A. L. O. E.

“ Peter thrice uttered a terrible falsehood, but repented with bitter tears, and, through the atoning blood of his Lord, was received into heaven a glorious martyr.
But oh, dread a falsehood as you would dread a serpent; it leaves a stain and a sting behind. If you have ever been led into this deadly sin, implore for pardon, like St. Peter. Like St. Peter, when next placed in temptation, speak the truth firmly, faithfully, fearlessly; for truth is the language of heaven.
There are four chief causes which lead to the guilt of lying—folly, covetousness, malice, and fear. ”

“ Dear little reader, are you in trouble or temptation? Then are you like the disciples on the stormy Sea of Tiberias. Perhaps your relations are harsh and unkind, or perhaps you are a poor orphan without a friend in the world, and are ready to say, “No man careth for my soul!” But you have one Friend, a powerful Friend, a loving Friend, who has led you on your voyage through life until now, and will lead you to the end! The Lord Jesus is beside you, though you see him not. Hear what he says to those who love him: Can a woman forget her sucking child! ”

“ Nothing in this world lasts for ever: flowers bloom and decay; the fruit which was delicious [81] one week, the next is only fit to be thrown away; the loveliest face grows wrinkled; the finest form must soon turn to dust in the tomb.”
“I don’t like to think of such things,” said Sophy; “they make me sad.”
“They would make us sad, indeed, were this world our all. But we look forward, in faith, to a place where there is no corruption, no change, no death, because no sin; we hope to wear white robes in heaven which will never be defiled with a stain. ”

“ Thomson that I would speak to you now, but of One of whose mercy and love all the noblest deeds of his servants are but as a faint, dim shadow.
And first let me ask you, dear child, Do you know what sin is, that from which all sorrow comes? It is sin that causes cruelty and strife in the world. It is sin that gives a worse wound than any sword or cannon-ball; for they may destroy the body, but sin destroys the soul. ”

“ Oh, if, in our dear land, all the little ones who have no money to give to the missionary cause, who have never even seen an idolater, would lift up their hands and hearts to the Lord, saying, “Teach the poor heathen to love thee!” how rich a harvest of blessings would be drawn down by such a prayer on those who know not the truth, and still sit in darkness and the shadow of death! ”

“ The one is a bright and glorious place, where sorrow and pain are unknown. Its citizens are angels and redeemed saints, who, with shining crowns and harps of gold, rejoice before the throne of God. The language which they speak is truth.
The other country is too terrible to describe. Happiness never enters there, but pain, grief, and remorse abide for ever! Its inhabitants are the tempter and his evil ones—hardened sinners who would not repent, who chose the broad way that leadeth to destruction. And what is the language which its citizens have learned? The language of Satan is falsehood. ”

“ Does not your conscience tell you that you have been wounded by sin? Now, let me tell you how you may find healing.
And, first, you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; you must believe that he died for sinners, and that he is willing to save all who ask him for pardon and mercy.
Then you must be sorry for and leave off your sins, praying to God to help you to amend. A child who says that he repents, and then goes and sins just as readily as before, is like a wounded man who, when the surgeon has dressed the injured place, tears off the bandage and will not let it heal. ”

“ Do you know that we are all by nature wounded by sin; that we are all unable to help ourselves, even like those poor Russians; that if left to ourselves we must all die—I mean, lose the everlasting life of heaven?
Yes; this was the state of the whole world. It was all lying in wickedness, therefore lying in danger; and not one of us could have been saved—no, not one—had not the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, taken pity on our sad state, and left heaven and all its glory, its light, and its joy, to come and labour to help miserable sinners. ”

“ Claremont. “Now tell me, my poor child, for which should we care most,—the case or the jewel, the body or the soul?”
“The soul,” answered Ann.
“And it was your soul which you were putting in danger even now; for sin is the ruin of the soul. It is written in God’s Word, ‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’ To procure a few more comforts for your weak perishing body, would you throw away the precious jewel within?” ”

“ Sophy shook her head.
“We are all weak and sinful, less fit to appear before a holy God in our own righteousness, than you are to enter the Queen’s palace in those soiled garments. It is ‘the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanseth from all sin;’ through his merits, and his mercy, you may appear spotless before the judgment-seat of God, if you believe in him now, and ‘keep yourself from idols.’”
“I have nothing to do with idols,” said the girl peevishly.
“More perhaps than you think. Anything [82] that you love better than the Lord is an idol. The miser loves money best; that is his idol.” ”

“ I will plead for you.”
“But father is so poor; he will be in debt, and he cannot bear that! He will be so angry. Oh, cannot I say that some one snatched the half-crown out of my hand?”
“Charley, Charley!” cried his brother, almost sternly, “the Evil One is tempting you. He has gained one victory over you; would you be his slave entirely? Pray to God for strength to struggle against this temptation: remember that liars have no place in heaven. ”

“ Why rest your happiness upon that which cannot last, and which may, any hour, be taken away from you for ever?”
“Gay, gaudy clothing always gives me a feeling of pain when I look upon it,” observed Ella; “I believe that with so many it has been the first step to misery here and hereafter.”
“It is like the gay bait on the hook,” said her mother, “not in itself deadly, but covering a fatal snare. Oh, ‘love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ”

“ There are some whose lips were never stained with falsehood, who yet cannot be counted among the citizens of heaven. The proud, the self-righteous, who trust to their own merits, who love not the Saviour who suffered for [96] all,—these may have learned the language of truth, even as foreigners may learn the tongue of our land; but they belong not to the country of holiness and joy.
And others there are who have fallen into sin, whom the “father of lies” has tempted and deceived; yet God’s mercy may prepare a heavenly home even for them, if, believing and repenting, they turn to the truth. ”

