ence have it in their power to influence others, and they others in their turn; and who shall tell the amount of good thus accomplished, though springing, may-be, from the simple remark of a God-fearing man? Finally, to revert to the subject of speaking censorious words: the way to prevent the habit is to set a watch over our thoughts; it is there we shall detect the lurking evil. Let us strive to attain the charity which "thinketh no evil," and let us keep our "hearts with all diligence," while trying humbly to follow the steps of Him who " did no evil, neither was guile found in His mouth." In Christ. NE bright sunny morning in March I was crossing over Battersea Bridge. The sun was shining brightly, and his rays lit up the golden letters of the text, "Glory to God in the highest," which is written in Latin, and placed over the entrance to the bridge, and made them glitter like the purest gold. Suddenly a little sparrow darted quickly through the air, and flew into the middle of one of the words, where she disappeared within the hollow space behind the golden letters. Evidently she had chosen this safe hiding-place in which to build her nest and rear her young. Poor little bird! perhaps, like Noah's dove of old, she had sought in vain for some quiet spot to make her home; but the great city with its noise and din, and unceasing rush and turmoil, was no place for her, and so she had flown upwards, far above the noisy, busy streets, with their dark courts and crowded alleys, over the broad swift river, and had found a safe refuge at last. As I stood for a moment watching to see if I could catch another glimpse of the "city sparrow," these words suddenly came into my mind: 1 Luke ii. 14. "Thou "Thou "O my "Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.' shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence." hast been ... . a refuge from the storm."3 dove, that art in the clefts of the rock ;" and I felt that God had meant to teach me a blessed lesson from that little bird. This world, so full of sin and sorrow, is no resting-place for us. All around us speaks of change and decay, and we hear a voice saying constantly to us, "Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest."5 But where is rest to be found? Nowhere but in Christ. The moment the sinner lays hold of Christ by faith, and clings to him as closely as the little limpet clings to the mighty rock, that very moment rest and peace enter the soul, and will keep it “ as with a garrison." "Come unto Me," says the Lord Jesus, “and I will give you rest,.... and ye shall find rest unto your souls." ."6 Yes, just as that little bird found rest and safety behind the shelter of those golden letters, so will it be with each weary, heavy-laden one who flies to the only shelter and refuge for poor sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He is not only our refuge, and the rock of our strength, but also our life and peace, and crown of rejoicing. We remember what happened to "Christian" of old when he came in sight of the cross; the burden was suddenly loosed from his shoulders, and fell to the ground, and the shining ones clothed him in white raiment, and put a mark on his forehead, and he went on his way rejoicing! "Lord, Thou hast made us for Thyself, and the heart is restless until it find rest in Thee." These words were spoken by the great Augustine more than fifteen centuries ago, when, after having spent some of the best years of his life in sin, and in a vain search for happiness in the hollow, unsatisfying pleasures of this poor passing world, he was suddenly arrested by God's great mercy in the midst of his evil ways; and, after suffering bitter remorse and great agony of mind, he at length found in Christ the rest and 8 Isa. XXV. 4. 6 Matt. xi. 28, 29. peace his weary soul had so long been seeking for. Surely his full heart must have gone forth in songs of praise to his Redeemer, and his words of deep thankfulness might have been: "I heard the voice of Jesus say, Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Out of Christ, as Augustine found, there is no rest, no peace, no salvation, for we read, "Neither is there salvation. in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Hidden in Jesus, under the shadow of His wings, safe in the clefts of the smitten Rock, all will be well. Yes, He alone, the Saviour of sinners, can give peace through all the storms of this life. It is His own precious legacy to His children: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you.' Peace, through the bright days of joy and gladness; peace, through the dark night of sorrow and bereavement; peace, in youth; peace, in old age; peace, in sickness; peace, in health; peace, in prosperity; peace, in adversity; peace, through life; peace, in death; peace, in the last great day, when Christ, the Prince of Peace, shall come again in power and great glory, and the last trumpet shall sound. Peace, the very same peace which upheld Hopeful in the "Pilgrim's Progress" until his pilgrimage was over; for we read that he did not even fear the touch of the cold waves as he crossed the deep dark river, for he felt that One was close beside him, whispering to him, "Jesus Christ maketh thee whole; "3 "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; "4 and he saw the King's trumpeters coming out to meet him, and Acts iv. 12. 4 Isa. xliii. 2. 2 John xiv. 27. 3 Acts ix. 34. he heard all the bells in the Golden City ringing to welcome him; and so he entered into the joy of his Lord.1 Have you Hopeful's bright faith to uphold you through life, and in death? Are you in Christ? Have you fled for refuge and safety to this blessed Ark? Is your cry, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee?" Is your Is "your life hidden with Christ in God?" 2 body the "temple of the Holy Ghost?"3 Have you “joy and peace in believing?" 4 But my rebellious heart refused Nor knew till then what I had lost, Weary at last, and full of fear, Trembling beneath the weight of woe "My Father, I have sinned-forgive, And scarce I dared to lift my eyes But oh how tender is our God! He did not scorn His erring child-- He took the burden from my head, And gave Himself to me instead! * There came a sorrow once to me- The Saviour from my view; I have my sorrows still; but now The sorrow scarce is seen! He bears my burdens now who bore Y. г. T. |
