PEOPLE’S PULPIT.

(Special Issue, No. 54.)

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BIBLE and TRACT SOCIETY,

LANCASTER GATE, LONDON, W.

”1 bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people." " There is one Med ator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."

A Dark Cloud and its Silver Lining.

BY JOHN G. WHITTIER.

In the Minister’s morning sermon he told of the primal fall, And how, henceforth, the wrath of God rested on each and all;

And how, of His will and pleasure, all souls, save a.chosen few, Were doomed to eternal torture, and held in the way thereto. * Yet never, by Faith’s unreason, a saintlier soul was tried, And never the harsh old lesson a tenderer heart belied.

And after the painful service, on that pleasant, bright first day, He walked with his little daughter thro’ the apple bloom of May. Sweet in the fresh green meadow sparrow and blackbird sung ;

Above him its tinted petals the blossoming orchard hung,           ....

Around, on the wonderful glory, the minister looked and smiled:

" How good is the Lord, who gives us these gifts from . His hand, ,my child.”                                                  .

” Behold in the bloom of apples, and the violets in the sward, A hint of the old lost beauty of the garden of the Lord.” Then upspake the little maiden, treading on snow and pink, “ O father ! these pretty blossoms are very wicked, I think.

" Had there been no garden of Eden, there never had been a fall;

And if never a tree had blossomed, God would have loved us all.”

" Hush, child ! ” the Father answered, “ By His decree men fell ;

His ways are in clouds and darkness, but He doeth all things well.”’

" And whether by His ordaining to us cometh good or ill, Joy or pain, or light or shadow, we must fear and love Him still."

" Oh, I fear Him! ” said the daughter, " and I try to love Him, too;

Bat I wish He were kind and gentle—kind and loving as yoa."

The minister groaned in spirit, as the tremulous lips of pant. And Wide, wet eyes uplifted, questioned his own in vain.

Bowing his head, he pondered the words of his littlb one,         •    .

Had he erred in his life-long teachings, and wrong to his Master done?

To what grim and dreadful idol had he lent the holiest name?

Did his own heart, loving and human, the God of his worship shame ? And lo ! from the bloom and greenness, from the tender skies above, And the face of his little daughter, he read a lesson of love.

No more as the cloudy terror of Sinai’s mount of law,              ;

But as Christ in the Syrian lilies the vision of God he saw.

And as when, in the clefts of Horeb, of old was His presence known,' The dread, ineffable glory was infinite goodness alone.

Thereafter his hearers noted in his prayers a tenderer strain,          *

And never the message of hatred burned on his lips again,

And the scoffing tongue was prayerful, and the blinded eyes found sight, And hearts, as flint aforetime, grew soft in his warmth and light.

The Silver Lining of the Dark Cloud.

The poet has graphically pictured the darkness which has so long oppressed God’s people: but the same God who is now lifting the curtain and bringing to light labor-saving conveniences, preparatory to the great reign of righteousness, peace and blessing, called the Millennium, is also bringing' to light certain' teachings in his Word bearing upon the same period, showing that he has yet in store for that time grefit spiritual blessings for men. And this is only what we should .expect, according to God’s promise (Dan. 12 : 4, 9 ; 1 Thes. >5 : 4-6 ; Luke 8 : 10), and according to our prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven.”

In the light of this further unfolding of the Scriptures it appears that we and .many of God’s people have been right in urging that God’s character would yet be cleared of the charges of injustice and cruelty so long urged against Him by scoffers, and supported not only by the creeds of Christendom, but seemingly also by some darklooking passages in the Bible.

But we can only give you a mere hint of the blessing and encouragement now obtainable by those who hunger and thirst after righteousness—truth, etc. Tha light baa come through studying God's plan dispensation ally—recognizing the various ages as connected in one great, good, loving plan which God.had purposed in himself before the creation of our race, which began to be accomplished when Christ our Lord died fot our sins, and which is to be fully accomplished by Christ and His Church glorified, during an age just dawning, whose light is even now waking up the world. The key to the understanding of God’s gracious plan as long laid hidden in six words in our text—“ A ransom for all,” and the assurance that this favour for all shall reach them in God’s “due time.”

Thus we introduce to you a book which, in the name of God and for the blessing of His Church, we are circulating •veywhere, at the utiremunerative price of one shilling, and loaning it freely to those too poor to purchase—

"The Plan of the Ages.”

Vol. 1—STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES.

STRONG WORDS OF COMMENDATION,

BY THE

Associate Editor of the Atlanta Constitution.'

FOOD AND COMFORT FOR ALL THINKERS.

“ It is impossible to read this book without loving the writer and pondering his wonderful solution of the great mysteries that have troubled us all our lives. There is hardly a family to be found that has not lost some loved One who died outside the Church—outside the plan of salvation, and, if Calvinism be true, outside of all hope and inside of eternal torment and despair. We smother our feelings and turn away from the horrible picture. We dare not deny the faith of our fathers, and yet can it be possible that the good mother and the wandering child are forever separated— forever and forever ?

“ I believe it is the rigidity of these teachings that makes atheists and infidels and sceptics—makes. Christians unhappy and brings their gray hairs down in sorrow to the grave—a lost child, a lost soul !   . . .'

“This wonderful book makes no assertions that are not well sustained by the Scriptures. It is built up stone by stone, and upon every stone is the text, and it becomes a pyramid of God's love, and mercy, and wisdom.

^Thete is nothing in the Bible that the author denies or doubts, but there are many texts that he throws a flood of light upon that seems to remove from them the dark and gloomy meaning. I see that editofs of leading journals, and mp.ny orthodox ministers of different denominations, have endorsed it and have confessed to this new and comforting light that has dawned upon the interpretation of God’s book. Then let every man read and ponder and take comfort, for we are all prisoners of hope. This is an age of advanced thought, and more thinking is done than ever before —men dare to think now. Light—more light is the watchword.”—C. T. Smith (" B. Arp.”)

“ I am surprised at the truth it reveals. Truly ‘ the half was never told.’ I am greatly blessed in the study of God’s Word,,which is made more plain.”—C. E. Cook.

“ The reading of it was the grandest feast I ever enjoyed.” —N. Rany.___________

The cloth bound edition of this work, of which thousands of copies were at first sold at four shillings, has been reduced to one shilling by this Society, which also offers to loan it free to all too poor to buy, who will promise a careful reading of it, and to remail it. So, then, none need be without it. Delay not. Order at once.

3,350,000 already in circulation.

The price is “nothing” for such a book—380 pages. Take several copies, remember your sceptical friends. All need this ‘ * Helping Hand. ’ ’

Delivered by Colporteurs, l/~.

This work may also be procured in the German, Swedish, Dano-Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish, and Greek languages at the same price as the English.

Vol. II., The Time is at Hand, 384 pp., may be obtained in the English, German, Swedish, Dano-Norwegian and French languages. Price, 1/-

Vol. III., Thy Kingdom Come, 400 pp., may be obtained in the English, German and Swedish languages. Price 1/-

Vol. IV., The Day of Vengeance, English, 672 pp., delivered by colporteurs, 1/6, German, 376 pp., 1/6.

Vol. V. The Atonement between God and Man, 512 pp., English, German and Swedish, price, 1/6

Vol. VI., The New Creation, 738 pp., English, price, 1/6

BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY.

Craven Terrace, Lancaster Gate, London, W.

And at Brooklyn; Barmen : Copenhagen; Orebro; Melbourne; and Durban.

Send a postal requesting a Free Sample of “ Which is the True Gospel ? Food for Thinking Christiana " ; “ What fo the Seal ? "; and '' Whore are the Dead I ”