Pledgee

“ Then, having thus loved us, and rescued us, and bought us with a price indeed, He says, still under the same figure, ‘Thou shalt abide for Me many days.’
This is both a command and a pledge. But the very pledge implies our past unfaithfulness, and the proved need of even our own part being undertaken by the ever patient Lord. He Himself has to guarantee our faithfulness, because there is no other hope of our continuing faithful. Well may such love win our full and glad surrender, and such a promise win our happy and confident trust! ”

“ There are innumerable such tests which we have to stand; and nothing is more unfortunate than to fancy and to say, 'We have signed the pledge, and we shall be sound.' It is not the pledge that saves life. It is the life that saves the pledge-— saves it from dishonour or disrepute. See to it, then, that the pledge you take and the life you live are not in disharmony with each other. It is the life that must be the guarantee for the pledge, not the pledge that can stand security for the life. ”

“ III. This Divine pledge does not only give us an earnest of future glory, but even now, if not prevented, it produces some of these glorious effects in our souls. It brings with it the lustre of habitual grace, than which nothing is more glorious in the sight of God. It renders the soul in some respect impassible, that is, not subject to be moved or disturbed by any worldly adversity. It gives us spiritual agility to obey the commands of God with promptness and fervor. It endows the soul with a certain degree of subtilty, and enables it to pass through every difficulty. ”

“ A pledge has respect to a thing future. The proper order of regeneration is to precede baptism, which cannot correctly therefore be a pledge of it? Where does Scripture so represent it? Circumcision was not a pledge to Abraham of the righteousness he had: a “seal” it was. ”

“ From a long personal acquaintance, and a knowledge of the inflexible, godlike integrity which has characterized your adherence to, and your support of, our murdered Prophet; with the utmost confidence we pledge ourselves to uphold, and, as much as lies in our power, to assist you in resuscitating and re-establishing those glorious principles, while we live; and when we die, we bequeath this pledge as a sacred legacy to our children. As we have inherited the spirit of liberty and the fire of patriotism from our fathers, so let them descend unadulterated to our posterity. ”

“ Remain in the holy and sweet grace of God. I commend me to all of you. Bathe you in the Blood of Christ crucified. Sweet Jesus, Jesus Love.
TO DANIELLA OF ORVIETO CLOTHED WITH THE HABIT OF ST. DOMINIC Thou seest, then, that such men enjoy in this life the pledge of life eternal. They receive, not the payment, but the pledge—not waiting to receive it till the enduring life, where is life without death, satiety without disgust, and hunger without pain. ”

“ Pledges and associations, while sanctioned by her, are regarded as mere adminicula, tending to bring the sinner to the use of confession, the performance of enjoined penance, and the worthy reception of the Blessed Sacrament. Abstinence, whether for a time or for life, she looks upon as a work of perfection, of remedy, or of penance for the individual. The pledge, as administered by her, is neither oath nor vow, but either a resolution taken by one’s self in the presence of another, or at the utmost a solemn promise made to man. ”

“ A pledge ceases to be a pledge when the thing promised is produced. The spouse comforts herself with the bridegroom’s letters till she is married she kisses his presents, embraces his picture; but when she comes to enjoy his company she disregards those things she before admired for the sake of it. ”

“ When he had extracted that pledge or promise or vow from her, she most assuredly meant to keep it, as he and she then meant it; but she had never thought such a condition could be applied to him. If at the time he had asked her if she would pledge herself to repudiate him if his religious opinions changed, she would have refused to do so. To keep that pledge to the letter would be to break it to the spirit; for the spirit was that she was so to pledge herself, in order that he and she might not be separated hereafter. ”

“ Regard, then, the offering which you make to-day as the pledge that you will give again and quickly, and at once set about redeeming the pledge. Resolve to waste nothing, to spend nothing on amusement, on luxuries, on what is not absolutely necessary, till the hungry are all fed, and the naked all clothed. Infuse the same spirit into your household and all that approach it. Be a mouth to plead for those who will not ask for themselves. ”

