For in Thy Word I read
That they who go to Jesus
With all their guilt and need,
Are certainly attracted
By Thy almighty power,
To find a happy entrance
Through heaven's Living Door.
The world, which once did furnish
The trifles I desired,
Now gives no satisfaction;
There's something else required:
The devil would allure me
With charms by him designed
To cry, "Peace! peace!" but cannot
Relieve my troubled mind.
I see no place of refuge
To which I may retreat;
No home, or kindly shelter,
To rest my weary feet.
Where shall I go? where _can_ I?
Dear Saviour, hear my plea--
"Draw me, and I'll run gladly;
Yes, draw me unto Thee."
A. B.
A BRAVE RESCUE.
It is only within the last few weeks that particulars have been
published in the Swiss papers of a brave rescue effected on Mount St.
Bernard on the night of the last Sunday in November.
While a violent snow-storm was in progress, Grand, the manager of the
hospice, noticed that his own special dog that was alone with him in his
room became very restless, and made signs to him to go out. He took the
lantern and fog-horn, and went out on the mountain, the dog leading him.
In a very short time he heard a call and groaning, and, helped by the
dog, dug out of the snow an Italian, whom he carried on his back into
the hospice.
The rescued man stated that his father, two brothers, and another
Italian, all journeying home with him over the pass, lay buried in the
snow. He had pushed on to obtain help, but had been overpowered by the
storm. Grand made ready and went out again. This second search was more
tedious, and led him further away, but at last the barking of the dog
announced a discovery. It was the Italian stranger who was now saved and
carried up to the hospice. A third time Grand and his dog sallied out
into the tempest, and after a quarter of an hour's search found the
others, near where the second man had been discovered. They were quite
buried under the snow, and almost insensible. He took the most feeble on
his shoulders, and with difficulty conducted the others to the hospice.
It was now past midnight, and his toilsome task had occupied Grand over
four hours, in a blinding snow-storm.
A recent telegram from Geneva states that two avalanches have fallen on
the above famous hospice of St. Bernard. The church has been almost
entirely buried in snow. No loss of life is reported.
THE MUMMY OF SESOSTRIS.
A new Egyptian labyrinth was some time ago discovered at a place named
Deyr-el-Baharee by M. Maspero, an orientalist of French nationality, who
found in one of the underground galleries, hollowed through a mountain
of granite, three sarcophagi of the Mosaic period. They resembled
somewhat our modern coffins, except that they were much larger and
rather clumsier in shape. But they were beautifully adorned with images
of Egyptian gods and sacred animals, painted in colours that were still
of admirable freshness, on a dark-brown ground. They bore numerous
inscriptions in hieroglyphics and the demotic character, wherefrom the
clue was obtained as to their identity.
The sarcophagi, with their contents, were transported down the Nile to
Boulag, at the gates of Cairo, and were opened in the presence of the
Khedive and several pashas. The coil of thick cloth in which the first
mummy lay was ripped open; then a narrow linen band of about eight
inches in breadth, that went round and round the body several hundred
times from head to foot, was unwound; after that, a second winding sheet
of the finest linen was with great care cut open with scissors. At last
a head appeared, totally unlike that of any modern human being. The
description of it is given by M. Maspero in his report:--
"The head is long and small in proportion to the body. The crown is
utterly bald; the hair is scanty about the temples, but grows in thick,
lank tufts on the nape. It was white before death, but has been stained
light yellow by the sweet essences with which the body was embalmed. The
ears were almost round, standing out from the head, and are pierced like
those of a woman. The mouth is small, and bordered with thick, fleshy
lips, behind which is a row of white teeth that were kept clean with
evident care. Whiskers and beard are thin. They were shaved during
lifetime, but grew in the last illness, or may-be after death. The low
forehead is narrow, and the brow prominent, and covered with white
hairs. The eyes are small, and set close to one another; the nose long,
thin, aquiline, and slightly flattened at the tip by the pressure of the
bandages. The temple is hollow, the cheek-bones are prominent, the jaw
is strong, and the chin very underhung. The face of the mummy is
certainly not an intelligent one, and almost appears bestial; but it has
an unmistakable look of pride, doggedness, and majesty."
[Illustration: RESCUE BY DOGS OF ST. BERNARD.]
