292

THE DARK NIGHT.

My God! Thy loving-kindness and tender mercy are daily distilled from heaven in innumerable drops, and blessed is the man on whom they fall! But he who contemns or abuses the drops of grace in time, does not deserve even a drop of water through all eternity. On the other hand, he who in this life is satisfied to receive Thy grace in drops, shall hereafter be made to drink of it as a river.1

Đ

CLXXXIX.

The Dark Night.

NE night, when there was no moon, Gotthold

awoke, and finding the darkness so thick that he could not, as the saying goes, see his hand before his eyes, reflected thus: Wicked men,

it is true, instigated by him who is its prince, often abuse darkness, and pervert it to the commission of acts of guilt and shame; but I see in it traces, which few suspect, of the hidden goodness and wisdom of God. Night, with its darkness, serves to cool and refresh the drooping plants, watering them with wholesome dew. It sharpens the sight by giving the eyes time to recover their optic power. It is of equal benefit to the mind.

1 Psalm xxxvi. 8.

By day, distracted with the multiplicity of the objects presented by the senses, the mind cannot duly weigh them all; but night, wrapping the head in her black mantle, secludes us from the external world, and gives it solitude and leisure for deep and calm reflection. Besides, what is darkness but a sombre curtain which God in His kindness hangs about our beds, that our rest may be tranquil and undisturbed, whilst He who neither slumbers nor sleeps, keeps watch, like the mother over her child?

Grant, O God! that when I awake in the night, I may think of Thee, and employ my mind in contemplating Thy inconceivable goodness. And do Thou also, amidst the darkness, cause Thy light to shine into my soul!

HOLD

CXC.

Angry Alms.

COTTHOLD was one day occupied with important business, and deeply absorbed in thought, when his daughter unexpectedly entered the

room, bringing a paper stating the case of a poor widow, with the causes of her penury, and soliciting an alms in her behalf. Losing his temper, he spoke

harshly to the girl, and, in an ill-humor, flung to her the sum she asked. He soon, however, recollected himself, and cried out: Wretched man that I am! how fair the show which my Christianity often presents, to myself at least, and how boldly I venture to say, "Lord Jesus, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee;" and yet, now that my Saviour has come and craved a mite for this poor widow, as a practical evidence of my affection, I take offence at Him for disturbing my poor thoughts, though for so short a time, and so good a cause. Go now, and plume thyself on thy faith and piety! My God! Thou invitest me to come to Thee whenever my pleasure leads, or my necessities compel me; and, come when I may, never is my coming unseasonable or inopportune. Thou hast the whole world to govern, and yet I trouble Thee not though I break in at morning, noon, or night, and claim an alms from Thy mercy. How conceited I must be to reckon my concerns and cogitations of greater moment than the prayers and sighs of my suffering fellow-Christian! I now see that sin is rashness, and have good cause henceforth to give a more gracious reception to the Lord Jesus in His members, lest in my hour of need He turn His back upon me. God loveth a cheerful giver. A benefaction to the poor should be like oil, which, when poured from one vessel into another, flows in silence, and with a soft and gentle fall.

1 2 Corinthians ix 7.

An alms reluctantly bestowed, is like a rose spoiled and discolored with the fumes of sulphur, like sanded flour, or over-salted meat. He who exerciseth charity with a reluctant heart and angry words, resembles the cow which yields her milk, but overturns the pail with her foot.

СХСІ.

The Sore.

OTTHOLD went on to say: To good men, sin and infirmity are festering sores, which give them pain, and from which they seek to be

relieved. By the ungodly, on the contrary, sin and infirmity are prized as a jewel, and regarded as a distinction and an ornament.

My God! I beseech Thee, from my inmost heart, save me from the love of sin. May even the most venial faults give me pain. Daily admonish and correct me, whether by Thy Word and Spirit, or by a sincere and Christian friend, or by anxiety and heaviness of heart, or by the cross, or by whatever other means you please. When I sin, may I be instantly sensible of it, and heartily and humbly seek and obtain from Thee pardon through Jesus Christ.

296

THE TANGLED YARN.

CXCII.

The Tangled Yarn.

WOMAN had put a hank of yarn upon a reel, intending to wind it into a ball; but, as the thread would not run as she wished, she lost patience, and pulled it to and fro. This, how

ever, only made the evil worse, for it multiplied the ends, until she no longer knew which to draw. Gotthold looked on in silence, but thought with himself: I now see how it happens that the interference of third parties only complicates quarrels. The reason is, because they bring to them more of needless anger and zeal than of judicious moderation and skill. Many a matter might easily be settled if we only knew the right end by which to take hold of whimsical and wilful minds. Worldly disputes are almost all like this yarn ; whosoever ventures to meddle with them, except with a meek and sober heart, will do no good. It is folly for any man to expect that all things shall or can be made square with his views. He acts a wiser part who tries to accommodate himself to seasons and círcumstances, so far as he can with a safe conscience. Many a one complains of the tangled yarns and whimsical characters with which he has to do, without being conscious that his own hat covers as much oddity, and that that gives other people no less occasion to complain of him.