Chapter VI

IN the following letter dear Alice alludes to the trial it would be to become a confirmed invalid. It will be seen in the latter part of this memoir how even such a life became a

happy one to her through the sustaining presence of

Jesus.

“Darling H-

“Tswedelle, Sept. 29, 1860. — , how often I long to see

thee, and have one of our good talks. I am really decidedly better, having regained much of my strength and energy. In fact I feel as though I am getting well, and if it is the Lord’s will I should be very glad. I think if it was His will, I could die; but to live on month after month, and year after year, half dead and alive, would be a trial of faith.

“I like the life of A. Newton so much; it gives one a great deal to think about. She says she longs to be a reflection of Christ in the world, and I think that just expresses the position of the Christian. Our light cannot shine if we allow any earthly object to come between us and the glorious Sun of Righteousness, from whom we must derive light if we would that men beholding us should glorify the Father.

“What a happy thing it would be to feel our reflection growing brighter and brighter, as we live nearer and nearer to Him. Surely the knowledge of such a growth in righteousness would not, and could not, be accompanied by any feeling of pride or selfsuperiority, which might be the case if it were our own work.

“With regard to, it is such a struggle to keep

my faith; but thou art right: ‘all things shall work together for good, though it is true not as I would have it, but, after all, at the bottom I would not wish it to be otherwise than as He wills. His love is so tender and His wisdom so infinite; He knows better what I would have than I do myself.

“O my Jesus! what would I do without Thee? And yet how the human heart rebels against His will! W7on’t it be splendid when we get rid of this vile body of sin, and have our wills really and wholly swallowed up in His....

“Thy loving little sister cousin,

Alice.”

“TSWEDELLE, Od. I, 1860.

“My Dear Friend, —

“I have thought very often of you, and feel very thankful that you have, as I hope, been brought, by God’s mercy, from a state of indifference to your soul’s salvation to ask earnestly for yourself the question, ‘What shall I do to be saved?’ For if so, then it is to you that the good tidings are sent of a Saviour who will ’ save to the uttermost all those who come unto God by Him.’ Yes, the Bible has a message as directly for you as if there had never been a penitent sinner in the world but yourself; and that message is of the wonderful love and mercy of God in Christ Jesus to sinners. It tells you that though you have lived all your life in carelessness and sin, and though now you are utterly unable to make yourself any better, and are indeed entirely sinful, weak, and unworthy, that you may now, even now, this night, be a forgiven sinner, a reconciled child of God in Christ Jesus. Did you ever read in the Old Testament how God appointed that if an Israelite should bring a perfectly pure and spotless lamb, and the priest should lay it upon the altar, and should lay his hand on the head of the lamb, and confess the man’s sins, at that moment they would be forgiven, as they were counted to be transferred to the lamb, which should be burned, suffering instead of the man? Now this was given us as a type or illustration of how Christ, who is the ‘Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,’ should bear the just punishment of our sins, and how the moment we, by faith, lay them on Jesus, we are forgiven, counted free from the penalty of our sins, because Christ has already borne that penalty in our stead; and how from that moment we are God’s reconciled children, not because of anything in ourselves, but because Christ died for us, and has bought us with His own precious blood.

“Yes, this is the way you can be reconciled to God this very night. Accept Christ now, no matter what you have done hitherto; accept Him now, as the perfect sacrifice for all your sins. Just cast all the weary load of your past sins and present sinfulness on Jesus, confessing that you are not able to save yourself from ioo CL THE ROCK: jet. 21.

them, but that you believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and that He is able to save you from them, and forgive you; and ask Him to accept you as His child. And believe me — for it is not I, but God, who says it — at that very moment your sins shall all be forgiven, and you accepted as His child.

... “How can we ever be thankful enough that He has said, ‘The gift of God is eternal life.’ Oh, then, if it is the free gift of God, will you not come now, like a poor, weak, ignorant child, to this all-wise, and all-merciful, and all-loving Saviour, and receive it as such, and go on your way rejoicing, not in yourself, or your own goodness, but in Christ, and in the knowledge that your sins are all washed away in His precious blood; and that He is your good Shepherd, who will lead you into the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake?”

‘’Brooklyn, 10th mo. 8, 1860.
” My Darling Carrie, —

“It is too bad thou should not have heard from us before; but now that I have seated myself to write, I scarcely know how to begin, I have so much to say.

