
i 




TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



REV. GEORGE EVERARD, M. A. 




AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK. 



By HUeha.nge 
Army And Navy Oia& 



PREFACE. 



The following pages were written with an ear- 
nest desire to increase the happiness, and advance 
the spiritual welfare of our Christian households. 
Published originally in another form, I trust they 
may be still more useful in a permanent shape. I 
have endeavored to aid each member of the home. 
There is a word for the children, the young people, 
and those more advanced in life. I have endeav- 
ored to point out special dangers and temptations, 
and also to suggest from God's Word the means 
by which they may be overcome. 

The incidents and illustrations employed have 
mostly been drawn from twenty-five years' experi- 
ence in the ministry, and may make it still more 
profitable to guide the faithful and true-hearted 
servant who wishes to do his Lord's will. 



4 PREFACE. 

I commend the book to Him who alone can 
build up our families in faith and goodness, and 
keep them from snares on the right hand and on 
the left. 

" Except the Lord build the house, they labor 
in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the 
city, the watchman waketh but in vain. ,, g. e. 



Wolverhampton, England. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
The Family Link page 7 

CHAPTER II. 
A Family without Prayer is like a House without a Roof 17 

CHAPTER III. 
A Talk with Fathers and Mothers 29 

CHAPTER IV. 
A Talk with the Little Ones - 43 

CHAPTER V. 
A Talk with the Young People 56 

CHAPTER VI. 
A Talk with my Aged Friends 71 

CHAPTER VII. 
A Talk with those who are Seeking the Saviour 84 

CHAPTER VIII. 
A Talk about the Family Bible 93 



6 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 
A Talk about Sunday 103 

CHAPTER X. 
A Talk about Jarring Notes - 112 

CHAPTER XI. 
A Talk about Family Sorrows 124 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Father's House and the Family of Heaven 135 



Talks about Home-Life. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE FAMILY LINK. 

God taketh delight in the happiness of his crea- 
tures. " The Lord is loving unto every man, and 
his tender mercies are over all his works." He 
himself is the great Fountain-head of true joy, and 
he loves to dispense this joy far and wide. 

In nothing do we see this more than in his ap- 
pointment of the Family. He knoweth our frame. 
He remembers that we are but dust. He thinks 
upon us in our solitude and loneliness. He marks 
our yearnings after kindly affection. He sees that 
in our happiest times we want some one to share 
our joys, and in our sorrowful hours that we want 
some one to help us to bear our burdens. There 
may be some few hard, tough natures who seem as 



8 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



if they could best pass through life alone, but with 
most of us it is far otherwise; and our Father in 
heaven, who formed us, knoweth well what things 
we have need of. So he ordains blessed links of 
union and fellowship. He links together husband 
and wife, when they pledge themselves before him 
to love and to cherish each other until death do 
part them. He links together parent and child by 
a deep unselfish love on the one side, and by a 
sense of helplessness and dependence on the other. 
He links together brothers and sisters, as being 
sharers in one common home. " God setteth the 
solitary in families," and "maketh men to be of one 
mind in a house. ,, It is all of his tender care and 
compassion towards those whom he hath first made 
in his own likeness, and afterwards redeemed by 
the blood of his Son. 

Go to the very first family. Adam has been 
created, but he is alone. He can enjoy from time 
to time communion with his God ; he is gifted with 
many wonderful faculties ; he can delight himself 
in the glorious works of his Father's hand ; but 
still there is a want. He needs a companion. So 
the great Father looks upon him in pity, and will 
add to his happiness by supplying this want. He 
said, " It is not good for man to be alone ; I will 



THE FAMIL Y LINK. 



9 



make him a help meet for him." So He formed Eve, 
and gave her as a new and precious gift to Adam — 
a gift more precious than all the fair creation He 
had before committed to his charge. 

And how mercifully do we see the Lord's good- 
ness in the woman being so suited for the man ! 
The wisdom of God is manifested in the difference 
between the two. There was likeness, yet variety. 
Had both natures been precisely alike, there could 
never have been the same closeness of union. But 
while the one was strong and firm and self-reliant, 
the other was gentle, more needing help and sup- 
port, and more capable of warm and self-sacrificing 
affection ; and, in creating them thus, the great 
Father tenderly provided for the happiness of 
both. 

God himself thus instituted the ordinance of 
marriage. It is not a mere human institution, but 
it is of God. He made both one. " And why ? 
That he might seek a godly seed." 

And if this be so, it teaches us a great lesson. 
How sacred a thing should we ever reckon mar- 
riage to be ! How careful should persons be in the 
choice of one who may be to them so great a help, 
or may prove so great a hindrance ! 

The Israelites were forbidden to make mar- 



Home-Life. 



2 



i o TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 



riages with the Canaanites, because they would 
lead them to the worship of their gods. When 
Ahab broke this command and married Jezebel, it 
led to a train of wickedness and misery which in- 
volved the whole kingdom, and lasted for centuries. 
Their son, Ahaziah, walked in the ways of his fa- 
ther and mother, and judgment came upon him, 
according to God's word, as upon Ahab and Jezebel 
some years before. Their daughter brought judg- 
ment down on her husband, the king of Judah, and 
afterwards was her son's counsellor to do wickedly. 
Her other sons did wickedly also, and broke up the 
house of God. Two hundred and fifty years after, 
the curse was still spreading and bringing misery ; 
for we are told all the works of the household of 
Ahab were still being done to make Israel a deso- 
lation and a hissing. 

We have, moreover, a distinct command to Chris- 
tians that they marry " only in the Lord ;" that is, 
whatever their choice may be, it ought to be of one 
who fears and loves God. They may not be une- 
qually yoked together with unbelievers ; for what 
communion hath light with darkness, and what con- 
cord hath Christ with Belial ? 

The story of Isaac's marriage is a very instruc- 
tive one, and the chapter in which it is given to us 



THE TAMIL Y LINK. 



1 1 



(Gen. 24) I would especially commend to young 
persons. 

Isaac was feeling deeply his mother's death, and 
his father Abraham sent his steward Eliezer to seek 
him a wife among his kindred, for he would not that 
Isaac should marry one of the Canaanites, in whose 
land they were dwelling. So Eliezer goes his way 
into the far-off country. When he reaches Meso- 
potamia, he seeks counsel of God. He pours out 
his heart, and entreats that God would mark plainly 
whom he had chosen for Isaac. And very soon is 
the prayer answered. Rebekah comes to the well, 
and she proves to be the one whom God had cho- 
sen to comfort Isaac after his mothers death. 

As it was in this case, so must there ever be a 
blessing in seeking counsel and help from above. 
If you yourself are walking in God's fear and love, 
and you seek one who shall be your companion for 
life, let it be your desire and prayer to find one who 
will strengthen you in walking along the narrow way. 

While I write I think of two families in humble 
life, and the rich blessing that has rested on them 
and their children, and, as I believe, from this very 
cause. 

More than sixty years did husband and wife, in 
one case, walk happily together as fellow-pilgrims 



12 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



to Zion. They saw their children grow up and 
take their place as useful members in the church 
of God ; and those that died gave clear evidence 
that they were indeed the true followers of Christ. 
And what was the secret of this happy, useful 
course ? God had been consulted. His counsel had 
been sought. And in his fear and love had these 
truly Christian people spent their days. 

The other case is equally interesting. Many 
years ago two young persons were engaged to be 
married, neither of them professing any serious 
views of religion. But the young man went one 
Sunday morning to a village church, where he heard 
a very faithful servant of Christ. The message of 
God's love reached his heart. He left the church 
determining henceforth to be the Lord's, Then he 
thought of his engagement. He felt he never could 
be really happy now with one who was living only 
for the world. So he was very plain-spoken, and 
said to the young woman that he intended living a 
new life, and he feared thev would never suit each 
other. God blessed his faithful dealing to her con- 
version. She said to him, " If it would be good for 
you, why not for me ?" And so they began to seek 
the Lord together, and after a while were married, 
and the blessing of the Lord rested on their home. 



THE FAMIL Y LINK, 



*3 



I might give a contrast. An officer who loved 
the Saviour was married to one who was not like- 
minded with himself. For twenty years she was a 
thorn in his side, continually distressing him by 
many a word she spoke, and by a life very different 
from his own. By the death-bed of an only son, 
and by his earnest exhortations, she was awakened 
to see her sin, and was led to follow in the footsteps 
of Jesus. 

But where the link has been formed, and a fam- 
ily is perhaps growing up, what can be done to pro- 
mote the happiness of the home ? Let any one who 
bears the name of Christ, and professes to serve 
him, endeavor by all means to influence the others 
for good. And this can be done best by quiet home 
influence. A holy, consistent life is a great element 
of good, and may leaven a whole household. The 
apostle Peter tells us that a husband may without 
the word be " won by the conversation (or life) of 
the wife." 

I was sitting one day on one of the seats in Hyde 
Park, by the side of a respectable-looking man. I 
offered him a little book, which he very gladly ac- 
cepted. In the conversation which followed he told 
me that when first he was married he never went to 
the house of God, and did all he could to prevent 



i4 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



his wife from going. But he added, " She was such 
a good wife, she kept my house so clean, she was 
always so kind and hard-working, that I thought 
her religion must be a good thing, and so I began 
to go with her to Gods house." 

Who shall tell the blessed fruit of a life like that 
of this Christian woman? 

Dear reader, strive in every way to cultivate the 
spirit of true religion in your home. It will be a 
foundation for that sound principle which alone 
brings permanent comfort. It will shut out those 
deadly sins of intemperance, profligacy, rash and 
angry tempers, which bring misery wherever they 
are found. It will cherish an unselfish love and 
kindness and forbearance, which will bring Para- 
dise down to earth again. Oh, strive then to make 
your home a little plot of heaven, a nursery for the 
Great Home above. Let your walls be built of sal- 
vation, your floors carpeted with meekness and hu- 
mility ; let your light be the lamp of God's Word ; 
let the fire burning on the hearth be love to God 
and love to one another, shed abroad in the heart 
by the Holy Spirit ; let your furniture be made of 
the fragrant wood of genuine sincerity and holy liv- 
ing ; let your gates and doors be fervent prayers to 
shut out all that is evil, and to guard and cherish all 



THE FAMIL Y LINK. 



that is pure and good ; let the windows be minds 
enlightened by divine grace, to learn the secrets of 
heavenly wisdom ; let the motto engraven on your 
house be something of this kind : " Except the Lord 
build the house, they labor in vain that build it ;" 
" God's Providence our Inheritance ;" " He that 
keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." 

Some few years ago there fell asleep in Jesus 
one whose home had been something of this kind. 
Fliedner had for many years walked with God, and 
left to Germany a legacy of many valuable Chris- 
tian institutions. Before his death, his wife and his 
ten sons and daughters stood around his bed, and 
he told them of his hope : 

" Here comes a poor sinner, Lord, whose ran- 
som thou hast paid, and who longs to be admitted on 
high. It is the last time I shall see you all around 
me," he added, " and we will not conceal from our- 
selves that I must very shortly enter eternity. It 
is a solemn and important step, when I look back 
on my past life. My one feeling is, Oh, that each 
pulse were thankfulness, each breath a song to him 
who keeps me even in death ! How can I praise 
him enough ? How blessed to serve such a Mas- 
ter — one who will forgive all faults, and will boun- 
teously pardon my many sins ! The blood of Jesus 



1 6 TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 

Christ is what I cling to. One thing is needful — - 
that you should be saved, that you should strive to 
enter in at the strait gate, and then we shall meet 
again above, and rejoice for ever and ever." 

He blessed his wife, children, and grandchildren 
by name, and then added, 

" The Great Jehovah is with us. Oh, how sweet 
it is to serve the Lord who has redeemed us from 
all evil ! What were we without him ?" 

Then over the head of each of his sons he said, 
" Peace, peace !" and was at rest in the bosom of the 
Saviour. 



FAMIL Y ERA YER. 



*7 



CHAPTER II. 

A FAMILY WITHOUT PRA YER IS LIKE A 
HOUSE WITHOUT A ROOF. 

It is now many years ago since a young lady at 
a boarding-school in London was laid low by a dan- 
gerous disease. Her father was summoned to her 
bedside, as it was evident that her end was near. 
She was very dear to him, and the sorrow thus com- 
ing upon him was a burden almost too heavy for 
him to bear. But the young lady knew the comfort 
of a Saviour's love, and she asked her father to kneel 
down and ask his presence and help in this her time 
of need. But this he could not do. Anything else 
in the world he could have done for her, but he had 
never learned to pray. Then she asked him to make 
her a promise, that after her death he would begin 
to seek the Lord. The promise was made and faith- 
fully kept. The thought of his daughter safely 
shielded in the Saviour's bosom, while he was yet 
a stranger to God, led him in true humiliation to 
seek that Friend who will in no wise cast out any 
who come to him. And then he went back to his 



Home Life. 



1 8 TALKS AB O UT HOME- LIFE. 

home in the country determined to live a new life. 
He gathered his servants together, and told them 
that he had done them a great wrong, for he had 
never asked them to kneel down in prayer or to 
hear God's Word. But from that day he proposed 
that all this should be changed. So from that time, 
morning and evening, the Word of God was read, 
and the whole family knelt down together at the 
mercy- seat. 

I know few things in family life that exercise 
so great an influence for good on home happiness 
as the meeting together day by day at the family 
altar. " A family without prayer is like a house 
without a roof." The late Bishop of Rochester so 
deeply felt this, that he exhorted his clergy to 
speak to their flocks at least once every year on this 
duty. It is the thermometer of home piety ; it tells 
what is the spiritual condition of a family. If fam- 
ily prayer is either omitted, or neglected, for any 
slight cause, or if it be a form quickly hurried over, 
and no deep interest be felt in it, we may be sure 
that religion in such a household is at a very low 
ebb. While on the other hand, if it is regarded as 
a sweet and blessed privilege, if there is heartiness 
and reality about it, if the members of the family 
feel that something is lost when for any urgent 



FA MIL Y PRA YER. 



*9 



cause it has been on some occasion omitted, then 
it is a testimony that the grace of God is there. 

I have always regarded the household of Joshua 
as a pattern for Christian families. Joshua was 
faithful and whole-hearted in the service of God. 
He made a firm resolve, resting on the sure prom- 
ises of God, that, whatever others might do, he 
would serve and obey and worship Jehovah. And 
he made this determination for his household as 
well as for himself. He regarded himself as their 
representative; and that which he knew to be good 
for himself he knew also to be good for them. 
Hence he exercised a wholesome discipline in 
the ordering of his family. He restrained them 
from evil, and did his utmost to direct them in 
God's fear and love. " As for me and my house," 
he declares, " we will serve the Lord." And could 
we have passed a day with him, can we doubt that 
we should have seen him worshipping at God's 
altar with all those belonging to him, and telling 
them of all the wondrous works of the Lord on be- 
half of his people in the days gone by, and urging 
them by every'possible motive to remain steadfast 
in their allegiance to his laws ? 

In every family there ought to be the same recog- 
nition of God. Those that honor him, he will 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



honor ; and those that despise him shall be lightly 
esteemed. In every relationship of life, our safety, 
our comfort, our strength, is in having God for us 
and God with us. In family life very especially is 
this the case. It is so blessed when the link of 
God's fear and love binds together the household 
in hearty dependence on his help, and in a desire 
to yield up their own will to that which they believe 
to be his. 

" O happy house ! O home supremely blest, 

Where, thou, Lord Jesus Christ, art entertained 
As the most welcome and beloved Guest, 

With true devotion and with love unfeigned ; 
Where all hearts beat in unison with thine ; 

Where eyes grow brighter as they look on thee : 
Where all are ready at the slightest sign 

To do thy will, and do it heartily." 

And what can strengthen this bond more than 
the constant meeting together in the presence of a 
common Father, in the name of our great Advocate, 
to hear his Word speaking to us, and fervently to 
seek his help and grace ? 

Everything also in home life seems to set before 
us the advantage and comfort of a season of united 
prayer. 

There are family wants which concern all alike. 
Perhaps means of subsistence are small, and there 



FAMIL Y PR A YER. 



21 



is clanger of health failing the one whose earnings 
support the rest. 

There are family sorrows which all alike feel # 
Perhaps one in the circle is taken away, and each 
heart in the home is burdened and oppressed with 
the blank that is made. 

There are family sins which are preventing the 
happiness that might exist. Perhaps a spirit of envy 
or discontent or irritability has crept in, and spreads 
from one to another, and all real kindness and love 
is fast disappearing. 

There are family mercies day by day received : 
protection in danger, deliverance from some threat- 
ening ill, an increase of home comforts, or the like. 

Surely all these should bring a family together 
to the mercy-seat. There they may bring their 
wants, knowing that a Father in heaven will deny 
no good thing to them that call upon him. They 
may bring their sorrows, knowing that he will as- 
suredly bind up every broken, troubled heart. 
They may bring their sins, knowing that he is 
ready to forgive all that is past, through the atoning 
blood of Christ, and to give his Spirit to subdue the 
evil that cleaves to them. They may bring their 
mercies before him in the spirit of true thankful- 
ness, knowing that each mercy will be doubly 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



sweet when the heart realizes the goodness of the 
great Giver of all. 

Family worship is also a very choice means of 
securing an unbroken home circle in a better 
world. 

Our daily life by our own firesides should be 
fitting us for the higher and nobler life of the Fa- 
ther's house. Some may be called early and unex- 
pectedly away. Little did I think, a few months 
before writing these words, that two of my awn 
dear ones would now be lying in one grave, having 
followed each other after an interval of only some 
twenty-four hours, and followed a fortnight after- 
wards by the faithful and godly nurse who had so 
carefully watched over them. But when deep, 
heavy sorrows like these come to our homes, it is a 
comfort to look back and think of day after day 
having knelt together in a Father's presence, and 
of having read together the Word that tells of a land 
where partings are unknown. But whether called 
sooner or later, if heaven be our home, all is well, 
and we shall meet again, and shall know, as we can- 
not now, the way by which our Father led us. That 
meeting will indeed be a joyful one, if all in the fam- 
ily, without one single exception, are found safe in 
Christ. 



FAMIL Y PR A YER. 



