“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child."
— 1 Cor. xiii. 11.
Good Words for Children:
I. — Endless Life ..... Page 482
My dear Children, — You are never to die, but to live for ever, and ever! You will live a year, and, when that is done, another year, and so on and on for thousands and thousands of years. If but one of the grains of sand on the sea-shore was counted each year, yet, long after every grain was counted, you would still be alive. You are to live as long as God lives — that is, for ever.
I know what you are thinking about. You are thinking of death, and wondering why I say such a strange thing as that you are never to die. For, though you have lived a very short time, yet you have often seen burials, and heard of people dying, and have perhaps known some one in your own house who used to be with you every day, but whom you never see now, nor ever hear; and you know, too, that you will never see them more in the house, because they are dead. And, perhaps, you remember some little brother or sister who used to play with you, and whom you loved very much, but who became unwell, and got worse and worse; and then every one looked sad; and by and by you were told that they were dead; and you saw them taken away, but never more come back. Remembering all this, you ask, Am I not to die some time? and thus no doubt you sometimes think of death, though of course you do not like to do so — for death itself is not good. I one day saw a little bird in a cage, and it was very happy singing its songs, and picking its food, and drinking out of its cup. Next day I went to pay it a visit and to hear it sing— but the cage was lying all broken on the floor, and no bird was there! I never saw the bird again. Was it dead? No! It fled away through the blue sky on a beautiful sunny day, and some people heard it singing as it used to do, near a clear stream of water, among trees and flowers. When your little brother or sister died, it was only the cage that was broken and buried, but the spirit that used to speak to you, and love you, and be happy with you, was never touched, or broken or buried ; never! — but it went to Jesus Christ, and there it is living, and thinking, and singing, quite cheerful and happy; and getting far wiser, and learning far more there than you can do here, because it lives in a better place, where there is no sickness and no sin, and where everything is beautiful and good, and every one is kind and joyful.
Now, it may be, you will live for a long, long time in this world, and not leave it till you are old with grey hairs. This, however, is just as God pleases; and God always pleases to do what is best for you, because His name is Love, and so you should be always pleased with whatever He does. But remember, Death, when it comes, touches only the cage, not the bird. It is the body, not yourself, that dies. You yourself will never for one moment be away from Jesus, but always be as close to Him as those babes were whom He clasped to His heart and blessed when He was on earth.
My dear children, is it not good and kind in God to make us in order to live with Himself for ever? He made all the trees and plants on the face of the earth, but He did not breathe into them His own life; they did not, therefore, become living souls, and so they shall all perish. God made all the fish of the sea, all the birds of the air, and all the beasts of the field, but neither did He make them living souls, nor say to them "live for ever," and therefore they also perish. God made the great world, the mountains, rivers, and seas; and He made the sun, the moon, the thousands of stars that shine in the sky, but He never said to them "live for ever," and so, too, they must pass away. The earth is very old; the mountains are just the same as they were in the days of Adam; you can walk in the Holy Land just in the same places where Abraham, and Moses, and David, and Jesus, walked: and long after our bodies die, the hills we see will remain the same, and the rivers will roll the same, and the sea will flow and ebb the same; yet these old, old hills, and rivers, and seas, must one day depart and "no place be found for them!" But you, my dear children, will live long, long after them — for as I have told you, you will live for ever! Has not God, then, loved you far more than the birds, or fish, or beasts, or mountains, or the whole world? Has He not loved you when He made you so great, breathed into you the breath of life, and said to each of you, "I wish this child to live for ever?" And now you ought to love God as your own Father, for He surely did not make you that you should be frightened for Him, and try to forget Him, sin against Him, and make Him angry with you! No, no! God, as it were, says to you: — "love me, my child, and be good and happy." Remember then you are never to die, but to live for ever, and I wish you to be good, so that you may be happy while you live for ever, and not be wicked and therefore miserable.
Pray in this way to God: — “My Father, Thou hast made me to live for ever with Thyself. I thank Thee for Thy kindness to me. Forgive all my sins. Teach me to know Thee, and help me to love Thee my Father now, that so I may be good and happy. Deliver me from evil. Hear me for the sake of Jesus Christ my Saviour, who died for me. Amen.”