“Last week we went up the Hudson with Uncle

R, and saw some lovely residences. I have no

words to express how7 much more beautiful they were than anything I have ever seen; such views of the river, such mountains so near, rising in some places directly behind the house five or six hundred feet, with mountain after mountain more and more distant, until they were lost in mist. We started on fourth day, and went up to New Hamburg in the eleven o’clock train, and there took an open waggon, and

MEMOIR OF ALICE B. WHITALL. ioi

drove about a mile and a half from the station, away up on the hills, five or six hundred feet above the river,

where we spent about two hours at Mr F ’s place.

... After we had looked round sufficiently, we drove eight miles down the river (a splendid ride) on its banks to Fishkill, where we stayed all night.

“The next morning we took a large open carriage, and started off to look at about a dozen places in the neighbourhood, which were ’ for sale or to let,’ and it was with some of these that I was so delighted. They were near the Highlands, with the Storm King ’ and the ‘Sugar Loaf in full view; but I cannot begin to describe them.

“I want to tell thee about a conversation I had with

yesterday afternoon.... He read some papers

of his father’s (who deceased when he was an infant), which he found in an old bookcase this summer. There was a paper written not long before his death, on Rom. iv. 4, 5, and it contained just the simple gospel, as clear as it could possibly be, and without any untruth mixed with it. He described a person trying to be saved by works, and then showed that he never could be saved by them, but simply by Christ’s atonement, as a propitiatory sacrifice. It was perfectly lovely, and I almost cried at hearing it.

turned to me, and said, ‘That is the doctrine

you preach? ‘I said, ‘Yes.’ And after talking a while he told me that those papers had been a great reassurance to him, for he thought, more than a year ago, when we first drew his attention to the subject, that this doctrine (of justification by faith) was something new; but to find that his father so many years ago had come to the same truth, had affected him very much. He also said that the truths of the gospel seemed much clearer to him than they did at first; that the new birth now seemed a very different thing from what it did; in fact, that he had confidence that he himself had experienced it, and was a new creature in Christ Jesus. Was it not lovely?

...” O Carrie! let us pray that the Lord will so fill us with that longing for the salvation of others that we cannot sit still, but that from the fulness of our hearts our mouths may speak of His mercy. Surely the Lord will not refuse it to us, if we ask Him. Let us unite twice every day in prayer for it, for ourselves, and for each other.

“This is not all I have to say, but it is late, and I promised to go over and spend the night with C.”

“TSWEDELLE, Oct. 14, 1860.

“Dear Carrie, —

...” My text for to-day is, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ It is a lovely text, but I cannot tell thee half as fully as thou can think for thyself all that I have been thinking about it, and what a comfort it is to me. Surely we may rejoice, with Paul, ’ in our infirmities,’ even in that despicable weakness which so often makes us feel so thoroughly disgusted with ourselves. The text must mean real weakness. What a blessing that it does!

‘•’Oct. 1 6th. — My text for to-day is, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever!’ How full it is, and what a comfort it has been to me to-day to think that if He died to deliver us from this evil world, surely He will deliver us daily and hourly from the power of the world, under which head I think we may number all the enemies of our souls. I think I have been learning a little more of my own utter helplessness. One would say I might have learned that lesson long ago; but I am just beginning to find out how very little, in comparison to the real state of the case, I ever realised it. I can say with a great deal deeper meaning than ever before —

1 1 am a poof sinner, and nothing at all,
But Jesus Christ is my all and in all.5”

These two lines seem to have been the key-note to all Alice’s religious experience from first to last. As she apprehended more and more the fulness there is in Jesus, she took firmer and deeper hold upon the thought expressed in these lines. Her deep and continual realisation of the truth contained in them is evidenced by their frequent quotation in her letters.

Besides the text which came in course in her daily reading, she often appropriated a certain promise to herself, such as, “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it,” writing it down on paper, and on the strength of that promise, putting down a number of petitions, recording the day and the year. These were found in her desk, with the word “answered” written upon the margin of some of them, evidently at a later date.

“TSWEDELLE, Oct. 1 9, lS6o.

