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"THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD:' 1 



OR, 



THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 




PUBLISHED BY THE 
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

NEW YORK : 150 NASSAU-STREET, 
BOSTON : 28 CORNHILL. 



a 



THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

OR, 

THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 



CHAPTER I. 



A great many years ago, a Babe was born in 
Bethlehem of Jndea. His father and mother were 
poor, and besides, they were away from home. 
They did not live in Bethlehem, and when that 
Babe was born, they had to lay him in a manger, 
out in the stable, where horses and cows had been 
kept. 

Do you know who this child was ? 

It was Christ, who made all things that were 
ever made. And yet, you would not have known 

696722 



4 -'THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;' 

him from any other little child. Perhaps he was 
not dressed as well as others, for his mother did not 
have any thing for him but coarse clothes, and these 
she wrapped around him. The people at the pub- 
lic-house thought there was not room for Joseph 
and Mary and the child, in the house. If they had 
known that this little child was God's Son, I think 
some of them would have offered him their room. 

But God knew, and the bright and beautiful 
angels knew, and they were all watching him. 
And God wished other people to know that Christ 
was born. So he sent an angel that night to some 
men who were taking care of their sheep out of 
doors in the dark. Perhaps the men were almost 
asleep, as they sat there so quietly upon the ground ; 
for when they saw the angel standing so near 
them, they were very much frightened. But the 
angel told them not to be afraid, for he had come 
to tell them good news. Then the shepherds lis- 
tened, while the angel told them that in the city of 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS, 




David, they would find a babe wrapped in coarse 
clothes, lying in a manger. As soon as the angel 
had said this, a great many angels came, and they 



6 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

all sang and praised God, and rejoiced, they were 
so glad that God had sent a Saviour to this wicked 
world. The angels began to rise as they sang, and 
kept going up higher and higher into the sky, till 
finally they were out of sight. They had gone 
back to heaven. 

Then the shepherds said one to another, Come, 
let us go to Bethlehem, and see this Babe, the 
Christ, which the angels have told us of. So leav- 
ing their sheep, they started immediately and went 
very fast, talking about what they had seen, as 
they walked along in the dark. They had heard 
before, that Christ should be born at some time, but 
they did not expect to see him while they lived. 
Now that he was born in Bethlehem, they hurried 
on to see him. 

Pretty soon they said, Now we have come to 
the city; let us look till we find Christ. So they 
went on through one street, and then on to another, 
till they came to the public-house. But they did 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 7 

not find him there. Then they looked for the sta- 
ble, where travellers sometimes lodged. Soon they 
saw it, and going lip very carefully and gently, 
they looked in. 

"What do you suppose they saw there ? Do you 
think they found the babe ? Yes, there he lay in 
the manger; and perhaps, like Moses in the ark of 
bulrushes, the babe wept when they first saw him. 
And like Moses, too, I suppose it was a very beau- 
tiful child, though it was dressed in such poor 
clothes, and was lying in such a poor bed, just as 
the angels had said. And there were Joseph and 
Mary, taking care of him, with their hearts trem- 
bling for the child, as the hearts of the mother and 
sister of Moses in the bulrushes trembled for him. 
Perhaps the bed of the infant Saviour was only hay 
or straw, while you, little children, have pleasant 
rooms, and good soft beds, and good clothes. Yet, 
it may be, you sometimes complain because you do 
not have better. You must often think how much 



8 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

better you fare than Christ did, although he was 
holy, and you are sinful. 

After the shepherds had seen Christ, they went 
out and told many people what the angels had 
said, and that they had seen him in the manger. 
I have no doubt a great many went in when they 
heard that, for they would all wish to see the Sav- 
iour. 

When he was eight days old, they named him 
"Jesus," which means Saviour. This name was 
given him by the angel ; hence they were at no loss 
to know what name to give him, as parents are 
now, when they come to name their child. 

AVhen he was about one month old, they carried 
him to the beautiful temple in Jerusalem. Here 
they presented him to the Lord, as other good peo- 
ple did their little boys. While they stood there, 
they saw an old man coming in. His hair was thin 
and white, and he had a long white beard hanging 
down upon his breast. His name was Simeon. 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 9 

He loved God, and came there every day to wor- 
ship him. As he came up to Joseph and Mary, 
God told him that the little child in Mary's arms 
was the Christ, or the Messiah, which he had "been 
hoping to see before he died. How glad that old 
man was then. He said he wanted to take him in 
his arms ; so Mary put the babe in his arms, and 
he raised his eyes to heaven and thanked G-od that 
he had sent a Saviour, saying, he was now ready 
to die, for he had seen the Christ. Then he turned 
to Mary and Joseph, and blessed them. 

While he was talking, a very aged woman, 
about eighty-four years old, came tottering up to 
them. She was a good woman, and worshipped 
God in the temple as Simeon did. Her name was 
Anna ; and it having been told her that the babe 
was Christ, she too thanked God for sending him. 

A great way east of Bethlehem were some 
"wise men;" and God told them that Christ was 
born, and if they would follow a very bright star, 



10 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

they would find him right under that star. So they 
at once set out, and after a long time they came 
to Jerusalem, where Herod the king lived. There 
they stopped, and asked for Christ the King of the 
Jews. When Herod heard their question, he was 
very much troubled ; for he was afraid that if 
Christ was to be king, he could not continue to be 
one. And so he said to himself, that if he could 
find where Christ was, he would kill him. He 
called the chief priests and learned men to him, 
and asked them to tell him where the Bible said 
Christ should be born. 

They did not know that he wished to kill him, 
so they told him that the prophefc Micah had said, 
in the Old Testament, that Christ should be born in 
Bethlehem. 

