, there had not been a hell.

Through the celestial domes thy clarion pealed;
Angels, entranced, beneath thy banners ranged,
And straight were fiends; hurled from the shrinking field,
They waked in agony to wail the change.

Darting through all her veins the subtle fire,
The world’s fair mistress first inhaled thy breath;
To lot of higher beings learned to aspire;
Dared to attempt, and doomed the world to death.
_Maria A. Brooks._

The sons of earth
Who, vexed with vain disquietude, pursue
_Ambition’s_ fatuous light through miry pools,
That yawn for their destruction, stray, foredoomed,
Amid delusive shadows to their end.
_William Herbert._

_Ambition_, when the pinnacle is gained
With many a toilsome step, the power it sought
Wants to support itself, and sighs to find
The envied height but aggravates the fall.
_George Bally._

ANGELS.

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven: and behold the _angels_ of God ascending and descending on it.--Genesis, xxviii. 12.

The _angel_ of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.--Psalm xxxiv. 7.

For He shall give His _angels_ charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.--Psalm xci. 11, 12.

Then the devil leaveth Him, and behold, _angels_ came and ministered unto Him.--Matthew, iv. 11.

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of _angels_.--Matthew, xxvi. 53.

There is joy in the presence of the _angels_ of God over one sinner that repenteth.--Luke, xv. 10.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see Heaven open, and the _angels_ of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.--John, i. 51.

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many _angels_ round about the throne, and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.--Revelations, v. 11, 12.

And I saw another _angel_ fly in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth.--Revelations, xiv. 6.

And is there care in heaven? and is there love
In heavenly spirits to the creatures base,
That may compassion of their evils move?
There is; else much more wretched were the case
Of men than beasts. But O! th’ exceeding grace
Of highest God that loves his creatures so,
And all his works with mercy doth embrace,
That blessed _angels_ he sends to and fro,
To serve to wicked men, to serve his wicked foe.
_Spenser._

The multitude of _angels_, with a shout
Loud as from numbers without number, sweet
As from blest voices uttering joy, Heaven rung
With jubilee, and loud Hosannas filled
The eternal regions: lowly reverent
Towards either throne they bow, and to the ground,
With solemn adoration down they cast
Their crowns inwove with amarant and gold.
_Milton._

_Angels_ are men of a superior kind;
_Angels_ are men in lighter habit clad,
High o’er celestial mountains winged in flight;
And men are _angels_ loaded for an hour,
Who wade the miry vale, and climb with pain,
And slippery step, the bottom of the steep.
_Angels_ their failings, mortals have their praise;
While here, of corps ethereal, such enrolled,
And summoned to the glorious standard soon,
Which flames eternal crimson through the skies.
Nor are our brothers thoughtless of their kin,
Yet absent but not absent from their love.
Michael has fought our battles; Raphael sung
Our triumphs; Gabriel on our errands flown,
Sent by the Sovereign; and are these, O man!
Thy friends and warm allies, and thou (shame burn
Thy cheek to cinder!) rival to the brutes!
_Young._

These are the haunts of meditation, these
The scenes where ancient bards the inspiring breath,
Ecstatic felt: and, from this world retired,
Conversed with _angels_, and immortal forms,
On gracious errands bent: to save the fall
Of virtue, struggling on the brink of vice;
In waking whispers, and repeated dreams;
To hint pure thought, and warn the favoured soul,
For future trials fated, to prepare.
_Thomson._

They are God’s minist’ring spirits, and are sent,
His messengers of mercy, to fulfil
Good for salvation’s heirs. For us they still
Grieve when we sin, rejoice when we repent:
And on the last dread day they shall present
The severed righteous at His holy hill,
With them God’s face to see, to do His will,
And bear with them His likeness. Was it meant,
That we this knowledge should in secret seal,
Unthought of, unimproving? Rather say,
God deigned to man His _angel_ hosts reveal,
That man might learn, like _angels_, to obey;
And those who long their bliss in Heaven to feel,
Might strive on earth to serve him ev’n as they.
_Bp. Mant._

When by a good man’s grave I muse alone,
Methinks an _angel_ sits upon the stone;
Like those of old on that thrice-hallowed night,
Who sate and watched in heavenly raiment bright;
And with a voice inspiring joy, not fear,
Said, pointing upward, that he is not here,
That he is risen!
_Samuel Rogers._

Elysian race! while o’er their slumbering flocks
The Galilean shepherds watched, ye came
To sing hosannas to the heaven-born Babe,
And shed the brightness of your beauty round:
Nor have ye left the world, but still, unseen,
Surround the earth, as guardians of the good,
Inspiring souls, and leading them to heaven;
And oh! when shadows of the state unknown
Advance, and life endures the grasp of death,
’Tis yours to hallow and illume the mind,
The starry wreath to bring, by _angels_ worn,
And crown the spirit for her native sphere.
_Robert Montgomery._

Hark! what mean those holy voices,
Sweetly sounding through the skies?
Lo! the _angelic_ host rejoices,
Heavenly hallelujahs rise.

