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^-^*» â- ?* SADbEST^^ALL WORDS **Almost Saved/' and Yet Not Saved, Is to be Utterly Lost. IBntarod according to Act ol th« Tiir- lUmnnt ot Canada. Id the year On* Thouiand Nine Hundred and l'.»ur. by Wm. llaily. ot Toronto, at Ihj Mpartmcnt of Agriculture, Ottawa ) A despalcli from Los Angeles says: Bev. Fruiik 'Do Witt Talmage preach- ed from the (ollawiug text: Mark xii. 84, "Thou ftie aot far from the kingdom of (Jod." To-day 1 tui going to try to help some of you to ovorcoine that sad- dest of all words, "almost." 1 am gomg to show some of you that, like the scribe of my text, who came to question Josas, you are "not tar from tlio KiMudoni of t;od," but 1 am also goiiiy lo show you that to be "almost" saved and yet not saved is lo bo lost romploti'ly and utterly lost. As Ow miin whirling down the i;i|)id;i of Niagara, who just misses by â- trvj inch the ropo whiih 13 throvn for his rescue, so you who itiiss Ijy a little the oflor ot redemption are as utterly lost as if you had never heard the oiler." Nay. there is in your fate the unut- terable sadness of beinj,' so near sal- vation and inissmj; it after all. The loss of your soul is like the loss ot life to the hunter whose ride ball just misses t<he heart ot the tiger that is leaping upon his defenseless body. It is to be lost just as much OS were the poor fellows who were imprisoned a few years ago In the iron hulk ol the steamers burning at the wharfs of Hoboken, in New York Harbor. Frantically they stood at the barred portholes. PYantically they strotdhed forth their arms through the iron gratings. They could see the blue waters of the karbor. Thoy could hear the calls of Ihe would be rescuers hard at work. Hut they were lost, entirely lost, though there was "only one step" between them and perfect •afety. A CHRISTfAN HOME. Almost saved! Yes. you are. How do I know it? I learn how near you have come to salvation as I look at the entries on those white pages sew- ed betw(,'en the Old and the New Testaments ol the fa'.mly Hible. Hy this record of the family births and dcath.s I (iiid your father was a Christian. Your mother was a Chris- tian. Your sisters and brothers were nil Christians 1 find also that your parents reconsecrated their lives for <iod'.i service when the.v held you before the sacred altar on the day you were baptized. It is a very ca.sy matter for you to bocori'c a Christian, with such a family hls- tcr\ ns that. The son .if :• jimmI doctor, all other conditions being e((Ual, has at least ten e.irs thp ad- vantage of .a young man entering the medical profession who is not the son of a phy.sician. The child who conies from a Christian home has a far greater chanco of being a Chris- tian than ouf- who is not the son of a Christian, or than one who has never bc"n lirought by youthful as- Kociotio!! in contact with the Chris- tian life. " 'Tis true," enys .<iome young man to me, "1 was born in a Christian home. I am not ne.Tr, however, but rery, vcr.v far from the kingdom of God. Wliy, after I left my Christian home I 3i>oinod to bo possessed not with seven devils, but seventy times Bcven devils. No sooner did I leave home and go away from mother and father and I plungod into n life of dinsipntion I drank, I gambled, I blftsiihonied, i (lid everything I oiiirht not to have done, and I left undone e-orytliing I ought to have done. It is said that when Lysima- chuB was fighting against the (-etau he was entrapped by his enemies in the desert sands. His thirst becaino so great that ho oflerod his whole kingdom for a drink of water, as Ksau sold his birthright for a me.ss of pottage. Hut no sooner ii.id Lysimachus slaked hia thirst than he cried: "A'h, wretched me. v.iii> i' i:' such a mementary gratiii •.••.;on sbculd have lost ."-o gr-al a King- dom.' Though I have been brought up in n Christian home, for the mo- mentary satisfying of my evil de- sires I have stilled nil those pure Influences of the pa.st. 1 am like a man who, to quench his thir.st, has done more than to barter away a kingdom. 1 have bartered away my life. The chalice of sin which 1 have [lifted to my lips was of poison. I feel it now, dulling my brain, dull- ing my heart, dulling my moral sen- |Sil)ilities. I feci as if I were al- , ready dead, for my nobler self has perished. lOternol life is lost to Imc." ... DONiT LIVK FOR YOURSEl^F. Almost saved! Yes, you are. I know by the un'happy looks that are chisled in tho wrinkles- of your fac3. When you started out in life you thought the height of a man's hap- I piness could bo estimated by tho 'length of his bank account. You I thought the worldwide area of his j joy could • be always circumscribed only by the hemispheric spread of i his fame. But now by bitter px- ' pcrience you know that wealth tind i fame only bring added cares. You ' know that if a man lives for him- self alone, if he docs not seek the j higher joys of the soul, if ihe doe.s not live for Christ, seeking also the welfare of his brother mnn. lie can find no happiness on earth at nil. ' I can imagine a scene in your life which brought its emptiness vividly before you. Such scenes, varying in their details, come to many a man, ; bidding him pause and consider I what is the true purpose of life. .Let me see! 'Whero did this scene hap- pen'.' In the east. You are a weal- thy Chicago merchant. You have come out on a visit to Los Angeles. j It was almost, as near as 1 can ^ make out, on a Sattirday night, the [second week of January. The arc j was burning brightly on your otlice hearth. The table by your side was filled with papers. The employees, working ten hours a day, sometimes think tho employer entering his of- fico at 9 or 10 o'cl<*ck in the morn- ing has a very easy time. But long after the bu-sy beehive of the modern drygoods emporium has slopped its hum, and the tired little cash girls have crowded tho streets, laughing, shouting, perhaps smiling at tho i passers by, in juvenile deligiit at be- ing .set free from toil, and the book- keepers have balanced the accounts, and tho iron shutters have been puU- ' ed down, and tho clerks have closed 1 their coimters, and the cashiers have I locked their safes, and the delivery 1 wagons have ceased their rumbling, and t'lic worn out horses have been fed and blanketed in their stalls, and the street lamps have become ns multitudinous as the visible stars of the heavens, the tired merchant Works on. Tho wood in the fire- place crackled and laughed. The I flames leaped higher and higher and I sputtered more loudly as the repcrts j of the different departments recorded the business triumph of a whole year. Stock had been taken, for i the holiday goods wore all sold. Kv- ; ery i)romissory note had been met. There was plenty of money in the I bank to clear awny the remaining debit Bides of the ledger. Neuralgia of the Heart An Ailment Which Terrifies Its Victimsâ€" indicated by Pains About the Heart and Quick, Laud Breathingâ€" Cured by DR. CHASE'S NERVE FOOD WHAT SHALL IT PIIOI'IT A MAN? Was not that tho history, O rich merchant, of tho first results of your mathematical calculations on tho Saturday night of tho second week in last January? But what about the second calculation you made that important night? As you sat there in your easy armchair you began to dream about the past. You began to wonder If all this endless strug- gle for a worldly success really pfiid As you dreamed you thought of the many nights when, unablo lo sleep you had tosse<l about your hot p-1- low and thought how the business world was trying to drive you lo the financial wall, even as some man with the death nmrks upon his cheek in his old age may be (leecod of his all. You thought how your very best motives had alway.s been im- pugned. And then, strange to say, instead of gloating over your past financial success as the fire flickered lower and lower an unseen power made you write upon a broad sheet of white paper this problem. "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul.'" And as you studied that problem yo\i wer.; compelled to write after it a word of seven letters. You wrote that one word in letters of fire. "Nothing." "Noihing." "No- thing." Am I wrrjng, O financial magnate, in stating to-day â- Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God?" Oh, rich man! I appeal to your ex- perience. Have you not realized that happiness is not in wealth? Have there not come times in your life when you have felt that money and honor and power alike fail to give satisfaction? You are di.sappointed with your life. IXirn to Christ, who sayc to such as you, "He that drink- eth of tho water {lyii I shall give him shall never thirSl again." Come to him. Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." Sickness has been a spiritual bless- ing to you, man. as the palsy was to the invalid of old. It has placed .you almost within touch of our Sav- iour and King. For years and years you did not know what a pain meant. When you heard people complaining about their invalidism you had no sympathy. You would petulantly say, "Nine-tenths of these so called invalids are mere hypochon- driacs. If men and women would only get up and stop their com- plaining and stoji dosing them.selves with medicines they would be all right." When a minister in church would preach from the text, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be re- quired of thee," you would settle back in your sent and smile. You would say to \our.self : "Perhaps. Perhaps not. My ancestors