As regards the body, it is that of an aged man, who was singularly
vigorous and robust, and must have lived to nearly a hundred years of
age.
From the inscriptions on the coffin, it appeared that the body it held
had reigned over Egypt for sixty-seven years, during which time the
country had attained the pinnacle of national greatness. The Hebrews
groaned under his oppression, and hundreds of thousands, while employed
to build the city of Ramesis, had died under the taskmasters' lash. This
mummy was the greatest among the Pharaohs--Sesostris. He was found in a
wonderful state of preservation, after having remained in that coffin
for thirty-five centuries.
The second mummy proved to be that of Rameses III.
The third mummy became putrid from exposure to air, and was accordingly
buried by M. Maspero. It turned out to be that of a queen named
Nofritari, of the eighteenth dynasty.
WHEN thy hand hath done a good act, ask thy heart whether it is well
done.--_Fuller._
"THIS IS THE WAY; WALK YE IN IT."
(PSALM cxix. 9.)
Wherewith shall the inquiring youth
Attempt to cleanse his way?
This question asked the lips of Truth,
And many since that day.
The answer's ready for the meek,
And easy to be found;
No far-fetched knowledge need you seek
On false, on foreign ground.
Take heed unto your steps, dear friend,
The Bible does declare;
May you unto God's Word attend
With energy and prayer.
"Take heed unto thyself," wrote Paul,
"And to the doctrines, too";
Young Timothy obeyed the call,
And God's salvation knew.
Friend, you may study well the law,
And try to do your best;
Remember, you will have to know
This lesson with the rest.
But if you find yourself at last
A guiltier sinner still,
The Gospel is revealed for such--
"Come, whosoever will."
Yes, there the secret is made known--
The remedy you need--
The precious blood of Christ alone
Can cleanse thought, word, and deed.
M. E. S.
_Corby._
"THOU, GOD, SEEST ME!"
"George," said a big boy, winking hard at his curly-headed little
comrade, "you may pick me some of those apples. Your father has fallen
asleep over his book in the study." George raised his fearless, honest
eyes to the older lad's face, and replied, "My Father is father's Father
too, and He neither slumbers nor sleeps" (Psa. cxxi. 4). George's Father
was the all-seeing God.
A VISIT TO THE IDRIAN MINES.
After passing through several parts of the Alps, and having visited
Germany, I thought I could not return home without visiting those
dreadful subterraneous caverns, where thousands are condemned to reside,
shut out from all hopes of ever seeing the cheerful light of the sun,
and obliged to toil out a miserable life under the whips of imperious
task-masters.
Imagine to yourself a hole in the side of a mountain, about five yards
over. Down this you are lowered in a kind of bucket to a depth of more
than one hundred fathoms, the prospect growing still more gloomy, yet
still widening as you descend. At length, after swinging in terrible
suspense for some time in this precarious situation, you reach the
bottom, and tread on the ground, which, by its hollow sound under your
feet, and the reverberations of the echo, seems thundering at every step
you take. In this gloomy and frightful solitude you are enlightened by
the feeble gleam of lamps, here and there dispersed, so as that the
wretched inhabitants of these mansions can go from one place to another
without a guide; though I could scarcely discern, for some time,
anything--not even the person who came to show me these scenes of
horror.
From this description, I suppose you have but a disagreeable idea of the
place; yet let me assure you that it is a palace, if the habitation be
compared with the inhabitants. Such wretches my eyes never yet beheld.
The blackness of their visages only serves to cover a horrid paleness,
caused by the noxious qualities of the mineral they are employed in
procuring.
As they, in general, consist of malefactors, condemned for life to this
task, they are fed at the public expense; but seldom consume much
provision, as they lose their appetites in a short time, and commonly,
in about two years, expire, through a total contraction of all the
joints.
In this horrid mansion I walked after my guide for some time, pondering
on the strange tyranny and avarice of mankind, when I was accosted by a
voice behind me, calling me by name, and inquiring after my health with
the most cordial affection. I turned, and saw a creature all black and
hideous, who approached me, and, with a piteous accent, said, "Ah!