II.— Endless Joy ..... Page 483
My dear Children, — I have told you that you are never to die, but to have endless life. I wish to teach you now how you may have endless joy.
Of course you wish yourselves to have joy, and all who love you wish this also for you. Your good friends and relations wish it, and are glad when you are glad. The good angels wish it, for they all rejoice when they see even one sinner — and every one is a sinner — come back to God. Your own Saviour Jesus Christ wishes you to rejoice; for did He not leave heaven and come here to enable you to do so? Did He not become a little child, and Live for thirty years in the world to teach you how to be good? And did He not die for your sins, and rise again and live for ever to make you like Himself? And is He not always seeing you and thinking about you every day, and all to make you good? And God, your own Father, loves you; and does a father not wish to make his own children good and glad?
How very glad everything is in God's world! The woods in spring are a great concert of singing birds, busy building their nests and singing their songs. The air is full of larks that hymn like angels in the clouds. Bees hum over the meadows, and visit with a song every flower; and the flowers open their hearts, and give all their sweets to them, and then the bees return with joy to their hives, ready to start off at early morning singing again to their work. The waves dance in the sunbeams, and the streams go singing and dancing to the sea, and the fish leap and play in the water. The lambs sport and run races on the hill sides. The flowers have on gay clothes, and look so beautiful and glad, as the breeze plays with them and whispers to them. Even in winter, when the snow drifts, and the wind is cold, and the woods bare, and everything is asleep and resting till spring, the robin-redbreast and other birds are kept alive day and night. Even the little flies and gnats do not die, but appear again in summer. If you walk by the sea, too, you will observe a great number of birds that swim, and dive, and fly about happy, in spite of cold, and rain, and storm! Now God loves you far more than these, for He never called them His children, nor made them to be with Himself and to love Himself; and so God, who makes them so glad, surely wishes you to be far more glad? And does He not give you all your mercies and enjoyments every day? For there is not one day in which you do not laugh, and sing, and play. But He wishes to give you such joy as you never yet had, and to give it to you as long as you live! "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever."
But how are you to be happy? That is the question! I wonder what answer you are inclined to give to it. Shall I guess? It is this, I think: "We would be quite happy if we had our own way, and could do just whatever we pleased! Oh! if there was no one to find fault with us, and if we were never meddled with, but could go where we pleased, and do what we pleased, and get all we liked just by wishing it! Yes; to have
own will in everything, that would make us glad!" Have I not guessed well? Are not these your thoughts?
Now I do not blame you very much, my dear children, for thinking this. It is natural for you to do so, because even a child's heart has sin and folly in it, and you are perhaps too young to know how mistaken you are; and you are too young also to know how many people have tried the way of self-will and self-pleasing to be happy, and have never been so after all. But I will tell you an old story, which perhaps you never heard before.
There lived a little gold fish in a globe of water, and a little canary in a cage. One day the fish heard the bird sing, and it said, "Oh, how happy would I be, if I could only have my own will, and get out of this cold water, and be in a cage, and sing like that bird! But here I must live, and swim round and round this narrow globe of water; what a pity I cannot do as I please!" Soon after, upon a very hot day in summer, the canary saw the gold-fish swimming about in the water, and looking so clean, and bright, and cool. "Oh," said the canary, "how happy would I be if I could only have my own way, and get out of this nasty cage, and, in this hot weather, swim about in that pure and cool water where the fish is; what a pity I cannot do as I please!" There was a very wise and good spirit present, and he wished to teach them how ignorant and foolish they were; and so he said to the bird, "Believe me, my dear little bird, it would not make you happy to have your own will in this. Do God's will, and stay where He has put you, and sing your song, and be happy, just as He wishes you to be." "But I wish," said the bird, "to have my own way, and to go to the water. I don't believe what you tell me." Then the good spirit said to the little gold fish, "Believe me, my dear little fish, you would not be happy if you had your own will in this, and if you were in the cage. Stay where your Maker has put you, and swim about in the pure water as He wishes you." "But I wish," said the fish, "to be in the cage, and I don't believe what you tell me." So the good spirit sighed, and he said, "Oh, I wish you believed me, and did your Maker's will and not your own; but I will give you your own way, and you will learn, perhaps, by sorrow and pain, who is right, and who loves you best." So he put the fish into the cage, and the bird into the water! Oh, what misery there was! The bird was almost drowned, and the fish was almost choked, till they both cried in despair to the good spirit to help them, and promised they would always believe what he said, and never after this think they were sure to be happy by having their own way, or by doing their own will.