“ Search the Scriptures, that can make you wise unto salvation.’ She held forth her vase with imploring look, but the boy was intent on pursuing his way. ‘I care not for it!’ he cried; so pushed it aside and passed on.”
“Well, he might have the same opportunity of reading the Bible again and again,” said Harry.
“Not the same,” replied Willy Thorn; “the boy could not retrace one step of his way. No moment of time can ever be recalled. Every opportunity of doing good once past, whatever others may arise, that opportunity is past for ever! ”

“ Motee knew that the beebee who read her Bible was gentle, generous, and kind. The ayah could not but respect the religion whose fruits she saw in the lives of her master and mistress.
But it was not only the lady’s words and the lady’s example that were used as means to draw the poor Hindu to God. Little Edith had never heard the beautiful saying, that “the nearest road to any heart is through heaven,” and she would not have known its meaning if she had heard it, but the English child had been taught that the Saviour listens to prayer. ”

“ Resolve with prayer henceforth never to break the smallest twig from the Sabbath-tree, but to feed on its sacred fruits with faith, and hope, and love. Be assured, then, dear children, that they will become sweeter and sweeter to your taste, and prepare you for the enjoyment of that Tree of Life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. ”

“ You can scarcely earn your daily bread, you have no comfort, no rest, no home! In the bitterness of your heart, you cry, “Lord, carest thou not that we perish?” O [59] my child, the Saviour is not asleep! He knows your trials, he has felt them all—the Lord of heaven and earth once “had not where to lay his head!” Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine (Ps. xxxiii. 18, 19) . Many are the afflictions of the righteous ”

“ Travelling on foot for hundreds of miles under a burning sun, the poor idolater’s strength had given way, and he had laid himself down by the roadside, sick, faint, and alone, to die far away from his home. Poor Motee had never reflected that the religion which had thus cost the lives of two of her family could not be a religion of heavenly love. She worshipped Vishnu, for she knew no better; and when her lady spoke to her of the Lord, the ayah only said to herself, that the God of the English was not the God of the Hindu, and [11] that she herself must do what all her fathers had done. ”

“ Every one passing through life has some cross to bear! Yes; amongst those young [86] girls assembled in the school-room there were some whose trials were deep, who had much need to read the inscription to make them endure the burden.
Dear reader, are you in trial? Have you known what it was to weep when you had none to comfort you—to wish that the weary day were over, or the more weary night at an end—to wonder why God sent you such sorrows? ”

“ We may divide all who have heard of a Saviour into those who love God, and those who love sin. Those who love sin will awake to misery; those who love God will awake to glory.”
“But,” said the boy anxiously, “there may be some who love God and really try to obey him, and yet sin sometimes.” ”

“ O my young friend! no day leaves you as it found you; every day brings its opportunities of prayer, praise, reading the Bible, and obeying God’s laws; every day you have chosen either the vase or the dart. ”

“ Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him! (James i. 12) .
Think of those who have already landed on the happy shore, but not till they had passed through the storm. There are saints who have suffered, and martyrs who have died for the Lord! They do not wish now that their trials had been less;—sweet is to them the remembrance of the storm! When holy St. John, banished to Patmos for the sake of the gospel, saw heaven opened, and its glory appearing, what did he behold there? ”

“ The stranger was a doctor, travelling in haste to attend a patient who had been taken with a fit. Richard’s falsehood made the medical man lose half an hour, when every minute was precious. Oh, what anxious hearts awaited his arrival! But he came too late; he found the sufferer at the point of death, with his desolate family weeping around him!
It was covetousness which made Sally declare that her fruit had only been gathered that morning, when she knew it to be the refuse of yesterday’s market. ”

“ Edwin looked in surprise at his brother, who thus proceeded to explain his words:—
“We, dear Edwin, as Christians, have all one work set before us: to copy into our lives the example set us by a heavenly Master. It is in the Bible that we behold the features of a character perfect and pure. But how many of us choose rather to imagine for ourselves what a Christian should be like! We aim low; we are content with little progress; we perhaps please ourselves with the thought of our own wisdom and goodness, while every one but ourselves can [110] see that our copy is wretched and worthless.” ”

“ The man digging with his Sabbath spade, found it suddenly snap asunder, and the splinter ran into his hand, inflicting a terrible wound.”
“Oh, but how could that be?” exclaimed one of the boys. “Many a fellow goes larking on Sunday, and the wheel of his car never comes off! I don’t know what this part of your story can mean.”
“It means,” replied Willy gravely, “that disobedience to God, the wilful breaking of his holy commandment, unless the sin be repented of and renounced, is certain to bring punishment in another world, and very frequently also in this. ”

“ I must earn some more pence for my living; necessity owns no law;’ and taking the hatchet of Disobedience, she also brought down a leafy bough, treading under foot as she did so a quantity of the ripe, precious fruit. Not content with thus breaking the Sabbath herself, she demanded that those who bought at her stall should each bring, in addition to their money, a fagot stolen from the holy tree! ”

“ There are multitudes of lost, miserable sinners, who may trace their first steps on the path of ruin to breaking the Sabbath of God. No one ever yet, on his death-bed, could say that he really profited by money so gained, or that he had no reason to regret a pleasure gained by disobeying his Maker’s command. ”

“ Every night and morning Edith, at her mother’s knee, repeated the few simple words, “Lord Jesus, teach me to love thee!” and now, of her [12] own accord, she added another short prayer. Mrs. Tuller caught the soft whispered words from the lips of her darling, “Lord Jesus, teach poor Motee Ayah to love thee!” The mother took no outward notice, but from her heart she added “Amen” to the prayer of her child.
The hot season passed away; the time had come when Mr. Tuller and his family could enjoy what is called “camp life,” and move from place to place, living not in a house but a tent. ”