“My Dear B. C , —

...” My thoughts often wander back to your cosy little room in New York, and this afternoon, when I brought mother in a beautiful bunch of sweet

flowers, she exclaimed, ‘Oh, how I wish B. C could

have some of these to set by her bedside, they are so sweet ’ — a wish which was heartily seconded by me, for I had just been thinking the same thing. But you have what is better than the fragrance of flowers — the presence of the Lord. Oh, what a precious thought it is! You seem to grasp it by faith as such an actual reality, which is just the point where the faith of most of us fails. All Christians believe theoretically that God is always with His children, but do not seem to rest in it, and realise, it, as you do.” I was so much obliged to you for giving me the text you did when we parted, for it was just what I needed. It has been dwelling in my mind ever since, and you can’t think how often it has come with comfort to my heart at the moment I most needed it. 1 My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest;’ surely a rest this side the grave — a rest in Him, independent of all surrounding circumstances — a peaceful laying of one’s head on Jesus’ bosom while in the din and turmoil of this tumultuous world — a freedom from all care or anxious effort while engaged in active daily warfare with sin and Satan! I would like to know whether you think we are promised that we shall always have the joy of consciously resting thus on Jesus’ bosom. I do not mean to ask if we are allowed always to please Him, but whether it don’t sometimes please Him that we should not realise His love so fully, or that very great nearness to Him. Of course His love is always the same, and His presence with us the same; but if* we do not have that comforting realisation of it, what must we think?

Is it our unfaithfulness, or is it sometimes a part of His wondrous dealings with us, to make us cling to Him by naked faith for our daily food? I ask you this because it seems to me you appear consciously to rest on His bosom all the day long.

“If this is the privilege of the Christian, he will always in his religion be equally happy, never knowing those mists above him, which A. S speaks of

to hide his Beloved from his sight. Are these mists clouds of our own raising, which one who ’ walks with God ’ will never know?

“But I must not write more now, for although my health is greatly better than it has been for months, I cannot write or read more than a short time without pain.”

“TSWEDELLE, Oct. 2$, 1860.

“My Dear Friend, —

“I take this first opportunity of sending you ‘The Higher Christian Life ’ (Board man), which I promised to lend you, feeling deeply anxious that you may read it in that prayerful, earnest, inquiring state of mind, which, I cannot but feel confident, will lead, by the mercy of God, to your learning how you may arrive at that ’ closer wralk with Jesus ’ for which He has made you long. I have read many books on the subject, but none that I like so well. I do not altogether like the term ’ second conversion.’ Had the author, in speaking of the same experience, called it ’ the entrance into the way of holiness,’ or a ’ closer walk with Jesus,’ I should have liked it better. But we will not quarrel with him about a name, so long as we agree with him as to substance.

“I think he clearly proves, by the lives of Luther and others, that there is such a thing, call it by what name you please. I was struck with his illustrations of the many mistakes which the Christian is liable to fall into in seeking after the higher life, as being very instructive j particularly the instances he gives of persons who had so much trouble because they failed to realise that faith is twofold — it takes all and it gives all, as in the case of the lady of distinction and the merchant. The one, who found that she had not intelligently dedicated or given up her whole life to Christ, and thus had been trying to take all and give nothing; and the other, who was always renewing and dwelling on his own dedication to God, without taking Christ as his all-sufficiency.

“I cannot express how thankful I feel to the Lord for arousing you to seek for a closer and more abiding union with Himself; and still less can I express the deep and almost overwhelming sense I have of my utter ignorance and unworthiness to attempt to point you onward in the way; but my constant prayer is, ‘May God teach thee.’ And I am sure He will, and will never let you rest in a half-way dedication to His service, or in a faith that grasps Jesus as only half a Saviour, and not as your all in all — your sanctification as well as your justification.”

“TSWEDELLE, Oct. 30, lS6o.

“My Dear Sister Annie, —

...” My text for to-day is in the third chapter of Philippians, ‘Our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may

be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.’ It is very long to write out, but I could not help it, it is so lovely. To think that 1 He is able to subdue all things to Himself, Surely even I need not despair of being sanctified, if He will do it, who is so able....

“I shall keep up now regularly, if possible, the Sunday afternoon readings (at the cottages), which I think do not hurt me at all; I do so appreciate the privilege of speaking a word for Jesus.”

“TSWEDELLE, Nov. 13, 1860.

“My Dear Carrie, —

... “My verse for to-day is: ‘Now the end of the commandment is charity, out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned? I wish I could express all the meaning this has to me. We cannot force ourselves to charity — this charity; it must spring from a pure heart, which is in tune and harmony with the heart of Jesus, and a happy conscience free from the weight of even a moment’s sin, and a faith that not only professes to, but practically and momentarily does lay hold of Jesus as its perfect sufficiency, not only to cleanse entirely and wholly from the past, but to keep for the present and future from all evil. Let our hearts be thus tuned, and we shall be filled with charity.”

