on before, but all drawing their life and courage from that Wonderful Man,
the Redeemer of the world, the Carpenter of Galilee. He whose mysterious
indentures were cancelled in the noon-day of His life. He who could stand
among His sorrowing companions and say, "Father, I have finished the work
which Thou gavest me to do." Oh, my fellow apprentices, how often are we
tempted to leave _our_ work unfinished. Do we not thus sometimes
think, "I can never learn my trade for heaven here." We see one wasting
his Master's goods, we see the tables of the money-changers in the temple
of God, we hear our fellows arraigning the Master before their petty
tribunals, we grow faint and weary, we have foes within and without. Doubt
says, "The Master is feasting royally and forgets his poor apprentices."
Courage, courage, my brothers, we are treading the path the saints have
trod. This is but a state of preparation. We know not what work for the
King we may have to do by-and-by; over how many cities of whose locality
we at present know nothing. He may give us authority to which of the
countless worlds in our Father's universe we may be sent on the King's
message of love, to what spirits in prison we, in our spiritual life, may
go to preach of mercy. If here permitted to be the servants of Christ, and
through His merits attaining to that better country, may we not
reasonably infer that we shall aid Him more and more, till the mediatorial
work is ended. Let these thoughts encourage us amidst the cold and heat,
the scorn and shame. Let us see to it that we _do_ work the works of
our Master. Let us often turn our eyes to those two grand rules of our
workshop, "Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you," our golden
rule framed in the royal crimson of the King's authority; and that other
silver lettered motto, framed in the clear, true blue of heaven, "Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is to visit the widow
and fatherless in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from
the world." Let us imitate that brother workman of whom Whittier says: