184 TRANSITORY NATURE OF WORLDLY HAPPINESS. next fifty years! It matters not which we take-they are all expressions of the same meaning; they are all equally as a moment of time with respect to eternity. But, alas! what folly is it that, with such care about the body which is dying, the world which is perishing before our eyes, time which is perpetually disappearing, we should so little care about that eternal state in which we are to live for ever, when this dream is over! When we shall have existed ten thousand years in another world, where will be all the cares, and fears, and enjoyments of this? In what light then shall we look upon the things which now transport us with joy, or overwhelm us with grief? What trifles will they all appear! And now they appear comparatively trifles to the mind which duly contemplates and realizes eternity. Eternity! Awful word; at the sound of which we awake as out of sleep! Eternity! Before its view, how do the councils of princes, the plots of ambition, the revolutions of states, and the fates of empires, shrink into nothing! Ye immortal souls, whom I address upon the most important subject, ponder, I pray you, upon that eternal state to which you are swiftly carried by the flood of time! You see your fellow-creatures around you dying; you take a hasty glance at the shifting scenes around you, the harmony and end of which you see not; you ask, Why was man made in vain; why did he come into life only to be dissolved again? Alas! you mistake; you see man going out at the gate of death, but you see not the extent of country behind. All the busy tribes of men whose memorial has long perished here; these all are living in another state, whose happiness and misery, objects and attainments, are upon a scale infinitely greater than all the things of this transitory life. And is it so, indeed, that your happiness in that state depends upon your life here? Who, then, can speak in terms of sufficient emphasis of the value of this life? Awake thou that sleepest! Awake thou that dreamest of days and years; awake to contemplate ages! Thou that lookest at a family, a sect, a tribe, survey assembled worlds! Thou that art oppressed with the pains, and aches, and weakness of a vile body, behold a spiritual body pure and free from infirmity! Thou that buryest all thy hopes in the earth upon which thy foot treadeth, see what a state of immortality and glory remains after this earth is burned up, and the elements have been dissolved with fervent heat! O, look to that state; let all your hopes centre in attaining a happiness which only then begins to exists, when all the schemes of worldly greatness and worldly bliss are extinguished, to live no more.Venn. The Transitory Nature of Worldly IMAGINE a man possessed of all worldly GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION. joy after many ages; and enquire as if we would never done knowing. The citizens of Croten, a town in Italy, had a manner it is said, of inviting to feasts a year before the time, that the guests in appetite and garb might come well prepared to them. Do we not resemble them in this ridiculous solicitude and curiosity; commencing designs, driving on projects, which a longer time than our life would suffice to accomplish? How deeply do we concern ourselves in all that is said or done: when the morrow all will be done away and forgotten; when (excepting what our duty to God and charity towards men require of us, and that which concerns our future eternal state) what is done in the world who gets or loses, which of the spokes in fortune is up, and which down, is of very little consequence to us.-Barrow. Peace and Unity in Churches. PEACE is the church's strength,-peace is the sinew of society, as money is of war,the cement that holds the people together, and distinguishes the congresses of men from herds of beasts, or which is as bad, the tumultuous confusions of the rabble. Christian churches might be immortal, did they not kill themselves by divisions. The deepest wounds have been given to Christianity in the houses of its pretended 185 friends. Divisions abate the fervency of our prayers, blunt the edge of our devotions, seize on the vitals of Christianity, evaporate the life and power of religion in impertinent squabble, and, unless Almighty grace prevent, will quickly spread as a gangrene, so as to eat out the heart of it altogether. Peace in Christian churches is an emblem of heaven. The more that part of the church which is militant here below doth abound in love and peace, the more it resembles that part which is triumphant above. This is indeed the great difference between angels and devils, heaven and hell. Again; while we all profess the same holy religion, worship God after the same manner and pursue the same design of winning souls to Christ, why should we be angry or displeased, if, perhaps, we have not the same sentiments in some lesser matters of difficulty, any more than because we are not of the same age, stature or complexion? Why should we envy one another's parts, or gifts, or success; or be offended because, perhaps, the assemblies of others be larger than our own? It ought to be our joy if our Lord and Master's work be carried on by others better than ourselves; and we ought to embrace our brethren for their piety, warmth, and zeal, and be highly pleased that God makes them glorious instruments for the conversion of souls.Samuel Chandler. Friendly Monitions to Parents. Government & Education of Children. Of all the books we have ever read on