2 3 



When, a few years ago, in Edinburgh, an old 
house suddenly fell, giving but ten minutes' warn- 
ing, one of those within hastily awoke his family — 
for it was at midnight — and called to them at once 
to escape. And so they did. Great was that fa- 
ther's joy to find every one of his nine children safe 
on the outside, while many had perished in the 
ruins. And what a joyful scene will that be when 
Christian parents on another shore meet again the 
children so dearly loved on earth ! 

But with some families may it not be far other- 
wise ? There are families where God is not known 
or loved, where his day is but little regarded, where 
the Bible is never read, where a Saviour is never 
sought, and where no family altar has ever been set 
up. And if this continue, the children growing up 
in carelessness and sin, and the parents going down 
the hill of life without thought of the eternity at 
hand — what will be — what must be the awful issue ? 
What if the whole family be reunited on the left 
hand of the . Judge ? Ah ! whom will you then 
blame? Will it not be yourself? And especially 
will you remember at that awful moment your neg- 
lect of this blessed means of grace, and how you 
never bent the knee with your little ones, or invi- 
ted them to hear the word of God ? 



24 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



Oh that I could earnestly plead with you to stop 
and consider this matter ! There are no doubt 
many homes where years and years have rolled by, 
and yet family prayer is unknown. It may be so 
in your house, dear reader. But why should this 
continue ? Why refuse to enjoy so great a privi- 
lege ? 

Perhaps you see great difficulties in the way. 
You think it quite impossible in your circumstan- 
ces. You say — you have no time. You go out 
early in the morning, at five or six or seven o'clock, 
and you return at night, wearied and tired, and you 
think it better not to attempt it. But, friend, in 
spite of hard work and long hours, you make time 
for food and sleep, for five minutes' talk with a 
friend, and for buying necessaries for your home ; 
and do n't you think, if you really wished it, you 
could get a few minutes to feed upon the manna of 
God's word, and to rest in the Saviour's love, and 
to talk with your Father above, and to obtain from 
him things necessary for the soul as well as for the 
body ? A little system and management, with per- 
severing effort and a sense of its unspeakable value, 
would overcome many obstacles. And if in some 
cases it is impossible to have family prayer in the 
morning, might you not have it in the evening ? 



FA MIL Y PR A YER. 2 5 

And if now and then one member should be absent, 
is it not better to have it with the rest than to omit 
it altogether ? 

It may often require self-denial. It may require 
a few minutes' earlier rising in the morning. It 
may require a little effort to prepare the home for 
the prayer in the evening, but surely it is worth 
while to give this to secure the blessing it will 
bring. 

Perhaps you are afraid of beginning. You have 
never Had family prayer, and you are ashamed of 
kneeling down for the first time before children or 
servants, or brothers and sisters. But do not let 
this hinder you. Take up the cross, and bear it 
manfully for Christ's sake. He was not ashamed 
to bear his heavy cross for you. Will you shrink 
from bearing this lighter one for him ? 

A few hints may be useful to such as purpose 
to begin, or desire to make prayer in the family 
more profitable than it has hitherto been. 

Let there be true genuine piety in those who con- 
duct it. 

If you wish to make family prayer a power for 
good in your home, seek that your own heart first 
may be filled with humility and faith and love and 
prayer. If your own cistern is full to overflowing, 



2 6 TALKS AB O UT HOME-L IFE. 



those around you will be able to drink of the living 
water which Christ has given you. " The mouth of 
the righteous is a well of life." His words, his 
prayers, the very tone of his voice, will testify of 
the grace dwelling within. And this because the 
water which Christ gives is in his heart " a well of 
water springing up to everlasting life;" and "out 
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak- 
eth." 

Be sure of this : nothing so surely tends to make 
this ordinance profitable as true spiritual life ; and 
nothing so hinders the blessing as a dead formal 
spirit in him who leads the devotions of the rest. 

Study continually to make family prayer a real- 
ity y and watch above all things against mere lip- 
worship. 

Do not make it wearisome by too great length. 
A few verses of Scripture — not more than twenty 
or five and twenty ; the prayer earnest and hearty, 
whether it be extempore or a written form ; if pos- 
sible let a hymn be sung — at least occasionally. If 
anything particular has occurred in the home, let 
notice be taken of it, either by the selection of the 
Scripture which is read, or in the prayer offered, or 
in both. Great also will be the advantage if you 
are able to make a few short comments on the pas- 



FAM1L Y PR A YER. 



27 



sage read, so as to bring home the lesson taught to 
the hearts of those around you. 

Variety in the prayers offered is also very useful 
in keeping up the reality of worship. 

If a manual of prayers is used, yet it is well 
sometimes to lay it aside. You might occasionally, 
if not regularly, utter in your own words your de- 
sires to God on behalf of your family. The words 
* may be very simple and few, nay, even lacking in 
good grammar, but they will reach the heart of 
God and the hearts of those who hear them, if only 
they be dictated by a longing after God and his 
righteousness. 

Strive to be very punctual. 

If possible, have a set time, and keep to it. Let 
the young people know the time, and be always 
ready for it. Very sad it is to see, often in the 
homes of truly godly people, a son or a daughter 
coming in when prayers are half over. 

Above all other directions, I would say, Honor 
the Holy Spirit. 

It is he alone who can give the desire or the 
power to pray. It is he alone who reveals our need 
of grace and help. It is he alone who can show the 
conscience-stricken soul that the veil is rent in 
twain, that by the death of Jesus the barrier which 



28 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



our sins had raised is broken down, and we have 
the right of access with boldness to the mercy-seat. 
It is he alone who can fix the eye on our faithful 
and merciful High Priest pleading before the throne 
his all-sufficient merit. And this gift our Father 
has promised to bestow: "If ye then, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your Heavenly Father give 
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him V 

Depend on the Spirit's help. Entreat the Spir- 
it's grace. And the Comforter shall come, and 
make your worship here a foretaste of heaven's own 
joy. 



TALK WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 29 



CHAPTER III. 

A TALK WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 

There is great advantage in speaking from ex- 
perience. A sailor can give a better opinion as to 
seafaring life than a landsman. A farmer can give 
a better opinion with respect to the cultivation of 
land than one engaged in merchandise. And so a 
parent can speak better to fathers and mothers than 
those can who have never known the comfort and 
the anxiety that belong to a flock of little ones 
around the fireside. 

Perhaps I may add that a parent who has had 
the bitter grief of parting with those dearly loved, 
has another claim to be heard. For sorrows like 
these make us look at our homes with a different 
eye, and lead us more than anything to desire for 
our children the best and most lasting happiness. 
So I hope, dear reader, you will bear with me. I 
am speaking to myself while I speak to you ; and 
I write these lines with sorrowful and yet blessed 
recollections crowding upon me. 

First of all, let us talk together of our mutual 



3o 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



Responsibilities, and how great is the charge com- 
mitted to us when the Good Shepherd gives into 
our care the lambs so dear to him ! 

A little child — what is it ? That little boy or 
girl lately born, and now lying so helpless on a 
mother s lap, or that little one just reaching its third 
or fourth summer, and whom you love to take on 
your knee when you have a few minutes leisure — 
what is it ? Whence its origin ? What its value ? 
What its destiny ? 

We all know how precious is a child to its pa- 
rents, except in the case of those who, through 
some degrading vice, are dead to all natural affec- 
tion. 

" I am worth many thousand pounds," said a 
poor man once, "for I have many children, and 
not one of them would I part with for a thousand 
pounds." 

Yet after all do we reckon their value as high 
as we should ? Do we not often regard them in a 
wrong light ? 

A child — what is it ? Not a superior kind of 
animal, raised just a shade above the rest of the 
animal creation, as some would seem to teach us. 

Neither is it a mere toy or plaything which is to 
please and amuse us, and occupy our thoughts while 



TALK WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 31 

as yet it is young, and then to be turned adrift to do 
the best it can for itself. 

Nay, friends, it is far otherwise. That little 
child has been made for immortality ; it is created 
to shine in the image of God, and must live on as 
long as God himself. Its life has had a beginning, 
but will never have an end ; I mean its true and 
real existence, which lives on in spite of death. 

Think of the child with reference to the body. 
It grows on and develops with increasing years. 
First we see it so utterly helpless that it is wholly 
dependent on a mother's care. Then we see it as 
the little child just beginning to run, and then to 
speak. Then we trace the course of life as we see 
the schoolboy with his satchel and books, or the 
schoolgirl with her young companions, learning day 
by day something needful for life's duties. And then 
we mark its progress — the youth, the maiden pass- 
ing into full age ; and after a while following those 
who have gone before to the silent grave. 

But this is only the outer life. The child has 
an immortal soul, a mysterious principle, a ray of 
the Eternal Light, that which no waters can quench, 
no power destroy, no possibility of events ever an- 
nihilate ! Yes, when your home has long been lev- 
elled in the dust — when the busy toil of life has 



32 



TALKS ABOUT HO ME- LIFE. 



ceased its perpetual whirl — when yon glorious sun 
has ceased to shine — when the present scene has 
given place to " the new heavens and the new 
earth" — your child will still live, and will live on for 
ever. 

But how and where ? God willeth not the death 
of any; but he is just and true. His word cannot 
fail. And while he has opened wide the doors of 
his kingdom to all who trust in his dear Son, yet 
the sinner must reap sin's wages, and those who 
choose sin here must receive the sinner's doom by- 
and-by. Yes, friend, it must be heaven or hell for 
each of our children, as they are prepared for one 
or the other by their life here. What a thought is 
this ! My child must live for ever with bright an- 
gels in the fair world of glory, or must for ever be 
cast away into the region where hope never enters ! 
How it should stimulate us to make our children 
the objects of our prayers, to watch over them, and 
try by all means to train them in God's fear ! 

Sin has a vast hold of our poor fallen nature. 
A child is not like a sheet of white paper on which 
you can easily write what you will. It is not the 
mere child of example, as easily copying the good 
as the evil. " Foolishness is bound up in the heart 
of a child." It is bound up with it from its very 



TALK WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 33 



birth. What anger, what selfishness, what strife, 
yea, what deceit and pride also, do we see in very 
young children ! Watch the rising of temper, the 
cry of passion, the black, scowling look, the refusal 
to obey, the tiny hand uplifted. Who that has 
watched children, but must believe that we go astray 
even from the womb ! And there is the power of 
evil around to increase and draw forth the evil with- 
in. The whole world lieth in wickedness, and the 
tempter is ever at hand to lead us into sin. Multi- 
tudes are hurrying along the broad way ; lying 
and profanity and ungodliness of every kind stalk 
abroad : and all this increases a hundred-fold the 
peril in which the child is placed. 

" A child left to himself bringeth his mother to 
shame.'' Had Moses been left to himself by the 
river-side, and no friendly hand been stretched out 
to save him, soon would he have perished by the 
reptiles that abound there. But your child is in 
more peril than Moses by the river. Perils infinite- 
ly greater are around to destroy both body and souL 
Father, mother, watch over your child ! 

Were a garden left unsown, uncultivated, with- 
out the continued care which is needful to free it 
from noxious Xveeds, what would be its produce ? 
What would you find there but an upgrowth which 



5 



34 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



was utterly worthless ? A child's heart is a prolific 
garden. It is full of thoughts and desires and feel- 
ings ; but if untended, unwatched, no pleasant fruits, 
no holy thoughts, no right feelings will grow there. 
Father, mother, watch over your child ! 

A mother goes to see her son who has been 
condemned to death for a cruel murder. For a 
while he looks at her in silence. Then he addresses 
her : 

" Mother, if it had not been for you I should 
never have been here." « 

" How can you say so ?" was her reply. " I am 
sure I never taught you any harm/' 

" I am sure," he said, "you never taught me any 
good." 

We may be sure of this, that neglect is ruin. I 
may not teach my child evil ; if I but leave him to 
himself, if I neglect to teach him how to overcome 
sin, if I neglect to implant in his mind right princi- 
ples and right motives, Satan and the world and his 
own corrupt heart will soon teach him enough to 
bind him down, it may be, to a life-long bondage of 
evil. 

Fathers, mothers, will you remember that the 
greatest power to influence your chiW in the right 
or wrong direction, must be the home-training? It 



TALK WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 35 



must be so. As a rule, nothing can equal the effects 
of a parent's example, and the every-day life that a 
child sees. I am quite aware that God does often 
touch the heart by the faithful preaching of the 
Word, or by the loving instruction of the Sunday- 
school, when the home influence is in an opposite 
direction ; but for the most part it is the work and 
prayer and life of the Christian parent that are the 
means that God employs for the conversion and 
salvation of children. 

Fathers, mothers, you love your children ; you 
would guard them carefully from fire, from any 
dangerous precipice, from any fierce animal that 
might harm them ; will you permit me to guard 
you against a few special dangers that are likely to 
prove injurious to your little ones ? 

(1.) Drink. What an injury is this to tens of 
thousands of helpless, unoffending little boys and 
girls who but for this might grow up happy, useful 
members of society ! The money which should go 
for the food and clothing and instruction of the lit- 
tle flock which God has given, is all wasted and 
squandered, and the children are left in rags and 
misery. 

In the curious old story of St. George and the 
Dragon, we read of a fearful dragon lying in a 



36 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



marsh at the gate of a city, and laying hold day by 
day of one or two of the children of the city. A 
still more fearful dragon is Strong Drink, which 
is daily ruining, body and soul, men, women, and 
children, and hurrying them along the path of hope- 
less misery. Fathers, mothers, watch against this 
danger for yourselves and your children. Bring up 
your children never to touch it, and they will never 
require it. And if you feel there is the very least 
danger to yourself, seeing the greatness of the peril, 
abstain altogether. However great the sacrifice at 
first, it is far wiser and safer to bear it than to risk 
the awful possibility of a drunkard's home. 

(2.) Beware of ever using language that you 
would not wish your children to copy. 

A year or two ago a poor little girl about six 
years of age was brought into our Wolverhampton 
Hospital after being fearfully burnt. She died 
after a few days, but meanwhile her lips were filled 
with awful curses and blasphemies. But where had 
she learned them ? Who was responsible ? Was it 
not the parents, from whose lips she had learned 
them, or who had permitted her to use such lan- 
guage unchecked ? 

O parents, never use language you would not 
wish a child to use in a dying hour ! Great was the 



TALK WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 37 



contrast between this child and another little girl 

who died in the parish of which I had charge in 

Suffolk, from the same cause. In her sufferings 

she was continually repeating the hymns that her 

mother had taught her. Her last words were, 

" None but Jesus, none but Jesus 
Can do helpless sinners good." 

(3.) Beware alike of harshness and false kindness. 

Many children grow up from their earliest days 
in an atmosphere where all better feelings are 
nipped and checked by constant sternness or un- 
kindness. They are continually chilled and frozen 
by harsh looks and speeches, accompanied very 
often by rough blows. Sometimes the cause is that 
the mother is unwell or unhappy, and so is irrita- 
ble and worried by a variety of little trials ; and it 
all comes down upon the head of the poor children, 
who need all the forbearance and kindness that a 
mother can show. 

" I 've beaten my boy till he 's black and blue. 
I 'm always scolding him, but he 's no better for it." 

Nor is k the least likely he should be. If any- 
thing is certain to make a bad boy worse, or to turn 
a good one into a bad one, it is this wretched sys- 
tem of perpetual scolding and beating. 

I am not recommending you to let your child 



38 TALKS ABO UT HOME-LIFE. 



have his own way, or never to punish him. By all 
means punish your child in due measure for a lie 
or for a serious fault, especially if it be repeated. 
When you say anything, stick to it ; though be 
careful how you threaten. Be as firm as a rock, so 
that a fit of pettishness and crying shall not lead 
you to depart from what you have said. Let there 
be no taking contrary sides, so that if a mother 
punish a child, the father comes home and takes its 
part. Both must pull the same way, if you wish to 
benefit your children. If father or mother think 
that the other has made a mistake, speak of it after- 
wards, but let not the child see any dispute in the 
matter. 

Never punish hastily or in a passion. Be care- 
ful to weigh the character of a child's faults. Do 
not give a severe punishment for something which 
may be only an accident, because it may very much 
annoy you, while you let a real sin pass by without 
notice. Be wise, be just, be gentle, be forbearing. 
Chasten as God does, to make his children better 
and holier, and with love and pity in the heart, while 
there is a rod in the hand. " Thy loving correction 
shall make me great." 

There are a few other points on which I should 
like to add a word or two. 



TALK WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 39 
Make home a happy place. 

Nothing has a greater influence for good on the 
lives of the young than the remembrance that they 
were happy when young at their own fireside. It 
is said that a house cannot be healthy if the sun 
never shines into it ; and I am sure a home can- 
not be good for old or young, unless the sunshine 
of happiness and peace and kindness be found 
there. 

Some people have such an unfortunate way of 
driving happiness out of a house. There may be 
good points in them in other respects, but they are 
always suspicious, or grumbling, or they give the 
worst reason for the conduct of others, or always 
look as if every one was wronging them, so that 
there is no rest ; and the children, as well as ser- 
vants and others, cannot help feeling that there is 
no real happiness in that home. But for the wel- 
fare of your children be sure this is not the case in 
your house. You may have trials and difficulties ; 
but do your best under the circumstances, and let 
your countenance, at least, always bring a ray of 
heaven's sunshine wherever you go. 

Make Sunday a profitable day. 

The way in which Sunday is spent has, no 
doubt, an influence on the whole week. And I can 



TALKS ABOUT HO ME- LIFE. 



imagine nothing a means of greater blessing to a 
family growing up than father and mother, and all 
who are old enough, going together to God's house ; 
and then, at home, joining together in singing hymns 
or reading Scripture, or some helpful book or mag- 
azine ; and thus making each Sunday point them 
onwards to the blessed Sabbath-keeping which re- 
mains for the people of God. 

Be careful about the young ones being taught care- 
fully in the Word of God. 

Send them to such schools, week-day and Sun- 
day, where they will be earnestly instructed in the 
best of all knowledge. A parent should value all 
knowledge for his children : but, for my part, I 
reckon that knowledge far above all the rest which 
will give my children strength to resist the temp- 
tations which surround them, comfort and solace 
in the sorrows which befall them, and a blessed 
hope when the hour of death comes. If other 
knowledge is silver, this is golden ; yea, more, each 
truth indeed learned out of God's Word, is as a pre- 
cious ruby or diamond, which we shall be able to 
carry with us as a treasure into the future world. 