Now, my dear children, you are just as foolish as the little bird or the little fish, if you think you are sure to be glad by just getting your own way and doing your own will, without ever thinking whether your way is right, and your will is wise and good.
I have not yet told you where the right road is, but only of a wrong road to gladness, which is very broad and full of people.
In the meantime, say to God, — "My Father, I thank Thee for creating me to rejoice with Thee, and with Jesus Christ, and with all the good people in the universe. I bless Thee for all the mercies Thou hast already given me in this world, — for my health, my food and raiment, my friends and relations, and all I enjoy every day. But, oh! my Father, help me, and teach me how to be truly happy now and for ever and ever. Leave me not in ignorance, lest I should be so foolish and wicked as to seek happiness in my own way and not in Thy way, and by doing my own will, and not Thine. Hear me, for the sake of Thy Son, who always did Thy will, even unto death. Amen."
III.— Endless Life and Endless Joy.. . Page 484
My DEAR Children, — What I now wish you to know is, how you may be glad as long as you live. Perhaps you say, "Oh! that is just what we wish to know about, for if we are glad all the days of our life, and until we die, what more can we look for?" But I did not say that I was going to teach how to be happy only till you died; for have you forgotten that you are never to die, but to live for ever and ever? And if so, it would be a very little matter to you to be happy only for the few minutes you are to live here, unless you had such happiness as would remain with you as long as you live elsewhere. If you were about to take a long voyage of many months across the ocean, it would be of little use to have food in store which would last for a few days only. Now, this is one reason why you need something more than what so many people think would be quite enough to make them happy — such as plenty of money, with grand houses, beautiful lands, servants, carriages, and amusements, all the year round. Suppose you had all this, and that you were as happy as these things could make you, what could they do for you when you went away from the world on your long voyage, to live somewhere else, and had to leave every one of these things behind you, never more to see them? Read a story about this in the Gospel of St. Luke, 12th chapter, verses 16 to 21; and along with this read also what Christ says in the Gospel of St. Matthew, 16th chapter and 26th verse. It is natural for you, my dear children, to think that riches can make you glad, for you see so many people anxious to obtain them. Remember, I do not say that being rich, or wishing to be rich, is wrong; because riches are a gift from God, and so are houses and lands, and these, with all other beautiful things, are often given as a reward for industry, patience, honesty, and self-denial, which are pleasing to God. Who, therefore, would not like to have riches! But what I say is this, that if you had nothing more; if, for example, you were not good, and did not care for God, or love Him, but were proud, vain, and selfish, all the world could not make you good — you would have no Peace in your hearts. I am sure, my dear children, if you were afraid of your parents, or if you thought that they were angry with you, because you were doing what was wrong, you could not have peace, even though some one gave you money, or tried to amuse you; indeed, it would be a poor sign of you if you could! Or, if you were away from your parents, and did not know where to find them, would you be glad? I am sure not! I saw a little child the other day, that had lost its way in the street, and was taken to a strange house until its parents were found. Oh, how that child mourned! I thought its little heart would break. One gave it sweet things to quiet it, and another some pence, others showed it beautiful pictures, but it always cried the more, "My mother, my mother, Oh! I want my mother!" And just in the same way you cannot, my dear children, have peace without God, even if you tried it. He loves you so much, that He has made your hearts so, that you cannot be at peace unless you are at peace with Him, and unless you know and love Him as your own Father in heaven, because He alone is worth loving with all your heart, soul, and strength, for ever and ever! And if you did not love Him, but were frightened of Him, and tried to forget Him, because you were afraid, then I am sure all the gold and silver in the world could not make you happy! The Bible contains many stories of people who thus tried to find peace without God, but who found they could not do so, any more than their eyes