“ The following law also shews the most tender and touching care for the interests, and even for the dignity, of the poor man: “When thou dost lend thy brother anything, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: in any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God.” ”

“ One day he went visiting out to a nice old lady's who lived near his father's old place. While he was there, who should come along but two trim little girls who were out getting signers to the Total Abstinence Pledge. We called it the tetotal pledge in those days. There was quite an excitement about it in town. A man lectured every evening, and had meetings for the children afternoons, and gave them each pledge books, and the one who got the greatest number of signers was to have a medal with his name on. ”

“ We are thus trained ardently to desire and taught devoutly to pray, "Thy will be done, truly and verily, Thy will be done!" In this manner the pledge of Thy providence is ratified through Thy daily and hourly nurturing of this infant life, through Thy ceaseless watch over these tender buds of affection; and as we repeatedly experience Thy mercy, Thy love, thus manifested to our eyes and conveyed into our hearts, we ask, in wonder, what richer blessings we could have even from Thee, the God of all goodness. ”

“ Farmer Johnson's minister was in favor of pledges, and had often told him, that affliction might weaken his judgment and his mor [Pg 12] al sense, and that the pledge might save him at last, as a plank saves the life of a mariner, who is tost upon the waves.
Our good Clergyman was unfortunately of a different opinion. He had often disapproved of pledges: the Deacon was of the same opinion: he thought very illy of pledges.
Month after month passed away, and our happiness was utterly destroyed. My husband neglected his business, and poverty began to stare us in the face. ”

“ I don’t think Pledge is the proper man. (Cheers.) I don’t like him myself— (loud cheers) —and I don’t think I’m very fastidious. (Great applause from the Den.) We want an honest, reliable man— (hear, hear) —who’ll keep our scores without fear or favour. ”

“ At parting, leave your heart as a pledge at the foot of the Cross, unite it to the heart of the God of love, who resides on the altar as on the throne of his mercies, to receive our tribute of adoration, and to distribute his grace. ”

“ The path their great Redeemer trod:
And follow through his liquid grave
The meek, the lowly Son of God!
2 Here they renounce their former deeds,
And to a heavenly life aspire,
Their rags for glorious robes exchanged,
They shine in clean and bright attire.
3 O sacred rite, by thee the name
Of Jesus we to own begin;
This is our resurrection pledge,
Pledge of the pardon of our sin.
4 Glory to God on high be given,
Who shows his grace to sinful men;
Let saints on earth, and hosts in heaven,
In concert join their loud Amen.
Stennett. ”

“ Do you attribute any more meaning to those words than a pledge to human beings around you?—I attach no more meaning to those words than I do to a pledge to human beings authorised by law to take such a pledge from me under similar solemn circumstances. ”

“ From me he has a pledge, one of my daughters, which, so long as she lives, shall be sufficient; when she dies, he shall have another. I hold it not a brotherly part to desire to bereave me of my two children at once. ”

“ Or died in the porch than thus dishonor the fane.
FROM THIS HOUR THE PLEDGE IS GIVEN. From this hour the pledge is given,
From this hour my soul is thine:
Come what will, from earth or heaven,
Weal or woe, thy fate be mine.
When the proud and great stood by thee,
None dared thy rights to spurn;
And if now they're false and fly thee,
Shall I, too, basely turn?
No;—whate'er the fires that try thee,
In the same this heart shall burn.
Tho' the sea, where thou embarkest,
Offers now no friendly shore,
Light may come where all looks darkest,
Hope hath life when life seems o'er. ”

“ There is diversity of opinion as to the value of pledges. It would seem unwise, however, when a man has broken a pledge, to encourage him to renew it. Let him try a promise to himself, and prove that he can be a man without artificial props. ”

