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MRS .SV.-V HUNTINGTON J 

to JUN" !°^0_^ 










LECTURES, 



<9-7^ 



TO THE CAPACITY OF CHILDREN, 



BY REV. ALEX. FLETCHER, 

OF FINSBURY CHAPEL, LONDON. 



SELECTED FROM THE LONDON EDITION OF THREE VOLU3IES, 
AND REVISED. 



" Suffer little children to come unto me." 

" Take fast hold of Instruction, let her not go : keep her, for she is thy life.* 



VOL. II . / 



,..y 



t 
PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 

150 NASSAU -STREET, NEW YORK. 



Il(^ 



z 



THE NEW YOHK: 



493225 

AfTO«, LENOX AND 

TILOEN FOUNDATIONS. 

R 1910 L 



CONTENTS. 

VOL. II. 



LECTURE I. 

PIOUS CHILDREN. 
" Tlie cliild shall die a hundred years old." Isaiah 63 : 20. 9 

LECTURE II. 

ESCAPING FOR LIFE. 
.'Escape for thy life." Ge>^esis 19 : 17 19 

LECTURE III. 

ELIJAH. 
"And he stretched himself upon the cliild three times, and 
cried mito the Lord, and said, Lord my God, I pray 
thee, let this child's soul come mto liim again. And the 
Lord heard the voice of Elijah ; and the soul of the child 
came uato hun again, and he revived." 1 Kings, 17 : 21, 
22 27 

LECTURE IV. 

ELIJAH. 
"And Elijah went up by a whirlwmd into heaven." 2 
Kings, 2:11 36 

LECTURE V. 

THE EYE OF GOD. 
" Thou God seest me." Genesis 16: 13 45 

LECTURE VI. 

ESTHER BEFORE KING AHASUERUS. 
" So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house- 
royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in 
the seventh year of Iris reign. And the king loved Esther 
above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor m 



4 CONTENTS. 

liis sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the 
royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead 
ofVashti." Esther 2 : 16, 17 57 

LECTURE VII. 

ESTHER AND KING AHASUERUS. 
"Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of 
the first month, and there was written according to all that 
Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and 
to the governors that were over every province, and to the 
rulers of every people of every provmce, according to the 
writing thereof, and to every people after their language ; in 
the name of king Ahasuerus was it ^vritten, and sealed with 
the king's ring. And the letters were sent by posts into 
all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to 
perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and 
women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the 
twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the 
spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a 
commandment to be given in every provmce was published 
unto all people, that they should be ready against that 
day. The posts went out, being hastened by the king's 
commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the 
palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink ; but 
the city Shushan was perplexed." Esther 3 : 12-15. 65 

LECTURE VIII. 

ESTHER'S PETITION. 
*'And the king said again to Esther on the second day at 
the banquet of wine. What is thy petition, queen Esther? 
and it shall be granted thee ; and what is thy request ? 
and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kmgdom. 
Then Esther the queen answered and said. If I have found 
favor in thy sight, king, and if it please the king, let my 
life be given me at my petition, and my people at my 
request." Esther 7 : 2, 3 74 



CONTENTS. 5 

LECTURE IX. 

CHRIST THE PHYSICIAN OF THE SOUL. 
" Is there no physician there ?" Jekemiah 8 : 22. . . 82 

LECTURE X. 

DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS. 
** Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and 
cast him into the den of lions." Daniel 6 : 16. . . 90 

LECTURE XI. 

THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. 
" When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my 
Son out of Egypt." Hosea 11 : 1 98 

LECTURE XII. 

THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. 
"When he arose,, he took the young child and hif mothei' by 
niglit, and depaA-ted into Egypt." Matthew 2:1^. 107 

LECTURE XIII, 

JESUS REASONING WITH THE DOCTORS. 
"And it came to pass, that after tliree days they found him in 
the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hear- 
ing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard 
him were astonished at his understanding and answers.' 
Luke 2 : 46, 47 113 

LECTURE XIV. 

JESUS REASONING WITH THE DOCTORS 
" And it came to pass, that after three days they found him 
in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both 
hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that 
heard him were astonished at his understanding and an- 
swers." LricE 2 : 46 47 122 



6 CONTENTS. 

LECTURE XV. 

CHRIST TAKING UP LITTLE CHILDREN IN HIS 
ARMS. 
" And they brought young children to him, that he should 
touch them. And he took them, up in his arms, put his 
hands upon them, and blessed them." Mark 10 : 13, 
16 131 

LECTURE XVI. 

CHRIST TAKING UP LITTLE CHILDREN IN HIS 

ARMS, AND BLESSING THEM. 

" And he took them up m his arms, put his hands upon them, 
and blessed them." Mark 10:16 140 

LECTURE XVII. 

NICODEMUS CONVERSING WITH JESUS. 
" There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a 
ruler of the Jews : the same came to Jesus by night." 
John 3 : 1, 2 148 

LECTURE XVIII. 

CHRIST HEALING THE SICK AND RAISING THE 
DEAD. 

"And wliithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or 
comitry, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him 
that they might touch, if it were but the border of liis gar- 
ment : and as many as touched him, were made whole." 
Mark 6 : 56 1.56 

LECTURE XIX. 

THE SINFULNESS OF REJECTING CHRIST. 
"Having yet therefore one son, liis well-beloved, he sent him 
also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son." 
Mark 12 : 6 165 



CONTENTS. 7 

LECTURE XX. 

THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
"And he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." John 
19 : 30 174 

LECTURE XXT. 

THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
"He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." John 
19 : 30. . . , 182 

LECTURE XXII. 

CHRIST APPEARING TO MARY MAGDALENE. 

"But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping; and as 
she wept she stooped down and looked mto the sepulchre, 
and seeth two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, 
and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 
And they say unto her. Woman, why weepest thou ? She 
saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, 
and I know not where they have laid him. And when she 
had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus 
standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith 
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou ? 
She, supposuig him to be the gardener, saith unto him, 
Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast 
laid him, and I wall take him away. Jesus saith unto 
her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rab- 
boni, which is to say. Master. J^sus saith unto her, Touch 
me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father : but go 
to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my 
Father and your Father, and to my God and your God. 
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had 
seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto 
her." John 20 : 11-18 191 



g CONTENTS. 

LECTURE XXIII. 

CHRIST APPEARING TO MARY MAGDALENE. 
"But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping; and as 
she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, 
and seeth two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, 
and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lam. 
And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? She 
saith mito them, Because they have taken away my Lord, 
and I know not where they have laid him. And when she 
had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus 
standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith 
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou ? 
She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, 
if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid 
him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, 
Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him Puabboni, 
which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her. Touch me 
not ; for I am not yet ascended to my Father ; but go to 
my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father 
and your Father, and to my God and your God. Mary 
Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen 
the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her." 
John 20 : 11-18 199 

LECTURE XXIV. 

RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT-DAY. 
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." 
Rev. 20 : 12 207 

LECTURE XXV. 

DAY OF JUDGMENT. 
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." 
Rev. 20 : 12 216 



LECTURES 



LECTURE I. 

PIOUS CHILDHEN. 

"The child shall die a hundred years old." Isaiah 65 : 20. 

It may appear very strange to some of you, how 
this can be the case, that a child shall die a hundred 
years old. If the child die when he is only six years 
of age, how can he die a hundred years old ? Suffer 
me to explain it. The child spoken of is a pious 
child. This dear child enjoys as much of the light 
of religion, and the comfort of religion, as many of 
those do who have lived a hundred years. It is 
truly astonisliing and encouraging to see some little 
children on their death-bed. They show a remark- 
able degree of divine knowledge. Ministers and 
private Christians, when they hear them speak of 
Christ and heaven, shed tears of joy, and lift up 
their hearts with wonder and thankfulness to God. 
Little children on the bed of approaching death have 
shown such lovely, divme graces, that none could 
witness them without feeling their hearts warmed 
with wonder and love. 



10 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

wliat have I seen myself on such occasions : 
sights worthy to have been looked upon by the spot- 
less eyes of angels I I have seen dying children dis- 
play the faith of an Abraham, the meekness of a 
Moses, the patience of a Job, and the triumph of a 
Paul. To die thus, is to die a hundred years old. 
As an old man dies full of years, such pious children 
die full of grace, and full of comfort. Many old 
men may be said to die children, because they are 
ignorant and senseless as children on the things of 
religion and the concerns of the soul. Cliildren ar6 
said to die a hundred years old, when they discover 
the knowledge and piety which are to be expected 
from those who are of advanced years. 

1 shall endeavor now to furnish some instances 
of children who fell asleep in Jesus enriched with 
grace, and filled with experience. 

One of this number Avas Selina Williams, who 
died at the early age of twelve years, on Sabbath 
evening, February 12, 1815. She was the daughter 
of an able, pious, and venerable servant of Christ, 
who, for a long series of years, and with the most 
exemplary consistency, filled the office of the sacred 
ministry in the city of London. Selina resembled a 
star which for a little while appeared in the sky, but 
was soon removed to shine in better and brighter 
regions. On one occasion she pleasingly told her 
father of the great change produced upon her mind 
by sanctifiied afflictions. Before she was afflicted, 



PIOUS CHILDREN. 11 

she felt herself strongly attaclied to playthings and 
trifling toys. She said that her afliiction had been 
the means of taking her heart from them. My dear 
young friends, may your heart be placed on better 
objects than playthings and toys. May you give 
Christ your heart. Then you will love the loveliest 
Being in the universe ; you will love Him who is 
the fountain of eternal joys. It Avas on Christ the 
heart of Selina was placed. Her father said to her, 
" Christ is precious." As he spoke to her of a pre- 
cious Christ, she wept much. Precious tears : they 
were the tears of love, of wonder, and of joy. And 
when she thought of the sufierings and the death 
of Christ, her tears continued to flow. She replied 
to her father, and said, " yes, he is precious : I 
camiot help thinking on those words : 

" 'Nailed to the cross with torturing smart, 
While anguish racked his tender heart, 
See, by the hands of wicked men, 
The Lord of life and glory slaua.' " 

This love to Christ was connected with a desire 
to remember his death at the sacramental table. 
She remarked how pleasant it would be to join the 
church while young, and not to wait till she should 
become old. Then, she was not aware that her dis- 
solution was so near at hand. She was not aware 
that soon, very soon, she would commemorate the 
death of Christ in heaven, and drink new wine with 
him in his celestial kingdom. One day she repeated 



12 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

a remark she had read in the Token for Children, 
which showed how much her mind was impressed 
with the importance of divme things : " A man may 
go to heaven without a penny m his pocket, but not 
without grace in his heart." 

When her bodily weakness increased so much that 
she had no strength to kneel in prayer, she felt much 
grieved. She said, " How pleasant it is, to see you 
all kneel in prayer." 

Remember, my young friends, that if you live 
without prayer, the gates of heaven will be shut 
against you at death. may God teach you to pray, 
as Sehna was taught to pray. This young convert 
having expressed a wish to recover from her illness, 
said, " If it were the will of God, I should like to get 
better ; but in heaven I should not miss you, father, 
where I hope we shall all meet." I visited her the 
evening on which she expired. It was with great 
difficulty she could speak, or collect her thoughts. 
She sweetly told me she loved God, and added, that 
owing to the weakness of her body, she was not able 
to think of good thuigs in the manner she wished. 
Shortly after I left her, her blessed spirit was re- 
moved from the earthly abode to the house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 

"Soon, soon she passed death's gloomy night, 
To the fair coasts of heavenly light; 
There, all her joyful senses rove 
O'er the dear object of her love.'" 



PIOUS CHILDREN. 13 

James Everett, who died August 13, 1817, aged 
six years, deserves to be held up to the view of the 
rising race. He was certainly a striking example 
of the early and powerful influence of divine grace. 
He had been a scholar in the Adelphi Sunday-school, 
till he was prevented from meeting with the other 
children by that bodily affliction which brought liim 
to his grave. 

The indisposition of the cliild was communicated 
by a letter to the superintendent, and a strong desire 
was expressed that a religious visit should be paid to 
the youthful sufferer by some of the teachers. Two 
of the teachers agreed to accompany each other, to 
endeavor to point little James to the Saviour, and to 
pour mto his soul the consolations of religion. Little 
did they imaguie the scene about to be unfolded to 
their view, namely, of suffering and wretchedness 
on the one hand, and of the transporting triumphs 
of early piety on the other. 

When the visitors entered the house, they found 
Jarhes lying on a bed m one corner of the room. 
At his side lay his sister younger than himself, both 
sick with the whooping-cough. At the foot of the 
bed was stretched the lifeless corpse of a third cliild 
younger than either, whose spirit had been removed 
to eternity by the same disorder. 

The teachers received intelligence that James had 
furnished satisfying marks of true rchgion. He gave 
most encouraging answers to questions which were 



14 LECTURED TO CHILDREN. 

proposed to him, respecting his hopes of recovery, 
and his views of a future world. When they asked 
if he hoped or thought he should recover, he replied 
with great composure, No. He said he knew he 
should not, and expressed his earnest desire to die, 
and be with God and Jesus Christ, where his little 
brother had just gone before him. 

On being asked if he was sure he should go to 
dwell with Jesus Christ when he left this world, he 
replied, "Yes," with great confidence. The same 
confidence he had frequently expressed for more than 
a year previous to his death. 

I will now proceed with the account which the 
teachers have given of this remarkable youthful 
dying Christian, in their own language. 

" We asked him upon what ground he founded liis 
hopes and expectations of going to heaven. He 
replied, in a manner which will be ever remembered 
by us, that Jesus Christ had died for him, and had 
prayed for him. 

" We were anxious to know Avhere he had learned 
these gospel truths, and to our great delight, as well 
as satisfaction as teachers, he declared he heard 
them in liis Sunday-school. 

"We cannot refrain from making a remark here 
on the manner in wliich he told us this. In speaking 
of what our blessed Lord had done for him, he made 
use of these words : ' He died for me,' laying a pecul- 
iarly significant emphasis on the personal pronoun 



PIOUS CHILDREN. 15 

* me ;' thus indicating that God had indeed blessed 
the means made use of in the Sunday-school, by 
bestowing upon him that saving principle of faith, 
whereby he was enabled to receive Christ as liis 
Saviour, and without which all our poor endeavors 
to teach, and all their learning, will be ineffectual. 

" The heart of this little child appeared to be im- 
pressed with a deep sense of duty both towards God 
and man ; and as it respected his parents, few chil- 
dren surpassed him in affection or dutiful behavior. 
From various causes, he was more particularly at- 
tached to his mother ; so much so, that he could not 
bear to hear his eldest sister speak unkindly to her, 
and would frequently take occasion to reprove her 
for domg so. 

"One day his father, commg home very much out 
of temper, swore at his mother ; the dear child looked 
his mother in the face with all the seriousness of an 
experienced. God-fearing person, and made use of 
these impressive words: 'Mother, when I say any 
bad words, you always tell me to go and ask God to 
forgive me ; what must my 'pow father doV" The 
father, who was standing by, heard the child's words, 
and stung with remorse at the severity of the reproof, 
went out of the room and Avept. 

"There was something in this child's manners so 
widely different from that of the generality of chil- 
dren, that it drew forth the observation and wonder 
of all who knew him, and we have been lately in- 



1(3 LKCTL'KES TO CHILJjRKX. 

formed, that from the circumstance of his being a 
praying child as soon as he could lisp, he acquired 
the appellation of the little 'preacher. He was en- 
dowed with an excellent memory, and was par- 
ticularly fond of attending the house of God, and 
that apparently from very conscientious motives ; for 
instead of trifling and playing on those occasions, as 
too many children more advanced in years are apt to 
do, he was found listening Avith attention to what was 
said, as if personally interested ; and when the min- 
ister had taken his text, he would not only retain in 
his memory the chapter and verse, but, as far as he 
was able, the words also ; and when he got home, 
mstead of engaging in play or idle tallc, he would 
ask for the Bible and find the text, and not unfre- 
quently repeat to his mother many things the min- 
ister had delivered from the pulpit, as well as what 
he had learned in the Sunday-school. Indeed, such 
was his thirst after divine knowledge, he would often 
perplex his mother by asking her questions concern- 
ing the three persons of the Godhead, and other 
subjects far too high for a child of his tender years. 

" In consequence of his extreme illness, we were 
prevented making many inquiries : he was not alto- 
gether ignorant of his own depraved, fallen state ; 
he Avould often cry out what a sinner he was, but 
still had grace given him to fix his eye upon the 
all-prevailing merits and finished work of Christ, as 
being wrought out for-Hm and his salvation. 



I'loUS CHILDREN. |7 

" The last evident mark of his being in a state of 
grace which we shall notice, was the earnest desire 
he constantly manifested for the salvation of those 
around him, particularly his father and his sister, 
for whom he seemed principally to entertain appre- 
hensions. 

" Not long before his departure, he called his sister, 
who was five or six years older than himself, to his 
bedside, and in a most affectionate manner exhorted 
her to be a good girl, and not forget her prayers ; a 
duty he himself constantly practised in the most de- 
vout manner. When he came to the last few days 
of his life, being much worse, and suflering from the 
application of a number of leeches on different parts 
of his body, and a blister which produced a sore that 
never healed, he expressed great uneasiness about 
his not being able to get out of bed to pray, or even 
to kneel upon the bed. He said to his mother, who 
was then taken extremely ill, and lay by his side, 
* Mother, hold up my hands together, that I may say 
my prayers.' 

" Excessive pain and loss of rest had almost ex- 
hausted our young Christian hero, and once he was 
heard to express a wish that he might be permitted to 
retreat back again into life ; but his heavenly Father 
had in reserve for him a better and eternal crown of 
life, and to this he was again enabled to direct his 
anxious eye. 

" At length the long wished-for hour arrived, when 

Lee. to Chil.— Vol. TI. 2 



IS LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

his happy spirit was to be set at hberty from the 
body of sin and death. In peace he hved, in peace 
he died. 

"His body we have committed to its kindred dust, 
ill sure and certain hope of a better resurrection by 
our Lord Jesus Christ ; but his spirit, we trust, is 
now before the throne of God, joining with all the 
angelic host in holy anthems of praise to Him who 
hath washed and redeemed him in his own most 
precious blood ; to whom be all honor and glory for 
ever and ever. Amen." 



ESCAPING FOR LIFE. 13 

LECTURE II. 

ESCAPINa FOR LIFE. 
"Escape for thy life." Genesis 19 : 17. 

Many thousands of years ago, there were two cities 
of which I will give you some account. Sodom and 
Gomorrah were the names of the cities. They stood 
in a lovely valley not far from Canaan. If you had 
placed yourselves on the summit of one of the neigh- 
boring hills, and looked down upon the rich and ex- 
tensive plain where these and other cities were built, 
you would have been ready to exclaim, "Surely the 
inhabitants of these cities must dwell in a little heaven 
below ;" so it would have appeared to any stranger 
looking down upon the place from a distant eminence, 
and unacquainted with their history. 

Thmgs were very different from what they ap- 
peared. How many good persons were found in the 
city of Gomorrah? There were none. Not one 
good person was to be found ; men, women, and 
children were all wicked. And how many good per- 
sons were found in Sodom ? There was only one. 
His name was Lot. He was the nephew of the ven- 
erable and the pious Abraham. It is very surprising 
that a man so good as Lot should have lived at all 
in a place so wicked and depraved. I beheve that 
he often repented and wept that he ever entered it, 
and that he ever dwelt in it. There he married, and 



2U LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

had two daughters, which made his removal from 
Sodom more difficult than it otherwise would have 
been. 

God was so offended w4th the dreadful iniquity of 
that and the neighboring cities, that he could bear 
with them no longer, and was determined upon their 
destruction : he was resolved that all their vile in- 
habitants should perish. And how were they to be 
destroyed ? On a certain day showers of brimstone 
and fire were to fall on them from heaven, and burn 
up both them and their habitations. 

Lot must be removed before this most affecting 
calamity should take place. His life was dear to 
God, and therefore must be preserved. My children, 
how dear you will be to God when you receive his 
Son, and wdien you receive his grace : then you will 
be his precious jewels ; then he will spread over you 
the wings of his protecting goodness ; he will pre- 
serve you from the curse of every calamity, and at 
last convey you to liis heavenly kingdom. 

How was Lot made acquainted with the approach- 
ing storm of divme WTath ? I will tell you. One 
evening before it was dark, a little while before the 
?un was set, two angels having the appearance of 
men came and sat in the gate of Sodom. Lot saw 
them : he perceived something uncommon in their 
looks ; he thought he saw the mildness, yet dignity 
of piety in their countenance. how different they 
appeared from the licentious and blasphemous and 



ESCAPIXG FOR LIFE. 21 

idolatrous inhabitants of the city, by whose conver- 
sation and crimes he was constantly vexed. He was 
afraid the wicked citizens would do them an injury ; 
he therefore resolved to invite them to remain all 
night under his roof. After some entreaty they 
turned in unto him, and he made them a feast, and 
they did eat. All this time he never once thought 
that they were angels from heaven. The feast was 
scarcely finished before a great multitude of men 
surromided the house. They were tumultuous, and 
were determined to do the two strangers the greatest 
injury. Lot entreated them to be quiet and to de- 
part, but they continued as violent as ever. The 
angels were so displeased, that they struck the whole 
of these wicked people blind. Their eyes, which had 
been long filled with lust, and had greedily followed 
after iniquity, were now shut in darkness, to see the 
light of the sun no more for ever. Consider, my 
young friends, what a change it will be to the wicked, 
to be removed from places of carnal amusement, and 
from those smful companions with whom they drunk 
together the cup of unhallowed pleasure, and to be 
cast into the lake of darkness and despair, from which 
they shall never be able to escape. what a change 
is this I 

The angels tarried all night with Lot, and they 
informed him the place was about to be destroyed. 
The following were their words : " For we will de- 
stroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen 



22 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

great before the face of the Lord ; and the Lord hath 
sent us to destroy it." Lot made haste to inform his 
relatives and connections that the city was about to 
be destroyed. He entreated them to accompany him 
and depart. They laughed him to scorn, and con- 
sidered that he was mocking them : they, hke other 
gospel-despisers, refused to follow the kind and neces- 
sary counsel ; they were therefore left to perish with 
the other wicked inhabitants : they sinned with them 
in their lives, and they suffered with them in their 
deaths. 

When the morning arose, the angels laid hold upon 
the hand of Lot, and upon the hand of his wife, and 
upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being 
merciful unto him ; and they brought him forth, and 
set him without the city. And it came to pass, 
when they had brought them forth abroad, that he 
said, '^ E&cai^e for thy life; look not behind thee, 
neither stay thou in all the plain ; escape to the 
mountain, lest thou be consumed." Lot asked per- 
mission to go to a little city called Zoar. It was 
granted. When he entered Zoar, the sun was risen 
upon the earth. Then the showers of brimstone and 
fire began to descend from heaven ; and God over- 
threw those cities, and all the plain, and all the in- 
habitants, and that which grew upon the ground. 
Lot's wife looked back with a sorrowful look, grieved 
that she had left her beloved Sodom, and she was 
struck dead upon the spot, and became a pillar of 



ESCAPING FOR LIFE. 23 

salt, a monimient of God's displeasure. Abraham 
was living at some distance from the wicked cities : 
"And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and 
toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, 
the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a 
furnace." 

The plain where these cities stood is now covered 
with waters. It is an immense lake, commonly 
known by the name of the Dead sea. That is the 
fatal place where the vile, proud, and idolatrous en- 
emies of God lived ; the fatal place where they per- 
ished. 

My little children, I cannot leave this subject 
without presenting before you some serious reflec 
tions, which may the Holy Spirit sanctify and bless. 

You cannot think of the calamity which befell 
these wicked cities, without seeing that God was ex- 
ceedingly displeased. What displeased him ? It was 
the miquities of the people. Surely, then, sin must 
be an exceeding evil ; it must be exceedingly hateful 
and abominable m the sight of God, Since God 
hates sin so much, it must deserve to be hated. 
God, by his servant Jeremiah, particularly declares 
how much he hates sin: "Oh, do not this abomuia- 
ble thing that I hate." 

God looks on sin as the greatest evil ; angels look 
on sin as the greatest evil ; good men on earth and 
in heaven regard it as the greatest evil ; the poor 
wretched devils in hell feel that it is the greatest 



24 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

evil. I earnestly pray, that you may see it to be 
tlie greatest evil. 

Do you imagine that if you live and die loving 
sin and serving sin, you will be able to escape ? 0, 
no ; it is impossible. Be assured destruction, and 
perhaps sudden destruction, will come upon you. 
Yes, it will come upon you like a whirlwind ; it will 
come upon you like a ragmg tempest, hke a destroy- 
ing storm. Were a lion to fall upon you, could you 
deliver yourself from his devouring j aws ? You could 
not. "When God falls upon you in his anger, will 
you be able to escape from his powerful hand ? No, 
nev^r. 

God now calls on you, my young friends, to hate 
and forsake sin. Seek grace to hear his voice, and 
to obey his command, then you shall live for ever. 
But if you refuse to hear his voice and obey his com- 
mand, you must perish for ever. God will fall upon 
you, as he did on Sodom and Gomorrah, and there 
will be none to help you, none to deliver. 

God said to Jerusalem, " Oh, do not tliis abomina- 
ble thing that I hate. But they hearkened not, nor 
inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness. 
Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, 
and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the 
streets of Jerusalem ; and they are wasted and des- 
olate, as at this day." 

Think for a moment what must have been the 
situation of the people of Sodom when the showers 



ESCAPING FOR LIFE. 25 

of brimstone and fire began to fall. We may imag- 
ine that they were fleeing from one place to another, 
endeavormg to escape, bnt all in vain. Those who 
were in the streets or in the fields, hefore they were 
aware, found their garments on flames, and them- 
selves surrounded with fire from heaven. If they 
looked behmd or before, on the right hand or the 
left, they saw nothing but devourmg fire, from which 
neither men nor beasts were able to escape. 

Remember, cliildren, that God is still the same ; 
he hates sin as much now as he did then ; he wiW. 
punish transgressors as severely now as he did then. 
Though he may not rain brimstone and fire upon the 
wicked in this world, he will do it in the world to 
come ; and you have often heard, that the lake into 
which they shall be cast in a future world, is a "lake 
that burns with fire and brimstone." In that dread- 
ful lake, there is a tormenting worm that never dies, 
and there is a devouring fire, fiercer than the de- 
stroying lightning, that shall never be quenched. 
Take no encouragement to continue in sm here, be- 
cause many of the wicked escape punishment in this 
life. AYhat is this life ? It is but a vapor, which 
continueth for a very little while, and then vanisheth 
aAvay. This short life wiU soon be over, and then 
the wicked who escaped punishment here will enter 
upon a long course of punishment hereafter, wliich 
shall have no end. 

God calls upon you to escape. The miserable and 



26 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

wicked inhabitants of Sodom, when the showers of 
brimstone and fire fell upon them, had nowhere to 
escape. They could not escape to their idolatrous 
temples, for they were all on fire; they could not 
escape from one street to another, for they were all 
equally in flames ; they could not escape to the 
woods, for they were in a state of universal confla- 
gration. Poor, wretched, miserable creatures, they 
had no place to which they could flee. ]N"o, no ; for 
their destruction was fixed by an offended God. Dear 
children, there is a way, there is a way of escape for 
you ; it is Christ. Escape, then, to him ; " Escape 
for your life." 



ELIJAH 27 



LECTURE III. 

ELIJAH. 

" And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and 
cried unto the Lord, and said, Lord my God, I pray thee, 
let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord 
heard the voice of Elijah; and the sou.1 of the child came 
into him again, and he revived." 1 Ki::^gs, 17 : 21, 22. 

I INVITE your attention, my little children, to the 
history of a most wonderful man. The Bible gives 
account of very remarkable men. Of all these, there 
is scarcely any to be met with so remarkable as 
Elijah. He was raised up and employed to perform 
great miracles. One of these was bringing a little 
child to life, and presenting him alive and in good 
health to his beloved mother, who had no other child 
but himself. From the creation of the world to the 
present day, there were only two men admitted into 
heaven without tasting of death. Ehjah was one of 
these two ; Enoch and himself were the only highly 
favored, highly honored ones. 

Observe his name, Elijah, or Elias. This name 
is the noblest that was ever given to man. It has 
the name of God twice. The first syllable, El, sig- 
nifies the Lord, and the last syllable, jah, signifies 
God. The three syllables have tliis meaning, Mij 
Lord is God. how remarkably this was exem- 
plified in the whole life and history of Elijah. His 



28 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

God did not resemble the dumb and dead gods which 
idolaters worshipped. By way of eminence, his God 
was the Lord ; that is, the only, the living, and true 
God, who made the heavens. Happy and blessed 
shall we be if we are able to say on good grounds 
God who is the Lord is our God, and he will be oui 
guide even unto death. 

Elijah was called, for the sake of distinguishing 
him from others, the Tishhite. He was a native oi 
Gilead, and a noted prophet. 

We shall consider the various particulars of hii. 
history and life, as they are recorded in Scripture. 

He told king Ahab, that for several years there 
should be neither dew nor rain, but as he prayed for 
it. After he had delivered this very singular and un- 
expected prophecy, he went and hid himself by the 
brook Cherith, not far from the banks of the Jordan. 
He took this necessary step for his safety at the im- 
mediate command of God. In that very retired spot 
how was he supported ? We reply, the God who 
sent him there, supported him there : he drank of 
the water of the brook ; morning and evening, ravens 
were miraculously directed to bring him bread and 
flesh. What an interesting sight it must have been 
for Elijah to see his black and winged servants reg- 
ularly waitmg upon him, mornmg and evening, with 
the necessary supplies. He was in danger of losing 
his life by the hands of men, but his life was mirac- 
ulously preserved by the services of ravens. 



