SUNDAY HEADING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6255, 3 December 1881, Page 3

SUNDAY HEADING.

A CONFLICT AND TRIUMPHANT VICTORY. Recent English papers contain the account of the conversion of a vicar of nine years 5 standing. With Christian boldness he tells the story to the world. We give a summary of what he has written : — In the early days of his ministry this «lergyman longed for rea ity, butreali3edthathe was every day becoming more forced, more unreal. Having hitherto preached evangelical doctrines, he now began to adopt High Church doctrines as well as practices ; still, he says, "my unhappiness, my unreality, and my High Churchism seeined to travel onwards with unmeasured tread." About this time, a brother of hia was converted in the course of a mission held by Rev. \\. Haslam, and our friend was induced to go to heir Haslam, returning home with a sense of intense dissatisfaction. A lingering illness, extending over five months, next brought him to the brink of the grave, and "that illness swept away the last remnant of belief in himself and his reality, and he felt the insincerity of preaching to dying men and women the way of salvation which he did not know himself." -After his return to his work, he sought relief in preaching Sacramentarianism, stating among other things that " baptism was not only the commencement of the spiritual life, but also the commencement of a hard s-ruggle between right and wrong—a struggle between the nature \yithi,ii ( 4s f born of Adam, and the nature withni us '"born of God ; a battle of decision for God or the world and then he went on to point out that, if this spiritual Ufa is to make spiritual progretSy it must be supplied with spiritual food; "but," he added, "in the face of this practical, this commonsense conclusion, one is met by the strange, the amazing fact, that although we know we have a battle to fight, although we are told to put on the whole armour of God, although we have this strengthening and refreshing spiritual food continually offered to our acceptance, yet nine out of ten members of a congregation refuse to accept it, and systematically turn their backs upon their Lord's invitation."

His own unhappiness increased, while a faithful friend was led to speak plainly to him. "I made," he says, " one or two desperate attempts to find what I was in search of among my favourite theological books, but I could extract no comfort from them. But God was teaching me, though I knew it not, for darker and darker was the gloom which seemed to have settled upon my soul. For two months longer I struggled desperately to occupy my place in the pulpit, and then I succumbed, and for five weeks my voice was silent. Oh, that five weeks' night of gloom and darkness !" " I AM L r 'ST !"

Mr. Haslam's work, '' From Death into Life," fell into his hands, and led him to reflect that "there is some mysterious spiritual change experienced by a large number of Christian people of which I know nothing, and which I do not understand." While in this state this remarkable incident (which we must give in full) occurred : —I was sitting in my study 011 a certain Friday, feeling exceedingly ill and unhappy, aiul longing for the following Monday, when I was to start for my holiday. Suddenly, without any announcement, a woman was shown into the room, who, instead of behaving like an ordinary individual, rushed up and down like a person bereft, all the while crying out, "I am lost, lam lost! I am going to die, I am lost !" After I had succeeded in quieting her, she told me that she had come to consult me about her soul; that she felt she was going to die, and would be lost; and that she wanted to know whether I thought there was any chance for her. I was terribly distressed that such an unhappy woman should consult me about her soul when I knew so little about my own. But lat once began to tell her about " the Sou of man who came to seek and to save that which was lost," anil that, as far as I could gather from the Word of God, He came to seek and to save 110 other ; and then 1 prayed earnestly that God would help her and make her happy. When she was leaving I expressed a hope that she felt happier. She replied, very hesitatingly I noticed, that she hoped so. How miserable I felt during that interview ! for all the while 1 seemed to hear a voice saying to me, " You unreal man, you know nothing of these tilings yourself, and yet you pretend to teach this poor woman! ' Physician, heal thyself.' " To my horror, within acouple of hours the poor woman was back again with the same dreadful cry that she was " lost, lost!" I expressed sorrow and surprise that she had derived so little bene6t from the first interview, merely repeated what I had said before, and dismissed her with a promise to call and see lier the next day. I was, of course, greatly perplexed by that second visit, and felt there must he something really wanting in me that I should have thus proved my inability to deal with the case. And whilst I was pondering over the matter a sudden thought flashed upon my mind, " I have surely heard of just such a case as this before, many, many years ago. How distinctly it all comes back to me ! It is contained in a little tract given me by my mother, ten years ago, at my ordination ; it is in a pink covei'. I have not seen it since then. I wonder if I can find it among my pile of tracts and pamphletsln less than a minute— for to my amazement I opened the pile exactly at the riyht place—l had found what I was in search of, the very title of which I had forgotten ; and those of my readers who have read "I Have It' will readily sec how marvellously similar are the circumstances of the two cases.

Naturally the reading of such a story at so critical a moment was most striking in its effects upon myself. The next day 1 found my poor friend in precisely the same unhappy state, and I told her, unless I found some one to take my place, I would not leave her at such a time as this.