Listen to the wond’rous story,
Which they chant in hymns of joy:
“Glory in the highest, glory!
Glory be to God most high!

Peace on earth, good will from heaven,
Reaching far as man is found;
Souls redeemed, and sins forgiven:--
Loud our golden harps shall sound!”
_Cawood._

“Many in this world of cares,”
Truly hath the poet said,
“Sit with _angels_ unawares;”
Round our path, and round our bed,
_Angels_ ever watch and wait,
Striving still to turn our steps unto heaven’s gate.
_Anon._

ANGER.

O Lord, rebuke me not in thine _anger_, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.--Psalm vi. 1.

A wrathful man stirreth up strife; but he that is slow to _anger_ appeaseth strife.--Proverbs, xv. 18.

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be _angry_; for _anger_ resteth in the bosom of fools.--Ecclesiastes, vii. 9.

Be ye _angry_, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.--Ephesians, iv. 26.

The _anger_ of the Lord? Oh, dreadful thought!
How can a creature frail as man endure
The tempest of His wrath? Ah, whither flee
To ’scape the punishment he well deserves?
Flee to the cross! the great atonement there
Will shield the sinner, if he supplicate
For pardon with repentance true and deep,
And faith that questions not. Then will the frown
Of _anger_ pass from off the face of God,
Like a black tempest-cloud that hides the sun.
_Anon._

The golden sun is going down,
Or melting in the west away:
Where are the clouds that seem’d to frown
So darkly on the rising day?
Molten is every gloomy fold,
In yonder sea of liquid gold.

The winds, at morn so rude and hoarse,
Make music for an angel’s ear;
The sun, beclouded in his course,
Beholds the heavens, at evening, clear,
And now doth with the tempest’s wreck
His glorious pavilion deck.

Lord, sure thy countenance is here;
Thy spirit all the vale informs:
Whatever, in this inward sphere,
Remains to tell of _angry_ storms,
Oh! let it melt away, and leave
No cloud to darken life’s calm eve!
_Joseph Gostick._

_Angry_ words are likely spoken
In a rash and thoughtless hour;
Brightest links of life are broken,
By their deep insidious power.
Hearts inspired by warmest feeling,
Ne’er before by _anger_ stirred,
Oft are rent past human healing,
By a single _angry_ word.

Poison drops of care and sorrow,
Bitter poison drops are they,
Weaving for the coming morrow,
Saddest memories of to-day.
_Angry_ words! oh, let them never
From thy tongue unbridled slip;
May the heart’s best impulse ever,
Check them ere they soil the lip.

Love is much too pure and holy,
Friendship is too sacred far,
For a moment’s reckless folly
Thus to desolate and mar.
_Angry_ words are lightly spoken;
Bitterest thoughts are rashly stirred;
Brightest links of life are broken,
By a single _angry_ word.
_J. Middleton._

_Angry_ looks can do no good,
And blows are dealt in blindness,
Words are better understood,
If spoken but in kindness.

Simple love far more hath wrought,
Although by childhood muttered,
Then all the battles ever fought,
Or oaths that men have uttered.

Foolish things are frowns and sneers,
_Angry_ thoughts revealing;
Better far to drown in tears,
Harsh and _angry_ feeling.
_J. Burbridge._

APOSTLES.

He called unto Him His disciples, and of them He chose Twelve, whom also He named _Apostles_.--Luke, vi. 13.

And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.--Mark, xvi. 15, 16.

Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.--Acts, i. 8.

By the hands of the _Apostles_ were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.--Acts, v. 12.

And He gave some, _apostles_; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.--Ephesians, iv. 11.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve _Apostles_ of the Lamb.--Revelations, xxi. 14.

But all his mind is bent to holiness,
His champions are the prophets and _apostles_.
_Shakspere._

When because faith is in too low degree,
I thought it some _apostleship_ in me,
To speak things which by faith alone I see.
_Donne._

For them the fullness of His might is shown,
O’erleaping the strong bounds of Nature’s law;
Grim death for them contracts his hasty stride,
And checks his dart, e’en in the act to strike;
His horrid messengers, disease and pain,
Loose their remorseless grasp unwillingly,
And leave their prey to ease and thankfulness;
For them bright wisdom opens all her stores,
Her golden treasures spreading to their view,
Whilst Inspiration’s all enlivening light
Hangs hovering o’er their heads in glittering blaze;
Warmed by the ray, they pour the sacred strain
In eloquence seraphic.
_Charles Jenner._

Oh! who shall dare in this frail scene,
On holiest, happiest thoughts to lean,
On friendship, kindred, or on love?
Since not _Apostles’_ hands can clasp
Each other in so firm a grasp,
But they shall change, and variance prove.

Yet deem not on such parting sad,
Shall dawn no welcome dear and glad;
Divided in this earthly race,
Together at the glorious goal,
Each leading many a rescued soul,
The faithful champions shall embrace.
_Keble._

Sit down, and take thy fill of joy
At God’s right hand a bidden guest,
Drink of the cup that cannot cloy,
Eat of the bread that cannot waste.

