TO THE CHINESE LADY. I MARVEL at thy curious mien, Thy strange, fantastic air; And yet with us there may be seen Some belles as proudly fair. I marvel at thy accent, too, That tells a far-off land; And ponder, as I scan thy shoe, How thou canst walk or stand. Thine oriental parlour is To wondering eyes a feast; Though not a real pagoda, 'tis "A Chinese hall," at least. Descendant of an ancient line, That higher looks than Eve,-Sprung from a root almost Divine, Or quite, as some believe, I think with interest on thee, Poetry. Thy foreign speech and birth, To ignorance, and utter gloom, And deemed thy empire but a tomb, Till we were better taught. And since And we have seen that on its night, GOOD NIGHT. Good night! how sweet its music falls In soothing cadence on the ear, Responsive to its earnest cheer. In any voice, 'tis good night still. Strong are the charms that in it dwell, For all who may its accents breathe; And conjured by its potent spell, The mists of fancy slowly wreathe Into the dear familiar forms Who crowned it with a halo bright, And lent it half the glow that warms The heart that hears a fond good night. A father's blessing on it rests; 'Tis sacred with a mother's kiss; It cheers the path of parting guests, It fills the heart with happiness. Its soothing influence, lingering, floats Where pillow'd innocents repose, From quivering chords as fade the notes, As lingers perfume near the rose. Though parting be its constant theme, It holds not parting's keener sting; So short the time, 'tis but a dream, And sweet re-union dawn will bring, It yields to Heaven's protecting care The loved ones till the morning light; To him whose faith and trust are there. Though black the gloom, 'tis still good night. I WOULD LOVE THEE. I would love thee; every blessing I would love thee; he who loves thee I would love thee; look upon me,- I would love thee; if not nourish'd By thy love, my soul would die. I would love thee; may thy brightness I would love thee; may thy goodness NEARER! ONE Sweetly solemn thought Than I've ever been before. Nearer the bound of life Where we lay our burdens down; Nearer leaving my cross, Nearer wearing my crown. Personal Religion. REVIVAL OF RELIGION. THE Great Revival in the United States still advances, and all classes of society find their account in it. Even men of the world think that is a good thing which leads people to pay their honest debts. Infidels, who receive by its means sums of money of which they had been defrauded, can afford for once to forego their satirical sneers against the revival, as a work of fanaticism and priestcraft. A gentleman states that he has been personally interested in three cases within a few weeks, of money restored under the influence of an awakened conscience. Two of them were his own debtors, who had for years kept him out of his dues in a fraudulent way. The third was an unknown party in Rhode Island, who sent money to cancel an unsuspected claim of a firm in New York. This is the right kind of repentance. Our religion is valid only so far as it leads us to "deal justly," as well as to "love mercy, and to walk humbly with God." Where the power of making restitution exists it must be exercised, or feelings as penitent as those of Peter, and faith as undoubting as that of Paul, are all in vain. The first act of repentance in Zaccheus was to give half his goods to the poor, and restore fourfold to those whom he had defrauded. From all accounts we learn there probably never was a time when the New York churches had so many recently added members as at present. They are distributed among all the evangelical denominations. Let any one go into the homes of the people, and he will find in thousands of them converts who are rejoicing in the fervour of their first love. "Oh," exclaimed one, "I am naturally of a cheerful disposition, and thought I was happy before, but I never conceived of the blessedness I now feel in my soul." Said another, "My son has become wholly a new man; I could hardly have imagined so great a change." Said a husband and father, "I have lived hitherto in neglect of religion, have rarely attended worship; but my wife took to going, and persuaded me to accompany her, and now she is converted, and my soul has also burst forth unto liberty, and I am going forward too. Our children have become interested in the Sunday-school, and we have a new home." We might go on repeating cases like these till we had filled volumes, and yet the half would not be told. Family prayers are now observed in thousands of homes that never attended to them before. The establishment of domestic worship is a leading feature of the work. This is a revival of the people, not of the ministry or leaders merely; a breaking up of the fountains of the great social deep; and of course the tributary streams supplied by private and domestic circles do most of all to make up the aggregate influence. It comes from the pews, more than from any extraordinary exciting force in the pulpit; and hence unusual private and domestic religious activity might be expected from its progress. This we see on every hand. 66 Go into the prayer and conference-meeting, and you find a powerful phalanx of new recruits to take part and enliven the worship. This adds wonderfully to the interest of these meetings. Even the old deacons, who have for years drawled out their prosy prayers and exhortations, are quickened to new life and energy, and are almost as eloquent as the young folks." Hence, the prayer and conference-meeting has become a decidedly popular institution, and is well attended. The change in this respect is unexpected and unprecedented. The present is a time of ingathering to the churches. A great responsibility is thus