On my return home I thought of a substitute in the person of my faithful friend, to whom I at once wrote, asking him if he would undertake a case of spiritual trouble during my absence from home. He replied at once that he would call and see me about the case that afternoon. On his arrival he said he had had it very much on his mind all the morning that he must see me to-day,, "and now it is brought about in this way," he said. I asked him if it were really so, and on bis assuring me that it was so, I felt almost happy in the thought that God must have been thinking of me. " BKIIOLP, HE I'RAYETII." My friend then said, "I should like to see the poor woman this afternoon ; but, before going, shall we ask God to bless the interview ?" We knelt down. He asked me to pray. To my surprise I replied, "I can't pray ; you pray." He quickly disposed of the poor woman, and then he prayed for me; and I rose from my knees with my eyes, for the first time ill my life, wet with tears ; but not until a month after did I realise that, although I uttered not a word myself, it was registered in Heaven on that blessed occasion concerning me, " Behold, ho prayeth !" That place whereon I then knelt is now holy ground. The day following was Sunday; and immediately after the morning service my friend entered the vestry, and said, " I have just come to say that you may go off comfortably to-morrow, for our friend has found peace." " It is a marvel," I replied. "And she wishes to see you," he added. That afternoon I spent at the bedside of the sick but happy woman, rejoicing with her and her husband over her new-found happiness, and, humble as a little child, asking her to tell me how she obtained it. In the course of conversation I remarked, "You cannot regret the sorrow of the past now that it has issued in such joy. How I wish the whole of my congregation might feel that they were lost if it is to lead to such happiness as this !" Quick as lightning she turned upon me, and said, "Do yon feel lost?" Without pausing to rellect, I passionately replied. "I would to God I could feel lost, and then perhaps I might be found." A FRESH START. The church bell was ringing for evening service as I walked from her house, and I went along with a mind full to overflowing with mingled thoughts. Suddenly 1 was accosted with "Take a tract," and, to my unutterable surprise, the humbled vicar gladly took a tract from one of his poor parishioners. The tract distributor apologised when she saw to whom she had given the tract; but no apologies were needed. I rapidly glanced at the title; it was "A Fresh Start." It was almost too much for me; my eyes filled with tears, and the blessed hope flashed upon me, "Oh, it is a fresh start for me !" and with the prayer upon my lips, "O merciful God, grant that this may be a fresh start for me," I entered the church; and during the wliole of that service—only a small portion of which, fortunately, 1 had to take myself—the tears silently trickled down my cheeks. On the following day our friend started ; for Scotland, returning therefrom a i!cw man in Christ Jesus, and two Sundays altei | his return astonished his congregation by

preaching the sermon now published, wherein he frankly and fully told, of God's dealing with him. One more sentence we mast quote, and with that we close :—

I wanted to tell you last Sunday evening —for I felt that that day was a day of good tidings to me—but I could not do it; the ordeal was then too much for flesh and lilood, so I ht:ld my peace. But now, thank God, I can stand up fearlessly here before God and this congregation ; and although I am by nature a man so cold and reserved that never until the last few days have I ever opened my heart on the subject of my soul to any living being, although I hate rant aud cant and everything that is not decent, respectable, and orderly, I now proclaim, in the most unqualified language, that I have always been a blind leader of the blind, that for years I have never known a moment's peace of mind, and that for the last year hell itself could not produce more cruel misery than that which has raged within my heart ; but that now, within the last fortnight, I have, by the mercy of God, obtained such peace and joy in believing in Christ my Redeemer, that only the happiness of a saint in Heaven can be greater than mine.

The whole story, which is one of the deepest interest, may be had for one penny of the Church of England Book .Society, 11, Adam-street, Strand.

