MR. JOHN TOWNSEND. AMONG the names read at the Salem meeting as having deceased during the past year, occurs that of John Townsend. (See Gospel Herald for last month.) According to the old Church Register he joined Salem by "Dismis sion," November 22nd; 1828, and his wife, Mary Ann Townsend, by "Confession," which includes baptism, on June 7th, 1829. The same Register records that both, with fifty-five others, were dismissed to the church at Keppel Street Chapel, January 7th, 1852. The exodus arose from the circumstance of the majority of the church at Salem declining to entertain a proposition for a further call to the pulpit of an individual who had supplied it several Lord's-days, but whom they considered it undesirable again to engage. He preached several times, by the wish of the seceding friends, at Keppel Street Chapel; but his subsequent going over to the Established Church showed that the opinion formed of him by the majority at Salem was pretty correct. The voting, on the occasion referred to, was 74 Noes, 51 Ayes.

Our Brother John Townsend, it appears, was born and spent his early days at Reading. His father was a godly man, his mother a gracious woman; both, by grace Divine, adorned the doctrine they professed, and were in the habit of having family prayer

the unusual number of three times aday. They were members with the late John Howard Hinton, who, at that time, held a pastorate at Reading. Young John was the subject of serious impressions from a very early age. When about seven years old, the reading of Isa. xl., by a friend to his sick mother, so impressed his mind that he never wholly forgot it, although in subsequent boyhood and youth he led a careless life. About the age of manhood he heard a sermon from the late Mr. James Sherman, then of Reading, from the words: "What think ye of Christ," which was greatly blest to him. He shortly after joined the Strict Baptist Church at Salem Chapel, Reading, being baptized by Mr. Cox, the pastor, on August 8th, 1824. Coming to London the following year, he found another Salem in Meard's Court, where he attended, and became a member; also his wife, as aforesaid. Here his soul was fed and nourished on heavenly bread, under the ministry of dear Mr. John Stevens, whom he greatly loved; and here he gained the esteem of his fellow-members by his regular attendance on the means of grace and his warm-hearted, honest way of expressing himself on all occasions. He was very decided in his views of truth, both as to doctrine and church order. For many years he was a member of our Foreign Mission Committee, where his

plain, blunt hearty remarks were always listened to with interest. After travelling the heavenly road some sixty years in the fear of God and with the respect of his fellow-travellers, the Lord who had taught and upheld him by His grace, called him home to glory, July 18th, 1883, aged eighty years two months nineteen days. During his last illness of four months, no doubt or cloud was permitted to distress him;

he was constantly speaking of the goodness of his covenant God to those who visited him. His last words of conscious utterance were

"Other refuge have I none,

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee."

His pastor, Mr. Styles, improved his death from the words in Rev. vii. 15. R. H.

ONLY A LITTLE THING. ONE splendid afternoon a carriage issued from the gateway of an official residence in our realm. Its solitary occupant, excepting the coachman, was a gentleman who had earned the respect and esteem of his fellow-men. feared nothing, because he was no man's enemy. Little thought he, as he reclined at ease on his carriage cushions, that men were watching him who

He

thirsted for his blood. In blissful ignorance, he rode onward, whilst, all the time, signals were made heralding his approach. The line of signalment had been perfectly arranged; and, at a given point, the carriage was to be stopped and the gentleman assassinated. The deep-dyed villains, however, had not bargained for the interposition of the Unseen. One man in the line, attracted for a moment by something, failed to see his comrade wave the white handkerchief. The carriage passed him without being noticed; the signalling was broken.

FORSTER, the great and good Secretary of Ireland, was saved. Some people will say, "It was only a little thing, a mere trifle; the man did not wave the handkerchief, that was all." Just so; and yet how much is wrapped up in it. The man did not chance to look away at that particular moment. He was impelled to do so by the mysterious force of the Unseen. A Divine Hand

broke the signalling, and made a way of escape for Forster. Let my young friends never dream of trifles after this. There is no such thing as a single trifle in God's vast universe. God has a million agencies, unperceived by us, which combine to influence the currents of human life. He makes a seemingly trivial circumstance the pivot upon which life's destiny turns.

are

How often do young people exclaim, "Oh, it is only a little thing!" No opinion is more subtle and dangerous than the opinion, so prevalent amongst the young, that we can afford to despise little things. Whenever you tempted, dear reader, to excuse your laziness or your sin by the above exclamation, remember that a little thing is the object of God's attention We too often think of God as one occupied with such great matters that He has no time to concern Himself with little things. This is a poor idea of Divine Providence, and is born of the infidelity which dwells in every depraved heart. It is God's glory to deal with little things. He loses sight of none of His creatures. A very holy and learned minister,* who lived many years ago, and who has left behind him many valuable writings, says, in one of his discourses, "God is the great caterer for all creatures. He that feeds the ravens will not starve

Stephen Charnock.

