that others parted with their possessions, they also sold a piece of
land, and laid a portion of the price at the apostles' feet, pretending
that they had given up the whole of the money received. Peter, being
divinely inspired, detected the falsehood, and Ananias fell down dead at
his feet, was carried from the place of meeting, and buried immediately.
Sapphira, ignorant of the dreadful fact, came to a later service, and
repeating the lie to Peter, she also was struck with death in a moment,
and was borne to her husband's grave.
His seems to have been an _acted_, hers a _spoken_ lie. In each case
the falsehood was partly true, but the intention was to deceive, and
this is the very essence of a lie. It was hypocrisy. They "played a
part," like actors on the stage. They pretended to be different people
from what they really were, and they wanted to be thought of as loving,
sincere, and generous Christians, while they were false-hearted and
hollow all the time.
May we never try to deceive others, to make a false impression--to seem
better than we are. God sees and knows us altogether. May it be our
chief desire to have our hearts and lives right with Him.
But why did such a terrible doom fall upon these two false ones at the
very beginning of the Christian era? In the olden time God's judgments
fell upon transgressors in a sudden and fearful way, but under the
gracious reign of Jesus we might scarcely have looked for such a display
of wrath. Yet, though "God is love," He is also "a consuming fire," and
there is not all that difference between the old dispensation and the
present one which might at first appear. David was forgiven ages before,
and these sinners were destroyed in Gospel times. Then, "God was greatly
to be feared in the assembly of His saints," and still He must "be had
in reverence of all them that are about Him."
But what were the effects of this awful occurrence? "Great fear came
upon the Church, and upon all who heard these things." This is just what
we should have expected. "And of the rest" (of those who were not true
and whole-hearted) "no one dared to join that company." So much the
better, just as the disciples were better off without Judas Iscariot. A
decaying corpse in the house injures the health of the living inmates,
and false professors have never done good, but rather harm, to the true
Church of God.
Yet another result followed which we might not have hoped for--a large
increase of believing converts. "Multitudes of men and women, believing
on the Lord, were the more added to the Church." "The more." Yes, for
this very reason--they saw and felt that "the Lord was there," and
loving Him, they wished to dwell in His presence, and enjoy His
protection and care.
Oh, how important motives are! A thief in the company of innocent people
may, like them, offer to be searched, in order to avoid suspicion, as
Judas asked, "Lord, is it I?" when all the disciples had first put the
question to Jesus, but he could not thus escape the searching eyes that
read his heart, or the words of condemnation that fell upon his ears.
Are we willing to be searched and tried by God?
But, if we do desire to belong to Jesus, and follow Him, need we, should
we, hesitate to unite with, or remain among, His people? Oh, no! Though
He is angry with the wicked every day, and terrible to the hypocrites,
He is gracious and full of compassion to all who seek His grace. "Will
He plead against me with His great strength? No, but He will put
strength in me," said Job (chap. xxiii. 6). And while He burns up all
who rebel against Him, as the fire consumes briars and thorns, they who
would be at peace with Him shall find peace by His own strength (Isa.
xxvii. 4, 5) and love.
Yes, and not only so--it is a blessing for us that He does know us
altogether. We are sometimes afraid to confess some secret fault to an
earthly friend, lest we should be loved less when the wrong thing is
known; and if we could hide ourselves from God, how we might shrink from
telling Him some of our thoughts and feelings, and this secrecy might
ruin and destroy us. But He does know all, and knowing, loves His
children still, so that we may pour out all our heart before Him; and
while it will be an unspeakable relief to us, it will be no news to Him.
A sense of our own unworthiness will only precede the joyous assurance
of pardon and blessing. Peter once said, "Depart from me, for I am a
sinful man, O Lord!" and Isaiah cried, "Woe is me, for I am undone"
(Isa. vi. 5); but Peter's fear gave place to the clinging words of
love--"Lord, to whom shall we go [but unto Thee], for Thou hast the
words of eternal life?" (John vi. 68); while Isaiah's cry of sorrow
changed to the gladsome song, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will
trust, and not be afraid" (Isa. xii. 2).
Oh, that we may be helped to cast ourselves by faith and prayer entirely
upon Him, and, like Peter, say, "Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou
knowest that I love Thee." Amen.
