if you were only just in time for the one, a very trifling delay may cause you to be too late for the other." B. "Quite right, sir; but mine was a mere every-day remark. I only alluded to my present, and not my future happiness; and I hope to make the latter secure, as well as the former." A. "Your present happiness, my friend, is so interwoven with the future as to be inseparable; you may enjoy a certain amount of pleasure in this life apart from religion and its influences, but no happiness worthy the name, unless through the merits of Jesus you have sought to be a participator in those eternal joys which are at God's right hand for evermore.1 You may live in pleasure, and be dead while you live; but true happiness is only to be found in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ; in union and communion with Him; in obeying God's commandments; in the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit; and when you express a hope that you shall secure future happiness, may I ask what efforts you are making towards that end? You spoke of procrastination as your besetting sin. Oh let not the words 'too late' be sounded in your ears, as it might have been this morning after a few more minutes or moments had elapsed. Read the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, and see there the error of not being prepared and in time." B. "I never could quite understand that parable, sir; can you fully explain it to me? Believe me, I have a desire both to know and to do what is right." A." The absolute and literal rendering of the parable is obscure. The Saviour did not interpret its meaning, as He did some of His parables, and various interpretations have been given by learned men; but one point, and probably the chief one, is quite clear, that the foolish virgins were too late, and that it was their own fault; it was the practical lesson our Lord had in view, rather than any doctrinal teaching. My dear friend, let me earnestly exhort you to 2 1 Tim. v. 6. 1 Psa. xvi. II. ♫ eternity of bliss. May His everlasting arms be you at that time !" concluded we arrived at the bustling metropolis. ng friend took my hand and pressed it, saying: conversation and affectionate appeals have, I trust, 1st in time; pray for me, that my weak faith may be thened, and that Jesus may be to me all in all." The Mount of Weeping.? Luke xix. 41. HY Saviour weeps, O Salem! See indeed, THY He weeps for thee, thine Olivet descending; Oh that my people to her weal gave heed! For tears like these are sorest woes portending, Thy Saviour weeps, O tears of keenest smart! Thy Saviour weeps! Thy Saviour weeps! If up yon height I go, Thy Saviour weeps! When from the clouds the dew forth replenished with the tears of heaven; Thy Saviour weeps! ollowing poem are translations fror lose no time. The door was shut,' is a solemn warning, and the subsequent words: 'I know you not,' show the inestimable value of the exhortation: Watch, therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.' Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. In these days of railway disasters, we cannot tell what an instant may bring forth." B. "According to that idea, I had better have been too late; but I took care to procure an insurance ticket, and that tended to delay me." 66 A. You are wrong. Your journey, you tell me, is one of much importance; if so, it is right you should enter on it. The possibility of disaster must not deter us in the path of duty; and, as you had worldly wisdom enough to take an insurance ticket in case of accident, so let me entreat you to become a participator in that covenant of grace, the only sure and safe protection against all the ills to which we are liable in this life, and which will ensure us a safe arrival at that eternal and glorious city which has no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God will lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." B. "Well, sir, delays are dangerous, and I trust your kind words of warning will not be lost on me." A. "Delays are indeed dangerous. O my friend, if you knew fully the value of your immortal soul; if you realised the price that has been paid for its redemption; if you knew what it was to incur the just anger of an offended God, against whom you have sinned, and are daily sinning; if you knew the blessedness of him whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered; if you reflected on the happiness of heaven and the terrors of hell, on the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the beauty of holiness, you would not be contented merely to be just in time; but would at once strive to be prepared for that journey through the valley of the shadow of death which, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, will lead to the heavenly Jerusalem and to an eternity of bliss. May His everlasting arms be around you at that time!" As I concluded we arrived at the bustling metropolis. My young friend took my hand and pressed it, saying: "Your conversation and affectionate appeals have, I trust, come just in time; pray for me, that my weak faith may be strengthened, and that Jesus may be to me all in all.” The Mount of Weeping.' Luke xix. 41. 'HY Saviour weeps, O Salem! See indeed, THY Saviour o, Shane Olivet descending; Oh that my people to her weal gave heed! For tears like these are sorest woes portending, Thy Saviour weeps, O tears of keenest smart! Thy Saviour weeps! Thy Saviour weeps! If up yon height I go, Thy Saviour weeps! When from the clouds the dew Straight the wide field in glowing verdure new Springs forth replenished with the tears of heaven; 1 This and the following poem are translations from the German of Karl Gerok. |