Children of the Church. Lessons on the Collects (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1872 edition. Excerpt: ...they say, "we are here only for a time." Now, this world is our home only for a time. If we always remembered that it was so, we should not make temporal things of too much importance; we should never forget the Advent lesson--" the Lord is at hand;" we should "rejoice always," neither setting our hearts too much on earthly blessings, or being too much dismayed at earthly troubles, for both will pass away; we should remember that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (see Epistle); the "things eternal" would be the most important in our eyes, because they are the things which last for ever. But, then, it is the things we see that we are apt to think most about, and, therefore, apt to consider the most important; yet, unless we look at the unseen things in some way or other, we shall be in great danger of forgetting them altogether. Now, it is only by faith that we can look "not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen" (2 Cor. iv. 18). We should try to dwell often upon heaven in our thoughts, to make "things eternal" the subject of frequent meditation, so that by very often thinking about them they may grow more real to us, we may wish for them more earnestly, and dread more to lose them. Here, then, are two ways in which we must pass through things temporal in such a manner as not to lose the things eternal. We must remember that earthly things are temporal--that is, only belonging to time--and we must think often of the things eternal. But there remains a third way--the best and safest way of all--the way mentioned in the Collect--we must take God for our ruler and...