Our next subject will be, _The Good Shepherd, His Lambs and Sheep_ (Isa.
xl. 11).
Yours affectionately,
H. S. L.
BIBLE ENIGMA.
An officer of Pharaoh.
A city built by Cain.
A son of Solomon.
A precious stone.
The mount where Joshua built an altar.
A queen of the Ethiopians.
The land of Haran's nativity.
One of the seven Churches of Asia.
A duke of Edom.
One whom the Lord raised up to
deliver Israel.
A daughter of Zelophehad.
The initials of the words do show
What Christ on earth had to pass through;
And all His people may prepare,
While in this world, to have their share.
THOMAS TYLER
(Aged 13 years).
_Potton, Beds._
ADVERSITY borrows its sharpest sting from our impatience.--_Bishop
Horne._
PRIZE ESSAY.
THE BLESSINGS CONFERRED ON ENGLAND BY THE ACCESSION TO THE THRONE
OF WILLIAM OF ORANGE, AND BY THE PROTESTANT SUCCESSION THEREBY
SECURED TO US.
The blessings conferred on England by the accession of William of Orange
ought long to be remembered by all those who love to worship God in the
way their conscience tells them is right.
He came to England at a time in its history when it was especially in
need of help. He restored liberty, both civil and religious, and backed
up Protestantism. The Protestant people were greatly burdened by the
cruelties of James II., who, it is said, had a mind more devoted to the
infliction of pain than had been since the Romans conquered England.
Here he persecuted those who held fast to the "common prayer," and in
Scotland put to death as many as would not adopt it. He had two women
tied to stakes and drowned in the Solway Firth, because they would not
repeat the Apostles' Creed.
By these incidents of his cruelty, we plainly see the great blessing of
liberty which God, through William III., bestowed on England, and the
great blessing which Protestantism is to the land.
James having thus shown himself to the people, and his cruelties being
so great, it is naturally to be expected that they would readily accept
this new sovereign, who was a good man, and who had supported the
Protestants of Holland all his life. He had a right to the crown by his
marriage to Mary, the daughter of James II.
England received a great blessing in the year 1701, the Act of
Settlement being passed by the consent of William and his Parliament,
which shut out from the English throne all persons who were Roman
Catholics, or persons married to Roman Catholics.
The successor to him was Queen Anne of Denmark, and when she died,
leaving no child, another agreement was formed, placing the crown on
Sophia, Dowager-Electress of Hanover, and her posterity, if they were
Protestants. Since this Act was passed there has been no Roman Catholic
on the throne. If it had not been passed, several Romanist sovereigns
might have reigned.
The Protestant religion is a great blessing, and the main cause of the
prosperity of our nation. Romanism greatly impoverishes all countries
which are its victims, such as Ireland, where Popery predominates. Never
has the accession to the throne of a Protestant king been more needful
than it was then.
It is since then that England has won a name as a great nation and a
brave people. If Protestantism is such a standing religion, which "has
been through the water, and not been overflowed," and "through the fire
without being burned," surely we ought to labour hard for the overthrow
of that false religion which is the main curse of many nations in the
world. By the important incidents we plainly see God's overruling
providence guarding us and our religion, and, as Wickliffe said, after
one of his trials, so say we again with still greater force, "The truth
shall prevail."
WILLIAM ERNEST CRAY
(Aged 11 years).
_Pearl Cottage_, _Carlyle Road_,
_Forton_, _Gosport_, _Hants._
[We are sorry that no more of our young friends have sent Essays for
this month, but our young friend has thereby the advantage of taking a
second prize.]
[The writer of the above Essay receives a copy of "The Reformation and
its Heroes."
The subject for November will be, "Lessons to be Derived from the
History of Daniel," and the prize to be given for the best Essay on that
subject, a copy of "Cowper's Poems." All competitors must give a
guarantee that they are under fifteen years of age, and that the Essay
is their own composition, or the papers will be passed over, as the
Editor cannot undertake to write for this necessary information. Papers
must be sent direct to the Editor, Mr. T. Hull, 117, High Street,
Hastings, by the first of October.]
"THE NAILS ARE GONE, BUT THE MARKS ARE LEFT."