could be satisfied with having money put on them, but the light kept from them. You can read for yourselves about a man who was one of the most powerful kings and richest merchants that ever lived; who had all the world could give him, but who found that all this, without love to God, his Father, was but "vanity and vexation of spirit." Read Ecclesiastes, 2nd chapter, from verse 4 to end of verse 11. There is another far more dreadful story than this, of a rich man who cared only for himself, and had no love to his God or to his neighbour. He had a kind of happiness, yet you will see, when you read the story, that it did not last ; and, not only so, but even while it lasted, it could no more fill up his heart, than a candle can fill the world with light without the sun. Read in St. Luke, 16th chapter, from verse 19 to verse 31. And now, my dear children, what do I wish you to learn from all this? It is this, that to be truly glad now, and to continue to be glad for ever, is to love God as your Father, to trust Him, and do His will. If you are afraid of past sins, remember Jesus Christ died for your sins, and that God will at once forgive you for Christ's sake, if you sincerely wish to give them up and obey Him; and if you fear the evil in your hearts, God will give you His Holy Spirit to enable you to obey Him. I have a great deal to say to you about this in other papers. But think about what has been already said; and remember, that while God gives you all the good you have, your health of body, and cheerful mind, your sports and amusements, with merry hearts to enjoy them, dear companions, friends, relations, parents — everything, in short, except what is bad, and what would therefore make you miserable — that He also gives you what is more than all this, more than all the world, — He gives you himself in love, and to love! — and says: "Come, my children, and speak to me, and love me with all your hearts, for I am your Father, and love you, and give you all things richly to enjoy, and wish to make you happy as long as you live." Therefore, speak to Him in prayer, and say:
"My Father! Thou hast made me, and preserved me, and redeemed me from sin and Satan, through the death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, my Saviour. Thou hast given me all my mercies, and, best of all, Thou hast given me Thyself, that I might know, love, and serve Thee, with gladness, now and for ever! Oh! my Father, forgive me for having so often forgotten Thee, and kept thee out of my heart as if Thou didst not love me. Forgive me that I do not know Thee better, and love Thee more. Help me, my Father, through the Holy Spirit of love, to think of Thee oftener than I have done, to feel more grateful to Thee for all I enjoy, and never to do anything displeasing to Thee, my Maker, Preserver, Redeemer, my ever present and ever loving Father! Hear me, for Christ's sake. Amen.”
IV.— "Our Father" . . . . Page 485
My DEAR Children, — What I now wish you to know is, how you may be glad as long as you live. Perhaps you say, "Oh! that is just what we wish to know about, for if we are glad all the days of our life, and until we die, what more can we look for?" But I did not say that I was going to teach how to be happy only till you died; for have you forgotten that you are never to die, but to live for ever and ever? And if so, it would be a very little matter to you to be happy only for the few minutes you are to live here, unless you had such happiness as would remain with you as long as you live elsewhere. If you were about to take a long voyage of many months across the ocean, it would be of little use to have food in store which would last for a few days only. Now, this is one reason why you need something more than what so many people think would be quite enough to make them happy — such as plenty of money, with grand houses, beautiful lands, servants, carriages, and amusements, all the year round. Suppose you had all this, and that you were as happy as these things could make you, what could they do for you when you went away from the world on your long voyage, to live somewhere else, and had to leave every one of these things behind you, never more to see them? Read a story about this in the Gospel of St. Luke, 12th chapter, verses 16 to 21; and along with this read also what Christ says in the Gospel of St. Matthew, 16th chapter and 26th verse. It is natural for you, my dear children, to think that riches can make you glad, for you see so many people anxious to obtain them. Remember, I do not say that being rich, or wishing to be rich, is wrong; because riches are a gift from God, and so are houses and lands, and these, with all other beautiful things, are often given as a reward for