the education of daughters, the little work of Fenelon is the best, and should be thoughtfully perused by every parent. There was a moral beauty and delicacy, as well as nice discernment, in the mind of this good archbishop, which peculiarly qualified him to give instruction on such a subject. His moral precepts were enforced by his example, and his pupils saw in his aspect of life, both the exaltation and happiness of virtue. He knew better than most teachers, what all are too apt to forget, that the minds of children, while extremely susceptible and delicate, are nevertheless capable of high enjoyment or a profound sorrow, from causes which, to other persons, appear light and trivial. A look may prove to them like wound-a cold or harsh rebuke disturb the very depths of their nature. Who has ever failed to read with emotion the early life of Lady Jane Gray, and to admire the pleasant tones and gentle encouragements of that prince of teachers, Roger Ascham, to whom she gladly hastened, from the frowns and admonitions of her parents, and the brilliant scenes and amusements of noble life, to study Plato, finding a happiness in her lessons and meditations beyond all the pleasures of a court? To know the nature of the mind in childhood, is indispensable to wise instruction. Nor is such knowledge, considering the varied constitutions and temperaments of children, always obvious, and immediately acquired. The powers of the mind are subtile and obscure; its affections and passions moved and directed by remote and hidden causes, difficult to approach, and often but partially to be ascertained. They often, in children, elude curious enquiry, and are seldom forced into observation. They most discover themselves when least sought, and gentleness may win what no authority can command. Nor should it ever be forgotten that the mind, like the body, is very slow and gradual in its early growth. It is both unwise and inexcusable to hasten, incautiously, its developement. It is too precious to be endangered by our vanity of rashness; time for its growth is required by the law of its nature, which cannot be transgressed with impunity. In the minds of children there is an instinctive desire for knowledge, that is most gratified in circumstances which leave them in a great measure free to choose their own particular mode of gratification. To select these circumstances, to place children in the midst of them, gently to guide their attention, to give them agreeable associations, and occasionally to awaken their memory, is the great art of early instruction. In many things nature is the best teacher, and the love of her teachings may ripen into the love of all philosophy. When once the love of books and of science is planted in the youthful mind, more than half the task of education is accomplished. The kingdom of knowledge is thrown wide open by the press; a broad highway is cast up for all who have the time and disposition to advance therein; and many an obscure child of genius, from the abodes of labour and of poverty, has outstripped the heirs of nobility and fortune in the race of wisdom and of fame. But our purpose was not to extend our own remarks on education, but to submit a few sentences from others, which we regard as of great value. In one of the works of the Duchess de Broglie, we observe the following sen tences: "Children are very painfully sensible to the sufferings of persons who are dear to them. There is ever an affecting contrast between the joy which they have need of, and which continually asserts its dominion over them, and the vivacity of the sympathy which they feel for the sufferings they witness. Though weak and powerless, they are capable of feeling profound pity for beings superior in age and strength, and this feeling has something painful in it, from their inability to afford relief to those whom they love." Says Dr. Parr, speaking of the education of youth," He that has observed the glowing cheeks and faltering tongue of young persons, must know that the sense of propriety grows up in them very soon. They are scared at our frowns--they are cheered by our smiles; they invite us to sympathize in the raptures they feel upon performing what we have been accustomed to praise, and on the detection of any little impropriety, they hide their drooping heads. Upon feats which far transcend their own strength, they gaze with admiration; they weep at the mere neglect of those whom they have been taught to revere; and if, through heedlessness or curiosity, they have ventured to commit what is forbidden, they either tremble at our approach, or, by tears and blushes, by embraces and promises of amendment, and a thousand little winning arts, they strive to regain our esteem. Now, the capacity for this sense of shame is given by nature, but the direction of it depends upon the care of others; easily it may be preserved and easily destroyed. If, therefore, we commit outrageous actions, or utter indecorous words in the presence of the young, a blind mechanical proneness to imitation leads them to adopt similar practices. But when those practices are afterwards continued, from deliberation or from custom, the young will see, not equity but harshness, when they are corrected for doing that which, by their parents or superiors, they have seen done with impunity. Example on the side of virtue is more powerful than precept; but in respect to vice, the case is nearly reversed; for our evil actions may be imputed to frailty, but our evil words, implying a renunciation of of common opinions and a defiance of common censure, are supposed to spring from deep and serious conviction. If, therefore, we add the weight of bad precept to bad example, in training up our children; if we remark, not only with indifference but even with complacency, the facility with which oaths and obscenities trip of from their tongues; if we call the sallies of their petulance mere sprightliness, and openly impute their bursts of anger to high spirit, we have no right to complain of consequences which we ought to have forseen-we have no right to be surprised or provoked, when customs, which we ourselves have fostered, have shot up to their full magnitude-when they annoy us by their vicinity-when they alarm us by their malignity-when they are too sturdy to be resisted, and too inveterate to be eradicated."