A little boy, whose father desired to see him a good child, was told one
day that a nail should be driven into a post whenever he should do an
act that was wrong; and when he should do a good deed, he might pull one
out.
The little fellow tried to be good, and, though there were a number of
nails driven into the post, after a while not one remained.
How happy must Benny have been when he saw the last nail disappear from
the post!
His father was greatly pleased, and was congratulating his son, when he
was surprised to see that he was weeping; and very touching was the
remark he made--"Ah! the nails are all gone, but the marks are left!"
Was not this contrition?
BIBLE SUBJECTS FOR EACH SUNDAY IN SEPTEMBER.
Sept. 2. Commit to memory Isa. viii. 12.
Sept. 9. Commit to memory Isa. viii. 20.
Sept. 16. Commit to memory Isa. viii. 13.
Sept. 23. Commit to memory Isa. viii. 14.
Sept. 30. Commit to memory Isa. viii. 17.
Interesting Items.
"GOD save the Queen" is now sung in eighteen languages.
THE cost of making a bank-note for any amount is less than one
halfpenny.
EIGHT million baskets of peaches are expected from Delaware and Maryland
this season.
THE Pool of Bethesda has, according to the quarterly statement of the
Palestine Exploration Fund, been authoritatively discovered.
IN the whole sky an eye of average power will see about 6,000 stars.
With a telescope this number is greatly increased, and the most powerful
telescopes show more than 60,000,000. Of this number, not one out of
each hundred has ever been catalogued.
THE oldest newspaper in the whole wide world is the _King Pau_, or
_Capital Sheet_, published in Pekin. It first appeared A.D. 911, but
came out only at irregular intervals. Since the year 1351, however, it
has been published weekly and of uniform size. Now it appears in three
editions daily.
ON an average each Englishman writes forty letters a year, each
Scotchman thirty, and each Irishman sixteen. The average Italian only
posts six, and the American twenty-one. It must be remembered that in
the country letter-writing is a rare pursuit, and that the bulk of
letters are written by business men.
THE tomato is, perhaps, used more as a relish than for its nutritive
value. Uncooked, it forms the prince of salads, and it is one of the
most appetising, palatable, and popular vegetables we have. Violent heat
destroys the delicious flavour of this half fruit, half vegetable, so
when you cook them, be most careful to use only moderate heat.
SAVING THE BUFFALO.--The buffaloes on the American prairies were thought
to be nearly extinct, thanks to the reckless destruction of big game in
recent years; but a happy find has been made of a herd nearly one
hundred strong in a remote and uninhabited part of Texas. To prevent any
danger of their annihilation, an expedition of trained huntsmen is being
sent to Texas to drive the buffaloes into a given enclosure, where the
breed will be carefully preserved.
THIRTEEN thousand boxes gone astray, thirteen thousand umbrellas left in
railway carriages, sixty-seven thousand different items of property lost
on the railways of the United Kingdom during the single month of August,
1887! The railway companies are not responsible for this property, but
to their credit be it said, they afford every facility for its recovery.
POPERY IN PORTUGAL.--A correspondent in Oporto describes the Romish
ceremony of washing an image of Christ in Lisbon, and adds--"If those
who are drifting Romewards could only see the depths of greed,
hypocrisy, and deceit to which the Church descends in these countries
where she holds sway, and how immorality, infidelity, and spiritual
darkness rule among the people, from high to low, they would surely
hesitate to introduce Popish mummeries into free England."
TO CURE FEATHERS.--The following recipe gained a premium from the
Society of Arts. Mix a quantity of lime-water in the proportion of one
pound of quicklime to a gallon of water, mixing well, and pouring off
the clean lime-water for use as soon as the undissolved lime is
precipitated. Put the feathers in a tub, adding enough of the clean
lime-water to cover them to a depth of three inches. Stir them about
until well moistened, when they will sink. Leave for three or four days,
and then pour the whole through a sieve to get rid of the foul water.
Wash well in clean water, and dry upon nets in a room where the air can
be admitted. Cabbage nets will do well, the feathers falling through the
meshes as they dry. About three weeks will finish the feathers, which
will only need beating afterwards to get rid of the dust.