“TSWEDELLE, Nov. 19, 1860.

“My Dear Carrie, —

... “‘The times’ do indeed ‘look boisterous.’ Father prophesies the most dreadful things; says the troubles of ’57 will be back upon us tenfold; but this is not all: disunion, the greatest of all evils, and a civil war are going to follow each other.

“I am reading ‘The Still Hour,’ and am enjoying it exceedingly. It is just what I wanted, for I am on the subject of prayer, and my text, aside from those for the day, has been for some time Matt. xxi. 22: ‘And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ Is it not glorious? I am sure I don’t intend to bring such mean petitions after this, when He seems to expect us to ask so much. Surely the reason we don’t get more is because we don’t ask or expect more.”

“Tswedelle, Dec. 1 6, 1860.
” My Dear Friend, —

... “I do so long and hope to see you walking very close to Jesus; much, much closer than this poor servant of the Lord has set you the example of walking; but, by the grace of God, from this day I will (knowing all the past forgiven) live nearer to Him. And let us both at the beginning of a new year, turning away from all beside, cleave more closely unto Jesus.

“What else is there left for us to do? Poor, weak, ignorant children as we are, yet journeying in the midst of ‘a crooked and perverse generation,’ with our great enemy ever watching us, to beguile us into sin and sorrow. Oh, what suffering and misery should we save ourselves were we ever to keep our hand in that of our loving and tender Guide, and yield ourselves implicitly to follow Him wherever He leads us! For though we rejoice in the conndence that, as He has already redeemed us unto Himself, He will not let us wander from Him into eternal death, yet we know that it is often through much agony and suffering that He brings back His wandering children. My experience is, that I never left Jesus for so much as half an hour without running myself into some sort of trouble or distress. And what a mercy that it is so! For what would become of us if He allowed us to wander from Him without some sort of suffering to bring us back....

“The thought of His unmerited love is overwhelming to me to-day, but I have no words befitting such a glorious subject.

“Tswedelle, Dec. 2%, 1S60.
” My Dear B. C , —

“Although many things seem to call my attention in other directions this afternoon, I cannot leave your last letter longer unanswered. I am now determined to push everything else aside for a quiet little talk with you on the subject nearest both our hearts, and upon which I am sure we neither of us can speak without being refreshed. I mean, of course, the goodness, the wondrous goodness, of the Lord to us in His dear Son.

“As for myself, I have indeed abundant cause to speak of His goodness and mercy, for though never in my life have I had more reason to be deeply humbled in myself, neither have I had more cause to make mention of His long-suffering and tenderness. In how many thousand ways has He not shown His presence with me, and His hand taking care of me, both spiritually and temporally!

no ON THE ROCK: jet. 21.

“Adelaide Newton has a little verse in one of her hymns which is such a comfort to me! —

‘All, all by Thee is ordered, chosen, planned, Each drop that fills my daily cup; Thy hand Prescribes for ills none else can understand; All, all is known to Thee.’

“How true it is that He prescribes for diseases we don’t even know that we have ourselves, but which nevertheless would prove fatal if allowed to go on unchecked; but thanks be unto Him, He is all-wise, and all-powerful, and all-loving; and although our friends around us do not understand our needs, He does understand us perfectly, but does not chide, but 1 remembereth that we are dust,’ and ’ healeth all our diseases.’

“How strange it is that I should have been so ungrateful as sometimes to murmur at the course of medicine He has given me the past few months; but He has graciously made me very thankful this morning that He is prescribing for me, and not leaving me to myself. And it really does me good, my dear friend, to be able to sit down and express a little of the gratitude that fills my heart to you. I know you understand me, while many would think such an expression of feeling ostentatious for it is altogether an unexpected thing for any one, unless under some great affliction, to tell what a comfort and joy Christ is to them. Is it not a pity that it is not the general custom for Christians to acknowledge the goodness of the Lord with their lips one to another? Not only because it would, as I think, really tend to the increase of their own gratitude, but also because not doing so robs God of what is His due, and practically gives the impression to those who have no experimental knowledge of the joys of religion that it is of very little profit to persons while in the enjoyment of worldly prosperity, although in the time of trial and sorrow it is a very desirable thing. They hear continually Christians testify what a comfort and support Christ is to them in their affliction, and how impossible it would be for them to bear it without Him; but they hear comparatively little of what Christians with equal truth could testify if they would speak of what a wealth of happiness and joy Christ is to them while in outward prosperity. To be sure they hear theoretically that there is no true happiness out of Christ, but they do not imagine that their friends are really a great deal happier than they were before they became Christians. They would really be surprised if they told them that they found the smile of Jesus to add double pleasure to their earthly enjoyments, and to take away the load of petty cares and annoyances, to say nothing of the spiritual joys and pleasures He so freely gives them; in fact, that He adds as much to their joys as He takes from their pain, and that He is as necessary to them in their prosperity as in their adversity,”