were all long lived. I guess I will be also." Then you would complacently pat your chest as. you expand(>d your lungs three or four inches, .and you would say ; "Well, my ancestors never had a finer breathing appara- tus than I have. I'erhaps 1 shall die to-night. Perhaps not." But two years ago tiierc came that sudden attack of illness. It came almost without any wanung at all. Vou remember how your cheek be- came ns white as that of a corpse and your lips turned blue and cold. Vou remember how that pneumonia stabbetl at your lungs, or how that typhoid made you sink so low that for weeks and weeks ,\ou hovered be- tween life and death. You remem- ber how asthma choked you until it seemed as though you would go mad with the agony. .\ye, that sick- ness made out of you a changed man. When the minister now an- nounces the text, Luke, twelfth chaj)- ter and twentieth verse. "Thou fool, this night thy aoul shall be required of thee," you do not flippantly say : "reiliaps. rorhai's not." You know it is not out of the range of |M)Ssil)ilities that this night you may be brought face to face with (Jod at tho judgment seat of Christ. O num, even while I speak to-day all the good and the bad oi your past life are flying swifter than" the winds through yoiu' seething hiain. Aye, they are flying as swiftly as the panorama of livgoiie years "in a sec- ond f)f lime moves before the vision of a drowning man. Your, past sick- nessos have changed your feelings to- ward (Jod. The pain at your heart is Warning you that "(;o<l shall bring eveiy work unto ji»lgment. with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." This dayâ€" aye. this very minute â€" on ac- count of thnt past sick bed. "(hou art not far from the kingdom of fl^d." Almost know it. the time' Ing powers in reference to the natural j faithfully, and with a perfect heart, world, it docs not take an inspired ! Take courage and do, and the Lord vlKion to We that wo are now living {shall bo with the good" (versos 10, in a time of great religious awaken- 11, and umrgin). These are woiMs ing. 'Everywhero tho vital question for us to lay to heart, for only such* is upon every lip, "What shall I | living and acting will stand in that then do with Jesus, who is called the Chirst?" Like I'ilato before the .Jewi.'ih people, you must decide the question in reference to .Jesus. You must decide for Christ or against Christ. And in bringing you up to | ji(,^j xxiv., 4 this question I cannot be far wrong j mj^j, deceive in stating that "thou art not far from the kingdom of fJod." Hut why talk so much about the wonderful manifestations of the Holy Spirit's power in reference to the world at large? Have not we seen 1 that power manifested in our own I church? Men and women, can you I f;it stolidly in ywir pews when hus- bands and wives and children and young men and women are seeking â- le.sus Christ? While so many old peo- ple and middle aged people and young people are coming? Ood will never give you a better opportunit.\ to seek him than just now. W'" you not come to the Saviour no- Like King Aprrippn, are you going i. bo "almost persuaded" and lost? Or like Paid, the "chief of s'inners," are you to be coronated and to have a seat upon a throne in heaven with •Icsus Christ? i day. None other can have His ap- proval (II. Tim. ii., lH). On the words "Take heed" see Luke viii 18; Mark iv., 24, "Take h-ed now, ye hear and what ye heai Also' Take heed that no you." Isa. vii., 4, THE S. S. LESSON INTERNATIONAL ..T-ULY 24 LESSON-. Text of the Lesson, II. Chroi. xix., 1-11. Golden Text, II Chxon. xix., XI. It is pleasant, as well as profitable, to conlinue meditating upon one who did right in the sight of the Lord (XX, 32), for he sought to the Lord (jod of his father, and walked in His commandments, and his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord, and the Lord was with him (xvii, 3-6). He is said to have reigned twenty-live years (xx, 31), but it is possible that three of those years were the last years of Asa, his fath- er, while he was diseased in his feet. In order lo keep before us some idea of where we are in the history of these two kingdoms, it would be well to consult a compara- tive chronological table of the kings and prophets of Judah and Israel, such as may be found in the appen- dix of most of our good reference Bibles. In a Baxter Bible it is New Testament, p;»gc 194. * From this it will be seen that the twenty-two years of Ahab's reign in Israel were about contemporary with the first Iwenly-lwo years of Jo- hoshnphat's reign in Judah. Tho prophets of tho lime were Jehu, the son of Haiiani, in Judah, and Mic- ainh and F.hjali, in Israel. It will help us to keep this in mind, as our next lesson concerns Ahnb, and the ?ix following