O great _Apostle_ rightly now
Thou readest all thy Saviour meant,
What time his grave, yet gentle brow,
In sweet reproof on thee was bent.
_Keble._

Rash was the tongue, and unadvisedly bold,
Which sought, Salome, for thy favoured twain
Above their fellows, in Messiah’s reign
On right, on left, the foremost place to hold.
More rash, perhaps, and bolder, that which told
Of power the Saviour’s bitter cup to drain,
And, passing stretch of human strength, sustain
His bath baptismal. Lord, by Thee enrolled
Thy servant, grant me Thy Almighty grace,
My destined portion of Thy griefs to bear,
Ev’n what Thou wilt! But chiefly grant, Thy face
Within Thy glory’s realm to see, whene’er
Most meet Thy wisdom deems; whate’er the place,
It must be blest, for Thou, my God, art there.
_Bp. Mant._

Thy eloquence, O _Paul_, thy matchless tongue,
With strong persuasion, as with magic’s voice,
From heathen darkness to the paths of light
Led the benighted wanderers, who, like thee,
Through superstition’s gloomy mazes strayed,
Till, Heaven’s effulgence bursting on the view.
To thy astonished and enraptured sight
Revealed the glories of unfading day.
_William Bolland._

Whose is that sword--that voice and eye of flame,
That heart of unextinguishable ire?
Who bears the dungeon-keys; and bonds, and fire?
Along his dark and withering path he came--
Death in his looks, and terror in his name,
Tempting the might of heaven’s Eternal Sire.
Lo, the Light shone! the sun’s veiled beams expire--
A Saviour’s self a Saviour’s lips proclaim!
Whose is yon form stretched on the earth’s cold bed,
With smitten soul, and tears of agony,
Mourning the past? Bowed is the lofty head--
Rayless the orbs that flushed with victory.
Over the raging waves of human will
The Saviour’s spirit walked--and all was still!
_Roscoe._

’Tis pitiful
To court a grin when you should woo a soul;
To break a jest, when pity would inspire
Pathetic exhortation; and to address
The skittish fancy with facetious tales,
When sent with God’s commission to the heart!
So did not _Paul_. Direct me to a quip
Or merry turn in all he ever wrote,
And I consent you take it for your text,
Your only one, till sides and benches fail.
No, he was serious in a serious cause,
And understood too well the mighty terms
That he had taken in charge. He would not stoop
To conquer those by jocular exploits,
Whom truth and soberness assailed in vain.
_Cowper._

I think that look of Christ might seem to say;--
‘Thou _Peter_, art thou then a common stone,
Which I at last must break my head upon,
For all God’s charge to His high angels, may
Guard my foot better? Did I yesterday
Wash thy feet, my beloved, that they should run
Quick to deny me ’neath the morning sun,--
And do thy kisses, like the rest, betray?’
The cock crows coldly.--‘Go, and manifest
A late contrition, but no bootless fear!
For when the deathly need is bitterest,
Thou shalt not be denied, as I am here--
My voice, to God and angels, shall attest,--
Because I knew this man, let him be clear.’
_Miss Barrett._

With sudden burst,
A rushing noise, through all the sacred band
Silence profound, and fixed attention claimed.
A chilling terror crept through every heart,
Mute was each tongue, and pale was every face.
The rough roar ceased; when, borne on fiery wings,
The dazzling emanation from above
In brightest vision round each sacred head
Diffused its vivid beams: mysterious light!
That rushed impetuous through th’ awaking mind,
Whilst new ideas filled th’ impassive soul,
Fast crowding in, with sweetest violence.
’Twas then amazed, they caught the glorious flame;
Spontaneous flowed their all-persuasive words,
Warm from the heart, and to the heart addressed.
_Charles Jenner._

A Cæsar’s title less my envy moves,
Than to be styled the man whom Jesus loves;
What charms, what beauties in his face did shine,
Reflected ever from the face divine!
_Wesley._

Ye hallowed martyrs, who with fervent zeal,
And more than mortal courage, greatly dared
To preach the name of Jesus; ye, who stood
The undaunted champions of eternal truth,
Though maddened priests conspired, though princes frowned,
And persecution, with ingenious rage,
Prepared ten thousand torments.
_William Bolland._

These, O Lord,
Were all Thy scanty followers; by Thee
First called, first rescued from a world of woe,
To spread salvation into distant climes!
And tell the meanest habitant of earth
“Glad tidings of great joy.”
_Madan._

ASCENSION.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of glory.--Psalm xxiv. 9, 10.

Thou hast _ascended_ on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.--Psalm lxviii. 18.

While they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

And while they looked steadfastly toward Heaven, as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel;

Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven.--Acts, i. 9, 10, 11.

Now that he _ascended_, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that _ascended_ up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.--Ephesians, iv. 9, 10.

