years, and stored the vintage of which other A gentleman was once walking over the John Bate. YOUTH-Allurements of. The boat her silver course pursues! But, heedless of the following gloom, Till peace go with him to the tomb. And let him nurse his fond deceit ; And what if he must die in sorrow? Who would not cherish dreams so sweet, Though grief and pain may come tomorrow? Wordsworth. YOUTH-Conversion of. Of 507 students, at six theological institutions in the States, 313 were instructed in the Sabbath-schools, and the average age of their conversion was sixteen years. In a single town 500 persons were received into a church in forty years; more than 400 of these were children of pious parents, and most of them embraced the Gospel in early life. In a revival which took place in Lewisburg, Virginia, there were converted and joined the church 79, or 47 per cent., from the age of ten to twenty years; from twenty to thirty years there were 48, or 28 per cent. During eleven years, there were converted in the Sabbath-schools of the M. E. Church, United States, 143,867. John Bate. YOUTH-Duration of. Youth is a flower that soon withereth; a blossom that quickly falls off; it is a space of time in which we are rash, foolish, and inconsiderate, pleasing ourselves with a variety of vanities, and swimming, as it were, through a flood of them. But ere we are aware, it is past, and we are in middle age, encompassed with a thick cloud of cares, through which we must grope. Boston. YOUTH-Excesses of. The excesses of youth are drafts upon our old age, payable with interest about thirty years after date. Colton. YOUTH—Flight of. Oh! what a world of beauty fades away There's a gladness in the voice of youth, It comes like our own voices back from a So fair that nothing after is so fair as what There's a gladness in the look of youth, It warms our bosoms like the thought of Ere friendship to another shrine than There's a gladness in the step of youth, We follow it as if it led to the very moun- Where we chased the bold stag in its speed, and the eagle in its pride. There's a gladness in the sleep of youth, and its calm unbroken rest, With the dew of blessing on its head from There's nothing in our after years of weari Daniel Webster once told a good anec dote in a speech. When asked where he got it, he said, "I have had it laid up in my head for fourteen years, and never had a chance to use it till to-day." My little friend wants to know what good it will do to learn the "rule of three," or to commit a verse of the Bible or the Catechism. The answer is this: Sometime you will need that very thing. Perhaps it may be twenty years before you can make it fit in just the right place. | of your Creator! Let every new-born hope But it will be just in place sometime, and and heartfelt joy that childhood or youth then if you don't have it, you will be like inspires, open in your breasts the springs the hunter who had no ball in his rifle of pious gratitude, and increase the genewhen a bear met him. rous spirit of universal benevolence. Houghton. "Twenty-five years ago, my teacher made me study surveying," said a man who had lately lost his property, "and now I am glad of it. It is just in place. I can get a good situation and high salary." The Bible and Catechism are better than that. They will be in place as long as we live. Anon. YOUTH-in Old Age. John Wesley preached on an average, fifteen sermons a week. Instead of breaking down under it, when seventy-three years old he writes that he is far abler to preach than when three-and-twenty. His brow was then smooth, his complexion ruddy, and his voice strong and clear, so that an audience of thirty thousand could hear him without difficulty. This vigour he ascribes to continual travel, early rising, good sleep, and an even temper. "I feel and grieve, but by the grace of God I fret at nothing." Dr. Stevens. YOUTH--Pleasures of. It is a striking proof of the wisdom and goodness of Providence that the world commonly puts on its most smiling aspect to welcome our entrance. The charm of novelty makes every object which we then behold an object of delight. All around is wonder, enchantment, and ecstasy. Everything we see, and everything we hear, is capable of attracting the attention, and soothing the heart. In short, the first scenes of our existence may be considered as the empire of pleasure, and her favorite residence. And for what end was this ordained, but that, at the period when we are least capable of conducting affairs of importance, and most free from the avocations of business and the cares of life, impressions of cheerfulness and joy might be stamped upon the mind-that the social principles, nourished by giving and receiving pleasure, might be strengthened and improved; and that stores of gratitude and love to our Great parent might be laid up within the soul from so long a train of recollected blessings? These are virtues for which the rigid and austere are not always the most remarkable; yet, what is there left which deserves the name of virtue, when