Then Herod told the wise men to go there and 
find him, and then to come back and tell him, for 
he said he too wished to go and worship him. 
How wicked he was to tell such a lie. Do you 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 11 

think G-od would let Herod kill his clear Son as 
soon as he came into this world ? We shall see. 

The wise men had some presents for Christ, 
which they were keeping carefully for him. I 
think they had them wrapped up in some cloth, 
that they might not get injured. Sometimes you 
hare nice presents brought yon, do you not, from 
some friend ? and you are always glad to get them. 
Would you not like to have seen what they had 
for Christ? 

The bright star which the shepherds had been 
following, finally came and stood still over the 
place where Christ was, and the wise men soon 
found him, Then they were very glad, and took 
the gold, and some very costly and fragrant gums 
and spices, which they had brought for presents, 
and gave them to Mary, to keep for Christ, for he 
was too young to take care of them himself. AYhile 
these w r ise men were there, God told them not to 
go back to Herod again ; and when they had staid 



12 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

as long as they wished, they went home to their 
own country another way. So wicked Herod had 
not yet found out where Christ was, though he was 
only six miles from where he lived. You see how 
God took care of this good child, and how he can 
take care of all good children. 

Joseph now began to think of going back to 
Nazareth, his home. Perhaps he told Mary that 
they would start early the next morning. But that 
night, while all around was still, as they lay there 
sleeping in the dark, an angel of God appeared to 
Joseph in a dream, and told him to take the child 
and its mother, and go away to Egypt ; for if he 
went back to Nazareth, Herod would find it out, 
and send some wicked men and kill Christ. Jo- 
seph, as soon as he was thus awaked, told Mary 
what God had said to him in his dream. But it 
was dark, and what could they do? Do you think 
they would lie still till morning ? No, indeed ; they 
got up immediately, and taking the blessed child, 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 13 

which was sweetly sleeping, they started off for 
Egypt. 

As there were then but few horses to he had, 
and these were costly, it is probable that Joseph, 
being poor, procured a mule for Mary to ride on as 
she carried Jesus, while Joseph went on foot, lead- 
ing the mule. 

The moon, the same one that we have now, 
might have been seen, perhaps, and the distant 
stars, casting a little light on the dark way that 
Joseph had to pick out, as he hurried along that 
night. And perhaps there were wild beasts that 
broke across his path, and growled around Joseph, 
as he waked them up from their sleep. But he 
feared "these less than he did Herod ; and trusting 
in G-od, he kept on his journey. 

It was a long way down to Egypt, and travel- 
ling so slowly as they were obliged to, it took them 
many days and nights to get to their place of safety 
that God had told them of. 



14 "THAT S^YEET STORY OF OLD;" 

Herod became tired of waiting for the wise men 
to come back and tell him where Christ was ; but 
finding out, by and by, that they had gone back to 
their own country another way, he was very angry, 
and said he would kill all the little boys that lived 
in Bethlehem, that were not more than two years 
old. In this way, he thought he would be sure 
to kill Christ, who he supposed was still some- 
where among the other children in that city. He 
did not know that Joseph and Mary were then on 
their way to Egypt, with the little child he so much 
wished to kill. So we see how God was taking 
care of Jesus ; and when he takes care of any one, 
neither wicked people, nor the wicked spirits in 
hell, can do G-od's precious ones any harm. ■ 

Herod did as he said he would, for he sent some 
cruel men with knives and swords, and they went 
into every house and found all the little boys, and 
killed them. How dreadful this was ; and how 
bad the mothers must have felt ! I think we should 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 15 

hide our little brothers away, if we could, did we 
know that some wicked men were coming to our 
house to kill them. 

But God did not let Herod's wickedness go 
without punishing him for it. Herod was very- 
proud, and as he was going on from one wicked 
thing to another, he was all at once taken very 
sick, so that he could not stand up, he was in such 
pain ; and before he died, God sent worms into his 
flesh that soon ate him up. He could not live any 
longer, for he had sinned as much as God would 
permit him to, and now he must go to give up his 
account to God. How much better it would have 
been, if Herod had tried to do right. I hope all the 
children who read this, will be careful to be kind 
and good, like Christ, and never be cruel, and 
angry, and proud, as Herod was. Perhaps Herod 
began to be wicked when he was quite a little boy, 
and finally became such a murderer that God saw 
he was too wicked to live ; and so having smitten 



16 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

him with such an awful death, he went to dwell 
for ever with the devil and his wicked angels. 

After Joseph and Mary and the holy Child had 
been a few months living with some Jewish friends 
in Egypt, Joseph saw one night in his dream, a 
bright and good angel sent from heaven, w r ho told 
him that Herod was dead, and that he might now 
go back home. 

How glad Joseph and Mary must have been. 
Christ was now several months old, and his mother 
loved him dearly, and took the kindest care of him 
as the little familv travelled towards their home. 

She knew he was to be the Saviour, and that 
he would never do any thing wrong. Your moth- 
ers, dear children, feel afraid all the time that you 
will grow up to be wicked ; for you have bad hearts, 
and think wicked thoughts, and these lead to wick- 
ed actions. Your mothers are telling you every 
day what to do, and what you ought not to do. 
Sometimes you get tired of being talked to so much, 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. IT 

and wish you could do as you please. If you were 
holy, like Christ, it would be safe to let you do as 
you please; but as long as you are wicked, you 
need some kind words of caution and correction, 
and should be very thankful if God has given you 
a father or mother to do you good. 