TO A NEWLY- MARRIED FRIEND.

“Tswedelle, January 1S61.” I sympathise in thy happiness, dear friend, but I do so realise that this very enjoyment of earthly things is fraught with great danger, although, as thou may say, it is calculated to call forth gratitude to the great Giver. Yet, darling, if we come to

Him with thanksgiving only, forgetting that we are sinners, and need a sacrifice for sin, we come in a way in which God cannot receive us.

“In the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, it is very probable that the Pharisee came up to worship God with sincere thanksgiving, but he made no mention of the sin which stained and polluted even that thanksgiving. But the Publican, who knew himself a sinner, came crying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner,’ or, as the original reads, I think, ‘Be Thou propitiated toward me.’ He came bringing a plea which God himself appointed, and we read that he went down accepted rather than the other.

“I know there is a strong tendency, when we look only at that which is to us lovable and lovely in our fellow mortals and ourselves, to forget that in the eye of God we do not appear exactly in the same light, but are tainted throughout with sin, and need indeed to bring for ourselves the perfect atonement of Christ as our plea, and our only plea, for acceptance. It is such a different thing to give an assent in a general way to the atonement, and the efficacy of the blood of Christ to wash away sin, and to really appropriate it to ourselves; and know by faith that He bore the penalty of our sins, and that we are forgiven, and made the children of God by adoption in a very different way from that in which we are accustomed to consider all the human family as the offspring of God.

“I may understand thy position, but I have been wondering if thou art not striving diligently to cultivate all the noble and good in thy nature, and to resist all the evil; and for all the rest are trusting in a general way to the mercy of God. All, dear friend, if this is thy position, thou wilt find in it no real, lasting satisfaction; for, after all, the very goodness thou art trying to cultivate, thou wilt find needs itself to be washed. I think this is just what the Bible means when it says that our righteousness is as ‘filthy rags,’ entirely worthless in the sight of God, which we must give up, and accept the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.

“Do not misunderstand me; I fully approve of trees bringing forth fruit, but I know that they must have the sap in their branches first; and just so, it is useless for us to try and stifle the bad and cultivate the good in our hearts until we are joined to the True Vine, from whence we shall derive the only sap that can bring forth anything really good in us. We know that we are not naturally joined to that Vine, but must be grafted in. This grafting in is spoken of in the Bible in different places, as ‘being born again, as being made the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.’ So whether thou art trusting in a general way to the mercy of God, or art by faith appropriating the full atonement of Christ to thyself, and art trusting in Him as thy perfect Saviour, is a matter of the greatest importance, and the first thing to be considered; for it alters thy whole position, and thou starts out on thy efforts after holiness from an entirely different standpoint. Art thou very much shocked because I have said that in the one case thy efforts would be in vain? If so, go to the Bible, for it is not I but God who says it. And surely when in such wondrous mercy God has sent ‘His only-begotten Son into the world,

H that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, it is not strange that He should declare that whosoever will not believe cannot please Him in any other way” (John iii. 18-36).

“Tswedelle, Jan. 21, 1861.

“My Dear little Sister Carrie, —

...” We went to meeting yesterday morning, and in the afternoon I went down to the cottages. I commenced to read Christ’s sermon on the mount

at I ’s, and I think, with the Lord’s blessing, it

may be very profitable to us all. I asked I to

choose a verse out of it for us to take for particular thought during the week, as we are always in the habit of taking one from the chapter of the day, and he chose the 6th verse: ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.’ I had also a favoured time at M ’s.

“In the evening father, mother, and I commenced reading the life of Stephen Grellet. It is perfectly lovely, and shows as clearly as any one could wish, that it was the realisation of the full and free atonement made by the Lord Jesus Christ for all his sins that first brought peace to his soul, and filled his heart with love to God and burning desires to glorify Him.

“I do wish you would read it, for it does make one feel how half-hearted our dedication is compared with his. His life was one of so much usefulness, entered upon so immediately after his conversion, and so steadily progressive, always reaching forward, never turning back to earthly interests. O Carrie!

it ought to stir us up to live unto God and not unto ourselves.”.

“Tswedelle, March 16.

“Dear Carrie, —

“I have just returned from I ’s, where I enjoyed

extremely the 8th chapter of Romans, and now, after having had a short time of prayer, come to talk a little with thee, my own dear sister.

“I was so glad to hear about your Sunday-school. I can heartily join my prayers to yours that it may be blessed, and shall be delighted to do anything I can to help.

u I send thee a list of reasons why Jesus is the best Physician, Shepherd, &c, &c, which is very interesting to children, and gives room for you to enlarge on each one, and then every week you can make them remember the reasons, &c., of last week.

“I was at Germantown last week, and attended one of Mrs Guinness’ Bible-classes. It was on the assurance of faith; and what shall I say about it? It was the most overpowering thing I ever listened to. I only wish it was written out. She treated it under three different heads.

“First. — That the Bible never contemplates a Christian who hasn’t it, but always speaks to believers as to persons who have no doubt of their position before God.

“Secondly. — That no Christian can please God without it.

“Thirdly. — If so, how are we to get it?

“She -proved all these most undoubtedly from Scripture, bringing passage after passage to substantiate what she said. She also took up some which are commonly quoted to prove the contrary, showing what was their real meaning, and also how dishonouring to God doubts are, and, moreover, proved incontrovertibly that they generally arise from pride.

“Her final appeal to us all was very, very solemn. When she ceased speaking, a deep silence was spread over all for I suppose ten minutes.”

“Tswedelle, March 19, 1861.

... “Do pray, dear Annie, that my intercourse with N may be blessed. I feel so weak;

I do think the Lord never had so weak and unworthy a child, but, through the mercy and goodness of Him who died for sinners, I have a feeble hope of doing something to glorify His great name yet. Seeing

Mr and Mrs G so good, has made me feel more

than ever that I am not at all what I ought to be. But is it not a comfort that Christ is ours still? No matter how weak or unfaithful we are, He is loving us just the same, for He does not change, and He has the same reasons for loving us that He had at the beginning. He did not begin to love us because He saw anything in us worthy of love. He first loves, and then forms in us something worthy of being loved. Is it not wonderful? But it leaves no room for glorifying in the flesh.”...

“Tswedelle, April 6, 1861.
” Dear Carrie, —

“Thou hast, I suppose, heard the news of our nine pound nephew, Frank. The children are delighted with him, though Nannie at first was jealous, and would not look at him, turning away her head, but when he cried, she screamed out, ‘It squeaked, it squeaked, and seemed quite charmed with it...

“I have had the headache almost all the past week, but at some rate have kept up, I don’t know exactly how.

...” I am just now very much interested in a Bible-class for ladies, which seems likely to arise

from Mrs B and myself meeting together to

study the Bible. Several ladies have asked her to let them come, and, as she said it seemed a shame for us to have all these good things to ourselves, and seemed to desire that they should be admitted, I have consented. We meet this afternoon for the first time. I feel a little frightened; but it is the Lord’s doing,

and He will take care of it. L and S also

expect to join us.”

This Bible-class was carried on during all the remaining years of Alice’s life, and was felt by her to be a solemn and deeply interesting responsibility. It was always much laid upon her heart in prayer, and in the last letter written before she was attacked with the illness which terminated in her death, it is spoken of as a subject of earnest solicitude. That it was blessed to others will be seen by the following reference made to it by one of its number, who had for many years been a church member: —

“How hallowed and dear to me were those hours spent in studying the Scriptures at our little Bible-class! It was there that the glorious plan of redemption was unfolded to me. It was Alice who told me that no efforts of my own could save my soul, but that Jesus Christ died to save sinners, and that believing, trusting in Him, I could not perish, but had everlasting life. Very precious is the memory of the hour when, listening to her words, the light of God shone in upon my clouded vision, and I beheld Jesus, my Saviour. Then, indeed, peace, the peace that passeth understanding, flowed in upon my troubled soul.”

