his happiness to be blessed with Man: she went with him, but a mother eminently distin- he only grew weaker and weaker. guished for her piety and kind- They therefore returned after ness. In her Edward found having staid about two months. never-failing springs of comfort Some three or four weeks after and delight; and her ceaseless this, he was taken much worse. love and attention to him were His mother was taking him to rewarded by the strong and bed one evening, and observing ardent affection which he cher-him very low spirited she inished for her. Naturally, he quired into the cause; he said, was of a retiring disposition, "I have not knelt in prayer to and never associated with many God; do you think he will forcompanions, but would rather give me? Pray for me." She sit and converse with his mother prayed with him; he was in than enter into the company of great distress. He said, "What others; and from her lips, toge- shall I do to be saved?" She ther with the instruction received pointed him to the Lamb of in the Sabbath-school, did he God that taketh away the sin of learn the plan of salvation, and the world, and said, "Believe the way to heaven. It was his on the Lord Jesus Christ, and dear mother's happiness to strive thou shalt be saved." She for the spiritual enlightenment prayed again-he prayed himand happiness of her children, self-he then believed, and took and often would she be found comfort; he saw all his sins on praying that God would bless Jesus laid, and then with confithem, and make them his dear dence repeated the following children. beautiful verse: His sister and he had been inseparable friends, but she died about two years before him, happy in the Lord. They used to sing praises together on earth; they have now met in heaven to sing the song that shall never end. "Jesus protects, my fears be gone, What can the Rock of Ages move? Safe in Thy arms I lay me down, Thy everlasting arms of love." Thank God, he seemed ever after blessedly enabled to rest in the everlasting love of God. Yes, it was his constant theme. His mother says, his sympathy His dear mother often read to and kindness to her, in her ill-him religious books, for which ness some time previous, will he felt very thankful; but he never be forgotten by her. It liked no book like the Bible, pleased the Lord, however, to and when the sacred volume was raise her up again; but almost read, his whole soul seemed to directly afterwards Edward be- be taken up with it. Yes, it gan to show symptoms of con- was a treasure to him which he sumption, which finally ended greatly prized. When he heard in his death. His mother, wish- and read of the love of God, as ing to embrace every possible manifested in his Son Jesus means calculated to restore him Christ, his soul was often melted to health and vigour, at the into tenderness. doctor's recommendation, provided for his going to the Isle of The night before he died, his mother was reading to him about a boy who had died in the faith and gone to glory, who, one day, when speaking of the love of Jesus, said he did not remember, the time when he did not love Jesus. Edward's countenance lit up with joy, which his mother perceiving, said, "You understand that, Edward." "Oh, yes, mother," he said, "I can truly say I do not remember the time when I did not love Jesus." Happy child he now rests and reigns with Jesus in heaven. He used sometimes to say, "Mo- | ther, if it be the Lord's will, I should like to live for your sake," knowing well what she would feel to part with him. The writer and his teacher often visited him, and always found him in a resigned and peaceful state of mind. He wished to be reconciled to the will of God, and said, "Oh, the goodness of God: he cannot do wrong." A few days before he died, he went through the parable of the lost sheep, and the joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, and applied it to himself. He could speak but very little during the last three months of his life, but bore his weakness with great patience. On the day previous to his death, he said, "Mother, they are calling you." His mother He said, "No, my dear, they are W. K. THE HIGHEST HONOUR.-One of the witnesses of the truth, when imprisoned for conscience' sake in Queen Mary's persecution of the church, is said thus to have written to a friend:-“ A prisoner for Christ! What is this for a poor worm? Such honour have not all his saints. Both the degrees which I took in the university have not set me so high, as the honour of becoming a prisoner of the Lord." QUERY 1.-THE TRANSLATION was speaking to him actually in OF ELIJAH RECONCILED WITH JOHN iii. 13. DEAR SIR,- Having noticed with much pleasure the Bible questions and answers in the JUVENILE INSTRUCTOR AND COMPANION, I am induced to send you the following question: 2 Kings ii. 11,-" And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven;" but in St. John's Gospel, iii. 13, we read that "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." If you will explain these, and send me an early answer, you will greatly oblige. R. S. ANSWER. To get this apparent difficulty removed, we must look at the context-that is, at the verses which go before and follow after-and thus try to ascertain the scope and design of our Lord in his remarks. Now, in reading the context, we perceive that the design of the Saviour was to impress Nicodemus with the great truth that he was superior to all other teachers. Nicodemus had already acknowledged that Christ was a teacher sent from God (verse 2); but he did not know at that time that Christ was the Son of God. Our Lord, therefore, informs him, that he came direct from heaven, and was at the time he heaven as well as on earth (see verse 13), and therefore superior to all other teachers; for no other teacher had come direct from heaven, nor had any prophet or teacher who had ascended to heaven ever returned to earth to teach men the wonders of the spiritual world. Our Lord, therefore, was contrasting himself in this respect with all other teachers. He did not mean that no man had ascended to heaven by translation, but that no prophet or teacher had ever ascended to God in heaven, to receive from him there the instructions he had to give to mankind; but that he himself had come direct from the presence of God in heaven, and that while his bodily presence was on earth his spiritual presence was also in heaven; and therefore he was more than man; he was not only a teacher, but truly the "Son of God who had come from the bosom of the Father." ANSWER.