Religion in Earnest

ꡜReligion in Earnest

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Title: Religion in Earnest A Memorial of Mrs. Mary Lyth, of York
Author: John Lyth
Release Date: April 6, 2004 [EBook #11923]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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RELIGION IN EARNEST.
A MEMORIAL OF MRS. MARY LYTH, OF YORK.
BY HER SON JOHN LYTH.
1861.

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED SISTER ELIZA HILL, WHOSE RARE AND UNOSTENTATIOUS VIRTUES SHED FRAGRANCE ON EARTH, BUT ARE ONLY RECORDED IN HEAVEN.

PREFACE.
In compiling the following sheets, the Author has discharged what he felt to be an act, not merely of filial affection, but of Christian duty. To his deceased and venerated Mother he owes more than words can express;--a Mother whose consistent example, earnest piety and frequent effectual prayers, perhaps even more than her oft-repeated counsels, produced upon his mind, while yet a child, the settled conviction that religion is the one business of life. But be believes it also due to the cause of Christ, that an example of "Religion in Earnest," so pre-eminent, should not pass unrecorded and unimproved.
Those who think the charm of biography consists in startling incident; or who seek for material to gratify a literary taste, will discover here little to meet their respective views. We have only to offer them a simple record of one, whose history possessed no romantic interest, and who made no pretension to intellectual attainments. But such as love to trace the development of Divine grace in the human heart, and to see its power uniformly exemplified in the several phases of every-day life;--who are willing to learn how much may be accomplished by decision, simplicity of purpose, and undeviating consistency;--in a word, how every Christian even in private life, may become a centre of happiness, life and power, are in this volume presented with no common illustration.
The method of arrangement which the writer has adopted has been determined, partly by his materials, and partly by the desire to render his subject practical as well as interesting. How far he has succeeded must be decided by the impression made upon the mind of the reader. He now commends his work to God, who alone can give success to every good purpose, earnestly praying that Christ, who was magnified in the life of his now sainted mother, may be yet more abundantly magnified in her death.
J.L.
Stetten, O.A. Cannstatt, Württemberg.
December 27th, 1860.

CONTENTS.
CHAP.
I.--ANTECEDENTS
II.--EARLY DAWN
III.--GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES
IV.--THE HOLY ESTATE
V.--SHOWER AND SUNSHINE
VI.--GROWTH IN GRACE
VII.--TEMPLE SERVICE
VIII.--PASSING CLOUDS
IX.--MID-DAY TOIL
X.--WORKS OF MERCY
XI.--A DYING SCENE
XII.--COUNTRY LIFE
XIII.--THE REDEMPTION OF THE PROMISE
XIV.--POWER WITH GOD
XV.--THE RETURN
XVI.--THE SACRIFICE
XVII.--THE MOTHER IN ISRAEL
XVIII.--LIGHT IN DARKNESS
XIX.--THE INWARD MONITOR
XX.--THE STORM
XXI.--THE WIDOW
XXII.--THE LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF EVENING
XXIII.--SLEEP IN JESUS
XXIV.--PLEASANT MEMORIES

I.
ANTECEDENTS.
"A GOOD MAN LEAVETH AN INHERITANCE TO HIS CHILDREN'S CHILDREN." Prov. xiii. 22.
Within the grounds attached to the mansion of the Earl of Harewood, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is a substantial and well-built farm house, furnished with suitable outbuildings, and surrounded by a fine cluster of fruit-trees. It stands on the side of a hill, which slopes gently down to the river Wharfe, and commands a prospect, which, though not extensive, is singularly picturesque. In front, a little to the right, the ruined fortress of Harewood peeps out of a scattered wood, which crowns the summit of the hill, and shelters one of the neatest and trimmest villages in England. On the left flows the beautiful Wharfe but soon loses itself among the adjacent heights. Behind, towers the logan of Arlmes cliff, an interesting relic of druidical skill and superstition; while Riffa wood and Ottley Shevin complete the beauty of the landscape. A row of trees, protected by a lofty wall, effectually conceals the house we have mentioned, from the highroad, which for some distance runs at the foot of the hill and almost parallel to the river. Formerly there was only a sandy lane, which passed immediately in front of the house, and winding up the hill, entered the village between the castle and the church. From this circumstance the adjoining farm was called Sandygate, but with the changes that have taken place, the appellation is now almost forgotten, although the house still retains the name of its original occupant, and is known in the neighbourhood as 'Stables House.'
Just a hundred years ago, this house was built for the accommodation of Wm. Stables, a wealthy yeoman, who resided at Heatherwick (now Stanke), about a mile from Harewood; and who, successful in the cultivation of his paternal acres, sought to extend his