Everard, do you not know me?" What was my surprise when, through the
veil of this wretchedness, I discovered the features of a dear old
friend. I flew to him with affection, and, after a tear of condolence,
asked him how he came there. To this he replied that, having fought a
duel with an officer of the Austrian Infantry, against the Emperor's
command, and having left him for dead, he was obliged to flee into the
forests of Istria, where he was first taken, and afterwards sheltered by
some banditti, who had long infested that quarter. With these he lived
nine months, till, by a close investiture of the place in which they
were concealed, and after a very obstinate resistance, in which the
greater part of them were killed, he was taken, and carried to Vienna,
in order to be broken alive upon the wheel. However, upon arriving at
the capital, he was quickly known, and several of the associates of his
accusation and danger witnessing his innocence, his punishment of the
rack was changed into that of perpetual banishment and labour in the
mines of Idria.
As my old friend was giving me this account, a young woman came up to
him who at once I perceived to be born for a better fortune. The
dreadful situation of this place was not able to destroy her beauty;
and, even in this scene of wretchedness, she seemed to have charms
sufficient to grace the most brilliant assembly. This lady was, in
fact, daughter to one of the first families in Germany; and having tried
every means to procure her husband's pardon without effect, was at last
resolved to share his miseries, as she could not relieve them. She
accordingly descended with him into these mansions, whence few of the
living return, despising the splendour of opulence, and contented with
the consciousness of her own constancy.
I was afterwards spectator of the most affecting scene I ever beheld. In
the course of some days after my visiting the gloomy mansion I have
represented to you, a person came post from Vienna to the Idrian bottom,
who was followed by a second, and he by a third. The first inquiry was
after my unfortunate friend, and I, happening to overhear the demand,
gave them the first intelligence. Two of these were the brother and
cousin of the lady; the third was an intimate acquaintance and
fellow-soldier of my friend. They came with his pardon, which had been
procured by the general with whom the duel had been fought, and who was
perfectly cured of his wounds. I led him, with all the expedition of
joy, down to this dreary abode, presented to him his friends, and
informed him of the happy change of his circumstances. It would be
impossible to describe the joy that brightened upon his grief-worn
countenance, nor were the young lady's emotions less vivid at seeing her
friends, and hearing of her husband's liberty.
Some hours were employed in mending the appearance of this faithful
couple; nor could I, without a tear, behold my friend taking leave of
the former wretched companions of his toil. To one he left his mattock,
to another his working clothes, and to a third such utensils as were
necessary for him in that situation. We soon emerged from the mine,
where he once again revisited the light of the sun, that he had totally
despaired of ever seeing again. A post-chaise and four were ready the
next morning to take them to Vienna, where, I am since informed by a
letter from himself, they are returned. The Emperor has again taken him
into favour, his fortune and rank are restored, and he and his fair
partner have now the pleasing satisfaction of feeling happiness with
double relish, as they once knew what it was to be miserable.--_Selected._
["What a happy deliverance!" say you. Ah! but it is only a faint emblem
of that deliverance which Jesus wrought. These people were delivered
from sufferings which would only have been for a short time, but Jesus
died to deliver His people from the wrath to come--the fire that shall
not be quenched.
Reader, have you been brought to Him? Can you say, "He loved me, and
gave Himself for me"? or are you without hope of eternal life? Oh, that
you may seek to win Christ, and be found in Him!--ED.]
ANSWER TO BIBLE ENIGMA.
(_Page 66._)
"_Thy will be done._"--MATTHEW xxvi. 42.
T imaeus Mark x. 46.
H arp Genesis iv. 21.
Y ear Leviticus xxv. 4.
W hale Job vii. 12.
I nfidel 2 Corinthians vi. 15.
L atin Luke xxiii. 38.
L aban Genesis xxix. 10.
B ehemoth Job xl. 15.
E phraim Genesis xli. 52.
D og Exodus xi. 7.
O nyx Genesis ii. 12.
N oon Solomon's Song i. 7.
E pistle 2 Corinthians iii. 1.
HARRY FREDERICK FORFEITT
(Aged 10 years).
_Thong, near Gravesend._
AN ENCOURAGING SUNDAY SCHOOL GATHERING.
The twelfth annual meeting of the Sunday School, Devonshire Road Chapel,
Greenwich, was held on February 8th. The singing of a hymn was followed
by the reading of Psalm xix. by Mr. Boorne, the Pastor, and prayer by
Mr. Joseph Whittome.