Lift up your heads, ye everlasting gates,
And give the King of glory to come in;
Who is the King of glory? He who left
His throne of glory for the pang of death;
Lift up your heads, ye everlasting gates,
And give the King of glory to come in;
Who is the King of glory? He who slew
The ravenous foe that gorged all human race!
The King of glory, He whose glory filled
Heaven with amazement at His love to man,
And with divine complacency beheld
Powers most illumined wildered in the theme.
_Young._

Lift up your heads, ye gates, and O prepare,
Ye living orbs, your everlasting doors,
The King of glory comes!
What King of glory? He, whose puissant might
Subdued Abaddon, and the infernal powers
Of darkness bound in adamantine chains:
Who, wrapt in glory, with the Father reigns,
Omnipotent, immortal, infinite!
_James Scott._

Majestical He rose
Upborne, and steered a flight of gentlest wing
His native Heaven to gain; whilst from their eye,
That to its centre fixed, in mute survey
Pursued the _ascending_ glory, a bright cloud,
Of bidden access, his latest presence caught:
By angel forms supported, who in song,
Not unperceived, and choral symphony,
Through Heaven’s wide empyrean loud rejoiced.
_Thomas Hughes._

Now, O my soul,
On the blest summit light a holy flame!
From the last foot-print of the Prince of Peace,
The conqueror of death, let incense rise,
And enter Heaven with thine _ascending_ Lord!
Shake off the chains, and all the dust of earth!
Go up and breathe in the sweet atmosphere
His presence purified, as He arose!
_Hannah F. Gould._

Oh! what a night was that which wrapt
The heathen world in gloom:
Oh! what a sun that broke this day
Triumphant from the tomb!

Jesus, the friend of human kind,
With strong compassion moved,
Descended, like a pitying God,
To save the souls He loved.

The powers of darkness leagued in vain
To bind His soul in death;
He shook their kingdom, when He fell,
With His expiring breath.

And now His conquering chariot wheels
_Ascend_ the lofty skies;
While broke beneath His powerful cross,
Death’s iron sceptre lies.
_Mrs. Barbauld._

ATHEISM.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.--Psalm x. 4.

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.--Psalm xiv. 1.

And they say, How doth God know; and is there knowledge in the Most High?--Psalm lxxiii. 11.

Is not God in the height of Heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?--Job, xxii. 12, 13.

For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water, and in the water.--II. Peter, iii. 5.

Having no hope, and without God in the world.--Ephesians, ii. 12.

“There is no God,” the fool in secret said:
“There is no God that rules or earth or sky.”
Tear off the band that binds the wretch’s head,
That God may burst upon his faithless eye!
Is there no God?--The stars in myriads spread,
If he look up, the blasphemy deny;
While his own features, in the mirror read,
Reflect the image of Divinity.
Is there no God?--The stream that silver flows,
The air he breathes, the ground he treads, the trees,
The flowers, the grass, the sands, each wind that blows,
All speak of God; throughout, one voice agrees,
And, eloquent, His dread existence shows:
Blind to thyself, ah, see him, fool, in these!
_Giovanni Cotta._

Hardening by degrees, till double steel’d,
Take leave of Nature’s God, and God reveal’d--
Then laugh at all you trembled at before;
And joining the freethinker’s brutal war.
Swallow the two grand nostrums they dispense--
That Scripture lies, and blasphemy is sense;
If clemency, revolted by abuse
Be damnable, then damn’d without excuse.
_Cowper._

These are they
That strove to pull Jehovah from His throne,
And in the place of Heaven’s Eternal King,
Set up the phantom Chance.
_Glynn._

The owlet _Atheism_,
Sailing on obscene wings across the noon,
Drops his blue-fringed lids, and shuts them close,
And, hooting at the glorious sun in Heaven,
Cries out, “Where is it?”
_Coleridge._

They eat
Their daily bread, and draw the breath of Heaven
Without or thought or thanks; Heaven’s roof, to them,
Is but a painted ceiling hung with lamps,
No more, that lights them to their purposes.
They wander loose about; they nothing see,
Themselves except, and creatures like themselves,
Short-lived, short-sighted, impotent to save.
So on their dissolute spirits, soon or late,
Destruction cometh, like an armed man,
Or like a dream of murder in the night,
Withering their mortal faculties, and breaking
The bones of all their pride.
_Charles Lamb._

No God! Who warms the heart to heave
With thousand feelings, soft and sweet,
And prompts the aspiring soul to leave
The earth we tread beneath our feet,
And soar away on pinions fleet,
Beyond the scene of mortal strife,
With fair ethereal forms to meet,
That tell us of an after life?
_William Knox._

“There is no God,” the foolish saith--
But none, “there is no sorrow:”
And Nature oft the cry of Faith
In bitter need will borrow.
Eyes which the preacher could not school,
By way-side graves are raised;
And lips say “God be pitiful,”
That ne’er said, “God be praised.”
_Miss Barrett._

An _Atheist’s_ laugh’s a poor exchange,
For Deity offended.
_Burns._

ATONEMENT.