keep Elijah before us. None of the prophets whose writings we have had up to this time appear- (fd. Jonah, who is the first, comes later. Our lesson begins with the return of .Jehoshaphat in peace to Jerusa- lem from the battle with the king of Syria, in which he had beet\ an ally with Ahub and very narrowly escap- ed death. Ahab, although disguise^d, fell b.v a God directed arrow from a bow drawn at a venture (xviii, 28- 34). Jehoshaphat began hia reign exceedingly well and sent teachers throughout all the cities of Judah with the book of tho law of the Lord to teach the people, one result being that the fear of tho Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands round- about Judah, a.id they made no war against Jehoshaphat. The Philis- tines and Arabians brought presents as well as tribute to him. so that he waxed great cxceedinglj- and had riches and honor in abundance (.xvii. 9-12). 'Then came- his alliance with a man who did more to provoke the Lord I "Take heed ond bo quiet. Fear not!'' 1 As to the Lord's hatred of iniquity, I respect of persons and taking of gifts, see Ex. xxiii., 8; Deut. x., 17; Job xxxiv., 19; Rom. li., 11; Eph. |vi., 9. As we have but one lesson on the life of this great king we must not' omit a glance at chapter 20, and the victory which the Lord wrought for. His people. Realizing their helplesa- ' ness, they cast themselves wholly up- on Him, and the Lord fought against their enemies and made â- hem to rejoice over their enemies, .! gave them rest round-about' verses 3, 4, 27-30). Note the king's; prayer (vor.ses 6-12) and put versei ;]2 with xiv.. 11: "We have no might' ' again.st this great company that! Cometh against us; neither know we j what to do. But our eyes are upon IThee." These are the people whom j (jod heliJS, the impotent, the utterly j helpless, not those who can help themselves. Note, also, verses 15, I 17, 20. 22, and learn to fear not, be- lieve and praise. This whole-hearted reliance upon, the Lord made so prominent in this le.sson and the last is greatly needed. -♦ ' FROM BABY'S DIARY. i 6 a.m. â€" Woke up and howled. 6.10 â€" Man grunts, gets up, carries ire about room. Must nice for him to be able to walk fast; I can't. G 15. â€" Man treads on my rattle; howl. Man talks to himself. 6.16.â€" Back to bed. 8 a.m. â€" Clock makes pretty noise; chuckle. Man says something to it. Woman says, "John!" Man grunts, and gets up. 10 a.m. â€" -Washed and dres.sed; feel miserable. 10.10. â€" Climb into coal-scuttle; happ.v. 10.30. â€" Discovered and pulled out., Got to be wa.-.hed again. Horrid nui- sance; don't see the good of it; only get dirty again. 11 a.m. â€" Fall down stairs; givei? sweets, and go to sleep. 3 p.m. â€" Lady calls with thing she calls a dog. Can't find his tail; not like Tiny's; his sticks out and wags. 3. in. â€" Find dog's tail; wish I hadn't; howl. Dog whippe I and turned out. Chuckle. Dont lika that dog. Go and look for Tiny. 5 p,m. â€" Man comes home with a friend. Friend talks a lot of non- sense and tries to pat my head; howl. 5.10 â€" Given bottle. Friend gets his head in way of bottle; chuckle. Friend departs abruptly. 6 p.m.â€" Just off to bed. Beastly quiet day; hope to have some fun to-morrow. Pye-bye. and be so GOOD ADVICE. Do not learn the language of sor- row. V Don't try to steer with another man's rudder. Tho time always comes when a grafter gets grafted. Just take a bird's-eye view of the world. It looks better that way. Bo clean and the spirit of the eter- nal truth will rest and abide with thee. There is no to-morrow, and it is only a vei-y foolish fool who worries about that which will never come. There is no person or thing in this world that gets something for noth- ing. Look and you will find tho cost mark. Feeding a girl chocolate creams once a week and feeding her break- God of Israel to anger than all tho fast thiee times a day are two difTer- It is (luitn natural to be alarmed when the "Htf^rl becomes affected, but ♦hero ia nu reason to despair of be- ing cured. l-ho (neal majority of heart de- rnngcniciits are due to exhaustion of the nerves and n watery condition of the blootl. Hy o\orcoming theco •nusen of (rouble with the uso of Dr. (Jhn.Mc'R Nerve Food, the heart will be restored to health and Its action again become normni, Mr. Jamcii (J. Clnrk, Fostrrvillc, York County, N.fl.. wrires :â€" "I have been o great sulTerer from what the doctors R«iJ wn.i ncurnlgln of tho 'leart. The pain started In the back â- ! tho necV o.-id worked down into •> region of tl'! he;\rt. Though T »i ttkcm â-  n lot of nicdlrlne of on« I >li .»n.l anjtr.e 1 could not get anything to help me until I Uf-vd Dr. Chase's Nerve Food. "When 1 began this treatment I could not rest in bed, exa'pt by sitt- ing upright, on account of the dread- ful paint' about tho heart and Ihe quick, loud beat ing. The clmiige which Dr. Chase's Nerve Food ba."