Gems. FACTS, HINTS, AND GEMS. DESIRE OF HAPPINESS is natural and common to all men. Desire of holiness is supernatural and must come from God. IF WE ARE WILLING to be saved, God will save us. Why? because he has said so; and he cannot deny himself. But he will do so for Christ's sake, not ours. IF YOU FORGET GOD he will not forget you. Dont think his memory is like yours. He never forgets. He will bring every work into judg"LIVE while you live," the epicure would ment, and every secret thing. WHEN WE THINK of the infinite love of God in Christ, we wonder that it does not make every heart leap for joy; but when we think how depraved all men are, we wonder that any welcome the good lidings. FOUR THINGS we should labour after to be humble, thankful, watchful, and cheerful. these we should be happy. Having BE CAUTIOUS; for if you would not fall in the way of doing things unlawful, you must sometimes deny yourself of things that are lawful. SALVATION always draws nearer to us, when we draw ourselves nearer to it. It is now nearer than when we first believed. NOTHING GREATER can be said of faith in Christ, than that it is the only thing which can bid defiance to the accusations of conscience. FAITH IN CHRIST can do more than remove mountains; it can still a clamorous conseience, make a bad conscience good, scften a hard heart, bend a stubborn will, and bring God and man together. IF SIN WERE WORSE ten thousand times than it is, and I had ten thousand times more sins than I have, I would look beyond them all to Christ, for His blood cleanseth ns from all sin. say, "Live while you live," the sacred preacher "And seize the pleasure of the present day." cries, And give to God each moment as it flies." His own precious blood, For each poor bellever- For thee and for me. AN OLD SOLDIER'S EPITAPH. HERE lies an old soldier, whom all must applaud, Who fought many battles at home and abroad; But the hottest engagement he ever was in Was the conquest of self in the battle of sin HONOURABLE MARRIAGE. WHAT a delicious breath marriage sends forth; The violet bed's not sweeter! Honest wedlock Is like a lovely house built in a garden, On which the spring's chaste flowers take delight To cast their modest odours: when base lust, With all her powders, paintings, and vain pride, Is but a fair house built by a ditch side. THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. The Children's Corner. WINTER, SNOW, FROST, SLIDING, SKATING. YES! old dark Winter has b97a come again, and brought with wait, as usual, these things. But boys and girls are somehow solo or other fond of Winter when it brings snow and frost. AoThey like the snow because it is such a wonderful change to see everything covered as with aba white sheet, and because they can run about over it, and feel it sink under their bacfeet softer than a carpet, and they can make snow-balls of it. They like a frost to come, for then they can slide or skate on the ice. This is why boys and girls like winter to come. Here in the picture are two boys skating. One has got his skates on, and he is cutting along like a good skater; the other has not got his on yet. He means to be after him when he has got them on fast. Well: skating is a healthy exercise, and so is sliding. But little folks should always mind where they go to slide or skate. They should never go where the water underneath is deep; and they should never go on a sabbath-day. If they mind these two things, they will then keep out of danger and out of sin. Almost every winter some boys are drowned by going on ice over deep waters; and it is a sad thing to think of, that more are drowned on the sabbath-day than on any other day. Remember, God has said that his day must be kept holy, and "We must neither work nor play, IMPORTANT NOTICE. Parcels of this Publication will be sent, post paid, to any part of the United Kingdom, on the remittance of their value in postage stamps or Post Office Order, to Winks & Son, Leicester. BENEVOLENT LADIES OR GENTLEMEN who wish to have 100 copies of the Pioneer assorted for giving away, will receive them, post paid, on sending thirty postage stamps to WINKS & SON, Leicester. The assorted Pioneers are just adapted for distribution on the way by village preachers, or for being left at houses by Teacher's visiting absent children. They can also be had in quantities for loan. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO. LEICESTER: WINKS AND SON, Sold by all Booksellers. PRICE ONE HALFPENNY MONTHLY. AN American minister, Dr. Spencer, of Brooklyn, New York, in his "Pastor's Sketches," says: Among my parishioners, at one time, there was a very industrious and respectable man, a mechanic, for whom I entertained a high esteem. I thought him a man of talents, and of much good feeling. He was about thirty years of age, was married, and his wife had recently become a christian, as she believed, and had made a public profession of her faith in Christ. I had now the more hope of being useful to him, on account of his wife's experience of Divine goodness, and the uniformly happy state of her mind. He had also some other relatives who were members of my