rolled upon ministers and church-members. What is to be done with this mass of new converts? Are they to add to their faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, temperance, patience, and all the Christian graces? or are they to fall back to the world? Are they to be eminent Christians, or mere nominal professors? Are the churches to be greatly strengthened by these accessions, or otherwise? the converts to prove stony-ground hearers? are they to be choked among thorns, or will they bring forth fruit, thirty, sixty, and one hundred fold ? The answer to these questions must depend on the course which ministers and the older church-members pursue. If they persevere in earnest efforts to raise the standard of piety and of Christian attainment, if they work on God's plan faithfully, we may hope for the most blessed results. On this point we find some excellent remarks in a contemporary, to which we invite serious attention, as they are equally adapted to be useful in both countries :— "1. To make the quickening of spiritual life of believers, the development of Christian character, and the practical recognition of a higher standard of Christian duty, a primary object of effort. "2. To be patient, hopeful, and persevering. God sometimes tries the faith of his servants; he often works in secret and without observation, and he can work with a few as well as a multitude. A prayer-meeting where two or three come together with burning hearts, may be worth more than a crowded congregation. "3. Depend for success on prayer, rather than on preaching, and upon labour with and for individuals, rather than masses. There is no such thing as converting a crowd or congregation as such. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.' "4. Take good care of the young, especially of young converts. Do not hurry them into the church, but have, if possible, a meeting with them once a week, and try to make them intelligent, strong, and zealous Christians. "Finally, though perhaps this is the most important suggestion of all, try to reclaim backsliders, try to win back to their first love those whose hearts have become cold and worldly. If the church is united, and the reproach brought upon it by unfaithful members is wiped away, it is already greatly blessed, and can hardly fail of receiving a still greater blessing." HOW TO ESCAPE THE WRATH TO COME. "One "BELIEVE On the Lord Jesus Christ," greatest amount of pain or of fear availed him nothing. When he did that, his cure began. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." He has been lifted up, and whosoever "looks" shall live. And nothing but this will do. No amount of feeling will do. No good works will do. No effort to make oneself better will do. Any attempt to make conviction of sin, or anything of our own, take the place of THE GRACE OF GOD IN CHRIST, is but a form of self-righteousness; that is, a form of that very selfishness which is to be given up. In becoming Christians, then, we make Christ all our salvation. And we give up our all to Christ; not only our property, our talents, and our time, but our desires, our feelings, our aims, our aspirations, our plans of life-yes, all. And because we give up all, we give up self-dependence for perseverance in the Christian course; and, with self-dependence, we resign self-confidence on the one hand, and unbelieving fears on the other. He has said, for our admonition, "Without me ye can do nothing;" and, again, for our encouragement, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." We believe these declarations, and rely on the Holy Spirit, sent by him in answer to prayer, for strength to overcome the world, our great adversary, and ourselves. Reader, do you know yourself to be a sinner? Then you may come to Christ, and may come NOW. You believe that you need a Saviour, and that Christ is the Saviour you need; act on your belief by making him your Saviour. The wayward little child, who has stood obstinately refusing his father's call to come to him, finds it a very simple thing at last to give up his obstinacy and fall into his father's arms. So simple is it to cease refusing the Saviour's invitation, and humbly, penitently, trustingly, to accept it. Will you not do so? After you have believed the Divine record with the heart, and with the mouth made confession to salvation, the life of I must pray in secret.-Declension, inconsistency, formality, backsliding, all begin in the closet, in the neglect of secret prayer. "Away from God's presence," He will "take His Holy Spirit away from me.' Going away from Him, neglecting communion with Him, He will leave me; and left of Him, spiritual darkness, if not spiritual death, will be upon me. Neglect the closet, and next the family altar will be neglected, and then the circle of social prayer, and then the Bible, and then perhaps the sanctuary, and all the means of grace. Neglect the closet, and I know not where or how far I may wander; I know not when, if ever, I will return. Neglect the closet, and soon I may be left to abandon it. I must, then, I must pray in secret; statedly, frequently, earnestly. God enjoins it. My highest enjoyment, and my individual and peculiar necessities demand it. I must do it, that I may grow in grace-may not decline in spirituality-may not wander from God. To pray in secret! It is a solemn duty, a glorious and blessed privilege, thus to hold converse with the Most High; as a child with a father, as a friend with a friend, thus to commune with Him, and breathe His Spirit, and receive His impress, His image, upon my heart. God's grace and Spirit assisting me, I will pray in secret. Daily and faithfully will I do it, till from prayer on earth, I am raised to praise in HEAVEN. |