d of the peoples in the Far
East. When his health began to fail, his friends warned him to cease some
of his activities, but in vain. His answer was, "I must do my work while
life remains to me; I may not long be here."

He was often gratified to hear his hymns sung at unexpected times and in
unusual places. In 1825 he wrote a poem beginning with the words,
"Watchman, tell us of the night." He did not know it was being used as a
hymn until ten years later, when he heard it sung by Christian
missionaries in Turkey. Among other hymns of Bowring that have come into
general use is the beautiful one beginning with the words:

God is Love; His mercy brightens
All the path in which we rove;
Bliss He wakes, and woe He lightens:
God is Wisdom, God is Love.

A Hymn That Opens Hearts

O Jesus, Thou art standing
Outside the fast-closed door,
In lowly patience waiting
To pass the threshold o'er:
Shame on us, Christian brothers,
His Name and sign who bear:
O shame, thrice shame upon us,
To keep Him standing there!

O Jesus, Thou art knocking;
And lo, that hand is scarred,
And thorns Thy brow encircle,
And tears Thy face have marred:
O love that passeth knowledge,
So patiently to wait!
O sin that hath no equal,
So fast to bar the gate!

O Jesus, Thou art pleading
In accents meek and low,
"I died for you, My children,
And will ye treat Me so?"
O Lord, with shame and sorrow
We open now the door;
Dear Saviour, enter, enter,
And leave us nevermore.

William Walsham How, 1867.

A MODEL HYMN BY A MODEL MINISTER

It is a significant fact that many of the greatest hymns of the Church
have been written by pastors who have been noted for their zeal in
winning souls. Their hymns have been a part of their spiritual stratagem
to draw the wayward and erring into the gospel net. Bishop William
Walsham How, one of the more recent hymnists of England, is a shining
example of true devotion in a Christian shepherd.

Bishop How once gave a striking description of the characteristics which
he believed should be found in an ideal minister of the gospel. "Such a
minister," he said, "should be a man pure, holy, and spotless in his
life; a man of much prayer; in character meek, lowly, and infinitely
compassionate; of