BEACONS OF WARNING IN THE AMERICAN SABBATH SCHOOL SYSTEM. We are always happy to take advantage of any opportunity of referring to the exemplary aspects of Sabbath school work in the United States, from which we in this country have a good deal to learn, both as to the estimation in which the institution is held in the Christian Church, the high place it occupies amongst religious organizations, and the sacrifices made by congregations for its comfortable accommodation. But as there are spots in the sun, so we are warned occasionally by the turning up of a new "notion," how the best of objects will run to seed when guided by a zeal without discretion. Whatever may be our faults and shortcomings, we are happily free of such wretched puerilities as the following, which actually threatens to become "popular" on the other side:"In a recent number of a Sabbath school periodical is an article suggesting, as one of the Sabbath-day exercises, a Post-office for the interchange of letters, books, &c., &c., between the scholars and teachers. The writer states it as his experience, that nothing elicits greater attention from the scholars than when the 'postmaster,' with a tap of the bell, announces, 'Mail's in.' The editor of the periodical warmly endorses the plan. (!!)" All this we call tomfoolery. The mission of the Sabbath school is something infinitely higher than to create such "attention as this proceeding might awaken. Hold up a lottery-bag in the school, declaring prizes for several scholars, and you will have as much stillness as you please, and precisely the same kind of attention called forth as by this post-office. The attention is that which springs from the hope of receiving a gift, and is in no sense spiritual. When those letters are opened by their recipients, there will be great eagerness to know from whom the letters come, and what was in them-simply, of course, as a matter of curiosity, and to compare them with what they had sent or received. Read in privacy, those letters may be fitted to do good; but interchanged in this ostentatious manner, their moral power must be greatly weakened. "Let not thy right hand know what thy left hand doeth.' Besides, will not "a Post-office in Sunday school" soon prove itself to be "a School for a Sunday Post-office?" We are sorry to learn, from notices elsewhere, that this suggestion threatens to be popular, and that schools are adopting it. In our eyes, it is worse than nonsense.- -New York Christian Worker. THE TEACHER'S PART.-Do we desire to have the dead raised, Lazaruslike, from the sepulchre of their cold indifference and unbelief, and made alive in Christ? Then we must, Mary and Martha-like, bring Christ to them in His living power to save. We may, indeed, have some stone to roll away even then, before the command will be given, and the dead come forth alive to our embrace; but that is only part of the same great work of bringing together the Saviour and those we desire to have Him save. THE LATE MR. ROBERT BARCLAY. THOSE of our readers who knew the late worthy Mr. Barclay, who, amongst the activities of a Christian life, proved himself so ardent and successful a defender of the Sabbath, will not be displeased with the insertion, although now somewhat out of date, of the following extract from a sermon preached by the Rev. J. Edwards on the occasion of his death last autumn: His calm "No threatened infraction of the sacred day in any quarter of the empire escaped his notice, whether in the high places of Parliament, or at the Boards of our public companies. Especially did he recognise the value of the Sabbath to the working-man; and in standing up so manfully for its defence, he shewed himself one of the best friends of those who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow; and who need above all others the rest and refreshment of the day which God has made.' And I am happy to say, that in recompense for this, a Sabbath's blessing seemed to rest upon his closing days and his death-bed experiences, for they were peaceful and tranquil, a kind of type and foretaste of the great Sabbath—the rest that remains for the people of God.' serenity of countenance, his strong trust in God, his perfect peace of mind, continued with him to the last moment of his life. When asked if he felt no darkness obscuring the objects of his faith, his instant reply was, 'No; there is no darkness where there is the presence of God.' In this clear and realizing vision of God he may be said to have lived during his long life; and in the full enjoyment of its radiance he seems to have closed his eyes in death. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the latter end of that man is peace;' and let us strive to be followers of those who, through faith and patience, are now inheriting the promises."" TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN TO A HABIT OF GIVING.-There is no sin to which human nature is so prone as that of covetousness. Multitudes bow down to money with as much devotion as the heathen does to his idol. Men give themselves no rest until they acquire wealth. How careful, then, ought Christian parents to be, in order to form in their children a liberal disposition! It will be in vain that you expect noble things of your children, if your entire conversation and conduct have a direct tendency to crush the generous impulses of their young hearts. You can make your child a miser, or you can make him a generoushearted benefactor of his race. Form in your children a habit of giving. Cultivate the kindly impulses of the heart. See that they share with their companions whatever good thing they may have. Have a missionary box in your home, and explain to them the object and reasons of giving. Encourage them to give whenever a collection is taken up in the Sabbath school. Put them in a way of making money of their own for the purpose of giving.-Rev. A. H. Holloway. THE MOABITE INSCRIPTION. THE famous Moabitic inscription lately discovered by M. ClermontGanneau has now been published by him.