CURIOUS CUSTOM AT A CITY CHURCH.--The following extract from the last
will and testament of Peter Symondes, mercer, dated April 24th, 1586,
refers to a curious custom still observed on Good Friday at All Hallows
Church, Lombard Street:--"The parson and churchwardens shall every year,
upon the same Good Fryday, divide the same raisons into threescore parts
in papers, and when the children of Christ's Hospital shall come upon
Good Fryday as aforesaid, then the said parson and churchwardens shall
give unto every child a part of that so appointed; and although this
gift may be thought very frivolous, yet, my mind and meaning being
hidden, may, notwithstanding, be performed, praying God to make all
those children happy members of this Commonwealth. Amen." Under
directions in the same will, each of the sixty boys also receives a new
penny. An Easter card is also given by the churchwardens from the parish
funds.
THE EARWIG.--The old-fashioned idea of the much-dreaded earwig is little
more than a fallacy. The original English word "ear" signified an
undeveloped flower-bud, especially among corn, and "wic" commonly stood
for a hiding-place; so that familiar insect (formerly written
"ear-wig"), through seeking its favourite dwelling beneath the
closely-shielded bud "ears," has been universally accredited with
propensities so deadly injurious to mankind of which it naturally stands
wholly innocent. In this manner popular superstition has often thrown a
mantle of evil and dread upon surrounding objects, harmless in
themselves; and so long as the vulgar lend credence to ill-founded
traditions without instituting intelligent inquiry, so long must such
discrepancies continue to hold sway over the public mind.
SHEEP-SHEARING BY MACHINERY.--A public trial of Mr. P. W. Wolseley's
"Patent Sheep-Shearing Machine" was recently made in the presence of a
number of gentlemen interested in sheep-breeding and wool-growing. The
result--says _The Australasian_--was a complete success. The first test
was upon a crossbred sheep with an average fleece. The animal was
closely shorn in four and a half minutes. The second animal was shorn in
the ordinary way, and then operated upon by the machine, with the result
that, in addition to the cut of the old-fashioned shears, nine and a
half ounces of wool were obtained. It is claimed for the invention that
it works faster than hand labour, leaves no second cut, does not injure
the skin in the slightest degree, and can be so regulated that the
fleece can be removed of any length desired.
A MONSTER TROUT.--A monster trout was captured the last week in July in
the river Itchen, at Winchester, weighing 16 lbs. 2 ozs., and measuring
32 inches in length and 21 inches in circumference. The bait was a live
minnow, and he was not landed till two hours after he was hooked. He had
haunted the stream for years, was almost as well known in the city as
Queen Anne's statue in the High Street, and had acquired quite a
reputation for the number of rods he had broken, and the quantity of
fishing tackle he had carried away. His captor was a labourer named
Turpin, who disposed of him for L1 to a fishmonger, on whose slab it
attracted almost as many visitors as a monarch lying in state. He was in
splendid condition, and has now gone into the hands of a taxidermist for
preservation.
A RATHER curious episode in natural history occurred the other day on
board the French steamboat _Abd-el-Kader_, during the passage from
Marseilles to Algiers. Just as the vessel was about two hours out, the
skies became quite black with swallows. It was then about six o'clock in
the evening. The birds alighted in thousands on the sails, ropes, and
yards of the _Abd-el-Kader_. After a perky survey of the deck from their
eminences aloft, they descended coolly on deck, hopped about among the
sailors and passengers, and eventually found their way into the cabins,
both fore and aft. The birds were evidently fatigued, after a long
flight, and allowed themselves to be caught by the people of the ship,
who gave them a welcome reception, and provided them with food, which
they enjoyed heartily. The little winged strangers remained all night on
the vessel, and in the morning, at seven o'clock, the head look-out bird
had, no doubt, sighted the Balearic Isles, for the whole flock made for
land, after having spent a comfortable and refreshing night on board
ship.