the cheerful services of our fellow-creatures and of our Maker is wanting? Nature, therefore, clearly points out (as the God of nature ordained) that cheerfulness, gaiety, and pleasure, acompanied with innocenc and virtue, should preside over the early stages of life. Observe, then, and admire the benignity YOUTH-Pre-occupation of. You remember the coachman who said to the gentleman on the box, "Do you see that off leader there, sir?" "Yes; what of him?" "He always shies, sir, when he comes that 'ere gate. I must give him something to think on." No sooner said than up went the whirling thong, and came down full of its sting on the skittish leader's haunches. He had "something else to think on," no time for panic or effected panic, and flew past the gate like lightning. If we can but give youth, in time, something else to think on," we may keep out of their minds, by pre-occupation, more evil than we can ever directly expell. H. Rogers. YOUTH-Protection of. Proprietors rear strong fences round young trees, while they leave aged forests to take their chance. Permit not the immortal to be twisted at the very starting of its growth, for the want of such protection as it is in your power to afford. Arnot. YOUTH-Retrospect on. The retrospect on youth is too often like looking back on what was a fair and promising country; but is now desolated by an overwhelming torrent, from which we have just escaped. Or it is like visiting the grave of a friend whom we had injured, and are precluded by his death from the possibility of making him an atɔnement. YOUTH-Transitory. J. Foster. How precious a thing is youthful energy if only it could be preserved entirely englobed, as it were, within the bosom of the young adventurer, till he can come and offer it forth a sacred emanation in yonder temple of truth and virtue. But alas! all along as he goes towards it, he advances through an avenue, formed by a long line of tempters and demons on each side, all prompt to touch him with their conductors, and draw this Divine electric element, with which he is charged, away. Ibid. The first breath of morn is sweeter than the last breath of evening. The earliest snowdrop is lovelier than the latest rose. As the first-fruits of the ground, and the firstlings of the flock, were offered up to the Lord in the olden time, so offer up to Him your youthful affections and your youthful service. "The first, the first!-oh, nought like it The early storm that strips the tree Still wildest seems and worst ; Whate'er hath been again may be, But never as at first." G. Mogridge. YOUTHFUL PIETY-Importance of. If the tree is permitted to grow up and to grow old, with the intention of making it new then, there is danger lest through storms, or fire, or war, it may be suddenly destroyed. And even though it were protected from all these risks, it is strange that any one should deliberately desire that the soil and sun and air should be enjoyed by that tree, and wasted in bearing bitter fruit all the days of its strength, and only made a good tree in its old age, when it scarcely has sap sufficient in its veins to bear any fruit at all. See, reader, in this plain parable, how foolish, how false, how blasphemous, is the desire that throbs cowardly and covertly in many young hearts, to waste the broad sunny surface of life in sin, and throw a narrow stripe of its withered, rugged edge at last as an offering to God. If you have no desire to be good and do good throughout the life on earth that lies before you, how can you desire to be good and do good in the eternity that lies beyond? Be not deceived. He who is weary of sin, wants to be quit of it now, and instantly to enjoy a new life. He who says he wants to be holy, but would rather put off the date of the change, lies to himself and to the world and to God. YOUTHFUL RECOLLECTIONS. Arnot. Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise, We love the play place of our early days; The scene is touching, and the heart is stone, That feels not at that sight, and feels at none. The wall on which we tried our graving The little one's unbuttoned, glowing hot, tain Our innocent sweet simple years again. Cowper. YOUTHFUL RELIGION. The It is an old saying, Repentance is never too late; but it is a true saying, Repentance is never too soon. Therefore we are commanded to run, that we may obtain; which is the swiftest pass of man. cherubims were portrayed with wings before the place where the Israelites prayed, to show how quickly they went about the Lord's business. The hound which runs but for the hart, girds forth so soon as he sees the hart start; the hawk which flieth but for the partridge, taketh flight so soon as she spieth the partridge spring; we should follow the Word so soon as it speaketh, and come to our Master so soon as He calleth. For God requiring the first-born for His offering, and the firstfruits for His service, requireth the first labours of His servants, and (as I may say) the maidenhead of every man. Therefore so soon as man was created, a law was given