-If our correspon-refer to the last verse of the dent will read the chapter he former chapter, he will find an will find it foretold that, al- explanation for himself in the though God employed the As- very words of Scripture. "The syrians to chastise the Jews for seven stars are the angels of their sins, he would in due time the seven churches; and the visit the Assyrians for their seven candlesticks which thou pride, their oppressions, and sawest are the seven churches." their idolatry; and that he The word angel may require a would bring down their power word of explanation. It does not and diminish their numbers. here apply to those spiritual beIn the strength and prodigious ings which are immediately benumber of their armies, they fore the throne of God; but to are here_compared to a great ministers of the gospel. For it forest. But that forest of war- must be remembered that the like men should be so far cut word angel is a Greek word, down and reduced, that it shall which means messenger. Those be few in number; so few that spiritual beings are called angels a child might write them, that because they are God's messenis, count them and put down gers, and are sent to minister for their number. They should be the heirs of salvation; and for reduced to complete desolation, the same reason the word angel and so they have been for above is applied to ministers of the two thousand years. gospel, because they too are God's messengers. They are also called stars because they enlighten the world by the truths which they preach; and the DEAR SIR,-I have read with church is compared to a golden much pleasure and satisfaction candlestick, because gold is the many of the queries and answers most precious and valuable in your truly valuable publica-metal, and the church is pretion. I wish to propose the cious in the sight of God; and following, viz. :-In Revela- as the candlestick is a reception ii. 1, I read, "Unto the tacle of light, so the church is angel of the church of Ephesus a receptacle of the light and write; These things saith he that truth of the gospel, and is inholdeth the seven stars in his tended to diffuse it through right hand, who walketh in the all the world. But the canmidst of the seven golden dlestick here referred to was candlesticks." I shall feel much not like the instruments of that obliged by you enlightening me name commonly used at the on the above passage in the Ju- present day. It was a canVENILE INSTRUCTOR, a work to delabrum, an instrument with which I feel happy to be a sub-seven branches or lamps like scriber. QUERY 3.-ON JESUS HOLDING Yours affectionately, THOMAS PEMBLOTT. that used in the Jewish temple. Our Lord says, "Ye are the light of the world." The representation of Jesus ANSWER.—If our friend will holding the stars in his right hand denotes that ministers derive their authority from him, and are under his constant care. Jesus walking among the golden candlesticks denotes his constant presence with his church, his communion with his people, and his observant watchfulness of their conduct. QUERY 4.-ON COR. xiv. 38. REV. SIR, I have lately been much interested by the Biblical questions contained in the JuVENILE INSTRUCTOR, and the kind manner in which you have answered your correspondents. I shall esteem it a favour if you will explain the 1st Corinthians xiv. 38,-"But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant." Yours respectfully, JOHN HAMNETT. ANSWER.-It does not mean that any man should remain contentedly in a state of ignorance; for we are expressly commanded to get wisdom, and seek for it as for silver; but it means that if a man be ignorant of a thing he should be willing to confess it; he should not pretend to be wise when he knows little; and should not assume to be a judge in matters of which he has little or no knowledge. given to the readers of your J. K. ANSWER.-Throughout the Epistle to the Hebrews, Paul is comparing the Jewish dispensation with the Christian dispensation, and showing how greatly superior is the latter to the former; and in this passage Paul is referring not so much to the noble list of Old Testament witnesses and martyrs personally as he is to the dispensation under which they lived. That dispensation was imperfect and incomplete, and its completion was not until the introduction of the Christian economy. Now, God's church, as a whole, runs through all ages, from righteous Abel to the present day; but that part of it which existed before the coming of Christ was not perfect and complete of itself, for it had not received the fulfilment of the promises; it therefore required additional DEAR SIR,-I have been much light, additional privileges, and interested in reading the ex- the fulness of the gospel dis-" positions of the various portions pensation to make the grand of scripture which you have scheme of providence and grace QUERY 5.-ON OLD TESTA- US. |