Various

“ Death may come upon you speedily, and then what will you do? All who die without repentance and forgiveness must hear that solemn word from the lips of Christ, "Depart from Me!" Are you blessed with a good hope, through grace? Then you certainly have something to be thankful to God for. Or are you in some doubt as to whether you have a living hope in Christ? And do you fear that, if called to die, you could say no more than Lizzie Winchester did? Then my prayer for such an one is, that the Lord may stir you up to real, earnest, wrestling prayer and importunity respecting your salvation. ”

“ Yes, Jesus has been pricked and stung by sin that His people may for ever be delivered from its fatal power.
May you, dear young friends, from a living faith, be enabled to commit your soul into His keeping who is able to "save unto the uttermost all that come unto God through Him."
But how easily many of the roses scattered! We only touched the branch, and they were gone. Such is life! We may be in full bloom one day, but in a moment we may be carried into eternity. "We all do fade as a leaf." The longest life is but brief. ”

“ Saul of Tarsus, as a Pharisee, was learned, intelligent, and moral; but how dark, how blind, he was in those days! Jesus, God's beloved Son, was the Object of his hatred. The altogether Lovely One had no beauty at all for him, and the children of God he viewed as enemies whom he felt bound to conquer and destroy. How great his darkness was—the darkness of prejudice and pride! ”

“ With shame and sorrow he says, "Father, I have sinned." But God, who is rich in mercy, is ready to forgive. He will, for Christ's sake, hear prayer. Through His precious blood He will pardon sin. He will take off the ragged garments of sin, and put on the white robe of Jesus' righteousness, and receive coming sinners as His children. Then what sounds of joy are heard in heaven, when those who were lost are brought home to dwell for ever in their Father's house!
Dear child, through the fall you are lost. Have you been truly brought as a penitent to Christ? ”

“ Thirteen years have likewise passed since my arms were placed beneath this dying brother—since the glad angels conveyed his sweet spirit to the paradise of God.
Oh, the heavenly smile—oh, the beaming eye he cast upon me—as he gently subsided into endless rest! Never shall I forget that scene. Never will be erased from memory's tablet that chamber, and all that there I felt, and saw, and heard.
"Friend after friend departs;
Who has not lost a friend?" ”

“ I leave to my parents, during the rest of their lives, as much sorrow as humanity in a feeble and declining state can sustain. I leave to my brothers and sisters as much mortification and injury as I could bring on them. I leave my wife a broken heart, a life of wretchedness and shame, to weep over my premature death. I give and bequeath to each of my children, poverty, ignorance, and low character, and the remembrance that their father was a monster.
We may as well attempt to bring pleasure out of pain as to unite indulgence in sin with the enjoyment of happiness.—Hodge. ”

“ Truthfulness is always needful. He who is tempted to tell a lie should consider that he may be struck dead while doing so; and then, where will his soul awake? Truth will out, if it be a long while hidden. It will stand like the mountain against the roaring sea—nothing can move it; for with it, is a clear conscience in the sight of God. If truth were spoken more freely and carefully, we should be far happier. Its preciousness cannot be sufficiently prized.
Obedience is often the root of cheerfulness. An obedient child has this motto in view—"Thou, God, seest me." ”

“ The ground takes fire; the wicked inhabitants fly, shrieking, from place to place, but all too late. The swift devouring flames follow them, and in a short time the cities, the people, all that was fair to look upon in the vale of Siddim, even the solid earth itself, are in a blaze! Presently a noise like that of thunder is heard. The earth, like some huge animal, opens wide its mouth; the cities sink into its jaws and are swallowed up; floods of water, filled with sulphur, rush over the place where they stood, and nothing is seen but a thick cloud of smoke rising from the water. ”

“ Pray the dear Lord to take me to Himself. Oh, how blessed to be with my precious Jesus for ever!"
When informed of the death and burial of her brother, she appeared excited, but at last said, "Dear boy! I hope I shall soon be with him, and then we shall meet to part no more." She then asked me to pray again that God would take her. How could I? "Nature has soft but powerful bands," and the ligaments were not yet severed. She seemed my earthly all. Could I surrender her to the arms of the destroyer? Could I look up and say, "Thy will be done"? What grace we need to glorify God in the fires! ”

“ Dear reader, how is it with you? You are spared, while some have been called from time into eternity. We hope you feel this to be a mercy, and we now ask, Have you ever been led to the throne of grace, concerned about sin and salvation? Has the cry ever gone from your heart to the Lord, "God be merciful to me a sinner"? If not, oh, that, as this year begins to pass away, the Spirit may cause your heart to feel the guilt of your sin, and lead you, a poor, burdened, contrite one, to the feet of Him who died on the cross, and whose blood cleanses those who are thus brought unto Him from all sin. ”

