SUNDAY BEADING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9307, 16 September 1893, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY BEADING.

HOW GOD HELPS.

Sue was a silver-haired, fragile - looking woman, older than her years through a life of many trials ; and her trials were not yet overpast. But a light that " never was on sea or land" shone in her worn face as she spoke to the weary-lookiug, discouraged girl beside her.

"It is faith you want, my dear. Not merely to believe that Jesus Christ was born into the world to save sinners, but that He is living still to help them. You think you believe that, arid live by it. But you don't." . "I try to," said the girl. " Its a great comfort to know that my sins are forgiven, and that when I die. I shall be at rest." " Ah, when you die ! But why not while you are here? Why not be at rest to-day, this very moment?'' " If you knew how I have to live, the girl murmured. " It's easy to talk that way when you are comfortable. But when life is such a hard struggle—when you have to work for your daily bread till you're too tired to eat when you don't know, maybe, whether there will be any bread for the next day"— " Then is the time to say to yourself, My Saviour knows, and He is the brother born for adversity.' Don't you think He could understand your troubles? Or don't you think He is willing to lighten them ?" " They don't seem to be the kind to pray about," said the girl, hopelessly; and the white-haired woman smiled. " That's just the point I want to come to,' she answered. " It's a great mistake to think that the Lord Jesus is only the Lord, always sitting on a great white throne, far above us and away from us. He is the man, too, just as truly as when He walked on earth with Peter and John, and fed the hungry multitude with visible bread, as well as the bread of life. He took our human nature so that He might feel all our human weakness, and pity it. And there is nothing too small, nothing too common or mean, to bring to Him. Doesn't He say ' in everything' make your wants known? One of the sweetest Christians in the world said once that if she wanted a pin, and didn't know where to find it, she would ask Jesus to guide her to one, and He would do The girl's face flushed. "Do you believe that?" she asked, incredulously. "With all my heart," was the answer. " Why not?" " I wouldn't dare to ask such a thing. I shouldn't expect to be answered." "Which means that you would rather listen to Satan th»n to Christ. He whispers to you that it's only a figure of speech when you are told to cast your burden on the Lord, that you can't really do it, and so it's no use trying. It's all right to pray about your lost and sinful nature ; but your daily cares—the things that make your life — you must get along with by yourself the best way you can. I know Satan's arguments and temptations by personal experience." "You've had your troubles, I suppose," said the girl. "Everybody has something; but"— " But you think they can't be like yours ? Tell me one thing just here Did you ever want for food? Were you ever in actual hunger, and without a crust, without a penny to buy one ?" , ißi . . , '" No, I never was as poor as that, the girl replied. " I've been pretty close to it, but it never came to the pinch." " Then my experience has gone farther than yours, for I've been exactly in that i situation." I The girl glanced incredulously at the delicate face, the white hands, the refined dress of the speaker. ( " It don't seem possible," she said; " you look as if you'd always been a lady." "Yes; but that made it all the harder, don't you see? I couldn't work, and to beg I was ashamed. Would you like me to tell you about it? It's rather a singular little story." The girl's eyes answered eagerly, and into the lady's came a certain far-away look, very sweet and tender. " It was a good many years ago," she said. " I had my husband and my children then, and most of my life had been very happy. But trouble came upon us in one way and another ; and one day, as I told you, I found myself without money, and with no food in the house. We were in a strange place, moreover, where we were not known, and had no credit with tradespeople. I could only buy what I paid for on the spot, and this morning I had spent my very last pennies for a pint of milk. There was a little bread in the house; not much, but enough for the children's breakfast. I gave it all to them, with the milk, and I went fasting myself. The two little girls did not know, and their father was not there. He had gone away to seek employment and means of support for us." "Well?" asked the girl breathlessly, as the speaker paused. " What did you do!" " It was Sunday morning," continued the other, and I went to church. I dressed the children neatly, and took them with me as usual. We had suitable garments. No one would have guessed, to look at us, that we were penniless. And my little girls were rosy-cheeked and healthy; they had not suffered. But I was so weak that I could hardly drag myself along." "You had been starving yourself for the children!" " That was nothing— a mother. But it had come to the point now when the children must starve too, unless I had help. And Satan tempted me to despair that Sunday morning. ' You see that God isn't thinking of you,' he said. ' You and your husband have tried to be good Christians. You've loved God and your neighbour, and now your children lack bread. If it was true that your Heavenly Father watches over His children, to provide for them that obey Him, would you be in these straits now? Oh, it's all a delusion Fall down and worship me. My ways are the wayß of pleasantness.'" . "How strange!" the girl cried out with sudden excitement. "I've felt tha» way myself; just as if something spoke to me I" " And something does speak. > God's voice and Satan's voice strive together in our hearts oftener than we think. I was' tempted to turn back before I had gone halfway. It seemed such a mockery to sit in church, and listen to hymns and prayers and sermons, when I was fainting for food. ' What is it to God ? What is to all these pious people V Satan said. 'You'd better go and tell some kind-hearted sinner, and let him give you something to eat.' I should be ashamed to repeat the evil thoughts that came to me, only, you know that God suffers us to be tempted at times. It is one of His ways of strengthening ourfaith. And He strengthened me to resist. I don't know how; but I kept on, and sat through the service, and heard comfortable words, and came back again at noon to the house we lodged in. It was a large house, with a good many people in it; but I did not know any of them. On the first floor was a ladies' restaurant, kept by a woman, I had been told; but I had never

