Looking Back. And eyes, with an eager strain, Gaze over the trodden pathway, Ere the corner is turned again. I cannot see it all plainly, For it winds up the mountain-side; And sometimes the shadows darken, Or the mosses my footmarks hide. But I see enough behind me To fear for the way to come; For I know not of the dangers That lie between me and Home. Why should I fear? there is with me Thou canst all my pathway see; For mists from the lowlands rise, And though it be often hidden Oh, mayest Thou trace it there! And where I remembered Thee. And Thou knowest when it will end. Ah! what will it matter then, Though the joys of our life have been Like wood-flowers that grow amid shadows, Few, pallid, and far between. And what if our path is flowerless? The brightest of earth-joys fade; And Heaven will be all the brighter If we've walked to it through the shade. Oh! short seems the longest pathway, Short Sermon. CHRIST'S ADVENT TO THE FAITHFUL. F. S. BY THE REV. I. r. VERNON, M.A., rector of st. AUDRIE'S, SOMERSET. St. Luke, xii. 38.—' Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily, I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.' T the first coming of our Lord, which we joyfully commemorate at the great feast of the Nativity, the dullhearted were many; the watchers were few. But blessed was it for those who, at the coming of the Lord. were found watching. For holy Anna, and for Simeon, and for the ever-blessed Virgin Mary, and for Joseph. That amazing and stupendous event, which the world had ever since the Fall been more or less intelligently expecting; for which the chosen people of God had been, age after age, looking and longing-came, after all, in a strange silence upon the world-upon Israel itself. True, the watching magi were attracted from far to the manger where lay the mighty God, the Babe of Bethlehem; and the shepherds on the lone hillside heard that first heralding of the Gospel, 'good tidings of great joy,' from the eager, sympathetic angels, who leaned over the great news to learn them, and who, understanding at least this much, sang joyfully the news to a redeemed earth, that its Saviour had come: Glory to God in the highest; on earth peace; goodwill towards men!' Short Sermon. Thus, to waiting hearts, and simple, child-like minds, the first great Coming was announced; and some of the vast family of mankind, both Jew and Gentile, received and accepted the new and everlasting Gospel. But, after all, how few were the watchers at that marvellous Coming; at the Incarnation of the great God and Saviour of the world! How little sensation was made by this unparallelable event in the world's history! Think! God-God, I say-made man, and dwelling among us; our Creator, and the Sustainer of the universe, condescending to the infancy of our manhood, in order to fulfil the great and mysterious requirements of our salvation! And this so unspeakable wonder coming to pass with scarce any perceptible stir in the world. Things going on much as usual; not only our forefathers in this island altogether unconscious of what had taken place in the small city of the little country of Judea; not only the untaught Gentiles, unconscious and unmoved; but the very Israelites, the people of God who had been for centuries looking forward to this great Coming; unconscious, as a rule unmoved, indifferent; going on about the ordinary duties of life just as though the Fulfilment of yearning prophecy, the Desire of all nations, had not arrived! Dear friends, it was, then, possible for an event so amazing as the Incarnation of our God to take place amid the nearly absolute unconsciousness and indifference, not only of an unprepared world, but of a people specially chosen and taught of God, with a view to their preparedness for that first Advent of Messiah. How few the watchers ! how numberless the unconcerned and indifferent! And what is our lesson from the contemplation of this marvel, that Christ should at last come and scarce twenty people in the world notice or regard His long-expected advent? Certainly, for one thing, that God's ways are not as our ways. That whereas we creatures of a day must have show and display for our working, the Inhabiter of Eternity can afford to work even His greatest works noiselessly. But, above all this. That in our expectation of the second Advent of our Lord, it is of all importance that we be found-watching. O the difficulty of this! O the rareness of it! Millions of Christians in name and covenant; but the watchers-the real watchers-how many? How many among the readers of these words? How many in the whole Church Catholic? How many, I mean, who are living, and working, and forbearing, with a view always to that great Second Coming of the King,-Who came once unnoticed, or scarce noticed,--but Who is coming in the clouds, and all eyes shall see Him, and the kingdoms of the world shall wail because of Him? The sleepers, the indifferent-how many! The watchers, the earnest-how few! But at that second coming, not indifference, not carelessness, not unconsciousness, but dismay and terror, will overtake the unprepared, the unwatching, at that day. That Second Advent cannot be, as the first, an unperceived thing by the world. Every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him.' The indifferent and the dull-hearted cannot be unconscious in that day. Those whose excuses were, in the preparation-time, glib and ready, will be speechless in that day. Those who were occupied with Short Sermon. this and that, and had no time for God's prepared Feast, will in that day desire, but in vain, to taste of that Marriage Supper of infinite and absolute satisfaction which God has prepared for them that love Him. But for those who are watching-for the faithful servantswhat shall we say for those? O the unutterable, O the unimaginable, satisfaction! They tried-and often failed. They watched-and were often unfaithful in their charge, slumbering upon their post. They fought, and often gave way-when the might of the Holy Trinity would have sustained them-from their own weakness, or carelessness, or slackness. Still they were, in a degree, in earnest. They did watch, however, with dulness; they did war, however, with intervals of faintness and halfheartedness. And they have a gracious Master, One ready to condone failures, in service which wants to be in earnest. Let them not lose heart, but be found at His Advent, watching, The time is short, though it seems long. While trials and temptations beset us, and failures sadden us, and endurance to the end seems less possible, as life goes on still let us endure. It seems too much to say-still, it is said-Let us look to 'the recompense of the reward.' 'Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.' The Lord Who here had provided all things very good until sin came to spoil His