ii. 8-10. What did Jesus Christ come for? 6 The gospel answers, To save sinners,' 1 Tim. i. 15. Are we sinners? Do we feel it? Do we desire deliverance? The gospel tells us, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,' Acts xvi. 31. 'He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life,' "John iii. 36. "What did you say? that we can be saved without doing anything; by only believing in Jesus Christ ?" "Yes, certainly; not BY works; yet not WITHOUT works." "How do you mean?" "I mean that if we believe in Jesus Christ, if we believe that he died for us, that he has purchased for us this great. deliverance; if we seriously and heartily believe this, we cannot help loving him. What do think?" "Of course.' you "And if we love him, we shall keep his words, we shall wish to imitate him, and to obey him in all things." "I understand." "Now, here is all I have said to you in a few words. You are miserable in yourself, because you are guilty; Jesus Christ calls you; by believing, by trusting in him, you receive pardon from God; the sense of this pardon will inspire you with gratitude; and this gratitude will induce you to aspire after likeness to him, whom you rejoice to call your Saviour. The whole of the Christian religion may be thus summed up,-faith in Christ Jesus, as the means of salvation; the gospel as our light; the Holy Spirit as our guide; the love of God as our law; heaven as our home; and life eternal for our aim." My companion listened in silence, and I could see that his heart eagerly drank in my every word. It was late. "We must part," he said; "it is God who has sent you to me this day. My thoughts are confused, but to-morrow I shall get that book (pointing to my Testament). I shall read it, and it will enlighten me. Will it not?" "Yes," I replied; "and in reading, remember that it is written, 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him,'" James i. 5. The workman held out his hand; I pressed it in silence, and we parted. J. F. SHAW, BOOKSELLER, SOUTHAMPTON ROW, AND AND W. INNES, BOOKSELLER, SOUTH HANOVER STREET, EDINBURGH. J. & W. Rider, Printers, 14, Bartholomew Close, London. LOSS AND GAIN. "I shall be a lady for ever." "I shall not sit as a widow; Neither shall I know the loss of children," Isa. xlvii. 7, 8. It is sixty years since a rich heiress, an only child, started in life with an heir of equal wealth. It was in the cheerful month of May. The sun seemed to rise with such a smiling radiance, as though he intended to bless the bridal day; the birds sang merrily in the woods that skirted the noble mansion; the cowslips tinged the well stocked meads with golden spangles, as they flung their odours on the passing breeze; the mountain rill leaped in joyous bounds as it descended to the grassy glade below. By the appointed hour groups of villagers were gathering here and there, chatting of the scene soon to be witnessed, which only a few of the very oldest could remember having seen before in that unfrequented dale; and many a tale went round of the noble race that had for so many generations owned that hall; of their chivalry, their loyalty, their benevolence and charity, as each vied with the other to evince the largest store of knowledge of the ancient Percy family, of which this was a distinguished branch. They were all in holiday dress, as the mansion was liberty hall that day-open and free to all comers. The hour had struck; the crowd was eager in expectation, and in breathless suspense they waited for the commencement of the ceremony. On a sudden forth issued from the ancient hall the queen of that day's joy, led by her doting parent to the church where all their fathers lay, only a step or two distant. She was queenly; tall, stately, and beautiful. A burst of hearty cheering greeted every step, as she passed swiftly by, adorned in the most costly array; the long procession followed; the spectators entered the sacred fane; the ceremony was performed in a mode, grave, solemn, and devout. When it had closed, the bells struck up a merry peal, which continued at intervals throughout the day. Everything that day was in keeping with the imposing event. Everybody was joyous; everything smiled; all were as gay as gay could be; and the rustic merriment was kept up till a late hour. The moon rose, and shed her light over the landscape, and had almost finished her course before sleep had swayed his "leaden sceptre" over this happy throng. After a time the youthful pair settled in the sober enjoyment of a fine country house, close by a northern provincial town; the husband as the principal banker, with a hundred thousand pounds of his own, to which were added an equal sum as the rich dowry of his blooming wife. "The rich have many friends," so they enjoyed the smiles, caresses, and friendships of all the great in wealth and in fame, for many miles round. "The lines had fallen to them in pleasant places; they had a goodly heritage." All that wealth, station, and friends of great influence could command they had; besides, they were allied in blood to the Percys. A young family rapidly blessed the domestic circle, and each child was a new fountain of real joy. They continued by slow degrees to grow to the patriarchal number. They insensibly became the idols of a doting mother, who devoted almost all her hours to fit them for the society of the fashionable, the rich, and the great. Her husband, in the mean time, was diligent in his counting-house, successful in his speculations, had become possessed of his wife's inheritance, embarked in an extensive partnership, and lent money largely to foreign courts. Success stimulated to enterprise and speculation. To the immense wealth with which they started in life they added daily gains, till they were esteemed among the most prosperous and wealthy of the nation. While they thus enjoyed the confidence of all, and flourished in the world, almost as by magic, they congratulated themselves in their good fortune, and dwelt securely, as, humanly speaking, well they might; they had added "field to field," and "house to house;" they had intrusted to their care half the county's wealth; the most noble in the neighbourhood were planning to ally their sons in marriage to their accomplished daughters, now arriving at maturity; and new prospects and promises of future greatness opened every day. Just at this time Napoleon had attained the zenith of his power. The firm was applied to for the negotiation of a loan of large amount, to aid that troubler of the nations to carry out his ambitious designs; the banker was sent to Paris on the business, was received at Court, reaped a rich harvest, and returned with fresh laurels, although not won in the tented field. This raised his wife a step higher in fame, station, and real worldly aggrandizement. But, alas! all was done without even a recognition of God, his providence, his glory, or his government. No blessing from Him was either sought or thought of; the boast was echoed, "My hand hath gotten me these things." An It was in a bitter cold, snowy day in December, 1852, I was sent on an errand of mercy to a house in Street, to see Mrs. M――. I was ushered into a small back parlour, neatly furnished, and here and there ornamented with a few valuable trinkets and remains of some former grandeur. elderly person, nearly eighty, was reclining in a quiet, resigned manner on an easy chair by the fire, but suffering acutely from a very recently broken limb, having been knocked down by a cab in Regent Street. There were still the remains of a beautiful outline of face: she was tall in person and inclined to stoutness, and had a sweet, soft voice. She was alone, and, before she could speak, let fall a tear or two, but wiped them soon. I told her the object of my visit was to 66 comfort them that mourn." "You are a welcome guest," she replied. I took up the Bible, and read the twelfth chapter of Hebrews, which, when I had done, she said, "Read the eleventh verse again, if you please." I read, "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." “I had not known God, sir,” she said with a smile, “but for affliction;" adding "Thou dost my profit seek, And chasten as a friend; Oh God, I'll kiss the smarting rod, "Lord, I would not repine At strokes in mercy sent; "Afflictions," I remarked, "are often severe, but always sent in mercy." "To me they have, indeed," she answered; "for when I lost my all in this world I found God; I learned the worth of my soul and the preciousness of Christ. My loss was profit." "You have seen better days," I remarked. "What the world calls better days, I have," she answered, with a sigh; and added, "I lived in every luxury till I was THE ENGLISH MONTHLY TRACT SOCIETY 27 RED LION SQUARE, LONDON. |