Name your children daily before God in prayer, 
and, through him who loved the young, expect him 
to bestow his grace on each. 



TALK WITH FATHERS AND MOTHERS. 41 



Be not content to pray only in general terms, 
but pray for your children by name. Mention each 
one — John, Arthur, Ernest, or Annie, Jane, Ger- 
trude, etc. ; and ask, for Christ's sake, that each 
one may be filled with the good Spirit of God, and 
guided into the way of life. 

The prayers of parents are most acceptable to 
God. In the life of Christ we have more examples 
of the prayers of parents for their children than of 
any other supplicants. And not one was rejected. 
Remember too that Christ is ever the same, delight- 
ing now as then to hear prayers on behalf of our 
children. 

Then, one other point, and it is one of the most 
important, Let us be careful to live consistent lives. 

Let us give our children a calling, a Bible, our 
prayers, faithful instruction in the great truths of 
the Bible, and the benefit of a holy example, and we 
have done all we can for them. 

" I wish you would walk straight," said the crab 
in the fable to her young one. " Why do you go 
sidling along in that awkward fashion?" 

" When I see you walk straight, mother, I will 
do the same," said the young one. 

The lesson is a needful one. Precept, to do 
good, must be enforced by example. It is here we 

Kome-Ll c 6 



* 

TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



should be most on our guard. The daily home-life 
of the parent will be copied in the life of the child 
years afterward, perhaps when the parent has long 
been lying in the grave. 

Fathers, mothers, let us endeavor, by God's 
grace, to walk before our children as the true ser- 
vants of the Most High. Let us walk in the foot- 
steps of Jesus. Let us be careful in little things. 
Let us often seek help from above. 

" Oh help me, Jesus, from on high ; 
I know no help but thee : 
Oh help me so to live on earth 
As thine in heaven to be." 



A TALK WITH THE LITTLE ONES. 43 



CHAPTER IV. 

A TALK WITH THE LITTLE ONES. 

I don't know a greater pleasure than being 
surrounded by a flock of little children with their 
bright looks and happy faces, and then telling them 
a story which they love to drink in, or giving them 
something to remember, which perhaps may do 
them good when years have passed. 

In the last chapter I tried to speak a few home- 
ly words to fathers and mothers ; but now I ima- 
gine I see before me hundreds and thousands of lit- 
tle children in the various homes to which this book 
may come ; and I should be so glad if I could tell 
you a story that might interest you, or say some- 
thing that you might think of afterwards. 

And what is it that I wish for each young read- 
er of these pages ? It is that each of you may be 
a true little Christian, a real disciple of the Lord 
Jesus, and that you may have him as your Friend 
right through your journey, and that he may wel- 
come you at the last to his happy home above. 

But I imagine I hear a little voice among my 



44 TALKS AB O UT HO ME- LIFE. 



readers speaking somewhat in this way: "I don't 
wish to be so religious yet. I 'm only quite young, 
and I see most boys and girls never think about 
religion ; and I wish to amuse myself. When 
I 'm old or ill, then of course I will become reli- 
gious ; but I shall have plenty of time ; so I shall 
wait before I begin." 

Now, if this is what you are saying in your 
heart, like a great many older people, you are ma- 
king quite a mistake. You do not understand what 
religion is, or what Jesus wishes to do for you. 

Look at it in this way. 

Suppose the Queen were to make a great ban- 
quet at Buckingham Palace on some special occa- 
sion, and while she invited many who were grown 
up, she were to add your name to the list, and were 
to send you word that she wished you to come. 
Would you not think it w T as very kind of her, and 
if you could, would you not go ? Would you say 
you were too young, and therefore did not wish to 
go ? Now the Lord Jesus has made a feast of spir- 
itual blessings, and while he has sent out the invi- 
tations far and wide, he has particularly included 
you. He has said he wants you there : " Suffer lit- 
tle children to come unto me, and forbid them not." 

Or suppose one day I were to come to you and 



A TALK WITH THE LITTLE ONES. 45 

offer you a valuable present. It might be a gold 
watch, or a purse, or a desk, or a book, or a work- 
box. I had bought it for you, and, because I loved 
you and thought it would make you happy, I want- 
ed you to have it. What do you think you would 
do ? Would you say, " Thank you, but I can do 
without it," or, " I 'm too young yet to have any- 
thing so valuable : when I am older perhaps I may 
have such a gift" ? No, no ; you would not say 
this ; but you would at once accept the present, and 
it would make you happy to think of the kindness 
of the friend who had bought it for you. 

Now this is just what Jesus does. He has 
bought you a precious gift, and it has cost him 
more than all the gold and silver in the world — 
even his own life ; and this gift is so valuable that 
it will insure your happiness while you live and 
when you die, and for ever and ever. 

Eternal Life is the gift, and it includes forgive- 
ness of your sins and the comfort and help of the 
Holy Spirit, and a home in heaven with God's peo- 
ple. Now Jesus loves you, and he offers you this 
gift, and would rejoice if you should take it at once. 
What will you say to him? Will you say, "No, 
Lord, I do n't want thee or thy gifts. I am quite 
happy enough and rich enough ; or at least I do n't 



TALKS ABOUT HOME- LIFE. 



want them yet. By-and-by perhaps I will come 
and ask for them" ? Instead of this, will you not 
thank the Saviour for his kindness, and tell him you 
are but a poor, sinful child, and ask him to give you 
the gift of life which he offers you ? 

Or look at the blessing of being a true Chris- 
tian in another way. 

I dare say some of my young readers have a 
very happy home. You have a kind father who 
loves you dearly, and you often run to open the door 
to him, and it gives you pleasure to sit on his knee, 
or to be with him. Now think of the privilege of 
the true Christian. He has a father in heaven, 
kinder, richer, wiser, more powerful far than any 
earthly father, who thinks of him every moment, 
listens to every word he speaks, comforts him when 
in trouble, and guards him from every danger. 

Some of you may have no father whom you can 
love, and to whom you can go when you want any- 
thing. But how happy will you be if you believe 
in Jesus, and have God for your Father ; for he will 
be better to you than any father on earth ever could 
be. An orphan boy was reading the 27th psalm. 
Presently he came to the verse, " When my father 
and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take 
me up." When he read this, he fell on his knees, 



A TALK WITH THE LITTLE ONES. 47 

and said, " O God, be thou both father and mother 
to me and God heard his prayer and taught him 
of his great love. 

I think you must see, then, that it is a good 
thing to be a true Christian now you are young. 

I once had a friend who had two little curly- 
headed boys whom he loved very dearly. When 
any one asked him what he wished them to be, he 
would say that his only wish was that they should 
be " Christians indeed.'' He did not mind if they 
were blacksmiths, or laborers, or farmers, or what 
they were, if only they loved the Saviour. There 
was a good deal of wisdom in his remark. What- 
ever you are, you are safe and happy if you have 
Christ as your Friend ; and if you have not, you 
may be the richest merchant in England, or the 
highest noble in the realm, but you will never know 
true peace or comfort, and when you die your soul 
will be lost for ever. 

Is it not, then, a happy thing to be a true Chris- 
tian from your earliest days ? If you are, you will 
always have a Friend by your side who will love 
you and listen to your prayers, and be ready to help 
you when trouble comes. You will be happier in 
your brightest days, for the love of Jesus casts a 
sunshine on everything. A peaceful heart makes 



48 'TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 



every earthly comfort sweeter. You will always be 
safe. He that never slumbers nor sleeps will be 
your Guardian ; and if your life should be spared 
till you are sixty or seventy, he will be with you, 
and never leave you nor forsake you. You will be 
safe, too, if God should send for you in early life. 
Early death will be early glory, and you will join 
the chorus of happy spirits that are before the 
throne. 

In a dark, wretched attic in Edinburgh, a little 
boy lay dying. On his pillow were a well-worn 
Bible and hymn-book, and the Bible was his con- 
tinual comfort. " Oh, speak to my mother and pray 
with her," he said. " I 'm wearying to go home ; 
I 'm so happy to go. The only thing that grieves 
me is to see mother not willing to part with me. O 
mother, just say that you '11 let me go to Jesus, and 
promise to follow me there, and my joy will be full." 
Shortly afterwards he was asked if anything could 
be done for his comfort ; but he said, " I need noth- 
ing, and I '11 soon be where I '11 have everything." 

Happy indeed are they who, like this poor lad, 
have early learned the secret of a Saviour's love ! 

But perhaps among my young readers a little 
voice may be heard asking for help : " I should like 
to be a true Christian, but I do not know how. 



A TALK WITH THE LITTLE ONES. 49 

Tell me what I must do and how I must begin, and 
help me to love and follow Jesus." 

Well, I will try, and I shall be very glad if I am 
able to help you only a little- on the way to the bet- 
ter land. 

A few months ago I was in Scotland, and I was 
struck with seeing so many beautiful mansions ; 
and at the entrance to most of the parks in which 
they were situated you would notice a large iron 
gate and a lodge, and there was often some diffi- 
culty in getting permission to enter and see the 
grounds or house. Then I thought of another 
mansion and another gate, and over it I could see 
in golden letters, " Knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you." 

Thank God, there is a gate of mercy, a gate of 
welcome, to God's house and to God's love ; and 
the poor and the sorrowful, and the sick and the 
sinful, may come, and never will be sent empty 
away. And the kind Saviour is ever watching by 
the gate. He stands there day and night ready to 
open to all who come. If you went to the gate of 
a large house, and you wanted to go in, but you saw 
a fierce dog, or a man who looked cross and angry, 
you might be afraid and ready to run away ; but if 
you saw some one who looked kindly at you, and 

Home-Lil'e. 7 



So TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



asked you what you wanted, you would be encour- 
aged to go in. And this is just what Jesus does. 
He waits to receive you. He is full of tenderness 
and pity. He will not be angry because of the sins 
you have done, but will forgive them at once when 
you come to him. 

I met with some sweet verses a few months ago 
that I have often thought of since, and I think I 
must give you them. 

" 1 saw the stars of the morning wait 

On their lofty towers to watch the land, 
As a little child stole up to the gate, 

And knocked with a tiny, trembling hand ; 

" A wreath of flowers on his golden hair, 
The light of youth in his shining eyes, 
And the look of an earnest purpose there, 
As of one who must win a place in the skies. 

" 6 1 am only a little child, dear Lord, 

And my feet are stained already with sin ; 
But they said you had sent the children word 
To come to the gate and enter in.' 

" The Man at the gate looked up and smiled, 
A heavenly smile and fair to see ; 
And he opened and bent to the pleading child, 
6 1 am willing with all my heart,' saith he." 

Now I want you to believe that Jesus is willing 
with all his heart to receive you and forgive you, 



A TALK WITH THE LITTLE ONES. 51 



and give you his Holy Spirit to make your heart 
humble and holy and clean ; and then go and knock 
at his gate — that is, go and ask him to receive you 
and bless you, and do everything for you. 

He is quite willing to open the gate, but he 
wishes you to ask him. When I was walking along 
a road between Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine, I 
came to a gate which was locked, and a little girl 
came running out, and said, " Please, sir, you must 
say, ' Please to open the gate/ " I was very much 
amused, but I soon understood how it was. The 
owner of the road was quite willing that travellers 
should pass, but he wished to keep the right of way 
in his own hands. So he ordered that none should 
go through the gate without asking permission. 
Then I thought of the gate of mercy. Jesus is 
quite willing that we should enter, but it is his will 
that we should ask, trusting in his kindness and 
love. He throws the gate wide open, and we may 
come in. So I hope each little reader will go and 
ask Jesus to open the gate, and I am sure he will 
not refuse you. 

It is now more than ten years ago since a vil- 
lage Sunday-scholar knocked at the gate of Jesus, 
and was admitted. One night she lay awake on 
her bed, and she said to herself, " I am not very 



5 2 TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 

strong, and if I die young, where should I go ? I 
never pray, I do not love the Saviour; and I fear I 
am not ready. But I will begin." So as she lay 
on her bed she lifted up her heart in prayer : " O 
Lord, forgive me all my sins, through the Saviour's 
blood, and give me thy Holy Spirit, for Jesus 
Christ's sake." Thus she prayed ; nor was her 
prayer or resolution forgotten the next morning. 
She began to read her Bible and resist temptation. 
Satan tempted her very much. He tried to per- 
suade her that she could never be forgiven, and 
that the Bible was not true. And then she was 
very unhappy because her father and mother and 
brothers and sisters did not seek the Saviour. But 
she would not turn back. She went on* praying 
and reading the Scriptures, and soon the light be- 
gan to shine brighter, and she trusted more in Je- 
sus, and lived and died as a little missionary. Many 

in the village will never forget Jane T as long 

as they live, and when Jesus comes she will have 
the bright crown of those who " turn many to right- 
eousness." May you, too, knock, as she did, and 
follow her as she followed Christ. 

Among my young readers I seem to hear an- 
other voice : " I" have done as you have wished me. 
I have knocked at Jesus' gate, and he has received 



A TALK WITH THE LITTLE ONES. 53 

me and forgiven me, and I believe he is now my 
Friend and my Saviour. But now tell me, how 
shall I live ? How can I best please him ? How 
can I do the most to show my love to him who died 
on the cross to save me ?" 

The Bishop of Norwich, in talking to the little 
ones, used to say that true religion was wrapped up 
in five short words : " Come unto Me ! Follow Me !" 
You have come to Jesus : now you want every day 
to try to be like him, to think as he thought, to 
speak as he spake, to act as he acted. 

M Thine image, Lord, bestow, 
Thy presence and thy love ; 
I ask to serve thee here below, 
To reign with thee above. " 

Offer this prayer very frequently, and Jesus will 
put his beauty and his Spirit upon you. I have 
read a tract which gives a motto that may help you. 
It was written over the mantelpiece of a clergyman, 
and taught many lessons to him and all who lived 
in the house. It was this : What would Jesus 
do ? 

Try to think of this motto, if you would live a 
holy life, and be a little sunbeam in your home and 
do good to those around. 

It teaches you how you must try and show 



S 4 TALKS AB O UT HO ME- LIFE. 



piety at home and requite your parents. Try in 
everything to obey and please them. Remember 
how Jesus went down to Nazareth, and was obedi- 
ent to Joseph and Mary, though he knew he was the 
Son of God. And if Jesus, who was so great and 
glorious, was yet subject to those who were appoint- 
ed over him, much more should you be. A little 
boy who had wished to go out to sea determined to 
remain at home, because, he said, "he would never 
cause his mother a needless tear." Let this be your 
aim and wish — never to cause sorrow to father or 
mother, or brother or sister, but to strive to help 
them in every way you can. 

It is wonderful what a help a little girl of nine 
or ten can be to her mother at home, if only she 
gets into the way of doing what she can. And just 
as great a comfort a little boy may be who can 
always be trusted when he goes out, or when he is 
doing anything for those at home. 

But the motto, What would Jesus do ? may 
teach you more than this. 

What would Jesus do ? This may teach you 
to be kind and humble, and not to be vain or con- 
ceited, or cross or self-willed or selfish ; but to over- 
come all pride and bad tempers, and be meek and 
lowly in spirit. 



A TALK WITH THE LITTLE ONES. 55 

What would Jesus do ? This may teach you 
to love God's Sabbath, and to learn all you can of 
his Word ; and to thank God for all your many 
mercies, and to bring to him all your little cares 
and troubles, and ask him for the daily grace and 
strength you need. 

What would Jesus do ? This may teach you 
to be diligent in your lessons and work, and never 
waste time. Every day has its work, and you can 
never bring back a day that has been lost. 

What would Jesus do ? This may teach you 
above all things to hate sin in every shape — every 
lie, every impure word, all theft and envy and mal- 
ice; and to seek to do God's work, and lead others 
to love Jesus, until Jesus comes again in a bright 
cloud. Then he will give you a joyful welcome, 
and say, u Well done, good and faithful servant, en- 
ter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'' 



56 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



CHAPTER V. 

A TALK WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE. 

I shall not soon forget an incident in Swiss 
travelling which might have ended very seriously. 
I was quite a young man, and had not much experi- 
ence ; and without sufficient consideration I en- 
gaged a guide to conduct me through a compara- 
tively unknown part of East Switzerland. I soon 
found myself in difficulties. My guide could speak 
neither French nor English ; the horse became so 
lame that we had to lead him ; and worse than all, 
the guide knew nothing of the way. He led me 
hither and thither, backwards and forwards, some- 
times coming to the brink of a river, sometimes to 
the edge of some deep pit, sometimes into a wood 
from which we could scarcely find a way out. At 
last it grew dark, and it seemed that we should be 
benighted, and have to wait till morning to pro- 
ceed. 

It was a dangerous path and midnight was past, 
when in the providence of God we saw a friendly 
light, and we were then able to find a comfortable 



A TALK WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE. 57 



shelter in a .roadside inn till the next day, when I 
could inquire my way, and go forward in the direc- 
tion in which I wished. 

I have often thought of that night, and it has 
seemed to me a sort of parable of the way in which 
the young and inexperienced are in danger through 
bad guides, and how likely it is that they may lose 
their way, and, it may be, perish in the darkness 
which surrounds them. 

I wish in this chapter to talk a little to young 
friends who are setting out on life's journey. Many 
young men and young women, I trust, will read 
these pages ; and it may be that some of the thoughts 
I would suggest will help them to avoid the dangers 
that may be near. 

Who then, I would ask, are these bad guides that 
may possibly lead you wrong, and bring you into 
danger ? 

I think the first I should mention is an ungodly 
companion. 

In every village and town there are to be found 
those who are easily led, and when a wicked com- 
panion has gained influence over them, they are too 
often hurried on from one evil to another till their 
peace and character are lost, and their prospects 
injured, if not blasted for life. 

Home-Life. 8 



5 8 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 

A young man was sentenced to death for the 
murder of the young woman to whom he had been 
engaged. When asked the cause of his fall, for he 
had once been a Sunday scholar, he gave it in a few 
words : " I left off reading my Bible, I left off 
prayer, I took to Sabbath-breaking, and / took to 
bad company, and this brought me here." Among 
other evils it was bad company which led to such a 
terrible end. 

