1834.] LIVE TO GOD. 4.7 believed). In a race, the great exertion is made at the last. Many people, instead of minding their own business, and watching their own souls, amuse themselves with inquiring what will be the fate of heathens, Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics, till they become little better themselves. "Lord, and what shall this man do?" said one of the Apostles to our Saviour. "What is that to thee?" was the answer, "Follow thou me." If we are rationally led upon clear principles and good evidence to believe a point, it is no objection that the point is mysterious and difficult to be accounted for. A man in his senses will not deny the phenomenon of the harvest moon because he cannot solve it. No cloud can overshadow a true Christian, but his faith will discern a rainbow in it. A person being asked, if he thought a Papist could be saved? "You may be saved," replied he, "without knowing that." An excellent answer to the questions of impertinent curiosity in matters of religion. Many persons spend so much time in criticising and disputing about the Gospel, that they have none left for practising it. This is as if two sick men should quarrel about the words of their physician's prescription, and forget to take the medicine. LIVE TO GOD. "He lives, who lives to God alone, For other source than God is none, "To live to God," is the way to be happy; nor is solid, permanent peace to be found in any other way. But to live to God is something more than merely to perform our private devotions, to attend regularly the house of God, and to do what is called our duty to others. To live to God implies, belief in Him, faith in Christ, dependence -on the aid of the Holy Spirit, the endeavour to perform every relative duty; an absolute resignation of our whole selves to the will of God, and a sincere desire to be acquainted with our own hearts: it implies that our thoughts and our desires be brought into subjection to the will of God. Our thoughts are the ruin of us; thought is the cause of action; yet how little attention do we pay to the state of our thoughts! Let us reflect a little, and move our eyes within; and what do we discover? Why, that we think a thing is good, or valuable, or that it would make us happy; and this thought makes us desire that object but are we right in this desire? Perhaps we are right; but we may be wrong; for the wisest among us is liable to err in his judgment. We may be mistaken in our estimate of the desired object; or, mistaken, if we underrate rather than overrate; if the thing we desire be even more estimable than we imagine, are we sure that it would be available to us could we obtain possession of it? Would it certainly do us good? The quails given to the children of Israel in the wilderness, afford an example of what a thing good in itself may prove to those who unwisely desire what they do not possess, and who intemperately use what they have rashly demanded 1. even These are minor considerations; the strength of the case does not lie in the good or evil that would arise to us from the possession of an object of desire, though often is the object of our desire in mercy given. The force of our argument lies here: we call ourselves Christians; we profess to serve God, the Lord and Governor of the universe; we have engaged to follow Christ, to take Him as our pattern. If, then, we set up our own wills, where is our submission? If we seek to do and to have what we please, how do we follow Christ, who came not to do his own will, but the will of God. Let us then faithfully examine ourselves. Do we, indeed, cheerfully resign the dearest wish of our heart at our heavenly Father's bidding? Do we calmly and 1 Numb. xi. 47. 31-34. Psalm lxxviii. 27-31. 1834.] ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH HISTORY. 49 patiently wait His time, when He delays to give us what He has graciously prepared for us? We daily utter with our lips that petition taught by Christ himself,-"Thy will be done:" but do we solemnly and seriously enter into its meaning? When we say, "Thy will be done," is there any act of self-dedication? Do we in deed and in truth say, Thou Sovereign Ruler of the universe, the Disposer of all things; my God, my Father, and my Friend! behold, I, Thy servant, give unto Thee myself, my soul, my body; all I am and have, all I desire and wish for, to be Thy reasonable sacrifice take me, dispose of me according to Thy good pleasure; and make me what Thou wouldest have me to be. Fit me for life; prepare me for death; only living or dying let me be Thine, undividedly, unreservedly Thine, now and for ever. That which would cling most closely to my heart I place upon Thine altar, never to be removed by mine own hand; but there to remain till Thou puttest forth Thine hand to give. If Thou sayest, take thy gift; then with adoring gratitude I would obey, and would bless Thee for the possession: but if Thou say, this is not for thee; then, in meek submission, I would bow the knee, and say, "Lord, Thy will not mine be done." And can a Christian suppose, that any object will be less enjoyable, less delightful, because, before he became possessed of it, it was placed on the altar of self-dedication, and was given to him by the hand of Him at whose feet that altar stands? No; quite the contrary: resignation to the will of God gives a double relish to good of every kind: and it, moreover, relieves the Christian of a vast weight of care. Answer 1. Edward the Second became king on the death of his father, Edward the First. A. 2. He was twenty-three years old when he began to reign. A. 3. He came to the throne in the year 1307. A. 4. He was born at Carnarvon, and was therefore called Edward of Carnarvon. A. 5. He had a fine appearance, and a kind and gentle disposition. A. 6. Yes, Edward did persevere in the war against the Scots; but conducted it without skill, and therefore without success. A. 7. He was beaten in the battle of Bannockburn. A. 8. No; things went on as badly at home as they did elsewhere. A. 9. He was chiefly guided by the advice of foolish and unprincipled favourites. A. 10. This gave great offence to the people. A. 11. His chief favourites were Piers Gaveston and Hugh Spencer. Gaveston was taken prisoner, and beheaded; Spencer was taken and hanged. A. 12. The king was himself taken prisoner. A. 13. He was confined at Berkeley Castle. A. 14. Lords Berkeley, Montravers, and Gournay. A. 15. Lord Berkeley treated him very well, but Montravers and Gournay used him most cruelly. A. 16. No; he was never released from confinement. A. 17. Whilst Lord Berkeley was confined by sickness, the other two put the king to death in a most cruel manner. This was in the year 1327. QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH HISTORY. (To be answered in our next.) V. Question 1. In what year did Edward the Third begin his reign? Q. 2. How old was he when he began to reign? Q. 3. Who endeavoured to keep the power out of the hands of the young king? Q. 4. Where did the king seize upon the queen mother and Mortimer? Q. 5. What became of Mortimer, and of the queen? Q. 6. What was the disposition of Edward the Third ? 1834.] MY LITTLE BOY'S BIRTH-DAY. 51 Q. 7. What kingdom did he attempt to conquer ? Q. 8. Did he fight a great battle against the Scotch? What was it, and who conquered? Q. 9. What nation did he next attempt to conquer ? Q. 10. What great battle did he fight in France? Q. 11. Who was the king's son? and was he present in the battle of Cressy? Q. 12. Can you relate any particulars of the siege of Calais ? Q. 13. When king Edward was in France, did the Scots attempt to invade England? Q. 14. Do you remember any particulars of the battle of Neville's Cross? Q. 15. What other great battle did the Black Prince fight in France? Q. 16. Who was taken prisoner? Q. 17. Did the Black Prince live to be king? Q. 18. How did the king bear the loss of his son? Q. 19. How was he treated by his courtiers when oppressed with age and infirmity? Q. 20. In what year did this king die? MY LITTLE BOY'S BIRTH-DAY. IT was early this morn, as I wak'd from my rest, The occasion of this, do you wish to be told, 'Tis my little boy's birth-day,-he's just four years old! Yes! and were you a father, you would not feel cold, Old maidens and bach'lors who no children have, Ye mothers, who clasp your dear babes in your arms, He can prattle and talk, with a sweet little smile, V. |