His doves. He that satisfies the ravening wolf will not famish His gentle lambs and harmless sheep." Another distinguished, learned, and devout servant of Christ,* who lived in more modern times, when preaching upon a certain occasion, exclaimed, "Tell me, then, if, in any one field of this province which man has access to, you witness a single indication of God sparing Himself-of God reduced to languor by the weight of His other employments-of God sinking under the burden of that vast superintendence which lies upon Him

He

of God being exhausted, as one of ourselves would be, by any number of concerns, however great, by any variety of them, however manifold; and do you not perceive, in that mighty profusion of wisdom and of goodness which is scattered everywhere around us, that the thoughts of this unsearchable Being are not as our thoughts, nor His ways as our ways?" God fashions the sparrow's wing, and fixes His compassionate eye upon the tiny bird when it falls to the ground, frozen to death. He clothes the lily with greater beauty than Solomon's. counts all the hairs of our head. By His Almighty power He draws the water from the ocean, and forms it into vapour; whilst His wisdom guides the clouds, thus formed, to the spots where they are most needed. His hand opens gradually the clouds, that the little raindrops may descend. He feeds the grass with dew, which He distils from the noxious vapours of the earth. He keeps alive the myriads of insects, whose little world is a tiny leaf, by breathing into them constantly the breath of life. Since, then, to use the language of earth, God takes such great pains about little things, we should never despise them.

Little things are often very big in their consequences. No one can tell what my young readers may become. God grant that, however great you may be, real, genuine goodness may stamp your characters. By reading, we find that

*Dr. Chalmers.

the great scientific discoveries and blessings commenced with apparent trifles. One day a Dutchman took it into his head to cut some letters of the alphabet out of the bark of a tree, and then, by means of ink, he transferred an impression of them to paper. We should look upon that, to-day, as mere child's play; but in that little thing there rested the discovery and invention of printing. In the time of the apostle Paul, and for many years afterwards, navigation was a very limited affair. In our day vessels make voyages of thousands of miles, and the captain knows which way to take, though there are no hand-posts, as we have in our country-roads, to direct him to his destination. How does he know he is steering right? By his compass and his chart. Now the compass has a needle, which always will persist in pointing towards the north. How was this peculiarity found out? One day some curious persons were amusing themselves by making a loadstone, suspended to a piece of cork, swim in water. When not interfered with by them, they found that the loadstone always pointed to the north. This set them thinking, and gave birth to the science of navigation. An eccentric individual, named Galvani, applied a frog to certain metals, and found that the application produced a severe twitching in the frog's legs. Who would have thought that any important result would have come from such a little matter? Yet, in that twitching of the frog's legs, lay the germ of galvanism and telegraphy. As little things have been the beginnings of great discoveries, so apparent trifles are often the prolific sources of disquietude. Some of the greatest quarrels in the world, in churches, in homes, have been over little things. Beware, dear young friends, of magnifying the faults of others, and making much ado about nothing. Little things, again, may be great means of usefulness. You must not wait for some grand work to be brought to your hand before you become useful. You can give a cup of cold water to a thirsty traveller, or carry a

sweet-smelling flower to a sick companion; and Jesus, looking down from His glorious throne, will not deem it a little thing.

By little things God perfects His gracious designs. Some people think it was a very little thing for Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and for Adam to follow her example. As an act of disobedience, it was a great evil. No single sin can be a trifle. God did not esteem that act a little thing. In its farreaching consequences it has affected "all people who on earth do dwell," and it even influences other worlds. Satan, in tempting our first parents, designed the filling of hell with fallen men, not thinking that any who were born should escape him. God, however, designed otherwise. He had determined that His Son should redeem a multitude that no man could number. He, therefore, overruled Adam's disobedience, and brought glory to Himself out of the evil, though He is too holy to connive at sin. Hating the evil with a perfect hatred, as that which had marred His handiwork, He yet made it the occasion of the glorious display of His attributes and the most magnificent revelation of His love. Surely, then, both in its disastrous effects and in the glorious opportunity it became, the eating of the forbidden fruit was no trifle. All whom God has chosen and redeemed, He calls unto Himself. At different times, and in various ways, does the Lord call His people. He often uses very insignificant means to this great end. On board a certain British manof-war vessel, many years ago, there was a pious Highland boy. One day the captain swore a terrible oath, and wished all the hands on board were in hell. The Highland boy heard it, and, approaching the captain respectfully, with cap in hand, he said: 66 Captain, I believe God hears prayer; and, if He had heard your prayer now, what would have become of us?" Then he bowed, and retired, amidst the mocking laughter

of his shipmates. His speech, however, was not forgotten. That captain was James Haldane, and God used the boy's words to turn the wicked captain from the error of his ways. He became a minister of Jesus Christ in Edinburgh, and the Lord made him instrumental to the conversion of his brother Robert. Robert Haldane settled in Geneva, and became the means of the conversion of J. H. Merle D'Aubigné, who is the great historian of the Reformation. What great matters the Lord hid in the speech of the Highland boy that day!

My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?" So spake the servants of Naaman, as they prostrated themselves before him, seeking to stay his rage, and turn him from his foolish purpose. The words are very significant in our day. In the Gospel market the wine and milk of salvation are sold without money and without price. Oh, it is not a little thing that sinners can be pardoned freely! If you try all your life long, you can never bring anything to satisfy Divine Justice. May God the Holy Ghost make you feel yourselves to be sinners. May He draw you to the Cross; and when you have seen Jesus bleeding for you, you will never count sin to be a trifle any P. REYNOLDS.

more.

Islington, London.

ANSWER TO SCRIPTURE ENIGMA
IN OCTOBER. ·
No. 2.

PeeP, UriaH, BethesdlA, LaddeR, IrI, Cyrus, ApE, NOE, SilaS.

Initials, Publicans; finals, Pharisees. Correct replies have been received from Hephzibah Denmee, Hoxne; E. Kindred, Cransford; Mary Heather, Guildford; and E. H. Roberts. No reply has been received for No. 1 in October; we wait for our young friends' answer to that before giving another enigma.