ELIJAH. 29 

By and by the brook Cherith dries up, and Elijah 
must change his residence. So great was the drought 
through all the land, that this brook with many others 
dried up, and all the fishes died for want of water. 
God could easily have made this brook to continue 
to flow by a miracle, when all the rest were dried 
up ; but he had something for the prophet to do 
elsewhere. God sent him out of the land of Israel 
altogether ; he directed him to go to Zidon, and there 
take up his abode in the house of a widow, in a town 
called Zarephath. "Wlien he came near the gate of 
the city, God pointed out the woman to him ; he 
saw her gathering a few sticks. She appeared to 
be a poor woman, and she seemed afflicted as well 
as poor. Alas, the marks of care and grief were 
deeply impressed upon her countenance. God told 
Elijah that tliis widow was to sustain him. She, 
poor woman, seemed to have nothing to sustam him 
with ; the famine was so great that she and her little 
son were about to take, as they thought, their last 
meal, and then die. When Elijah found this to be 
the case, he might very naturally have said, it is of 
no use to come into this poverty-struck and famme- 
struck family. Like Abraham he was strong in faith, 
and he believed against hope. The good man went 
up to the poor widow and requested her to give him 
something to drink. As she was departing to fetch 
the water, he asked her also to give him some bread. 
With a very heavy heart she said, " As the Lord 



30 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

livetli, T have not a cake, but a handful of meal 
in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse : and behold, 
I am gathermg two sticks, that I may go in and 
dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and 
die." 

" Poor afflicted widow, your deliverer is near. 
This venerable man is sent from the merciful God of 
heaven to preserve yourself and beloved son from the 
jaws of death." 

What must have been her grateful astonishment 
when the man of God addressed her in the following 
consolatory words : " Fear not ; go and do as thou 
hast said : but make me thereof a little cake first, 
and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and thy 
son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The bar- 
rel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse 
of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain 
upon the earth." The widow believed and obeyed, 
and she received the prophet into her house. Bless- 
ed company indeed — the society of the best man that 
then lived on the face of the earth. 

Elijah remained in the house of this widow during 
the space of two years. At the close of this time 
her son, her only son, died. Great was the love she 
bore to this son ; the death of his father strengthened 
her love ; when the father died, she comforted her- 
self and said, " My son lives to fill his father's place ; 
what I have lost in the death of my dear husband 
shall be made up by the life of my son : I mourn 



ELIJAH. 31 

that my husband is dead, hut I rejoice that my son 
Hves." We may easily suppose that such sentiments 
as these often passed through her mind. It is true, 
and it is well, that we know not what shall be on the 
morrow. Tliis pious woman knew not that her dear 
son would soon be cut down by death ; a great trial 
awaited her faith and love : her faith in God, and 
her love to her child. These two were cast into a 
furnace of great heat, but they came out shming 
more beautiful than ever ; they came out of the fur- 
nace like the gold seven times tried. 

Elijah was absent when the fatherless child fell 
sick. His sickness was sore, and there M^as no breath 
left in him. If the prophet had been near, he would 
have prayed for the dear child that God would pre- 
serve his life. It is Hkely the afflicted mother was 
alone. what was the agony of her heart, when 
she saw her beloved son, her only child, expire in 
death. Methinks I see the bitter, bitter tears run- 
ning dowTi her cheeks. At last the man of God re- 
turned to the humble abode, and found it was chang- 
ed into the house of mourning. how soon, my 
young friends, the house of domestic joy may be 
changed into a house of domestic grief. How soon 
the fond mother, looking affectionately upon her 
smilmg babe, may be required to look on that babe 
stretched upon the bed of death a lifeless corpse. 
You are now in the land of the living, but before 
many days have passed your bodies may be in the 



32 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

state of the dead, and your souls in the far distant 
world of eternity. 

Elijah must have been greatly surprised when he 
entered the habitation of the afflicted widow, and 
found that her lovely, hopeful son was no more. 
When she saw the good man, she broke into the fol- 
lowing exclamation : " "VYhat have I to do with thee, 
thou man of God ? Art thou come unto me to call 
my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son ?" She 
thought God had brought upon her this heavy calam- 
ity for some particular sin, and had sent the prophet 
as the messenger of his wrath. She was however 
greatly mistaken. The prophet was sent to be a 
comforter, and not a tormentor ; he Avas sent to be a 
deliverer, and not a destroyer ; he was sent to be the 
messenger of God's mercy, and not of his wrath. 
Young friends, mark what follows. 

The good man said, " Give me thy son. And he 
took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into 
a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own 
bed." He then prayed fervently that God would 
restore the child to life, and that the widow's tears 
of grief might be changed into tears of joy. " And 
he stretched himself upon the child three times, and 
cried unto the Lord, and said, Lord my God, I 
pray thee, let this cliild's soul come into him again." 
Uie prayer was immediately answered, the soul of 
the child came into him again, and he revived. 
Elijah carried up the child dead, but he returns with 



ELIJAH. 33 

the child alive. He " took the child, and brought 
him, down out of the chamber into the house, and 
delivered him unto his mother : and Elijah said, See, 
thy son liveth." 

Little children, you are by nature sinrituallij 
dead. This is a sad case. You have no love to 
God, no breath of true prayer, no heart of devotion. 
As Elijah prayed for the widow's son, so I would 
pray for you. "0 Lord, let the souls of these chil- 
dren become spiritually alive. sufier them not for 
ever to sleep the sleep of death." 

\Yhen the famine and drought had continued three 
years and a half, Elijah was commanded by God to 
present himself before king Ahab. He was directed 
to tell the king that the ram was to return and visit 
the earth. On his way to the kmg he met Obadiah, 
who had the charge of the royal palace. Obadiah 
was a good man. "He feared the Lord greatly." 
Blessed character. that this character were ours. 
As a mark of his piety, he concealed a hundred 
prophets in two caves. The wicked Jezebel sought 
to destroy them. He was instrumental in saving 
them. 

Ahab commanded Obadiah to take with liim ser- 
vants, and go in every direction to seek water. While 
engaged in the search, Elijah met him. Obadiah was 
greatly surprised, and told him that Ahab had 
searched the whole kingdom, and even the surround- 
ing countries, that if possible he might lay hold upon 

Lee. to Chil.-Vol. II. 3 



34 LECTURES TO CHILDREN 

him, and put him to death. He also said, that if lie 
should deliver such a message, the king v\'ould per- 
haps command that he himself should be put to 
death. Elijah told Obadiah that his fears were 
groundless, and that his life should most assuredly 
be preserved. Obadiah went and informed Ahab 
that Elijah was at hand, and wished to see him. 
The king came out to meet Elijah. AYhen the king 
saAv him, he called him a troubler of Israel. The 
prophet boldly denied the charge, and told the king 
that he and his family were the troublers of Israel, 
because of their idolatry and wickedness. 

You Vv'ill observe, my little children, that the 
greater number of the children of Israel had forsaken 
God at this time ; they left the worship of God, and 
worshipped in his place a false god called Baal. 
The king and his queen Jezebel had also fallen into 
this dreadful sin. Elijah in a very remarkable man- 
ner showed the blinded Israelites that Baal was no 
god, and that Jehovah was the only living and the 
true God. Hovv^ did he show this ? He proposed to 
the king a fair trial whether Jehovah or Baal was 
the true God. He proposed that four hundred and 
fifty of Baal's prophets should assemble with him on 
the summit of mount Carmel. He wished them to 
bring with them an animal to be sacrificed ; he also 
agreed to do the same. He then said, if Baal was 
the true God, he would destroy his sacrifice by fire 
from heaven ; but if he did not, he was a false god. 



ELIJAH. 35 

He also said, if Jehovah was the true God, he would 
destroy his sacrifice by fire ; but if not, he was a false 
God. All parties agreed. The priests of Baal built 
their altar ; they slew their sacrifice, and laid it in 
order. They prayed long and loud unto their god to 
come and consume their sacrifice, but he made no an- 
swer. Elijah reproached them by telling them their 
god was perhaps asleep, or on a journey. They pray- 
ed still more earnestly ; they even began to cut and 
stab themselves with knives, but all was in vain ; 
they at last gave up in despair. 

Then Elijah built an altar to the Lord, and dug a 
trench around it. He placed the wood upon the 
altar, and then laid the different parts of the animal 
which he had cut hi pieces upon the wood. Large 
quantities of water were then poured over the altar 
and the animal, and into the deep trench. Notwith- 
standing every thing was covered with water when 
Elijah prayed that God would let the people see that 
he was the true God, fire came down from heaven 
and burned up " the sacrifice, and the wood, and the 
stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that 
was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, 
they fell on their faces : and they said. The Lord, he 
is the God ; the Lord, he is the God. And Elijah 
said unto them. Take the prophets of Baa] ; let not 
one of them escape. And they took them : and Eli- 
jah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew 
them there." 



36 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

LECTURE lY. 

ELIJAH. 

"And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 2 
Kracs, 2: 11. 

"VVe have proceeded in the history of Ehjah as far 
as the destruction of four hundred and fifty of the 
prophets of Baal. You know that Baal was a 
heathen god. For several years there was no rain 
throughout the land of Israel. God sent this calam- 
ity as a punishment for worshipping Baal the false 
god. As soon as the prophets of Baal were slain, 
Elijah told Ahab the king, that God would in a short 
time send rain on the earth : he also told him to 
make haste and return to his city Jezreel, otherwise 
he would be prevented by the great flood of water. 

Elijah and his servant went to the top of mount 
Carmel. He engaged in earnest prayer, and then 
desired his servant to look towards the sea. When 
he looked the seventh time, he saw a little cloud 
about the size of a man's hand. This increased till 
it covered the heavens, Ahab hastened onward to 
Jezreel in his chariot ; Elijah girded up his loins, and 
ran before him. MeanAvhile there was a great rain. 
How refreshing that rain must have been I Tears 
of joy and thankfulness could not fail to nm down 
the cheeks of the inhabitants of the land. 

When the king returned to his palace, he entered 



ELIJAH. 37 

into earnest conversation with his queen Jezehel. 
Instead of falhng down and worshipping Jehovah 
the God of Israel for sending plentiful rain, they 
rei3roached Elijah for putting the prophets of Baal 
to death. This cruel, wicked queen swore that she 
would deprive Elijah of life. Her heart was harder 
than the adamant. She was neither alarmed by 
God's judgments, nor melted by God's mercies. 
how dreadfully hard must her heart have been. She 
sent messengers to Elijah to inform him she was 
determined to slay him. If she had been at all 
impressed with the wonderful goodness of God, she 
would have sent messengers to Elijah, to inform him 
that she was a penitent, raournmg over her sins, and 
thankful to Israel's God for his great, his undeserved 
mercies. She appears, however, in her real colors, 
a true Jezehel. She commanded her servants to 
deliver the following message : "So let the gods do 
to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the 
life of one of them by to-morrow about this time." 
This queen hated the God who had saved Israel ; 
and she loved Baal, who was no God, and the wor- 
shipping of whom brought on Israel the greatest 
calamities. Because she hated God, she sought to 
slay Elijah, his servant and his prophet. They who 
hate Christ, hate his ministers. They who hate 
Christ's ministers resemble Jezebel, who hated Eli- 
jah. 

When Elijah received the message, he was greatly 



38 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

alarmed. The great and good man was perhaps too 
much afraid. From what he knew of the power 
and goodness of God, he had no reason to be afraid 
of a wicked queen, whom God could have so easily 
and so instantly destroyed. Elijah fled. Where did 
lie flee ? He went without halting as far as a place 
called Beersheha. This name means, the ivell of the 
oath. It was here Abraham took an oath of friend- 
ship with Abimelech the king of Gerar ; and it was 
near this place that Hagar wandered in the wilder- 
ness of Arabia. Here also Elijah wandered, perse- 
cuted by Jezebel. Thus the life of the best of men 
was sought by Jezebel the worst of women. At this 
place he dismissed his servant, and pursued his course 
in the Arabian deserts. 

On the first night he was greatly fatigued, and sat 
down under a juniper-tree. There he was so cast 
down and afflicted that he earnestly prayed God to 
remove him by death. He sought what he never 
tasted. He was destined to reach heaven without 
tasting of death. When he had prayed, he fell asleep. 
After he was somewhat refreshed, an angel came to 
him, touched him, and awoke him. The angel pre- 
sented before him bread and Avater. After his re- 
freshment, he laid himself down and slept till morn- 
ing. Again the angel visited him, and set before 
him a second repast, and desired liim to eat, as he 
had a long journey before him. He did so ; and in 
the strength of that nieal he travelled forty days, 



ELIJAH. 39 

till at last he arrived at Horeb. This Horeb is the 
same with mount Sinai. It is situated very near 
the Red sea, and therefore at a very great distance 
from Jezreel, the city in Samaria where the wicked 
Jezebel dwelt, who sought the life of Elijah. 

When he arrived at this wonderful mountain there 
was no house to receive him. He went from place 
to place, to see where he could take up his abode. 
At last he saw a cave in a very retired spot. No 
human being visited him in his cave, God came 
to him, and asked him what he was doing there. 
He replied with great humility, that he had been 
zealous for the Lord of hosts, whom the Israelites 
had forsaken, and whose prophets they had cruelly 
slain, and that the idolatrous Israelites were now 
seeking to destroy him. Immediately God desired 
him to stand upon the mount before him. He obey- 
ed. Behold, my little children, Elijah standing be- 
fore God. See what awfully grand and wonderful 
things took place when the venerable prophet stood 
before God. A strong wind rent the mountains, and 
brake in pieces the rocks. After this there was an 
earthquake ; and after the earthquake there was a 
bright and flaming fire ; and after the fire there was 
a still small voice. Still, means something very soft 
and gentle — yes, soft and sweet as the music of an- 
gels. how delightful this voice must have been, 
after the rending of the mountains, the breaking of 
the rocks, the shaking of the earth, and the devour- 



40 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

iiig flames which burned so furiously before him. 
This still small voice is an agreeable emblem of the. 
gospel, delightful to the ear and captivating to thb 
heart. When Elijah heard this SM^eet alluring voice, 
the very voice of God, he covered his face with his 
mantle, and went and stood in the entrance of the 
cave. Again God asked him, What doest thou here, 
EHjah? The holy man gave the same answer as 
before. To his great satisfaction and surprise, God 
informed him what he was ignorant of before, that 
there were no less than seven thousand in Israel who 
had not bowed the knee to Baal. 

Ehjah must not remain in this cave. There is 
work for him to do, and it must be done. Forty 
days were spent in his journey towards the south, 
in escaping from the cruel Jezebel. He must return 
again to the north, to the very place he had left, 
God delivers to him a threefold commission ; he must 
anoint three men to offices of great importance : two 
men he must anoint to be kings, and one to be a 
prophet in his stead. He must go to Damascus, the 
capital of Syria, and seek out a man of the name of 
Hazael, and anoint him to be the kmg of Syria. Jehu 
also must be anointed king of Israel, and Elisha must 
be anointed prophet in his stead. These two kings 
and Elisha were destined to inflict great judgments 
upon the worshippers of Baal in Israel. Elijah set 
out upon his journey, and went by the way of the 
wilderness. He first went to Elisha. This good 



ELIJAH. 41 

man was engaged in ploughing the fields when he 
found him. He delivered his call, and anointed him 
with oil. He immediately left his worldly employ- 
ment, became a prophet of the living God, and the 
loving and faithful attendant of Elijah. 

Ahab the king of Israel added fresh crimes to his 
past enormities. He coveted the vineyard of a 
humble man named Naboth. He demanded the 
vineyard from Naboth, who refused to give it, or 
even sell it, because it was the inheritance of his 
fathers. At the instigation of the base queen Jeze- 
bel, Naboth was accused of blasphemy and treason. 
Though innocent he was declared guilty. He was 
stoned to death, and the king took possession of the 
vineyard. God recorded this crime, this cruel crime, 
in the book of remembrance. Elijah was commanded 
to meet Ahab, and declare to him his awful doom. 
He went and stood before Ahab. The king was 
struck as with the thunder of the heavens. Alarm- 
ed, he said to the prophet, " Hast thou found me, 
mine enemy?" The prophet proceeds to pronounce 
upon him the sentence of death. It runs in the 
following overwhelming language: "In the place 
where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs 
lick thy blood, even thine I" This dreadful sentence 
was literally fulfilled. 

Ahaziah the son of Ahab succeeded him on the 
throne of Israel. This king fell from an upper cham- 
ber, and was sick. He sent messengers to inquire 



42 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

of Baal-zebub whether he should recover. EKjah 
met the messengers, and reproved them sharply for 
proceeding to make mquuy of a false god. He de- 
sired them to return and tell the king he should not 
recover. The king sent a troop of fifty men to ap- 
prehend him. Elijah prayed to God, and fire came 
from heaven and destroyed them. Another troop of 
fifty men were sent. They also were destroyed. A 
third troop of fifty men were sent. They were spared, 
and Elijah went with them to the king, and in his 
presence solemnly informed him he nmst die. " So 
he died according to the word of the Lord which 
Elijah had spoken." 

The earthly course of Elijah was now nearly at a 
close. In a very short time he must ascend in great 
glory and triumph from this world of sin, far, far 
beyond the starry sky, to the heaven of heavens. 
Blessed, blessed honor, to be translated to heaven 
without tasting of death I 

Elijah knew the time was near, and employed 
various methods for separating himself froni his dear 
friend Elisha, that his departure to heaven might be 
a secret. This showed his affection to his friend, as 
he wished to save him the paui of separation ; but 
Elisha had been divinely informed that Elijah was 
to be translated. Other prophets, who resided about 
Bethel and Jericho, had been also favored with the 
same divine communication. Elijah was not aware 
that such a communication had been made. 



ELIJAH. 43 

Elij ah and Elisha walked on together. Fifty yonng 
prophets followed at a distance. At last they reach- 
ed the hanks of the Jordan. Here a miracle was 
performed. Elijah took his mantle and struck the 
waters. They were immediately divided, and the 
two prophets went through on dry ground. Elijah 
desired Elisha to tell him what he Avould like to 
have him do for him. Above ever}^ thing else, Eli- 
sha wished a double portion of that holy, sacred 
spirit which rested on Elijah. Happy are they who 
seek the Holy Spirit, in preference to all this world 
can bestow. Elijah told him, that if he should see 
him at his translation, this would be given him. The 
prospect of parting with his master gave him pain ; 
but the hopes of his master's sphit resting on him 
would counterbalance all his suffering. 

At the very time they were talking on this sub- 
ject, they were suddenly parted asunder by a com- 
j)any of angels, which assumed the appearance of a 
chariot and horses of fire. Elijah entered the char- 
iot, and was carried up to heaven in a whirlwind. 
Elisha looking up steadfastly into heaven, cried after 
him, ''My father, omj father, the chariot of Israel, 
and the horsemen thereof!"" The meaning of this 
expression is this, that the angels of God were the 
strength and the protection of Israel. 

As Elijah entered the chariot his mantle fell from 
him. Elisha eagerly took it up : he received it as 
a precious memorial of his master ; he received in 



44 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

connection ^\dth it sometliing far better : he received 
a double portion of his spkit ; that is, a greater por- 
tion of his spirit than he had formerly enjoyed. He 
required this double portion to prepare him for the 
arduous and honorable work on which he now 
entered, as the successor of Elijah. When Elisha 
returned to Jordan, he struck the waters with the 
mantle, and they instantly divided. 



THE EYE OF GOD. 45 

LECTURE V. 

THE EYE OF G-OD. 

"Thou God seest me." Gexe.sis 16: 1.3. 

These words fell from the lips of a very afflicted 
woman : her name was Hagar. This name signifies 
a stranger, and ulsofeari?tg. In both these senses, 
the name belonged to poor Hagar : when she ut- 
tered the words of our text, she was a stranger — 
she was wandering in a wilderness ; she was afraid, 
for she fled from the face of her mistress Sarah, who 
dealt very hardly with her. Hagar could not endure 
the ill usage, and therefore fled from the face of her 
mistress. An angel came to sorrowful Hagar, when 
she was sitting alone by a fountain of water in the 
wilderness. Poor woman, she looked very sad. It is 
hkely her countenance was pale with grief, and that 
tears of bitter sorrow ran down her cheeks. She did 
not expect one of God's angels would be sent to 
comfort her m the midst of her sorrow. He ad- 
dressed her in language tender, affectionate, and 
kind. He advised her to return to her mistress, and 
submit herself to Sarah's hands: he delivered to 
her a wonderful and encouragmg promise, that she 
should bear a son, who should afterwards rise to 
great honor and power. I am sure Hagar was 
amazed at all this. Never could the poor outcast 
servant, weeping by a fountain in a wilderness, have 



46 LECTURED TO CHILDREN. 

imagined that she should meet mth such a messen- 
ger, and be encouraged by such a promise. She 
never could have thought this. Her heart was in- 
stantly inspired with wonder, love, and praise. " And 
she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, 
Thou God scest me." God saw her, and followed 
her with his watchful eye when she left the house 
of her mistress ; he saw her with pity when she 
Avandered weeping in the wilderness; he saw her 
when she sat down fatigued at the side of a foun- 
tain. Think, my young friends, how merciful God is. 
Cold, cold is the mercy even of a mother's bosom, 
when compared with the mercy of God. 

The well beside which Hagar sat down to weep 
and pray, was a memorable well for ages and gener- 
ations afterwards. It was called and known by the 
following Hebrew name, Beer-laliai-roi. Beer sig- 
nifies ivell ; lahai signifies him that liveth; and roi 
signifies hUn that seeth me. Appropriate name — 
The icell of him that liveth and seeth me. There 
the Hving God saw her, and pitied her, and com- 
forted her. How often, little children, God's house 
and God's ordinances prove indeed "the well of him 
who liveth and seeth us." By the assistance of the 
Holy Spirit, I propose to speak of the eye of God ; in 
what maimer God seeth ; what God sees ; and the 
lessons which this great subject should teach us. 

We proceed to speak of the eye of God. I can- 
not describe the wonders of the eve of man, ard 



THE EYE OF GOD. 47 

how can I dare to speak of the mysteries of the eye 
of God ? However, with humility, I shall attempt 
to say something of the eye of God. Remember, 
little children, it is the eye of God the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost, one God. 

God's eye was never made. The eyes of angels 
were made by God ; the eyes of men were made by 
God ; the eyes of birds, beasts, and creeping things, 
were made by God ; but God's eye was never made. 
God is from eternity, and his eye was from eternity, 
and looked forward through countless ages, to see all 
that should ever happen in his glorious universe. 

God's eye is bright. It is said of Christ, "His 
eyes were as a flame of fire." AYe are astonished at 
the bright glory of the sun at noonday : the bright- 
ness of the sun, with all its glory, is darkness itself, 
when compared wdth the brightness of God's eye. 
How we shall be astonished, if we ever enter heaven, 
when we shall see the dazzling and unclouded glory 
of the brightness of God's eye I 

God's eye is &tro7ig. We say the eye of the eagle 
is strong, because it can steadily look upon the sun 
without uneasiness or pain. How strong must be the 
eye of God, who made the eagle's eye I How strong 
must the eye of angels be, who have existed ever 
since the heavens and the earth were made I Their 
eye is as strong now as when it was first made. 
How strong must be the eye of God, who made the 
eye of angels I Remarkably weak is the eye of man ; 



48 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

the smallest particle of dust is almost sufficient to 
destroy his sight. The eye of man grows weaker by 
age, but the eye of God is equally strong for ever 
and ever. 

God's eye is piercing. The keenest eye of men 
cannot pierce the bosom and see what is passing 
within. God's eye pierces the heart. God's eye 
can see through the tliickest walls. Iron gates can- 
not prevent the eye of God from looking into the 
deepest and darkest dungeon. God's eye can pierce 
through the thickest clouds, and through the ada- 
mantine rocks of the loftiest mountains ; God's eye 
can look through the earth itself, with greater ease 
than I can look through the thinnest and clearest 
piece of glass. Let me beseech you, never to forget 
the piercing eye of God. 

It is an eye that never shuts: "Behold, he that 
keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Man 
is so feeble that he cannot live without sleep ; many 
hours of every day his eyes are shut in sleep. God 
needs no sleep, and therefore his eye is never shut. 
As God's eye is never shut, nothing is ever shut out 
of God's sight. His eye is so open that it can see all 
things at once. how wonderful is this I 

God's eye shall never groiv dim. When man 
grows old, his eyes grow dim. How common to 
hear old men complain, Alas, our eye is dim with 
age. From all eternity God has lived, and his eye is 
the same in its glorious strength, and its unclouded 



THE EYE OF GOD. 49 

brightness. The sun which God made is not dim 
with age ; and the eye of God, who made the sun, 
can never become dim through the revolvmg ages of 
eternity. 

"VYe proceed to speak of the manner in which 
God sees. 

God sees every thing distinctly. We often see 
things very indistinctly. We may see something 
moving at a distance, but so indistinctly that we are 
unable to say whether it is a man or a beast. If we 
stand on the sea-shore, and cast our eyes over the 
wide ocean, we see a ship at a distance ; but we see 
it so indistinctly that we cannot say whether it has 
only one, or two, or three masts. God sees all things 
as distinctly as if he were only looking at one thmg 
at once. God sees the body distinctly, hi all its 
members, bones, vessels, and particles ; God sees the 
heart distinctly, in all its powers, all its affections, 
all its thoughts, and all its corruptions. what an 
eye is the eye of God I 

God sees all thmgs icholly. When we look upon 
a person, we only see his face, or his garments ; we 
see what is without; but he sees every particle of 
matter of wliich the body consists, from the skin 
which covers the body, to the marrow which fills 
and nourishes its bones. We can see the outside of 
the body, but there is a soul within, wliich our eye 
cannot witness ; God sees the soul. 

If we look upon a mountain, we can only see the 

Lee. to Chil.-Vol. n. 4 



50 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

rocks, or grass, or heath, which covers its surface. 
We cannot see the vast bowels of that mountam, 
and the massy materials which these bowels contain. 
God sees all that they contain with greater ease than 
I can see the leaves of a lovely rose. 

Consider the boundless universe, and all the count- 
less shining worlds of which it consists. When we 
reflect, that God sees them all wholly, and that the 
very smallest particle of matter cannot escape his 
eye, we are lost in astonishment. "Who can tell how 
vast and how glorious is the universe ? 0, who can 
tell how glorious is that eye which sees the whole ? 

God sees all things at once. Men can s^e only 
one thing at once. If I try to look on two things 
distinctly, and at once, I find I cannot, I can tlihik 
only one thought at once, and can see only one thing 
at once. No man can read two books at once, nor 
can he distmctly listen to two tunes at once. How 
glorious is the eye of God, for it sees all beings at 
once, all things at once, all nations at once, all cities 
at once, and all actions at once. All that is now 
doing in Asia, God sees at once, and all that is now 
doing in Europe. What is now doing in Indian 
huts, in British cottages, and in royal palaces, God 
sees at once. Yea, what is now doing in heaven, in 
earth, and in hell, God sees at once. what a 
comprehensive eye is the eye of God 1 Young friends, 
thuik of these things, and wonder. Think of these 
things, and fear. 



THE EYE OF GOD. 51 

We will now consider what God sees. Though 
we have partly considered this already, it deserves 
still more attention, 

God sees all thuigs : "Neither is there any crea- 
ture that is not manifest in liis sight : hut all things 
are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with 
wdiom we have to do." Now I shall confine your 
attention to those things connected with ourselves, 
w^hicli are immediately and constantly under the eye 
of God. 

God sees our thoughts,. AYhat an astonishing eye 
must that be which sees the very thoughts of the 
heart I " The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man." 
He knows them not only when we think them, but 
before we think them. Let us pray that our thoughts 
may be agreeable to the will of that holy God who 
seeth our thoughts. 

God sees our 'puiyo?,es. When a little child says 
withui himself, "I am determined to go with bad 
companions," God sees that mward purpose of his 
heart. The thief forms a purpose to enter mto a 
house and steal : God sees the purpose of his heart. 
A robber says withui himself, "I will go in the dark 
hour of night to the highway, and rob a farmer going 
home from market:" God sees the purpose of his 
heart. When a little child purposes to profane the 
Sabbath, to absent himself from his Sabbath-school, 
or from God's house, aad to wander in the streets or 
ill the fields, God sees the purpose of his heart. 



52 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

God sees our i')as,s,ions . When pride rules the 
heart, God sees it. When we are proud, we have a 
high and sinful admiration of ourselves. 0, this is 
peculiarly hateful to God. God doth behold every 
one that is proud, and abase him. He looks on every 
one that is proud, and brings him low. The Lord 
hateth a proud look. The Lord will destroy the 
house of the proud. Every one that is proud in 
heart, is an abomination to the Lord : though hand 
join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. 

When anger and malice and envy rage in the 
heart, God sees these vile, these loathsome passions. 
You may, my young friends, conceal them from 
those around you, but you cannot hide them from 
God's piercing eye. These are peculiarly abomi- 
nable to the pure and spotless eye of God, who sees 
with great displeasure the corrupt passions which 
deface the beauty of the soul. Try, ye little ones, 
and present this petition before the throne of God : 
"Holy Spirit, wash away the vile passions of my 
heart; heal these hateful diseases of my soul. 
Make me lovely with holiness, for Jesus' sake." 

God sees our actions. God equally sees actions 
good or bad. When a person wishes to perform a 
bad action, he generally wishes it to be done where 
he cannot be seen by the eyes of man. The wicked 
are said to leave the paths of uprightness, and walk 
in the ways of darkness : the tliief and the murderer 
seek the darkness of night to commit their crimes ; 



THE EYE OF GOD. 53 

but no darkness can conceal evil actions from God. 
He sees the robber if he is in the thickest forest ; he 
sees the pirate in the midst of the ocean; yes, his 
eye enters mto all the secluded and hidden retreats 
of sin. Should you ever be tempted to the secret 
commission of sin, remember the words of Hagar, 
"Thou God seest me." 

Thus an inspired writer speaks of God, as seeing 
the wicked actions of men: "They are corrupt, they 
have done abominable works, there is none that 
doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven 
upon the children of men, to see if there were any 
that did understand, and seek God. They are all 
gone aside, they are all together become filthy ; there 
is none that doeth good, no, not one." 