industry, patience, honesty, and self-denial, which are pleasing to God. Who, therefore, would not like to have riches! But what I say is this, that if you had nothing more; if, for example, you were not good, and did not care for God, or love Him, but were proud, vain, and selfish, all the world could not make you good — you would have no Peace in your hearts. I am sure, my dear children, if you were afraid of your parents, or if you thought that they were angry with you, because you were doing what was wrong, you could not have peace, even though some one gave you money, or tried to amuse you; indeed, it would be a poor sign of you if you could! Or, if you were away from your parents, and did not know where to find them, would you be glad? I am sure not! I saw a little child the other day, that had lost its way in the street, and was taken to a strange house until its parents were found. Oh, how that child mourned! I thought its little heart would break. One gave it sweet things to quiet it, and another some pence, others showed it beautiful pictures, but it always cried the more, "My mother, my mother, Oh! I want my mother!" And just in the same way you cannot, my dear children, have peace without God, even if you tried it. He loves you so much, that He has made your hearts so, that you cannot be at peace unless you are at peace with Him, and unless you know and love Him as your own Father in heaven, because He alone is worth loving with all your heart, soul, and strength, for ever and ever! And if you did not love Him, but were frightened of Him, and tried to forget Him, because you were afraid, then I am sure all the gold and silver in the world could not make you happy! The Bible contains many stories of people who thus tried to find peace without God, but who found they could not do so, any more than their eyes could be satisfied with having money put on them, but the light kept from them. You can read for yourselves about a man who was one of the most powerful kings and richest merchants that ever lived; who had all the world could give him, but who found that all this, without love to God, his Father, was but "vanity and vexation of spirit." Read Ecclesiastes, 2nd chapter, from verse 4 to end of verse 11. There is another far more dreadful story than this, of a rich man who cared only for himself, and had no love to his God or to his neighbour. He had a kind of happiness, yet you will see, when you read the story, that it did not last ; and, not only so, but even while it lasted, it could no more fill up his heart, than a candle can fill the world with light without the sun. Read in St. Luke, 16th chapter, from verse 19 to verse 31. And now, my dear children, what do I wish you to learn from all this? It is this, that to be truly glad now, and to continue to be glad for ever, is to love God as your Father, to trust Him, and do His will. If you are afraid of past sins, remember Jesus Christ died for your sins, and that God will at once forgive you for Christ's sake, if you sincerely wish to give them up and obey Him; and if you fear the evil in your hearts, God will give you His Holy Spirit to enable you to obey Him. I have a great deal to say to you about this in other papers. But think about what has been already said; and remember, that while God gives you all the good you have, your health of body, and cheerful mind, your sports and amusements, with merry hearts to enjoy them, dear companions, friends, relations, parents — everything, in short, except what is bad, and what would therefore make you miserable — that He also gives you what is more than all this, more than all the world, — He gives you himself in love, and to love! — and says: "Come, my children, and speak to me, and love me with all your hearts, for I am your Father, and love you, and give you all things richly to enjoy, and wish to make you happy as long as you live." Therefore, speak to Him in prayer, and say:
"My Father! Thou hast made me, and preserved me, and redeemed me from sin and Satan, through the death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, my Saviour. Thou hast given me all my mercies, and, best of all, Thou hast given me Thyself, that I might know, love, and serve Thee, with gladness, now and for ever! Oh! my Father, forgive me for having so often forgotten Thee, and kept thee out of my heart as if Thou didst not love me. Forgive me that I do not know Thee better, and love Thee more. Help me, my Father, through the Holy Spirit of love, to think of Thee oftener than I have done, to feel more grateful to Thee for all I enjoy, and never to do anything displeasing to Thee, my Maker, Preserver, Redeemer, my ever present and ever loving Father! Hear me, for Christ's sake. Amen.”