After Joseph and Mary reached Nazareth, the 
child Jesus grew just as yon or any other little boy 
or girl grows, becoming larger and larger in body, 
and stronger and stronger in mind ; for Christ had 
a body and soul like us, though he was God. We 
cannot tell how he could be God and man too, but 
the Bible says so, and what that says we believe ; 
for it is God's holy word sent to us, as really as if 
your father should send his wishes to yon, written 
in a great many letters, with your name on the 
outside. 

Nazareth, where Joseph lived, was about sixty 
miles from Jerusalem ; but he went up to Jerusa- 
lem every year to keep the feast of the Passover. 



Hi-t. of Jcsu- 



18 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

Do you remember, my good children, what that 
feast was ? I will tell you. When God called the 
children of Israel to come out of Egypt, and Pha- 
raoh would not let them go, God told the Israelites 
to kill a lamb, and sprinkle the blood upon their 
doors ; for he would send an angel that night, to go 
into every house where there was no blood on the 
door, and slay the eldest son. This they did ; and 
in the night, when almost every body was asleep, 
the angel came. As he came to one house, and 
looked on it, there he saw the blood, so he passed 
over that house. But another house had no blood 
on it. It was an Egyptian's house. So the angel 
went in and slew the eldest son. Then he came 
out, and as he went through the streets, he passed 
over all the houses where the blood was, but he 
went into all the rest and slew the eldest son. An- 
gels can go in if the doors are locked. 

So when the Israelites came into the land of 
Canaan, God told them to go to Jerusalem every 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 19 

year, in March or April, and kill lambs, and keep 
this feast of the Passover, that they might remember 
that God had shown them such mercy in Egypt. 

And he told them, too, that when all the men 
had gone to Jerusalem to keep this feast, the wick- 
ed nations round them should not even wish to rob 
them of their lands, or their possessions ; so they 
could leave home in safety, and keep the feast. 
Thus God takes care of those that keep his com- 
mandments, and thus good people lose nothing by 
keeping the Sabbath-day holy. 

When Christ was twelve years old, Joseph took 
him, with his mother, and went up to Jerusalem 
to the Passover. It was a spring-day, and there 
spring comes, with its flowers and leaves, earlier 
than it does here ; and as the little family travelled 
on, all things that God had made beautiful in its 
season met their eyes, and made them the more 
happy as they journeyed. 

The road, for a while, wound along in a valley, 



20 



"THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 




the hills rising' gently on both sides, though not 
very high. But they soon came to a plain, from 
which rises mount Tabor. This mountain has on 
it groups of handsome oak-trees, and a great many 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JEStTS. 21 

sweet flowers, that look up meekly under the trees, 
and spread their leaves to catch the sunshine and 
the showers. Flowers are sometimes called " God's 
smiles," and how many of them does he give to 
this wicked world. 

There were also some wild animals — as fierce 
and dreadful as these flowers are beautiful and 
sweet. So God often lets good and bad things 
grow together, and he made these flowers just as 
sweet as if they were not to be trodden on by 
the wild beasts. Some think that it was on this 
same mountain, that Christ, when he was past 
thirty years of age, went up, and was changed into 
a most glorious appearance. But as they now went 
on towards the Passover, they did not turn aside to 
see what was in this mountain, though now and 
then they could hear the song of birds in the trees, 
or see them flying about among the flowers near 
the ground. 

They must have been several days in reaching 



22 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

Jerusalem, for they did not then have railroads and 
steam-boats, nor even stages. 

As they came near the city, and were joined by 
a great many other families going to the same feast, 
they must have been a strange and busy company, 
for they were probably riding on mules, and had 
on singular-looking dresses, reaching from their 
shoulders down to their feet, with shoes that only 
covered the bottom of the foot, and something like 
a gay-colored handkerchief wound around their 
heads. These were all making haste to get up to 
the golden temple, at the feast. 

Oh how that beautiful and grand temple flashed 
and glittered as they came up in front of it, and 
saw its golden pillars and towers in the brightness 
of the sun. Perhaps Jesus had never seen it till 
then, and he admired it as much as any of his age 
that were there. Those who saw him then go up 
joyfully into that temple, little knew how much he 
would there have to suffer from the abuse of the 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 23 

wicked men that afterwards would insult him and 
try to kill him. 

The feast lasted seven days, and then the people 
began to get ready to return. Some old men with 
tottering steps, leaning on canes, with great diffi- 
culty made out to walk from the temple to their 
wagons, and younger men, and boys, most of them 
rode mules, or walked all the way home. 

Joseph and Mary started off in the morning, 
along with some of their friends going the same 
way, supposing that Jesus was in the company. 
On they went, sometimes halting to rest, or eat, till 
it was near night. Then, as they stopped, they 
began to wonder where their son was, Mary asked 
a good many if they had seen him, and Joseph too 
looked among the people, but they could not find 
him. How bad they felt. They could not rest, 
but started back, and looked for him for three days. 
Then they went into the temple again, thinking 
he might be there. Do you think he was ? 



24 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

Yes; there he sat with some wise men, talk- 
ing about what the Bible says; sometimes asking 
questions, and then answering these men. Those 
men were astonished to find that one only twelve 
years old should know so much, being wiser than 
they. 

Joseph and Mary were very glad when they 
saw him ; and his mother, going to him, asked him 
how he could have staid there, for they had been 
looking for him for three days, in great sorrow. 
Jesus asked them if they did not know that he must 
be about his Father's business. He meant, that he 
must be doing what God wished him to do. But 
he went back with them, and lived at Nazareth a 
good many years, and perhaps worked with Joseph, 
who was a carpenter. At length he became thirty 
years old. 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 25 



CHAPTER II. 

Now Christ had a cousin, who was about six 
months older than himself, who was called John 
the Baptist. Some people thought that John was 
the Messiah or Saviour, who was to come ; but he 
told them he was not, but that he would soon point 
out the Christ to them. 

One day when John was baptizing some people 
in the river Jordan, Christ came there among them, 
and asked to be baptized. At first, John did not 
like to do it, but told Christ that he had need to be 
baptized by him. But Jesus told John, that as he 
was now going to be baptized to fulfil all the Jew- 
ish law, the request he had made was right. So 
John baptized him. 

As Christ came up out of the water, the sky 
opened so that it seemed as if they could look up 

4- 



26 ''THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

into heaven, and they saw something bright com- 
ing down like a dove, and it rested upon Christ's 
head. It was the Holy Spirit. Then John pointed 
to Jesus, and said to those who stood by, "Behold 
the Lamb of God !" and a voice also came to them 
from heaven, which said, " Thou art my beloved 
Son." So God the Father, God the Son, and God 
the Holy Spirit, were there at the baptism, and 
"these three are one God." 

The Saviour was now about to begin to preach, 
and to go about doing good. But that wicked one, 
called the Devil, was all the while watching him, 
and thinking how he might make him sin. He 
knew if Christ should do even one wrong thing, he 
could not save any body from hell; and Satan 
wants to get as many there as he can, that he may 
torment them night and day, for ever and ever. 

That is why he told Eve such lies about the 
fruit in the garden; and that is why he tries to 
make little children tell wrong stories, and disobey 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 27 

their parents. He is as anxious to get us in his 
power, as a hungry lion is to devour his prey. 

One day Satan saw Christ going up into a wil- 
derness alone, and he thought it would he a good 
time to go to him and tempt him to sin. There 
were wild beasts there, but Christ passed on safely 
among these wild animals, which were not as 
much enraged at him as Satan was, who followed 
Christ like a lion that means soon to jump upon a 
lamb. 

Soon the devil came up to Christ, and changed 
his looks, and tried to seem as one of G-od's good 
angels. And then he tried to make Christ think 
evil thoughts. This he did forty days, but he did 
not make Christ sin. Then when he knew that 
Christ was very hungry, having eaten nothing all 
the forty days, he told him to turn some stones into 
bread. The Son of Grod could easily have done it, 
but knowing it would not be right to work a mira- 
cle to please the devil, he would not do so. 



28 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

Then the evil one followed Christ as he went to 
Jerusalem, and when He was gone up on one of the 
towors of the temple, the devil told him that it 
would not hurt him if he should throw himself 
down, for G-od would send an angel to catch him 
hefore he struck the ground. But Christ would 
not do this either, to please Satan. 

Then the tempter, as the devil is called, thought 
he would try to get Christ to sin by offering to give 
him a great many things, which he would show 
him. So he led him up into a very high mountain, 
and pointed to all the cities and villages, and beau- 
tiful lands and fields and gardens, and told Christ 
that he would give him all these, if he would fall 
down and worship him. Christ was poor, and had 
not any place to lay his head on his own pillow at 
night. He had no house, or garden, or money. 
But instead of worshipping the devil for the sake of 
all his gifts, Christ rebuked him, and turning round 
with a look of majesty, cried, " G-et thee behind me, 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 29 

Satan ; for it is written , Thou shalt not tempt the 
Lord thy God." 

When the devil had gone, Christ saw around 
him many beautiful beings whom he knew to be 
angels from heaven, whom God had sent to tell 
him how his Father loved him, and to strengthen 
him. 

I hope all children, when they think of doing 
something wrong, will remember that the devil is 
close by them, whispering in their ear, and waiting 
to see if they are going to please him. See if you 
cannot do as Jesus did. Trust in Him to help you, 
and tell the wicked one, "No, no 5 never." And 
then he will go away ashamed, and God's good 
angels will come, and happy thoughts will spring 
up in your breast. 

Perhaps it will help you to be good, if I tell you 
how Christ loved good children. He had been 
preaching a sermon, and before he went away 
some good people thought they would like to have 



30 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

him bless their little children. So they brought 
them to him, and as they were drawing near, 
some of the grown people told the parents that 
Christ did not wish to be troubled with saying 
any thing to their children. But the Saviour 
reached out his hands to the children, and spoke 
kindly to them, and took them in his arms, and 
blessed them, and said, "Suffer the little children 
to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven." So he loves all good children; and if 
you were good, and if Christ were here now, he 
would love to put his hand gently on your head, 
and bless you. 

At one time when Christ was in a little village 
called Cana, a man who was thought very much 
of, came to him from Capernaum, and told him that 
his little son was very sick, and that the physicians 
could not cure him ; but that if He would go with 
him, he thought He could make him well. So he 
begged Christ to go with him, and cure the boy, 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 31 

for he was very near death. " Come down," he 
said, "ere my child die." 

Did Christ go, think you? No; but he told the 
father to go home, for his son would live. The man 
believed what Jesus said, and was very glad, and 
made haste to go back. But before he came to his 
house, he saw his servant coming rapidly towards 
him. And how astonished and rejoiced he was, to 
hear the servant say that the child was well! 
And when he came into the house, there was his 
dear boy, whom he took in his arms, and gave 
thanks to Jesus in his heart that he was cured. 
He was healed the very moment that Christ said 
he would get well. How wonderful this was, that 
Christ could cure a boy when he was so far from 
him. 

Do you not think that if you were sick, he 
could cure you ? Yes, indeed he could ; and if you 
and your friends should pray to him in faith as the 
nobleman prayed for his son, you might hope to 



32 



"THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 



be cured. Though Christ is away up in heaven, 
he can cure people here on this earth, he is so good 
and so great. 