! made in my condition is wontlerful. H has entirely overcome these sym|)- tonis and is making irie strong and well. If this* statcmefit will help to roliev* the suffering of others, you are at liberty to use it." Dr. Chase's l^rve Food, 50 cents a box, six boxes for $2. ."SO. at all deal- ers, or Kdninnson, Hulei ft Co. Toronto. To jirotect you ngninst imitation.i, tho portrait and signa- ture of Dr. A. W. Chase, the famous receipt book nuthor, are on every bo.x. saved? Yes; you arc. 1 1 Why} The many "signs of j tell iiH that hundreds and I thousands of iiiimortui iiien and wo- 1 men are now enrolling themselves as i (^luistlnn soldiers under the standard of the cross. .And there is a niighly i propelling fiireo in the power of j numliorri. Uheii a sinful man knows, that every whore about him the pen- \ pie are asking the vital ((Uestion which the Philipplan Jailer spake to Paul and .Silas, "Sirs, what mu.'-.t I do to be saved?" ho In spite of him- self is compplled to ask and answer in his heart the nnnie question. We all marvel at the wonderful ability of obt-ervation to which the trapjiers and the hunters of old wore able to train their visual powers. For days and weeks the Indian scouts were able to follow thoir ene- mies across the wesforn prairies. By the twisted blades of grass and by other minute sign.s they were able to tell how mnny Indians wore in | the war pnrt.v nliead. how ninnv horROs and cattle and Kqunws and papooses. Hut. though hunters and trappers have almost miraculous ace- ' I kinge of Israel thnt were before him (xviii, 1; I Kings xvi, 33). He al- lowed his son .Ichoraiu to take Ahnb'it daughter to wife (II Kings viii, 18). and also joined Ahab to fight ngninst the king of Syria (chapter 18), hence tho ro[)roof of our Ixird through .lelui in our les- son, "ShDuldest thou help the ungod- ly and love them that hate the Lord (Veiso 2.) One feels like saying. Why could not Jehosh- aphat lot ungodly Aluib uloiio and continue, as he had cho.sen. to walk with God? But is not this matter of worldly alliances tho prominent sin of our own time? In ent things. When you say an unkind word or even think an unkind thought, just' remember that you are hurting no one but your.self. There are a great mnny people who look at tho world through their stomachs, and their view is accord- ing to the condition of that organ. The only difference between a. Mor- mon and the other man is that the Mormon does what he thinks and the other man thinks what he'd like to do. So-callod friendship that is pur- chased and held by favors does the I)ossessor no good. There is alwavS mnrriuge, in business, in religious I someone who can furnish more fav matttMs, is it not seen everywhere? '"" '"'" ' J-*'"- How few sceiu to give any consider- * ' nlion to U. Cor. vi., 14-18. and are i thero many e\cn among God's minis- j tors who think it wrcuig lo have fel- | lowship with those who deny that tlesu.s Christ is God. or with thoio | who deny that the blood of Christ ulono, without any works of ours. I can take away sin? Tho manner of Jeheshaphat's life : was. as a rule, right in tho sight of I the Lord, although thero were two j very dark clouds in 'his clear day, | the one we huvo mentioned, and lat- I er his alliance with Ahaziah (xx., 35- 37). Hut it is refreshing to see | him in tho remainder of our les- son chapter, after tho Lord reproved him, going out through all tho peo- ple to bring them again to the Lord, setting judges In the land and ndinoni.shing them in such words an "Take heed what ye do. for ye jiKlge not for laan, but for the Lord who Is with you" (versM 5-7). saying nl- .so to the priests and Levites: Thus shall yo do in the fear of the Lord, "YK Or,llF, UF.D LION." In the middle ages the country hou.ses of the nobility of England, when the owners were absent, were used as hotels for travellers. The family arms always hung in front ot the hous<', and gave it „ jiopular name among travellers, who called a lion "gules" or "azuro" simply "red" or "blue." .\s these were in- timations of good chot-r and enter- tainment, innkeer>ers adopted the idea. Lions have always been, and are now, very favorite signs in Eng'- land, lions white, black, rod, and goldenâ€" red being the most common. I'lobably tho Red Lion originated with the badge of John of (Jaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who married the daughter of Don Pedro. Kii^g of Loon «t>d Castile, and who adopted th<> lion rampant gules of Leon to re- prosent his claim to the throne. Un- der Hirhnrd and .lohn lions became the tettled arms of Kngland, and were generally used by those who could find anj- claim.