H XLVI. APRIL-FOOLS. E who mourneth day by day Like the blossoms on the tree, He who lives to garner gold, He who spurns the horny hand He who thinks that time hath done Night but slowly melts away; XLVII. HAPPINESS. CHILDREN, would you here obtain Pleasure unalloyed with pain, Joy that suits your little sphere, Learn to relish calm delight, If you can no charm disclose See! to sweeten your repose, Seek no more: the rest is vain, - Shenstone. XLVIII. THE HOLY SPIRIT. UR blest Redeemer, ere he breathed A Guide, a Comforter, bequeathed, He came in tongues of living flame All powerful as the wind he came, He came sweet influence to impart; While he can find one humble heart And his that gentle voice we hear, Soft as the breath of even, That checks each fault, that calms each fear, And speaks of heaven. And every virtue we possess, And every victory won, And every thought of holiness, Are his alone. Spirit of Purity and Grace, Our weakness pitying see: Oh! make our hearts thy dwelling-place, And worthier thee! PART IIІ. TRUTH. Talk between the Teacher and the Child. GOD. Who made the things that you see? God. He made the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers, the rocks, and green grass, the trees and flowers. He made also every living creature. Did God make these things with his hands as a man makes a watch or a pen-knife? No: he made the light, the air, the elements, and the powers by which all things came into form. Who created you? God. Did the same God create your father and mother? He did. Did he also create your grandfather and your grandmother, and all who ever lived? He created all who have lived on the earth. Did he create you as a man carves an image? No: he made the substance from which we were made, and the laws by which it came into form. Can you see God? Not with our eyes; for he has no body. How, then, can you see him, if not with your eyes? God is seen with the eye of the heart. What do you mean by the eye of the heart? The eye of the heart is purity. Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." Who are the pure in heart ? They that are not vain nor proud nor selfish; the modest and the simple; they who do not think of themselves, but who love some others more than themselves, and goodness more than all. What is God? God is spirit: so Jesus said. What do you mean by saying that God is spirit? We mean that he is wisdom and love. The beloved disciple, who tells us that God is spirit, says also, "God is light;" "God is love." Do you know God, then, when you are wise and loving? We know God when we love wisdom and good ness. And when do you love God? When we love to be true and just and kind. |