We may take notice of some of those actions, bad 
and good, which God sees. "When a child rebels 
against his father or mother, God sees the rebellious 
actions ; when a boy walks with those companions 
who are in danger of ruining his soul, and leading 
him to the commission of many crimes, God sees 
him going astray : God says to him in his word, " If 
smners entice thee, consent thou not." God sees the 
thoughtless lad when, with his foolish associates, he 
enters into a garden to rob the precious fruit on 
which some poor man depends for liis support. When 
one child is severe and cruel to another, particularly 
to one younger and weaker than himself, God sees; 
and is greatly ofiended with the deed of cruelty. 



54 LECTURE? TO CHILDREN. 

God sees good actions. He never sees them with- 
out admiring them, and loving those who perform 
them. AYhen a little child, morning and evening, 
sits down to read his Bible, and falls upon his knees 
to supplicate the throne of grace, God sees him; he 
Bees liim when with readiness and joy he runs to 
obey liis father and mother : then God says to that 
blessed and obedient child, "Thy days shall be long 
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." 
God sees the pious daughter when she sits beside the 
bed of her afflicted mother, and reads to her the pre- 
cious promises of the word of life. When God raises 
a son to comfort and wealth, God sees his deed of 
filial piety, as he sends a remittance of money to his 
aged parents, to relieve their necessities and remove 
their wants in the evening of their days. God sees 
the amiable, compassionate deed of the pious young 
lady who conveys a cordial to revive the drooping 
spirits of some aged pilgrim drawing near to the 
abodes of death, in her mean and secluded dwelling. 
God sees the pious Sabbath-school teacher who. Sab- 
bath after Sabbath, engages in imparting divine in- 
struction to the children of the poor. 

God not only sees and admires such pious actions 
now, but will publicly mention them, and graciously 
reward them, at the last day : " Then shall the King 
say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of 
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world : for I was a hun- 



THE EYE OF GOD. 55 

gered, and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye 
gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took me in ; 
naked, and ye clothed me ; I was sick, and ye visited 
me ; I was in prison, and ye came mito me." 

God sees the Uttle chikl when he engages in his 
morning and evening devotions. Surely there is 
scarcely any thuig so lovely to behold, on this side 
eternity, as a little child on his bended knees, like 
little holy Samuel, supplicating the throne of God. 
When a little child is reading the Bible, the word of 
eternal truth, God sees him with approbation and 
delight. The eye of God affectionately follows the 
dear child when he attends the Sabbath-school, and 
hears the mstructions of his pious teacher ; when 
he. sits in God's house, and hstens to the heavenly 
admonitions and instructions which fall from the 
minister's lips. 

Christ sees the pious child when he is dying. 
Enter into the apartment, and there you will meet 
a tender-hearted mother, with anxious looks, attend- 
ing to her dying child. There is another friend in 
that room ; the mortal eye of the body cannot be- 
hold him : that friend is Christ ; he is present with 
the pious holy child ; his everlasting arms are around 
him. In a short time he Avill convey the soul of 
that dear dying child to brighter worlds on high. 
My beloved young friends, may such be your felicity 
and honor when you come to die. 

This subject teaches several important lessons. It 



56 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

teaches a lesson of /ear. Sometimes fear means ter- 
ror. Ungodly child, it should fill you with terror, to 
think that you sin under the eye of that God whose 
mighty hand can cast you down into the lowest hell ! 
Fear also signifies reverence and respect. Pious 
child, never forget you are under God's observation, 
and this will certainly increase your reverence and 
heighten your respect. 

This subject teaches a lesson of ivarning. Does 
God's eye see all things, and all things constantly? 
What a warning is this to the wicked child, to avoid 
and forsake his courses of sin. sufier me to en- 
treat you, poor, miserable, infatuated, graceless child, 
to escape for your life, from the paths of sin, where 
you have too long remained I jM'ow, God's eye is 
upon you, and if mercy do not prevent, his destroying 
hand shall be upon you. 

This subject teaches a lesson oi counsel. It coun- 
sels all of us to become the servants of God, and be- 
lievers in Christ. Does God see me ? What a call 
then is this to serve him. He commands me to be- 
lieve in his Son Jesus Christ. He looks upon me, and 
waits, as it were, to see whether I obey this command. 
"Lord Jesus, give me grace to believe in thee." 

This subject teaches a lesson of comfort. Pious 
child, in all your afflictions remember, God sees you, 
and pities you, and loves you. Not only so, but he 
will bless and deliver you . In all the afflictions which 
await you, say with Hagar. " Thou God seest me.'' 



QUEEN ESTHER. 57 

LECTURE VI. 

ESTHER BEFORE KI^G AHASUERUS. 

" So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house- 
royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the 
seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther above 
all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight 
more than all the virgins ; so that he set the royal crown 
upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti." 
Esther 2 : 16, 17. 

The history of queen Esther is very remarkable. 
She was a young, and probably a poor Jewess. It is 
very surprising how she was raised by Providence to 
be a queen ; and it is also surprising why she was 
elevated to such lofty rank. 

Esther was of the tribe of Benjamin. Abihail 
was her father, and her cousin's name was Mordecai, 
her father's nephew. The name Abihail signifies, 
father of strength. He proved mdeed the father of a 
pious and lovely daughter, whom God employed to 
be the strength, the defender, the savior of his church 
and people. Little did Abihail imagine, when Esther 
was born, that the babe, though a daughter, would 
be preserved and raised up to save the church from 
^'~~~-4he power and rage of its enemies. 

The name Esthee, signifies a star or excellent 
'myrtle. Among women she was a star for her 
beauty. Perhaps she was the loveliest woman on 
the face of the earth. She was a star of the first 



58" LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

magnitude. Beauty is a poor inheritance without 
piety. She was a star for irlety, which is the great- 
est excellence. Little children, may God give you 
grace. Then you Avill shme like stars. You shall 
shine like the stars for ever and ever. Esther was 
a star for iisefulness. Stars are useful when there 
is no moon to shme. The traveller rejoices to have 
the light of the stars. How useful are stars to sail- 
ors on the great ocean. In former times they used 
to sail by the direction of the stars. When the 
church -was about to be exposed to a great storm, 
Esther, like a star, guided them into a safe harbor. 

Her name also signifies excellent myrtle. How 
beautiful and fragrant is the myrtle. Esther was 
beautiful w^ith humility, and her graces, more de- 
lightful than the myrtle, breathed the fragrance of 
heaven. 

Her cousin's name was Mordecai, and that signi- 
fied pressed myrrh. This herb has a most pleasant 
and refreshing perfume, particularly when pressed. 
It is said of Christ, " Thy garments smell of myrrh." 
Mordecai Avas a most excellent man, and an eminent 
saint. To the church in her dangers, he was like a 
branch of myrrh. He was the means, in God's hand, 
of raising Esther to the throne, by which she was 
enabled to do the church the greatest service. He 
himself was chosen too, after Haman's death, to be 
the king's prime minister. In that exalted situa- 
tion he vras a most eminent blessinof to the Jewish 



\ QUE EX ESTHER. 5^ 



V 



church, and therefore resembled a hunch of pressed 
myrrh. 

The name of the king was Ahasuerus. It is gen- 
erally believed that this king was Darius Hystaspis, 
a Persian of royal blood. Herodotus, a very ancient 
historian, says that he married Atossa the daughter 
of Cyrus, one of the most wonderful of kings. In the 
beginning of his reign the Jews began to rebuild their 
temple. They were encouraged in this great work 
by Haggai and Zechariah, two eminent prophets and 
servants of God. King Darius also gave them great 
assistance, and commanded that if any should attempt 
to interrupt them, they should be put to death. 

This Ahasuerus was a very powerful king. His 
empire extended from India, in Asia, to Ethiopia, in 
Africa. It bore some resemblance to the Russian 
empire at the present time. It was divided into 
provinces. Their number amounted to a hundred 
and twenty-seven. He built a most magnificent 
palace in the chief of his cities, namely, Shushan or 
Susa. It was situated on the banks of the river 
Ulai. Daniel the prophet mentions this river. It 
was on its banks he saAV a wonderful vision of a ram, 
" which had two horns pushing westward, north- 
ward, and soutlnvard ; so that no beasts might stand 
before him." Daniel 8 : 2, 3. 

The name Shushan signifies lilies. It seems to 
have received this name from the number of lilies 
growing around it. This great city was probably 



60 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

built by Memnon, a little before the Trojan war. 
From the time of Cyrus, it was the winter residence 
of the Persian kings. It was from the palace in this 
city, that Darius or Ahasuerus issued his decree for 
the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem. In grat- 
itude for this noble deed, the Jews called the eastern 
gate of their temple the gate of Shushan. 

In the third year of his reign the king made a 
feast for all his nobles and princes. The assembly 
was great and splendid. The guests who attended 
the feast were the power of Persia and Media. All 
the nobles and princes of the hundred and twenty- 
seven provinces were present. 

Little children, there is a nobler feast in heaven in 
the ivory palace of the new Jerusalem. King Jesus 
is present at that feast. It is attended by the nobles 
and princes of heaven. "VYho are they ? They arc 
saints and angels, cherubim and seraphim, principal- 
ities and powers. 

Ahasuerus, at his feast, " showed the riches of 
his glorious kingdom, and the honor of his excel- 
lent majesty." The feast continued a hundred and 
eighty days. When these days were expired, he 
made another feast unto all the inhabitants of the 
city of Shushan. None were exempted. It was 
prepared for great and small. This appeared very 
generous on the part of the king. It reminds me of 
another feast prepared by another king, namely, King 
Jesus ; he has prepared a feast of salvation for all 



QUEEN ESTHER. 61 

nations. Whenever the gospel is preached, the invi- 
tation is delivered to all to come and taste the choice 
blessings he has prepared for the chief of sinners. 
The feast which Ahasuerus prepared for the inhabi- 
tants of Shushan lasted seven days. The feast Christ 
has prepared for sinners will last till time shall be 
no more. 

It was in the court of the garden of the king's pal- 
ace that the feast was prepared. What a beautiful 
spot. It was adorned with fragrant bowers, flowing 
fountains, and sweet-smelling flowers. The place 
where the people sat down to feast was surrounded 
and closed in by a fence of marble pillars, and cur- 
tains of white, green, and blue. These curtains were 
fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver 
rings. The place was paved with costly marble, red, 
blue, white, and black. The people sat down on 
sofas, according to the custom of those countries. 
They were ornamented with gold and silver. The 
dishes and goblets and cups were all different from 
each other. They were formed of various patterns 
and shapes. They consisted too of costly gold. Wine 
in abundance was given to the people. It was wine 
of the best description, royal wine, or wine of the 
kingdom. The wine was drunk according to the 
law. The people were not forced to drink more 
than they were able to bear ; every man was per- 
mitted to do according to his pleasure. This was the 
express desire of the king. 



62 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

On the seventh and last day of the feast, the heart 
of the king was merry with wine. He called his 
seven chamberlains to bring Vashti the queen before 
him. He ordered that she should come with the 
royal crown upon her head. She was beautiful to 
look upon. The king wished the people and princes 
to behold and admire her beauty. The queen re 
fused ; she was not willing to be gazed upon by the 
multitude. The thought wounded her delicacy, and 
shocked her mind. But the king was exceedingly 
angry because she refused. It is said, he was " very 
wroth, and his anger burned within him." He 
could not endure this act of disobedience in the pres- 
ence of his subjects, his nobles, and his princes. 

The king called together his wise men and coun- 
sellors to consult what should be done to queen 
Vashti. It was resolved and advised that queen 
Vashti should be sent away, and that another should 
be chosen in her place ; tliis pleased the king. 

When his wrath was appeased, the king gave 
orders that the loveliest young virgins of his vast 
empire shoul(J>fee brought to Shushan, that he might 
choose one of them for liis queen. My young friends, 
we are now come to a particular part of the history 
of Esther. I wish you particularly to observe it, as it 
furnishes a remarkable evidence of the providence of 
God. Observe what follows, and you cannot fail to 
be surprised at the manner in which the good and 
lovely Esther was raised to be the queen of Ahas- 



QUEEN ESTHER. 63 

ueriis, one of the most mighty kings upon the face of 
the earth. 

One of the virgins chosen to be presented before 
the king was this amiable yomig Jewess. There 
lived in the palace at Shushan a certain Jew of the 
tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai. I cannot tell 
what situation this good man held. AYhatever it 
was, he adorned it by his wisdom, humility, and 
piety. He was taken a. captive from his native 
country. Like Daniel, he was destined to rise to 
great eminence in the land of his exile. There was 
a little child, his own cousin, whom he educated and 
brought up. She was the daughter of his uncle. 
Her father and mother died. This was Esther. 
Her other name was Hadassah. She Avas a helpless 
orphan. Mordecai pitied her ; he took her to his 
own home ; he became a father to her. It is said, 
" When her father and mother were dead, he took 
her for his own daughter." My dear children, are 
any of you orphans ? take God for your father, 
for he is the orphan's stay. And what a stay ! 

When many maidens were brought to the palace 
of Shushan to be presented before the great Persian 
king, Esther the young Jewish orphan was presented 
among the rest ; she was preferred by the king before 
them all. He chose her to be his queen ; he put the ' 
royal crown upon her head, and made her queen 
instead of Vashti. How beautiful Esther looked with 
her crown sparkling with costly jewels. How glori- 



64 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

ous Jesus looks in heaven crowned with a diadem 
brighter than the sky. How glorious all the saints 
in heaven must appear, for they too are crowned with 
crowns of righteousness and of life that shall never 
fade away. 

While Esther lived in the palace, she never forgot 
Mordecai who had been a father to her. He desired 
her to conceal that she was a Jewess and an exile 
from a distant land. She continued to obey Morde- 
cai as faithfully as when she dwelt under his roof 
She was lifted up to great rank, but she was not 
lifted up with pride. She had a high station and an 
humble heart. 

Mordecai was accustomed every day to sit in the 
palace-gate, to know how Esther was. While sitting 
there one day, by a most remarkable providence he 
received information respecting a plot which was laid 
to murder the king. The persons who contrived the 
plot were Bigthan and Teresh, his two chamberlams 
who kept the palace-gate. Mordecai sent informa- 
tion to Esther. She told it to the king. Thus his 
life was preserved by Mordecai. Inquiry was made, 
and the intended murderers were hanged upon a tree. 
And it was marked in the records of the kmgdom 
that Mordecai had given the information which saved 
the king's life. At that time he received no reward, 
but he was afterwards raised to great glory and 
power. 



QUEEN ESTHER. 65 

LECTURE VII. 

ESTHER AND KING AHASUERUS. 

"Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth da/ 
of the first month, and there was written according to all that 
Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to 
the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers 
of every people of every province, accordmg to the writuig 
thereof, and to every people after their language ; in the name 
of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's 
ring. And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's 
provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, 
both yoimg and old, little .children and women, m one day, 
even upon the thhteenth day of the twelfth month, which is 
the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. 
The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in 
every province was published unto all people, that they 
should be ready against that day. The posts went out, bemg 
hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was 
given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat 
down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed." Es- 
ther 3 : 12-15. 

We now proceed, my little children, in this lecture 
to mention other remarkable particulars in the most 
interesting life of Esther. We have seen how she 
was elevated to be a Persian queen. 

By the assistance of divine grace, we shall now 
endeavor to show, as clearly as possible, ivhy she 
was made queen. The reason was very important. 
It was for the preservation of God's church from the 
most dreadful destruction. The monster who laid 

Lee. to Cbil.-Vol. II. f) 



66 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

tiie plan for having all the Jews put cruelly to death, 
and that on one day, was the vile, the ^yicked Ha- 
inan. His name signifies preparation. He indeed 
prepared a cruel plot against the people of God. 
Had his plan succeeded, nearly all of them, men, 
women, and children must have perished. You 
wall see, as we go on, how his plot was overturned 
and defeated by Mordecai and Esther. It Avas for 
this end Mordecai was raised to great honor ; it was 
for this end Esther was elevated to fill a throne. 

Who was Haman ? He was the king's prime min- 
ister ; he was next to the king. It is a great blessing 
when a good man rises to great power, but it is a 
great curse when a bad man is raised to great influ- 
ence. This truth is well expressed in the Proverbs 
of Solomon, a book with which little children should 
be well acquainted. Solomon says, "When the right- 
eous are in authority, the people rejoice : but when 
the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." Haman 
was in authority, though a very wicked man. If 
God had not prevented, his power would have been 
used for the destruction of hundreds and thousands 
of the people of the Most High. 

The king placed Haman above all his princes. 
When he passed through the palace-gate, all the 
king's servants uncovered their heads, and bowed 
and gave him reverence. This pleased the haughty 
Haman. There was one man in the gate Avho would 
not uncover his head when Haman passed, or give 



Q.UEEN ESTHER. 67 

him reverence. This was Mordecai. Why did he 
refuse ? Because Haman was a had man ; therefore 
he would not bow, to flatter his vanity, or feed his 
pride. Haman observed how Mordecai the Jew neg- 
lected and despised him. He was greatly displeased ; 
he said within himself, "I must fall on some plan to 
get this Mordecai, this contemptible fellow of a Jew 
destroyed ; but I scorn to lay hands on him alone. 
My plan must be so laid, that all his people shall be 
destroyed, even all the Jews throughout the empire 
of the king." 

Thmk, my young friends, what a dreadfully wicked 
man Haman must have been. Because one Jew 
refused to bow before him, he is resolved that thou- 
sands of Jews shall be murdered who gave him no 
offence. As the devil planned the destruction of the 
whole human race, Haman the devil's son planned 
the destruction of all the Jews that could be found in 
the dominions of kmg Ahasuerus See how much 
the son resembles the father. The cruel son of a 
cruel father ; the father is a murderer, and the son 
is a murderer. 

Haman cannot get these poor Jews destroyed \viih- 
out the consent of the king. But how is this con- 
sent to be obtained ? How can a king of any justice, 
or any mercy, ever consent to such a deed ? He did 
consent, and I will show you how the consent was 
obtained. This Haman was a liar, as well as a mur- 
derer. He had the presumption and impudence to 



(58 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

go to the king, and bring lying accusations against 
the Jbavs. 

Dear children, beware of lying. All liars are the 
children of the devil. Hell is prepared for liars. 
" All liars shall have their portion in the lake that 
burnetii with fire and brimstone I" If any of you 
are guilty of lying, think of this, and fear ; think of 
this, and reform. 

What did lying Haman say, when he went unto 
the king ? He said, " There is a certain people scat- 
tered abroad and dispersed among the people in all 
the provinces of thy kingdom ; and their laws are 
diverse from all people ; neither keep they the king's 
laws : therefore it is not for the Idng's profit to suffer 
them. If it please the king, let it be written that 
they may be destroyed ; and I will pay ten thousand 
talents of silver to the hands of those that have the 
charge of the business, to bring it into the king's 
treasuries." 

Observe the wickedness and cunning of tliis wretch. 
He does not tell the king that Mordecai had offended 
him, by refusmg to give him reverence while he 
passed through the palace-gate. If he had done this, 
orders might easily have been given to cut off the 
head of Mordecai, or to make him a prisoner for life. 
The death of Mordecai would not satisfy Haman ; 
he thirsts for the blood of all the Jews. To gain 
this object, what does he say against the poor Jews? 
He first represents them as a contemptible people. 



QUEEN ESTHER. 69 

Then he represents them as a dangerous people, and 
therefore not worthy to be suffered to live. He rep- 
resented their laws as bad, and contrary to those of 
other nations. The laws he found fault with were 
the laws of God. Now he turns blasphemer ; he is 
not satisfied with reviling God's people, but he re- 
viles God himself in reviling liis laws. 

The king gave his consent that it should be done 
as he desired. Lots were cast when the work of 
carnage, cruelty, and death should commence. The 
lot fell that it should take place on the thirteenth day 
of the twelfth month, or some time in our month of 
March, God mercifully directed this, for there was 
a delay almost of a whole year. " The disposing of 
the lot is of the Lord." This furnished time for 
methods being contrived for preventing the calamity 
which the wicked Haman intended. 

Posts and letters were sent through all the king- 
dom, giving authority to all the people to " destroy, to 
kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and 
old, little children and women, in one day, on the 
thirteenth day of the month Adar, and to take the 
spoil of them for a prey." what a cruel proclama- 
tion I Perhaps there never was such another proc- 
lamation m any period of the world before. When 
Haman and the king had finished their plan and issued 
their dreadful command, they sat down in the palace 
of Shushan to drink wine, while the v/hole of the m- 
habitants of the city were greatly perplexed. 



70 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Mordecai was exceedingly afflicted. He rent his 
clothes, and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went 
along the streets of Shushan, lamenting and crying 
with a loud and a bitter cry. He even stood before 
the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. When the 
bloody tidings reached the different provinces, "there 
was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, 
and weeping, and wailing ; and many lay in sackcloth 
and ashes." When the doleful tidings reached queen 
Esther, she grieved exceedingly. She grieved for 
herself, but she grieved more for her people. As you 
know, my young friends, she was a Jewess, though 
the king knew it not. She heard that her beloved 
friend Mordecai stood day after day at the king's 
gate clothed with sackcloth. She sent raiment to 
clothe him ; but he received it not. Esther called 
for Hatach, one of the king's chamberlains, to inquire 
of Mordecai why it was that so cruel a command 
had been delivered against the Jews. Hatach went 
to Mordecai, and returned with a message to the 
queen. He presented a copy of the horrible decree. 
Mordecai requested that she would employ all her 
powers with the king to prevent the destruction of 
lier people the Jews. Esther returned an answer 
to Mordecai. She stated that no one, not even the 
queen herself, could go into the presence of the king 
uncalled, on pain of death. Besides, she had not 
Been the king for thirty days. This led her to sup- 
pose that the king's love to her had begun to decay. 



QL'EEX ESTHER. 71 

Mordecai returns another message to the queen. It 
was to the foUoAving effect : that even she, though 
a queen, was not safe ; that even in the palace itself, 
her hfe would most probably be taken away ; that 
if she did not come boldly forward at tliis time and 
entreat the king for her own people, God would send 
deliverance from some other quarter, wliile she and 
her father's house would be left to perish. He also 
told her that God had probably brought her to the 
kingdom for the very purpose of saving his people 
and church from the cruel death Haman had con- 
trived. This was the message which Mordecai sent 
to Esther. 

What the good Mordecai said was blessed. It 
touched the queen's heart. She felt it was the voice 
of God. It was a call she would not, she could not 
resist. She returned the following remarkable, noble, 
and pious answer. She said, "Go, gather together 
all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye 
for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or 
day : I also and my maidens will fast likewise : and 
so will I go in unto the kmg, which is not according 
to the law ; and if I perish, I perish." 

Think ye, little children, with admiration on queen 
Esther, on the words she uttered, and the resolutions 
she formed. She, though queen, was liable to be 
put to death if she went into the king's presence 
without being invited. But if she lose her life in the 
attempt, she is resolved to make it and plead with 



72 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

her royai husband for the salvation of her people. 
In attemptmg to save her people, she was willing to 
die. She showed the spirit of Jesus. He died to 
save sinners. 

Esther enters most seriously on the work of accom- 
plishing the salvation of Israel. She and her hon- 
orable attendants humbled themselves before God. 
They fasted three days, and prayed. She entreated 
"Mordecai, that he, and all the Jews in the city of 
Shushan, would join with her in the same holy and 
solemn services. Here is a blessed example for us to 
follow. If we expect blessings, temporal or spiritual, 
we must seek them by prayer in the name of Christ. 
Satan has laid a plan for our ruin. I assure you, 
little children, it is the case. All who live and die 
without prayer, nmst fall into the snare v/hich Satan 
has prepared. 

See the great blessedness of humihty. Esther 
humbled herself before God, and thus obtained the 
salvation of thousands. Some might have said, if 
you wish to prevail with the king, you must not 
mourn and fast for three days. No ; you must rather 
pamper and please the flesh, that your appearance 
may win and ovei'come the king. She knew that 
God, and not herself, must work this change upon the 
king's heart. She also knew that God could make 
the tear falling down her cheek of more effect than 
the smile sparkling on the loveliest cheek. 

how noble this young queen appears, adorned 



QUEEN ESTHER. 73 

with grace. Great as the lovcHness of her counte- 
nance was, it was nothing compared with this. She 
had a lovely body, but she had a lovelier soul. Beau- 
tiful were the royal garments of silk in which she 
was arrayed, but far more beautiful the garments of 
salvation with which she was adorned. Costly was 
the golden crown she wore, but far more costly the 
crown of righteousness which shed lustre upon her 
soul. It is a great honor to be a queen, but it is a 
greater honor to be a saint. Esther was both the 
one and the other. 



74 LECTURES TO CHILDREX. 



LECTURE VIII. 

ESTHER'S PETITION. 

"And the king said again to Esther on the second day 
at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? 
and it shall be granted thee ; and what is thy request ? and 
it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom. Then 
Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor 
in thy sight, king, and if it please the king, let my life be 
given me at my petition, and my people at my request." 
Esther 7 : 2. 3. 

We shall now consider how this pious queen suc- 
ceeded m her application to the king. There were 
several important points to be obtained. One was, 
to be admitted into the royal presence ; the second 
was, a seasonable time for presenting her request ; 
and the third, to obtain what she mtended to peti- 
tion. In all these God led her. In all these God 
blessed her. In all these God heard his people's 
prayers, and in all these he accomplished his church's 
deliverance. 

The solemn day arrived when Esther must en- 
deavor to appear before the king. On the third day 
she put on her royal apparel, and took her station 
in the inner court of the king's house. The king 
was sitting upon his throne. The pious queen comes 
suitably arrayed in her royal garments. During the 
three days before, her soul appeared before God in 



QUEEN ESTHER. 75 

garments of holy repentance and deep humility. Now 
she appears before her king and husband in royal 
robes of costly beauty. Had she come otherwise, it 
would have been considered an insult to the king, 
and might have been followed by immediate death 
to herself 

She comes with her life in her hand. Yashti 
was deprived of a throne because she would not 
come before the king when she was commanded, 
and Esther may be deprived of her life, if she come 
into the king's presence without being invited. The 
beauty of Yashti did not preserve her dignity, and 
the beauty of Esther may not save her life. 

The king was surprised at seemg the queen, while 
she stood in the inner court, over against his throne. 
He had not seen her for thirty days. This long ab- 
sence made her situation the more critical. When 
he saw the lovely Esther before him, his heart was 
touched. He kncAV that she was breaking a royal 
and ancient law ; he knew that her life was in his 
hand ; he knew that he might instantly deprive her 
of her crown and of her life. He loved her ardently 
before, but now he loves her more than ever. He saw 
that she put her very life in his hand, and this 
strengthened his love. She instantly found favor in 
his sight. He had a golden sceptre in his hand. He 
stretched it out, that she might touch it. This was 
the sign or token she was accepted. If the golden 
sceptre had not been stretched out, Esther must have 



-76 LECTURb'S TO CHILDREN. 

been put to death. It was stretched out, therefore 
the queen hves and is accepted. 

Thus we see the first point was gained. In this 
step God smiled upon the queen and blessed her. 
She was delighted with the smiles of her king. She 
was the more delighted, as she saw in these smiles 
the smiles of her God. In these smiles she saw the 
dawning of a glorious day. Yes, a day which was 
remembered in all generations — a day when the 
church triumphed — a day when the enemies of the 
church were confounded, and put to shame. The 
joy of the king was great on seeing Esther ; but the 
joy which filled the bosom of the pious Esther when 
she found the favor of her king, resembled the joy 
of angels, resembled the joy of heaven. 

When the king held out the sceptre, the queen 
drew near and touched the top of the sceptre. 

Little children, Jesus holds out the sceptre of his 
grace to you. Touch his sceptre and live. That is, 
fall down before him, and receive him as your Lord 
and Saviour. 0, he is kind and merciful. Vile as 
you are, he will receive you, he will love you, he 
will save you. 

When the queen came unexpectedly into the king's 
presence, he knew that something very particular 
must have brought her there ; he knev/ she had 
some request to make ; he saw in her looks that 
something pressed heavily upon her mind : God was 
at work upon the king's heart, and formed the desire 



QUEEN ESTHER. 77 

wdthin him of granting his amiable queen whatever 
she wished. He does not wait till Esther mentioned 
her request. At once he most kmdly asked what 
was her request. He did it, too, in a way the most 
handsome, noble, and afiectionate. He said, "What 
wilt thou, queen Esther; and what is thy request? 
It shall be given thee, to half of the kingdom." It 
required great wisdom to answer this question. In 
other words, it required the greatest wisdom for 
Esther to present her petition. She is therefore 
resolved not to do it at once, but to take time in 
preparing the king to hear it, and to answer it. For 
this purpose she invited the king, with Haman his 
prime minister, to honor her by being present at a 
banquet which she intended to make for them. She 
is resolved to have the very man at the banquet who 
had contrived the ruin and massacre of her people. 
The king most readily attended the feast, and Haman 
also took his place at the banquet. " Ah, cruel Ha- 
man, thou vile murderer, little art thou aware that 
thy doom is sealed, that thy destruction is near." 