FACTS ABOUT LONDON.--London is the greatest city the world ever saw. It
has an influence with all parts of the world, represented by the yearly
delivery in its postal districts of 295 millions of letters; it covers
within the fifteen miles' radius of Charing Cross nearly 700 square
miles; it numbers within these boundaries four million two hundred
thousand of inhabitants; it contains more country-born persons than the
counties of Devon and Gloucester combined, or 37 per cent. of its
population; has, on an average, four fires every day amongst its 500,000
houses; has a birth in it every four minutes; has a death in it every
six minutes; has 230 persons every day and 84,000 annually added to its
population; has nine accidents every day in its 7,000 miles of streets;
has 55 miles of new streets opened, and 17,000 new houses built in it
every year; has a vast network of 2,184 miles of sewers and pipes for
its drainage, and 2,000 miles for its gas supply of 55,000 lamps; has
1,000 ships and 9,000 sailors in its port every day; has upwards of
89,000 persons annually taken into custody by the police; has more than
one-third of all the crime in the country committed in it; has 25,000
persons living in its common lodging houses; has 43,286 persons annually
arrested as drunk and disorderly. It is further estimated that it
comprises 100,000 foreigners from every quarter of the globe. It
contains more Roman Catholics than Rome itself; it contains more Jews
than the whole of Palestine; it contains more Irish than Belfast; it
contains more Scotchmen than Aberdeen; it contains more Welshmen than
Cardiff; it has as many beershops and gin-palaces, the frontages of
which would, if placed side by side, stretch from Charing Cross to
Chichester, a distance of 62 miles. It has nearly as many paupers as
would occupy every house in Brighton.
[Illustration: "WHO SHALL HAVE IT?" (_See page 218._)]
LITTLE SCOTCH GRANITE.
Burt and Johnnie Lee were delighted when their Scotch cousin came to
live with them. He was little, but very bright and full of fun. He could
tell curious things about his home in Scotland, and his voyage across
the ocean. He was as far advanced in his studies as they were, and the
first day he went to school they thought him remarkably good. He wasted
no time in play when he should have been studying, and he advanced
finely.
At night, before the close of the school, the teacher called the roll,
and the boys began to answer, "Ten." When Willie understood that he was
to say ten if he had not whispered during the day, he replied, "I have
whispered."
"More than once?" asked the teacher.
"Yes, sir," answered Willie.
"As many as ten times?"
"Maybe I have," faltered Willie.
"Then I shall mark you zero," said the teacher, sternly; "and that is a
great disgrace."
"Why, I did not see you whisper once," said Johnnie, that night after
school.
"Well, I did," said Willie, "I saw others doing it, and so I asked to
borrow a book; then I lent a slate pencil, and asked a boy for a knife,
and did several such things. I supposed it was allowed."
"Oh, but we all do it," said Burt, reddening. "There isn't any sense in
the old rule; and nobody could keep it; nobody does."
"I will, or else I will say I haven't," said Willie. "Do you suppose I
would tell ten lies in one heap?"
"Oh, we don't call them lies," muttered Johnnie. "There wouldn't be a
credit among us at night, if we were so strict."
"What of that if you told the truth?" laughed Willie, bravely.
In a short time the boys all saw how it was with him. He studied hard,
played with all his might in play time; but, according to his account,
he lost more credits than any of the rest. After some weeks, the boys
answered "Nine" and "Eight" oftener than they used to. Yet the
school-room seemed to have grown quieter. Sometimes, when Willie Grant's
mark was even lower than usual, the teacher would smile peculiarly, but
said no more of disgrace. Willie never preached at them or told tales;
but somehow it made the boys ashamed of themselves, just the seeing that
this sturdy blue-eyed boy must tell the truth. It was putting the clean
cloth by the half-soiled one, you see; and they felt like cheats and
story-tellers. They talked him all over, and loved him, if they did
nickname him "Scotch Granite," he was so firm about a promise.
Well, at the end of the term, Willie's name was very low down on the
credit list. When it was read, he had hard work not to cry; for he was
very sensitive, and he had tried hard to be perfect. But the very last
thing that day was a speech by the teacher, who told of once seeing a
man muffled up in a cloak. He was passing him without a look, when he
was told the man was General ----, the great hero.
"The signs of his rank were hidden, but the hero was there just the
same," said the teacher. "And now, boys, you will see what I mean when I
give a little gold medal to the most faithful boy--the one really the
most conscientiously perfect in his deportment among you. Who shall have
it?"
"Little Scotch Granite!" shouted forty boys at once; for the child whose
name was so "low" on the credit list had made truth noble in their eyes.
"A poor man is better than a liar."--_The Lantern._
THE HYACINTH.