As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an _atonement_ for you.--Leviticus, viii. 34.

Wherewith shall I make the _atonement_, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?--II. Samuel, xxi. 3.

We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the _atonement_.--Romans, v. 11.

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.--Romans, iii. 25.

He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.--I. John, ii. 2.

Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.--I. Peter, ii. 24.

So Man, as is most just,
Shall satisfy for man, be judged and die,
And dying, rise, and rising, with Him raise
His brethren, ransomed with His own dear life.

* * * * *

Nor can this be,
But by fulfilling that which Thou didst want,
Obedience to the law of God, imposed
On penalty of death, and suffering death,
The penalty to Thy transgression due:
So only can high justice rest appaid.
_Milton._

’Tis nothing thou hast given; then add thy tears
For a long race of unrepenting years;
’Tis nothing yet, yet all thou hast to give;
Then add those may-be years thou hast to live;
Yet nothing still; then poor and naked come;
Thy Father will receive his unthrift home,
And thy blest Saviour’s blood discharge the mighty sum.
_Dryden._

Look humbly upward, see His will disclose
The forfeit first, and then the fine impose;
A mulct thy poverty could never pay,
Had not eternal wisdom found the way,
And with celestial wealth supplied thy store;
His justice makes the fine, His mercy quits the score.
See God descending in the human frame;
The offended suffering in the offender’s name:
All thy misdeeds to Him imputed see,
And all his righteousness devolved on thee.
_Dryden._

Thou, rather than thy justice should be stained,
Did stain the cross.

* * * * *

O, what a groan was there! a groan not His.
He seized our dreadful right; the load sustained,
And heaved the mountain from a guilty world.
_Young._

What needs my blood, since thine will do,
To pay the debt to justice due?
O, tender mercy’s art divine!
Thy sorrow proves the cure of mine!
Thy dropping wounds, thy woeful smart,
Allay the bleedings of my heart:
Thy death, in death’s extreme of pain,
Restores my soul to life again!
_Parnell._

The Son of God
Only begotten, and well-beloved, between
Men and His Father’s justice interposed;
Put human nature on, His wrath sustained,
And in their name suffered, obeyed, and died;
Making His soul an offering for sin,
Just for unjust, and innocence for guilt.

* * * * *

Thus Truth with Mercy met, and Righteousness,
Stooping from highest heaven, embraced fair Peace,
That walked the earth in fellowship and love.
_Pollok._

God’s own son, unblemished victim, gave
Himself a sacrifice, and by His blood,
Upon the cross poured forth, washed out the stain
Of primal sin.
_Samuel Hayes._

And shall the sinful heart, alone,
Behold, unmoved, the _atoning_ hour,
When Nature trembles on her throne,
And death resigns his iron power?
O, shall the heart,--whose sinfulness
Gave keenness to His sore distress,
And added to His tears of blood--
Refuse its trembling gratitude?
_Whittier._

Jesus, thy name beyond all nature loud,
Peals like the trumpet of eternity,
Through all the chambers of responsive faith,
Making them echo with the name of Christ!
Nature was forfeit when the first man fell
To sin, and whatsoe’er in nature lives,
In reason, morals, or in mind enacts
Dominion, from His vast _atonement_ flows.
_R. Montgomery._

Advance, O hopeless mortal, steeled in guilt,
Behold, and if thou canst, forbear to melt!
Shall Jesus die, thy freedom to regain,
And wilt thou drag the voluntary chain?
Wilt thou refuse thy kind assent to give,
When, dying, He looks down to bid thee live?
Perverse, wilt thou reject the proffered good,
Bought with His life, and streaming in His blood?
Whose virtue can thy deepest crimes efface,
Re-heal thy nature, and confirm thy peace!
Can all the errors of thy life _atone_,
And raise thee from a rebel to a son.
_Boyse._

Lamb of God! Our Priest and Pastor,
Who canst bid all evil cease,
Ever dear and holy Master,
Make our feeble love increase!
So that when we seek Thee, owning
That Thy wrath is our deserts,
Thou, blest Lord, at whose _atonement_
All iniquity departs,
Mayest speak forth from Thine enthronement,
To our rent and wearied hearts,
“Sinner, go in peace!”
_C. D. Mc’ Leod._

Tune your harps anew, ye seraphs,
Join to sing the pleasing theme;
All on earth and all in heaven
Join to praise Immanuel’s name!
Hallelujah!
Glory to the bleeding Lamb!
_J. Evans._

AVARICE.

Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.

They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

They turn the needy out of the way; the poor of the earth hide themselves together.--Job, xxiv. 2, 3, 4.

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!--Isaiah, v. 8.

Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped, are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.--James, v. 3, 4.