I do wish each young friend would be decided 
in refusing to go with those who will lead astray. 
It is so easy to do what others do, and go where 
others go, and think as others think : and it is so 
hard to say " No," and to stand out against every- 
thing that is wrong. And yet it is a brave and 
noble thing to be willing to stand alone, and to set 
examples rather than follow them ; and on the other 
hand, if you are led by others, you know not in 
what pit of misery your course may end. 

I went one day with a company of workmen for 
a day's holiday, and some of them determined to 
reach some high ground to see a beautiful view. 
But they went a long way round, and nearly lost the 
view altogether. 

" How was it you went that way ?" said the 
master to one of them, "for you had been before." 



A TALK WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE. 59 

" I thought we were wrong ; but I followed the 
croivd" was the reply. 

And so too many young people know in their 
hearts that the way in which they walk is leading 
them wrong, farther and farther from true happi- 
ness, farther and farther from God and heaven, and 
yet they follozv the crowd. They must do as James 
and Arthur 'and William do, or as Mary and Jane 
and Eliza do ; and they dare not turn away, or say 
a word to offend ; and so they reap the bitter fruits 
of evil which they might have escaped. 

Another bad guide is a teacher of socialist or 
infidel principles. 

Many such are to be found in workshops and 
where many are gathered together, who have a gift 
for declamation, and have picked up a few objec- 
tions against the Scriptures, and can talk loudly 
about the hypocrisy of Christian professors, and the 
iniquity of the laws of property ; and if they could, 
would break up all churches and involve the gov- 
ernment, law, and religion in one common destruc- 
tion. You will not find it wise to listen to guides 
like these. Before you do, at least ask them if in 
their wisdom they have anything better to give you 
than that which they would destroy. 

Can a guide of this class find you a better Bible, 



6o 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



or a kinder Saviour, or a mightier helper in sorrow 
and temptation ? Ask him if he can prove that, if 
everything is overturned in our land, we shall have 
more liberty, more quietness, more opportunity for 
the intellectual and steady to rise in life ; and if he 
cannot, then remember it is the counsel of the wise 
man " to fear God and the king, and not to meddle 
with them who are given to change." 

Another guide to be avoided is the sin which 
draws away so many young persons. 

The apostle Paul speaks of such sins as being 
so fearfully dangerous that it is well to keep at as 
great a distance from them as possible. "Flee also 
youthful lusts." The secret of many a hopeless, un- 
happy life, and of many an early death, is drinking 
the poisonous cup of sinful self-indulgence. 

How many a young woman whose life promised 
much blessing to herself and her parents has fallen, 
never to rise again, and perhaps her end has been 
self-destruction ! How many a young man who has 
arisen afterwards from the power of this sin, has 
had reason to the close of life to mourn over the 
evil which he has brought upon himself or others ! 
Ah, the terrible remorse that has dogged a man's 
footsteps even to the grave, as he has thought of a 
young person whom he has drawn into sin, whose 



A TALK WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE. 61 



peace he has thus ruined, and whom he can never 
restore to comfort and hope ! Young friend, flee 
from this sin as from an adder, a viper whose sting 
is death. Avoid the word, the thought, the least 
approach to impurity. 

A story is told of the late Mr. Nisbet in his 
early life, that shows how much may depend upon 
a single temptation resisted. A young friend had 
come up to London from Scotland a few months 
previously, and took him for his first walk after his 
own arrival. This friend, at the end of their walk, 
led him into a blind alley, where some loose-looking 
characters beckoned them to come in. Young Nis- 
bet shrunk with horror from the thought, and be- 
sought his friend at once to turn away ; and when 
he could not persuade him, he fled as quickly as 
possible from the spot, bitterly grieving for the 
temptation to which his friend had yielded. Years 
afterward, when respected and beloved in the church 
as a faithful servant of Christ, he ever looked back 
with thankfulness to the grace which enabled him 
that night to overcome the snare that had been laid 
for him. 

The love of gayety and pleasure and dress is an- 
other guide which turns aside many a footstep. 
A young lady of delicate constitution was re- 



62 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



peatedly warned by her physician to avoid late 
hours and never to go out in the evening air. But 
her delight in the dance and the theatre led her to 
disregard his advice, and one day he was called in 
to see her, as she was suffering from a chest com- 
plaint, from which she never recovered. This time 
he spoke most to her of the hope she needed in 
prospect of death ; and though at first she was an- 
gry, yet she learned that in the blood of Christ there 
is a peace which is far sweeter than the passing 
pleasures for which she had sacrificed life. But 
remember, the love of pleasure cost her no less than 
precious life. And in ten thousand instances, mirth 
and gay society, and the concert hall and the ball- 
room, prove the death of all better impressions, yea, 
the eternal death of the soul. 

The secret of victory here is to know something 
better, something sweeter than the pleasure which 
earth can afford. Perhaps you think you cannot 
part with some amusements to which you have been 
accustomed ; but learn to know the love of Christ, 
and you will not want them, for he will give you his 
own peace and joy. "Whosoever drinketh of this 
water shall thirst again : but whosoever drinketh of 
the water that I shall give him shall never thirst ; 
but the water that I shall give him shall be in 



A TALK WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE. 63 



him a well of water springing up into everlasting 
life." 

The last guide I wish you to avoid is a very- 
crafty and dangerous one. His name is Self- Will. 
Many have been led by this bad guide into perils 
which they were never able to escape. 

Here is a young man who will just follow his 
own way, and will give no heed to counsel from 
parent or friend, or teacher or pastor. He may be 
rash and impetuous, and make the greatest mis- 
takes, but his own way is the right way in his sight, 
and in that he will walk. Money is wasted, con- 
nections are formed which will do him no good, the 
favor of those who could further his prospects in 
life is lost, the heart of father or mother is almost 
broken, and all might have been avoided had he 
been willing to listen to five minutes' kind advice, 
instead of taking his own way. 

It was this guide which led young King Reho- 
boam astray, and cost him the best part of his king- 
dom. He followed the counsel of the young men, 
because they advised him in accordance with his 
own will, and rejected the good advice of the old 
men, who bade him speak gently and kindly to the 
people. So the ten tribes forsook him, and he 
reigned only over Judah and Benjamin. 



64 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



If my young friends who read these pages would 
be willing to pay more heed to those who have had 
experience of life's dangers, and less regard to those 
who are still but as inexperienced as themselves, 
they would be able afterwards to reckon up more 
gains and fewer losses than if they took a different 
course. 

I have spoken of some bad guides whom it is 
dangerous to follow. Let me now commend to you 
a safe Guide, a true Guide, One who is thoroughly 
trustworthy, and who will never lead you astray. 

I had one such guide in Switzerland. His name 
was Frangois Feoret. I felt perfectly safe in his 
hands. He knew every step of the way. He car- 
ried for me the bag or the knapsack, which would 
have hindered my climbing the mountains. He 
held my hand when the road was steep and slip- 
pery. He was kind and considerate, always ready 
and able to help, possessing, in short, all the quali- 
fications that a guide requires. 

But I know a better guide than Frangois Feo- 
ret. Jesus Christ is the true and faithful Guide 
who can befriend us as we journey on through life, 
and bring us safe home at last. He knows the 
way. He alone sees the dangerous places you have 
to pass. He sees the snares and traps which Satan 



A TALK WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE. 65 

puts in your way. He sees the special sins which 
are likely to do you most mischief. And he can 
provide against them. He can give you a warning 
out of his Word that will enable you to resist the 
temptation. He can pray for you so that needful 
grace may be sent down. He can hold your right 
hand that you shall not fall. 

Then, too, he will carry all your burdens. Your 
heaviest burden, your sins, your past neglect, your 
evil deeds and thoughts and words, he takes from 
you and casts into the depths of the sea. Upon 
him were those sins laid when he died for you on 
the cross, and now he completely and immediately 
forgives such as trust his salvation. He likewise 
will carry for you your griefs and sorrows, small 
and great. Every care and anxiety you may lay on 
him, assured that he careth for you. 

He can guide yotc wisely at difficult turns in 
your history. You may not know what is best to 
do. Two paths may lie before you, and you know 
not which to take. But bring the matter to him on 
your knees. Ask his counsel, and you will find 
afterwards that he led you to take the best course. 

And this merciful and faithful Guide can open 
a way for us, and extricate us from troubles which 
we have brought on ourselves. 

Home Life. Q 



66 TALKS AB0U1 1 HOME-LIFE. 



A young man had been living a very profligate 
life, and by his wicked practices had turned against 
him every one who knew him except his father. 
One day his father said to him that if ever the time 
should come that he himself should be dead, and 
the son had no one in the wide world who would 
care for him, that even then, if he confessed his sins 
and turned to the Saviour, He would not despise or 
reject him, but forgive him his sin, and lead him 
into peace. And he found it true. Houseless and 
friendless and desolate, his father being now in the 
grave, he sought the Saviour's mercy and found it. 
He found a Friend in heaven who never failed him, 
and helped him to rise to a holier life. 

If any reader of this chapter has gone far astray, 
but now has a desire to come back, let me say, Turn 
at once to Jesus, and he will forgive and welcome 
you and restore you from all your wanderings, and 
bring you into his safe fold. 

And it is a blessed thing to trace the tender mid 
merciful leadings of our gracious Lord in his deal- 
ings with each of his people. He is indeed a faith- 
ful Guide to all who are willing to follow him. 

It is not far from thirty years since first I sought 
him in prayer. I was then a young man, living 
amid the temptations of a great city, and I saw very 



A TALK WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE, 67 



plainly that it was only the people of God who are 
safe and prepared for all emergencies. So one 
evening while going to my lodgings I lifted up my 
heart to the Saviour and asked him to forgive and 
save me. That evening I took down from the shelf 
a copy of the New Testament, and began to read it, 
and the day following, by the help of God, I began 
a new life. And I can testify of the goodness and 
faithfulness which the Lord has shown me since 
that day. In temporal things he has ofttimes shed 
a light when the way seemed dark and uncertain, 
and in sore temptations and trials he has mercifully 
helped me through. 

I name this as an encouragement to any in early 
life who will give themselves to the Saviour. It 
will not be an easy path, but it will be a very blessed 
one. You must expect ridicule and hard words oc- 
casionally, and perhaps special sorrows may come 
to try your faith ; but in spite of all you will have 
heart-rest, and strength to go on, and hope to 
brighten the future ; and if you are faithful you 
will find increasing joys, and it will be a comfort 
to you to think that the best part of life has been 
devoted to the best Master ; and the proof will not 
be wanting that your influence and daily example 
have been made useful to others, and perhaps 



68 TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 



that many through you have chosen the narrow 
path. 

Before I close this chapter I would say a few 
words to young persons in service. 

I know you have many difficulties, and often but 
few privileges ; but still I am sure you will find it a 
good thing in any situation to have Jesus as your 
Friend, and to endeavor to please him most of all 
and first of all. 

I had a nurse in my family who lately fell asleep 
in Jesus. She had been for some years a true 
Christian, and she tried to talk to the little ones 
and lead them to the Saviour. A few months be- 
fore her death she wrote to me when from home, 
and in her letter she said, 

" I mean to give myself afresh to Jesus, to serve 
him better, and to do his will. Your prayers are 
abundantly answered, and we are now no more sep- 
arate, but of one heart and mind, serving God. I 
have borne the gloomy days ; may I now rejoice in 
the bright ones. My full desire is now to walk in 
the steps of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 

And then she closed her letter with a hymn : 

"To walk with God is my desire, 
% Whatever others do ; 

And lest I weary grow, and sin, 
I '11 lean upon him, too. 



A TALK WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE. 69 



" Yes, gracious God, I '11 lean on thee ; 
Thy promises, thy word, 
My strength and my support shall be, 
Along this painful road. 

" And when my journey here is done, 
Oh, let me come to thee ! 
And sit with Jesus on his throne, 
Thy glorious face to see." 

And her end was peace. She could bear wit- 
ness that she felt herself in safe hands. And her 
last words were words of prayer and of kind interest 
for the souls of the little children she had loved. 

Dear reader, may this comfort also be yours. 
One thing is needful — that you should have Christ 
for your own, and that your daily life should wit- 
ness for him. Make time every day to read a little 
of your Bible. Kneel down and ask pardon for 
your sins through the blood of Christ, and the 
strengthening grace of the Holy Spirit. Trust the 
Saviour s promise, and believe that he loves you, 
and then strive to be thoroughly consistent. Let 
there be no double dealing. Be genuine and sin- 
cere and trusty in small things and great. Be hon- 
est, be true, be forbearing, be kind to your fellow- 
servants. Cast aside vanity and pride and the love 
of dress. Mind what companions you make. Make 
a conscience of using well your time and your 



7 o TALKS AB G UT HOME-LIFE. 



money. Never say a word against those you live 
with. Above all, live in God's sight. Set him ever 
before you. His eyes are in every place, beholding 
the evil and the good. Therefore keep him in mind. 
Let your prayer and desire continually be, " Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do V 

" Thine image, Lord, bestow, 
Thy presence and thy love : 
I ask to serve thee here below, 
And reign with thee above. " 



A TALK WITH AGED FRIENDS. 71 



CHAPTER VI. 

A TALK WITH MY AGED FRIENDS. 

I think it is well that for every one in the house 
there should be a word of help. And, no doubt, 
among my readers there will be not a few who can 
look back on a fairly long lifetime, who have passed 
the fiftieth milestone on life's journey, perhaps the 
sixtieth, or even ten beyond this, and who feel 
something of the decay which years bring with 
them. Perhaps there may be a good many years 
still to come before the journey is over. I had an 
old friend who died at the age of ninety-three, and 
to the end she could hear and read of the Saviour 
whom for sixty or seventy years she had faithfully 
served and truly loved. But still, as far as health 
and vigor are concerned, your best' days are over, 
and there are many signs that the earthly house in 
which the spirit has been dwelling must by-and-by 
come down. How much I wish that I could say 
anything to help you during these last years or 
months of your sojourn below, so that your last 
days might be your best days, and the last day of 



7 2 TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 

all the very best, because you knew that you would 
soon be welcomed to the Father s house above. 

But if I am to give you any real help, we must 
be quite honest with one another, and I must say 
just what I think and feel about the way to obtain 
it. The most sorrowful sight to me on earth, is an 
old man or woman who has trodden so many stages 
of the journey, and who is yet without any good 
hope for the world to come. 

A friend of mine who has long since gone to his 
rest, was once travelling in a stage-coach with an 
old man who took no interest in the best things ; 
and when my friend asked him how life looked to 
him after so many years of it had been spent, the 
old man lifted up his hands and exclaimed, "It is 
naught ! It is naught /" The words reached the 
heart of one sitting by, who was but young ; she 
saw how soon life passed by, and how sorrowful it 
was for one in old age to be yet far from God, 
and it was not without a lasting blessing to her 
soul. 

How is it with yourself, my friend ? Have you 
found peace with God ? Have you the comfort of 
knowing that all the sins of bygone life have been 
put away through the Saviours blood ? Can you 
lean on the Saviour in your heart as your only hope 



A TALK WITH AGED FRIENDS. 73 



and strength,' as perhaps you lean on a staff you 
may carry in your hand ? Or is it just the other 
way ? You know nothing positively about all this. 
You have no certainty. You do not think very 
much about your old sins, for a dull insensibility 
has crept over you, and you seldom think of death, 
or of the danger you are in. And yet sin is still 
unforgiven and your soul unsaved : and if you die 
thus, where is your hope ? 

Ah, friend, you think, perhaps, that you have not 
very much to answer for, and that your good char- 
acter and the respect of those around you will stand 
you in good stead by-and-by. Not so. Your sin is 
far more than you imagine. The shutters have been 
closed and the light has been shut out these many 
years, so that you are quite unaware of your true 
condition. If you had been living in a house fifty 
or sixty years, and it had never been cleaned during 
all that time, though perhaps you had become so 
accustomed to it that you did not mind, yet surely 
there would be a terrible accumulation of dust and 
filth that needed to be cast out. And is not this 
the case with you ? For these many years sin has 
been at work in your heart and life, and yet you 
have never sought cleansing through Christ's blood, 
nor has your heart been purified by his Holy Spirit. 

Hume-Life. I Q 



7 4 TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 



Yet Christ is waiting still. He is willing to come 
in and purge the house and cleanse it from all its 
defilement. He will show you your sin, and then 
wash away its guilt, and make you hate the things 
you before have loved, and delight yourself hence- 
forth in doing the will of God. 

Will you not earnestly seek this great blessing? 
Speak the truth to your own heart, and perhaps it 
will be something of this kind : " I am getting on in 
years, and I know that I am yet without Christ and 
without hope. I have been trifling away a whole 
lifetime of opportunities, and am now fast going 
down the hill, and have but a short time to live. 
One by one I have lost the companions of my ear- 
lier days, and I shall soon follow them. Alas ! my 
feet will stumble on the dark mountains, and I shall 
fall and have none to lift me up." But lo ! even 
now by your side there is an Almighty Saviour. He 
knows the " uttermost " of your sin, and is prepared 
to save you from it all. 

I will tell you a true story. A few years ago an 
old man was now and then seen in a church near 
London. His life had been one of open and un- 
blushing iniquity, and this in a position which de- 
manded very specially consistency of walk and char- 
acter. Those who knew what his previous life had 



A TALK WITH AGED FRIENDS. 75 



been scarcely dared hope for anything better in his 
last days. The Word of God reached his conscience, 
and the old man was bowed down in the dust at the 
recollection of his wicked life. But he found peace 
through the blood of Christ. Three years he lived 
to manifest the reality of the change, and died in 
the faith, thanking God for the marvellous peace 
which had been extended towards him. 

So willing, so ready is the Saviour to welcome 
all who truly come to him. He will welcome you 
likewise if you will only come. But delay not. 
The time past can never be recalled. Far too long 
have you waited already. Your days are well-nigh 
spent. This very hour, this very moment, lift up 
your heart, and cry, " Lord Jesus, save me, I per- 
ish !" Go and knock at his door, and ask him for 
mercy. Believe that he will hear, for he is pledged 
not to reject you. 