The king was anxious to hear the petition of 
Esther. He said a second time, " \Yhat is thy peti- 
tion ? and it shall be granted thee ; and what is thy 
request ? even to the half of the kingdom it shall 
be performed." The queen was directed by the 
Spirit of God to defer a second time presentmg her 
petition. She said to the kmg, "If it please tht; 
king to perform my request, let the king and Haman 



78 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

come to the "banquet that I shall prepare for them, 
and I will do to-morrow as the king hath said." The 
king graciously consented. Haman was glad he re- 
ceived such countenance from the queen. However, 
when he passed through the palace-gate he saw Mor- 
decai, and was angry because Mordecai neither stood 
up nor moved for him when he passed. On reach- 
ing hom.e he told Zeresh his wife how much he was 
offended with Mordecai the Jevv^ His wife was, like 
himself, a monster of wickedness, and a counsellor 
of sin. Zeresh told him not to trouble liimself about 
that contemptible Jew, but to prepare a gallows for 
hanging him lilie a dog. This bad advice was speed- 
ily followed. Carpenters are employed to get a gal- 
lows prepared immediately. Haman believes that 
when the queen's banquet is over he shall easily 
obtain leave to get the Jew executed, and that be- 
fore he sleeps he shall have the satisfaction of seeing 
Mordecai suspended by the neck. "Ah, cruel, un- 
just Haman, little dost thou think that the gallows 
preparing for Mordecai is preparing for thee ; little 
dost thou think, that at the time thou expectest to 
see Mordecai suspended to the gallows, there thou 
shalt be suspended, an object of scorn and execra- 
tion. Thy doom is sealed, thy destruction is near." 
On the night before the banquet the king was 
unable to sleep. It was God who prevented the 
king from enjoying his usuai rest. This uneasiness 
upon his bed was appointed of heaven, as one of 



QUEEN ESTHER. 79 

those means which led to the advancement of Mor- 
decai, and the delh^erance of the Jews. The king 
was so restless he knew not what to do. To relieve 
and compose his mind, he commanded the book of 
the records of his kingdom to be read before him. 
Providence most wonderfully directed that the part 
read gave an accomit of the information fm'nished 
by Mordecai, respecting the plot which was laid by 
the king's two chamberlains to take away his life. 
Tlie king was deeply affected with the account of 
his narrow escape from the murderous hands of these 
wicked men. He was equally affected with the kind- 
ness of Mordecai, who gave the information which 
saved his life. He inquired what reward had been 
given to Mordecai. The servants replied, " There 
is nothing done for liim." The king was confounded 
and ashamed, that nothing had been done for the 
man who had not only been the savior of liis life, 
but the preserver of his crown. He ordered Haman, 
his prime minister, to be sent for immediately. When 
Haman was introduced, the king asked him what 
should be done to the man whom the king delighted 
to honor. The vile Haman vainly imagined that 
the king meant no one but himself "Ah, Haman, 
thy doom is sealed, thy destruction is near." Haman 
answered, " For the man whom the king delight eth 
to honor, let the royal apparel be brought which the 
king useth to wear, and the horse that the king 
rideth upon, and the crown-royal which is set upon 



80 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

his head ; and let this apparel and horse be deliv- 
ered to the hand of one of the king's most noble 
pruices, that they may array the man withal whom 
the king delighteth to honor, and bring him on horse- 
back through the street of the city, and proclaim 
before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom 
the king delighteth to honor." 

Haman expected this to be done to himself What 
was his amazement when he received commandment 
to do all this to Mordecai the Jew. The kmg said, 
*' Make haste ; let nothing fail of all that thou hast 
spoken." Haman was obliged to obey, and thus to 
honor the very man for whom he commanded the 
gallows to be prepared. After Mordecai was honor- 
ably proclaimed, Haman returned to the banquet of 
the queen. 

During this second banquet, the king a third time 
desired Esther to present her petition. " Then Esther 
the queen answered and said, If I have found favor 
in thy sight, king, and if it please the king, let my 
life be given me at my petition, and my people at 
my request ; for we are sold, I and my people, to 
be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we 
had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had 
held my tongue, although the enemy could not coun- 
tervail the king's damage. Then the king Ahasue- 
rus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who 
is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his 
heart to do so ? And Esther said. The adversary 



QUEEN ESTHER. 81 

and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman 
was afraid before the king and the queen." The 
rage of the king was great. Haman stood up to 
plead for his life ; the king ordered his face to be cov- 
ered, to take him instantly away, and put him to 
death. " So they hanged Haman on the gallows 
that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the 
king's wrath pacified." 



r*<:.toChil.-Vol. n. 



82 LECTUIv.ES TO CHILDREN. 

LECTURE IX. 

CHRIST THE PHYSICIAN OF THE SOUL. 
"Is there no physician there?" Jerejiiah 8 : 22. 

The diseases of the soul are incurable by men or 
angels ; but Christ the great Physician can (^easily 
command them to depart, 

I will now mention some of the efiects which the 
diseases of the soul produce. This may be illustra- 
ted by showing some of the efiects which diseases 
produce on the body. Diseases deprive the body of 
beauty, of strength, of appetite, of pleasure or enjoy- 
ment, and of life. The diseases of sin produce simi- 
lar efiects on the soul : they deprive the soul of spir- 
itual beauty, and they make it a vile and odious 
spectacle in the eyes of a holy God. They deprive 
the soul of spiritual appetite. It has no relish or 
appetite for divine things ; it has no relish for prayer, 
no relish for the gospel, no relish for God's laws, and 
no relish for God's ordinances. This want of spirit- 
ual appetite is all produced by the disease of sin. 
This disease makes the soul spiritually weak : it has 
no strength to love God, no strength to trust God, 
and no strength to serve God. The disease of sm 
takes away the happiness of the soul, and makes it 
miserable, " There is no peace, saith my God, to 
the wicked." And the disease of sin has inflicted 
upon the soul spiritual death. To be spiritually 



CHRIST OUR PHYSICIAN. 83 

dead, is to be without the love of God, and without 
the resemblance of God. This death will be follow- 
ed by eternal death, if the disease of sin is not cured. 

Be assured, my dear children, that the disease of 
sin has produced powerful effects on you. Look 
within on your own hearts, and you will find that 
whal^I have now pointed out are the real effects 
which sm has produced on you. After telling you 
all this, you will be ready to ask. Is there no physi- 
cian for poor diseased souls ? I answer, there is a 
physician, and this physician is Christ. 

We now proceed to a very pleasing duty, namely, 
to speak of Christ as the Physicun of poor dis- 
eased SOULS. We can say of Christ as the Physician, 
what can be said of no other. May the Holy Spirit 
nov/ impress most deeply on your hearts what is to 
be said of Christ the wonderful Physician. When 
you hear it, my dear children, may you be persuaded 
to put your diseased souls into his hands ; then all 
will be well. 

Christ is a divine Physician, He is more than a 
man : he is God and man in one person. Christ is 
God who made the soul, and he is God who is able 
and willing to cure the wretched and diseased soul. 
It would be remarkable if a king were to become a 
physician ; if he were to enter into poor cottages, and 
examine the diseases of the afflicted inhabitants, and 
wash their wounds, and bind them up with his own 
hands. But this is nothing, when you think of God 



84 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

himself becoming the physician of vile, lost, wretch- 
ed, and diseased souls. Our Physician is the very 
greatest of beings ; he is above all men, for he is di- 
vine ; he is above all angels, for he is divine ; he is 
God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

Christ is a sJcilful Physician. A physician who is 
skilful, knows what the disease is. Christ k^oAvs, 
and knows perfectly what all the diseases of the soul 
are. It is little to know merely their names ; he 
knows their nature. A skilful physician knows where 
the disease is ; Christ sees where all the diseases of 
sin are seated in the soul. A skilful physician knows 
w^hat remedy suits the disease ; Christ knows what 
medicine suits the diseases of the heai;t. A skilful 
physician applies the medicine in the proper time, 
and in the proper degree ; so does Christ. The most 
skilful physicians sometimes mistake ; they mistake 
sometimes both the disease and the medicine : Christ 
always knows the disease, and always knows and 
applies the most suitable medicine. Skilful physi- 
cians sometimes mistake ; Christ cannot mistake. 
Skilful physicians are sometimes perplexed ; Christ 
is never perplexed. Skilful physicians know diseases 
and medicines by much study ; Christ knows all 
things infinitely and at once. what is it that 
makes Christ so skilful a physician ? It is^this : he 
is the only wise God, and to him belong all treasures 
of wisdom and of knowledge. 

Christ is a i:>owerful Physician, k. physician may 



CHRIST OUR PHYSICIAN. 85 

be skilful in knowing a disease, but weak in remov- 
ing it ; Christ is skilful in nnderstanding, and pow- 
erful in curing every disease of the soul. There are 
some diseases of the body which no physician can 
heal, but there is no disease of the soul which Christ 
cannot remove. Great was the display of Christ's 
power in the days of his humbled humanity, when 
he healed the loathsome diseases of the body by a 
Mord and by a touch. Great is the display of Christ's 
power noii\ in healing the diseases of the soul by the 
still small voice of his gospel. 

what is it which makes Christ so powerful a 
physician? It is this: he is the Almighty God 
By him all things were made that are in heaven and 
in earth ; therefore, he is a powerful j)hysician. He 
easily expelled devils from those possessed of them ; 
and he can easily expel the pride, the enmity, and 
unbelief of the heart. He commands the raging 
winds and the swelling waves, and they obey him ; 
and he can as easily command the diseases of the 
soul to cease. He spreads beauty over the face of 
the earth ; and he can with the same ease spread 
the beauty of spiritual health over the face of the 
soul. what a powerful physician is Christ. Christ 
found no difficulty ui healing the poor leper, and 
Christ feels no difficulty m healing leprous souls. 
Blessed and delightful truth. thou mighty Jesus, 
have mercy on the diseased souls of little children, 
and by thy great power heal all their diseases. 



86 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Christ ia a merciful Physician. Many physicians 
are skilful, who are not merciful. How many phy- 
sicians are remarkable for their austerity, and not for 
their mercy. Many physicians can look upon a poor 
sufferer, and not feel for his sufferings. how few 
physicians feel for the pains and agonies of afflicted 
patients. It is seldom that the tears of mercy are 
seen running down the cheeks of an earthly physi- 
cian. Come, little children, and see and admire a 
merciful physician, namely, Jesus Christ : his name, 
his nature is merciful. When on earth, this Physi- 
cian wept tears of mercy. It is true, he cannot weep 
now. for his humanity is advanced to the glory of 
heaven, where no tears are shed ; but though he can 
v/eep no more, his mercy is not less than when on 
earth. He is as compassionate, as tender-hearted, as 
merciful as ever. My little cliildren, believe it, Jesus 
feels for you, and pities you. He says, " Suffer little 
children to come unto me." So merciful is Jesus, 
that he will turn away no diseased soul that comes 
to him for help. what a comfort is this. He will 
never say, Go from my presence, wretched, diseased 
soul : no, no ; he will never say. You are so vile and 
loathsome, I cannot endure a spectacle so deformed, 
an object so diseased : no, no ; he never uses such 
language as this. Merciful Jesus, thy language is 
like thyself; " Come unto me, all ye that labor, and 
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Little 
child, thy mother is merciful, but thy Saviour is more 



CHRIST OUR PHYSICIAN. 87 

merciful, for he is mercy itself. Think of the height 
of his mercy. You cannot- conceive the height of the 
heavens ; far less can you conceive the height of the 
mercy of Jesus the divine Physician, for his mercy is 
above the heavens. If we cannot conceive the height 
of the heavens, we can far less conceive that mercy 
which infinitely exceeds the heavens. 

Christ is a gi-aciaus Physician. By this we mean, 
that he heals without money and without price. An 
earthly physician may be merciful, but he cannot 
give his labor, his skill, his time, and his medicine 
for nothing : he must be paid. Jesus the gracious 
Physician invites all to come, though they have nei- 
ther money nor price. He heals mercifully, and he 
heals freely. AYhile other physicians must be paid, 
he cannot be paid. No ; who can give him a price 
for such a blessing as spiritual health ? None can 
give him a price, and he seeks no price. Some phy- 
sicians will go to the rich, who can pay them, and 
neglect the poor, who cannot pay them. Neither 
rich nor poor can repay Christ for heahng the soul, 
and he graciously receives the poor as readily as the 
rich. He is so gracious that he will hear the prayer 
of a diseased beggar as willingly and tenderly as the 
prayer of a diseased king. He will as readily perform 
merciful cures in the mean hovel or deep dungeon, aa 
in the lofty mansion or stately palace with its paint- 
ed canopies and gilded turrets. Abundant are the 
healing waters of his grace. Thus runs his gracious 



S8 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

invitation : " Ho, every one that tliirstetli, come ye 
to the waters ; and he that hath no money come, 
without money and without price. Whosoever will, 
let him take of the water of life freely." 

Christ is a Physician near at hand. In some 
places, people have to travel far to find a physician. 
Christ is everywhere present : if we are walking in 
the streets of a city, he is there ; if we are in green 
fields or gardens or woods, he is there ; if we are in 
deserts or mountains, he is there ; if we are on the 
sea, or on the wide ocean, he is there ; if we go into 
our closet or enter into his house, he is there. This 
wonderful Physician is brought near to us in the 
reading of the Bible, and he is brought near to us in 
the preaching of the gospel. 

My dear children, since Christ the skilful and the 
gracious Physician is so near, may the Holy Spirit 
persuade you to put your diseased souls under his 
kind and merciful care. Satan will use every method 
in his power to prevent you. Perhaps he will tell 
you that your souls are not diseased, and therefore 
there is no need to go to the Physician. That tempter 
made the ancient church of Laodicea think this of 
herself: "Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased 
with goods, and have need of nothing ; and knowest 
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, 
and blind, and naked." How deplorable it was for 
the church of Laodicea to be in such a state, and not 
to know it ; and how deplorable it is for little chil- 



CHRIST OUR PHYSICIAN. 89 

dren to have tlieir souls covered with the vile dis- 
eases of sin, and not to know it. That child must 
be a child of Satan who says, I have no need of 
Christ the Physician. Be diligent, then, my young 
friends, in fervently praying to God to open your 
eyes to see the diseases of the soul ; then you will 
in earnest flee to Christ the Physician, ^^'ho is able 
and willing to heal all your diseases. 

think of the great advantage of committing 
your soul to Christ's healing care. Is it not a great 
advantage to have a diseased body cured ? It is 
surely an infinitely greater advantage to have a dis- 
eased soul cured. The body and countenance of a 
child are lovely when the bodily health is restored. 
how transcendently lovely is the soul of a little 
child when its diseases are removed, and its health 
restored, by the skill of Christ the divine Physician. 

Consider, finally, the moment you put your dis- 
eased souls in the hand of Christ, you will begin to 
be happy. Then the sun of happiness will rise upon 
you which will never set, but shall shine for ever in 
that happy world above, from which sorrow has for 
ever fled away. 



90 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

LECTURE X. 

DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS. 

"Then the kmg commandedj and they brought Daniel, 
and cast him into the den of lions." Daniel 6 : 16. 

My young friends, I shall furnish you with a 
short history of Daniel, and then make some observa- 
tions on the remarkable event of his being cast into 
the den of hons, where he Avas miraculously pre- 
served. 

His name has a very important meaning, Dan, 
the first part of the name, signifies judgment ; el, 
the second part, signifies God; and both parts to- 
gether, X\\Q judgment of God. This name was suit- 
able, for God in a very uncommon manner commu- 
nicated to him his will. He was a prophet, and in 
some instances declared the judgments of God which 
should be inflicted on the wicked. He was the most 
remarkable man of his day : he was eminent for 
wisdom, for learning, and for piety ; he was also 
raised to the enjoyment of very uncommon honor 
under the reign of several kings, who considered him 
as the most remarkable prodigy for wisdom on the 
face of the earth. 

Daniel was of the royal family of Judah. At the 
time when the Jews were carried captive to Babylon, 
he Avas among the number. Nebuchadnezzar the 
king was much pleased with him and three other 



■^^vm^'^^ 




DANIEL. 91 

Jewish boys. He gave orders that they should be 
educated m the learning of Chaldea. 

It was customary for young men educated as they 
were, to receive a daily provision of food from the 
king's table. As a part of this provision was for- 
bidden by the Jewish law, and as it had a tendency 
to pamper the flesh, and might lead them to idolatry, 
Daniel and liis three companions prayed that instead 
thereof they might be permitted to eat pulse. This 
pulse was a simple food of vegetables. After some 
difficulty their request was granted, and they received 
pulse as their regular diet. These four young men 
soon excelled all the rest of their fellows in health 
and beauty. They were introduced to the king, and 
it was found that their wisdom exceeded the wisdom 
of all the wise men of Babylon. 

When Daniel was but a youth his renown for 
piety and wisdom was great. Frequent opportuni- 
ties were afibrded for the display of his wisdom. 

The king Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a very remark- 
able dream. The dream greatly troubled him. But 
lo, he forgot the dream. He assembled liis wise men 
together. He demanded of them both to tell him 
his dream and to give the interpretation. It was 
a most unreasonable demand. Because they could 
neither tell him the dream nor give him the inter- 
pretation, he commanded them to be put to death. 
Though Daniel and his three companions had never 
been called upon, they were commanded to be de- 



92 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

stroj^ed with the rest. Hearing of the bloody decree, 
they petitioned Arioch the captain, who was com- 
manded to oversee the execution of the sentence, to 
delay it till they should try and fulfil the desire o 
the king. Daniel and his companions spent some 
hours in prayer, after wliich they were admitted into 
the kmg's presence. To the astonishment of the 
king and all his attendants, Daniel related every 
particular of the dream, and gave its interpretation. 
Nebuchadnezzar was so satisfied with the account of 
the dream and its interpretation, that he appointed 
Daniel to be the chief of all his wise men. At his 
request, his three companions were promoted to places 
of rule m the province of Babylon. How wonder- 
fully God smiled on Daniel and his three friends. 
Not long before, they were poor captive youths, for- 
cibly taken from their native land. Many tears 
were shed by them when they left the land of their 
fathers. But we hnd them soon after raised to the 
rank of nobles and princes. 

About sixteen years after the event mentioned 
above, when Nebuchadnezzar had returned from liis 
conquest of Judea, he set up a monstrous idol in the 
plain of Dura. He commanded all his subjects to fall 
down and worship it, on hearing the sound of certain 
musical instruments. Such as refused were doomed 
to be cast into a burning fiery furnace, to be destroyed. 

Daniel was either absent from Babylon, or his 
high honor and rank made his enemies afraid to ac- 



DANIEL. 93 

cuse him before the king. His three companions 
were accused and brought before the enraged mon- 
arch. The furnace was heated seven times, and 
they were cast bound into the flames. The men 
who cast them into the lire were themselves con- 
sumed by the violence of the flame which issued from 
the mouth of the furnace. Christ the Son of God 
interposed in behalf of the three young men. They 
were preserved untouched in the midst of the fur- 
nace, and neither their garments nor the hair of their 
head was so much as singed. 

E-ejoice, ye children who love and serve the Sav- 
iour, that you will never be cast into the fiery furnace 
of hell. Into that awful place his enemies will be cast, 
while you shall be admitted into a glorious heaven, 
to enjoy the fellowship of God, angels, and saints for 
ever and ever. 

The king Nebuchadnezzar had another dream. 
None of the wise men could interpret the dream. 
Daniel, directed by the Spirit of God, explained it. 
It was a prophetic dream, wliich deeply concerned 
the king, and in all its parts it Avas most fully ac- 
complished. 

During the reign of Belshazzar, there was a feast 
of great magnificence prepared by the kmg for his 
mighty princes and nobles. The golden vessels 
which formerly belonged to the temple of God were 
exhibited on the occasion. God was oflended. By 
words written on the wall of the great banqueting- 



94 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

room, God foretold the dreadful destruction which 
awaited the king and his nobles. Daniel alone could 
explain the writing. He read in the presence of the 
king the melancholy prediction. That very night 
the judgments of heaven fell upon the head of Bel- 
shazzar and his courtiers, and Darius the Mede came 
into the possession of the kingdom. 

By a remarkable arrangement of God, Darius made 
Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom. The heathen 
governors hated him for his religion, and were en- 
raged at liis distinguished honors. 

I will now present you some remarks on the as- 
tonisliing event of Daniel being cast into the lions' 
den by the command of the king. 

Daniel's enemies despaired to find any thing to 
blame m his conduct except his religion. They 
therefore craftily contrived a plan by which they 
hoped to accomplish his destruction. What was the 
plan they contrived ? It was this : they persuaded 
kmg Darius to make a law, " that whosoever, for the 
space of thirty days, should ask a favor of any God 
or man, besides the king himself, should be cast into 
the den of lions to be torn asunder." 

"VMien Daniel found that this wdcked law was 
made, he still continued without fear to worship the 
God of Israel with his windows open, and looking 
to Jerusalem. 

Observe, my little children, how noble was the 
conduct of Daniel. Some in his situation would 



DANIEL. 95 

have prayed to God, but from sinful fear would have 
concealed it. He was not ashamed of his God or of 
liis worship. As he was publicly prohibited from 
worshipping his God, he was determined publicly to 
declare his determination to worship his God. There- 
fore he prayed thrice a day, having his window open 
towards Jerusalem. He could not do this from osten- 
tation or pride, for it only excited public scorn. He 
could not do it from hypocrisy, for hypocrites never 
profess religion with the certainty of punishment. 

Daniel knew that the open manner in which he 
declared his hatred of idolatry and his attachment to 
the true God, would bring upon him the execution 
of a dreadful sentence. Great, exceedingly great 
must have been his love to God and the service of 
God, when the certainty of being cast into the lions' 
den was not sufficient to prevent him from present- 
ing his supplications to the God he loved. may 
the Holy Spirit give to you, my young friends, a sim- 
ilar love to God, to Christ, and to prayer. If this be 
the case, your life will be happy, your death trium- 
phant, and your eternity glorious. 

The enemies of Daniel were on the watch. They 
soon laid hold of him like a malefactor. They rudely 
and cruelly entered into his house. They made a 
prisoner of him, and triumphantly took him before 
the king. Darius the king had a great love to 
Daniel. When he gave his consent to the cruel law 
that the man should be cast into the lions' den who, 



96 LECTURES Tu CHILDREN. 

for the space of tliirty days, should ask a favor either 
from God or man, except from himself, he had no 
thought that these wicked counsellors contrived this 
most wicked law for the express purpose of putting 
Daniel to death. He never supposed this for a mo- 
ment ; if he had, he would not have consented to such 
a law. Remember, my young friends, that the laws 
of the Medes and Persians could not be altered. A 
king after he once made a law could not change it. 
Darius did every thing in his power to prevent Daniel 
being cast into the den of lions. 

But all was in vain. Daniel was actually cast 
into the dreadful den. It was full of hons, yes, of 
hungry lions. it was a dreadful den. It is prob- 
able that the bottom of the den was covered with the 
bones of dead men who had been cast into it and de- 
voured by the lions, the ferocious inhabitants of that 
place. Was there any human prospect that Daniel 
could be saved when he was actually cast mto that 
den ? There was no prospect ; there never had been 
an instance of one cast into that dreadful den being 
preserved. None had ever come out ahve. 

Whether Daniel knew beforehand that his life 
would be saved, we cannot tell ; but liis life was pre- 
served. Not one of the hungry lions dared even to 
touch him. There is no creature so dreadful on 
earth as a hungry lion ; he shows no pity ; he will 
fall on the innocent lamb, or the helpless babe, or 
the • infirm old man ; he has no pity either for age 



DANIEL. 97 

or for infancy. Daniel in the face of great danger 
showed an invincible love to God ; and in the very 
midst of that danger God showed his love to Daniel, 
yea, his great delight in him, and would not allow 
the lions to touch him. Daniel was as safe among 
these lions as if he had been among gentle lambs. 

My dear children, take Christ for your Saviour, 
and he will preserve you from the lions of earth and 
from the lions of hell ; he will preserve you from 
devils and mcked men. 

Darius was afflicted all night v/hen he thought of 
Daniel. Early in the morning he came himself to 
the mouth of the den. He was delighted beyond 
measure when he found that Daniel was preserved. 
He ordered him to be drawn up, and commanded all 
his accusers to be cast into the den. Instantly the 
lions fell upon them and destroyed them. How true 
in Daniel's experience are the following lines : 

" He that hath made his refuge God, 
Shall find a most secm-e abode ; 
Shall walk all day beneath his shade, 
And there at night shall rest his head. 

" Then will I say, ' My God, thy power 
Shall be my fortress and my tower ; 
I, that am formed of feeble dust, 
Make thine almighty arm my trust.' 

" Thrice happy man ! thy Maker's care 
Shall keep thee from the fowler's snare- 
Satan the fowler, who betrays 
Unguarded souls a thousand ways." 

Lee. to Cbil. -Vol. II. 7 



98 LECTURES TO CHILDREN 



LECTURE XJ 

THE FLIG-HT TO EaYPT. 

"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called 
my Son out of Egypt." Hosea 11 : 1. 

My dear young friends, I now invite your atten- 
tion to a very remarkable part of the history of your 
beloved Saviour. It is his flight to Egypt. When a 
person flees, there is generally danger. Why should 
a person flee, if there was not ? The flight of Jesus 
to Egypt shows that he was in great danger. 

If you were travelhng, and saw a father, a mother, 
and a little child in the mother's arms, and great 
fear marked in their countenances, you would be 
ready to say, What is the meaning of this ? If you 
saw the father and mother walking or running as 
fast as they were able, you v»^ould certamly think 
that something very serious must be the matter. If 
you were to ask them, Why are you fleeing so fast? 
how it would astonish you if they should reply, that 
a cruel monster was seeking to destroy their dear 
little babe, and that they were escaping to some dis- 
tant spot to hide themselves from the dreadful foe. 
Would you not say, what a cruel, bloody man must 
that person be, who could seek to shed the blood of 
a dear helpless, iimocent babe ? Be astonished, my 
dear little children, to learn that a cruel king sought 
to take away the life of Christ. 



THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. 99 

I am desirous, little children, that the history of 
the flight of the holy family to Egypt should produce 
upon your mind a deep and lasting impression. For 
this purpose we shall consider the following things 
in their regular order : the conduct of Herod who 
sought the child's hfe, the miraculous warning given 
Joseph to escape, the journey of the holy family dur- 
ing their flight, their residence in Egypt, and their 
return to Nazareth after the death of Herod. 

The conduct of Herod ivlio sought the child's life. 

Who was Herod ? He was a king who reigned in 
Jerusalem. You may wish to know something of 
the liistory of this man, who laid plans to put the 
Son of God to death. He is called m history Herod 
the Great. He was born about seventy years before 
our Saviour. His life was stamed by many crimes. 
He caused Aristobulus, the brother of his wife Mari- 
amne, to be drowTied in a bath. Though he passion- 
ately loved Mariamne, she heartily hated him for the 
cruel murder of her brother. By the persuasion of 
his own mother and sister, he put Mariamne to death. 
He had scarcely done it, when he was almost killed 
with grief. When he recovered, he proceeded to fresh 
deeds of blood. He caused the mother of Mariamne 
to be destroyed. 

To render himself popular with the Jews, he rebuilt 
the temple with great splendor and magnificence. 

He had three sons, Aristobulus, Alexander, and 
Antipater. The third, namely Antipater, was his 



493225 



100 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

greatest favorite. Instigated by this son, he put his 
other two sons to death. When Antipater got rid of 
his two brothers, he formed a plot to get rid of his 
Itither. The plot was discovered and prevented. 

About this time, wise men came from the east to 
see the Messiah. They were miraculously informed 
by God, that the Saviour was about to be born in 
the land of Judea. A star w^as prepared to guide 
them to the sacred spot. They followed the star, 
which went before them day after day, till at last it 
stood still over the place where the infant Jesus lay. 
When the wise men came to Jerusalem, they in- 
formed Herod that the Messiah was born. The king 
was in a melancholy state of mind when he received 
the news. Afraid lest the Prince Messiah should 
rise up and deprive him of liis throne, he resolved to 
put him to death. Vile monster, he "took counsel 
against the Lord and his Anointed." But God who 
sat in heaven looked down upon this bloody mur- 
derer, and held him in derision. Herod found out 
that Christ was born in Bethlehem. He gave orders 
that all the children of that place, from two years 
old and under, should be slain. Could he find men 
so barbarous and cruel as to obey him? Ah, yes. 
Soon, soon the dear imiocents were slain. " Then 
was fulfilled that which w^as spoken by Jeremy the 
prophet, saying. In Rama was there a voice heard, 
lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Ha- 
chel weeping for her children, and would not be 



THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. IQl 

comforted, because they are not." By Rachel, we 
are to understand the mothers in Bethlehem who 
lost their babes, and who wept and mourned over 
their death. Herod employed this most revolting 
measure that Jesus might be murdered among them. 
Joseph was warned in a dream of the intention of 
Herod, and thus was enabled to escape from the cruel 
vengeance of this brutal kmg. 

My little children, the remaining history of this 
murderous king is very awful and affecting. It shows 
how, even in this life, the justice of God follows those 
who shed imiocent blood. I am unwilhng to shock 
your tender youthful feelings, yet as the recital may 
be of benefit, I shall not withhold it. 

Some young men hearing that Herod was dead, as 
a mark of their joy pulled do^vn the golden eagle. 
"When the king heard of this, he commanded forty of 
them to be burned ahve. But his own end was fast 
approaching. His hunger became so great, that he 
could not be satisfied; his bowels were ulcerated; 
his legs swelled ; in some parts of his body worms 
were produced ; and he was afflicted with an intol- 
erable itch. He knew that as soon as he should die 
the JcAvs would express joy. Therefore, with tears 
in his eyes, he made his sister Salome promise, that 
when he died all the great men of the kingdom 
should be confined in the circus at Jericho, and put 
to death. She promised, but did not execute the cruel 
device. So great was this wretched king's agony, 



102 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

that he attempted to plunge a knife into his own 
bowels, but was prevented by his cousin Achiab. 
This threw all the inhabitants of the palace into great 
confusion, so that a report spread that he was dead. 
It reached the ears of liis son Antipater in prison, 
who begged his keepers to allow him to escape. 
They refused, and informed his father. He instantly 
commanded this his third son to be put to death. 
In five days after, he himself died and went to his 
own place. what a difierence between the death of 
the righteous and the death of the wicked I " Blessed 
are the dead who die in the Lord. The righteous 
shall be held in everlasting remembrance." As for 
the wicked, " They are driven away in their wicked- 
ness. They are driven into hell, with all the nations 
that forget God." Thus I have directed your atten- 
tion to the conduct of Herod who sought to take the 
life of the cliild Jesus. 

Consider the miraculous ivarniitg given Joseph 
to escape. 