For of his wicked pelf his god he made,
And unto hell himself for money sold:
Accursed usury was all his trade,
And right and wrong alike in equal balance weighed.
_Spenser._

If thou art rich, thou art poor;
For, like an ass, whose back with ingots bows,
Thou bearest thy heavy riches but a journey,
And death unloads thee.
_Shakspere._

Woe to the worldly man, whose covetous
Ambition labours to join house to house;
Lay field to field, till the enclosures edge
The plain, girdling a country with one hedge:
They leave no place unbought; no piece of earth
Which they will not engross; making a dearth
Of all inhabitants; until they stand
Unneighboured as unblest within the land.
_Bishop King._

Gold glitters most where virtue shines no more,
As stars from absent suns, have leave to shine.
_Young._

O cursed lust of gold! when for thy sake
The fool throws up his interest in both worlds;
First starved in this, then damned in that to come.
_Blair._

Starve beside the chests, whose every corn
At the last day, shall in the court of Heaven
Witness against thee.
_Sir E. B. Lytton._

_Avarice_ o’ershoots
Its destined mark; and with abundance cursed,
In wealth, the ills of poverty endures.
_George Bally._

The thirst for gold
Hath made men demons, till the heart that feels
The impulse of impartial love, nor kneels
In worship foul to Mammon, is contemned.
_W. H. Burleigh._

But should my destiny be quest of wealth,
Kind Heaven, oh! keep my tempted soul in health!
And should’st thou bless my toil with ample store,
Keep back the madness that would seek for more!
_Thomas Ward._

Oh! life misspent--Oh! foulest waste of time!
No time has he his grovelling mind to store
With history’s truths, or philosophic lore.
No charms for him has God’s all-blooming earth--
His only question this--“What are they worth?”
Art, nature, wisdom, are no match for gain;
And even religion bids him pause in vain.
_Thomas Ward._

The miser comes, his heart to mammon sold--
His life, his hope, his god, his all is gold.
“To-morrow, and to-morrow,” he will say,
“Soul, take thine ease, for thou hast many a day
Whose smiling dawns will make thee to rejoice.”
Hush! Hark the echoes of that awful voice!
“Thou fool! This night yield up thy earthly trust!”
Gaze once again, his treasures are but dust.
_B. D. Winslow._

Gold! gold! in all ages the curse of mankind,
Thy fetters are forged for the soul and the mind:
The limbs may be free as the wings of a bird,
And the mind be the slave of a look or a word.
To gain thee, men barter eternity’s crown,
Yield honour, affection, and lasting renown.
_Park Benjamin._

AWAKE--ARISE.

_Awake up_, my glory; _awake_ psaltery and harp; I myself will _awake_ early.--Psalm lvii. 8.

_Arise_, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is _risen_ upon thee.

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy _rising_.--Isaiah, lx. 1, 3.

_Arise_ ye, and depart, for this is not your rest; because it is polluted.--Micah, ii. 10.

_Awake_, my soul, and with the sun,
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and early _rise_,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

_Wake_, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear a part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praises to the eternal King.

Glory to God, who safe hath kept,
And hath refreshed me while I slept,
Grant Lord, when I from death shall _wake_,
I may of endless life partake.
_Kenn._

_Awake_ our souls, and bless his name,
Whose mercies never fail;
Who opens wide a door of hope,
In Achor’s gloomy vale.

Behold the portal wide displayed,
The buildings strong and fair;
Within are pastures fresh and green,
And living streams are there.

Enter my soul with cheerful haste,
For Jesus is the door;
Nor fear the serpent’s wily arts,
Nor fear the lion’s roar.

O may thy grace the nations lead,
And Jews and Gentiles come,
All travelling in one narrow path,
To one eternal home.
_Doddridge._

_Arise_, thou bright and morning star,
And send thy silvery beams afar;
Dispel the shades of dreary night,
And let me hail the dawning light.

Blinded by sin I went astray,
And, wand’ring, left the heavenly way;
Dart forth thy soul-reviving rays,
And guide me all my future days.

With growing strength may I pursue
The course which heavenly wisdom drew,
Till I shall reach the blissful shore,
Where pilgrims rest, and stray no more.
_Beddome._

Deathless principle _arise_!
Soar thou native of the skies!
Pearl of price by Jesus bought,
To his glorious likeness wrought;
Go, to shine before his throne,
Deck his mediatorial crown,
Go, his triumphs to adorn,
Made for God, to God return.

See the haven full in view,
Love divine shall bear thee through;
Trust to that propitious gale,
Weigh thy anchor, spread the sail,
Saints in glory perfect made,
Wait thy passage through the shade,
Ardent for thy coming o’er,
See they throng the distant shore!

Mount, their transports to improve,
Join the longing choirs above,
Swiftly to their wish be given,
Kindle higher joys in heaven!
--Such the prospects that _arise_
To the dying christian’s eyes!
Such the glorious vista, faith
Opens through the shades of death.
_Toplady._

AWE.

Stand in _awe_ and sin not; commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.--Psalm iv. 4.

Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in _awe_ of thy word.--Psalm cxix. 161.

