IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 4'/ /l^V. & 1.0 Ifri- llM I.I 1.25 2.2 ^ "- lllll^ lUUt. 1.8 U IIIIII.6 PhotDgraphic Sciences Corporation ■1j ^•\ ^%,<^ '%'^ 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4'j03 l/j CfcHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIViH Cotlection de microficlies. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut oanadien de microrsproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/No* JS techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may signeficantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. r^ Coloured covers/ bdJ Couverture de couleur r~n Covers damaged/ D D □ D D Couverture endommagie Covers restored ;«nd/or laminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pelliculde [~n Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes g^ographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relii avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion ie long de la marge Invdrieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte. mais, lorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6ti film^es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplimentaires: L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a iti possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sent peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger una modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagies □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restauries et/ou pellicul^es r~n Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ D Pages dicolories. tachet^es ou piqu6es Pages detached/ Pages ddtachies Showthroughy Transparence Quality of pri.n Quality inigale de i'impression Includes supplementary materit Comprend du matdriel suppl^mentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible I I Pages detached/ fy] Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ r~n Includes supplementary material/ I I Only edition available/ Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best po^jible image/ Les pages totaler lent ou partiellement obscurcies par 'jn feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc.. ont 4ti filmies d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X s/ 12X 16X 20X 26X 30X 24X 28X 3 32X The copy filmad here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: York University Toronto Scott Library The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and In keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'exemplaire filmi fut reproduit grAce A la ginirositi de: York University Toronto Scott Library Lee images suivantes ont At* reproduites avec le plus grand soin. compta tenu de la condition at de la netteti de l'exemplaire fllmA, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de fiimage. Original copies In printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed lieginnlng on the first page with a printed or Illustrated Impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated Impression. Lee exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est ImprimAe sont fiimAs en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'lliustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont fllmte en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustratlon et en terminant par la dernlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol •-^> (meaning "CON- TINUED"}, or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboies sulvants apparaltra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — »> signlfie "A SUIVRE". le symbols V signlfie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning In the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams Illustrate the method: Les cartes, pSanches, tableaux, etc., peuvent fttre filmAs A des taux de reduction diff irents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, li est fllmA A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 . I& H % 'For C/inst ami the Church.' "The Consecration Meetino" . BV . REV. P. M. DEWEY, M.A. "The Pledoe" GEO. R. LIQHTHALL, B.C.L. rAl'KRS RKAU AT THE QUARTERLY MKETINO OF THK MONTREAL CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR UNION, j8tH SEPTEMBER, 189O, AND PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE UNION inUi TORONTO : Endeavor Herald PuBMSHiNrr Co. 1890. ^'r-O. •■■', 'f A^A ^ (^jo 'HE CONSECRATION MEETING. BY REV. F. M. DEWEY, M.A. THE PLEDGE. BY GEO. R. LIGHTHALL, B.C.L. Reprinted from The Endeavor Herald. THE CONSECRATION MEETING. BY REV. F. M. DEWEY, MONTREAL. I. Its object. In the Model Constitution, under article VII., we read : " Once each month an experience or consecration meeting shall be held, at which each active member shall speak concerning his progress in the Chris- tian life ; " also, " at each experience or conse- cration meeting the roll shall be called, and the response of the active members who are present shall be considered as a renewed expression of allegiance to Christ." The object of this meeting, thus set forth, is two-fold. 1. The renewal of our consecration to Christ. Such an object is quite scriptural, and must be fruitful of good results if done in a right spirit. We cannot be reminded too often of the fact that we are Christ's — that He hath redeemed us — that we have voluntarily taken Him to be our personal Lord and Saviour, and that the vows of the Lord are upon us. It is well also to renew these vows ; to pledge ourselves anew to fidelity to our Master. 