Joseph never could have known the intention of 
Herod to slay the mfant Jesus, unless God had m- 
formed him. "When the wise men from the east had 
departed from Bethlehem, where they saw Christ, 
God sent his angel to Joseph. When wise men left, 
a holy angel came. Joseph and Mary and Jesus 
were in a stable. There was no room for them in 
the inn. That stable was more honored than the 
most splendid marble palace that was ever built by 



THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. 103 

mighty kings. It was honored with the presence of 
the wisest of human beings ; it was honored with 
the presence of a heavenly messenger, a holy angel ; 
it was honored by the presence of an incarnate 
God. 

How did the angel communicate the will of God 
to Joseph ? It was in a dream. And what did the 
angel say ? He said, " Arise, and take the young 
child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be 
thou there until I bring thee word : for Herod will 
seek the young child to destroy him," The intelli- 
gence must have astonished Joseph and Mary. What 
painful and sorrowful thoughts must have arisen in 
their minds. The dear child was scarcely born, 
when its life was sought. As soon as Christ was 
born, his sufferings began. No sooner had he begun 
to breathe in tliis world, than enemies arose to breathe 
persecution and death. The address of the angel 
was unexpected, and urgent. "When Joseph was 
sound asleep, the angel said. Arise. He must leave 
Bethlehem, and that instantly. There is no time for 
delay ; the cruel kmg is already preparmg his in- 
struments of death. Already messengers q,re running 
to and fro, to prepare and secure bloody men to fall 
upon the poor innocent babes of Bethlehem and put 
them to death. Joseph and the family must not 
only leave Bethlehem, but Judea. They must leave 
the country. They must engage in a long, difficult, 
and dangerous journey, and travel as far as distant 



104 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Egypt. They must not only leave Bethlehem in 
haste, but they must prosecute all their journey in 
haste. In haste they must travel over Arabia,n des- 
erts, and in haste they must flee into Egj^pt. 

Remember, little children, that as Herod sought 
to slay Christ, Herod's father and instigator wishes 
to destroy you. And who is he? It is the devil. 
He goes about seeking Avhom he ma,y devour, and he 
is seeking to destroy you. A merciful God calls upon 
you to arise and flee. Where must you flee ? Flee 
to Jesus. Escape to his kind arms; put yourselves 
under liis care, and he will preserve you from the 
roaring lion, and at death convey you to that heav- 
enly and holy kingdom of which it is said, " No lion 
shall be there." God grant that I may meet you 
there ; then shall we sing the song of Moses and the 
Lamb for ever and ever. 

Consider tliejourneij of the holy family during 
their flight. 

This journey could not be undertaken and finished 
without great expense. Joseph and Mary were both 
poor. Where could they obtain a sufficiency of gold 
and silver ? They brought little or none from Naz- 
areth. The inhabitants of Bethlehem where the child 
was born were unacquamted with them, and there- 
fore would furnish them no assistance. In this situ- 
ation of difficulty, God kindly supplied their wants. 
It was in a way the most unlikely. The wise men 
from the east brought the necessary supplies. Read 



THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. 105 

the following account : " And when they were come 
into the house, they saw the young child with Mary 
liis mother, and fell doAvn and worshipped him ; and 
when they had opened their treasures, they presented 
unto him gifts : gold, and frankmcense, and myrrh." 
how wonderful the movements of God. jN'ever, 
never is God at any loss to relieve his people in their 
greatest perplexity, or to defend them in their great- 
est dangers. 

What time did the flight commence ? It was not 
when the morning light began to shine in the eastern 
sky. It was not when the sun was beginning his 
journey, attended by the melodious songs of ten thou- 
sand birds. No, it was by night. Probably the next 
morning the bloodhounds of Herod would begin the 
work of death among the innocents of Bethlehem. 
The journey must therefore begin amid the dark 
shades of gloomy night. Methinks I hear Joseph 
giving the intelligence to Mary ; methinks I see them 
hastily rising from their humble bed; methmks I 
see Joseph and Maiy, with the infant Jesus in her 
arms, passing along the streets of Betlilehem. They 
take a southerly direction. They leave the town in 
a different direction from that in which they entered 
it. Affecting sight — the little child Jesus encom- 
passed with the arms, and lying m the bosom of a 
poor neglected and afflicted woman. A prince, an 
infant prince, whose life is sought, conveyed by some 
faithful friend in a chariot at midnight, and attended 



106 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

by armed horsemen for his defence, is an affectmg 
sight. It is fitted to excite pity. See the Prince Oi 
the kings of the earth conveyed, apparently unpro- 
tected, in the bosom of a delicate, helpless woman, 
and fleeing from the deadly purposes of a cruel, mur- 
dering king I 



THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. 107 



LECTURE XII. 

THE FLiaHT TO EaYPT. 

"When he arose, he took the young child and his mother 
by night, and departed into Egypt." Matthew 2 : 14. 

We have considered, my young friends, two things 
connected with the flight to Egypt. We have at- 
tended to the conduct of Herod, who sought the Hfe 
of the infant Jesus, and we have considered the mi- 
raculous warning given Joseph to escape with Mary 
and the child. We now proceed to consider farther, 

The journey of the holy family during their 
flight. It Avas a long journey. If you examine a 
map, you will see that the country they left was far 
distant from the country to which they were com- 
manded to escape. The coimtry they left was Judea, 
and the country to wliich they escaped was Egypt. 
Between these two there was a large country, name- 
ly, Arabia Petr-ea, which they were obliged to pass 
over before they could reach the place of conceal- 
ment from the wrath of Herod. 

It was a dreary journey. It was not a journey 
that led through fruitful fields and verdant plains ; it 
was over extensive deserts, where great multitudes 
have perished, some of thirst, others of fatigue, others 
of the heat of day, others by the cold of night, and 
others by bands of robbers. 

Many hundred years before, the children of Israel 



108 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

passed through these deserts, escaping from cruel 
Pharaoh ; and now v/e find Jesus, in his mother's 
arms, escaping in an opposite direction, and through 
the same deserts, from cruel Herod. Israel escaped 
from Egypt to Palestine, and Israel's God incarnate 
escapes, in a state of feehle, humbled humanity, from 
Palestine to Egypt. 0, it was interesting to see 
the great multitudes of Israel passing over the Ara- 
bian deserts ; but 0, how interestmg to see the little 
company consisting only of three, passing over the 
same barren wastes. The first who passed over 
consisted of the church ; but the second little com- 
pany contained the church's Saviour, and the church's 
God. The great company was wonderfully preserved, 
and the little band was wonderfully preserved. All 
the particulars of the journey of the church from 
Egypt to Palestine are carefully preserved, and strik- 
ingly told ; but no particulars of the journey of the 
King and Head of the church through the same wil- 
derness are either communicated or preserved. We 
are not only told that the Israelites were conducted 
in safety from Egypt to Palestine, but we are told 
how they were led, and how they were preserved. 
We are told that the infant King of Israel was con- 
ducted in safety from Palestine to Egypt; but how 
he was led, and how he was preserved, is not com- 
municated. Angels hovered around the Israelites 
during forty years, while they travelled from Egypt 
to Palestine ; and surely, angels hovered around Jo- 



THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. 109 

seph, Mary, and Jesus, while they journeyed from 
Palestine to Egypt. "What a mystery to see the 
church in the wilderness, but what a greater myste- 
ry to see the King of the church in the wilderness. 
Amazing contrast I Jesus in the flowery plains of 
the heavenly Eden, adored by angels — and Jesus in 
the sandy, dangerous, dreary deserts of Arabia, at- 
tended by Joseph and Mary. 

The residence of the holy family in Egypt now 
requires our attention. 

At last they reached Egypt in safety. The lovely 
infant, more precious than all the infants that were 
ever born, more precious than all the angels of heav- 
en, was preserved amid all the perils of a long and 
dangerous journey. In due time they arrived in some 
retired spot of Egypt, where the cruel malice of Herod 
would never be able to find them out. We cannot 
tell in what part of Egypt they dwelt. It was prob- 
ably not far distant from the very part of Eg}^pt 
where the children of Israel had remained for several 
hundred years. We have seen the church in Egypt ; 
we now see the church's King in Egypt. We saw 
the church in Egypt persecuted; we now see the 
infant King of the church in Egypt, preserved from 
persecution. In Eg}'pt the church was publicly per- 
secuted by a cruel king ; and now the infant King 
of the church is privately and secretly preserved in 
Egypt from the persecution of a bloody king. 

At last Herod died, that Herod who sought to shed 



110 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

the blood of the mfant child Jesus. Formerly I gave 
you some account of his death, and you know in what 
misery he died. He died with a load of guilt upon 
his mind too heavy to hear. If the death of a man 
is miserable who has only murdered one person, how 
shocking must be the death of him who has murdered 
thousands I This vile king not only murdered many 
of his own children, but commanded the lovely, in- 
nocent babes of Bethlehem to be slain. "Was there 
ever a sight more aflecting than this, to see the be- 
reaved mothers weeping over the lifeless, bleeding 
bodies of their dear infants ? This murderer died, to 
the joy of thousands, when an end was put to all his 
atrocious cruelties. He died, and appeared before 
the Judge of all the earth, to receive a just punish- 
ment for his bloody crimes. This leads us to con- 
sider. 

The return of the holy family to Nazareth, after 
the death of Herod. How did Joseph know when 
to return ? An angel informed him of the death of 
Herod, and directed him to return. Thus the evan- 
gelist Matthew relates the account of tliis interesting 
part of our Saviour's history. ' ' But when Herod was 
dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth ui a 
dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying. Arise, and take 
the young child and his mother, and go into the land 
of Israel ; for they are dead which sought the young 
child's life. And he arose, and took the young child 
and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 



THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT. HI 

But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea 
in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go 
thither ; notwithstanding, being warned of God in a 
dream, he turned aside mto the parts of Gahlee. 
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth : 
that it might be fulfilled v/hich was spoken by the 
prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene." 

Joseph was indeed intrusted with a most valuable 
and important charge. It was the charge of the 
most wonderful infant that was ever born ; it was 
the charge of the Son of God. Joseph therefore 
could not, and would not act under his own direc- 
tions in exercising his care of tliis beloved and divme 
child. Whatever he does, he does under divine guid- 
ance. Does he undertake a journey to Egypt ? he 
undertakes it by the advice of an angel sent from 
God. Does he return from Egypt to the land of 
Israel ? he returns by the advice of a heavenly mes- 
senger. 

As there is nothing said of the particulars of the 
journey from the land of Israel to Egypt, there is 
nothing said of the particulars of the journey from 
Egypt to the land of Israel. The holy family enjoyed 
the special protection of God ; no evil befeU the dear 
infant, his mother, or Joseph. When they drew near 
to the land of Judea, they heard that Archelaus the 
son of Herod was reigning in his father's place. 
They were afraid that as the father sought to mur- 
der Jesus, the son would walk in his father's steps : 



112 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Joseph was distressed, and afraid to go into the land 
of Judea ; in his perplexity, God sent an angel for his 
reUef. The angel told him to go into the parts of 
Galilee. Galilee is situated at the north of Judea. 
Thither Joseph proceeded with Mary and Jesus, and 
dwelt in Nazareth, where our Saviour remained till 
he was about thirty years of age. 



JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. 113 



LECTURE XIII. 

JESUS E-EASONI^ra WITH THE DOCTORS. 

"And it came to pass, that after three days they found him 
in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hear- 
ing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard 
him were astonished at his understanding and answers." 
Luke 2 : 46, 47. 

My little CHILDREN, did you ever hear of a great 
feast among the Jews called the imssover ? If you 
have read your Bibles with care, you must remem- 
ber it. I will say a word or two about it, to refresh 
your memories. 

When the children of Israel were in Egypt, many 
hundred years ago, God sent one of his mighty 
angels from heaven to punish the Egyptians for their 
great cruelty to the poor Israelites. What was this 
angel to do ? He was commanded by God, to put to 
death the first-born child of every family throughout 
all the land of Egypt, except the families of the Is- 
raelites. God ordered the Israelites to kill a lamb, 
and sprinkle the blood on the posts of their doors. 
When the angel came to their houses, and saw the 
door-posts sprinkled wdth blood, he loassecl over, and 
would not enter with his destroying sv/ord. From 
the circumstance of the angel passi7ig over, the lamb 
was called the 2^ci'SS0ver lamb. A feast was observed 
every year, to keep up the remembrance of the de- 
stroying angel passing over the houses of the Israel- 

Lcc. to Clul.-Vol. II. 8 



114 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

ites without entering. And on this account the 
feast was called the ixi^mver. 

This feast was considered the greatest feast among 
the JcM'S. Jerusalem, that wonderful city, was the 
place where this ordinance was observed. All the 
Jews M^ho were able were required to attend this feast 
every year. When their little sons reached twelve 
years of age, they were commanded to accompany 
their parents, to be present on the joyful occasion. 
It is said in this chapter, that Joseph and Mary went 
to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 
They lived at a great distance. But they would not 
make their distance any excuse for absence. They 
delighted to be present, and therefore thought noth- 
ing of the length and toil of the journey. 

Alas, many who live near the house of God, con- 
sider a shower of rain or a fall of snow a sufficient 
reason why they should remain at home. They will 
rather endanger the salvation of their souls than 
the health of their bodies. Rather will they expose 
their poor souls to hell by a sinful absence from 
God's house, than expose their bodies to the incon- 
venience of a little damp by taking a short walk to 
God's sanctuary. 

The time now arrived when young Jesus must be 
taken by his parents to the great city of Jerusalem, 
to be present at the feast of the passover. Agreea- 
bly to the law of Moses, they took him : "And when 
he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, 



JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. 1 lo 

after the custom of the feast " We hear nothing of 
Christ's history from the time when he was brought 
back from Egypt a veiy little child, till the time he 
was twelve years of age. There is no doubt he was 
a very wonderful child. He lived in a small retired 
town called Nazareth. We may suppose all the 
children in the town knew him. At times, perhaps 
he would mingle with children of his own age, and 
perhaps walk with them, and converse with them. 
He was known among all the children of the town as 
being very remarkable ; he had never been known to 
utter a single bad word, or to do a single bad action 
all his life ; he had never engaged in any quarrel, 
nor had ever been known to show the least unkind- 
ness to any around him ; he had far more knowledge 
than other cliildren of his own age. Ever)'- one that 
knew him was astonished at his wisdom, and no one 
could understand where he got all his knowledge 
and his wisdom. AYhen he conversed in the streets, 
or m the green fields, or in the woods, or by the side 
of crystal streams, with other little children, he was 
accustomed to explain things to them in such a sweet, 
kind, humble manner, that even little children them- 
selves were struck with amazement. 

All the people were surprised at the holiness of 
the child Jesus. Nazareth was a very wicked town. 
Even the little children were notoriously wicked ; 
they were notorious for disobedience to parents, for 
lying, fighting, and speakmg bad words. Jesus, 



116 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

when he was a child, was doubtless accustomed with 
great meekness to reprove other children for saying 
bad words, and for committmg bad actions ; but when 
he reproved, he did it with the greatest tenderness, 
humility, and love. If Jesus, when he was a child, 
had passed along the streets, and had heard other 
children swear, and profane God's blessed name, he 
would have shed a flood of tears ; he would have 
said what David said, " Rivers of waters run down 
mine eyes, because men keep not thy law." my 
dear children, consider seriously what I have said of 
Jesus when he was a child. Though the Bible is 
silent about Christ's history when he was a child, 
and how he acted at that early period, yet we are 
sure that what we have now said must be true ; for 
we know that the blessed Jesus in every period of 
his life was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate 
from sinners." While I call upon you to think much 
of Christ when he was a child, I call upon you to 
admire him. What a lovely life he spent when he 
was a little child. And you too ought to spend such 
a life. Let the same mind be in you, that was also 
in Christ ; I repeat it, let the same mind be in you, 
that was also in Christ. If you, my little children, 
were only in some degree to resemble Jesus, how 
your parents would delight in you ; and what bless- 
ings you would prove to all around you. 

We have said, Joseph and Mary and Jesus went 
up to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the passover. 



JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. 117 

There was a lamb slain at that feast ; the lamb that 
was slain represented Jesus, who was present at the 
feast. Twenty years after that time, Jesus himself 
was to be slain as the Lamb of God. And he was 
slain as the real passover lamb ; he was put to death, 
and his blood was shed to be sprinkled on all nations, 
that they might be preserved from the destroying 
vengeance of an angry God. 

After they had remained in Jerusalem the usual 
time, Joseph and Mary left the city. What appears 
very unaccountable and careless on the part of both 
Mary and Joseph, they travelled a day's journey 
without observing that the child Jesus was not with 
them. A very large company travelled with them, 
who had come from the same part of the country. 
Many of the people, too, were their own kinsfolk and 
acquamtance. They took it for granted that Jesus 
was with some of them. When the sun was about 
setting in the western sky, Joseph said to Mary, 
Have you seen Jesus ? She answered, she had not. 
They both began to be alarmed. They looked 
through all the company, when alas, he was not to 
be found I Be assured, they were gi-eatly afflicted 
when they found they had lost the child, the most 
valuable child that ever hved, the most wonderful 
child on whom the sun of heaven had ever shone. 
No doubt Mary wept bitterly. And so she might. 
AYhat was she to think of herself, when, having been 
intrusted by God to be the mother and the guardian 



118 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

of the very child who was to save the world, she had 
so carelessly lost sight of liim, and had proceeded a 
day's journey without ever castmg her eyes upon 
him? She must have been in great and bitter an- 
guish of heart. What must a mother feel when her 
Httle child has wandered and lost himself in some 
wood ? There was never a mother like Mary, and 
there never was a son like Jesus. There never was 
a mother who loved her son as Mary loved Jesus, 
and there never was a son who loved his mother as 
Jesus loved Mary. Who then can describe the grief 
she felt, or the anguish which tore her heart, when 
she found that her son was really lost ? 

What is to be done in tliis distressing case ? 
Why, they must return to Jerusalem, and seek him. 
Notliing else could be done : to Jerusalem they did 
return. It was a very large and populous to^\qi. 
At that season of the year, it was crowded with 
people who came from all quarters to attend the 
passover. To seek a lost child in a city so large, and 
so crowded, appeared a very hopeless task. Mourn- 
fully they retraced their steps, and sought for Jesus 
on the way and in the streets of Jerusalem ; but no 
trace of him was to be found. Never had Joseph and 
Mary spent such sorrowful days all their lives before. 
Mary was sorrow^ful at Bethlehem, when she was 
rudely forbidden to enter a human habitation to bring 
forth her son, and the Saviour of men — when she 
was compelled to enter a stable, and lay herself 



JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. 119 

down upon the floor of the humble dwelling ; but 
her sorrow then was not like this. She was sorrow- 
ful when she heard the cruel Herod sought to mur- 
der the babe at the very time he was born ; but her 
sorrow then was not hke this. She was sorrowful 
when she was compelled to take her babe in her 
arms, and to escape with Joseph, through the des- 
erts of Arabia, to distant Egypt ; but her sorrow 
then w^as not to be compared with this. 

Doubtless Joseph and Mary prayed frequently and 
fervently that God would mercifully discover to them 
where the child was to be found : they prayed that 
they might be directed to the very place where 
Jesus was. 

On the third long and sorrowful day of separation, 
they w^ere directed, no doubt by that merciful God 
w^ho heard their prayers, to go and visit the temple ; 
and to the temple they went. At a distance, they 
observed in a particular part of the temple a consid- 
erable number of people collected together. Joseph 
and Mary, these poor and humble strangers from 
Nazareth, were at some loss whether or not they 
should draw near to the company assembled in the 
most sacred and magnificent building on the face of 
the earth ; but they took courage, and advanced. 
When they drew near, they saw a number of aged, 
venerable men with long beards ; they had the ap- 
pearance of being men of learning. From the gar- 
ments they wore, they evidently seemed to be also 



120 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

men of exalted office in that noble temple where 
they were assembled together. As Joseph and Mary 
drew nearer the company, they heard the sound of 
voices : as they drev/ nearer still, they found that 
the venerable doctors were engaged in deep, earnest, 
and close conversation. Now and then they thought 
they heard a voice which had more the sound of the 
voice of a child than of a full-grown man : it seemed, 
too, a voice they had heard before. When the ac- 
cents of that voice fell upon their ear, there was an 
unusual silence ; all the surrounding spectators were 
rivetted to the very spot. 

Mary began to feel as if the voice were the voice 
of her son : she thought so, but was scarcely able to 
allow herself to believe that this could possibly be 
the case. An unusual feeling thrilled through all 
her soul; her anxiety, her hope, her fear, her sus- 
pense, were raised to the very highest pitch. 

At last, Joseph and Mary with trembling steps 
reached the spot where the company were assem- 
bled, and where they were engaged in interesting 
converse. What was their surprise, their joy, their 
thankfulness, when they found their dear child, their 
beloved Jesus, their lost son, "sittmg in the midst of 
the doctors, both hearmg them, and asking them 
questions I" What v/as their surprise, when they 
gazed upon him once more ; v/hen, after three days 
of fruitless search, three days of excruciating anguish, 
they found the object of their warmest love ; when 



JESUS iN THE TEMPLE. 121 

they saw him in the most honorable building on 
earth, and in the midst of the most learned men on 
earth, "hearing them, and asking them questions'." 
There they saw him, surrounded by a group of wit- 
nesses, who were astonished at his understanding 
and his answers. 



122 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 



LECTURE XIY. 

JESUS EEASONING- WITH THE DOCTORS. 

" Aiid it came to pass, that after three days they found 
hhn in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both 
hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that 
heard him were astonished at his understanding and an- 
swers." Luke 2 : 46, 47. 

The doctors mentioned in this text were teachers 
in the Jewish church. The word doctor signifies 
one who teaches. Among the Jews, there were men 
belonging to the tribe of Levi, who were appointed 
to read the Scriptures, explain the law, and teach 
the people. These men were expected to be men 
of some eminence ; they were considered to be men 
of ability as to their natural gifts, and men of at- 
tainment as to learning : when this was the case, 
they were looked upon by the people with great 
respect. 

How Jesus, at the age of twelve years, got intro- 
duced to these men in the temple, we cannot say ; 
however, we may suppose that when some of the 
doctors had finished their public discourse in the 
temple, he went up to them, and asked a few ques- 
tions. If this was the case, these questions may 
have struck the doctors with great surprise ; they 
may have been surprised that such questions should 









'OJ 



JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. i23 

have ever entered into the mmd of one so young as 
a child twelve years of age. If these questions w^ere 
on the subject of divinity, or history, or prophecy, or 
providence, or the church, or the government of the 
world, or a future judgment, or eternity, it was no 
wonder they were particularly attracted by Avhat the 
young child Jesus said. 

If our Saviour only addressed one of these doctors, 
he would soon mention it to the rest ; if Jesus put a 
question he was unable to answer, he might call more 
together, and mention to them the remarkable occur- 
rence. It is very likely, that one of the doctors by 
himself conversed with the child Jesus for some con- 
siderable time ; and such may have been his wonder, 
that he may have called the rest of the doctors to- 
gether to see one of the most astonishing prodigies 
he ever beheld. Soon, therefore, a number of them 
would be collected together to see this most uncom- 
mon child, who surpassed aged men, and men of 
learning too, in wisdom and knowledge. 

If I met a child of twelve years who discovered a 
great knowledge of ancient history, modern history, 
geography, and different languages ; if I found that 
he could answer every question correctly that I put 
to him ; if I found he knew all I ever met with in 
books, I should be so surprised that I should lose no 
time in taking this prodigy of learning to the most 
learned of my acquaintances and friends, that they 
too might see and admire : thus we mav account for 



[2i LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

the circumstance of the assembly of the doctors, and 
Jesus hi the midst. 

How very striking, to see one so young sitting iii 
the midst of men so venerable and aged ; a child 
too, who was evidently poor, sitting in the midst of 
men distinguished by their rank in the temple, and 
in the Jewish church. There was a great difference 
in their appearance. On the one hand we see a 
child, on the other, aged men ; on the one hand the 
lovely countenance of a child, and on the other, coun- 
tenances covered with the marks and wrinkles of 
advanced years. There was never such a sight seen 
before in the temple ; but there was much which the 
bodily eye could not see in that interesting company. 
That child in such mean attire was God in human 
nature; that child was the "child born" and the 
" son given ;"' that child was the ruler of the church, 
of the world, of the universe ; " the government " was 
and is "upon his shoulders;" his name is "Won- 
derful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting 
Father, the Prince of Peace." 

Think, my young friends, that you now see him 
in the midst of the doctors. Some years after, where 
do we see him ? We see him in the midst of his 
twelve disciples ; we see him in the midst of vast 
multitudes preaching the everlasting gospel ; we see 
him in the midst of the hall of the high-priest, then 
in the hall of Herod, and then in the hall of Pilate ; 
then we see him in the midst. of an immense collee- 



JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. 125 

cion of people, passing along tlie streets of Jerusa- 
lem to the top of a hill ; we see him crucified in the 
midst of two thieves. What, is this the very Jesus 
we saw in the midst of the learned doctors of the 
temple ? It is the very child Jesus. Then we see 
him in a grave, a lifeless corpse ; we see him after- 
wards, a risen Saviour in the midst of his disciples, 
showing them his hands and his feet : then we see 
him on mount Olivet ; and in the midst of a cloud, 
surrounded by angels, we see him ascendmg to the 
skies. Now we see him in the midst of the highest 
and most glorious throne in heaven. Eighteen hun- 
dred years ago, he was a poor cliild in the temple 
on earth ; now he is in the heavenly temple, the 
glory of the new Jerusalem. He was a little child 
in the midst of the Jewish doctors ; he is now an 
exalted Saviour in the midst of angels and perfect 
saints. 

The holy St. Jolin obtained a sight of Christ in 
the midst of his heavenly throne, and in the midst 
of his adoring worshippers. Thus he speaks of it : 
" And immediately I was in the Spirit ; and behold, 
a throne was set in heaven, and one sat upon the 
throne. And he that sat Avas to look upon like a 
jasper and a sardine stone ; and there was a rainbow 
round about the throne in sight like unto an eme- 
rald. And round about the throne were four and 
twenty seats ; and upon the seats I saw four and 
twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment ; and 



126 LECTUEES TO CHILDREN. 

tliey had on their heads crowns of gold. And there 
were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, 
which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the 
throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal. 
And in the midst of the throne, and round about the 
throne, were four living creatures full of eyes before 
and beliind. And the four living creatures had each 
of them six wings about him ; and they were full of 
eyes witliin : and they rest not day and night, say- 
ing, Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty, which 
was, and is, and is to come. The four and twenty 
elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, 
and worship him for ever and ever, and cast their 
crowns before the throne, saymg. Thou art worthy, 
Lord, to receive glory and honor and power ; for 
thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure 
they arc and were created." 

Having witnessed the amazing changes through 
which our Saviour passed, from the time he was a 
child in the temple, till he obtained his throne in 
glory, we m.ay again return and see him in the 
midst of the doctors. How was the young Jesus 
engaged ? We are told that he was hearing them, and 
asking them questions. We are not told the sub- 
jects on which they spoke. We may, however, be- 
lieve they were subjects of the greatest importance. 
It is probable they talked about the affairs of the 
church and the salvation of man. It is not unlikely 
Jesus asked them their opinion respecting the method 



JESUS IN THE TEMrLE. 127 

by which that salvation was obtained. If he gave 
his blessed instructions on these most important 
matters, he would doubtless confirm all he said 
by passages taken from the Old Testament scrip- 
tures. 

I need not tell you what must be self-evident, that 
'' all who heard him were astonished." Such a sight 
they had never before seen, and would never again 
see. Such words they had never before heard, and 
would never again hear. 

At ivhat were they astonished ? They were aston- 
ished at his understaiiding. My dear children, there 
is one of the powers of the mind called the under- 
standing. It is the chief. As the eye is considered 
one of the chief members of the body, so is the 
understanding considered the chief faculty of the 
soul. Christ's understanding as man was wonder- 
ful. It was an eye which saw things more clearly 
than the understanding of any human bemg that 
ever lived. What then is it to understand ? It is 
to know and comprehend the meaning of things. 
Whatever these doctors asked Jesus, he knew. They 
mentioned nothing wliich he did not seem fully to 
know and comprehend. how this must have 
astonished them. They really did not know how to 
account for it. If they had only known he was the 
promised Messiah, if they had only known he was 
both God and man in one person, they could have 
accounted for it, and not otherwise. 



128 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

They were astonished also at his ansivers. It seems 
the doctors asked him many questions. Though a 
great and a divine Prince, he was infinitely conde- 
scending. He was pleased that they asked him ques- 
tions, and he readily answered them all. There was 
no question put which he did not answer. He fully 
understood all the subjects on which they examined 
him. 

What was surprising about his answers, all the 
answers were correct. They were the proper an- 
swers of the questions. They were all Avise answers, 
showing that extraordinary treasures of wisdom were 
laid up in him. The answers, too, were all clear 
and satisfactory. 

My young friends, I call on you to be astonished 
at Jesus. He is the most w^onderful being in the 
universe, and is therefore worthy of your greatest 
astonishment. Be astonished at his understanding. 
There never was such an understanding as that of 
Jesus. He has an understanding as God. That 
understanding is infinite. By it he sees all things, 
and by it he knows all things. It was by this un- 
derstanding he contrived the plan of the universe ; 
by this he formed the plan of redemption ; by this 
he formed the plan of providence ; by tliis he inspired 
those men who wrote the holy Scriptures ; by Ihis 
he gives wisdom to angels, and by this he gives rea- 
son to men. then, be astonished at his divine 
understanding;. Exclaim in the language of David 



JESUS IX THE TEMPLE. 129 

the holy psahnfst, " Great is our Lord, and of great 
power : his understanding is infinite." 