Another day, Christ and his disciples, and a 




OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 33 

great many other people, were going into a small 
city called Xain. But all at once they saw a sad 
company coming out of a house, and walking down 
the street towards them. 

There was one woman in the sad company that 
was weeping and wringing her hands, as she kept 
turning towards a bier, or coffin, which some of her 
friends were carrying carefully and solemnly along. 
She was the chief mourner, and in that coffin was 
her son. Her husband was dead, and she had no 
other son. This poor widow woman kept thinking 
that her clear boy was gone, and she should never 
see him again, and that alter he was laid in the 
grave, by the side of his father, she must return to 
her house, and live there alone. 

And now see how good and merciful the Sav- 
iour was ; for he went to the woman, and told her 
not to weep; and as he spoke, he laid his hand 
upon the coffin, and the men carrying it stood 
still. What do you suppose he was going to do? 

Hi«t. of J*su» 5 



34 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

The people looked at Christ, not knowing- what 
to think. Then he spoke aloud to the dead hody, 
and said, "Young man, I say unto thee, arise!" 
And he sat up, and opened his eyes, and began to 
talk. 

The people were afraid and astonished, for they 
had never seen such a miracle before. And when 
they had loosened his grave-clothes, so that he 
might use his arms and his feet, He gave him to 
his mother. Oh how thankful she was, and how 
much she and her son must have loved Jesus 
Christ, for raising him to life. 

Do you remember any other dead people that 
were raised to life by the blessed Saviour ? 

There was a little girl who lived at Capernaum, 
who was very sick, and was dying. Her father 
went for Christ, and when Christ came he found 
her dead, and the people weeping over her. Christ 
hurried on through the crowd towards the corpse, 
and told them she should be raised to life. These 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 35 

wicked people laughed at, and scorned him. But 
he did not mind that, if only he might give back 
that little daughter to her distressed father and 
mother. And as soon as he got into the room 
where she was lying dead, he took hold of her pale, 
cold little hand, and she opened her eyes, that again 
grew bright and happy as she went to her parent's 
arms. Oh how good Jesus is. 

And now I am going to tell of one who was 
brought to life again, after he was buried in his 
grave. Perhaps you remember the story. 

His name was Lazarus, and he had two sisters. 
Martha and Mary, who were much beloved by the 
Saviour, and who loved him in return. When it 
was told Christ, who was many miles distant, that 
their brother Lazarus was dead, he did not seem 
to be anxious to raise him from the dead immedi- 
ately; for he did not set out at once to go to the 
grave. But he meant all the time to do it, after 
he had made his sisters see fully that no one else 



36 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

could help them ; and so after he had heen dead 
and huried three days in a grave in the side of a 
cave, Christ went to them, and came up to the 
great stone that was lying at the grave's mouth, 
and told the people to roll away the stone. Mar- 
tha and Mary were all the time weeping, and 
Christ wept too, as he saw how sorry they were 
that their brother w r as dead. Besides, he himself 
loved their brother very much, and Lazarus loved 
Christ. 

As soon as the stone was rolled away, Christ 
lifted up his eyes in prayer to God, and then turned 
and called to the dead man to come out of his 
grave. In a moment the blood began to move 
again in his w r hole body, and his pulse to beat. 
Then his eyes opened, and the man came out with 
his grave-clothes on him, and his face covered with 
a napkin. 

Christ told them to take off his grave-clothes; 
and with much joy, and with fear too, they did it ; 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 37 

and he was able to walk, and went home with his 
sisters, and all was joy and praise. "What a happy 
house that was ; I do not wonder that they made 
a feast, to which they invited Christ, where they 
all sat down to a happy table. 

Now, children, if Christ could call Lazarus to 
life from his grave, so can he all the dead ; and 
hereafter he will come from heaven, with the sound 
of a trump, and all the dead, men, women, and chil- 
dren, will come to life, and go up to the judgment. 



38 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD; ; ' 



CHAPTER III. 

When the governors and the priests of the Jews, 
who were wicked men, heard that Christ had raised 
Lazarus from the dead, they all came together, and 
said, Now, if he does such miracles, and we let him 
alone, every body will believe on him, and love 
him. They did not wish to think he was the Son 
of God, or that any one else should think so. 

One great man said, he thought they had better 
seize him and put him to death; and the rest 
thought that would be the easiest way to get rid of 
him, and so they were willing to hire some very 
bad man to do it for them. 

The devil was pleased when he heard the men 
talking in that way, and he was ready to help 
them, for he was trying all the while to make 
Christ all the trouble and sorrow he could. 



OR. THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 39 

But Jesus knew that the people were trying to 
put him to death ; so he would not stay in the city, 
but went away to a Tillage called Ephraim, where 
the people could not find him. 

It was then almost time for another Passover, 
and as the people began to come to Jerusalem, they 
said one to another, Do you know where Jesus is ? 
I wonder whether he will come to the Passover ? 

Some thought he would, while others said they 
did not know. The chief priests who pretended to 
worship G-od, and the Pharisees who were very 
wicked, told the people that if they knew where 
Christ was, they must tell of it, that they might 
take him. Would you have told, little child, if 
you had been there, where Jesus was ? I think 
not. 

About six days before the Passover, he came to 
Bethany ; and Martha and Mary, who lived there, 
and who were very glad to have him visit them, 
made him a supper. This was very kind in them, 



40 



"THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 




and I do not wonder at it, for there at the very- 
table, near Christ, as they waited on him, sat Laz- 
arus, whom he had raised from the dead. His dis- 
ciples were there too. 

