THE OLDEST BOOK.
IN" some of our great libraries there are old books stored away, which were written ages before printing was discovered; but there is an older book than the oldest on earth, and that is God's Book of Remembrance in Heaven. It is not only the oldest, but the most interesting; for in it are written the life-stories of all mankind from the beginning of the world. There are the stories of Abraham and Noah; of Job's patience, and Saul's disobedience. There are the stories of strong men and little children. Your story and mine are there.
Let us think of some of the things that are noted in God's book. Our tears of sorrow and penitence are there. They were shed in secret; but God saw them. When the memory of some sin has made you weep bitterly, those tears were very precious in God's sight, since "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
What other things are noted in God's Book of Remembrance? Our neglected opportunities, our wasted chances. Ah, my children, what a long, sad catalogue! The opportunities of your childhood, the lessons of your teachers, the gentle schooling of your parents, the precious seed-time of youth, what a sad list these must make in God's book, if they have been neglected!
Do you remember the man who dropped his ax into the water, and then came to the prophet Elisha, saying, "Alas, master! For it was borrowed? Well, your opportunities, your chances of learning what is right, and of doing what is good, are all borrowed; every hour we live is lent to us by God, and we must give an account for it. If we waste the time, which God gives us, we shall one day be forced to cry in our sorrow, "Alas,
Master! For it was borrowed."
What next is noted in God's book? Our unrepented sins, which are, therefore, unforgiven sins. Every cruel, foolish, angry speech of which we have not repented is written there.
The passionate word said to a companion, that cruel tale told of a playmate, and not atoned for, that secret sin of pride or envy nourished in the heart, these are all noted in God's book.
There are other things, too, written there. Every little act of self-denial, every struggle with a fault, every gentle act and word, are in God's Book of Remembrance.
The names of the great and the small are there, all who have tried to do good for the love of Jesus Christ. The name of the little Hebrew maid, which is not written in the Bible, is written in Heaven. The widow's mite, and Mary's alabaster box, and the clothes, which Dorcas made for the poor, are not forgotten there. So every time you have ministered to the sick and suffering, if you have only carried a few flowers to a poor person's sick-room, or staid to read a little to a lonely sufferer, or given up your play to sit by the bedside of a school-fellow, these things are noted in God's book.
That Book of Remembrance will be opened on the great Day of Judgment, and from it we shall be judged. Before that great and terrible day comes, let us repent truly of our past Sins and mistakes, our negligence and ignorance, so that God may, for Christ's sake, blot out our transgressions; and for the future let us ask our dear Lord to help us to make our life-story better and purer, while we let this question act as a check upon our thoughts and words and works. "Are not these things noted in thy book?"
Presbyterian Banner.
EXAMPLE has been compared to a watch, one of which set right will answer to try many by; but, on the other hand, one that goes wrong may be the means of misleading a whole neighborhood. The same may be said of individuals.