Jesus has an understanding as man. That under- 
standing was very great when Jesus was on earth. 
Even when a child twelve years of age, it was sur- 
prising for its clearness, its richness, its comprehen- 
sion, and its strength. Now his human understand- 
ing exceeds that of all the angels of heaven. Be 
astonished at his human understanding. M'hat an 
understanding must that be which surpasses the 
understanding of the wisest of men, and the wisest 
of angels I 

Be also astonished at Christ's answers. This we 
may apply to his answers of prayer. Remember, 
that Christ as God is the hearer and the answerer 
of prayer. Be astonished at this, that he can hear the 
prayers of all his people at once, who are scattered 
over the face of the earth. think of this with 
delight, and think of it with astonishment. What 
a wonder, what a blessed wonder is this, that at one 
time he should hear the prayers of the Httle praying 
children in Asia, Africa, America, and Europe. We 
cannot hear two persons correctly at one time. How 
amazing, that Christ as God can hear countless mill- 
ions I Consider also the answers Christ gives to the 
prayers of his children, and be astonished. Observe 
this : he answers all the prayers of his people when 
they are agreeable to his will, and presented in faith. 
He never turns away one prayer that is of this de- 

L*c. to Cliil.— Vol. n. 9 



130 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

scriptioii. Indeed, lie cannot. He answers liis peo- 
ple's prayers readily and effectually. The learned 
Jewish doctors put questions, and they were all an- 
swered. present prayers, and you will find he is 
a prayer-hearing Saviour. Knock at the door of an 
earthly palace, and you may be sent away ; but in 
prayer knock at mercy's door, and you shall be 
admitted to receive the treasures of heaven. 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 131 



LECTURE XY. 

CHRIST TAKING UP LITTLE CHILDREN IN 
HIS ARMS. 

" And they brouglxt young children to him, that he should 
touch them. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands 
upon them, and blessed them." Mark 10 : 13, 16. 

In the last two lectures, we exhibited Christ a little 
child ill the arms of his mother. In this lecture, we 
shall show little children in the arms of Christ. 
what a sight, to see the great God in the form of an 
infant, and in the arms of a woman. Amazing, that 
God whose arms surround the universe, should be in 
the bosom, and surrounded by the arms of a woman. 
Here is indeed Omnipotence encompassed by weak- 
ness. How amazing also, to see God incarnate taking 
little children into his arms and blessing them. 

You will observe, my young friends, that when our 
Saviour was on earth some pious mothers brought 
their httle children to him, that he might touch 
them, and bless them. It is likely Christ had bless- 
ed these mothers before ; having tasted Christ's 
blessing, they were desirous that their children should 
taste it likewise. They found liis blessing sweeter 
than honey, yes, sweeter far than the sweetest nectar 
of the sweetest flowers, and therefore they brought 
their dear babes, that they also might taste the de- 
licious honey of the Saviour's blessing. Bad parents 



132 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

have never tasted this sweet hlessing of Christ, and 
therefore feel no desire to bring their children to 
Christ to receive his blessing. what a privilege to 
have pious parents. what a loss to have graceless 
parents. 

When the mothers brought their little children to 
Christ, the disciples were' offended. What could 
offend them, I cannot tell. They were so much dis- 
pleased as even to rebuke the parents. This cer- 
tainly shows that the mothers were very earnest and 
concerned that Christ should bless their children. It 
would seem, too, that warm words had been used on 
both sides, both by the disciples and the parents. 
The mothers were warm in entreating the disciples 
to allow them to draw near to Christ ; and the dis- 
ciples were warm in telling them to keep at a dis- 
tance. You Imow, my young friends, that it is the 
chief duty of ministers to encourage and entreat poor 
sinners to come to Christ. Here we find something 
very different, even in Christ's erring disciples. When 
one little child leads another astray fi-om God's house, 
he is keeping him from Christ. When parents refuse 
to send their children to hear the gospel on the Lord's 
day, they are keeping them from Christ. 

Christ observed the conduct of the mothers and 
the conduct of the disciples. The conduct of the 
mothers pleased liim, wliile the conduct of the dis- 
ciples grieved and offended him. What did Christ 
say when he saw the mothers striving to come, and 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 133 

the disciples striving to prevent them ? He said, 
" Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid 
them not ; for of such is the kingdom of God." This 
sweet invitation filled the mmds of the mothers with 
joy, and the minds of the disciples with surprise. 
Immediately the mothers were permitted to draw 
near. Blessed sight, to see the mothers with their 
children in their arms drawing near to Christ. 
Tears of gratitude and joy ran dovra. their cheeks. 
Never, never are pious parents so happy as when 
their children are taken into the arms of Christ. 
The mothers presented their babes one after the 
other. Our Saviour took them into his arms one 
after the other, and blessed them. He refused to 
bless none. Every one of them was in his blessed 
arms, and every one of them was blessed. It would 
have been great kindness in Jesus had he blessed 
them in the arms of their mothers, without taking 
them into his. But how infinitely kind, not only to 
bless them, but to take them into his arms and bless 
them. 

We must dwell a little longer on this part of the 
subject. If a great prmce were to take a poor child 
into his palace, and give him a purse of gold, you 
would very much admire the kmdness and humility 
of the prince. If he were with his own hands to 
take the filthy rags from the child, and wash him in 
clean water ; if he were to put upon the little child 
beautiful garments of purple or crimson, sparkhng 



134 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

with gold, you would exclaim, how astonishing is 
this. If this prince were to give the cliild the very- 
best education, placing him under the wisest of 
teachers, would you not admire him still more ? If 
he were to make the little child his son, call him by 
his own name, and place a sparkling crown upon his 
head, you would say, We never heard of such kind- 
ness, such condescension as this. 

Did you ever hear of an earthly prince who did 
any thing like this ? But I have heard of a heavenly 
Prince who has done something infinitely more won- 
derful than this. I have heard of a heavenly Prince 
who has taken little cliildren and given them treas- 
ures infinitely more precious than the treasures of 
gold, of silver, of jewels, which are the boast of 
earthly kmgs. He has given them treasures of 
grace, which are followed by treasures of glory. He 
has not given them eartlily palaces, which fire can 
consume or earthquakes destroy, but he has given 
them a royal palace above, a house not made with 
hands, eternal ui the heavens. He has not given 
them a golden diadem sparkling with jewels, but he 
has given them a crown of righteousness, a crown 
of glory, a crown of life which fadeth not away. 
This he has done. This he has done ten thousand 
tmies. This he is doing now. This he is willing, 
my little children, to do to you. And this he will do 
till time shall be no more. He is willing to take 
you from the family of Satan and make you mem- 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 135 

bers of his family, and call you by his name. Who 
is this heavenly Prince, who has done all this ? It is 
King Jesus. This King, nearly two thousand years 
ago, appeared in our world. Though God, he clothed 
himself with human flesh. When he appeared, he 
showed great love to little children. As you have 
heard, parents brought little children to him. 

" Permit them to approach, he cries, 
Nor scorn their humble name ; 
Por 'tvvas to bless such souls as these, 
The Lord of angels came." 

In speaking a little farther on tliis very pleasing 
subject, I propose, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, 
to consider three things. First, I shall show that 
Christ has great love to little cliildren ; secondly, that 
Christ takes little children into his arms ; and thirdly, 
that Christ has many blessings to give to little 
children. 

Observe, that Christ has great love to little chil- 
dren. 

This love, my young friends, wiU appear great 
when you consider how long he has loved you, what 
he became for you, and what he has done for you. 

Consider how long he has loved you. Does a little 
child say, Has Christ loved me, and has he loved me 
long? Yes, little child, he loves you, and he has 
loved you long. You have not lived long, and yet 
he has loved you long. It is not long since you were 
born, but Christ loved you before you were born. 



135 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

So long has Christ loved you, that I cannot tell how 
long. If I could tell you how long eternity is, I 
could tell you how long Christ has loved you. He 
has loved you from eternity. To love you as long 
as since you were born, is wonderful. To love you 
before you were born, is more wonderful still. But 
to love you from eternity, is the most wonderful of 
all. Little children, think of this, think of it with 
thankfulness, and think of it with joy. Even if 
others hate you, be not cast down when you remem- 
ber Christ loves you. 

It is striking to look at great mountains whose 
tops reach the clouds, and to think these mountains 
have stood since the foundation of the earth was laid ; 
but it is far more striking to tliink of the love of 
Christ to little cliildren. That love existed millions 
of ages before the world existed. That love existed 
from eternity. 

Consider what Christ became for little children. 
Think of this, and then see the greatness of his love. 
What did he become ? He became a little babe. 
Have you not heard of Bethlehem ? There the babe 
was born. "VYas it in a palace that the babe was 
born ? No, no ; it was in a stable. Cruel usage ! 
there was no room for Mary, Christ's mother, in the 
inn at Bethlehem. Mary must go to a stable, and 
there bring forth her son, the infant Jesus, the Sav- 
iour of the world. Behold how he loved you when 
he became a babe for you. 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 137 

He became much more than all this for you. For 
you he became poor : he was so poor that he had only 
one suit of clothes ; he was so poor that he was with- 
out money ; he was so poor that he had no home ; 
he was so poor that he had not where to lay his 
head. Did he become so poor for you ? Then be- 
hold how he loved you. For you he became sorrow- 
ful ; not sorrowful now and then, but sorrowful every 
day. Some people are often sorrowful, but Christ 
was always sorrowful ; he was sorrowful all his life ; 
he was a " man of sorrows." It is not said he was 
a sorrowful man ; that would have been surprising 
indeed. It is said he was " a man of sorrows." 
AA'hy was he sorrowful, little children? He was 
sorrowful that you might be joyful. what love is 
this. He drank a cup of sorrow that you might 
drink a cup of joy. He drank a cup of bitter, bitter 
sorrow, that you might drink a cup of the very 
sweetest joy. Behold how he loved you. 

Would you willingly be sorrowful a whole day, 
that a young acquamtance might be joyful ? Could 
you willmgly weep, that another might sing songs of 
joy ? Could you willingly be clothed with sackcloth, 
that others might be covered with comely apparel ? 
Could you willingly wear chains, that others might 
wear robes ? I know you could not. "When I think 
that Christ became sorrowful for little children, I see 
that his love to little children is great. I must ex- 
claim, " Behold how he loved you !" 



138 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

What Christ has done for little children shows 
the greatness of his love. I will now mention sev- 
eral things the Saviour did, all of which show his 
great love to little children. 

He ivorked ivith his blessed hands at the occu- 
pation of a carpenter. The name of the town was 
Nazareth where he acted in this most wonderful and 
condescending manner till he was thirty years of 
age. With the hands of liis humanity he worked as 
a carpenter, and with the hands of his divinity he 
acted as the Creator of the vast universe. With the 
hands of his humanity he assisted to support Joseph 
and Mary his mother, and with the hands of his 
divinity he upholds the sun, moon, and stars. Yea, 
with the hands of his divinity he supports angels and 
men. 

Jesus, from his love to children, submitted to re- 
proach. He endured the heaviest reproach on earth, 
that little children might be encircled Avith the 
brightest glory in heaven. There is scarcely any 
one to be found on earth who will suffer reproach 
willingly for another. One came from heaven who 
willingly suffered reproach for little children. He 
was chief among ten thousand. It was God himself. 
Yea, God himself in the person of the Son, and 
clothed with human flesh. 

He did more than this for little children. Ah, 
mark what I now say : for little children he shed his 
blood. His blood was shed by the bloody rite of cir- 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 139 

cumcision. His blood was shed in Gethsemane's 
garden. His blood was shed when his cruel enemies 
scourged him. His blood was shed when a thorny 
crown was placed upon his head, and pressed upon 
his brow. Blood flowed from his blessed hands. 
Blood flowed from his blessed feet. Blood flowed 
from his bosom, his heart. think of this, and then 
see his love, the greatness of his love, his unbounded 
love to little children. 

What has Christ done for little children ? He has 
died for them. The most wonderful thing he could 
do for children, he has done. That is, to die for them. 
And this wonderful thing he has done. For them 
he died upon a cross, and for them he was laid in a 
grave. In the cold, dark grave he was laid a life- 
less corpse because he loved little children. To see 
a brother, or a sister, or a father lymg in a grave, is 
an affectmg sight ; but to see the Saviour lying in 
a grave, is affecting beyond all expression. On a 
cross he hung, that little children might sit on a 
throne. In a grave he lay, that little children might 
inhabit a palace. 



140 LECTURES TO CHILDREN, 



LECTURE XYI. 

CHRIST TAKING UP LITTLE CHILDREN IN 
HIS ARMS, AND BLESSING- THEM. 

"And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon 
them, and blessed them." Mark 10:16. 

In the last lecture, we considered Christ's love to 
children. In this lecture, we shall speak of Christ 
taking up little children in his arms, and then con- 
sider the rich blessings which he bestows upon them. 

Christ takes up children in his arms. 

When Christ ivas on earth, he took up little 
children in his bodily arms. Christ has divine arms 
and human arms. His divine arms surround the 
whole universe. Amazing love I to become our Sav- 
iour, he became man. In his arms as man, he took 
little children. Once these arms were little feeble 
arms : this was the case when he was a feeble babe ; 
then his arms could not take up little children. 
When he was a child, he was taken up himself in 
the arms of Mary his mother. In future days his 
humanity grew ; it grew in stature, that is, in height ; 
and it grew in wisdom. He entered upon liis public 
ministry, upon his great work, his work of mercy. 
He soon showed he was merciful ; he showed he was 
merciful to all. Blessed be his name, he showed he 
was merciful to little children. Though they knew 
not Christ, he knew them ; he looked upon them 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 141 

with love. Because he loved them, he took them 
up m his arms. What a lovely sight it must have 
been to see little cliildreu in the arms of Christ — to 
see Christ embracing little childi'en. 

It is very likely that the parents afterwards told 
their children what Christ had done to them. Surely 
these children would remember it, and speak of it all 
their days. what a thing it was to be able to 
say, " The blessed Jesus, who died upon the cross, 
who rose from the grave, who ascended to heaven, 
took me up in his arms, and blessed me." 

You know, my young friends, that Christ's body 
is not on earth; it is in heaven, and therefore he 
does not take up little children hi liis bodily arms, as 
he did when he dwelt on our world. Some of you 
may wish you had lived on earth when Christ was 
on earth. You may wish you had lived in the same 
place Avhere Christ lived, that he might have taken 
you up in his arms. 

I can tell you sometliing which will surprise you. 
It is this : Christ can take you up now in his arms. 
You ask, Is Christ in this world now ? He is ; he 
is both in heaven and on earth at the same time. 
As the GREAT God, he is everywhere present ; he 
is near you, he is beside you, he looks upon you. Do 
you say. How can that be, when we cannot see him ? 
Let me tell you, there are many things you cannot 
see with the eyes of the body, and yet they are, as 
really as if you both saw and felt them. You cannot 



142 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

see the soul ; you never saw the soul of any human 
being, and you never saw your o"wti soul. Believe 
it, little children, Christ is near you, and beside you, 
though you cannot see him with the bodily eye ; yes, 
this is a great truth, it is a blessed truth. Jesus said 
to his disciples before his human nature ascended to 
heaven, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
end of the world." He never could have said this 
with truth, unless he was God as well as man. 

But you may feel disposed to ask me this question : 
If Christ cannot take us up now in his bodily arms, 
in what arms can he take us up ? Your question is 
an excellent one, and I am happy in having an op- 
portunity of giving an answer to it. 

He takes up little children in the arms of his 'prov- 
idence : in providing for you, and in preserving you, 
he does this ; he has taken every one of you in the 
arms of his providence. Comfortmg thought : he 
took you in these arms when you were born, and he 
has kept you in these arms ever smce ; he has not 
for one moment laid you down. The kindest mother 
is not able always to carry her child in her arms. 
However dear that child may be to her heart, she 
must sometimes lay it down, or commit it to the arms 
of another. Christ threw the arms of his providence 
around you when you drew your first breath, and ever 
smce he has kept these kind arms around you ; and 
he will encircle you with them till you die. I pray 
God, you may believe what I have told you. 0, it 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 143 

is vrorthy of being told, and infinitely worthy of being 
believed ; it is a sweet truth, more delightful and 
refreshing than the most refreshing wine. The time 
is coming, fast approachmg, when your mother's arms 
will be cold and motionless in death ; the time is 
drawmg near when your mother's arms will embrace 
you no more. The time will never come when 
Christ's arms shall die ; the time will never come 
Avhen his arms shall not be able to embrace you ; 
no, no. His bodily arms were once stretched m 
death upon a cross ; but the arms of his kmd provi- 
dence can never be stretched in death ; they are 
everlastmg arms. 

There are other arms in which Christ can take 
you up. What are they ? They are the arms of 
his grace ; his gracious arms ; the arms of his sal- 
vation ; the arms of his special, liis everlasting love. 
All of you, my little children, are in the arms of 
Christ's providence ; but all are not in the arms of 
his grace. We may be in the arms of his providence, 
and perish : if we are in the arms of his grace, we 
cannot perish ; it is impossible. \Ye may be in the 
arms of his providence, and be cast into hell at death ; 
but if we are in the arms of liis grace, we shall be 
sent to heaven at death. what an important 
matter, then, it is to be encircled with the blessed 
arms of a Saviour's grace. 

When I say I love you, I take you up in the anus 
of my affection. When little children flee to Christ 



144 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

in prayer, when they say, Jesus, save us, save us, 
Christ has pity upon them ; he hears their Httle 
prayer, their earnest prayer ; he takes them up in 
the arms of his love; he saves them. 

When does Christ take up Httle children in his 
loving arms of salvation ? It is on the day of con- 
version; tliat is, the day when their heart is changed : 
that is the day when they become his children — that 
is the day when they begui their journey to heaven. 
Blessed, blessed day I it is a day never to be forgot- 
ten ; it is the day when Christ had compassion upon 
them, and took them up m his arms and blessed 
them. 

Are you desirous, little children, that Christ should 
take you up m the arms of his salvation ? If you 
are, ask him ; be not backward to ask him. Be as- 
sured of this, he will take you np in his arms, if you 
ask him. To encourage you to ask this most valua- 
ble blessing, I tell you, that if you are once in the 
arms of Christ's salvation, he will never lay you out 
of his arms. As we observed a httle while ago, par- 
ents can only keep their dear children a short time 
in their arms ; but Christ will keep his children for 
ever in his arms. Bad children are not in Christ's 
gracious arms. Alas, they are in Satan's chains. 
Good children are in Christ's arms, and there they 
will remain in time and in eternity. When they 
die, they are in Christ's arms ; their parents do not 
embrace them in their ai-ms when they die. It is 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 145 

not dead, but living children they embrace ; Christ 
continues to encircle the lifeless dust of good children 
in the very grave. Their dust is dear to him. If 
parents die before their pious children, where do they 
leave them ? They leave them with a good and 
kind and powerful Friend — they leave them safely 
in the loving arms of Christ. 

Christ has many blessings to give little children. 

Little children, he has given you many blessings 
already. He made you : tliis is a great blessing ; 
he has given you the eye of reason : this is a far 
greater blessing than the eye of the body ; he has 
given you raiment, he has given you parents, he has 
given you a place in which to dwell ; the very bed 
on which you sleep is his gift. how kind to give 
you all this. 

He has better blessings than these to give you. 
The blessings wliich I have now mentioned are tem- 
poral blessings ; but those of which I am now to 
speak are spiritual blessings, which shall endure for 
ever. 

He is willing to give you saving ivisdom. what 
a precious gift is this. He is willing himself to be 
your teacher, and he can teach to purpose ; he can 
teach as never man taught. He is willing to pardon 
all your sins. You have often offended him ; but if 
you cry for pardon, he will forgive all your sins. 
What an astonishing kindness is this. 

lie is willing to give you beauty. I am not now 

Lcc. to Chil.-Vol. n. 10 



146 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

speaking of beauty of body, but of the beauty of the 
soul. To some of you he has given beauty of body. 
You are lovely to look upon ; your cheeks may re- 
semble the blooming rose, and your eye may sparkle 
with the most animating liveliness ; your locks may 
hang around your shoulders ui golden rmglets ; but 
this beauty is vanity. What a change disease and 
death will produce on the fairest, loveliest form. 
The beauty which Christ is willing to give you is 
the beauty of grace, the beauty of salvation ; this is 
beauty which disease cannot touch, wliicli the pale 
hand of death cannot destroy. 

Christ is willing to give you spiritual tfealtli. 
"What is this wealth ? It consists of holiness and 
happiness in heaven for ever. This wealth is wealth 
that cannot be lost ; it is laid up in a safe place ; in 
that place where there is no moth, where there is no 
rust, and where thieves break not through and steal. 
What a kind Saviour must Christ be, who is willing 
to give you all this. 

He is willmg to give you heaven. To give you 
cities and thrones and kingdoms, is nothmg compared 
with this. How many rich people, when they die^ 
sudi into hell. Flee, little children, into Christ's 
arms, and when you die he will take you to heaA^en ; 
there you shall dwell with him through a long and 
endless eternity. How many millions of little chil- 
dren are in heaven. Some of you may die young. 
Take Christ for your Saviour, and when you die, 



CHRIST BLESSING CHILDREN. 147 

your souls shall join these millions of lovely, holy, 
and happy children in heaven. 

" Swift as the eagle cuts the ah", 
You'll mount aloft to their abode." 

Graceless children, let me address you. Do you 
live without prayer, and w^ithout reading the word 
of God? Do you employ your tongue in uttering 
sinful, profane, and lymg words ? Do you profane 
the Sabbath, and keep the company of the wicked ? 
Beheve me, you are not in Christ's arms, you are in 
the arms of the devil ; you are his servants, and his 
children. what will become of you, if you die in 
your present sinful state ? You must be cast into 
hell, with all the nations that forget God. Unless 
your sins are forsaken, unless your heart is changed, 
miless you flee into Christ's arms, you cannot escape 
a dreadful damnation. The word damnation is a 
dreadful word, and respects a dreadful state ; that 
state must be yours, if you flee not to the arms of 
Christ. therefore escape. 



148 LECTURES TO CHILDREN, 



LECTURE XYII. 

NICODEMUS CONYEPuSINa WITH JESUS 

" There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a 
ruler of the Jews : the same came to Jesus by night." John 
3 : 1, 2. 

Little children, my design, in this lecture, is to 
give an account of a conversation which took place 
a long time since. Lideed it is eighteen hundred 
years since the conversation was held of Avhich I am 
about to speak. It was a conversation between two 
persons of great importance. The one was Nicode- 
mus, and the other was Jesus. The one was a ruler 
of the Jews, and the other was and is the ruler of 
the universe. The one was a good man, but the 
other was a good Saviour. The one was a scholar, 
the other was a divine teacher. 

The conversation was in the night. When others 
were asleep, Nicodemus Avas conversing with Jesus. 
Blessed Nicodemus : when others were dreaming on 
their beds this good man was by the side of Jesus. 
highly honored Nicodemus. While others were 
sinning in the dark night, in the dark night Nicode- 
mus sought and found the Lord of light, who givetli 
light and salvation to the souls of men. 

The conversation was on matters of the greatest 
importance. Nicodemus did not come to converse 



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NICODEMUS. 149 

on trifles. No ; he came to speak with Christ on 
matters of great moment. Besides, Christ was too 
wise, and too good, and too great, to allow any one 
to converse with him on trifles, or on matters of no 
moment. Observe, little children, Nicodemus v/as 
concerned about his soul. Yes, it was his soul that 
concerned him, and concerned him much. He wish- 
ed to talk with Christ about his soul. Here are two 
things I wish you to admire. One is, Nicodemus 
concerned about his poor soul. I entreat you to 
admire this ; not only to admire it, but imitate it. 
May God the Spirit make you, little children, con- 
cerned about your souls. Never does one appear so 
well as when he is concerned about the salvation of 
his soul. The second thing I admire is this : when 
he was concerned about his soul, he went immedi- 
ately to Christ. There alone could he go with any 
propriety. There was none, except Christ, who could 
do him any service. He went to the best counsellor, 
to the best friend, and to the best comforter ; he went 
to him who is a great Saviour, a Saviour who can 
save to the uttermost, who has saved to the utter- 
most, and who A\ill save to the uttermost. I admire 
this part of the conduct of Nicodemus very much. 
Ye young persons, go and do likewise. Go to Christ 
about your souls ; go, and put your souls mto his 
hand ; go, and make a great request. What is the 
request ? It is this, go and ask Christ to save your 
souls. Be encourasred to do this. Christ delights to 



150 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

save the souls of little children. He has greater 
pleasure in saving the souls of children than in mak- 
ing worlds. He has greater delight in looking upon 
the children he has saved, than in looking on the stars 
which sparkle in the sky. When you ask Christ 
to save you, it is asking him to do what he has 
great pleasure in doing ; therefore be encouraged to 
apply. 

I ask you, whether there is any thing that sur- 
prises you in Nicodemus coming to Jesus ? Think 
a little upon it ; suffer me to mention what I think 
upon the matter. Then I tell you there are two 
things which surprise me. One is, that a fuler 
should come to speak with Christ on the affairs of 
the soul. This sometimes takes place ; but it rarely 
happens : and it happens so rarely, that when it does 
take place it is matter of wonder. There is too 
little real religion about any, but there is vei'ij little 
to be found among the rulers of the earth. Here, 
however, is an instance to the contrary : here is a 
ruler of the Jews concerned about his poor soul, and 
coming to Christ the Saviour about his soul's case. 

There is another thing which is matter of surprise 
about Nicodemus coming to Christ. Are you say- 
ing, "What can it be ? I will tell you. It is, a Phar- 
isee coming to Christ about his soul. The Pharisees 
were a proud and self-conceited people. They were 
remarkable for their h3^pocrisy ; that is, they pre- 
tended to have much religion, when the truth was, 



NICODEMUS. lol 

tliey had none. That a Pharisee should be con- 
cerned about his soul was a very unusual thing in- 
deed. But this is not all : the Pharisees had a great 
hatred of Christ ; they were always finding fault 
with him. Whatever Christ said they blamed, and 
whatever Christ did they blamed. Every thing 
Christ did, and every thing he said, was worthy of 
the greatest admiration ; but these wicked Pharisees 
treated all with abhorrence and contempt. My 
young friends, you cannot conceive how much they 
hated Christ. Their hatred was mortal ; they wished 
him dead ; they plotted his death ; and at last they 
put him to death. See, then, what a surprising 
thing it was, that one of these Pharisees should come 
to Christ about the matters of his soul. Thus you 
see what grace can do : it was grace and nothing 
else which accomplished such a change upon the 
mind of Mcodemus ; it was grace which made the 
proud Pharisee the humble saint ; it was grace which 
took away his enmity, and gave him love ; it was 
grace wliich opened his eyes to see his soul's danger ; 
it was grace which pointed out Christ as the only 
remedy ; it was grace which took him by the hand, 
and led him to Christ the only Saviour. 

Thus I have mentioned two things which are cer- 
tainly surprising in the case of JNTicodemus. One is, 
a ruler coming to Jesus ; and the second is, a Phar- 
isee coming to Jesus. 

We are informed that he came by night. Why 



152 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

did he come by night ? He came by night, because 
he was afraid to apply by day. He was a disciple 
of Christ, but secretly, for fear of the Jews. He was 
afraid that if the Jews knew he was a disciple of 
Christ, they would put him to death, or do him some 
great injury ; he therefore sought an opportunity ol 
conversing with Christ when nobody should see him, 
and inform agamst him. Now observe, we do not 
commend Nicodemus for this fear. He had grace, but 
his grace was yet weak. It was lil^e the strength of a 
little child, which you know is very small. Though 
he was a man in stature, he was but a child in grace, 
a weak, a fearful child. By and by he acquired more 
courage. We cannot expect a child to have the 
courage of a man. When the child becomes a man, 
we expect he will show the courage of a man. 
Though Nicodemus, when he came to Jesus by 
night, was a very timid disciple, yet when Christ 
died he became a very courageous disciple : he boldly 
came forM'ard and attended the funeral of Christ. 
" And there came also Nicodemus, which at first 
came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of 
myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. 
Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in 
linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the 
Jews is to bury." 

Thus we see, that as the grace of Nicodemus be- 
came stronger^ his courage increased and his coward- 
ice diminished. Young friends, sufi^er me to counsel 



NICODEMUS. 153 

you. Be counselled never to be afraid, and nex^er 
be ashamed to confess Christ. Never be afraid in 
any place, or m any company, to acknowledge that 
you belong to Christ, that you love Christ, and that 
you serve Christ. 

When the ruler of the Jews came to Christ did 
Jesus receive him? He did ; he did not say to him, 
You are afraid to speak with me by day, and there- 
fore I decline seeing you by night. Christ did not 
even chide him, or find fault with him for being 
ashamed or afraid to confess him openly before the 
Jews. He received him kindly and readily. Thus 
the father received his prodigal son when he returned 
to him. Thus will Christ receive returnmg sinners 
when they come to him. He will give them a gra- 
cious welcome. He will say to them. What is thy 
petition, and what is thy request, and it shall be 
given you ? 

When Nicodemus came into Christ's presence, he 
said to him. Rabbi. This word is Hebrew. It sig- 
nifies, my master. It was a mark of respect shown 
to Christ, which he well deserved. He gave Christ 
this name because he loved liim. He had found 
benefit under Christ's preaching ; it had been brought 
home with power to his heart ; therefore he loved 
Christ. Jesus had done his soul good, and therefore 
he loved him. Blessed, blessed are they who love 
Christ ; they are blessed of Christ ; they are blessed 
in life, blessed in death, and blessed for ever. Young 



lo4 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

friends, take Christ for your master. that you 
could say to Christ from the heart what Nicodemus 
said, My Master. He is a good master ; he loves all 
his servants ; he is infinitely kind to them all ; he 
allows all his servants to converse with him ; he per- 
mits them to approach him at all times ; he clothes 
his servants with the garments of salvation ; he feeds 
them with the bread of life ; he liberally rewards 
all his servants with rewards of grace ; he enriches 
them with treasures more valuable than the gold or 
silver or jewels or pearls which the earth contains ; 
he enriches them with treasures lasting as eternity 
itself; he honors all his servants. The honors which 
earthly kings give to their servants are chaff and 
vanity, compared with those honors which Jesus 
freely bestows on his. At last Christ will take all 
his servants to heaven, and place them beside him 
on his throne. These are the privileges, these the 
blessings, these the honors which belong to the ser- 
vants of Christ. my young friends, be persuaded 
to enter into his employment ; be persuaded to enter 
now. Observe how he calls upon you, and how he 
entreats you : " My son, forget not my law ; but let 
thine heart keep my commandments : for length of 
days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee ; bind them 
about thy neck ; write them upon the table of thine 
heart ; so shalt thou find favor and good understand- 
ing in the sight of God and man." 



