250 66 'ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU." Lillian and Celia, in the strange new feeling amidst the congratulations which hailed them as the heiresses of M knew now that they were stewards for Him whose is the silver and the gold, and, in humility of heart, consecrated themselves and all they had to his cause and service. Mr. W was no more: two years after his daughter's death, he was obliged to leave his riches for those, who in the furnace of affliction and the school of adversity had learned their true place and value. Betty Booth herself opened the park gates that evening; and, though the good old dame who had prophesied light when all seemed so dark, now slept in the grave, Betty was able to take up the parable and say, that, whether by ups or downs," the wise Lord of all knew what was best for those he loved. "ASK, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN YOU." WHEN I was at college, now many years ago, one of our worthy professors, who was a distinguished man and a sincere Christian, opened his house for students' prayer meetings, to which all the college students who would come were welcome. We were at first few in number at these meetings, but, after a time, the attendance became too numerous for a private house, so we hired a room for the purpose. At one of the meetings our professor told us how it was he became a Christian. The substance of what he said is as follows: "When I became a college student I was quite indifferent to religion. My father was a godly man, and the subject of religion was the only one on which we did not agree. It grieved him to find me so indifferent to what he felt and knew to be of supreme importance. I was a steady, hardworking, and successful student. I used to pursue my studies with ardour all the week, and especially on Sundays, as then there were no college classes to interrupt my continuous attention to my books. While I was going on thus without God in the world,' a lady gave me a little book called The Test of Truth.' I read it, and it put the subject of religion to me thus: 'God says in the Bible," Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your chil 6 1 dren; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Now is this true? Try it, and see. Ask God to give you the Holy Spirit to renew, to enlighten, to strengthen, to guide you; and thus prove his own word.' 66 This," said our professor, "seemed to me so very reasonable that I did kneel down and besought God to give me his Holy Spirit, pleading his promise, Ask, and it shall be given you,' and I did not plead in vain. From that time I was a changed man. I found joy and peace in believing in Jesus. Old things passed away, and all things became new. I no longer pursued my secular studies on the sabbath; but I can truly say that I henceforth made more progress in my studies in the six days than I had before done in the seven. Our professor has long since rested from his labours and entered into the rest that remains for the people of God; but he being dead yet speaketh. If you have not sought and found peace with God, do as he did. Ask, and you too shall receive-shall receive that gift compared with which all earth's wealth and pleasure are less than nothing and vanity. THE SOURCE OF STRENGTH. "IT is the want of activity of faith on Jesus that keeps believers so imperfect, and wrestling still with their corruptions without any advancement. We wrestle in our own strength too often, and so are justly, nay, necessarily foiled; it cannot be otherwise till we make him our strength. This we are still forgetting, and we had need to be put in mind of it, and frequently to recollect it. We would be at doing for ourselves, and insensibly fall into this folly, even after much smarting for it, if we be not watchful against it: there is this wretched natural independency in us, that is so hard to beat out. All our projectings are but castles in the air, imaginary_buildings without a foundation, till once laid on Christ. But never shall we find heart-peace, sweet peace, and progress in holiness, till we be driven from it to make him all our strength; till we be brought to do nothing, to attempt nothing, to hope or expect nothing, but in him; and then shall we indeed find his fulness and all-sufficiency, and 'be more than conquerors through him who hath loved us.""-Leighton. A HARVEST HYMN. THE nations heave with throes of strife; Thy tented fields how different they, Whoever fails, thou dost not fail; Whoever sleeps, thou dost not sleep: And sows the seed, and plants the tree; O God! it is a pleasant thing To see the precious grain expand, Lord of abundance, praise to thee! Praise for the glorious harvest days, For life, health, virtue, truth, and love, WE were three sisters, living at home in a small country town. Our father was a medical man in good practice; and our mother had a separate income of her own, which, together with her husband's position and reputation, enabled us all to take rank with the few wealthy families in the neighbourhood. We had a large house, and kept up what was considered a respectable establishment: that is to say we had several servants, among whom, at one time and for about three years, was our Charlotte." Charlotte was the maid or attendant of my two sisters OCTOBER, 1862. 66 L and myself. The way in which she became introduced to us was as follows. We had left school, my twin-sister and myself, we being at that time about seventeen years old, and our sister Kate three years older; and our return home made it essential, in our opinion, to have a lady's maid. Our father laughed at us a little for what he called our female vanity and ambition, and asked us if we had not the use of our own hands and fingers. But as our mother encouraged our design, and thought a lady's maid would be only a proper addition to the household, his slight objections gave way, especially as it afforded him the opportunity of serving a poor family in whom he took a benevolent interest. "Since you must have a maid,” said he, "I wish you would try one of Mrs. Evans' girls." "And who is Mrs. Evans ?" our mother wished to know. "The widow of a poor fellow who died last spring; she is left in reduced circumstances. She hinted to me the other day when she paid ber bill, that she wished to find a respectable situation for one of her daughters." "Has she ever been out to service?" asked my mother. No, certainly not. The father was a tradesman, and would probably have considered it somewhat lowering for his daughters to earn their living in that way. Besides, while he lived there was no necessity for it: there was full employment for them at home, I believe; and he was making a good income. But his death has turned everything topsy-turvy; the business has been given up; and the poor things must do as they can and not as they would." Our mother demurred a little: she thought that a young woman not brought up to domestic service would be neces sarily ignorant of its requirements and duties, or that she would be pert, conceited, and unwilling to obey. These objections were over-ruled, however; and after an interview with Mrs. Evans, with whom our mother was particularly pleased, and with the daughter, with whom she was satisfied, Charlotte Evans became " our Charlotte." She was not above nineteen years of age; and at this present time, though thirty years have passed away since then, I have a distinct remembrance of her pale but animated and intelligent countenance, and her gentle, yet self-possessed manners, at the time of her first entering upon her new and previously untried engagements. I have no story to tell of hardships inflicted and endured. |