on which
it is calculated to impart to our souls.

But what can be sadder than to be without God, and without hope, in a
world like this? With all our science how little we know! How terrible
the thought that we have no unerring guide! With all our powers how
feeble we are! How terrible the thought that we have no almighty friend!
And vast and numberless as are the provisions that are made for our
happiness, how often we are thwarted, how prone we are, even in the
midst of plenty, to be dissatisfied; and how soon we may perish! And how
sad the thought that there is no restorer! Is it strange that, when
faith in God is lost, the value of life is felt to be gone?

We have no harsh word for the doubter or the disbeliever, but we raise
our warning voice against the dangers which beset the way of youth, and
counsel all to consider well their steps. 'There are ways which at times
seem right unto men, but the end thereof is death.' 'The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and to depart from evil is
understanding.' Science has advanced; arts have multiplied; governments
have changed; and many are tempted to believe that the principles of
religion and virtue are exploded. But woe to the man that yields to the
temptation. His days shall be darkened with grief; and his heart
distracted with horror. But peace and purity and joy shall be the lot of
the faithful Christian. The light of life shall shine upon his path. The
wisdom of the Holy One shall be his guide; and, living and dying, he
shall be secure.

12. The Christian has the highest, the happiest employment. He works in
the spirit of eternal love. He works for the highest and the holiest
ends. And he works in hope. He sees the harvest in the ploughing of the
field, the coming crop in the scattered seed. The result of his labors
may come slowly, but he can afford to wait. The Lord reigneth; and the
plans of His eternal love can never fail.

And all things rich and beautiful are his. The earth and its fulness are
his. The heavens and their glories are his. All sights of beauty, all
sounds of melody, all emotions of wonder, all transports of delight are
his. There are no forms, no elements of bliss from which he is excluded.
All the innocent pleasures of sense, all that can delight the soul
through the eye, the ear, the taste, or the feelings; all that is rich
in art; all that is rapturous in song; all the pleasures of science and
literature, all are his.

And all