him to show that he should live under obedience from the day that he was born. So soon as he is born he is haptized in the name of God, to show that when we cannot run to Christ, we should creep unto Him and serve Him as we can in youth and age. So soon as he beginneth to pray he saith, Thy name be hallowed, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, before he asks his daily bread, to show that we should seek the will of God, before the food which we live by, much more before the sins and pleasures which we perish by. So soon as the Lord distributed the talents he enjoined His servants to use them. Who is so young which hath not received some talent or other? therefore youth cannot excuse him, because the talent requires to be asked of everyone which hath it. YOUTHFUL VANITY. H. Smith. The youth, who, like a woman, loves to adorn his person, has renounced all claim to wisdom and to glory; glory is due to those only who dare to associate with pain, and have trampled pleasure under their feet. Fenelon. ZEAL Constancy of. Z. scripture in order to denote a strong feeling of the mind, whether bent upoй evil design or on cultivating the things which are of good report and lovely. Hence in the 17th verse of the 5th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we read that "The high priest and they that were with him were filled with envy,"-with zeal, as it is in the original; while in the Book of Numbers, Phinehas is commended for the zeal with which he rose up against those who had violated the law of the Lord; and when once, just once, in the Redeemer's incarnate life His disciples saw His holy indignation burn as the merchandise was scattered and the baffled money changers driven from the temple they had profaned, they remembered, the place where it is written-"The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up." ZEAL-False. W. M. Punshon. A false zeal in religion is always, in some respect or other, a misdirected zeal, or a zeal not according to knowledge-a zeal seeking some false end, or, while proposing to itself a good end, seeking its promotion Jehu had a in some unauthorised way. good zeal, which he called zeal for the Lord of Hosts. His fault was, not that he was too zealous, but that his zeal was really directed to his own advancement. The Jews, in the days of Christ, had a zeal for God, but it was so misdirected as to fire them with a frenzy to destroy the Son of God and extinguish the Light of the We do not value an intermitting spring so much as the clear brooklet which our childhood knew, and which has laughed on its course unheeding, and which could never be persuaded to dry up, though it has had to battle against the scorchings of a jubilee of summer's suns. We do not guide ourselves by the glow-worm's bead of light, or with the marsh-lamp's fitful flame. No, we look to the ancient sun, which in our infancy struggled through the window and danced upon the wall of the nursery, as if he knew how much we delighted to see him light up the flowercup and peep through the shivering leaf. And, for ourselves, we do not value the affection of a stranger awakened by some casual congeniality, and displayed in kindly greeting or in occasional courtesy. Our wealth is in the patient bearing, and the unnoticed deed, and the anticipated wish, and the ready sympathies, which make a summer and a paradise wherever there is a home. And not only in the natural and the social relations, but in the enterprise of the world, in the busy activities of men, the necessity for uniformity in earnestuess is readily acknowledged. Society very soon brands a man if he has not got a per-zeai now at work; but in all cases they sin severance as well as an earnestness about not by excess, but by misdirection. Some him. Society very soon puts its mark upon the man who lodges in a succession of Utopias, the unwearied but the objectless builder who never roofs his house, either because he was unable to finish, or because some more brilliant speculation dazzled the builder's brain. The world has got so matter-of-fact now that it jostles the genius off the footpath, while the plodder, whose eye sparkles less brilliantly but more evenly and longer, steadily proceeds on his way to success. W. M. Punshon. ZEAL-Definition of. Zeal may be defined as the heat or fervor of the mind, prompting its vehemence of indignation against anything which it conceives to be evil-prompting its vehemence of desire towards anything which it imagines to be good. In itself it has no moral character at all. It is the simple instinct of energetic nature, never wholly divested of a sort of rude nobility, and never destitute of influence upon the lives and upon the characters of others. The word "zeal" is used indiscriminately in world. There are countless forms of false are flaming with a zeal to spread some of the corruptions of Christianity, and to carry men away from its great and cardinal truths. Some are equally zealous to build up a sect or a party on other foundations than those which God has laid in