IX. Attractions of Earth. O yes, I love the earth its cares and sorrows, Its bounding hopes, its feelings fresh and warm, Loves, wishes, fears, the sunshine and the storm- Twine with my being's chords, and make my life. UT after all that may be said of the B glories of the future, and of the attrac tions of heaven, earth also has its at tractions, which it is hard to go away from and leave-sweet pictures from nature, pleasant homes, delightful memories of the past, bright hopes of the future, extensive usefulness, a well earned reputation; and, above all, dear friends and companions, fond and faithful parents, a devoted husband, an affectionate wife, beloved children, who, by their constant kindness and watchful tenderness, have made all the years of our life beautiful and blessed. These are some of the attractions which make life on earth desirable, some of the strong ties which hold us to the present, and the sundering of which give to death much of its bitterness. It is hard to die, and leave all these. It is hard to die, when there is so much to live for. If we could all go together, it would be less difficult; it would be easy to die, and go home in one company to the Father's house. Certainly there is truth in all this; and it would be equally wrong and useless to ignore it, or to pretend that it ought not to have any weight with a Christian. It is our common human nature which speaks in this; it is the heart pleading for its treasures with a sacred constancy, with a voice of tenderness, which the most devout and submissive Christian cannot, and would not wish, to silence. In loving the Saviour, we do not cease to love our friends; nor is the highest trust in God inconsistent with the fondest attachments of human affection. And the ever compassionate Father does not ask us, in remembering and confiding in Him, to forget, or cease to cling to, those who have lovingly nestled down in the secret places of our hearts. Still, it is only just and right that we should have a reasonable confidence in God, that we should believe in the wise beneficence of his dealings with us, even if they do disappoint our wishes; and we, in our blindness, cannot see the good they are designed to work out for us. This assuredly the Father has a right to ask at our hands in return for the many thousand proofs of his goodness to us in the past; as well as because of the numerous positive declarations and precious promises of his holy word, that in all he does with us, for us, to us, he is steadily seeking our highest interests and happiness. We see through a glass darkly now, and know only in part; and we must not expect, therefore, to see as God sees, or perfectly to understand his thoughts or his ways, which are higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth. You, my friend, in the midst of your life and usefulness, held by so many strong cords of affection, feel that it is very hard to die; and you cannot see how your death can have any good in it for yourself, or for those dear ones who so fondly cling to you, and shelter themselves so trustingly under the protection of your love. I will not pretend that I clearly see it either; but I know that there is much good hidden in evil that I did not see once, which is now distinctly visible to me; and events, which, at the time, I deplored as the greatest sorrows of my life, have long ago shaped themselves into the greatest blessings. -And so I have learned to be slow and humble in my judgment of the ways of God; and I try, however great the struggle it costs, to pray in my sorrows, as well as in my joys, living or dying: "Thy will, and not mine, be done." And have not you, my dear friend, required from your children the same confidence and loving submission which you so reluctantly yield toward your Father in heaven? How often have the plans, which your judgment and affection devised for the good of your boy, the pride of your heart, conflicted with his wishes and desires. He had his own views of the best method of securing happiness; and perhaps believed that freedom from all restraint, the society of his mates, the absence of all study and work, and a perpetual round of amusements, made up the sum of human enjoyment. On the other hand, you knew that education and knowledge, employment, usefulness and a manly tone of thought and character, were the surest and only path to happiness. And this is exactly the relation existing between God the Father and you his child. To your boy play seems better than school, but it is not; and when boyhood passes into manhood he will see his mistake, and thank you |