Mary came in while they were eating, with a 
very costly box in her hand. She opened it, and 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 41 

poured part of the ointment, which smelled very 
sweetly, upon Christ's head; and with the rest she 
anointed his feet, and wiped them with her hair. 
The whole house was filled with a sweet smell. 
She did this hecause she loved him so much; hut 
some of the disciples did not like it, and Judas said 
it. might have been sold for a great deal of money, 
and given to the poor. But all he wanted "was the 
money, for he was a thief, and took all he could get. 

A great many of the Jews heard that Christ 
was in Bethany, and ceane together not only to see 
Christ, hut Lazarus also, who had been raised from 
the dead. I think, children, that you would walk 
many miles, if you could see a man who had been 
raised from the dead. 

The chief priests were very angry because peo- 
ple would go to look at Lazarus, and they said they 
would kill him too, if they could. 

The next day Christ said he was going to Jeru- 
salem ; and when the people in Jerusalem knew he 



42 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

was coming, a great many broke off branches from 
the palm-trees, and went towards Bethany, to meet 
him, and spread the wide and beautiful, green 
palm-leaves in the road ; and some were so much 
rejoiced, that they took off their coats, and spread 
them down for Christ to ride over them ; and they, 
and the children who were also there, were very 
glad to see Christ, and sang, "Hosanna," and 
praised him. 

"Would you not like to have been among those 
happy children, and have given something to 
Christ ? Perhaps you would feel as if you had not 
any thing good enough for Christ ; and indeed you 
have not ; but you have one thing which he wants, 
and which you can give him now, and that is, your 
heart and love. 

But the chief priests were all the time watching 
Christ, and wishing to kill him, and would have 
then taken him, if he had not had so many friends, 
who kept them from touching him. 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 43 

You remember that he had twelve disciples, 
who went with him wherever he went. One of 
them, whose name was Judas, into whom Satan 
entered, went away to the chief priests, and asked 
them very secretly, what they would give him, if he 
would find Christ and deliver him up to them. 
Then those wicked men were glad, and told Judas, 
that if he would help them take him, they would 
give him thirty pieces of silver. This was about 
fifteen dollars. Judas loved money more than he 
loved Christ, and said he would help them catch 
him. Then every day after that, he was watching 
to find a good opportunity to betray him. 

Do you think Christ knew they were trying to 
get him ? Yes, he did ; but he came into the world 
on purpose to die for sinners, and he wished to do 
it. He knew how he would have to suffer ; but he 
loved us all so much that he went up to Jerusalem, 
where they were going to kill him. 

But just bpfore he went up to the Passover, he 



44 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

told Peter and John to go into the city, and they 
would meet a man walking along with a pitcher of 
water in his hand, and they must follow him into 
his house, and ask him for a room up stairs, for 
Christ and his disciples to eat the Passover in. 

Pretty soon, as they went along the streets, they 
met a man with a pitcher of water, just as Christ 
had said, and they said to him wmat Christ had 
told them to. Then the man took them up stairs, 
and showed them a room; and there they roasted 
the lamh, and made it ready for the feast. They 
also had some bread and wine. 

In the evening, Christ came and sat down to 
the table, and the twelve disciples with him. Yes, 
the wicked Judas sat down and pretended to love 
Christ, though he had secretly agreed to give him 
up to the priests, for thirty pieces of silver. 

Then Christ began to talk with his disciples. 
He told them how he had wished to eat the Pass- 
over with them once more before he died, and that 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 45 

he should not be with them long, for the wicked 
people would soon put him to death. Then he 
looked round on his disciples, and was very sad, 
and said, " One of you which eateth with me shall 
betray me." 

His disciples were astonished. Can it be possi- 
ble ? they said. Oh how sorry they felt to hear 
Christ say so. They sat and thought about it, 
and looked at each other ; and then one looked 
up very sad, as if almost afraid to ask, and said, 
"Lord, is it I?" Then another said, "Lord, is it 
I?" And finally, Judas looked up and said, "Lord, 
is it I?" 

Christ told them it was the one to whom he 
should give a piece of bread, when he had dipped 
it in the dish. So he took it and gave it to Judas. 
Judas was afraid all the time that it would come to 
him, for he felt guilty ; and as soon as he took it, 
he got r.p from the table and went out. Perhaps 
he thought he would hide away in the dark, for it 



46 "TIIAT SWEET STORY. OF OLD;" 

was night. But he was still very miserable, as we 
shall by and by see. 

Sometimes, when any of our friends are going 
away, they give us something to remember them 
by. So Christ was now going to give his friends 
something by which they might remember him. 
This is called the Lord's Supper. Christ took the 
bread, and prayed with it in his hand ; then he broke 
it into small pieces, and gave each of his disciples 
some of it, and said that they must remember, as oft 
as they should eat the Lord's Supper, that his body 
had been broken for them when he died for sinners. 

Then he took a cup of wine, and prayed, and 
handed it to his disciples, and told them all to drink 
a little of it, and to remember that his blood was 
poured out for them when he died. 

You have often seen people eat bread and drink 
wine in church, have you not ? They do it because 
Christ told all his people to do so; and then they 
remember all about him. 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 47 

"Well, when his disciples were eating with Christ 
in that upper room in Jerusalem, he sat and talked 
with them, and told them to love one another, and 
that by and by, after he should die, he would come 
in the clouds of heaven and take them up to him- 
self in glory. After he had talked with them some 
time, he prayed with them and for them; and he 
prayed for all who should ever love him. So if you, 
my dear children, love Christ, part of that prayer 
was especially for you. How kind the Saviour was 
to think of us all, just as he was about to die. 