V..— Trust in God ..... Page 487
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My dear Children, — God our Father loves us, and wishes us to trust Him. Now I will explain to you what is meant by trusting God. Once upon a time a house took fire, in the old town of Edinburgh. All the people escaped. But, somehow or other, a family in the second floor did not awake until the flames almost entered their room. The father and mother seized their children and rushed down-stairs with them to the street ; but, just as they reached it, they discovered that their little boy, WUly, had been left behind, for the father thought he was with his mother, and the mother that he was saved by the father ; and so, amidst the noise, confusion, and terror, the poor boy was left alone in the b\irning house. The moment he was missed, his father ran back through tire and smoke to save his child. But, alas ! the Avooden stair was burning — indeed, most of it was already burnt — so that it was impossible to reach the floor where little WiUy was left. But, just as his father returned in agony to the street, the boy was seen standing at one of the windows, weeping bitterly, and evidently in great fear. Not a moment was to be lost. Yet v/hat could be done ? There was no ladder near — in a few minutes the flames would reach the child. The father shouted to him to leap down, and he would try to save him. Little WUly was afraid to take so terrible a leap ; but the fire was raging through the building, sending out long red tongues of flame, clouds of smoke, and millions of sparks up to the sky ; and no wonder Willy was terrified, as he heard the roaring and crackling around him, and, looking do\vn, saw every face in the large crowd gazing up to him ! He knew, however, that there was no hope if he remained where he was. "Jump, my boy, and trust me ! " cried the father, with tears. In a moment something white was seen, Hke a flake of snow, faUing from the window. Not a word was spoken by the crowd, every one held his breath, and many, I daresay, prayed that God would preserve the child who had sprung from the window in obedience to his father's command, and trusting to his father's power and love ! His trust was not put to shame, for he was received in his arms, and clasped to his bosom ; and while the crowd gave a loud cheer, the father thanked God that his little '\\'''illy was safe ! You see how Willy trusted his father. Now, dear children, you cannot help trusting some one or other every day of your lives. When, for example, you lose your road, and ask somo person to direct you, and you follow his directions, then you trust that person aa a guide. When you sail in a vessel, and perhaps take a long voyage across the ocean, you are obliged to trust entirely to others, day and night, for safety, and for reaching your destination. When in sickness, you ask the physician to find out your complaint, and to give you the best remedies for curing it, if you believe what he says, and take the medicines which he gives, then you trust him. When you go to school, you trust the teacher, that he is able to instruct you, every day and hoiu*. You trust your friends who love you, and, above all, you trust your father and mother, who must love you best of all, to take care of you, feed you, clothe you, guide you, choose for you, and to do you all the good in their power. Do you not understand now what is meant by trusting a person ? Now, to trust God, is just to have confidence in Him, as little Wniy had in his father, and, as we all have in a guide, to direct us on our journey — in a captain of a ship, to bring us safely on our voyage — in a physician, to heal us in our sickness — and in our dear friends and parents, to help us in everything ; only we Tnust trust God better than we can do them, and I shall tell you why. First of all, God loves us much more than any one on earth can do. Although a father and mother may love us with all their heart, yet their heart is not so great in love as is the heart of our Father in heaven. Secondly, Those whom we trust on earth, though they may wish to help us, may not he able to do so. For example, when we need their aid, they may be far away, and not able to give it. But God is always with us day and night, as the Psalmist says, " Thou knowest my down -sitting and mine up- rising ; thou understandest my thoiight afar off. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, 0 Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me ; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee ; but tlie night shineth as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." Thirdly, Friends may be with us, without the power to assist us. Willy's father might not have been able to have caught hold of his boy, nor the guide we spoke of to direct us in our joiu-ney, nor the captain in our voj^age ; and the pbysician may neither know our complaint, nor be able to cure it. But it is not so with God. He has all power, and docs whatever He pleases ; and if we trust Him, it will please Him alv/ays to do whatever is best for us, in order to make us good and happy. Trust Him, therefore, for m^rcy to forgive you all your sins, and for His Holy Spirit to help you to do His will. Trust Him for wisdom to guide you every day ; for love to comfort you, provide for you, give you peace, and to make you love Himself, and every one about you. li you do so, you will know more and more the older you get how true it is what the prophet says, " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose sold is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee ; " and then you will have the .joy of being able to say in your old age, "0 Lord! thou hast been my trxist from my youth/" Therefore say to " My Father ! I am weak and helpless ; I cannot take care of myself ; I know not what may take place in a single hour. But Thou seest me, and Thou knowest all I speak, think, and do. Thou art able to help me always, and to bless me in everything. Thoii lovest me ; therefore, my God, I put my trust in Thee, and I am sure that I shall never be put to shame. Save me, guide me, heal me, and enable me always to love, trust, and obey Thee, as Thine own chUd, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