2. To speak of progress in our Christian life. It is a constant reminder that the Christian life is a grow ing life. We are in danger of forget- ting this, and once a month is not too often to be solemnly reminded of the fact. It is well to be made to put the question pointedly to one's self: Am I growing in the Christian life? Have I made any progress during the last month? Such an enquiry will turn the gaze inward ; cause us to look at ourselves ; become better acquainted with our own characters ; — 3— discover their weak points and know if we are really fulfilling the end of our being. By dis- covering our mistakes and the weak parts of our character, we are able to remedy defects and do better in the future, and profiting by past experiences make the next month better than the last. II. How should the consecration meeting be conducted ? 1. The roll call ; when should this take place ? Practice seems to differ. With some it is at the close of the meeting and is a part by itself. With others it is during the meeting, and when the members answer their names they are also expected to speak of their religious life during the past month. The latter seems the better way. It saves time and secures to each mem- ber an opportunity of speaking. It need not be a stiff, formal thing, after a few names are called a hymn may be sung or a prayer offered, and thus the sameness of the meeting will be broken. The person presiding can do much by a few pointed remarks thrown in from time to time to make the meeting fresh and lively. 2. Speaking of the religious life of the past month. This is expected of every member ; all should strive to do it. The mere reading of a passage of Scripture may be very impressive and helpful at times, but too often it is a mere refuge to which the idle, careless, member flees to escape a duty which may be a little difficult. All should try to speak of their experience in their own words. It is a duty we owe to our Master and to each other. A few words thus spoken may be of untold good to others present. They may be fighting the same battles we have won, and it may be a great stimulus and encouragement to them to know how we gained the victory. If members are timid and do not 4— feel able to speak with ease they should write out carefully what they wish to say and read it. They would soon gain confidence by so doing, and would speak with ease after a few meetings. What we speak about should be genuine— our own Christian experience and not something prepared for the occasion. We should speak of what the Lord hath done for our souls ; words coming directly from the heart and telling of our own experiences will go right to the hearts of others and do them good. This meeting should be prepared for with much care ; we should think of it during the whole month ; pray over it and come prepared to do our share to make it the best possible. The subject upon which we are expected to speak is, progress in the Christian life— the progress we have made during the past month. That is a very broad subject. The Christian life implies a great deal ; it may be analyzed into many different parts. Because the subject is so broad there is a great indefiniteness about many Consecration meetings. Some speak of the same phase of life at each meeting and many really never touch upon the subJLect at all. Instead of always leaving the whole subject open, might it not be well to limit each meeting to one particular department ? (a) The reading of Scripture is a very mipor- tant part of the Christian life, we pledge our- selves to do this every day. Could we not very profitably take that up at one meeting and let each member honestly tell what he or she has been doing with the Bible during the past month ? How much have I read ? W^hat has been my plan of reading? What have I learned ? What special help have I got in my Christian life from my study of God's Word ? What a profitable hour would the society have — 5- if all would tell their experience in this one de- partment ! What blessed results might flow from such witness-bearing ! {b) Prayer is another important element in the Christian life. Every Christian must pray, v^e pledge ourselves to do so daily. This is a department of life in which we should be grow- ing ; every month should mark progress. There is much to learn here, and we can greatly he'p one another by a free exchange of ttioughts and experiences. The time at our disposal on one evening might very profitably be spent in telling of our personal experience in the closet. What is my practice in secret prayer ? Have I any special plan or system ? What difficul- ties have I met, and how were they overcome ? What special help have I received in prayer ? What progress am I making ? An hour spent in earnest conversation upon this subject of such vital importance would raise us to a higher plane and would long remain fresh in our mem- ories as a helpful influence in life. (c) Faith is a most essential element in the Christian life; without it such life is impossible. It is a growing thing, and each month should mark progress in its development. How seldom do we speak with each other regarding our per- sonal faith ! We should do so. At our Con- secration meetings we should often devote the hour to this one subject. Have I living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ ? How has it been tried during the past month ? Did it bear the test or did it fail ? What victories have I won through faith ? Hap my faith grown ? Such a free, trustful exchange of experiences would be of great help to all, and the Christian life of the whole society would be seen to grow under its refreshing, stimulating influence. We might in this way take up many depart- ce- ments of the Christian life. One meeting might be devoted to temptations ; another