been in it. It was always closed on Sundav. and there was nothing to make me think of it, or of the woman who kept it. But fn* some reason or other, I did think of hera* ? stood for a moment at the back window looking into the garden; and almost immT" diately she came out from the lower door and crossed the grass-plot, and broke off a long stem of gladiolus, thick set with ro«v flowers. »usy "'Will you have this?' she said, lookine up to me. • Let one of your little girls come a own for it. Or, no ; come down yourself please. I want to ask you something/ " Now, I had never spoken to her'beforeshe had never spokeh to me ; we were com' plete strangers. Yet I did not feel surprised at her calling to me. I went down to the garden as if it was the most natural thin'/ in the world ; and, as we stood there talking of the flowers, she said, in the simplest way: <r ' You won't be offended, will you? \V have some fine oysters —the first of the season— I'd like to send you a dish of them. Will you let me do it?' " ' Will I let you? 1 shall think you are very kind,' I said. 'But why do you want to do such a thing for a stranger ?' "'Oh ! I happened to think of it. The oysters are very nice,' she said, ' and the cook was just dressing them. I'll go right in and send up a tray.' " ' " So she went into the kitchen, and I back to my rooms upstairs; and within five minutes a servant came up carrying a tray that was literally heaped "with good thirds. There was a great dish of oysters, deliriously cooked; and crackers, and celery, and coffee, and a, meringue for dessert, and sweetmeats' and fruit; a perfectly luxurious meal, and more of everything than we could have eaten in three meals. You can imagine how I felt perhaps. 1 sha'n't try to tell you ; for that isn't all the story, A message came up to me later, would I come down and sit with Mrs. Blank a little while in the evening ? J went as soou as the children were asleep and found her alone in a pretty parlour, with books and flowers around her. She welcomed me in the most cordial fashion, and began to talk of everything but the' oysters. But my heart was too full to keep silence. " 'I want you to tell me why you sent up that tray?' 1 asked. ' Did you know that I hadn't as much as a crust of bread to give my childreu, and that I didn't know where to find one ?' "She looked at me with amazement,but her eyes shone. "' Why, no,' she answered. ' How could I dream of such a thing? But if it's true, then it was the Lord Himself that spoke to me. I see it all now.' " I asked what she meant; and she told me that ahe had seen me at church, arid walked home behind me; and as she saw me go to my room it suddenly was borne in upon her mind that she must send me up some oysters. "'lt wasn't my thought,' she said. 'I was told to do it, and I objected at first. She'll think it's a piece of impertinence, I thought. I've no excuse to offer for it. But still something kept urging me : You must send up those oysters, So at last 1 went out into the garden, and saw you at the window ; and then it all seemed simple enough. How thankful lam that I listened to His voice ! for it was surely the Lord that spoke,' she continued. ' And now you muss tell me all your trouble, and let me help you. This is the Lord's doing.' " I couldn't doubt that it was. Had not He proved it to both of us? So I told her the whole story, just as I might have done to my mother or my sister. And tenderly as a mother she cheered and comforted me. The Lord would help my husband to find employment, she said, and meanwhile it was clearly His will that siie should take care of me. I was not to give myself any thought for the morrow for rent, for food, for anything. It was all arranged for me. And I saw so plainly whose Hand was leading us Doth that I never thought of refusing her charity. It was a new experience. I had never nad to accept such charity before ; but if that was God's way of caring for me and mine why should I object to it? We lived with this friend, whom He had sent us, for a month before my husband was able to make a home again for his family. But in all that time I never felt ashamed or cast down by my dependence. She made me feel that she was only God's servant, doing what He had distinctly sent her to do, and honoured in doing it." " She was a wonderful woman !" exclaimed the girl. "There are not many like her in the world, I guess." " More than we know, perhaps," was the answer. "God's world is full of His messengers; but we don't always recognise them." " I begin to believe one of them lias come to me," said the girl, with a smile that shone through tears. "I'm glad you told me that story. It—it brings the Lord closer, somehow." And she went away with her heart strangely lightened, The actual strain of life was just the same; its poverty and hardship were visible facts; but' for a moment her heart had comprehended a great truth; that the Son of God, "in the glory of the Father which He had with Him before the world was," is still the Sou of man, • "touched with the feeling oi our infirmities." She had found a brother born for adversity.

" LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE." •' God moves in a mysterious way His blessings oft are hidden ; And oft, in gu'se of grief, our eyes By bliss to weep are bidden; But Fie is Love who reigns above. And with forid care He tends us; And the bright side is the rithfc side Of every cloud He sends us. He lores us, though He chastens us ; Take gently His correction ; For, great and .small, He holds us all In His Divine affection; No Sorrow glooms, but Joy illumes, _ And Love shines brightly through it And the sad side is the glad Aide, If we but only knew it! Our hearts are purified by Grief; Our eyes, by tears of sadness, Made clear and blight; behold the light Behind the veil of gladness ! Not to oppress, but cheer and bless, All things by God are given ; For the bright side is the right side, And only side, of Heaven 1 REV. S K. COW AN, M.A.