’T is dreadful!
How reverend is the place of this tall pile,
Whose ancient pillars rear their marble heads,
To bear aloft the arched and pond’rous roof,
By its own weight made steadfast and immoveable!
Looking tranquillity; it strikes an _awe_
And terror to my aching sight. The tombs
And monumental caves of death look cold,
And shoot a chillness to my trembling heart.
_Congreve._

So in the faces of all these there grew,
As by one impulse, a dark, freezing _awe_,
Which, with a fearful fascination, drew
All eyes towards the altar; damp and raw
The air grew suddenly, and no man knew
Whether perchance his silent neighbour saw
The dreadful thing, which all were sure would rise
To scare the strained lids wider from their eyes.

The incense trembled as it upward sent
Its slow, uncertain thread of wandering blue,
As ’twere the only living element
In all the church, so deeply the stillness grew;
It seemed one might have heard it, as it went,
Give out an audible rustle, curling through
The midnight silence of the _awe_-struck air,
More hushed than death, though no such life was there.
_Jas. R. Lowell._

When on Sinai’s top I see
God descend in majesty,
To proclaim His holy law,
All my spirit sinks with _awe_.
_J. Montgomery._

With sacred _awe_ pronounce His name,
Whom words nor thoughts can reach.
_Needham._

BAPTISM.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, _baptizing_ them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.--Matthew, xxviii. 19.

One Lord, one Faith, one _Baptism_.--Ephesians, iv. 5.

Buried with Him in _Baptism_, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.--Colossians, ii. 12.

The like figure whereunto, even _Baptism_ doth also now save us, not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.--I. Peter, iii. 21.

Then who shall believe
_Baptizing_ in the profluent stream, the sign
Of washing them from guilt of sin, to life
Pure, and in mind prepared, if so befal,
For death like that which the Redeemer died.
_Milton._

Since Lord to Thee
A narrow way and little gate
Is all the passage; on my infancy
Thou didst lay hold, and antedate
My faith in me.

O let me still
Write Thee, great God, and me, a child:
Let me be soft and supple to Thy will,
Small to myself, to others mild,
Be-hither ill.
_George Herbert._

_Baptized_ as for the dead, He rose
With prayer from Jordan’s hallowed flood:
Ere long by persecuting foes,
To be _baptized_ in His own blood:
The Father’s voice proclaimed the Son,
The Spirit witnessed;--these are one.
_James Montgomery._

Thus, made partakers of Thy love,
The _Baptism_ of the Spirit ours,
Our grateful hearts shall rise above,
Renewed in purposes and powers;
And songs of joy again shall ring
Triumphant through the arch of heaven;--
The glorious song which angels sing,
Exulting over souls forgiven!
_W. H. Burleigh._

The heir of Heaven, henceforth I dread not Death!
In Christ I live, in Christ I draw the breath
Of the true life. Let Sea, and Earth, and Sky,
Wage war against me: on my front I show
The mighty Master’s seal! In vain they try
To end my life, who can but end its woe.
_Coleridge._

Ere Christ ascended to his throne,
He issued forth his great command--
Go preach the gospel to the world,
And spread my name to every land.

To men declare their sinful state,
The methods of my grace explain;
He that believes, and is _baptized_,
Shall everlasting life obtain.

Dear Saviour, we thy will obey,
Not of constraint, but with delight;
Hither thy servants come to-day,
To honour thine appointed rite.

Descend again, celestial Dove,
On these dear followers of the Lord;
Exalted head of all the Church,
Thy promised aid to them afford.

Let faith, assisted now by signs,
The mysteries of thy love explore;
And washed, in thy redeeming blood,
Let them depart, and sin no more.
_Beddome._

The cross of Christ! The cross of Christ!
While yet my days were few,
’Twas traced upon my infant brow,
Fresh with life’s morning dew;
In token that in after years,
Strong in its power and might,
I should beside Christ’s followers stand,
Under His banners fight.
_Matilda F. Dana._

BAPTIST, JOHN THE.

In those days came _John the Baptist_, preaching in the wilderness of Judea.--Matthew, iii. 1.

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was _baptized_ of _John_ in Jordan.

And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the Heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him:

And there came a voice from Heaven, saying, Thou art My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.--Mark, i. 9, 10, 11.

I say unto you, among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than _John the Baptist_; but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.--Luke, vii. 28.