Mr. Boorne, in his remarks, referred to Pharaoh's desire to keep the
children in Egypt, even if the God of Israel compelled him to let their
parents go. But they also had to come out from bondage.
He said a phrase was sometimes used to hinder the planting of Sunday
Schools, namely, "that they are often only a nursery for the Church."
His opinion was, that a Sunday School might be put to a much worse use.
He thought it a good and desirable thing when it was so; and scholars
taught of God, as well as by their teachers, passed from the Sunday
School into the Church.
The Secretary and Acting-Superintendent, Mr. Samuel Boorne, then read
the report. He noted four encouraging facts. The increase of
numbers--twenty new scholars, making 140 in all. That the infant class,
the _feeder_ of the school, was increasing. The manifest interest taken
in their school by many of the scholars, for, though it was twelve years
old, some of the original scholars were still connected with the Bible
Classes. Her Majesty's Jubilee year was commemorated by the gift to each
child of an ornamental card, on which was printed the Coronation Oath,
taken by Her Majesty on her accession, to preserve the Protestant
liberties of her country. It was put into a gilt frame, and was much
appreciated by the scholars. The collecting cards for the Aged Pilgrims'
Friend Society, issued this year _by request_, and always a voluntary
effort on the part of the children, resulted in L6 10s.
Mr. Marshall, of Clifton, then interested many by his pleasant and
solemn remarks. The _possibilities_ for the future represented by such a
gathering of boys and girls formed a fitting theme. He hoped there were
none present who would be the means of breaking their parents' hearts. A
page from the life of a youth who really did do it, and who traced the
beginning of his evil doings to _drink_, was pointed and solemn, Mr.
Marshall saying it was his conviction that children should never be
allowed to acquire a taste for so dangerous a luxury. He said he was a
total abstainer himself, and did not think--and probably the audience
agreed with him--he looked any the worse for it.
His concluding words will be remembered. After fifty years' experience
of the love and ways of God, he testified to young and old that there
was no happiness in anything but the knowledge of God in Christ. It
surpasses and eclipses all. "He will do everything for those who are
His."
He then addressed a few words to the teachers, advising them to stick to
the Word of God. The Holy Spirit was able to teach even children. He
once baptized a girl of fourteen, of whom he could say he _knew_ she was
a vessel of mercy; and why should he keep her out of the privileges of
the Lord's people? He would not hesitate to baptize a child of ten if he
or she gave sufficient evidence that they knew something of their own
sinfulness, and something of the Lord Jesus. "Can any man forbid water,
that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as
well as we?"
Mr. Wilmshurst then began his address by reminding his young friends of
the many happy Sundays they had spent together. What pleasant gatherings
they were! He had not forgotten them, if they had. But now he wished to
speak of a most _remarkable_ gathering of people. He referred to the
four hundred men who gathered to David in the cave Adullam (1 Sam.
xxii. 1, 2). The remarkable points were these:--
First, they were all remarkably _poor_--"in debt"--and bankrupts in
those days were liable to be taken for bondmen, or slaves (see 2 Kings
iv. 1). We are all in debt to God, and have "nothing to pay." We add to
it hourly, and unless the heavy debt is paid by us (which is
_impossible_), or by Another, we shall be shut up for ever in prison
with Satan and his angels.
Secondly, these men were remarkably _discontented_--discontented with
Saul, the reigning king, his service, and his rewards; and they came to
David, an uncrowned king, with no apparent advantage to offer them. True
type of those who, like Moses in a similar case, have "_chosen_ rather
to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season."
Thirdly, they were in remarkable _distress_. So are all those who come
to King Jesus--a distress which others cannot understand, and often
cannot account for. "What must I do to be saved?" is a strange trouble
to many.
Fourthly, they had remarkable _desires_. They wished to find David, to
dwell with him, and have him for their leader and captain. And David
himself was a fugitive, hunted by Saul--poor, powerless, and hidden away
in a cave in a mountain, where, probably, it was very difficult to find
him. So there are some (only a few compared with the number of the
people of the land, like David's four hundred) whose hearts are set on
finding Jesus. They wish to be near Him always. He (like David) is
difficult to find. He must be usually searched for "as for hid
treasures" (Prov. ii. 4), but when found, He becomes their Captain.