But where do you think Judas was, all this 
while? After he went out into the dark, he stole 
away to the chief priests, and told them that now 
was a good time to take Christ : and they were get- 
ting some soldiers and officers ready, with swords 
and torches, while Christ was there praying. The 
disciples did not know it, but Christ did, for he 
could see all things. 

After Christ had finished his prayer, he went 



48 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;' 

with his disciples into a garden in the mount of 
Olives, about one mile east of Jerusalem. He had 
often been there before to pray, and Judas knew 
very w^ell where it was. As Christ walked along, 
he talked to them very kindly, but told them that 
that night they would all leave him and be ashamed 
to own him as their Lord. Then they were all 
astonished, and said they never would deny or for- 
sake him; and Peter said, if the rest should all 
forsake him, he never would — that he would go to 
prison with Christ, and to death, but he would 
never deny him. 

Christ looked at him sorrowfully, and told him 
he would deny him three times that night. Christ 
told him that Satan had desired to have him, that 
he might make him sin. But Christ said he had 
prayed for him, and that Peter would come back to 
him after Satan had tried him. 

When they came into the garden, Christ said to 
his disciples, " Sit ye here, while I go and pray." 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 49 

So taking Peter and James and John, he went a 
little further off, to pray. And he began to feel 
very heavy indeed. He could hardly stand up, he 
felt so distressed. "What made him feel so? It 
was because he saw how much he would have to 
suffer for sinners. He had to take the punishment 
of our sins upon himself, that we might be saved. 

Then he told Peter and James and John that 
his soul was "very sorrowful, even unto death;" 
and asked them to stay there and watch with him. 
Then he walked slowly along a little way, and 
kneeled down, and began to pray ; he soon fell upon 
his face, and asked God, if it were possible, to save 
him from suffering so much; but yet he added, 
"Not my will, but thine be done." 

"When he had prayed, he went back to Peter and 
James and John, and there they lay asleep! He 
spoke to Peter, and asked him if he could not watch 
one hour, when he was suffering so much. And 
then telling them to pray that they might not do 



50 ''THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 




any thing wrong, he went away again and prayed, 
and again came back to these three disciples, when, 
strange to say, he found them again asleep ! 

Then he went back, and he felt more distressed 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 51 

than before. He was in an agony, and was so full 
of pain that " his sweat was as great drops of blood 
falling down to the ground." Then his body began 
to sink ; and in a little while perhaps he would 
have died, but G-od strengthened him. 

Just think of Christ lying on the ground covered 
with a bloody sweat, pale and scarcely breathing. 
how strange that they did not watch with him; 
and when they heard him groaning, go to him to 
comfort him. 

When he had prayed the third time, he came to 
his disciples, who were still sleeping, and having 
waked them up, he told them that Judas and the 
wicked people were almost there, and would take 
him in a few minutes. Then they sprang up ; and 
a little way off they saw a great many men coming 
with bright torches burning, and they had swords 
and canes. 

Pretty soon Judas stepped up to Christ, and 
spoke kindly, and kissed him. The soldiers would 



52 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

not know Jesus; so Judas told them, I will kiss 
him, and then you will know which one to take. 
So as soon as Judas kissed Christ, the soldiers came 
and took hold of him. Peter would not stand and 
see Christ taken without trying to save him ; so he 
took a sword and struck at a man, and cut his ear 
off. Christ did not wish him to do that, so he told 
him to put the sword aw^ay. Then he put out his 
hand and made the man's ear well again. 

Christ did not want to do them any harm; and 
how could they wish to lead him away and kill 
him! 

The disciples were now very much afraid, and 
when they saw so many people leading Christ away, 
they "all forsook him, and fled." 

So he was alone with all those wicked men, and 
they took him to the chief priests. After a while, 
Peter turned and followed slowly along, watching 
to see what they were going to do to Christ. They 
led him into a large hall, a place where they used 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 53 

to meet, and there they tried to find Christ guilty 
of something, that they might put him to death. 

Peter and John came then too, and a servant 
told Peter that he was one of Christ's disciples. 
But he said he was not. After a while, another 
person told him that he was, hut he said again that 
he was not. Then sometime after, a girl who was 
there turned to some of the wicked people, and said, 
pointing to Peter, that he was with Jesus. Peter 
was very much frightened, for he thought they 
would take him too, so he began to curse and 
swear, and said he did not know the man. He 
knew that those who loved G-od would not swear, 
and he thought they would now believe he was not 
a disciple of Jesus. 

Then Christ turned and looked at Peter, and he 
felt so grieved that he went out and "wept bit- 
terly." Christ forgave him ; and ever after that, 
Peter was a good man, and loved Christ so much 
that a good many years after, he was put to death 



54 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

as a martyr — and some think he was nailed to a 
cross with his head downwards, for he said he was 
not worthy to die as his Saviour did. 

After they had asked Christ a good many ques- 
tions, and could not find any thing against him, 
they hired some bad men to tell lies about him ; so 
they said he should be put to death, and led him 
away out of the city, till they came to a place 
where wicked men were crucified. The soldiers 
were all the time watching him, for fear he would 
try to get away; but he went as patiently as a 
lamb is led to the slaughter; for he gave himself 
up to them on purpose to die for sinners. He might 
very easily have got away himself, or have called 
the angels to come and help him; for he said that 
if he should pray for it, God would send more than 
twelve legions of angels to help him. I think the 
sky was full of them, anxiously looking at Christ 
their God; and they wanted to fly to bear him 
away from those cruel men, and carry him up to 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 55 

heaven. But Christ would not let them take him 
up yet. After his death, then they might carry 
him up, and cry, " Lift up your heads, ye gates, 
and the King of glory shall come in." 