church, and were exemplary christians. He was himself a constant and attentive hearer of the gospel every sabbath-day, and whenever I met him (which was very often) he was free to speak of religion, and confess his obligation and his anxiety to be a christian. I had no small hope in his case. I had noticed the increasing depth of his seriousness. Besides, I knew him to be a personal friend to myself, very much attached to me, and on that account I had the more expectation of being able to influence his mind upon the subject, which now occupied, as he said, "all his thoughts. It was in one of those conversations, which I was accustomed to have with him, that he surprised me by expressing a thought which I had never heard from him before. I had just asked him, "What hinders you, my dear sir, from being a christian indeed, since all the grace of the gospel is so free, THE FAULTS OF CHRISTIANS. and since you are so sensible that you need it?" His answer was, "I think a great many more of us would be christians if professors of religion were different from what they are." "That may be," said I; "but you know each one shall give account of himself unto God. You are not accountable for professors of religion, and irreligion." "I know that," said he. they are not accountable for your "But how can we believe in the reality of religion when members of the church, and the elders too, are dishonest, will lie and cheat, and make hard bargains, a great deal worse than other people?" "Have you any doubt of the reality of religion?" "Oh, no, I believe in the reality of religion. I believe in a change of heart as much as you do." "Then," said I, "you can believe in the reality of religion somehow or other. In that respect you have not been misled by our dishonest elders and church members,' who drive such 'hard bargains, a great deal worse than other people.' As to the accusation, that our elders and church members are such dishonest and hard men; I deny it: the accusation is not true. There may be some bad men in the church. There was a Judas among Christ's disciples. One of the chosen twelve was a thief. But that was no good reason why other people should reject Christ. The general character of our church members is not such as you have mentioned. You ought not to condemn Matthew and the other disciples because Judas was a villain." "Well," said he, with some hesitation, "I know some church members who are no better than other people, not a bit better than a great many of us who make no profession." Perhaps you do. But what of that? Will their imperfections do you any good? Will their sins save you, or excuse you?" Why (hesitatingly) they ought to set us a better example." "No doubt of that. And allow me to say you ought to set them a better example. You are under as much obligation to set me a good example as I am to set you a good example. You and I are under the same law. God commands you to be holy as he commands me. It is quite likely that those church members of whom you complain, would be better men THE FAULTS OF CHRISTIANS. if it was not for such persons as you, persons who set them no holy example." Well; I believe many members of the church are great stumbling-blocks; I know they are." Said I, "I believe many who are not members of the church are great stumbling blocks; I know they are. You are one of them. You are a stumbling-block and a hindrance to many impenitent sinners, to your partner in business, to your neighbours, to your sisters, and other acquaintances. I am sorry for it, but so it is. If you would become a truly pious man these persons would feel your influence constraining them to seek the Lord, and your example would be a stumbling-block to them no longer. "I make no profession of religion," said he. That is the very thing," I replied. "You stand aloof from religion entirely, as if you disbelieved in it; and your example just encourages others to neglect it as you do. You once told me yourself how greatly it affected you, when you saw your wife come out to be baptized in the presence of the great congregation. If you would set such an example it would probably affect others." My wife is a good woman; she lives as a christian ought to live." "Then you have at least one good example." "If all professors of religion were like her I should not find fault with them.” "And if you were like her other people would not find fault with you. Your example would commend religion." Well, the example of a great many professors does not commend it to me." Look nearer "Why do you look at the bad examples? home. Look at your wife's example. You are very unwise to let your thoughts dwell upon the faults of christians at all; and when you do so you hunt up a few professors of religion, who are not by any means a fair specimen of our church members, and you take them as samples of all the rest. That is unfair. I am sorry you have run into this way of thinking. It will only lead you into error, and call off your attention from the eternal interests of your own soul. The faults of others cannot save you. I beg of you to think less about other people's sins and more about your own." |