Fifthly, these men had a remarkable _reception_. They had no good
characters--nothing to recommend them--but they were received. So Jesus
also "receiveth sinners and eateth with them." As the Pharisees despised
Jesus for keeping such company, so Saul and his servants despised David.
Jesus says, "Him that _cometh to Me_ I will in no wise cast out."
The reception of the four hundred was also remarkable because they were
_uninvited_. But here the type fails. Jesus _has_ invited those who
"come" to Him (see Matt. xi. 28).
Sixthly, the men made remarkable _soldiers_. Their doings are recorded
in 2 Samuel xxiii., and the doings and victories of the good soldiers of
Jesus Christ are to be found in Hebrews xi. David's soldiers did not
live _idle_ lives in the cave, nor do Christ's soldiers have peace
always. They have to "fight the good fight of faith" with "the sword of
the Spirit, which is the Word of God," and the bow of _prayer_. They
fight, however, with their Captain's eye upon them (see Psa. xxxiv. 15).
Lastly, they were remarkably _rewarded_. When David came to the throne,
they were put in positions of honour. The visible reward of Christ's
followers is yet to come (Dan. vii. 22, 27; Matt. xix. 28; Luke xxii.
29, 30). He has promised also to give them "manifold more in _this
present time_," as well as "life everlasting" (Luke xviii. 28-30).
The prizes were then distributed by the Pastor, and after a concluding
word of prayer, this encouraging meeting was brought to a close.
E. M.
THE WISE AND FOOLISH BUILDERS.
(MATTHEW vii. 24-29.)
This is a wilderness of sand,
With driving winds on every hand;
How many build their houses here,
Nor seem the coming storm to fear!
There is a sure Foundation-Stone;
May I be builded thereupon!
Then shall I stand the last dread shock,
Safe on the Everlasting Rock.
BIBLE ENIGMA.
The name of a river.
A place where all Jews were commanded to depart from.
A king to whom the children of Israel sent a present.
What did Abimelech take with him when he went up Mount Zalmon?
What did the Lord say the strong shall be as?
A mighty man of valour.
One of David's children.
Name one of Jacob's sons.
A brother of Tubal.
One of the cities which the children of Reuben built.
A mountain.
What did Jesus say a disciple should be called?
That which was to be burned always.
A place where David dwelt.
One of the cities which the children of Gad built.
Of what tribe was Hiram?
What did the Lord say should not cease while the earth remaineth?
The name of a thing declared to be a mocker (spell it backwards).
One who slew, in the valley of salt, eighteen thousand.
That which remains to the people of God.
A place where the children of Israel provoked the Lord to wrath.
A wicked king.
The place where the father of Gideon dwelt.
One whom the Lord blessed.
A bird that found no rest save in one place.
The initials and finals will form a prayer.
ALICE COLE.
_Basingstoke._
THE law of love requires us to sacrifice our own comfort to promote the
happiness of others.--_Albert Barnes._
OUR BIBLE CLASS.
MENTAL EYES: DARKENED AND ILLUMINATED.
(MATTHEW vi. 22, 23.)
Light sometimes means that which _gives_, sometimes that which
_receives_ or _reflects_, light; as the sun is the light of the world,
and the windows through which he shines are the lights of the room and
the house. Our eyes are the lights, or windows, of our body. Through
them we look out upon the world around us; and light, knowledge, and
pleasure come in to us from what we see, as well as what we hear.
Jesus here refers to the eyes of the mind--the understanding. How often,
when a difficult matter has been explained, we say, "Oh, yes; I see it
all now!" and yet the eyes behold no new object. We mean that we now
_understand_ what puzzled us so much before.
Thus, in these two verses we are told about _minds_ that are darkened,
and also about _understandings_ that are enlightened with the light of
life.
"If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
If the windows are bricked up, no ray of light can force an entrance,
even at noonday, into the darkened rooms; or, if the casements are
thickly curtained, or closely shuttered, how dark the house must be! So
sin of some kind--pride, prejudice, or superstition--darkens the
sinner's understanding, shuts out the light of heavenly truth, and lulls
him to sleep in the arms of the wicked one--the sleep of death.