to besetting sins ; another to failures ; and another to encouragements in the Christian life; an- other to obedience to Christ ; another to the joys, and another to the hopes, of the believer. By thus making the meeting more definite we would concentrate our thoughts and prayers upon one department of our Christian life and would find the results more satisfactory than by trying to go over the whole field. A vcty impressive way of closing the meeting is to rise and read the Pledge in unison, sing " Blest be the tie that binds," and repeat the Society's benedic- tion. I am persuaded that the Consecration meetmg is capable of doing a great deal of good. But to get the blessing you must pay the price. Every member must look forward to it with anxious expectation, must pray earnestly for a blessing upon it, must make careful preparation to take part and do everything possible to make it a bright profitable meeting. We cannot have even a good Consecration meeting without hard work. i THE PLEDGE— ITS NECESSITY AND BENEFITS, ESPECIALLY IN RE- LATION TO THE CONSECRA- TION MEETING. BY GEORGE R. LIGHTHALL, MONTREAL. In order to get at our subject properly we should commence at the beginning, dig right down to the very roots of the matter and see whether a pledge— or vow as it is scriptur- ally termed— is a necessity or justifiable at all or not. For the sake of arguing from a definite stand- point, I will assert that they are authorised, nee- essary, and justifiable. God ordained vows and approves of them. Take, for instance— marriage. The parties con- tracting it vow to observe its inviolable ties— the one vows to love, cherish, and protect, and the other vows to love, honor, and obey. This was instituted by God's command in Genesis II., 21-25, and commended to us by Christ, and also in many other places throughout the Scripture. Then there are the vows taken at Baptism, and those by Christians on joining the Church, by which they promise to take the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master, obey His commands as revealed to them, attend the stated means of grace, etc. And what Christian ever partakes of the Lord's Supper m a true and earnest spirit without pledging anew his faith and love to his Master, and promising Ilim again to follow His will ? Now if God disapproved of vows. He would —instead of giving laws concerning them— cither ignore them entirely, in which case they — 8- vvould only he interpreted as the invention of man, or ie would have expressed His disappro- val of them in some way more or less emphatic. As a matter of fact, however, we find divine laws — God's distinct and exact enactments con- cerning them. Take for instance the vow of the Nazarite— nearly the \vhole of the sixth chapter of Numbers is devoted to it, and in the eighth verse of which God says, " All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord." If a vow is displeasing to God He certainly would not have made the subject of it holy to Himself. In fact, our Heavenly Father gave special blessings to those who kept those vows. We have many examples ; Samson, who only lost his power when he violated his vow ; John the Baptist (Luke i. 15) ; Samuel (I Sam. i. 11). etc. I think that I have now well established that God ordained that we should take vows— good vows I mean— for I will not now comment upon questionable or bad vows, for they have nothing to do with our subject—that He justifies and approves of them, and through them confers blessings oa us. ' By ordaining them God recognised the neces- sity of vows to human beings, therefore they are justif.able and beneficial, for God never gives us any ordinance but for our good and His glory. The performance of the vow follows the tak- ing of it, that we must not neglect, for in Num- bers XXX. and 2, it is written, "If a man vow a vow un<,j the Lord he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth." We know that we have a righteo^is, tei rible, and just (iod watching over our every a<:tion in regard to our vow ; but we also know that He is a God o\' love and mercy, who will look not upon our weak and imperfect ace >mplishment of our promises hut unon the soirit in which it is done. He nnon — 9" knows our abilities to do and the disadvantages and temptations under which we may be labor- ing at the time, and will accept the conscien- tious effort in the place of, and for the perform- ance to the letter. In fact He will always be standing in the breach ready to make up all that we fail to do after we have done our best. It is written in Eccles. v. and 5. " Better is it that thou shouldst not vow than that thou shouldst vow and not pay." It is not—" Better not to vow at all." God never meant that in- terpretation, but what He does mean is that we shall not make empty vows that we have no in- tention of keeping, neither should we be care- less or neglectful of a vow once taken. But if we make them sincerely we shall receive the necessary divine help to perform, for Paul says, " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Jesus says, " Ye shall neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father/' that is not by mere forms and traditions, for " God is a spirit and they that worsliip Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." The performance of a vow to God is a part — an im- portant part — of our worship of Him. It follows, therefore, that the effort to perform the pledge becomes by God's help a direct blessing to us, for God blesses those that worship Him. To perform a vow we have to exercise our energies methodically and to a purpose ; our capabilities, therefore, expand with the effort, and