NICODEMUS. 155 

Nicodemus was sensible there was something very 
remarkable about Christ. When he heard him preach 
he was astonished : he thought that never man spake 
like this man. When he saw his miracles, he was 
still more astonished : he was convinced, when he 
saw the miracles, that Jesus either was God, or 
came from God. He said to Jesus, when he came 
to him, " E,abbi, we know that thou art a teacher 
come from God ; for no man can do these miracles 
wliich thou doest, except God be with him." Nico- 
demus knew something of Jesus, but he had a great 
deal more to learn. He knew that Christ's teach- 
ing was divme teaching. To know this was some- 
tliing, and something valuable. He knew that he 
came from God. Certainly as man he came from 
God. But he was more than man : he was God and 
man in one person. His teaching was not only di- 
vine teachmg, but he was a divine teacher. 

Dear little children, Jesus is willing to teach you. 
AYhat is he willing to teach you ? He is willing to 
teach you salvatio7i. What a blessed lesson will this 
be. He is willing to teach you that divine wisdom 
which none can ever teach but himself 

Nicodemus was astonished at the miracles which 
Jesus did. Christ is now wilhng to perform mira- 
cles on little children. What miracles ? One is, to 
give them a neiv heart; a second is, to put his Spirit 
witliin them ; and a third, to cause them to walk in 
his ways. 



156 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

LECTUEE XYIII. 

OHEIST HEALOa THE SICK AND RAISING 
THE DEAD. 

"And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or 
country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought iiim 
that they might touch, if it were but the border of his gar- 
ment : and as many as touched him, were made whole." 
Mark 6 : 56. 

My little children, you have been told, times 
without number, that Christ is a Saviour. You 
have learned that he came into our world more than 
eighteen hundred years ago, for the great purpose of 
savmg sinners such as you. When he came, he did 
not appear as a glorious shining angel from the sky ; 
he appeared clothed with " a body like our own." 
In his outward appearance, there was little differ- 
ence between liim and other men. Now Avhat I 
wish to ask is this, Hoiv did Christ show that he 
was the Saviour sent from heaven to earth to save? 
He showed it in a special manner, by working mir- 
acles ; I repeat it, he showed that he was a real 
Saviour, and a divine Saviour, by working miracles. 
A miracle is something very wonderful, and which 
none but God can do. "VYhen we say that Moses 
and the apostles performed miracles, we do not mean 
that they performed them by their own power. It 
Avas God who performed the miracles ; they were 
only tlie instruments. Here is the difference between 



MIRACLES OF CHRIST. 157 

Christ and Moses : Christ performed miracles by his 
own power ; Moses performed miracles by the power 
of God. 

Young friends, we are about to consider some of 
Christ's merciful miracles, in healing the sick, reHev- 
ing the afflicted, and raising the dead. May the 
Holy Spirit make you savingly acquainted with this 
merciful Jesus. 

THE HEALING OF THE BLOODY ISSUE. 

We have an account of this miracle in Mark 5 : 
25-34. Some are ready to say respecting them- 
selves, " I am such a poor, insignificant, unworthy 
sinner, that I fear Jesus will never look on me." 
This is certainly a great mistake. Christ is as will- 
ing to save a beggar as a prince ; the most aban- 
doned, as the most honorable of the sons of men. 
We have a delightful illustration of this, in the 
healing of the bloody issue of a poor woman. 

The word issue signifies flowing or running out, 
like water out of a spring. A woman, when our 
Saviour was on earth, had for twelve long years an 
issue of blood. In some part of her body there was 
a wound. How the disease came, we cannot tell. 
From this wound blood gradually floM'ed ; she applied 
to many physicians for help, but all her applications 
were in vain. These men tried many methods for 
her relief, but every method was without success. 
The disease of this poor woman was like the disease 



158 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

of sin. It was deep-rooted. It resembled the disease 
of sill in another respect. No earthly physician 
could cure her disease, and no earthly physician can 
cure the disease of sin. God only could cure this 
afflicted woman ; God only can cure the diseased 
sinner. 

This woman was reduced to poverty by her disease. 
It in a great measure unfitted her to labor for her 
subsistence. And what property she had, was spent 
upon physicians. These men took her money, and 
her disease consumed her health, and like a canker- 
worm destroyed her comfort. She was diseased, 
poor, miserable, and helpless. The case of tliis wo- 
man, my little children, is an afiectmg emblem of the 
sad case of poor simiers. They are diseased, miser- 
able, and helpless. She felt it so. May you feel it 
so. Unable to obtain any assistance from men, ivliere 
could she look ? She must look beyond man. She 
looked to men till she was ruined in her circumstan- 
ces, and brought to the very verge of the grave. 
She must now look to one who can preserve her 
from the grave. "Where did she look? She looked 
where I wish you to look. Slie looked to Christ. 
She heard of his fame, his power, his humility, his 
mercy. how her disease was blessed to her. It 
made her think of Christ. It filled her with an ear- 
nest, longing desire to obtain from Christ what could 
nowhere else be found. Undoubtedly Christ planted 
that desire m her heart. He gave her, though she 



MIRACLES OF CHRIST. 159 

had never seen him, a firm conviction that he alone 
was able to heal her grievous wound. 

She heard that Jesus was drawing near. She 
wished to draw near to Christ. She was cheered 
with hope. Let us rejoice that Christ is near in the 
reading and preaching of the word. A great multi- 
tude followed Christ as he was passing along. She, 
though very feeble, joined the procession. Some fol- 
lowed from curiosity ; she followed for her salvation, 
her happiness, her life. This is the proper way to 
follow Christ. She said within herself, " If I may 
but touch the hem of liis garment, I shall be whole." 
She did not expect that she should be able to speak 
to Christ, or that Christ would speak to her. The 
most she expected was to touch the hem of his gar- 
ment. So strong was her faith, that she was con- 
vinced if she only touched his garment with her 
finger, all would be well. 

She came behind Christ. It was a great effort to 
get so near Christ. Her life, her all depended on 
being near Christ ; therefore she makes a great effort, 
lilie a drowning man making his last great efibrt to 
save his life. God blessed the poor, weak, diseased 
woman. how God the Spirit helps those who 
are striving in prayer to obtain eternal life. At last 
the anxious sufferer touched the hem of Christ's 
garment, the hem of that coat which was without 
seam. Instantly she felt a change ; she felt that the 
fountain of blood was dried up ; she felt that she 



160 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

was healed of her plague. What a change I Be- 
fore she touched Christ, she was a diseased sufferer. 
When she touched him, she was invigorated with 
health. Great and instant is the change accom- 
plished by beheving in Christ. The wound of guilt 
is closed and bound up, and spiritual health prevails 
through all the soul. 

The woman knew instantly that she was healed, 
and Christ instantly knew that he healed her ; he 
saw her with the eye of his divinity, though she was 
behind him. The eye of her faith looked steadily on 
Christ's power and mercy, and the eye of Christ's 
compassion looked kmdly on her sufferings. Jesus 
turned about in the press, and said, " "Who touched my 
clothes?" He was not ignorant of the poor woman 
who touched him ; he said this to excite the atten- 
tion of the people, that he might speak in their pres- 
ence of her faith. The disciples were amazed, that 
in the midst of such a throng, their Master should 
put such a question ; they forgot his divinity, and 
therefore considered it impossible that he should know 
who touched him. Jesus looked round to see who 
had done it : the multitude stood still ; the poor 
woman was greatly agitated with fear, knowing that 
Jesus meant her and none else ; fearing and trem- 
bling she fell down before him, and told him all the 
truth. Christ could not reprove her ; no, no, he 
commended and encouraged her. He said unto her, 
" Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole ; go in 



MIRACLES OF CHRIST. 161 

peace, and be whole of thy plague." Oh sweet and 
seasonable words, fit for those merciful and divine 
lips, able to secure my heart, and to dispel my fears. 

RAISING TO LIFE THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS. 

Who was Jairus ? He was a ruler of the syna- 
gogue. A synagogue was a place resembling a 
church, where the Jews met for religious devotion. 
Jairus was the chief man of one of the synagogues, 
and therefore a public character, and a man of some 
consequence and importance. He had a favorite 
daughter to whom he was warmly attached ; she 
was a dear amiable child, and therefore he loved her 
with great tenderness. 

The daughter of Jairus was visited with great 
affliction ; she was at the point of death ; physicians 
and medicines could do her no good. Jairus heard of 
Christ, and he believed in the power of Christ. He 
therefore went directly to Jesus to beseech liim to 
relieve his child. Where should parents take their 
children but to Christ ? Hear how he prays for his 
child. When you hear his prayer, admire two things : 
first, his pity for his child ; and secondly, his faith in 
the Saviour. " When he saw him, he fell at his feet, 
and besought him greatly, saying. My little daughter 
lieth at the point of death ; I pray thee, come and 
lay thy hands upon her, that she may be healed ; and 
she shall live." This prayer was not presented in 
vain. No prayer of faith was ever presented to 

Lee. to Chil.-^'ol. ir. 1 1 



162 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Christ in vain. Jesus was as willing to answer the 
prayer of Jairus, as the afflicted father was to see 
his beloved daughter restored to health. Immedi- 
ately Jesus accompanied him. He could have healed 
the little maid at a distance from the house, as easily 
as in her bedchamber, and standing at her bedside : 
however, it was the will of Christ to go along with 
him. 

Jairus, what an honor! to Avalk by the side of 
the everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. A 
greater honor truly, than if you had been attended by 
an escort of the archangels of heaven. 

When Jesus and Jairus drew near to the house, a 
messenger met the ruler of the synagogue, and de- 
livered the heart-rending tidings that his beloved 
daughter was no more. The messenger said, " Thy 
daughter is dead ; why troublest thou the Master any 
further?" Oh how much this must have afflicted 
the father's heart I Exceedingly keen must be the 
anguish of a fond parent to see his child either strug- 
ghng with the agonies of dissolution, or stretched a 
lifeless corpse upon the bed of death. Methinks, 
when this intelligence reached the ears of Jairus, he 
fetched a heavy sigh, and shed a flood of tears. His 
Saviour was near — the Lord of life was near — the 
Conqueror of Death was near — He was near who 
could easily bind the pale messenger in chains, and set 
his victim free. " death, thou hast taken away 
the life of that lovely child ; but soon, soon shall the 



„.. . ;^"^i«K / ''^ 



.,%///,/ 




MIRACLES OF CHRIST. 163 

prey be taken from thy mighty hand. Vivacity shall 
still sparkle in the eye of that child, the smile of 
filial afiection shall play on her Ups, and the rosy 
hue of health shall glow upon her cheeks. Death, 
thou hast made the house of Jairus a house of mourn- 
ing and of weeping ; but soon it shall be a house of 
joy, of ecstasy, and praise." 

Jesus saw the agitation and anguish of the afflicted 
father ; he pitied him, and comforted him. " Jesus 
heard it, and answered him, saying, Fear not : be- 
lieve only, and she shall be made whole." As cold 
water to a thirsty soul, were the words of Jesus to 
the afflicted heart of Jairus. A beam of hope illu- 
mined his heart, and dispelled the dreadful gloom 
with which the tidings of his daughter's death had 
surrounded his mind. Jairus would have been con- 
tent, if he had only received his daughter in a recov- 
ering state, but he is encouraged by the promise of 
Christ, that he shall receive her whole. When they 
arrived at the house, Jesus allowed none to enter 
save Peter, James, and Jolin, and the father and 
mother of the maiden. They found the house fuU of 
weeping and wailing : Jesus said to the inmates and 
domestics, "Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 
They laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was 
dead." When Jesus said she was not dead, he meant, 
she was not so dead as to continue in the state of the 
dead — he meant, that she should soon live. Jesus 
desired all who were in the apartment to depart, ex- 



164 LECTUKES TO CHILDREN. 

cept the father and mother, and those who attended 
him ; then he went to the bed which contained the 
lifeless body of the dear child : all eyes were fixed 
upon him, all ears were attentive to his words. The 
hopes of the parents were excited to the greatest 
pitch ; they longed to see the vital spark rekuidled in 
the body of their daughter. Jesus took the motion- 
less hand of the child, and said, in the Hebrew lan- 
guage, " Talitha-cumi," which is, bemg interpreted, 
"Damsel, arise." Life was in a moment restored; 
the damsel arose and walked, for she was of the age 
of twelve years ; and all present were astonished 
with a great astonishment. 



REJECTIXG CHRIST. 165 

LECTURE XIX. 

THE SINFULNESS OF REJECTING- CHRIST. 

"Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, he sent 
liira also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son." 
Mark 12 : 6. 

My young friends, v/ere a minister of God to ask 
you, one by one, Do you wish to enter heaven when 
you die ? each one of you would answer, I do. But 
are you on the way ? If you have received Jesus 
the Son of God as your Saviour, you are upon the 
way ; if you have not received the Son of God as 
your Saviour, you are not upon the way. If you die 
without receiving him, he will not receive you into 
heaven when you die ; if you die rejecting him, when 
you die he Vv'ill reject you. 

To reject Christ is a great sm, but it is a very 
common sm. There are some bodily diseases which 
are great diseases, very dreadful in their nature ; but 
they are not common. Alas, while the sin of reject- 
ing Christ is one of the very greatest of sins, it is one 
of the most common of sins. It is to be met with in 
all towns and villages, in rural glens and populous 
cities, in humble cottages and gilded palaces. In 
almost every family one or more are to be found 
guilty of this most tremendous, this most dangerous 
sin, the sin of neglecting Christ. 

You will observe, that our text is part of a parable. 



166 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

In this parable, Christ shows that God had sent many 
servants and messengers to the Jews, tmie after time. 
From the parable it appears, that the Jews gave 
God's servants and messengers and prophets a very 
unkmd reception. They beat, stoned, and mm-dered 
them. For such a sm as this, God might have de- 
stroyed the Jewish nation root and branch. But 
though all the ti'ials had failed, God was resolved to 
make one trial more. And what was that trial ? 
Hear, and be astonished : it was to send his own Son, 
his well-beloved. Did he send him ? Yes, more 
than eighteen hundred years ago. what a God of 
mercy is our God I He might justly have sent an 
army to destroy that wicked nation, who had so 
wickedly destroyed his blessed servants. But instead 
of this, he sends his own Son, his well-beloved, to 
propose terms of peace to the guilty rebels. This 
was a most amazing act of kindness. It was really 
too great ever to be expected. Truly God's ways 
are not as our ways. What no eartlily kmg would 
ever do, the King of heaven did. 

When God sent his Son on such an errand of mer- 
cy, was it not expected they would reverence his 
Son, and treat him with the warmest affection? 
Yes, it was ; in the parable contaming the text it is 
said, " They will reverence my Son." This expres- 
sion is used after the mamier of men. God speaks 
of the manner in which it might reasonably be ex- 
pected they would treat his Son. He knew, how- 



REJECTING CHRIST. 167 

ever, they would not treat him in this manner, but 
with greater cruelty than they had treated all the ser- 
vants that went before him . And how did they behave 
towards him ? Only hear : they furiously seized him, 
they fell upon him like roaring lions, they cast him 
out of the vineyard, and murdered him. All they 
were able to do, they did. They put him to death. 
For this sin, God most awfully punished the Jews. 
He cast them out of the church, he sent a Roman 
army to lay waste their great and glorious city, and 
ever since that time, he has scattered them among the 
nations of the earth as a hissing and a reproach. 

Believe it, my little children, it is a great and 
dreadful sin to reject Christ. It exceeds all other 
sins. If it is persisted in, the pmiishment of this sui 
will exceed all other punishment. I know you are 
afraid when your father punishes you for acts of dis- 
obedience. If you reject Christ, it is a great act of 
disobedience against God. If you bring upon your 
head punishment from God, you will be terribly 
afraid ; for " who can stand before him when once 
he is angry, or who can abide the fierceness of his 
indignation ?" 

It is to be feared some of you are rejecting Christ. 
May God enable me to say something in this lecture 
which will show you your sm and your danger. 

I shall first show you what kind of a rece]ptiori 
you should give to Christ. 

If your father came to see you from the distance 



168 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

of some hundred miles, you knov/ what kind of a 
reception you should give to him. Christ now comes 
to you in the everlasting gospel, and what kind of a 
reception should you give him ? My young friends, 
I will answer tliis question for you. You should re- 
ceive him as he is offered. I repeat it, you should 
receive him as he is offered in the gospel. If you 
are in great bodily affliction, and a physician comes 
to you, how are you to receive him ? You are to 
receive him as a physician. As he comes to you, so 
are you to receive him ; as Christ comes to you, so 
are you to receive him. 

I shall endeavor to make this a little plainer. 

Christ comes to you as a great High-priest, who 
has made atonement for your sins by his death. This 
he has done, and thus he appears before you. Hav- 
ing made atonement for sin, he comes with pardon 
in his hands. Stretch out your arms, ye httle ones, 
and receive from him the pardon he oilers. how 
kind it is in Christ to be willing to pardon your sins. 
Receive him, receive him as a pardoning Saviour. 

Christ comes to you this day as one who has de- 
stroyed the works of the devil — as one who has pur- 
chased the influences of the Holy Spirit by his death ; 
he comes to you willing to sanctify you, to make you 
holy ; he comes willing to take away from you your 
vile and hateful corruptions, and to give you blessed 
and lovely graces. stretch out your hands, and 
receive him as your sanctifying Saviour. 



REJECTING CHRIST. 169 

Christ comes to you this day as a mighty King. 
All power ill heaven and earth belongs to him. He 
now demands your obedience. then stretch out 
your hands, and receive Inipi as your rightful Sover- 
eign ; fall down at his feet, and serve, worship, and 
adore him. 

He comes to you as a loving Saviour : he shows 
you how his Father loved you ; he shows you how 
he himself loves you ; he tells you to look at his la- 
bors, his sufferings, his blood, his death, and there see 
how much he loved you. Would you not receive 
your lovmg mother, if she came to you ? And now 
when a loving Saviour comes unto you, stretch out 
your hands and receive liim. May God give you 
grace to return liim love for love. Does God the 
Saviour love worms like you ? Surely worms should 
return love for the love of a God. 

Christ comes to you as an able Saviour — as able 
to save to the very uttermost, Mark that word ut- 
termost. Are any of you weeping, sorrowful, and 
cast down on account of your sins ? It looks well if 
this is the case. Are you afraid Jesus will not save 
such sinners as you ? Cast away your fears, ye 
young afflicted penitents, cast them away ; for be 
assured, he now appears before you not only as able 
to save, but as icillhig to save. He is an able Sav- 
iour, he is a willing Saviour. Stretch out your hands 
and receive liim. 

Christ comes to you as a great Prophet. What 



170 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

does he do as a prophet? I will tell you. As a 
prophet, he reveals his Father's will, he makes known 
the deep thmgs of God, he shows the way by which 
God is reconciled to poor sinners, and the way by 
which poor smners are reconciled to God. He comes 
to you as a prophet, that he may be your teacher. 
receive him then, ye little ones, as your teacher. 
Submit to his instruction, and sit at his feet. 

I have now fulfilled my promise in telling you how 
Christ, God's beloved Son, should be received. Holy 
Spirit, enable little children thus to receive God's 
beloved Son. Happy, happy are they who thus re- 
ceive him. They who reject him must perish for 
ever ; they who receive him shall be blest for ever ; 
they who die rejecting him must for ever remain the 
children of Satan. But to as many as receive him, 
to them he gives power to become the sons of God, 
even to as many as beheve on his name. 

Allow me now to show you lioiv reasonable it is 
Christ should be received. 

Christ is infinitely lovely. How reasonable it is 
that infinite loveliness should be admired. Christ 
has supreme authority. He is a King ; and what 
a King ! He is a King of kings. There never was 
such a King. How reasonable it is he should be 
obeyed and honored : he has displayed love, mercy, 
kindness, and compassion which never have been, 
which never can be, equalled ; is it not reasonable he 
should be received with acclamations of admiration. 



REJECTING CHRIST. 171 

gratitude, and praise ? Has he not paid to offended 
justice the debt of rebels ? Did he not become a 
captive that they might be set free ? Did he not 
drink a cup of the bitterest sorrow that they might 
drink the cup of salvation ? Did he not die that 
they might live ? how reasonable, then, that he 
should meet with a kind and ready reception. 

Dear children, if a person were to show you the 
ten-thousandth part of the kindness which Christ has 
shown you, would you not receive him with affec- 
tion ? If a man gave you a purse of gold, or even a 
small sum of money, would you not return to him 
the expression of thankfulness ? Certainly. That 
person is looked upon as a monster, who can receive 
kindness from others, and yet never show in return 
any degree of gratitude and love. Shall one worm 
show gratitude to another worm ; shall one poor sin- 
ner show gratitude to another poor sinner ; and shall 
none be shown to him who is God in our nature ? 
Shall none be shown to him who died in our stead, 
to shut the gates of hell, and to open the gates of 
heaven ? Shall the love of man to man excite grat- 
itude ; and shall the love of God to man excite none ? 
Shall human benefactors be remembered ; and shall 
Christ the divine benefactor be forgotten? 

We will come, if possible, my dear children, a little 
closer to this most interesting subject ; and may God 
the Spirit bring it closer and closer to your heart. 
It is that I wish ; and without it, nothing is gained. 



172 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

My labor is lost. It is the water spilt upon the 
ground, that cannot be gathered up again. 

You are perishing. Is it not reasonable you should 
receive a Saviour w^ho can preserve you from mi- 
pending ruin ? You are guilty. Is it not reasona- 
ble that the guilty should receive a pardon when it 
is within their reach ? yes ; it is reasonable that 
they should stretch out an eager hand to receive such 
a blessing. You are diseased. Christ comes to you 
as a physician of matchless skill and matchless mercy. 
Is it not reasonable that you should accept the kind 
aid of this most compassionate physician ? You are 
poor, needy sinners. Is it not reasonable you should 
with exultation receive a Saviour who can enrich 
your impoverished soul with heavenly grace ? You 
are miserable ; in your unconverted state you are 
miserable. If a change does not take place, you will 
be more miserable still ; your misery in time will be 
followed by misery in eternity. is it not reasona- 
ble you should receive a Saviour who has it in his 
power to make you happy ? 

Is it not reasonable a man should love liimself, 
that is, love his own happiness ? How reasonable, 
then, it is for the miserable to accept deliverance. 
This cannot be denied. No man m his senses can 
deny it. What is the conclusion ? It is this : noth- 
ing can be so reasonable as to receive Christ, and 
nothing so unreasonable as to reject him. They are 
wise who receive him ; for this is true wisdom. They 



REJECTING CHivIST. 173 

are fools who reject him ; for this is true folly. They 
who receive him are their own friends ; they who 
reject him are their own enemies. 

Come, then, ye little ones, ye young immortals, 
ye future hopes of society and of the church, come 
and receive this kind Saviour, God's well-beloved Son. 
Remember, " He that fmdeth him, iindeth life " 



174 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

LECTURE XX. 

THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 
"And lie bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." John 
19 : 30. 

My young friexds, wliat an affecting subject is 
death 1 You will die. As really as you now live, 
you will die ; all the mighty kings on earth cannot 
prevent your death ; if all the angels in heaven Avere 
to surround a dying child they could not prevent his 
death. Death can enter through the thickest and 
strongest walls ; death can fly over seas and oceans ; 
yes, he can fly from one part of the earth to the other 
with greater rapidity than clouds which are driven 
through the sky by furious winds. Remember daily, 
dear children, that you must die. 

It is my intention to speak to you of the death of 
Jesus Christ. There was never so wonderful a person 
as Christ, and there never was so wonderful a death 
as the death of Christ. The death of Christ should 
concern j^ou much. The death of great princes who 
lived in distant ages and distant lands does not con- 
cern you, and need not concern you ; but the death 
of Christ ought to concern you. The death of your 
father or your mother would concern you. If you 
are dutiful and loving children, their death would 
make the tears of sorrow run down your cheeks. The 
death of Christ should concern you much more than 
the death of the nearest and dearest of earthly friends. 



THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 175 

Christ is a nearer, a dearer, and a better friend than 
all your earthly friends, even if they were ten thou 
sand times better than they are ; therefore how much 
you ought to be concerned with the death of Christ. 

Allow me to mention some wonders that are to be 
seen in the death of Christ. 

It was wonderful that Christ died. It was a great 
wonder that Christ should have taken upon him our 
nature ; it was wonderful that he should have be- 
come a man ; it was more wonderful that he should 
have died. An apostle said, " Great is the mystery of 
godliness, God manifest in the flesh." We can say, 
greater is the mystery of godliness, God dying in the 
flesh. What a wonderful thing would be the death 
of an archangel. How much more wonderful, if all 
the angels of heaven were to die. The death of 
Christ is more wonderful than if all the angels of a 
glorious heaven were to die. What a wonderful 
thing it would be, if all the inhabitants of London 
were instantly to be struck dead. what a sight 
would be presented by the houses filled, and streets 
covered and crowded with dead bodies. Even won- 
derful as this would be, the death of Christ is infi- 
nitely more wonderful still. What made it so won- 
derful ? I reply, the nature that died was connected 
with the divine nature that could not die. The 
divine nature is the foimtain of all life, and yet, won- 
derful, the human nature, while connected with the 
fountain of all life, was deprived of life. Think seri- 



176 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

ously of this, and then you will see that the death of 
Christ is the greatest of wonders. 

Christ raised many to life who were dead. How 
wonderful, then, that Christ should have died. He 
raised a widow's only son to life when the mourners 
were carrying him along the street in a coffin to lay 
him in his grave ; he stopped the procession, he went 
up to the coffin, he took the lifeless youth by the 
hand and said to him, "Live." "What, did this 
mighty Jesus, who could restore life and beauty to a 
cold, lifeless corpse, did he die ? Yes ; he bowed his 
head, and gave up the ghost. 

He raised Lazarus to life. When he had been 
dead three days, he raised him to life. When he had 
lain so long in the grave that his flesh was beginning 
to corrupt, he raised him to life. He said, " Lazarus, 
come forth." Immediately Lazarus rose up, and 
came from his grave. His sisters Martha and Mary 
wept for joy when they saw their beloved brother 
Lazarus raised to life. what a mighty Jesus must 
he be who raised Lazarus to life. Did this Jesus, 
this mighty Jesus, die ? Did he die who so wonder- 
fully and powerfully trampled death under his feet ? 
Did he die who attacked death the gloomy tyrant in 
his own kingdom the grave, and cast him from his 
awful throne ? Did this mighty Conqueror die ? 
Yes ; he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. 

The death of Christ is wonderful, when you con- 
sider /<?;• wlwin he died. 



THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 177 

He died for men. There are two kinds of fallen 
beings. There are fallen angels, and fallen men. 
Angels are far superior to men in their nature, their 
wisdom, and their strength. Yet Christ did not die 
to save angels, but he died to save men. That he 
looked with pity on fallen men, and passed by fallen 
angels — that he died to save fallen men, and not 
rather to save fallen angels, is a wonder indeed, which 
we cannot explain. 

He died for sinful men. Eveiy sinner hates God. 
If there were no hatred of God in the heart, there 
would be no sm in the heart. That which makes a 
man a sinner, is nothing else but hating God. Now 
Christ died for those who hated him, for those who 
were his enemies. If he had died for friends, for 
those who loved him, though it would have been 
wonderful, it would not have been so wonderful as 
his dying for enemies. An apostle says, " When we 
were yet sinners, Clirist died for us." Surely this 
will appear wonderful to all eternity, that Christ 
should have come from heaven to earth for the very 
purpose of dying to save, not friends, but foes, 
"When we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 
Thus Christ is represented by the pious Watts as 
addressing the children of men : 

"When hell and all its spiteful powers 
Stood dreadful in my way, 
To rescue those dear lives of youi'S, 
I gave my own away." 

Lee. teChil.-VoI. II. 12 



178 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

If a king were to lay down his life for a nobleman, 
we should wonder at the deed. If he should lay 
down his life for a beggar or a slave or a rebel, we 
should wonder more still. How infinitely more 
wonderful the death of Christ the King of kings ; he 
died for m.en, for sinners, for enemies, for rebels. 

The manner of Christ's death was wonderful. 

He died as a malefactor. The word malefactor 
literally signifies an evil-doer, or an evil- worker, A 
malefactor is one w^ho has violated the laws of the 
land, and therefore deserves punishment. Is this to be 
a malefactor ? It is ; and as a malefactor Christ died. 

He was arrested as a malefactor. Men are sent 
out as officers to seek thieves, robbers, and murder- 
ers, to endeavor to lay hold on them, to bind them 
fast, and convey them to prison. Thus officers were 
sent out in the dark hour of night to seek and en- 
deavor to lay hold of Christ, to bind hmi, and to con- 
vey him to prison. Our Saviour felt particularly 
that this was the case. " Then Jesus said unto the 
chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the 
elders which were come to him, Be ye come out as 
against a thief, with swords and staves ?" 

Jesus was tried as a malefactor, before eartlily tri- 
bunals. How affecting it is to see any human bemg 
tried for his life. It is pecuharly affecting to see a 
brother, a son, or a father appearing before an eartlily 
judge. How exceedingly affecting it is to think of 
the Son of God clothed with human flesh, and placed 



THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 179 

at the bar as if he had been guilty of the greatest of 
crimes. There never was any criminal at the bar 
so abused and insulted as Christ was. On these 
melancholy occasions it is common to show some 
compassion to poor criminals, but there was no com- 
passion shown to Christ. Instead of compassion, 
they showed cruelty. They fell upon him, they beat 
him with the palms of their hands, they put mock 
garments of royalty upon him, they poured into his 
ears the vilest language, and they spit upon his bless- 
ed face. 