VI.— Some Examples of Faith from the Old Testament . . . Page 584
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My dear Children,— I have already explained to you what is meant by trusting God ; and tried to make you feel how right and how blessed it is thus to place your confidence in the truth, the wisdom, the jxjwer, the grace and love of the glorious God who made us, who preserves us, who gives us every good thing, who so loves us that He gave his Son to die for us, and who, in one word, is Our Father in heaven, to whom we belong, and with whom we hope to live for ever and ever. All who know God trust Him ; but those who do not know God trust in themselves, in their own evil wills and their own evil ways, and try to be happy without God. We read in the Bible of men who in every diffi- culty and trial trusted God ; and we see how strong, and peaceful, and safe they were when they did so, but how everything went wrong with them, how they got into confusion and misery, when they did not trust Him. Let me give you a few examples of this faith in God. Ifoah trusted God when he was warned by Him of coming danger, and ^vas commanded to prepare the means for his own safety. The coming danger was the Flood, which was to destroy the wicked world, and the only means of escape was the Ark. Now such a thing as a flood had never occurred ; but Noah believed God, and therefore built the large ark year after year upon the diy land, and 80 he was saved, while those who did not believe God's word were lost. " By faith," says the apostle, "Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his hoiise Thus let us be assured that God will save all who trust and obey Him. Let us now fly for refuge to Jesus Christ, the only ark of safety, as de- struction may come in a moment to those who are so wicked as to disbelieve God, as if He was not in earnest and did not mean to do what He threatens. AbraJuim trusted God, who promised to give the land of Canaan to his descendants, through one of whom (Jesus Christ) all the famihes of the earth would be blest. When God told tliis to Abraham he was wandering about as a stranger in that very land, yet he never doubted God's promise. He had no son at the time, yet he believed God's promise to give him one. Then came a great trial of his faith when God commanded him to offer up his dear sou — his only son — as a sacrifice ! But Abraham never murmured — never objected — nor delayed a single day to obey God. And why? because he loved and trusted God, and was glad to yield up everything to Him who was his Maker, his Pre- server, his Father. He did not know how God would deliver him or his boy, or how He could keep his promise. He knew only God himself and his will, and so, like a little child, he obeyed his Heavenly Father. Isaac, too, obeyed in the same spirit of trust his earthly father when he was boimd by him to the altar. Their faith was not put to shame ! You have read the beautiful histoiy in the twenty-second chapter of Genesis : read it again. "By faith," says the apostle, "Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the jjromises offered up his only begotten son. Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called : Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead ; from whence also he received him in a figure,"
Now, dear children, always tnist God that He will keep every promise made to those who believe and do His will. When yon know what is right, that is, what is God's will, do it. You may think it at the time very hard, very difficult, and that it would be far better and happier to be selfish and dis- obedient. But trust God, and be sure that in the end you will see His way to be the happy way, because the right way. He will give you strength to do your duty, great peace in doing it, and greater peace when it is done. Make no excuses for disobedience, for there never can, by any possibility, be a good excuse for sinning. Moses trusted God's power, and wisdom, and goodness, in circumstances which severely tested his faith. For he gave up all the riches and splendour of Egypt, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. And " seeing Him who is invisible," he braved aU the wrath of Pharaoh, and marched to the Red Sea, not seeing how God could deliver him and the thousands of Israel ; but God made a path through the waters. And Moses for forty years trusted God in the howling wilderness, when the people themselves so lost their faith that they ' ' covdd not enter " into the Promised Land "because of unbelief." It was this Moses who centuries afterwards appeared with Christ in glory on the Mount of Transfigura- tion. The God who guided and delivered Moses out of all his troubles will guide and deliver every boy and girl who will not be turned away from duty hy /ear of what other people may say or do, nor of difficulties which come before tliem; but will "go forward" in the right path, trusting in the Lord their God for help in their time of need. They who thus live now, wiU in the end be glorified with Christ and His faithful servants. Job trusted God in the midst of the sorest afflictions ever endured by man. When he was in the enjoyment of every earthly blessing, possessed of immense wealth, and surrounded by a large and happy family of sons and daughters, he did not depend on