That he rejects none who come is very touch- 
ingly described in a few lines of a poem from which 
I quoted two or three verses in a previous chapter. 
It describes the aged sinner coming to Christ, under 
the figure of an old man making his way, one dark 
night, through snow and storm, fearing that he 
could find no shelter, and yet heartily welcomed at 
the gate to which he went : 



76 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



" It was afternoon, and the sun was low, 

And the troubled winds sobbed long and loud, 
As an old man tottered across the snow 

Which wrapped the earth in a bitter shroud. 

" He knocked with a withered, trembling hand : 
6 1 can but perish at last,' he said ; 
* For the cruel night comes fast on the land, 
And the morning will find me cold and dead. 

" < O Thou that watchest beside the gate, 
Had I come to thee in the days gone by, 
Thou hadst received me ; but now too late, 
I lay me down on thy threshold to die : 

" ' I have fought and finished an evil fight ; 
I have earned the deadly wages of sin : 
It is hard to die in the snow to-night ; 
But no man is willing to take me in.' 

" The sun was low in the changing west, 

The shadows were heavy from hill and tree, 
As the Watchman opened the gate of rest — 
' I am willing with all my heart/ saith he." 

But no doubt among the readers of this chapter 
there are many who know and love the Saviour. 
You are conscious of great imperfection and of 
many failings, but you trust only in the name of 
Christ, and desire to follow his precepts. 

I know nothing to which you can turn for more 
comfort than to the recollection of the Redeemers 
faithfulness. 



A TALK WITH AGED FRIENDS. 77 



How faithful was he to Jacob during his long 
and varied pilgrimage ! We see the old man, a 
short while before his end, invoking a blessing on 
the two sons of Joseph, and in doing so he bears 
witness to the faithfulness of the Lord all through 
life. " God, before whom my fathers Abraham and 
Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life 
long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me 
from all evil, bless the lads." We have David in 
his old age praising God for his continual help and 
succor, and casting himself upon his tender care 
to keep him to the end : " Thou art my hope, O 
Lord God : thou art my trust from my youth. By 
thee have I been holden up from ''the womb. My 
praise shall be continually of thee." " O God, thou 
hast taught me from my youth ; and hitherto have 
I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I 
am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not ; 
until I have showed thy strength unto this genera- 
tion, and thy power unto every one that is to come." 
Then, too, we have the promise, so exactly suitable 
for your case : " Even to your old age I am He ; 
and even to hoar hairs will I carry you : I have 
made, and I will bear ; even I will carry, and will 
deliver you." Gen. 48:16, 16; Psa. 71:5, 6, 17, 
18 ; Isa. 46 14. 



78 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



I want you often to think of this. Rest your 
soul continually upon a faithful God and a faithful 
Saviour. Everything else may fail you, but this 
hope never will. 

Memory may fail, health may fail, sight and 
hearing may fail, means may fail, so that you may 
often have a hard struggle ; even children may fail 
you, and cause you much sorrow by their unkind- 
ness, or they may be called away before yourself ; 
yea, moreover, heart and flesh may fail, and your 
spirit be cast down ; but remember amid all that 
Jesus Christ is " the same yesterday, to-day, and 
for ever." His love is the same, his promise the 
same, his tender sympathy the same, his power and 
grace the same, and he himself is your shield, and 
your exceeding great reward. He will never leave 
thee nor forsake thee ; and you shall be able to 
testify hereafter that not one good thing hath 
failed of all that he has promised, but all has come 
to pass. 

And if the Lord is so faithful to you, will you 
not endeavor to be faithful to him, and honor him 
to the uttermost during your remaining days on 
earth ? Will you bear with me while I point out 
one or two matters of great importance to those 
who desire to do this ? 



A TALK WITH AGED FRIENDS. 79 

Endeavor to manifest at all times a spitit of 
cheerful resignation to the will of God. 

There is something exceedingly beautiful in see- 
ing the aged Christian, compassed by infirmity, and 
having to bear the many trials that come with old 
age, yet bright and kindly, and ready to sympathize 
in the happiness of those who are younger. While 
on the other hand a murmuring spirit, irritability 
and impatience, and the like, make the burden of 
old age far heavier, and bring great dishonor upon 
the Saviour's name. Try to repress all such feel- 
ings when they arise. Live constantly in the sun- 
shine of God's love, and this will cheer you so that 
you will be able to maintain a peaceful frame, even 
in the midst of weakness and suffering. Pray for 
the grace of " patience." It is but a humble grace ; 
it does not make much show in the world, but it is 
one of the most precious in the sight of God. Be 
patient when others vex and provoke you. Be pa- 
tient when aches and pains continually prevail. Be 
patient when you lack the comforts which once you 
had. Remember the patience of Christ, how meek- 
ly he bore the wrong-doing of others, and how will- 
ing he was to drink the cup of suffering which the 
Father put into his hand. And when others try 
you by not helping you as much as they might, 



8o TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



when everything is a burden, food a burden, the 
noise of children a burden, the least effort a burden, 
still wait and be patient and hope in God ; for soon 
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
mortal must put on immortality, and then all our 
present ills will give place to a life of endless glory. 

Strive likewise to be useful, and do some work 
for Christ and his church. 

If you cannot now be as active as once you 
were, yet there is still much you can do for the wel- 
fare of others. We have a precious promise with 
reference to the servants of God in their later years, 
given in the ninety-second Psalm : " They shall still 
bring forth fruit in old age ; they shall be fat and 
flourishing." Through the grace of God the Chris- 
tian may be strong in spirit and useful, and may 
bear fruit even to his last day. 

Who shall tell the good which may be effected 
by the aged believer who is living near to God, 
bearing on his heart in intercessory prayer his rela- 
tions and kinsfolk, and also the Church of God in 
its various necessities ? Some thirty years ago a 
godly old man would sit in his garden in summer 
time, while a merry company of grandchildren were 
at play round about. Sometimes they would come 
very quietly, and run away with the cap which the 



A TALK WITH AGED FRIENDS. 81 



old man wore. And often they heard the old man 
praying for one and another of them, and through 
this one at least traced back first impressions as to 
the blessedness of serving Christ. 

But in other ways also the aged Christian may 
do good service for Christ. Kindly loving counsel 
to those who are setting out on the way to Zion will 
be doubly precious from one who has long been 
walking with God ; and visits of help and sympathy 
to the poor, though they may not be many, will be 
the more valued when it is at the cost of real effort 
to do this service for Jesus. 

I have before my mind two very bright exam- 
ples of the blessing left behind by words spoken for 
Christ, and efforts made for him, in the last stage of 
life's journey. 

I can see now an aged Christian woman, who 
lived in Cornwall, and fell asleep in Jesus about 
twenty years ago. She was but poor in this world's 
goods, but she was rich in faith, and her words led 
others also to seek the true riches. She often 
talked of God's goodness to her during the forty 
years in which she had trusted in Christ ; but her 
favorite theme was God's holiness. " Oh, I love 
God because he is so holy !" she would exclaim. 
She would often press upon children and young 

Home-Life. J I 



8 2 TALKS AB O UT HOME-L JFE. 



people not to be discouraged because of difficulties, 
and would add, "Jesus never turns a dull scholar 
out of his school ;" and then would tell them of his 
sympathy and tenderness. I heard one day that 
the old lady was very ill and not likely to recover, 
so I went to see her, and found her in bed. I asked 
her of her peace. " I 'm on the Rock," was her 
simple and sufficient answer. It was the last word 
I heard from her lips. The next day she was called 
home to her rest 

The other example is that of a Christian lady of 
large means, who has recently passed away. The 
name of Mrs. Thorneycroft is well known in the 
neighborhood of Wolverhampton, and she will not 
soon be forgotten by those who knew her. She had 
a great care for the poor, and never ceased, up to 
her last illness, looking after those who belonged to 
the congregation with which she met. When una- 
ble to climb the stairs, she would go again and again 
and speak below a kind word to the sick one who 
lay above. She spoke kindly of all, and would al- 
ways leave a favorable impression with reference to 
those whose names she mentioned. She was never 
ashamed of her Master. She was able to drop a 
word in season to rich and poor, and many a sharp- 
pointed arrow has found a lodgment in the heart of 



A TALK WITH AGED FRIENDS. 83 



those whom she addressed. And her end was 
peace. Surrounded by a large company of near 
relatives, she could boldly testify of the security 
she had in Christ, and that her hope was firm and 
sure. 

May you, dear reader, thus honor him who has 
bought you. To grow old in the service of such a 
Master is no small privilege, and shall bring no 
light reward. "The hoary head is a crown of 
glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." 
Be faithful to the end, and may the Lord himself 
" keep you from falling," and " present you faultless 
before the presence of his glory with exceeding 
joy." 



8 4 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



CHAPTER VII. 

A TALK WITH THOSE WHO ARE SEEKING 
THE SA VI OUR. 

I remember many years ago a knock at my 
door late one evening. A young friend was there 
who wished to speak to me about the way to heav- 
en. He had been to church regularly, and had tried 
to live a better life ; but he did not feel happy or 
satisfied. I tried to give him the best help I could, 
and I believe it was not in vain. He found the 
Saviour, and then endeavored to walk in His foot- 
steps. 

It has occurred to me that there may be many 
of my readers very much in the same position as 
that young friend. Whether old or young, whether 
rich or poor, it matters not ; there is in your heart 
a desire to be a Christian indeed. If you only saw 
the right way, you are willing to walk in it. You 
know that there is no true peace while you are liv- 
ing without God, and that if you were safe in the 
Saviour's care all must be well. I am sure there 
are many who feel in this way, and yet see nothing 
clearly. They do not understand God's way of 



SEEKING THE SAVIOUR. 85 



saving them. They do not understand what Christ 
has done and is willing to do for them, and what he 
calls them to do. So they go on without much 
comfort or hope, and are in danger of being turned 
aside into some wrong path. 

I will try to help you if I can. I will point out 
a few great and necessary truths. I will endeavor 
to show you how very near is the blessing which 
you want, and how surely, by God's grace, it may 
be obtained. 

If you desire to be saved, let me remind you, 
first of all, you must be willing to take the lowest 
place. 

In yourself you are guilty, condemned, lost, 
blind, helpless, unable to feel aright or act aright, 
unable to overcome one sin or to advance one step 
on the way to heaven. Ever remember this. Lay 
aside all self-confidence. Be willing to be saved 
from first to last on the footing of a sinner, of a 
criminal condemned to die. 

Be sure you begin here. Acknowledge your 
guilt. Confess honestly, as far as you know it, all 
you have done amiss. Make no excuses. Do not 
try to palliate sin. Plead guilty before God's tribu- 
nal, and cast yourself wholly upon his mercy in 
Christ. 



86 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



Then my second word of counsel to the anxious 
sinner is, Look up and see Christy the merciful and 
gracious Saviour, bending over you in most tender 
compassion. 

He is very near to you. He marks each sigh, each 
desire, each tear, each prayer. He thinks upon you 
and yearns over you. He is long-suffering, not wil- 
ling that any should perish. See, too, he holds in his 
hand a gift which he is offering to you. Read that 
which is written upon it : " A Free Pardon ! The 
Grace of my Spirit ! Eternal Life!' Do you ask, 
" What are the terms on which he offers it ? Who 
may obtain -it ?" Hearken to his reply : " Without 
money and without price? " Whosoever will!' You 
are welcome to it as you are. You have nothing to 
bring wherewith to purchase it. No amount of sin, 
no length of former neglect, no want of deeper feel- 
ing, will hinder his bestowing this blessing upon 
you, if only you will deal honestly with yourself by 
taking your true position ^ as a sinner, and then 
stretch out your hand to take the gift which he 
offers. Accept this gift, and it is at once your 
own. Trust him to give you life and salvation of 
his own free love, and he cannot disappoint you. 

And then, henceforward, let this always be your 
one ground of hope: " I can truly say I am a great 



SEEKING THE SAVIOUR. 87 



sinner, but I can thankfully say I have a great 
Saviour." 

Yes, Jesus Christ is a great Saviour. He saves 
sinners ; he saves from a great destruction ; he 
saves from great sorrows and great temptations ; 
he bestows a great salvation, including complete 
forgiveness and justification, the power of his Spirit, 
and, to crown all, a bright and glorious mansion in 
the skies. 

Dear reader, believe in this mighty and merciful 
Saviour, and at once, if never before, commit your 
soul to him to cleanse you in his blood and to make 
you fit for his kingdom above. 

But you must remember, further, that it is need- 
ful to hold fast to the end this blessed hope. 

Christ has said, " If ye continue in my word, 
then are ye my disciples indeed ; and ye shall know 
the ^ruth, and the truth shall make you free." John 
8:31, 32. Rely constantly on the word of Christ, 
and not on your changeable feelings. 

Young Christians are sometimes over-confident 
in themselves when their feelings are moved, and 
then ready to despair when they feel dull and cold. 
But you must not feel in this way. Remember that 
the promise of Christ is at all times the same, and 
the Saviour is always the same. Your feelings 



8 8 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



may change toward him, but his feeling does not 
change toward you. He saves you as you are, and 
you must trust him to do this. He promises you 
the living water, the grace of his blessed Spirit, to 
quicken you, to give you life and love and earnest- 
ness. 

He will work in you whatever is needful for 
your sanctification. Therefore do not look inward 
at your own feelings, but ever be looking upward to 
him who is the well-spring of grace. 

" Regard not feelings, good or bad, 
Trust only what he saith, 
Looking away from all to him : 
This is to live by faith." 

Then you must continue diligently searching the 
Holy Scriptures. 

Make use of Bible-classes where you have the 
opportunity. Read other books that may assist 
you, but let nothing lead you to neglect the daily 
study of Scripture. 

Continue also in very careful obedience to all 
Christ's precepts and commandments. Every wilful 
act of disobedience is like going back into the dark, 
or like closing a shutter to hide from you the bright 
beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Be forgiving 
and forbearing, kind and loving to those around 



SEEKING THE SAVIOUR. 89 



you, careful about your common, every-day duties 
and endeavoring day by day to please Christ rather 
than yourself. 

Continue to value all the ordinances and means 
of grace which Christ has appointed. 

These are like pasture-fields, where the flock of 
Christ are fed and nourished. The House of Pray- 
er, the Lord's Supper, the Throne of Grace, the fel- 
lowship of Christians, will all greatly aid the young 
believer who would grow in the likeness of the Mas- 
ter. Use them in the spirit of faith. Go to them 
looking for the Holy Spirit to bless them to you, 
and then you will see more of Christ, and be strength- 
ened to serve him more and more. 

Continue steadfast in your profession of Christ's 
name, and do not turn aside because a few stones may 
be thrown at you. 

I know it is very hard for young Christians to 
meet with ridicule, and to have unkind things said 
about them or to them ; but this is the way of the 
cross, which every Christian must be willing to tread. 

It will do you good rather than harm in the end. 
It will strengthen your faith and make you rely 
more upon Christ. The tree gets more firmly root- 
ed in the soil when the winds have blown it about 
for a while. So go on your way, in spite of a little 

Home-Life. 1 2 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



laughter about your being so strict, and in spite of 
a few hard names. Never be ashamed of being a 
Christian ; never be ashamed of your Bible, or of 
kneeling down in prayer ; never be ashamed of at- 
tending a Bible-class, of going to .God's house, or of 
speaking a word to warn others of the danger of sin, 
or to lead them to the Saviour. " The righteous is 
bold as a lion." If Christ be on your side, why need 
you be afraid of any one ? If you have Christ for 
your friend, what matters it though the world hate 
you ? The King has all power in heaven and in 
earth : he will never let others hurt a hair of your 
head ; and by-and-by, when mockers and scorners 
are put beneath his footstool, He will raise you to 
sit with him on his throne. 

Continue faithful to Christy though the world's 
enticements would draw you away. 

Perhaps Satan may come and whisper in your 
ear, " Give up Christ and religion, and I will make 
you far happier in the world's pleasures. ,, " No, 
never !" must be your answer. " Shall I leave the 
pure water of the river of life for a stagnant pool 
whose waters are deadly and poisonous ?" " Shall 
I cast away the calm and blessed peace which Christ 
gives, for the hollow mirth which is but for a mo- 
ment ?" 



SEEKING THE SAVIOUR. 91 

Never be like Balaam, choosing the gold and sil- 
ver of Moab, rather than the blessing which belongs 
to Israel. Never be like Demas, who forsook Christ, 
having loved this present world. Never be a lover 
of pleasure rather than a lover of God. Be sure that 
Christ alone can give those pleasures which are 
really worth possessing. 

It has been truly remarked, " There is no com- 
fort but in his bosom ; there is no safety but by his 
side ; there is no strength but in his arm ; there is 
no holiness but in his footsteps." 

I must close this chapter with a few words to 
those who are yet undecided, and have no earnest 
desire after better things. 

I wish you would put to yourself a short ques- 
tion which I met with years ago, and which I have 
often suggested as a profitable subject of inquiry: 
A Christless soul, or a saved sinner: which ? Oh, 
answer this question to your own conscience and to 
your God ! Are you yet living in the far country, 
forgetful of the Friend who died to save you ? Why 
not come back at once to him who stretches out his 
arms to welcome the lost and perishing ? Why not 
flee to him this very day, this very hour, as the only 
refuge of your soul ? To-morrow may be too late. 
To-day all things invite you to be saved. The mer- 



92 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 

cy and grace which are in Christ can meet every 
want. 

" In him a plenteous store 
For you, for me ; 
For each, for all ; 
Yea, and for evermore." 

Come, then, at once. " Yet a little while is the 
light with you. Work while ye have the light, lest 
darkness come upon you : for he that walketh in 
darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye 
have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the 
children of light/* 



A TALK AB O UT THE TAMIL Y BIBLE. 93 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A TALK ABOUT THE FAMILY BIBLE. 

It is a very common thing in our homes to have 
a large Family Bible. Sometimes it is given as a 
wedding present; sometimes it is bought by careful 
savings a little before or after marriage. Then in 
this Bible are written the names of the heads of the 
family and the time they were married ; and then 
often are added the names of children and when 
'they were born ; and sometimes too the sad record 
that they have early been taken away. No home, 
it seems to me, is complete without the large Bible, 
around which all in the house may gather, and learn 
from its pages those blessed truths which alone can 
make the home really a happy one. If Family 
Prayer is like the roof of the house, the Family Bi- 
ble is like the bright lamp within, which sheds light 
on all the household. 