“ And as we shall never meet more in this vale of tears, this is my dying wish and advice—read the Bible and good books, frequent the preaching of the Gospel, and the Lord will guide thee in His way. And oh, endeavour to bring up the dear little ones in the fear of God. Oh, never fix thine heart upon the vain and unsubstantial things of this world! Heaven and the love of God are the only things that demand our hearts, or are worthy of engrossing them. ”

“ O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am Thou wilt receive;
Wilt strengthen, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe;
O Lamb of God, I come!
"Just as I am—Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come!"
—From a Tract.
Success.—There is a glare about success which is apt to dazzle men's eyes. When we see a man rising in the world, a foolish high opinion is formed of his merits. It is said, "What a wonderful man this must be to rise so rapidly!" ”

“ Then Jesus promises that all His people, of all nations and all ages of time, shall become one flock—one in Jesus; one in heart, and mind, and judgment—and the whole redeemed and gathered flock shall at last dwell in one fold—the fold of heavenly, eternal life and glory. ”

“ Pardon flows forth freely and fully from the heart of God to all who truly confess their sins and entreat His mercy. Sin is covered, for Christ is the Propitiation for His people's sins, and these two words carry us back to the tabernacle's most holy place, and bring to view the covering, or lid, of the ark, the mercy-seat, sprinkled with atoning blood and bright with the divine glory. ”

“ When the leader opens the meeting, he is always ready to rise. He shudders at these pauses. They are to him as ice-cakes clogging the current of love, hindering the wheels of prayer. Yet he would not rush things. I have known him to count seven, the mystic number of the Scripture, and then, if no one rose to speak or pray, he did. He is thus a minute man, ready for action in a minute, and hating to lose the minutes. Slower natures than his complain that he does not give them time to think. No matter; they may learn at last not to be so slow. ”

“ The final and everlasting residence of all believers, after all the cares and toils of their earthly pilgrimage are past, is to be Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; part of their employment will be holy and devout adoration; their society, myriads of angels and a vast assembly of the perfected spirits of the just; the chief source of their happiness will be the presence of 'the Judge of all,' in 'Jesus the Mediator'; and the cause of all this blessedness is indicated in the closing words—'the blood of sprinkling,' or the atonement of Jesus. ”

“ If follies are not checked at home, or by strangers, they will grow into habits. The indolence from which the young were never roused has kept them all their after days in poverty, and the pride which was never repressed has rendered them odious. Never let affection make you blind to the deformity of sin.
It is the duty of brothers and sisters to sympathize tenderly with each other. The heart is so framed that it requires the aid and comfort of sympathy. How soothing to a sufferer's heart are the attentions of a sister, and the word spoken by a brother in season! ”

“ THE SIXTH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS GATHERING OF EBENEZER SUNDAY SCHOOL, HASTINGS.
Year succeeds year and marks the flight of time, and, in its flight, leaves the impress of many changes, proving to every thoughtful mind that "here we have no continuing city." But, amid the changes of life, the Lord encourages His people to wait upon Him; and none need to do so more than they who are engaged in the work of spreading His truth, whether among old or young; and when the spirit of prayer is kept alive in their midst, they are not without testimony that "the Lord is with them." ”

“ It is pleasing, during the bright summer time, to rise early and, if our lot is so cast, to stroll into the country lanes and breathe the pure air of heaven, inhale the sweet scent of the hay, and gaze upon God's beautiful creation around us, and, if possible, learn some of the many lessons which even a tiny flower or a feeble insect may be able to teach us. ”

“ OUR BIBLE CLASS. Mental Eyes: Darkened and Illuminated. (Matthew vi. 22, 23.)
Light sometimes means that which gives, sometimes that which receives or reflects, light; as the sun is the light of the world, and the windows through which he shines are the lights of the room and the house. Our eyes are the lights, or windows, of our body. Through them we look out upon the world around us; and light, knowledge, and pleasure come in to us from what we see, as well as what we hear.
Jesus here refers to the eyes of the mind—the understanding. ”

“ May we be kept by the power and providence of God from falling into sin and evil, but since we have sinned and come short of His glory—since we need pardon and cleansing—may we be led to pray, with David, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Like him, may we know the joys of divine forgiveness, and then be helped to show forth our Saviour's praise, not only by our words, but in our lives, by walking in the way of His commandments, and "cleaving to Him with purpose of heart." ”