these for his true happiness, but on his God, Satan, the wicked one, alleged that Job did not care for God himself, but only for the good things which God bestowed. So the Lord was pleased to take from him his earthly riches and his dear family, and to visit him with a foathsome disease ; so that all was lost to him except God And did Job then lose his trust in God, and think that God was no longer his father and friend ? No ! The old saint held fast his confidence in the darkness as well as in the hglit, in adversity as weU as in prosperity, and said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord ! " " Though he slay me, yet will I put my trust in him ! " And thus, dear children, it may be the will of your Father to send you sickness and poverty, to deprive you of those you love most on earth, and leave you very lonely in the world ; but the God whom Job trusted is stiU your God, and you must trust Him as Job did, aud believe that He loves you and can never forget you, but will in his own way and in his own time provide for you and comfort you. " You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. " David trusted God when, a young lad, he went to fight the giant Gohath. It was not from any trust in his own courage or skill that he did this, but from simple faith in the help of God. Hear his noble words : "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield : but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day win the Lord deliver thee into mine hand ; and I wiU smite thee, and take thine head from thee ; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth ; that all the earth may know that tliere is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and sjiear : for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands." When you feel, dear children, that you ought to do something which is difficult, perhaps to resist temp- tation, or to overcome a bad habit, never be cast down by the thought of your own weakness and the strength of sin. " If God is for you," — and He is for you when you are for what is right, — it is enough ! "Greater is he who is for you than all who are against you." "He will perfect his strength in your weakness." "My grace," he says, " is sufficient for you ! " Once more. Daniel trusted God when he was threatened with death if he prayed to God. Daniel had been carried captive to Babylon, and when young and in a strange land he had showed even then in many ways his love and obedience to tlie God of his fathers. But when he became the greatest man next to the king, and when upwards of eighty years of age, some envious and wicked people de- ceived the king aud got a law passed by which Daniel should be cast into the den of lions if he prayed to his God. Yet Daniel prayed as he used to do. There was no one to stand by and defend him but his God. He had no church to go to in that idolati-ous land ; and few, if any, good people to pray with him. If he did what was right, there was no friend or companion to cheer him, while enemies watched him, aud resolved to take away his life in a cruel way, unless he became a base idolater like themselves. Now Daniel did not say, "I will not be singular, but do as other people do ;" or "I will worship God in secret, but not confess him before the world;" or "I wiU pretend to be an idolater, as the custom of the country is, but in my heart I wiU believe in God;" or "since they will put me to deatli, it is a good excuse for my not praying." No ! He, the old man, the prime minister of the country, was no mean coward or hypocrite. He trusted God and did what was right, though it should cost him his life to do this ! And so he was cast into the den of hungry lions. The foolish king was grieved indeed, but even he could not save him out of the hands of his lords and princes. " Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him ; and he laboured till the going down of the sim to deliver him." And when Daniel was cast into the den, "Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him : and his sleep went from him." But the king somehow believed that God would save his servant, and so we read that he "rose very early in the morniag, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice imto Daniel : and the king spake and said to Daniel, 0 Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou sei-vest coutinvially, able to deliver thee from the lions ? Then said Daniel unto the king, 0 king, live for ever. My God hath scut his angel, and hath shut the Hons' mouths, that they have not hurt me : forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me ; and also before thee, 0 king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and com- manded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God." What a sin and shame it would be if you, my dear children, were afraid or ashamed to do what is right ; to pray to God, for example, because none of your companions do this, or because they may ridicule you, or annoy you ! Learn to trust the God whom Daniel trusted, alike in his youth and old age, and He .will bless you and make you a blessing. Have a holy loving fear for God, and you will never have a cowardly fear for man. It is the good man alone who can have peace amidst lions. I think it very likely that you know all those true stories I have told you, as well as many others, in the Old Testament, of good men who trusted God. You will read them again for youi-selves in the Bible, and I hope they will strengthen you to be "followers of God as dear children." But I will teU you another which, perhaps, may have escaped your notice.
VII.— The Negro Servant who trusted God ....Page 586
VIII. — How Jesus Christ was Trusted . ... Page 587
IX.--- Selfishness ..... Page 663
X.— The Unselfishness of Jesus . . . Page 664