It also seems to me suitable that the story of 
births, and it may be of deaths^also, should be regis- 
tered in this Holy Book. For where else can there 
be found any better help and guidance and consola- 
tion from the cradle to the grave ? 



94 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 

And may we not well speak of the Family Bible, 
because it sets forth so truly the various duties of 
the members of the household ? 

Fathers and mothers are instructed to bring up 
their children in the nurture and admonition of the 
Lord, and by loving correction to guide their foot- 
steps in the way of life. Children are taught to 
honor and obey their parents, to requite them for 
their kindness, and to show piety at home. Hus- 
bands are exhorted to love their wives as Christ 
loved the Church, and to forbear all bitterness and 
harshness. Wives are bidden to submit to their 
husbands and to show them reverence; and both* 
. are enjoined to live together as heirs of the grace 
of life. 

Those who have servants are told to deal justly 
and faithfully by them, since they too have a Mas- 
ter in heaven. Servants are told to do all things as 
the servants of Christ, living daily under his eye, 
striving to please him in their daily duties ; and he 
will pay them better wages than man ever gives. 

We have various precepts and examples which 
will almost bring down heaven to earth, if they are 
in any measure followed, and will make each family 
a type of the Great Family above. 

So that the Bible is indeed a Book for the Fam- 



A TALK ABOUT THE FAMILY BIBLE. 95 

ily ; and where it is best loved and practised we 
shall find the most genuine and lasting happiness. 

The word Bible signifies Book; and when we 
call it the Bible, we mean that it is the Book of 
books — tha best Book, the wisest Book, the Book 
that will do us the most good of any in the world. 

If all the other books in the world were destroy- 
ed, however great and irreparable the loss, if men 
still had the Bible, they would be far better off than 
if this were destroyed and all other books remained. 

It is the Book that alone can tell how sin can 
be forgiven, how temptation can be overcome, how 
trouble and sorrow can be met, how tears can be 
wiped away, and how death can be the gate of ever- 
lasting life. 

Is it not indeed the best companion for days of 
trial, for the day of sickness, and for the hour when 
we must part from all below? 

I remember a long time ago hearing a story of 
a young girl travelling by railway with a clever 
skeptic. He went on arguing for some time with 
his fellow-travellers, and trying to prove the Bible 
untrue ; when at last this young girl said that the 
Bible gave her all the comfort she had in the world, 
and as he had been trying to take this away from 
her, could he give her anything better ? He could 



96 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 

make no reply to this appeal, and said no more om 
the subject. 

Something of the same kind is told of the mother 
of the historian Hume. She had loved the Scrip- 
tures, but he persuaded her to give them up. When 
in days of sickness she wrote to him, asking him for 
some comfort, it is said he never answered her let- 
ter, for he knew not what comfort he could give her. 

We often find the words, " The Holy Bible" in 
gilt lettering upon the back. These words seem to 
me to be very suggestive. It is the Holy Bible, be- 
cause it is the gift of a Holy God. It tells of a 
Saviour who is " Holy, harmless, and separate from 
sinners/' It is written under the inspiration of the 
Holy Spirit; and the great object of it is to make 
men holy, as God is holy. Every one who reads the 
Scriptures with prayer for the teaching of the Spir- 
it becomes more and more holy. Thousands and 
tens of thousands who were once slaves of sin and 
evil, through the knowledge of the Word have be- 
come humble, holy, happy Christians, following in 
the footsteps of Jesus on earth, and preparing to 
live with him in glory. 

Oh what a treasure is a well-read Bible ! It is 
a mine of gold, a hive full of honey, a field covered 
with a rich harvest. It is a tree of life, of which 



A TALK ABOUT THE FAMILY BIBLE. 97 

every twig bears precious fruit. It is an ocean full 
of pearls. It is a river full of the purest water of 
life. It is a sun whose beams warm and cheer the 
heart. It is a bright star that can guide the pilgrim 
through the darkest night. It is a granary stored 
with the finest of the wheat. It is a medicine-chest 
in which we may find a remedy for every malady 
of the soul. It is a Mount Pisgah, from which we 
can view the promised land of Canaan. All this 
and much more is the Bible to those who love to 
search it and explore the depths of heavenly wisdom 
which it contains. 

Dear reader, whatever you forget, never, never 
forget, day by day, to read something out of this 
precious Book. 

Wc are told of one who found a Bible covered 
with dust. He took it up and wrote on it with his 
finger the two letters very large, " S. S." 

When asked what he meant by those two let- 
ters, he said, "'S. S/ signify Slothful Servant." 
He meant to say to its possessor, "You have had 
God's Word in your house, but you have neglected 
to read it. God has told you in this Book all that 
you need to know in order to be saved ; but you 
have taken no pains or trouble to learn that which 
God has revealed." 

^3 



98 TALKS AB O UT HO ME- LIFE. 



But the letters might have had another and en- 
couraging meaning. "S. S." might signify " Search 
the Scriptures? Whatever you have done hitherto, 
begin now to search them daily as for hid treasures. 
Go deep into this precious mine. Ponder what you 
read. Compare one part with another. Compare 
the commands and precepts with your own daily 
life. Bring its promises to bear on your heart and 
its temptations. 

Or " S, S." might signify " Saviour of Sinners? 
This is the great message of the Bible. It tells of 
Christ coming into the world to save the lost. It 
tells of him as able to save them to the uttermost 
that come unto God by him. We are therefore to 
read it that we may lay hold of the great salvation 
which he brings to us. We are to learn out of it 
his fulness and all-sufficiency to meet every need, 
and his readiness and delight to save those who 
come to him. 

The Collect, which in England is frequently 
printed as a suitable prayer in copies of the Scrip- 
tures, reminds us both of the way in which we 
* should read the Bible and of the great object for 
which it is given : 

" Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scrip- 
tures to be written for our learning, grant that we 



A TALK ABOUT THE FAMILY BIBLE. 99 



may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and 
inwardly digest them, that, by patience and comfort 
of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold 
fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou 
hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ." 

We see here that when we read or hear the 
Scriptures we should pay good heed to each word, 
to each verse and sentence. There are depths and 
heights in many of the simplest verses that we can 
never reach. Therefore we ought to turn them 
over again and again in our minds. We must 
"mark, learn, and inwardly digest" them. A few 
verses, or even a single verse well thought over, 
and still better, well prayed over, will bring more 
profit and help than many chapters listlessly or 
carelessly read. I remember a Christian man who 
would write on a piece of paper in the morning the 
verse or verses that had most struck him in his morn- 
ing portion, and walking through the fields or by the 
wayside would ponder the passage through the day. 

Then the Collect reminds us that the great aim 
of the Scripture is to lead us to " embrace and ever 
hold fast the blessed hope" of the gospel. 

We are like shipwrecked sailors. We are in 
great danger, by reason of our sinful and lost con- 
dition. We are in peril of eternal death, and of 



IOO 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



sinking to a more fearful abyss than that of the 
great Atlantic. But in the Scriptures our merciful 
God throws out to us the rope of salvation. He 
declares that Christ has died for our sins, and that 
there is salvation in him for the greatest sinners. 
But we must " embrace and ever hold fast" this 
blessed hope. As the sailor must take hold and 
then keep hold of the rope, so must we in our hearts 
believe in Christ and cleave to him. By the calls 
and promises of the Word we are invited at once, 
without any delay, to come to Christ, to trust our 
souls to him, to accept a free pardon, and the help 
of his Holy Spirit. This is the first great object of 
the Bible, namely : to make us " wise unto salvation 
through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 

But a second object for which the Bible is given 
is to enable us to hold fast this hope. 

We must " hold fast the confidence and the re- 
joicing of the hope firm unto the end." And the 
Bible shows how it is possible to do this. It warns 
against rocks that are near. The fear of man, the 
allurements of worldly pleasures, the snare of pride, 
the temptation of doubt and unbelief — against these 
we must watch. 

The Bible gives great encouragement to perse- 
vere. It leads us to " patience and comfort," by the 



A TALK ABOUT THE FAMILY BIBLE. 101 



assurance that Christ is ever at hand to succor us 
when we are tempted, and to hear our prayers. It 
brings before us the faithfulness of God to his peo- 
ple, and the blessed truth that he will never leave 
nor forsake those who trust in him. It points us 
to the Heavenly City where there shall be no more 
sorrow nor sighing, and where the former things 
are passed away. Thus we are taught to " hold 
fast" the blessed hope until we have passed safely 
through the waves of this troublesome world and 
have reached the haven where we would be. 

There is one more thought before I leave this 
subject It seems to me that the possession of a 
Bible brings with it a great responsibility. If you 
have had a Bible, but have never followed its bless- 
ed lessons, will it not prove a millstone round your 
neck in the Great Day ? 

" Ah," you will say, " I had a Bible. It told me 
plainly that the sinner must perish. It told me 
that only One could save me — he that died for me 
on the tree. It told me of the glories of heaven 
and the woes of hell. But I never cared for my soul. 
I never thought of my sins. I never trusted in my 
Saviour. I never prayed for the help of the Spirit. 
And now that Bible bears witness to me that my 
ruin lies at my own do r !" 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



Dear reader, let this never be the case with you. 
May your experience be like that of a Hindoo who 
had a copy of the New Testament presented to him, 
and who learned from its pages the secret of peace : 

" I read, I pondered, I wondered, I believed. I 
gazed upon the cross of Christ, and as I gazed the 
ponderous load fell off my heart: I rejoiced in Je- 
sus." 



A TALK ABOUT SUNDA Y 103 



CHAPTER IX. 

A TALK ABOUT SUNDA Y 

One Sunday morning, many years ago, a man 
engaged in large iron-works throughout the week, 
was seen on his way to the house of God, accompa- 
nied by his family. This was no unusual occur- 
rence, for the man valued God's day, and loved to 
go with his wife and children to meet with God's 
.people. But on this occasion there was a shade of 
anxiety on his brow, and he could not enjoy the 
services as much as at other times. 

To account for this, I must tell you that in the 
previous week a large government order had been 
sent in to the firm under whom he worked. The 
demand for its fulfilment was urgent, and the men 
were required to work overtime, and on that partic- 
ular Sunday to work, instead of taking their usual 
day of Sabbath rest. But this man, who held a very 
lucrative position, refused to do so. He would not 
do that which was against his conscience. He was 
told that if he refused the consequence would be his 
immediate dismissal. Still he feared God rather 



1 04 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 

than man. Though not knowing but that he and 
his family might be reduced to the utmost straits, 
he went as usual to the church where he was accus- 
tomed to worship. 

But it turned out that he was no loser by his 
faithfulness. His character for trustworthiness was 
so well known that his employers could not spare 
him ; and in time he rose to be the head of the 
firm. So truly was it fulfilled in his case that those 
who honor God he will honor. 

This man, we notice, valued the Sunday for his 
family as well as for himself ; and I am persuaded 
that nothing is more essential for the comfort of 
" home-life " than the due observance of God's holy 
day. I trust all my readers will think over the mat- 
ter, and endeavor to make the Lord's day for them- 
selves and their families the happiest and most 
profitable day of all the week. There are many 
reasons which may be given why we should employ 
each Sunday in the service of God. 
is my duty to do so. 

I love the old English word " duty/' Nelson's 
saying is a grand one, and may well be referred to 
far higher matters than fighting a battle : "England 
expects every man to do his duty/' It is my plain 
duty to honor God's Sabbaths. Before man had 



A TALK ABOUT S UNI) A K 1 05 



sinned, God ordained a day of rest in Paradise. 
The command is found in the heart of the moral 
law, binding together the two tables, and linking 
together our worship of God and our relative duties 
in the family. 

If a father has given to his child six shillings 
for ordinary purposes, withholding one for some 
other object, will a dutiful child steal the seventh 
shilling from his father ? My Father in heaven has 
given me six days for work, and has set this day 
apart for rest and worship ; and shall I rob him of 
the day, and use it for my own pleasure and conve- 
nience ? 

But I must keep my Sundays holy, for it is a 
very pressing necessity for me to do so. 

I need a weekly rest from toil, and so do others ; 
and therefore I will neither work myself nor cause 
others to do so, unless the cause be very urgent, 
and such as will justify me before God. 

But I still more feel the need of my Sunday 
when I think of the difference between my two 
lives. I have a short life to live here on earth, and 
I know not how soon it may be over. It is but a 
short candle, and even if it burn down to the sock- 
et, sixty or seventy years will soon come and go. 
But then I have a long life in the far-off land of 

Eom«L:''e. 



1 06 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



Eternity. This life stretches onward far beyond 
all thought and conception. A thousand years, yea, 
ten thousand times ten thousand, are nothing to it. 
And this life, for weal or woe, hangs upon that 
which I am living now. Do I not need one day 
out of seven to think of this coming life, and more 
particularly to prepare for it ? During the six days 
of the week are there not so many distractions and 
temptations that I am too frequently filled with the 
cares of the short life which will so soon end ? And 
therefore do I not require the Sunday, to stop and 
see what I am doing and whither I am going, and 
to learn how to run more steadfastly my heavenly 
race ? 

If the life to come be only a dream, a fable ; if 
when I lie down in my grave all is over, and I lie 
there in one long, unawakened sleep ; if I be like 
the dumb cattle, finishing my existence with my 
few short days on earth, then indeed I may spend 
six days in work, and the seventh in thoughtless 
mirth and levity. But if this cannot be, and I must 
live on in endless joy or hopeless despair, surely 
one day in the week is not too much to give, that I 
may the more fully be prepared to welcome the 
everlasting Sabbath that is prepared for God's 
people. 



A TALK ABOUT SUNDAY. 



107 



But even for the present life great are the profit 
and blessing that follow a well-spent Sunday. 

" A Sabbath well spent 

Brings a week of content, 
And health for the toils of the morrow; 

But a Sabbath profaned, 

Whate'er may be gained, 
Is a certain forerunner of sorrow." 

How many can trace back a long course of 
crime and consequent misery to a Sunday spent 
with ungodly companions. That " Sabbath-break- 
ing sins bring heart-breaking sorrows/' is the expe- 
rience of a very large number of those who have 
fallen deep into the mire of evil. In the Penton- 
ville House of Correction the chaplain searched out 
the causes of crime in those who came under his 
notice, and a very large proportion had been led 
from step to step through the neglect of Sabbath 
privileges. 

On the other hand, to use the Lord's day well 
contributes greatly to our present happiness. It 
preserves the young from many a dangerous pitfall. 
It binds together the different members of a house- 
hold in love and affection. It assists in forming 
those sound principles which alone can guide us 
through the shoals and quicksands of temptation. 



1 08 TALKS AB O UT HO ME- LIFE. 



Thus in every way this day is a very precious 
gift of heavenly love. Many are the gifts which 
our Father has given us. He has given us his 
Word ; he has given us his dear Son, to live and 
die for us ; he has given us his Spirit, to be our 
Teacher and Comforter. But it is on this day that 
all these gifts are seen more clearly in their true 
value, and we are able to make use of them the 
more for our everlasting welfare. 

Nor should we forget that the observance of 
this day greatly honors the Triune jfehovah. 

We honor the Father, because the seventh day 
was originally set apart to commemorate his power 
and goodness in creating all things. So that as 
long as we enjoy the blessings of creation, we ought 
to observe the day which was intended to be a per- 
petual memorial of Jehovah's six days' work. 

We honor the Everlasting Son, because we now 
keep the Sabbath on the first day of the week, the 
day of his resurrection. So that if we would duly 
honor the Saviour for his love in redeeming our 
lost world, we must keep this day holy. 

We honor likewise the Eternal Spirit ; for on 
this day the Spirit came down in mighty power, 
with a rushing, mighty wind, and with tongues of 
fire resting on the heads of the apostles. And still 



A TALK ABOUT SUNDAY. 109 

it is on the Lord's day that the Spirit grants his 
presence and grace very especially in the conver- 
sion of sinners and in building up the people of 
God. So that to keep the Sabbath holy brings 
honor to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

But how can I best use this day ? How can I 
make it most happy and profitable ? 

I will regard each returning Sunday as a spot 
of holy ground. Not one out of the fifty-two Sun- 
days of each year will I despise or neglect. 

A nobleman has a flower-bed in the garden of 
his mansion, which is planted out with the rarest 
flowers and shrubs, and he bids his children take 
care not to trample it down or put one footstep 
upon it. So my Father bids me " turn away my 
foot from the Sabbath." I must not regard it as 
common ground, but to be kept sacred and holy. 
I will not make this day one of mere carnal pleas- 
ure; It is not to be spent in visiting, in going 
hither and thither, in idle talk, in laughter and 
jesting. It is not to be spent in any ordinary 
work, in buying or selling, in the labor and toil 
which is needful on other days. But this day I 
will give to God, and will endeavor to find my chief 
pleasure and delight in his worship and service. 

I will have my regular place in his house, and 



no 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



it shall never be empty if I can avoid it. If friends 
and visitors come in, and would interfere with my 
going, I will tell them that I have a particular en- 
gagement to meet my Best Friend, and I trust they 
will come with me, for I cannot break my engage- 
ment. Morning and evening, God willing, I will 
always be present. Rain or shine, summer or win- 
ter, unless absolutely hindered, I will not miss the 
blessed privilege of worship in the sanctuary. 

Then I will throw heart and life into the wor- 
ship. I will ask for the help of the good Spirit of 
God. I will think of my own particular sins when 
I join in confession. I will think of my own spe- 
cial wants and those of others when I unite in the 
prayers. I will cherish the spirit of gratitude 
when I take part in the praise. I will hear the 
Word which is read and preached, as if God were 
speaking to myself. I will aim at profiting by 
every sermon that I hear. For I have a part in 
all the service, as the minister has his, and I will 
not neglect it. It will stir up my own heart and 
that of those around me if the services are hearty, 
and we all unite. 

Nor will I neglect to come from time to time 
to the holy Table, to which the Saviour so lov- 
ingly bids me. I know I am altogether unworthy ; 



A TALK ABOUT SUNDAY. 



in 



but Christ invites the sinful and the lost, and such 
am I. If I go trusting only in his name and in his 
precious blood, he will not send me empty away. 