Now had the great Proclaimer, with a voice
More awful than the sound of trumpet, cried
Repentance, and Heaven’s kingdom nigh at hand
To all _baptized_: to his great _baptism_ flocked
With awe, the regions round, and with them came
From Nazareth, the Son of Joseph deemed,
To the flood Jordan, came as then obscure,
Unmarked, unknown: but him the _Baptist_ soon
Descried, divinely warned; and witness bore
As to his worthier, and would have resigned
To Him this heavenly office, nor was long
His witness unconfirmed; on Him _baptized_
Heaven opened, and in likeness of a dove
The Spirit descended, while the Father’s voice
From heaven pronounced Him His Beloved Son.
_Milton._

Well mayest thou tremble, _Baptist_; well thy cheek,
Now flushed, now pale, thy labouring soul bespeak!
’Tis He, the Christ, by every bard foretold!
Hear Him, ye nations, and ye Heavens behold!
The Virgin-born, to bruise the Serpent’s head,
The Paschal Lamb, to patient slaughter led,
The King of kings, to crush the gates of Hell,
Messiah, Shiloh, Jah, Emmanuel!
See, o’er His head, soft sinking from above,
With hovering radiance hangs the mystic Dove:
Dread from the cloud Jehovah’s voice is known,
“This is my Son, my own, my well-loved Son!”
_C. H. Johnson._

Why crowd ye cities forth? some reed to find,
Some vain reed trembling to the careless wind?
Or throng ye here to view with doting eye,
Some chieftain stand in purple pageantry?
Some dwell in kingly domes--no silken form
Woos the stern wind and braves the mountain storm.
What rush ye there to seek? some Prophet-seer?
One mightier than the Prophets find ye here--
The loftiest bard that waked the sacred lyre,
To him in rapture poured his lips of fire;
Attuned to him the voice of Sion fell--
Thy name, Elias, closed the mystic shell.
_C. H. Johnson._

In Judah’s rugged wilderness,
Where Jordan rolls his flood,
In manners strict, and rude of dress,
The holy _Baptist_ stood.

And while upon the river’s side,
The people thronged to hear,
“Repent,” the sacred preacher cried,
“The heavenly kingdom’s near.”

Now Jesus to the stream descends;
His feet the waters lave;
And o’er his head, that humbly bends,
The _Baptist_ pours the wave.

When, lo! a heavenly form appears,
Descending as a dove;
And wondrous sounds the assembly hears,
Proclaiming from above.--

“This is my well-beloved Son,
On him my spirit rests;
Now is his reign of grace begun,
Attend his high behests.”

The sacred voice has reached our ear,
And still through distant lands
Shall sound, till all His name revere,
And honour His commands.
_T. Fletcher._

BEAUTIFUL.

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the _beauty_ of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.--Psalm xxvii. 4.

When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his _beauty_ to consume away like a moth.--Psalm xxxix. 11.

Favour is deceitful, and _beauty_ is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.--Proverbs, xxxi. 30.

I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

He hath made every thing _beautiful_ in his time.--Ecclesiastes, iii. 10, 11.

Oh, what is _Beauty’s_ power?
It flourishes and dies;
Will the cold earth its silence break.
To tell how soft, how smooth a cheek
Beneath its surface lies?
Mute, mute is all,
O’er _Beauty’s_ fall;
Her praise resounds no more, when mantled in her pall.

The most beloved on earth
Not long survives to-day;
So music past is obsolete,
And yet ’twas sweet, ’twas passing sweet,
But now ’tis gone away.
Thus does the shade
In evening fade,
When in forsaken tomb the form beloved is laid.
_H. K. White._

At Thy rebuke, the bloom
Of man’s vain _beauty_ flies;
And grief shall, like a moth, consume
All that delights our eyes.
_J. Montgomery._

A sinful soul possessed of many gifts,
A spacious garden full of flowering weeds,
A glorious devil, large in heart and brain.
That did love _beauty_ only, (_beauty_ seen
In all varieties of mould and mind,)
And knowledge for its _beauty_; or if good,
Good only for its _beauty_.
_Tennyson._

The _beautiful_, the _beautiful_!
Where do we find it not?
It is an all-pervading grace,
And lighteth every spot.

It sparkles on the ocean-wave--
It glitters in the dew;
We see it in the glorious sky,
And in the flow’ret’s hue.

On mountain-top, in valley deep,
We find its presence there;
The _beautiful_, the _beautiful_!
It liveth every where.

The glories of the noontide-day,
The still and solemn night,
The changing seasons, all can bring
Their tribute of delight.

There’s _beauty_ in the dancing beam
That brightens childhood’s eye,
And in the Christian’s parting glance,
Whose hope is fix’d on high.

And in the being whom our love
Hath chosen for its own,
How _beautiful_! how _beautiful_!
Is every look and tone.

’Twas in that glance that God threw o’er
The young created earth,
When he pronounced it “very good,”
The _beautiful_ had birth.

Then who shall say this world is dull,
And all to sadness given,
While yet there lives on every side
The smile that came from heaven?

If so much loveliness is sent
To grace our earthly home,
How _beautiful_--how _beautiful_
Will be the world to come!
_Anon._

BELIEF--UNBELIEF.

If ye will not _believe_, surely ye shall not be established.--Isaiah, vii. 9.

Lord, I _believe_; help thou mine _unbelief_.--Mark, ix. 24.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye _believe_ in God, _believe_ also in me.--John, xiv. 1.

For what, if some did not _believe_? shall their _unbelief_ make the faith of God without effect? God forbid.--Romans, iii. 3, 4.