we are, so to speak, forced to grow in grace. None have a bette; control over their actions than those who force themselves to exercise that control. On the other hand, failure will not count against us if it but precedes further effort. Re- mark Peter's terrible fall after his earnest pro- lO- testations of fidelity, then see his final success. The vow thus becomes but the means to the end. Now as to the pledge of the C. E. Society. It is a necessity to and one of its principal foundations, or in the words of Dr. Clarke, " The prayer meeting pledge honestly interpreted is a necessity to the continued success of C. E. societies." This is borne out by actual experi- ence, for we have more than one example of societies in this city, re-organizing and adopting the pledge where they did not use it before, and never have 1 heard of a society dropping its pledge. The objects of the pledge are these : ist. The enunciation of our duties to God. 2nd. The remembrance of them. 3rd. The conse- quent fulfilment of them. 4th. The strength of the union of a number joined together for the same object. Let us read this pledge. "Trustingin the Lord Jesus Christ for strength, I promise Him that I will strive to do whatever He would like to have me do ; that I will pray to Him and read the Bible every day, and that, just so far as I know how, throughout my whole life I will endeavor to lead a Christian life. As an active member I promise to be true to all my duties, to be present at and to take some part, aside from singing, in every meeting, unless hindered by some reason which I can conscien- tiously give to my Lord nid Master, Jesus Christ. If obliged to be absent from the monthly consecration meeting I will, if possible,^ send an excuse for my absence to the society. Now is there anything objectionable in this pledge when honestly faced ? To my mind there is not. , . r .u Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for strength. •li- the burden is taken from us and placed on Christ, can we not trust Him ? All we have to do is to do our best, He furnishes the strength and does the rest for us, and the pledge is accomplished. The duties called for are those from which no honest Christian ought to shrink. They are what he ought to do anyway, and are only brought out in language that cannot be mistaken. I know that the clause relating to taking part in the meetings is the stumbling block to maiiy. Why is that? Have you forgotten the first clause? Can you not trust the Lord Jesus Christ to give you strength ? Besides, you may by your example be deterring others from de- claring for the Master. More than that, the meetings are not large and all are young like yourself, and if they were for any other purpose than a religious one, you, or most of you, would not be so shy. I have noticed this in the busi- ness meetings. Why there should be any dif- ference I cannot see. Besides all this it will be easier the second time than the first, and Jesus, your Master, says : "Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God, but he that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God" (Luke xii. 8-9). " And who- soever doth not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke xiv. 27). The society that looks to God for all blessings and strictly observes its vows taken voluntarily by each young person, cannot fail. Why? Simply because there is union first with God, and secondly among the members, who aie all striving for the same object. An army working without a definite plan must work poorly and is likely to fail, al- though, each detachment may be ever so well •12- drilled ; so a C. E. Society without the definite plan of a pledge must do work poorly at best, and is likely to fail although the members indi- vidually may all be good. The object of the consecration meeting is to pledge and declare ourselves anew to Jesus Christ; it is the only meeting at which the pro- gress of the society can be determined. It is the thermometer or gauge of its spiritual wel- fare. It should indicate where anything is wrong ; and this it can only do where the society has a pledge and the members are living up to it. Anything wrong can only be corrected after it is found out, and that should be done immediately, consequently the greater the necessity for finding out as soon as possible, therefore the greater the necessity to the welfare of a society for the pledge which assists so materially in accomplishing this object and of its faithful exaction from the members. I, therefore, to sum up the whole, have estab lished fairly and honestly : ist. That the pledge is permitted by Divine authority. ' 2nd. That by the same authority it is a necessity. 3rd. That it is beneficial. 4th. That it is most decidedly necessary, useful, and beneficial to C. E. societies, especi- ally in the consecration meetings for, the welfare of the society as well as each individual member. Let us by all means adopt the pledge in its strongest wording in all our societies of C. E., and see that it is carried out faithfully by all the members, and God will be with us in all our doings, and the Holy Ghost will inspire us for better work for the Master, for Christ, and the Church. PHKS'OENT ROBCRT QREIQ l^" «? SIOY. -TRIAS W. H CHAPMAN 3637 ST. OATHCflINC ST. Chmstian Endeavoi^ Union Information and help will gladly be given to those desirous of organizing a C. E. Society, by communicating with above . . SKND lOR SAMPI-E COPIES ANO I'HKMIUM LISTS . . The Endeavor H^petld PublisHcd CnontHly in thie intepest of all Y. P. S. C. E. in Canada 25 OTS. PER YEAR The Endeavor Herald Pub. Co. Oe YONOE ST. ARCADE TORONTO ONT. -IJ