To a Friend.

“Like the Apostle, I write not unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and I would, like him, ’ stir up your pure mind (your new nature) by way of remembrance, that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken.’ All that I shall say you already know as well as I; but Satan sometimes makes truth appear very shadowy, intangible and inpracticable, and a simple statement of it often helps to dispel the mists of earth which he uses to blind our eyes.

“In the first place, then, think of what you are — ‘a soldier of the Cross.’ Christ bought you when a captive. When you were lying helpless, sin-defiled, dead in trespasses and sins, He took you in His arms; He breathed upon you the breath of eternal life; He opened your blind eyes to see and know Him; He washed you from your filth in His own precious blood; He clothed you in His own robe; and even more, He calls you son, brother; has made all His inheritance to be yours, and has lavished upon you infinite love. And then, putting into your possession ‘the whole armour of God, ‘the sword of the Spirit,’ and the shield of faith, wherewith He says, ’ ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked,’ He calls you to be His soldier, to go to war, but not at your own cost; to fight, but not in your own strength; to obey His word as instantly and unflinchingly as soldiers must; to brave the foe through privation and danger; to press steadily on through darkness and trial. All this He does, not because He has need of anything, but for your sake, that He may give you a crown of joy when the work is done; and, moreover, that you may have the opportunity of showing your allegiance to Him, of proving your gratitude for all His wonderful mercy and long suffering toward you. And even more, He loves His children, and He loves to be loved by them. And as, when He came into the world to do His Father’s will, He found it sweet to tell forth all the depths of His love for that Father, by the deep language of doing and suffering, His heart yearns that His chosen ones should thus show their love for Him. Is not this what He means when He says, ‘As thou, Father, hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world? ’

“Now what is the position of such an one when tempted not to obey the command, or follow where his great Captain leads? Can he prove himself to be so utterly devoid of all gratitude and love for the One who bought him? No; I know that no child of God would deliberately refuse to do what He commands; but the trouble is, Christians are not always honest with their own knowledge of what He would have them to do. They prefer to look at all the difficulties of the way, and say, ‘It is impossible, instead of looking unto Jesus, and saying, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthened! me;’ ‘Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? ’

“Another way of deceiving our own conscience is to gaze so intently at the darling ‘right hand’ which we are called to cast away, that our eyes are dimmed, and we half persuade ourselves that we do not really feel sure what we ought to do; although no one doubts that if he will but look the truth in the face, with a single intent to do what he sees to be right, no matter how hard, he will know right from wrong. If we did but look unto Jesus with half the earnestness with which we gaze on earthly things, we should be sure to know what He would have us to do. If we know a thing to be wrong (whether we feel it or not), we must turn our backs resolutely upon it, or else have our backs turned toward Jesus.

“It does not say, in Matt. v. 29, 30, that if thy right hand offend thee, tie it up for a season, and then unloose it. Nor does it say, cut it off all but a little, and then bind it up and seek to make it heal; but it says, ‘cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is more profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.’ Here we see that He knows how dear to our human hearts the offending member often is; but still we are assured that it is absolutely profitable for us to lose it.

“‘Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’ And, dear friend, just think for a moment how the loving heart of Jesus must feel if we hesitate to choose for Him. He really loves us. Do not let us forget this; for is not His love worth more than all the world beside? So infinite, so tender, so everlasting! the length and breadth of which we do not even begin to conceive, and the sweetness of it, which satisfieth the depths of the soul, we have but just begun to taste. Could we give this up, and take in its stead — what? A bubble of a moment — a firefly’s spark — a phantom lisht, that will but lead us further and further into the lake of the dismal swamp!

“Paul could say that he counted ‘all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ,’ for he had suffered the loss of all things, and did count them but dung that he might win Christ.”

“Do not be discouraged; remember that, ’ forgetting the things which are behind,’ we are to press forward for the prize of our high calling. The Lord says, 1 My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ He will cause you to stand, upheld by His mighty arm, if you will but trust Him for it. ‘None that put their trust in Him shall be desolate,’ but He will cause them to have ’ all sufficiency in all things.’ Think, too, of the sweet promises to such as forsake father or mother, wife, children, or lands, or anything dear, for His name’s sake, Matt. xix. 19, and such as are given to obedience, in John xiv. 21, 23, 24; xv., 10, 11, 14; viii. 12; Luke xi. 34, and many more.”