Zion; and that which taints their zeal is the purpose to which they employ it, and not any excessive fervour of their zeal itself. ZEAL-Impatient. Bonar. There are some Christians very earnest to do good, but very anxious to see the good-anxious even to impatience. They ask for results, they search for results, they make themselves unhappy and sometimes obtrusive in the matter. This reminds me very much of a boy who was anxious to have a little wheat field in one corner of his father's garden. He prepared the land and sowed the grain. The first morning came, but there was no appearance of growth; the second, and it was the same, His patience was put to the test, and he went with his knife or the rake to scratch up the earth to see if the seed was growing. the cross for the crown, should long for If he had waited, he would have seen the communion with that glorified saint who result of his labours in due time. The had withstood so many trials and borne effects of his anxiety retarded, rather than so many stripes, and, if it be one occuhelped the growth of the seed. In patient pation of heaven to talk of things below, waiting after doing his duty he would have to hear him tell how in his Master's seen the blade in the proper time. So strength he had confronted Grecian elowith Christians, let them be zealously quence on the hill of Mars-how he had affected to do good, and patiently wait for stood before Cæsar unappalled-how ho results. Their impatience will have a had risen from his bed in the midnight greater tendency to check success than to dungeon to sing praises to God-and how forward it. John Bate. he had cast off the weeping brethren from his neck, and cried aloud, "Behold, I knowing the things that shall befall me go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not ZEAL-Justifiable. On such a theme 't were impious to be calm; there." With a higher meaning may we apply to him the noble lines in which Wordsworth invokes the return of the patriot Milton, and say to the great apostle, Oh, for such a voice again on earth, to arouse the slumbering Church, and to lead Paul was emphatically an earnest man. her forth to a second, and, we trust, the David and Isaiah were perhaps more sub-final contest for the dominion of the world! limely eloquent men. Elijah was clothed with a more awfully miraculous power. Solomon possessed more of earthly wisdom. The beloved disciple who rested on the bosom of our Lord had a more heavenly sweetness of temper. But in the zeal that confers not with flesh and blood-the zeal that rejoices in abundant labours, in stripes above measure, in weariness and watch. fulness and tears-the zeal that counts not even life dear, but cries out exultingly, "I am ready to be offered !"—in this the great apostle outshone them all. This zeal no waters could quench. No Euroclydon tempests could fright it. No prison dungeons or royal judgment-halls could shake it. No labours or painful watchings could weary it. On through every dungeon and over every difficulty, and in spite of every obstacle he went in his holy mission, and became even "all things to all men," if by any means he might allure them up to those heights of serene joy on which his own soul was ever basking. The examples of his zeal that are given in the holy record are not isolated instances in a life of sluggishness. They were the fruits of a spiritual fervour so great, that, if seen but on one occasion, they might have appeared to be the overflow of a momentary enthusiasm; but the regularity and constancy of their occurrence, showed them to be but the customary and natural actings of a soul always impelled by the same living and lofty principle,-so that his every-day efforts more than equalled the extraordinary, and, as it were, spasmo dic, efforts of mere enthusiasts. "When I reach heaven," said an aged saint, just then descending the Delectable Mountains, "I shall love to talk with the apostle Paul." This was natural and beautiful. It was not strange that the old pilgrim whose life struggle was nearly over, and who was just about exchanging "Thou shouldst be living at this hour! The WORLD hath need of thee. We are selfish men; Oh, raise us up; return to us again. the sea. Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, ZEAL-Too Much. Cuyler. An Indian having heard from a white man some strictures on zeal, replied, “I don't know about having too much zeal, but I think it is better the pot should boil over, than not boil at all." Anon. ZEAL-True. Let us take heed we do not sometimes call that zeal for God and His Gospel which is nothing else but our own tempestuous and stormy passion. True zeal is a sweet, heavenly, and gentle flame, which maketh us active for God, but always within the sphere of love. It never calls for fire from heaven to consume those that differ a little from us in their apprehensions. It is like that kind of lightning (which philosophers speak of) that melts the sword within, but singeth not the scabbard; it strives to save the soul, but hurteth not the body. Cudworth. |