I will be careful also to improve the intervals 
between the services and the leisure hours of the 
Lord's day. I will endeavor to make use of every 
hour and of every moment. I will make it a bright 
and cheerful day to those around me as far as I 
can. It may be I can join with a few little chil- 
dren in singing the songs of Zion, or perhaps I 
can teach a company of young ones about the Sa- 
viour's love. I will get time for special reading in 
the Word of God and in some Christian book. 

Thus will I reckon the Sabbath a delight, the 
holy of the Lord, honorable. Each Sunday shall 
be to me as a Pisgah-top, from which I can cast an 
eye towards the fair Canaan to which I am hasten- 
ing. Each Sunday shall be a milestone on the 
road to the Celestial City. And when all my Sun- 
days and week-days are over on earth, I shall not 
regret it. I shall have learned by these earthly 
Sabbaths to join and rejoice in the heavenly rest 
and service of the redeemed before the throne of 
God. 



1 1 2 TALKS AB UT HOME-LIFE. 



CHAPTER X. 

A TALK ABOUT JARRING NOTES. 

Family-life is one of the great proofs of our 
heavenly Father's love. He declares that it is not 
good that man should be alone. So "he sets the 
solitary in families." He links together husband 
and wife, and wills that none shall separate them 
whom he hath joined. He gives little children to 
increase the comfort and joy of our homes. So 
that perhaps we might have imagined family-life 
would have been chiefly a scene of pure and holy 
pleasures. We might have thought that it would 
be like a well-tuned harp, every touch bringing 
forth some melodious note. What united songs of 
praise and happiness, what happy union of prayer, 
what rejoicing together in the promises of the 
Word of Life, what kindly interchange of mutual 
affection might we not have looked for ! 

But who knows not what a very rare picture 
this is of actual life, even where there is something 
of the fear and love of God ? Who knows not how 
the slime of the old serpent is seen on the family 



A TALK ABOUT JARRING NOTES. 113 

hearth, how sin has crept in and brought trouble 
and discomfort into the home as everywhere else ? 
Alas, alas, the harp is very often out of tune; the 
strings are loose or broken ; the sweet notes of 
joyful harmony are few and far between. As to 
constant happy, loving intercourse, it seems in 
some cases well nigh impossible. 

Let us not be surprised at this. It is not as 
our Father purposed it. He"" saw everything that 
he had made, and behold, it was very good." But 
the fall of man is still bearing its bitter fruit. Ev- 
erything is out of order, everywhere sin is a dis- 
turbing element : " The whole creation groaneth 
and travaileth in pain together until now." Not 
till sin has been cast out, not till the day when 
good shall finally triumph over evil, shall we see 
the curse removed and harmony restored. 

But what shall be done meanwhile ? Because 
our home-life is not all that it ought to be, shall we 
think it in vain to look for a remedy ? Shall we 
cast the blame one on the other, and thus make 
matters worse ? Not so. Let us quietly look and 
see what evils are destroying our home comfort, 
and endeavor to bring in some guiding light from 
the Word of God. Let us remember the mighty 
power of God's grace. Let us take such a precept 

Home-Life. I 



1 1 4 TALKS AB O C/T HOME-LIFE. 

as that given in the twelfth of Romans : " Be not 
overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good/' and 
we shall soon fin$ matters not quite as bad as they 
were ; and with a little patience and a bright hope 
of good things to come, we shall be able to see 
much for which to thank God, though we may still 
be sometimes sorely harassed and tried. We shall 
find some of these jarring notes regaining their har- 
mony, and giving forth their notes of sweet music, 
instead of the former discord. 

Let us look more particularly at a few of these 
jarring notes, and consider how best to deal with 
them. 

And perhaps one of these, that brings as much 
evil as any, is a want of thorough confidence between 
the different members of a family. 

Some persons are naturally somewhat of a jeal- 
ous, distrustful spirit. They have a painful way of 
looking at things from a wrong light. If a picture 
be ever so perfect, if you look at it from a wrong 
stand-point, it may probably look like a mere daub. 
So it often is in a family. A walk with a friend, a 
few words of conversation with another person, a 
letter you have written, some simple remark you 
have made, something you have done without the 
least intention of evil, something that has been for- 



A TALK ABOUT JARRING NOTES. 115 

gotten — through want of confidence, these and sim- 
ilar things give rise to misunderstandings, to pain- 
ful surmisings, because taken in a wrong way. 
Then the evil grows. A sense of injustice repels 
the suspicion, hasty words are spoken and returned, 
the breach is widened, and then comes passion and 
anger, or perhaps what is worse, a high barrier of 
ice, a frigid civility; brothers and sisters, or even 
husband and wife, are cold and distant ; the morn- 
ing or the evening greeting is almost dispensed 
with, and a sad separation arises in the household. 

What is to be done with reference to an evil of 
this kind ? It seems to me that the only remedy is 
for all the members of a household very determi- 
nately to be on their guard lest they mistake one 
another; and where want of confidence has been 
unjustly shown, to take it as a cross and wait till all 
is smooth again. Be very open, frank, and honest 
with those about you. As long as you possibly can, 
draw forth the confidence of others by putting trust 
in them. Let parents take their children into their 
confidence, and intrust to them the knowledge of 
family affairs. Let the heads of a family put con- 
fidence in their servants, unless they have solid 
ground for acting otherwise. Let husband and 
wife, brother and sister, be unreserved with each 



1 1 6 TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 



other ; and if any difference should occur, in a 
kindly way endeavor to explain the matter, instead 
of harboring a sense of wrong. If there were more 
of this considerate care and thoughtfulness, it would 
tend greatly to knit families together in mutual love 
and sympathy. 

There is one cause for this want of mutual con- 
fidence between members of the same household 
that I ought not to pass over. I scarcely know any- 
thing so calculated to disturb and break up the unity 
of a family as the confessional. The husband knows 
that his wife has unfolded all the secrets of the 
home in the ear of a priest; and in such a case 
how can there be that confidence that otherwise 
might exist ? Oh, that every Englishman and 
every Englishwoman [and every American] would 
utterly abhor a system which has no warrant from 
Holy Scripture, and which brings a new master 
into every household. God save our country from 
this terrible snare ! 

Another of these jarring notes in home-life is a 
difference of religious opinion. 

It is a very sorrowful thing that this should be 
the case, but there are few things that are making 
a wider breach in many homes than this. I ima- 
gine that during the last few years it has been felt 



A TALK ABOUT JARRING NOTES, 117 

more than ever before. Perhaps one goes to one 
church, and one to another. Perhaps one holds x 
very strong Protestant views, and another has turn- 
ed aside to embrace tenets of a very extreme char- 
acter in the opposite direction. Perhaps one val- 
ues the church of his fathers, and will not forsake 
her, in spite of the faults which nevertheless he 
sees, while another has left the old paths and is 
trying with a few brethren to find a perfect church. 
Perhaps a child has left home and joined a sister- 
hood, or has imagined she could find rest for a 
weary spirit in the Church of Rome. Who can tell 
the intense sorrow, the life-long bitterness, caused 
in thousands of homes by separations of this kind ! 
It is not easy to know what to do in such cases. 
But in some respects our duty is plain. 

Parents ought to be honored and respected. 
Let their wish have very great weight. It is true, 
where an earthly parent wishes a child to disobey 
in any way some plain precept of Holy Scripture, 
it becomes the duty of the child to obey the Great 
Father in heaven first ; but I am sure in numbers 
of doubtful matters filial obedience ought to decide. 
Self-will, paying no regard to the opinion or wish 
of a kind father or mother, is not the way to secure 
the favor and blessing of a Father in heaven. 



1 1 3 TALKS AB O UT HO ME- LIFE. 

Then let those who would avoid strife and con- 
tention beware of spiritual pride. Many young 
converts to a new opinion are so puffed up with an 
idea of their own superior wisdom, that they qui- 
etly assume that they must necessarily be right, 
though all the world be wrong. "If you are really 
a child of God, you will be taught this or that," is 
heard from the lips of many who have need to un- 
learn a good deal which they profess to know. A 
few more grains of humility, and the consciousness 
of imperfect knowledge, would often do much to 
restore peace and harmony in the home. 

And then let persons remember that the less of 
religious disputation in the home the better it will 
be. It usually does harm to all who take part in it. 
Now and then a quiet, solemn talk with one in pre- 
sumed error may do much good, but let it be in 
love, and with the evident desire not to win a vic- 
tory in argument, but to help one whom you believe 
to be a loser by that which he holds. In minor 
matters agree to differ. Try to get nearer to the 
centre of unity. Try to get nearer to Christ and 
the bond which his love supplies. Strive to pro- 
voke one another to love and good works ; and 
never forget that wherever sin is hated, Christ 
trusted, God loved, and the world's allurements 



A TALK ABOUT JARRING NOTES. 119 

overcome, there is spiritual life. Whatever mis- 
takes and errors there may be, there is salvation. 
Then do you, Christian brother or sister, live the 
life of Christ. Manifest his love, and tender, pitiful 
sympathy towards all, however much they may dif- 
fer from you. If the barrier be high, do not make 
it higher by your suspicion, or by failing to realize 
the good there may be in those who are widely sep- 
arated from you in many things. Remember that 
true religion is comprised mainly in the two great 
commandments : " That we should believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave 
us commandment." 

Among other jarring notes, the most common 
are those which arise from the various unruly tern- 
pers and dispositions which are found everywhere. 

Sometimes we find fiery passions breaking out 
in the home, bursting forth like the volcano, beyond 
all control, and the burning lava of angry, wrathful 
words spreading misery and evil in every direc- 
tion. 

Sometimes it is fretfulness and irritation. These 
arise, it may be, from a multitude of daily worries 
burdening the heart, or from ill health, or from an 
occasional headache, or the like ; when there is not 
great watchfulness and care, these things have a 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



marvellous tendency to disturb the spirit, and then 
persons look at everything in an unhappy way. 

Sometimes we meet with a readiness to take 
offence about the smallest matter. Persons of such 
a disposition are not unlike a kind of galvanized 
pavement : all in a moment you may get a shock 
when you the least expect it. You scarcely can 
make out what it is all about, but some offence has 
been given, and it is hard to get persons to believe 
that there is no just cause for it 

Then we find sometimes a dumb spirit. There 
is no response to any inquiry, however kindly put. 
All conversation flags and comes to an end ; and 
the one who at times can be all warmth and kind- 
ness, is changed for a while into something very 
like a stone pillar. . > 

Or, again, we find not rarely the spirit of con- 
tradiction. It is a curious twist of the mind, but 
we often come across those who always appear de- 
sirous of asserting their own superior wisdom and 
knowledge in respect to all events whatsoever. 
Something in our poor human nature seems ever 
to be coming to the surface, and saying, " I must 
be right, and you must be wrong." It is often 
about the smallest possible trifles. It may be 
whether such an event happened on Tuesday or 



A TALK ABOUT JARRING NOTES. 121 



Wednesday, or at ten o'clock or eleven o'clock, or 
whether the wind is north or south, or something 
else just as trivial. But the sheer love of contra- 
diction seems to make persons stand out and stick 
to their own opinion, and perhaps risk a quarrel in 
doing so. 

Closely allied to this is self-will. One in a fam- 
ily is determined always to have his own way, and 
to act as he thinks fit, without regard to the will of 
the others. Nothing more surely breeds strife than 
this ; for there are many separate wills in a house, 
and if there is no yielding one to another there can- 
not but be confusion and bitterness and ill-feeling. 

Ah, this strange inner self, with all its mingling 
of motive and feeling, varying so widely in each in- 
dividual, and yet in every case having so many dis- 
turbing elements, what cause is there here for con- 
tinual watchfulness and prayer ! * 

It is only by these that the evil can be reme- 
died. We must remember that our life on earth is 
to be one of conflict, and not of rest. Girt with the 
sword of the Spirit and the weapon of all-prayer, we 
must strive first of all to see our own faults and to 
overcome them. And we must ever let Christ him- 
self reign on the throne of the heart. It is only 
Christ in us that can conquer the sin which is in 

Home-Life. ' * l6 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



us. We must receive him, and walk in him as our 
all-sufficient source of grace and help. We must 
realize that he is pledged to overcome all our infir- 
mities and to renew us in his own likeness. For 
this we must pray and trust. 

" Less of the flesh each day, 
Less of the world and sin ; 
More of thy grace, I pray, 
More of thyself within." 

We must moreover determine to show all meek- 
ness and gentleness and forbearance even to those 
who most try us. We must walk in holy love, and 
be genial and kindly, whatever we have to put up 
with. We must ever live as peacemakers. If there 
are any who fight against us without a cause, and 
vex and provoke us by- unkind words and deeds, we 
must not return bitter for bitter, but we must en- 
deavor to pour on their heads a constant stream of 
kindness, and thus at length we may hope to soften 
and subdue them. 

But after all, this is not our rest. Our heaven 
is not here. On earth we shall never find every- 
thing as we wish it. There will always be some- 
thing to keep us low, and make us desire a fairer 
home. But there will be no jarring notes above. 
If we enter that blessed kingdom through the mer- 



A TALK ABOUT* JARRING NOTES. 123 



itorious death and obedience of Christ, every long- 
ing will be fulfilled, every string of the harp will 
give forth the sweetest melody. No hasty word, 
no angry look, no opposing will, no strife, no dis- 
pute, no envious thought, can enter there. Love 
will fill every breast, and be reflected from every 
countenance. The God of love and peace will calm 
every troubled spirit, and the Prince of Peace will 
reign in every heart. 

" There shall I bathe my weary soul 
In seas of heavenly rest, 
And not a wave of trouble roll 
Across my peaceful breast." 



124 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



CHAPTER XI. ' 

A TALK ABOUT FAMILY SORROWS. 

Family life resembles in some respects our 
English climate. It has many changes and varia- 
tions. One day the wind is bleak and cold and 
the sky cloudy, while on the following day the 
sun shines brightly, and all nature rejoices in his 
warm beams. And then perhaps shortly after- 
wards the tempest lowers and the rain descends 
and floods the earth. So family life has its days 
of cloud and sunshine, of storm and quiet, of sad- 
ness and of joy. Sometimes the brightest days 
are followed by the darkest. You have been en- 
joying the happiness of a quiet peaceful home, and 
a message, or a letter, or a telegram arrives which 
scatters in a moment every pleasant thought, and 
fills your heart with sorest distress. 

It has so happened ofttimes from the very be- 
ginning. We go back to one of the earliest narra- 
tives in Scripture, the story of the Patriarch Job, 
and we find him brought down in one day from 
the greatest height of prosperity and comfort to 
the abyss of misery and desolation. In the morn- 



A TALK ABOUT FAMILY SORROWS. 125 



ing the sun shone upon him and his tabernacle was 
in peace ; before nightfall a black cloud had arisen 
and burst in fury over his head, and all was dark 
and desolate. 

Let us watch for a few moments the terrible 
hailstorm of sorrow and trouble descending upon 
this faithful man. What a day of trouble it was ! 
and yet a day begun in prayer. He rose early in 
the morning, and pleaded with God for his children, 
and offered a burnt offering on behalf of each of 
them. One by one he brought them all before 
God, and sought help and mercy for them at the 
throne of grace. A blessed example for parents ! 
We know not any day what may befall our chil- 
dren, what temptations may assault them, what 
perils may be near them. Let us at least have the 
consolation that we have done for them our very 
best, that we have put them into the hands of One 
who is almighty to protect and save. 

But on this day of sorrow wave follows quick 
upon wave, and blow upon blow. Fresh messen- 
gers arrive hour after hour with evil tidings, and 
with no quiet interval between for Job to gather 
up fresh courage, or to strengthen faith in God. 
First comes a messenger who tells of the spoil 
taken by the Sabeans. They have fallen upon the 



i26 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



servants and have driven away the oxen and the 
asses, and but a solitary servant remains to tell the 
tale. Then comes a second messenger, who tells 
of the lightning : how it has fallen from heaven 
and destroyed the sheep and the servants that kept 
them, and but one remains to bring the news. 
Then come a third and a fourth. They tell of the 
Chaldeans carrying off the camels and destroying 
the servants. Worst of all, they tell of the death 
of his children. The great wind has smitten the 
house where they are feasting, and his sons and 
daughters are buried in its ruins. Ah ! and well 
we might have imagined that the fathers heart 
would be buried there too, and that from such a 
calamity he would never be able to rise. Who can 
comprehend so great a sorrow ? All family sorrow 
in one ! Not the loss of some property, but all ! 
Not the loss of one child, but all ! Reduced in a 
moment from a height of prosperity almost to the 
depths of poverty ! Deprived in a moment of all 
the children for whom he had lived and toiled 
and prayed ! "All thy waves and billows have gone 
over me !" 

Then shone forth the reality of the grace which 
dwelt within his heart. Then were manifested his 
deep submission, his faith and love. Human 



A TALK ABOUT FAMILY SORROWS. 127 



nature would have rebelled and murmured. " Why 
hath God dealt thus bitterly with me ? Am I a 
sinner above all sinners ? Why should he thus 
pursue me even unto death ?" Ah, Satan looked 
for Job thus to repine ; yea, and to curse God to 
his face. But what do we find ? Even from the 
furnace, thus heated seven times, there comes forth 
the voice of trust and praise and joyful adoration : 
" The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away : 
blessed be the name of the Lord." 

How like was the spirit of Job to that of the 
prophet Habakkuk! "Although the fig-tree shall 
not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the 
labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield 
no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, 
and there shall be no herd in the stalls : yet I will 
rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my 
salvation" Hab, 3:17, 18. 

Let us mark well what a vantage ground the 
child of God possesses in these times of family sor- 
row. These days come to all ; but dark and gloomy 
indeed is the home where God is absent, where 
there is no sense of his fatherly love, no experience 
of his fatherly discipline, no firm grip of his faithful 
promises. 

Look at the home of Jeroboam. A beloved 



128 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 

child lies ill. Jeroboam desires to know the issue. 
So his wife disguises herself and goes to the proph- 
et. But there is no word of comfort for her in her 
sore distress. Heavy tidings — the death of her 
son — fresh miseries upon the household — and, 
worse than all, God's righteous anger ! Such is 
the response she finds when the day of trouble is at 
hand. 