When the wicked men had led Christ out of the 
city to the place where they wanted to kill him, 
they took off his clothes, and laying him down on 
a cross — which was made of two pieces of wood 
crossing each other — they drove a large nail into 
each hand, and another into his feet, and then lifted 
up the cross with the Saviour on it, and made it 
stand up in the ground. 

Then they sat down near by .and watched him. 
Some of them asked who were going to have his 
clothes ; and others said they would cast lots for 
them : and so, like men gambling for money, they 
parted and distributed his clothes by casting lots 
for them. 

Christ's disciples, and his mother, and a good 
many more people, were there weeping and mourn- 



56 



THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD; - ' 




ing. But he looking down, and seeing his mother 
bathed in tears, and John standing near, told her 
that John would be her son now ; and then he told 
him to take her for his mother, which he did, and 
took care of her after that. How kind Christ was 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 57 

to his mother. I wonder if any of my young read- 
ers will ever do any thing again to grieve their 
mothers. 

When it was twelve o'clock, at noon, it hegan 
to he very dark, and was so till three. This fright- 
ened the people. They said this was God's Son, 
and he is angry with us. Soon Jesus cried with a 
loud voice. " My God. my God, why hast thou for- 
saken me ?" Then he said, i; It is finished/' and 
died. And the earth shook, and the rocks were 
torn asunder, and the graves opened, and the dead 
people came out of them alive, and walked around 
the city, after a few days, when Christ came to life 
again. 

The soldiers and other people who were there, 
grew more and more frightened, saying again that 
they had killed the Son of God; 

A few hours afterwards, towards night, Christ's 

friends took his body down from the cross, and 

wrapped it in a nice linen cloth, and laid it away 

8 



58 "THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 

in a new grave which was cut out of a rock, and 
they rolled a great stone up hefore the door of it. 

A little way off were Mary, Christ's mother, and 
Mary the mother of James, and Mary Magdalene. 
They did not like to go away, and there they sat 
so full of sorrow and tears. Christ was dead, and 
what should they do? After a while they went 
home. The next day was the Sabbath ; but they 
said they would come early on the morning after 
the Sa,bbath, and bring sweet spices and ointments 
to embalm his body, as the Jews used to do. They 
would not do it on the Sabbath, for they wished to 
keep the day holy. 

On the morning after, they took their spices and 
hurried to the grave, wondering all the way whom 
they could get to roll the stone from the grave, for 
it was too heavy for them. But when they came 
to the grave it was rolled away already, and an 
angel sat on the stone. His face was bright as the 
light. But he spoke kindly to them, and said they 



OR. THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 59 

must not be afraid. You have come to find Jesus, 
said he, but he is not here; he is risen from the 
grave ; come and see the place where he lay. 

So they looked into the grave. It was almost 
too g-ood to believe that he was risen; but soon 
Christ met them, and then they knew he was alive 
again. Afterwards he came and showed himself to 
all his disciples, and ate and talked with them ; and 
he commanded them to go and preach to every 
body, and tell them he had died to make atone- 
ment for sinners ; and that if the people believed on 
him, and loved him, they would be saved ; but if 
they did not, they must be lost. 

He remained on earth, after his resurrection, 
forty days. Then, one day as he was walking out 
with his disciples, and blessing them, they came to 
Bethany, on the mount of Olives, about two miles 
from Jerusalem ; and there, while he was yet bless- 
ing them, he began to rise from the ground, and he 
went up higher and higher, till he was out of sight. 



60 



THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD;" 





He had gone back to heaven ; and as he went 
up, the angels that went with him sang their song. 



OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS. 61 

and said, " Lift up your heads, ye gates, and the 
King of glory shall come in." And all in heaven, 
both great and small, cast their crowns at his feet, 
and sang, ' ; Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." 

The children, too, who were there in great num- 
bers, many of them the same little boys who were 
put to death by Herod on Christ's account — they 
too took off their bright little crowns, and cast them 
down before Christ, and sang with their sweet voices, 
" Worthy is the Lamb ; for he was slain for us." 

"Around the throne of God in heaven, 
Thousands of children stand — 
Children whose sins are all forgiven, 
A holy, happy band. 

What brought them to that world above, 

That heaven so bright and fair, 
AVhere all is peace and joy and love — 

How came those children there ? 

Because the Saviour shed his blood 

To wash away their sin ; 
Bathed in that pure and precious flood, 

Behold them white and clean. 



62 



THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD 



On earth they sought the Saviour's grace, 
On earth they loved his name ; 

So now they see his blessed face, 
And stand before the Lamb." 




OR, THE HISTORY OF JESUS 



63 




THE CHILD'S DESIEE. 

"I think, when I read that sweet story of old, 

When Jesus was here among men, 
How he called little children as lambs to his fold, 

I should like to have been with them then. 
I wish that his hands had been placed on my head, 

That his arms had been thrown around me, 
And that I might have seen his kind look when he said, 

1 Let the little ones come unto me.' 



"Yet still to his footstool in prayer I may go, 
And ask for a share in his love ; 
And if I thus earnestly seek him below, 
I shall see him and hear him above, 



64 --THAT SWEET STORY OF OLD." 

In that beautiful place he is gone to prepare 
For all who are washed and forgiven ; 

And many dear children are gathering there, 
' For of such is the kingdom of heaven.' 

"But thousands and thousands, who wander and fall, 
Never heard of that heavenly home : 
I should like them to know there is room for them all, 

And that Jesus has bid them to come. 
I long for the joy of that glorious time, 
The sweetest and brightest and best, 
When the dear little children of every clime 
Shall crowd to his arms, and be blessed." 

Mrs. Luke. 






s 