CREED AND LIFE. "We love Him, because He first loved us." The following are the leading points of a recent address by Dr. Clemance, of London : —Religion, it is said, is not a creed, but a life, and the statement is so common that we must all have heard it often. Yet this must be said of it—that there is enough truth in it to make it attractive, and enough error to make it deceptive. I prefer to put it thus : " llelijitm is not only a cree<l, but also a life." Not to deal in generalities, let us see this exemplified and illustrated in an instance frdm the Word of God. Take the words, "We love Him because He first loved us." This teaches us, first, that in religion there is a creed—"He first loved us ; secondly, that in religion there is a life —" We love Him thirdly, that there is a life because there is a creed—■" We love Him because He first loved us." As to the creed, observe that this is the very first creed the Church had. Amidst all the controversies, the changes, and upheavals of the Church, this lias remained. What a creed it is ! It embraces love's origin and love's expression : its origin in the heart of the infinite God, its expression in the work and death of Christ. We often say we see lov ■ in the manger, the wilderness, the garden, and the cross; but we don't see it. You show something of your love to your children, but not all, for you cannot. In like manner we see a few waves of the Divine love, but there is an infinite ocean beyond, in the fulness .and vastness of which all our powers of apprehension are drowned. Further, we have love's achievements—rebels made sons, the impure made holy, the miserable made happy, the dead quickened into newness of life. Further still, we have love's ultimate intention. "It doth not yet appear what we shall be." The father and mother bend over the infant in the cradle and love it— not only for what it is now, but for what they hope and expect it will be when years of maturity have come. So with us. We shall see Him as He is. Our powers eh.ill be expanded, our nature enlarged, our whole being glorified ; and He loves us now in view of what we shall be then. Is it not a glorious creed ? If you have never yet taken it as yours, take it now. But there is life as well as creed. How wonderful it is that the same word should be used in the .Scriptures for God's love and our love ! It is the distance between a rushlight and sunlight. But love is the distinctive mark of ail true believers. They cherish love to the brethren. Their language is, "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." And they have love to the unconverted too. They remember that "God commended His love toward us, in that iriiile >rc men: yd sinners, Christ died for us aud their love, in its measure, is in this respect like His. Every grace of the Christian character is a form of love. Faith is love leaning, repentance is love sorrowing, hope is love looking forward, patience is love waiting, joy is love exulting, temperance is love exercising restraint, brotherly kindness is love's recognition of kinship. God reveals Himself as the Great Lover, that we may learn to love. In the classics you read of men fearing their gods, admiring them, dreading them, or hating them, but never loving them, and this is explained by the fact that the gods themselves were not supposed to be loving. But God loves us, and therefore we love. Does not this accord with your experience ? Is it not true that your very happiest moments are those in which your heart is drawn out in love to God by the contemplation of His infinite love to you in Christ ? " Sweet the moments, rich in blessing, Which before the cross I spend ; Life and health and peace possessing, From the sinner's (lying Friend." It is quite intelligible why people should hate mere dogma. If I were asked, Whom do you hold most responsible for the scepticism of the day ? I should answer without hesitation "Dead professors of dead creeds." If your creed is this—" I love God because God loves me," and show it, the Church, so far as you are concerned, will be redeemed from the deep and deserved reproaches that arc east upon it. One day I was climbing one of the Alpine heights. Before long we came upon snow, icicles, aud the many attendants in the train of winter. But higher up we found exquisite flowers blooming in all the loveliness of floral beauty, even in that Alpine solitude. I said to myself, "How is this? Down yonder I found icicles and snow, and here are flowers !" The secret lay in the fact that this part of the mountain had a southern aspect, and the flowers looked towards the sun, while the part where winter reigned way turned from the sun. Is not this oue of nature's beautiful parables of things spiritual ? Let but our souls be turned to Him who is the fountain of love and all moral and spiritual beauty, and then, instead of being barren and unfruitful as the snowy solitudes, unvisited by the genial sunlight, we shall bring forth the fruits and the flowers of Christian character to the joy of our fellows and the glory of our God.

"OUI OF PLACE." Mr. Kirkham has for some years been in the habit of giving an annual "address to servants" in the Mildmay Conference Hal], and on a recent Sunday this address was given, and listened to by a large gathering of the class desiderated. Basing his remarks on the words "Out of Place," Mr. Kirkham spoke of many of the difficulties ■« hioh arise between mistress and servant, giving many practical and timely counsels, and closed thus :—Finally, all are out of place who are out of Christ. Will you bear that in mind ? You may have as comfortable a place as you like, and as good a master and mistress as you like, but, believe ine, you arc out of place if you are out of Christ. Have courage, be simple-minded and loving, and have faith ; that is the place that God has appointed for every poor sinner who needs salvation. You are never out of place as long as you are in Christ. You are out of place if you are in the service of the devil. You are told in Scripture, "Neither give place to the devil." He ought not to have any room in your heart, and if you are serving him in any way you arc out of place. He may oiler you money, "but the end of these things is death." And last of all you are out of place if you are out of Heaven. If you should find yourself at last in hell with the devil and his angels you are awfully out of place, and therefore, if you are out of Heaven, where there is room enough for all, you are out of place. ALL FOR JESUS. ''I am Thine, anil all that I have." —1 Kings xx. All for Jeaus ! all for Jesus ! Holding nothing for niv own, Giving up with gl:ul submission, All for Him, and llim alono. All for Jesus ! all for Jesus ! V.'oi (is are easy to repeat; But the furnace proves tile metal — Can you stand its testing heat? Have vou made a full surrender With a faithful, loving heart; Or ar<- you. like Ananias, Trying to keep beek a part 1 Ood alone sees, and lie knoweth Who is false and who is true; He leveals the heart's deep secrets. lie wili search you through and through. .All for Jesus ! 0 my Saviour ! Thou hast given all for me, Thy great All; and shall 1 oti'er _ Less thau my poor all to Thee i 31. F.