“ We come to renew our pledge publicly at the altar of our country. We come in the light of history and of reason. We come to take counsel both from experience and from imagination. Over us shines a glorious past, before us lies a promising future. ”

“ With a pledge as dear as it was enduring, they had sworn to preserve that union until it should be merged into that most glorious, holiest and most beautiful of all, which is effected in death—when their souls, stripped of the mortal coils which encumbered them, and wafted on the wings of love, should soar upward and onward, until side by side, inseparable as in life, and inseparable forever, they intoned their hymns of praise with the choir which surrounds the Eternal! ”

“ Somebody must be on the losing side, and as all of you take care to be on the winning. I’ll do without you.”
Pledge certainly knew his audience. He had hit them cleverly on a weak point—the point of chivalry; and had he been content to rest where he was, he might even yet have saved a following for himself in Templeton. ”

“ The pledge continued to be circulated, and also offered in the evening meetings; and it became the custom to relate in these meetings any interesting incidents connected with each day's work on the street. Mrs. Mann and Mrs. Gaston met with some very interesting experiences at the jail; and in Miss Richards' district four men requested the prayers of the ladies, one man especially thanking God that he had been enabled to keep the pledge for a few days, and promising to rely upon Him for strength in the future. ”

“ From all this, and also from what I say in my former work on Insanity, as well as in Allen v. Dutton, it will be seen that I have been induced to give pledge after pledge so repeatedly, that it becomes a serious matter, “partaking of the nature of a solemn obligation;” if, therefore, I fail to exert myself to redeem these pledges, I cannot have the excuse of p. vithose who promise without even intending to perform. ”

“ In the following simple narrative of “The Broken Pledge,” it was his aim, without leading his readers out of the plain paths of every-day life or into the improbable creations of Romance, to detail the character of such an individual as almost every man must have often seen and noticed within the society by which he is surrounded. He trusts that the moral, as regards both husband and wife, is wholesome and good, and calculated to warn those who would follow in the footsteps of “Art Maguire.” ”

“ As a pledge of heavenly gifts and of Our benevolence, We lovingly grant in the Lord, to you, venerable brethren, and to the clergy and all the people committed to your watchful care, Our apostolic benediction. ”

“ May they forget their fathers’ faith, or in their covenant fail!
God keep the fairest, noblest land that lies beneath the sky—
Our country, our whole country, whose fame shall never die. PLEDGE. (All stand; salute flag; and repeat pledge.) ”

“ I don't say that there aren't good men and women among them, but let the minister who has spoken to us here tonight go into any one of a dozen aristocratic churches I could name and propose to the members to take any such pledge as the one he's mentioned here tonight, and see how quick the people would laugh at him for a fool or a crank or a fanatic. ”

“ If a free man or a letus{18} has given pledge [that is, made a solemn promise at the court] to another, then he to whom the pledge was given shall go to the house of the other within forty nights,{19} or whatever period was set, with witnesses or with such as can estimate the price.{20} And if the delinquent will not redeem the pledge given, he shall be held liable for 15 solidi above the amount for which he had given pledge. ”

“ I would further ask how it can be that Frank’s taking the pledge would be a benefit to others as well as himself?”
“For the same reason that my own signing of the pledge is beneficial,” replied the rector.
“Nay,” interposed Sir Thomas; “would not your signing the pledge do rather harm than good? Would it not rather weaken your own influence by giving people reason to think, (those I mean especially who might not know you well) , that you had once been intemperate yourself, or that you were unable to keep sober, or at any rate moderate, without the help of the pledge.” ”

“ So work grows!" Again, "Really a wonderful little temperance work here; all the rising generation have joined the pledge except about twelve, and now the men want to speak to me and I am to meet them to-night at the corner of the village (open air, having no place else) with my pledge-book. I have got 118 pledged, and each with prayer over it and personal talk about better things." On May 21 she met these men, carrying with her her Bible and temperance book. ”