Dear reader, be assured your home one day will 
be filled with sorrow. It may come gradually, or it 
may come suddenly, when you look not for it ; but, 
believe me, those dark days will be far, far darker, 
if now in your bright days God be unsought and 
uncared for, 

"We have great trouble come upon us in our 
home," said a woman, to me once ; " and worst of 
all, I have no God to go to." 

She had lived without God in prosperous days, 
and now in the day of sorrow she knew not how to 
seek him. 

But how blessed it is, on the other hand, to 
have Christ by your side at such times ; to be able 
at once to turn to the well-known Refuge and 
Hiding-place, and to leave there all your weariness 
and sorrow ! This is light in darkness, and sweet 
comfort even in the bitterest distress. 



A TALK ABOUT TAMIL Y SORROWS. 1 29 



"Jesus, my Lord, 'tis sweet to rest 
Upon thy tender, loving breast, 
Where deep compassions ever roll 
Toward my weary, helpless soul. 

" Thy love, my Saviour, dries my tears, 
Expels my griefs, and calms my fears, 
Bids every anxious thought depart, 
Sheds light and sunshine o'er my heart." 

It very much lightens the heaviest family sor- 
rows when we cart trace distinctly the hand of God. 

Job discerned it at once : " The Lord gave, the 
Lord hath taken away." " Shall we receive good at 
the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ?* 

Nothing to me seems more terrible than for us 
to imagine that God takes no concern in the daily 
life of his children. Some seem to think that God 
is so great and high, that he has left the world to 
the guidance of certain mechanical laws, and now 
sits apart, having nothing to do with the little every- 
day matters of our present existence, or with the 
sorrows that come to us from time to time. And 
so, we are taught, the great wheel of life goes 
moving round, crushing some, raising some, but the 
Almighty Creator cares not for it. 

But the Scripture view is far otherwise : Not a 

sparrow is forgotten, or falls to the ground, without 

our Father. " The very hairs of your head are all 
17 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



numbered," and not one can perish without his 
knowledge. He " knoweth our sorrows," and ap- 
portions them in infinite wisdom, as each child hath 
need. "Whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; 
even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." 
We are to consider affliction as the husbandman 
breaking up the hard soil by the sharp ploughshare, 
or as the vinedresser pruning the choice branches, 
or as the sculptor hewing the marble statue, that it 
may be fitted for its intended position in the king's 
palace. 

Thus doth our Father send us sorrows and 
afflictions. He would break up the hardness and 
stubbornness of our worldly hearts. He would 
make us more fruitful in his church. He would 
renew us in his own likeness, and take away all 
that is of self and evil, that we may at length be 
made meet for his glorious temple. 

Strci7tgely diverse are these family trials, which 
are appointed to train and mould us for a better 
home. In one case it is the long-continued trial of 
weak health, which puts everything in the home 
out of gear ; or it is one member of the household 
who brings sad disgrace upon the rest, perhaps 
through the fearful curse of intemperance ; or it is 
diminishing means with increasing necessities ; or 



A TALK 4B0UT FAMILY SORROWS. 131 



some particular deprivation, as when Abraham and 
Sarah had so long to wait for Isaac ; or the conten- 
tions of two brothers or sisters ; or the loss of a 
dear child; or the failure of some long-cherished 
scheme ; or a secret sorrow that burdens the heart, 
yet may never be uttered except in the ear of the 
merciful and faithful High Priest. 

Sometimes our sorrows come direct from the 
hand of God, and we say, " It is the Lord ; let him 
do what seemeth him good." Sometimes they 
come through the fault of others, and we are sorely 
tempted only to see the second cause rather than 
the permitting hand of Divine Providence. It was, 
for example, a sore trial to David when the Amale- 
kites took away all he had at Ziklag as their spoil ; 
and again when Absalom was permitted to break 
up his household at Jerusalem. But in either case 
David could see the finger of God. 

Sometimes our sorrows come through our own 
sin and grievous fault, and this makes them still 
harder to bear. But even in this case God does 
not forsake his child, but makes his sin the scourge 
to chasten and to humble him and to do him good 
at his latter end. 

But, whatever the sorrow, or whatever the cause 
for it, there is but one wise course to take. It is folly 



132 



TALKS ABOUT HO ME- LIFE. 



to aggravate our trial by mutual reproaches, casting 
the blame on another, or by useless murmurings 
and repinings, or by sitting down in despair and 
folding our hands, as if there were no help for us in 
heaven or in earth. While God lives and the Bible 
is still full of blessed promises, no child of Adam 
has ever reason to give up hope. The Lord knows 
how to turn darkness into light, and to bind up the 
wounds which his hand has made. 

What then is to be our resource in the hour of 
family sorrow ? 

First of all, humble yourself before God, and 
acknowledge the uttermost of your sin and unwor- 
thiness. Sin must be discovered, confessed, and 
forgiven, before we can have any solid ground for 
consolation. Jonah must be cast out before the 
storm will cease. But if we are willing to see 
God's hand in our trouble, and take a low place 
because of our sin, we may then confidently cast 
upon him every anxiety and trouble and fear. There 
is one passage of Scripture that has been to me a 
sheet anchor of hope and strength in many a dark 
and sorrowful day, and I would that it might be 
cherished in the memory of each reader, and its 
guidance followed when trouble comes. It is found 
in the first Epistle of Peter, the fifth chapter : 



A TALK AB O UT FA MIL Y SORR O WS. 1 33 



u Humble yourselves therefore under the 

MIGHTY HAND OF GOD, THAT HE MAY EXALT YOU IN 
DUE TIME : CASTING ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM ; 
FOR HE CARETH FOR YOU." 

Go then to the mercy-seat in the Saviours name, 
and bring the whole care and sorrow, and leave it 
at your Fathers footstool. 

Consider Ms Fatherly Heart. " He careth for 
you." As a father pitieth his children, yea, "as 
one whom his mother comforteth," so tenderly doth 
the Lord deal with those who fear him and trust in 
him. 

Consider his Fatherly Hand. It is the hand of 
love that smites. It is the hand that has bestowed 
every mercy which holds the cup of sorrow. It is 
the same hand that in due season will remove our 
trials, and lift us up from our depths of distress, 
and set us again on the rock of safety and peace. 

Consider his Fatherly Eye. It is ever upon us 
for good, and not for evil. He knoweth our sor- 
row, and beholds every affliction and calamity that 
befalls us. "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon 
them that fear him, upon them that hope in his 
mercy." 

Consider his Fatherly Ear. He heareth every 
sigh, every moaning, every cry. He bows down 



134 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



and inclines his ear to every petition. " His ear is 
open to our prayer." 

Consider his Fatherly purpose. Read the twelfth 
of Hebrews, and see how he wills only our good. 
He would make us " partakers of his holiness." 
He would purify us from the dross of our corrup- 
tions, and make us meet for his presence. 

Consider his Fatherly promise. He hath prom- 
ised that he will " never leave us nor forsake us." 
He makes " all things work together for good to 
them that love him." " He that spared not his 
own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall 
he not with him also freely give us all things ?" 

Ah, Christian, trust thyself wholly to thy Fa- 
ther's care, and he will not disappoint thy confi- 
dence. 

" Tried one, wait not in thy woe, 
But at once to Jesus go ; 
Clouds of darkness he can make 
Hues of rainbow brightness take. 

" Cast on him thy smallest care, 
Utter but one word of prayer ; 
Tell him thy most hidden grief : 
Sure he '11 run to thy relief. 

" He hath said it, therefore trust ; 
He will lift thee from the dust. 
Carry thee on his soft wing ; 
Troubled heart, look up and sing." 



THE FATHERS HOUSE. 



135 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE FATHERS HOUSE AND THE FAMILY OF 
HE A VEN. 

Among my readers there may be many lonely, 
desolate ones. Perhaps years ago you may have 
known the cheerfulness of a happy home, but of 
late you have walked alone through life. Your lot 
is a solitary one. You seem to stand alone, like a 
pillar in the desert, on which every stormy wind 
beats. Neither parent nor child, brother nor sister, 
is near to speak a word of sympathy when you need 
it. But, after all, there is a bright side to this dark 
cloud. There is blue sky overhead, if you will only 
look for it. If you make the Lord your stay and 
confidence, and if your trust is in the saving name 
of Jesus, you are a child in the great family of 
heaven, a citizen enrolled in the books of the Ce- 
lestial City ; you are not a solitary traveller on the 
way to Zion, but journeying on side by side with 
a goodly host, and shall soon share with them the 
pleasures which are at God's right hand. 

In these chapters we have seen much of the evil 



i 3 6 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



that mars the comfort and happiness of the home 
appointed for us now. From within and from with- 
out, from God's chastening hand in sickness, and 
from numberless causes over which we have but 
little control, there comes perpetually something 
that disturbs and distresses us. But we must look 
beyond. What is lacking in the earthly home may 
be found in the heavenly. What our hearts have 
long yearned for in vain here below may yet be 
found without alloy before the throne of God. 

A few words addressed to the believing He- 
brews show the lofty privileges and blessed fellow- 
ship which Christians possess. The inspired au- 
thor contrasts the bright and cheery hopes of be- 
lievers now with the fear and dread that belonged 
to the earlier dispensation. 

" Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the 
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and 
to an innumerable company of angels, to the gen- 
eral assembly and church of the firstborn, which 
are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, 
and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to 
Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the 
blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than 
that of Abel." Heb. 12 : 22-24 ; compare verses 
18-22. 



THE FATHER'S HOUSE. 137 



We are struck here with the bold, startling 
way in which the apostle puts forth the present 
standing of Christians. " Ye are come," he de- 
clares, " unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the 
living God." 

" But how can this be ?" might believers ask. 
" Are we not still in the valley, struggling with our 
sins and temptations ■ and sorrows ? Are we not 
still in the vale of tears, the land of trouble and 
woe ?" 

" True," would the apostle reply ; " but by virtue 
of your union with Christ you are even now to be 
reckoned as sitting down in heavenly places. In 
him you are justified, in him accepted; your name 
is in the books of the City, and he, your Forerun- 
ner, has already taken possession of it in your 
name." 

But what is the Christian's home ? Where shall 
the family be gathered together ? The apostle de- 
scribes it as " Mount Sion," "the heavenly Jerusa- 
lem," " the city of the living God." 

It is the abode of purity and love. Sometimes 

we see a spot so fair, that we might imagine that 

the* curse had been removed and that Eden had 

opened again its gates to the inhabitants of earth ; 

but we find after a while that we have been mista- 
18 



138 TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE, 

ken. The presence of evil makes itself felt ; and 
the strife of tongues, and sin abounding, soon make 
the vision vanish away. But within the Fathers 
house nothing can defile. Love reigns in every 
breast, and God wipes away every tear from the 
eye. 

It is, moreover, the unchangeable city, the city 
of immortality. It is the city which hath founda- 
tions, whose Builder and Maker is God. Man can 
build cities which may last for many centuries, and 
whose renown for beauty spreads far and wide ; but 
what shall be the city whose foundation has been 
laid by God himself, and which he has prepared for 
his own elect people ? 

Ah, believer, lift up thine eye to that blessed 
abode of rest and joy. Now we dwell in homes 
which soon crumble into dust ; but there is an 
abode which shall never be taken down. Now we 
dwell in a land where sin meets us at every turn ; 
but that is an inheritance incorruptible and unde- 
filed. Now we dwell in cities and towns and vil- 
lages of dying men and dying women — we with 
them soon to lie side by side in our cemeteries and 
churchyards ; but then our abode will be the city 
of the living God, where there shall be no more 
sorrow nor crying nor death. 



THE FATHER'S HOUSE. 139 

"There is a blessed home 

Beyond this land of woe, 
Where trials never come, 

Nor tears of sorrow flow : 
Where faith is lost in sight, 

And patient hope is crowned, 
And everlasting light 

Its glory throws around." 

But let us dow look at the glorious inhabitants 
of the heavenly city. We are told that there will 
be "an innumerable company of angels." 

We read of angels as " ministering spirits, sent 
forth to minister" in some way to God's people. 
We read of the Angel of the Lord encamping round 
about them that fear God, and having charge over 
them to keep them in all their ways. We read of 
angels accompanying the spirit of the believer to 
the world above. But as yet, while in these bodies 
of clay, our eyes are too dim to discern those who 
are thus mercifully sent to guard or assist us. But 
we shall see them by-and-by. We shall see ten 
thousand times ten thousand and thousands of an- 
gels. We often mourn that the ways of Sion are 
so unfrequented, and that so few are the pilgrims to 
the better land. But it is a joyful thought that per- 
haps for one we have lost on earth we may find hun- 
dreds to take their place. It will be a blessed addi- 



1 40 TALKS AB O UT HOME-LIFE. 

tion to the church triumphant to meet with myriads 
of holy angels who have never known sin, and yet 
who are all joined with us under one Head, Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 

But not only will the angels form a part of the 
great family gathered together hereafter, but re- 
deemed sinners, pardoned sinners, those who once 
seemed the most unlikely to reach the heavenly 
Canaan. 

Heaven is gathering in one by one into her ca- 
pacious bosom all the holy and excellent of the 
earth. From all churches where Christ has been 
exalted as the sinner's only hope, from all congre- 
gations, from all cities and towns and villages, there 
come the Lord's children, made meet by divine 
grace to sit down in the eternal kingdom. Here 
comes a child out of an ungodly family, raised by a 
special manifestation of God's grace to be a witness 
for Christ amid the surrounding darkness. Here 
comes a whole family led on and trained for the 
kingdom by a devoted Christian parent. Here 
comes one who for years has been a stranger, a suf- 
ferer, living a life of bitter poverty among those 
who had no sympathy with her, nor shared her 
hope of coming glory. Here comes one in hum- 
ble life, a faithful servant, who has used her one 



THE FATHER'S HOUSE, 141 



talent for the Master's glory, and whose holy, con- 
sistent life has left a savor of Christ wherever she 
has dwelt. 

All these form part of that " general assembly 
and church of the firstborn, which are written in 
heaven." These are they who are " the first-fruits 
of earth unto God and the Lamb." These are they 
who have the birthright and the blessing of the 
Fathers eternal love, heirs of his kingdom, and 
joint-heirs with his dear Son. And as the burden 
of the flesh is laid aside, they are made at once, as 
to the spirit, perfect. In this present life they are 
justified in Christ, sanctified and made righteous by 
the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, yet still troub- 
led by manifold infirmities. But by-and-by it will 
be otherwise. We read of "the spirits of just men 
made perfect." No fears or doubts remaining, no 
evil in the flesh to be resisted, no assaults of the 
tempter to be overcome, but every imperfection 
subdued, and every soul perfected in the image of 
Christ. 

But not only is there to be communion with 
God's people, but with the Lord himself. We have 
come to " God the Judge of all." 

"Ye are come" close in holy fellowship to him 
who is the righteous King and Protector of his 



142 TALKS ABO UT HOME-LIFE. 



Church. In the upper kingdom we read of "the 
throne of God," and that "the glory of God did 
lighten it." And though we may never be able to 
behold, even in eternity, the full light of the Fa- 
ther's presence, yet still we shall be nearer to him 
than ever before. " Blessed are the pure in heart, 
for they shall see God." 

And there is fellowship with the Saviour. Ye 
are come " to Jesus, the Mediator of the new cove- 
nant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh 
better things than that of Abel" 

Ah, it is the presence of Jesus which makes 
heaven on earth or heaven above. Without his 
presence all else would be in vain. Heaven would 
be no heaven were Jesus absent. There might be 
the glorious city, there might be the home where 
none of earth's trials could ever enter, there might 
be the countless myriads of angels and the hosts of 
the redeemed ; but the sun of heaven's glory would 
be dark, the light which should illumine the whole 
would be absent, if Jesus were not in the midst of 
his glorified Church. 

And mark it, dear reader, here is the link that 
binds all together in the everlasting fellowship of 
love. How could fallen man ever be united to the 
holy Jehovah ? How could sinners ever have com- 



THE FATHERS HOUSE, 



i43 



munion and fellowship with the holy angels ? Here 
is the link — even Jesus and his blood. God and 
angels and man, those yet in the flesh and those 
now delivered from the bondage of corruption, 
saints militant and saints triumphant — all are knit 
together in one blessed family, in one glorious fel- 
lowship, by Jesus and his precious blood. 

If you wish to belong to the great family, the 
household of God ; if you wish to share their 
glory and partake of their endless joy, come to 
Jesus without delay. He is the Mediator of the 
new covenant. God has laid up all its precious 
gifts in his hand : wisdom, righteousness, grace, and 
everlasting mercy — all these come to us through 
him, and by no other channel. And the gracious 
and merciful Saviour delights to welcome those 
who turn to him. 

A Swedish sailor was on the deep. The Holy 
Spirit had convinced him of sin, and he could not 
rest without the mercy for which he longed. 

" I was ready to cry out, ' Who will deliver me, 
who will help me ?' And my heart sunk down in 
despair. What a miserable sinner I felt I was ! 
My heart was sick and sore. I knew not what to 
do. I had no one to guide me. 

" One night I was standing by the wheel. I 



144 



TALKS ABOUT HOME-LIFE. 



bethought me of Christ, and my heart turned to 
him for help. And with my very first thought of 
him, he met me in his grace ; and oh, what words 
of mercy and love I seemed to hear him speak to 
me ! ' Come to me, ye heavy-laden. Come to me; 
I cast none out. I am meek and lowly of heart. 
Learn of me. Take my yoke; it is easy. Take 
my burden ; my grace shall make it light/ 

"There at the wheel the Saviour showed him- 
self to me. I love him now, because he first loved 
me. I cannot speak your language well ; but 
Christ understands me, and I understand him. 
And ever since I met him at the wheel I live very 
close to him. I hear him tell me to hold up my 
sails to the gales of the blessed Spirit, and he will 
waft me straight to the heavenly land." 

May every reader of these pages have the 
same blessed hope possessed by this sailor ! May 
every day spent in any earthly house be a day of 
preparation for that Home which shall never be 
broken up ! 