* In many parts it is, unfortunately, still imperfect; but we may hope that these deficiencies may be supplied hereafter by the recovery of the missing fragments. Already, however, it is possible to state what facts of historical interest are contained in this very early monument of Phœnician sculpture. I have not thought it necessary to give the reasons why my interpretation differs in some respects from that of M. Clermont-Ganneau; such a description must be reserved for the pages of a journal specially devoted to philology. The stone containing the inscription in question was a monumental altar, erected by Mesa, king of Moab, at Karhah, after his revolt on the death of Ahab, to signalize his victories over Israel. Until his days, says he, Chemosh was irritated against the land of Moab and oppressed it; but then became more favourable, and so Israel began to perish. Then a number of successes follow-his general, Omri, takes Medeba, erects several buildings in it, amongst them a temple (?) of Chemosh. Mesa himself builds Baal-Meon and Kirjathaim, fights against Israel at Jaazer (?), retires towards the land of Moab, and performs his devotions (?) to Chemosh at Kerioth, remaining with his men till the next day. Then by order of Chemosh he besieges Nebo, (a great lacuna,) Jahaz, and at last takes Dibon. Next he declares himself to have built Karhah, the walls of ha-Yearim, and . . . with its gates and towers; he orders the people to dig cisterns in the interior of Karhah, and compels the Israelite captives (?) to surround it with a trench. Mesa also mentions the construction of a fortress or ford at the Arnon, the building of BethBamoth, Bezer, of the fortifications of Dibhon, and other towns, which he added to his land; he built also . . . Beth-Diblathaim and BethBaal-Meon, to which last he transferred some Moabites (?). Finally, at the command of Chemosh, he fought against Horonaim, (a great lacuna.) All these towns, the conquest of which is here related, were acquired by Mesa after the death of Ahab, during the two years of his successor, Ahaziah, and the first year of Jehoram. At the end of these three years, as mentioned in Isa. xvi. 14, "the glory of Moab was contemned" by the expedition of the three kings, related in 2 Kings iii., in which all the newly made conquests were lost.-AD. NEUBAUER, in “Daily News." THE TEACHERS' MEETING. There is no good substitute for the "teachers' meeting." The animated discussion of the lesson in a wellconducted teachers' meeting is stimulating to the mind; the questions which are stated are not unlike those which will occur to the members of the classes; the pastor can be present often, and solve difficulties, or settle questions easily; and the private study of the lesson afterwards will be easier and pleasanter than if no help had been gained by the interchange of thought with other teachers. * La Stèle de Mesa, roi de Moab, 896 av J. C., lettre à M. le Cte. de Vogué par Ch. Clermont-Ganneau. Paris, 1870. A TEACHER'S EVENING PRAYER. Jesus, teacher of thy people! Now an aching heart and spirit Far too tired to urge or plead, Lord, thou knowest all my need. Jesus, teacher of thy people! From my lips one truth for guidance, One resolve to seek thy face, Lord, I bless thee for such grace. Jesus, teacher of thy people! Spoke to-day in haste or anger, Judged unfairly, was unwise, Jesus, teacher of thy people! Deem the path too rough and thorny Give thy Spirit's strength, I pray, Lead me by thy side alway. Jesus, teacher of thy people! Never careless, never cold, Jesus, teacher of thy people! If another's words and teaching Were more true, more strong, Better helped these lambs of thine; Spare not one fond wish of mine. Jesus, teacher of thy people! If I fall beside the pathway Let the waves of Jordan ring, Sweet as hymns the children sing. Jesus, teacher of thy people! On the mountains high, Where the feet of those made perfect Come thy glory nigh, Gather, Lord, these lambs of mine, Make them, keep them, wholly thine. The Congregationalist. TENDENCIES TO BE AVOIDED. (From the Sunday School Times.) ONE cause of "the want of a religious tone and spirituality," is the tendency to make the Sabbath school a place of amusement instead of worship. Is there not a danger that the school idea will work out the worship idea? Is not the Sunday school being modelled too much after the day school? Do the children practically make any difference between them, except that the former is pleasanter, and does not last near so long as the latter? The idea seems oftentimes to be, that the children must by all means be interested; and great lamentation is made because the modes of amusement do not continue to interest the older scholars; forgetting that a great many scholars cannot be interested religiously—are not inclined heavenward, by either education or surroundings. The appliances to accomplish the end of amusement are multiplied; the blackboard is brought in from the secular school-room; jingling tunes and rattling choruses from the street, and the novel from the circulating library. This may not be characteristic of the entire Sunday school work; but it is feared that the tendency is that way. Now, it is right to use the devil's fire provided we do not get burned in the operation; but if the Sunday school becomes a place of amusement, if the persons who pass through it lose their reverence for God's Word and the Sabbath day, if it incidentally empties the sanctuary, it had better be closed at once. Every thoughtful worker in the Sunday school will hold to the idea of worship. The children meet in God's house upon God's holy day. It is church, not school. The aim is culture and conversion. The subject is religion. The gathering in the afternoon does not differ materially from the regular assembly for worship. It is the children's church; in many cases too literally the children's church; for many seem to get the idea that they have no business to go to church with the old folks in the morning, but must wait for the afternoon service. It is a place for prayer and for singing God's praise. The associations of the secular schoolroom ought to be carefully shut out. Worship consists of two parts: giving to God, or adoration; and receiving from God, or instruction. In the children's church, as well as in that of the old folks, the two elements ought to be combined. Perhaps in the Sabbath school the element of instruction will be the chief one; but it ought always to be remembered, that it is instruction with conversion as its ultimate end, and not amusement. Let every earnest worker strive to cultivate the "true religious tone and spirituality" of the Sunday school. PRAYER. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats, Both for themselves and those who call them friend! Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.-Tennyson. |