-Mother's Magazine. The Duty of Praise. "He hath made this great world as a temple for his honour, and it should continually resound with his praise."-SCOUGAL. "How beautifully your children sing," said Mrs. Armsby to her friend, Mrs. Gates, whose children, after singing their hymn of praise, had just retired for the night. 66 HERE A LITTLE, AND THERE A LITTLE. They are naturally fond of music," said Mrs. Gates, "and I have taken some pains to teach them to sing. Your daughters have an ear for music, I believe?" "Yes, they have; but I have never taken any pains to teach them to sing. They have so many things to learn, which are more important, that I have thought they could not spend any time upon music. It is a mere accomplishment, you know." "Your remark is true, to a certain extent. I do not think it wise for our daughters to spend their time in acquiring what is called by some a musical education; but I do think it important that they should be taught to sing the praises of God. I am inclined to think that Christian parents err greatly in this matter. They believe that they are under obligation to teach their children to pray, but they seem to think it optional whether they shall teach them to praise God or not. Now, I suppose we are just as much bound to teach them to praise God, as we are to teach them to pray to him." "Do you think so? but you forgot, so long as their hearts are unchanged, they cannot sing the praises of God acceptably." 66 The difficulty is just as great in the way of their praying acceptably. But let us avoid all theoretic difficulties, and look directly at the commands of God, as given in his word. All are there commanded to pray. We feel it to be a duty to teach our children to pray. We know that great benefits result from teaching them to pray. But in the Bible, the commandments to praise God are more numerous than the commandments to pray to him. Why, then, should we not teach our children to praise him?" I "I cannot say why we should not. never saw the matter in that light before. There are very few who think with you, I imagine." That does not change the state of the case at all. The question is, not what people think upon the subject, but what the principles of God's word require. Popular opinion is not the authorized interpreter of God's law." 66 Every child can pray; but every child cannot sing." "Instruction is necessary in both cases; the difference is only in degree." "There are some children who have no ear for music, and hence cannot be taught to sing." "That does not affect the great majority, who can very readily be taught." "It does not seem to me to be a duty to teach our children to sing." 187 "You believe it to be the duty of every one to study the word of God." Certainly." 66 Suppose one is unable to read." "It is his duty to learn to read." "I agree with you, and, on the same principle, I would say it is his duty to learn to sing. One cannot study the word of God without learning to read: so he cannot sing the praises of God without learning to sing." "I confess I cannot answer your arguments." "I hope, then, you will yield to the force of them. I believe the benefit which would result to our children from accustoming them to frequent expressions of gratitude and praise to be very great. A child who never makes use of any expressions of gratitude to his parents, becomes a very ungrateful child. There is a peculiar con nexion between the expression of gratitude, and the awakening of the emotion in the heart. I fully believe that if we were as careful to teach our children to sing the praises of God daily, as we are to teach them to pray daily, there would soon be a wonderful change in all our families.” Here a little, and There a little. Impressions are made on children, as on rocks, by a constant dropping of little in fluences. What can one drop do? You scarcely see it fall; and presently it rolls away or is evaporated; you cannot even with a microscope measure the little inden. tation it has made. Yet it is the constant repetition of this trifling agency which furrows, and at length hollows out the very granite? Nothing is little in regard to children. Seize every available opening to instruct and impress them. If you have but a moment, employ it. A sentence is sometimes better than a sermon. One word of Scripture may prove a seed of life. When your child awakes in the morning, when he is going to school, when he comes to your knee in the evening, when he kisses you on retiring, when he lies down in bed, when he is aroused at midnigtht-these are moments to be seized for the inculcation of some sacred truth, the formation of some Christian habit. And in this work a short saying is better than a long one. |