creation, herein promises a full and exact provision for every need of His creatures. Who, as He, knows their need-their very inmost need? Who, as He, being the Almighty and the Allwise, can provide for it-even in its subtlest particulars? And, in the text, He sets before us this truth: That He will not deal with us, as it were, in the mass, but particularly and specially; that every requirement-every specialty, so to speak, of mankind—will be specially dealt with; that the Lord of all will deal particularly with each; that they who have waited and foregone the false satisfaction which the world offered them, before the time for satisfaction, shall find every exact want and yearning adjusted and provided for by the King Who can absolutely provide; that He Himself will gird Himself and minister for the particular need of each of His servants. And who, I say, knows them as He? And who else can exactly supply them? And, indeed, what a vista of possibilities is, by these words of our Lord, opened before us! Ah, dear brethren, we do not know of what it tells! Satisfaction -infinite, absolute satisfaction; and the God Who made us and Who knows us catering, as it were, individually-not in the mass, I say, but to each one-for our needs, for our special, individual requirements! The wonder the glory! But such a prospect is opened for us by the mighty fact of the Incarnation of our Lord! Rejoice we, and adore ! CORRECTION.—In the September number, in the paper on 'Horrocks and the Transit of Venus,' two errors crept in, which readers are requested to correct in their copies. In page 11, for Dec. 4, read Dec. 9th. COALEY-continued. During Advent there will be an Evening Service at 7.30 with a short sermon on each Wednesday. We have for some time past, since the removal of the Prayer Desk into the Chancel, been feeling the want of a Lectern placed in a central position in the Church where the Lessons could be better heard, and the reader better seen. We are glad to say that a handsome Lectern, of oak and wrought iron work, illuminated, has been placed in the Church under the Chancel Arch, and the Lessons were read from them last Sunday. The Lectern was executed by J. Wippell & Co., Exeter. The cost, including brass branches for lighting, packing, and carriage, is £7. A few subscriptions have been made towards it, and more are solicited. The Night School re-opened on November 2nd. The attendance however, at present, is not so large as last year. Several of the older members of former years have obtained employment on the Railway, and the younger boys have not wished to join. Last year the average attendance was 20. Mr. Fisher again this year kindly gives his assistance in teaching. It is worthy of notice that there has not been more than one funeral at the Church since April, and that was the case of a child dying out of the parish. November 15-Collection for the Lighting the Church 12/9. CHURCH REGISTER. BAPTISMS. Nov. 6-Mary Elizabeth Annie, daughter of William and Annie Lord, of Slymbridge. -:0: DURSLEY. There The Stained Glass Memorial Window, ordered by the Misses Williams, is at length fixed in its place on the south side of the Chancel of the Parish Church, except that there are some pieces of glass to fill the smaller openings, which were not sent down in time to be put in by the workman before he left. These will be put in by Mr. Garn, as soon as he is able to do so. The Window is by Messrs. Lavers, Barraud, and Westlake, of Endell Street, Bloomsbury, London, and is thought to be a very good one. are perhaps two or three little details in which there might be improvement; but the distribution of colour is very pleasing, and the general effect very good. The subject was chosen with reference to the Profession of the late Mr. John Williams. It is the Good Samaritan. The Window is of three lights. In the East light is represented the traveller falling "among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead" S. Luke x. 30. The central light represents the Good Samaritan binding up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and the West light represents the sufferer on the Samaritan's beast, being led away by him to the Inn. Next year we hope will see a good East Window placed in the Chancel; but, if so, at least £100 more must be given. On Friday, Nov. 13, a Ruridecanal Conference of Clergy and Laity was held at the National School Room. It was attended by 21 of the Clergy of the Deanery, and a nearly equal number of Laity. By the Bishop's request, the subject for discussion was the proposed Revision of the Rubrics of the Prayer Book, for which purpose "Letters of Business" have been granted by the Queen to the two Houses of Convocation. Many of the Bishops have expressed the same wish, that this subject should be brought forward in the various Rural Deaneries, in order that both Clergy and Laity might have an opportunity of expressing their wishes on the subject. After much friendly discussion, the general feeling seemed to be that there should be as little alteration as possible in the existing Rubrics, and that the attention of the Convocation should chiefly be directed to the explanation of some points which are at present uncertain. The following resolution was passed unanimously : "That we are not prepared to suggest or recommend any alterations in the Rubrics of the Prayer Book, and that we will support the Bishop in the maintenance of them in their present form." On Advent Sunday, the Annual Collections were made in behalf of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The morning was very unfavourable, and the Morning Congregation unusually small. The Collections on the whole amounted to £7. 19s. 2d. On the Wednesday Evenings during Advent there will be Service in the Parish Church at 7.30 o'clock p.m. On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the day following the Day of Intercession for Missions, there will be a Meeting in the Town Hall at 7.45 p.m. in behalf of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The Meeting will be attended by the Rev. E. C. Oldfield, Vicar of Minchinhampton, and others." CHURCH REGISTER. BAPTISMS. Sept. 30-Albert Henry, son of John and Elizabeth Dauncey. Nov. 17-Frederic Francis, son of Thomas and Hannah Williams. MARRIAGE. Nov. 14-Henry Dash, to Elizabeth Munday. BURIAL. Nov. 14-Joseph Griffin, aged 62 years. -00 KING-STANLEY. The work at the Parish Church has been recently inspected by Mr. Bodley, the architect. The outer roofing is now finished, Tetbury Stone Tile being the material used, and the workmen are now engaged with the inner roofs. A beautiful new Stone Cross has been placed by the Rector on the Chancel gable. The following offerings from the parishioners are part of the list which we hope will be completed this month-the sums are placed in the order of collection: |