He was condemned as a malefactor. A sentence 
was passed upon him ; it was the sentence of death. 
It is pamful to hear the judge pass sentence of death 
upon a miserable guilty criminal. how wonderful, 
that the cruel sentence of death was passed on Christ 
the Son of God, the Ruler of the vast universe. He 
who shall be the Judge of all, was himself judged, 
but judged unjustly ; he who shall summon all 
nations before his tribunal, was himself summoned 
before an earthly tribunal ; he who shall justly pass 
sentence of death on the ungodly at the last day, was 
himself unjustly condemned to die. 

He was led as a malefactor to the place of execu- 
tion. Your blessed Saviour, my young friends, was 
conducted along the crowded streets of Jerusalem, 
between two thieves, to the dreadful spot where his 
blood was shed, and where he bowed his head and 
died. How should you feel, if you saw a dear friend 



180 TiECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

led along the streets to the place of execution and 
death ? Overwhelmmg thought, that Jesus was led 
along the puhhc streets to the spot where he suffered 
the pains of death. And who followed him through 
the streets of Jerusalem to Calvary? Only a very 
small number were his friends ; the greater number 
were his enemies, who would have willingly torn 
him into ten thousand pieces. 

He died on a cross. There was no cradle pro- 
vided for him when he was born, and there w^as no 
bed prepared for him when he died. Even in death 
it is considered a comfort to have a bed on which to 
die. The only bed that was prepared for Christ was 
the cruel cross. His hands and his feet were nailed 
to the accursed tree. 

It was a 'paijiful death. Some modes of dying 
are more painful than others. It is believed there is 
no mode of dying so painful as dying on a cross. 
"When Jesus died, he did not choose an easy death. 
He submitted to die in a manner the most cruel and 
painful. Think, dear children, what you would feel 
if a nail were thrust through your hand or your foot. 
And 0, thmk what it must be to be fixed to a cross, 
with the whole weight of the body pressing on the 
rugged nails. 

It was a shameful death. The garments were 
taken from the bodies of those who were crucified, 
before they were nailed to the cross. Thus they suf- 
fered, a spectacle of shame. There are few things so 



THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 181 

difficult to bear as shame. Your Saviour, little chil- 
dren, endured the shame. And why did he endure 
the shame ? It was, that you might enjoy celestial 
honor. lYhy did he submit to die without his rai- 
ment ? It was, that you might be arrayed in the 
garments of eternal beauty. 

It was a curbed death. Every man who died on 
a cross was pronounced cursed. Amazing, Christ 
died under a curse. He died under a curse, that he 
might take the curse away ; under a curse he died, 
that all his people might die blessed. 

" "VYhen I survey the wondrous cross 
On wliich the Prince of glory died, 
My richest gain I count but loss, 

And pour contempt on all my pride. 

" Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, 
Save in the death of Christ, my God ; 
All the vain things that charm me most, 
I sacrifice them to bis blood. 

" See, from his head, his hands, his feet, 
Sorrow and love flow mingled down ! 
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet. 
Or thorns compose so rich a crown? 

' His dying crimson, like a robe. 

Spread o'er his body on the tree ; 
Then am I dead to all the globe, 
And all the globe is dead to me. 

" Were the whole realm of nature mine, 
That were a present far too small ; 
Love so amazing, so divine. 

Demands my soul, my life, my all." 



182 LECTURES TO CHILDREN}. 

LECTURE XXI. 

THE DEATH OF CHEIST. 
"He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.'' John 19: 30. 

If all the lofty mountains had bowed their heads, 
it would have been nothmg compared with this : 
Jesus bowed liis head, and gave up the ghost. If a 
man be in a sitting posture on his bed, the moment 
he dies his head falls down, he bows his head. The 
moment the soul of Christ left his body, he bowed 
his blessed head. Wonderful, He bowed his head in 
death, before whom myriads of living angels ever 
bow themselves m humble adoration. He bowed 
his head in death, before whom " every knee shall 
bow, and every tongue in heaven and earth confess 
that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." He 
who bows the heavens, bowed his head and died ; 
he who lifts up the heads of all the glorious inhabi- 
tants of heaven, once bowed his head in the A^ery 
lowest suffering and abasement. 

We have already attempted to show that the man- 
ner of Christ's death was wonderful. He died as a 
malefactor, and he died on a cross. This death we 
have seen to be painful, shameful, and accursed, be- 
yond every other description of death. 

My young friends, what a solemn and affecting 
subject is this, the death of Christ I Pray fervently 
that the Holy Spirit may deeply affect you with tlie 



THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 183 

solemn importance of the death of Christ. When I 
tell you that nothing but the death of Christ can 
preserve you from hell, and that nothing but the 
death of Christ can admit you to heaven, you may 
see that the death of Christ is the most important of 
all events. 

In addition to what I have said, there are other 
wonderful things in the mamier of the Saviour's 
death. 

He died hctween two thieve?,. Lift up your eyes 
to heaven, and see Christ on his lofty throne; see 
him attended by his angels and saints, arrayed in 
garments Mdiiter than the snow, and brighter than 
the sun. Then exclaim with wonder, "What, was the 
glorious, the mighty Saviour crucified, and crucified 
between two tliieves? He was, my dear children. 
There were three crosses. A thief was nailed to the 
one on the right, another thief was nailed to the cross 
on the left, and Jesus, the merciful, the divine Jesus, 
was fixed to the one in the middle. He died wdth 
sinners, he died in the midst of sinners, and he died 
for sinners. He died between two thieves, to show 
that he died for the very vilest of the human race, 
and to show that he M'ill not cast out the most aban- 
doned of sinners who come to liim with penitent, 
broken hearts, to seek salvation. 

Jesus died crowned. Was not this surprising? 
He died with a crown on his head. But what kind 
of a crown Avas it? Dear children, lift up your eyes 



184 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

and see. Look on yonder crown with which the 
Saviour died. It is a crown of thorns. He died a 
King, The inscription over his head was this : "Jesus 
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." He died a King ; 
he was the Kmg of all nations of the earth, he was 
the King of heaven. He died a King ; he did not 
cease to be a King when he died ; no, he was a King 
in death. Other kings, when they die, cease to reign. 
Though Jesus died, he never ceased to reign. 

When I lift up my eyes to the cross, I see a crown 
upon my Saviour's head ; it is not a crown of gold 
adorned with sparkling jewels ; neither is it a gar- 
land of fragrant leaves, which is wont to be put on 
the head of victors : alas, alas, it is a crown of thorns I 
The cruel thorns pierce his temples. See the blood 
tricklmg down his cheeks. It is the thorny crown 
which makes the blood to flow. Christ wore that 
cruel, painful crown, that all his people might wear 
a glorious, blessed crown in heaven. Amazing love I 
he was crov/ned with thorns, that all his people 
might be crowned with glory. what a change has 
taken place in Christ. He who was once crowned 
with thorns on a cross, is now crowned with glory, 
honor, and immortality on a throne; he who was 
crowned with thorns on earth, is now crowned with 
inconceivable blessedness in heaven. how that 
blessed face is changed I On the cross, it was stained 
with drops of blood — on the cross, it was overspread 
"Vvith the paleness and ghastliness of death ; but ii^ 



THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 185 

heaven it is lovelier than the starry sky, while its 
glorious brightness fills heaven Avith joy and blessed- 
ness. 

Jesus died 07i Calvary. On Sinai Christ appeared 
in great majesty, when he delivered the law. On 
Calvary he appeared in the lowest abasement, en- 
during the curse of the law. Sinai shook when he 
delivered the law; Calvary shook when he suffered 
the penalty of the law. On Sinai he delivered the 
law to the Israehtes ; on Calvary he died for all the 
Israel of God. There is a voice from Calvary, where 
the Saviour bled and died : 

'•Hark, the voice of love and mercy 

Sounds aloud firora Calvary ; 

See, it rends the rocks asunder, 

Shakes the earth, and veils the sky : 
'It is finished!' — hear the dying Saviour cry." 

Jesus died 2^uljlichj. It is desirable to die attended 
by loving friends. Pious, tender-hearted friends can 
do much to comfort and relieve the dying. what 
a difference between dying among friends, and dying 
by the hand of the executioner, a public gazing- 
stock! It was thus the Son of God died. He died 
not under the roof of some loving friend ; he died 
not attended only by those Avho loved him, and Avere 
willmg to comfort him. No ; he died publicly as a 
malefactor; he died amidst an immense multitude 
of spectators ; he died surrounded by furious enemies, 
yes, by enemies more fierce than the hyena, and 



186 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

more bloodthirsty than the hiingiy, enraged tiger. 
How wonderful is the death of Christ I 

Thus I have showed that the manner of the death 
of Christ is wonderful. He died between two tliieves ; 
he died crowned with thorns ; and he died under the 
public gaze of multitudes of enemies. Having viewed 
Christ upon the cross, let us give vent to the feelings 
of our hearts in such language as the following : 

"Hearts of stone, relent, relent; 
Break, by Jesus' cross subdued : 
See his body mangled, rent. 

Covered with a gore of blood ! 
Sinful soul, what hast thou done ? 
Murdered God's eternal Son ! 

"Yes, our sins have done the deed. 

Drove the nails that fixed him there ; 

Crowned with thorns his sacred head, 
Pierced him with a soldier's spear ! 

Made liis soul a sacrifice ; 

For a sinful world he dies ! 

" Shall I let him die m vain ; 

Still to death pursue my God ; 
Open tear his wounds agaui ; 

Trample on his precious blood ? 
No ! with all my sins I'll part ; 
Jesus' love hath broke my heart." 

I will now point out some very remarkable cir- 
cumstances which attended the death of Christ. 

When Jesus died, darkiiess covered the ivhole 
land. This continued for the space of three hours, 
namely, from twelve o'clock at noon till three o'clock 



THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 187 

following. Dreadful M^as the darkness I It seemed 
as if an offended God was about to visit the earth 
with immediate destruction ; it seemed as if some 
destroying angel had been sent to pour out the vials 
of God's wrath on a guilty world. No doubt great 
fear must have fallen upon the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem, when it was surrounded with darkness gloomy 
as the shades of night. It was the human nature 
of the Son of God which died; therefore the heavens 
were clad in mourning apparel. Men, for whom 
Christ died, put on no mourning apparel ; but when 
he died, the glorious canopy of the sky appeared in 
black array — when Jesus the Sun of righteousness 
died, the natural sun refused to shine. The death of 
Christ the Son of God was the foulest murder that 
was ever committed on the face of the earth; the 
sun, as it were, was ashamed to look upon a crhne 
so aggravated and black. AA^hen He expired who 
said, in the morning of creation, "Let there be light," 
light fled from the heavens. By the death of Christ, 
the hearts of the redeemed shall be filled with eter- 
nal joy ; and yet, when Jesus died, the sky was filled 
with darkness. When Christ died, he was surrounded 
by the deepest, darkest shades, that when his people 
die, they may be surrounded by the lively, enlighten- 
ing hopes of a heavenly and a glorious day. 

When Jesus died, the veil of the temple icas rent 
in twain. You remember, that in the temple there 
wns an apartment called the holiest of all. which 



188 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

was the most sacred of all the apartments in that 
great and wonderful buildmg. That place was sep- 
arated from the rest of the building, not by a thick 
wall, but by a thick curtain, or veil. Now, when 
Jesus died, this remarkable veil, or curtain, was sud- 
denly rent in twain, from the top to the bottom. 
There were many priests at that time in the temple, 
AYith what terror they must have been seized, when 
they heard the mysterious noise, and saw the mys- 
terious sight. Belshazzar was confounded when he 
saw a hand writing large shining letters upon a 
wall of his palace opposite where he sat, in com- 
pany with the pruices and nobles of his empire. His 
face changed ; it was covered with the paleness of 
guilty alarm. Methinks the faces of the priests in 
the temple must have resembled the countenance of 
that guilty Babylonish king, when they saw the veil 
of the temple rending in twain. This intimated, that 
by the death of Christ the ceremonial law and the 
worship in the temple were at an end, and no more 
required by God. The ceremonial law represented 
Christ, m his person, his death, and his salvation. 
When Jesus came, and procured salvation by his 
death, these ceremonies were of no more use. 

" Finished all the types and shadows 

Of the ceremonial law ; 
Finished all that God has promised, 
Death and hell no more shall awe. 

'It is finished!'— 
Saints, from hence your comfort draw."' 



THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 1S9 

When Christ died, there icas an earthquake. 
When He who made the earth died, the earth shook, 
and the cross on wliich the Saviour hung quivered 
in the air ; so violent was the earthquake, that the 
rocks were rent. There were few hearts rent : the 
hearts of men were harder than the rocks ; and the 
rocks, softer than the hearts of men, were rent when 
Jesus died upon the cross. 

In conclusion, I would call on you to place all 
your hopes of salvation on Christ alone. Jesus died 
to save you. Be convinced, that if you trust in Christ, 
he will assuredly save you. If you look not to Christ 
alone to save you, you must perish, and perish for 
ever I "He that believeth, shall be saved ; but he 
that believeth not, shall be damned I" Are you be- 
lieving in Christ for salvation ? If so, you are on the 
way to heaven ; if not, you are on the way to hell I 
Christ alone can deliver you from the devouring 
flames of hell. Christ alone can exalt you to the 
blessed joys of heaven. Cry out, then, in fervent 
prayer, each one, Lord Jesus, save me. 

" The Lord Jehovah calls, 

Be every ear incluied; 
May such a voice awake each heart, 
And captivate the mind. 

" If he in thunder speaks, 

Earth trembles at his rod; 
But milder accents here proclaim 
The condescending God. 



190 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

" harden not your hearts. 
But hear his voice to-day ; 
Lest, e'er to-morrow's earliest dawoi, 
He call your souls away. 

" Almighty God, pronoimce 
The word of conquering grace ; 

So shall the flint dissolve to tears, 
And scorners seek thy face." 



MARY MAGDALENE. 191 



LECTURE XXIT. 

CHEIST APPEAHma TO MAHY MAQDALENE. 

"But Maiy stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and 
as she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, 
and seeth two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, 
and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 
And they say imto her. Woman, why weepest thou? She 
saith unto them. Because they have taken away my Lord, 
and I know not where they have laid him. And when she 
had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus stand- 
ing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, 
Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou ? She, sup- 
posing him to be the gardener, saith unto him. Sir, if thou 
have borne him hence, tell irie where thou hast laid him, and 
I will take hun away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She 
turned herself, and saith vmto him, Eabboni, which is to say, 
Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not ; for I am not 
yet ascended to my Father : but go to my brethren, and say 
unto them, I ascend imto my Father and your Father, and 
to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told 
the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had 
spoken these things unto her." John 20 : 11-18. 

My little children, if you read these eight 
verses carefully, I am sure you must be struck with 
surprise. I wish you to he more than surprised, I 
wish you to be improved. There are many wonder- 
ful tilings in the history these verses contain. I will 
endeavor to pomt them out. "While I present them 
before your eye, may God the Spirit impress them 
deeply on your young hearts. If I were travelling 
with you in a foreign country across the ocean, I 



192 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

should feel great pleasure in pointing out to you the 
most remarkable things to be met with m our jour- 
ney. I shall feel much pleasure in showing you the 
remarkable and very extraordinary things to be met 
Mith in the history of Christ appearing first to Mary 
Magdalene after his resurrection. 

I see three things in these verses : Mary's great 
love to Christ ; her vision of two angels ; and Christ's 
appearing to her. 

Let us first consider Mary's great love to Christ 

My young readers, while I am speaking to you of 
Mary's love to Christ, may the love of Christ warm 
your hearts. 

That Mary's love was great, appears from three 
tilings. She stood beside Christ's grave ; she stood 
weeping beside his grave ; and while she wept she 
looked into the grave. All these shoAved that her 
love to her Saviour was great. 

Mary stood beside the grave of Christ. 

She loved her Saviour while he lived, and now she 
loved liim when he was dead ; she attended him 
when he preached and travelled from village to 
village, and from city to city ; she attended him 
when he was taken from the hall of Pilate to the 
cross of Calvary ; she was near the person of Christ 
when he was led along the streets of Jerusalem to 
the hill where he shed his blood ; she was close 
beside him when he was nailed to the accursed tree ; 
she waited near him during all the time of his ex- 



MARY MAGDALENE. 193 

piring agonies ; she heard the sorrowful words which 
fell "from his mouth, and the heavy groans which 
rose from his heart ; she saw the wormwood and 
gall which were presented to his parched hps, and 
she observed when he bowed his blessed head and 
gave up the ghost. AVhen he died she did not for- 
sake his lifeless body ; she remained till Joseph of 
Arimathea took him down from the cross ; she at- 
tended the melancholy funeral procession ; and when 
he was laid m the grave, she watched his tomb. 

"When she had retired from the grave and return- 
ed again, she saw to her astonishment that the great 
stone which covered the grave was removed, and 
therefore she concluded that the body was taken 
away. Greatly agitated, she ran as fast as she was 
able, and uiformed Peter and John that some persons 
had gone to the grave of Christ and removed his 
body from the sepulchre. Alarmed at the news, 
they ran to the grave and found it as Mary Magda- 
lene had told them. They saw that the body of 
Christ was gone, and that nothing was left beliind 
except the grave-clothes in which he had been com- 
mitted to the grave. 

Jesus before his death told them he should rise 
again. They had forgotten his words. As yet they 
knew not those scriptures which foretold his resur- 
rection from the grave. Unable to account for the 
empty grave, they returned almost distracted to their 
own home. 

Lcc. toChil.-Vol II. 13 



194 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Mary remained at the sepulchre. There was no 
home so dear to her as the grave which had contain- 
ed the body of her Lord. Even though the grave 
was empty, it was still dear to her. An affectionate 
child looks with affection on the very bed on which 
her dear mother breathed her last, and finished her 
mortal course. A mother looks wdth great and pain- 
ful interest on the grave which contains the ashes 
of an amiable and pious daughter. Enter into the 
burying-place of the dead. Perhaps you may see 
two pious disciples standing and conversing together 
beside a grave. Whose grave is it ? It is the grave 
where the body of their venerable minister sleeps till 
the resurrection of the just. The one says to the 
other. That grave is dear to me, for it is the bed of rest 
where repose the remains of a minister who was my 
spiritual father, and who was the means, in the hand 
of the Spirit, of saving my soul from the lowest hell. 
I love the house in which he dwelt, I love the pul- 
pit in which he preached, and I love the grave in 
which his body is laid and stretched m death. 

Mary stood iveepi7ig beside the grave of Christ. 

It is affecting to see a mother sitting and weepmg 
beside the grave of an only son, or to see a widow 
sittmg and weeping beside the grave of a beloved 
and departed husband. How affecting to see Mary 
Magdalene standing and weeping beside the grave of 
Jesus. No mother ever loved her only son, no widow 
ever loved her departed husband as Mary loved Jesus. 



MARY MAGDALENE. 195 

Why did Mary weep ? It is probable she wept 
when she remembered his sufierings. She was the 
witness of his dreadful sufierings, and it was impos- 
sible she could ever forget them. She wept for his 
death. Her grief was the greater that she did not 
know either that he was risen from the dead or that 
he was to rise. She therefore considered that by the 
death of Christ she had lost Christ. This was her 
mistake. She wept that she did not now find him. 
Though she only came to seek the lifeless body of 
her Saviour, she shed a flood of tears when she saw 
that his body was removed. See, my little children, 
in Mary's tears, how fervently she loved her Saviour. 
Blessed indeed will you be if you love Christ. Give 
yourselves no rest till you find you do love him. He 
deserves to be loved, and to be loved by you. He 
died to save little children like you. 

Mary looked into the sepulchre. 

Though she saw Christ was gone, yet she contin- 
ued looking into the grave he had left. Such was 
her love, that she found she was unable to remove 
herself from the sacred spot where her Lord lay. 
The very spot was rendered dearer to her than any 
other spot on earth. If she could only have found 
her dear Saviour in that grave, it would have afford- 
ed her greater joy than a sight of all the angels of 
heaven. What Mary wished to see she was never 
to behold ; that was a dead Christ. And Mary was 
to see what she never expected to behold ; that was a 



lOG LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Uvi}ig Saviour. She thought she would even have 
been satisfied if she saw a dead Christ. But what 
she was to see in a few moments would impart infi- 
nitely greater satisfaction to her heart, and that was 
a living Saviour, 

We come now to consider the second thing in 
these verses, namely, Mary Magdalene's vision of 
two angels. 

what an unexpected sight to see at a tomb : 
a vision of angels. "Within a tomb we generally 
see dead men's bones scattered. Beside a tomb we 
often see a company of mourners shedding tears of 
grief To the great surprise of Mary Magdalene, she 
saw holy angels within the tomb of her Saviour. 

Observe their name, angels. This word signifies 
'>nesse7igers. These blessed beings are God's ser- 
vants. They are sent from heaven to earth to do 
God's errands. They are celestial carriei's, who read- 
ily go to every part of the vast universe where God 
sends them. These holy beings were sent from 
heaven to be present on a very great and wonderful 
occasion. I mean the resurrection of Christ. After 
Christ left the tomb they remained behind to com- 
municate the joyful tidings to the afflicted Mary, 
while she was weeping and lamenting over her de- 
parted Lord. 

Their number was two. More were not necessary, 
two were sufficient. There was a great event to be 
attested, namely, that Jesus who was a crucified 



MARY MAGDALENE. 197 

Saviour, was now a raised Redeemer. Who can 
describe the joy these blessed angels felt in coming to 
attest the truth of so Avonderful an event ? 

Mention is made of the raiment m which they 
appeared. They were arraj^ed in tuhite. There 
was something intimated by this. White is an em- 
blem of purity. In the language of the Bible, to be 
made like snow and like wool, is to be made holy. 
The angels were clothed in white, to show they were 
holy beings. Little children, may God make you 
holy like angels. May Jesus clothe you with white 
garments of grace. The wicked are clothed with the 
black garments of sin, but good children are clothed 
in the white garments of holiness. 

These two angels were clothed in white raiment, 
because they were glorious beings. It is proper that 
a kmg should have royal robes. And it is fit that 
angels should have shining garments. Remember 
too, they came from heaven on a glorious occasion. 
It was the occasion of a great victory. What vic- 
tor}^ ? The victory of Christ the mighty Captain of 
salvation, which he gained over the two greatest 
tyrants that ever existed. Who were they ? The 
first was death, and the second the grave. It was 
therefore proper that the two messengers from heaven 
should appear in garments worthy of the great oc- 
casion. 

A tomb is a dreary, dark, gloomy, forbidding place. 
There is something very terrific, in looking down 



198 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

into a dark tomb. Wlien Mary looked into the tomb 
of Christ while the two angels sat in it, all the dark- 
ness was dispelled. It was brighter than the noblest 
apartment in a king's palace glittering with burnish- 
ed gold ; it was more beautiful than the morning sky 
w^hen the sun is rising in the east. 

Mary saw the angels sittijig. They appeared in 
a state of great composure. They were sitting with 
great delight in the tomb where their great Lord ac- 
complished a wonderful victory over the grave. 



MARY MAGDALENE. 199 

LECTURE XXIII. 

CHRIST APPEARING TO MARY MAaDALENE, 

"But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping : and as 
Bhe wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, 
and seeth two angels in wliite, sitting, the one at the head, 
and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 
And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She 
saith unto them. Because they have taken away my Lord, 
and I know not where they have laid him. And when she 
had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus stand- 
ing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, 
Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou ? She, sup- 
posing him to be the gardener, saith mito him, Sh, if thou 
have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and 
I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She 
tm-ned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, 
Master. Jesus saith unto her. Touch me not; for I am not 
yet ascended to my Father : but go to my brethren, and say 
imto them, I ascend mito my Father and your Father, and 
to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told 
the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had 
spoken these things imto her." John 20 : 11-18. 

In our last lecture on these words we remarked 
that they contain three thmgs. The first is Mary- 
Magdalene's great love to Christ ; the second, her 
vision of angels in the grave of Christ ; and the 
third, Christ's appearing to her. We have consid- 
ered the first, and we entered upon the second, 
namely, her vision of angels in the grave of Christ. 
We observed the meaning of their name, angels ; 



J^OO LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

their number, two ; their raiment, white ; and their 
posture, sitting, the one at the head, and the other 
at the feet, where the body of Christ lay. 

The two angels observing Mary's great grief, made 
a very compassionate inquiry respecting it. " They 
say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ?" She 
had reason to rejoice, and not to mourn. But poor 
Mary did not know the reason why she should dry up 
her tears, and smg a song of praise. The angels were 
about to tell her: they knew a wonderful event, of 
which Mary knew nothing ; they had in their bosoms 
an important secret ; yes, a secret which concerned 
heaven and earth ; that secret they were about to 
communicate to weeping Mary Magdalene. 

The angels putting the question to Mary, plainly 
shows that these holy beings take a deep concern in 
the griefs and afflictions of the saints. Little chil- 
dren, what an honor is it for such of you as love 
Christ, that angels love you ; and when you are 
afflicted, angels pity you. 

Observe Mary's answer to the question the angels 
put to her, "She saith unto them, Because they 
have taken away my Lord, and I know not where 
they have laid him." 

In this answer we see two things very different. 
AVe see weak faith, and we see strong love. Her 
faith was weak in not believing that Christ was risen 
from the dead. Her grief was great because her 
faith was weak. Great joy generally goes hand in 



MARY MAGDALENE. 201 

hand with great faith. Young friends, seek faith. 
Seek it as silver ; seek it in preference to fine gold. 

Mary showed strong love in the answer she gave 
to the angels. She saw a vision of smiling angels ; 
that was a pleasant sight. There was another sight 
which would have pleased her more ; that was a 
sight of Christ. Though she saw the angels, she 
still mourned and wept. It Avas Christ she wished 
to see. Nothing else, nothing less would satisfy her, 
and dispel her grief " She saith unto them, Because 
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not 
where they have laid him." 

We now come to consider the tlurd thing contained 
in these verses, namely, Chi'ist's intervieio with 
Mary Magdalene. 

It is truly wonderful to think of the high honor 
conferred on Mary. There were two angels before 
her, and Christ, the lord of angels, at her right hand. 
While she was telling the angels her pitiful case, 
Christ himself comes forward to answer all her in- 
quiries, and to scatter aU her fears. 

After Mary had answered the angels, she turned 
herself back. She saw Jesus standing, but knew 
not that it was Jesus. As it was very early in the 
morning, and there was but little light, she could 
not see the face of Christ distinctly, and therefore 
did not know him. 

The supposed stranger immediately addressed a 
question to Mary. It was the same question which 



202 LECTUilES TO CHILDREN. 

was addressed to her by the angels. " Jesus saith 
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou?" To this 
question he adds another: "Whom seekest thou?" 
Here we have the first words our Saviour was heard 
to utter after his resurrection. They are, "Why 
weepest thou?" This shows, that since Christ is 
risen from the dead, his people have infinite reason 
to rejoice. If they have reason to look upon a cru- 
cified Saviour and weep, they have reason to look 
upon a riien Saviour and smg for joy. The resurrec- 
tion of Christ is an event so glorious that it deserves 
the praises of all creation. "Sing, ye heavens; 
for the Lord hath done it : shout, ye lower parts of 
the earth : bre^k forth into singing, ye mountains, 
forest, and every tree therein ; for the Lord hath 
redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel." 

Mary does not give a direct answer to Christ's 
question. Thinking that he who put the question 
was the gardener whom Joseph of Arimathea em- 
ployed in his service, she asks him a question : " Sir, 
if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou 
hast laid him, and I will take him away." Even 
if Jesus at that time had been dead, and if Mary 
had been led to the place where the dead body lay, 
she was unable to carry away the lifeless corpse. So 
great was her love to Christ that she considered no 
difficulties great ; she looked on them as nothing. 
They who consider this thing and the other thing a 
difficulty in Christ's service, plainly show they have 



MARY MAGDALENE. 203 

little or no love to Christ. AVhere there is a heart 
warmed with love to Christ, it will even make a 
lame man leap as a hart in his cause, and the tongue 
of the dumb sing in his praise. 

While Mary looked on Christ, and put this very- 
loving question to Christ, she was still in the dark — 
she knew not it was Christ. 

Now Christ is about to make himself known. 
That is always a memorable time when Christ 
makes himself known to the converted soul. It 
was a remarkable event when Joseph made himself 
known to his brethren. But it is a far more wonder- 
ful event when Christ makes himself known to the 
soul. Dear little children, may Christ make himself 
known to you as your Saviour and Lord. When Jo- 
seph made himself knoA^Ti to his brethren, he com- 
manded all the attendants to be removed. There 
were none present when Jesus made himself known 
to Mary, except the two angels. 

How did he make himself known ? It was merely 
by pronouncing her name. " Jesus saith unto her, 
Mary." When he said to her. Woman, she did 
not remember him ; but when he said Mary, that 
moment she knew it was Christ. When he said 
Woman, he spoke as a stranger ; but when he said 
Mary, he spoke as a friend. When she heard her 
own name pronounced, she perceived that she was 
known, and this no doubt affected her. There must 
have been something very particular in the way the 



204 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Saviour pronounced it. It was in such a way tliat 
Mary knew who pronounced it. In a dark room, 
when a mother pronounces the name of her child, 
the child perceives two things. One thing the child 
perceives is, that she is known ; and the other, that 
it is her mother who pronounces her name. This 
was Mary's case. A child knows the particular 
manner in which her mother speaks; and Mary 
knew the particular manner in which Christ v/as 
accustomed to address her. Remember, little chil- 
dren, that Christ addresses his people in the preach- 
ing of the gospel. When they give the hearing of 
faith, they know the sweet, the kind voice of Jesus ; 
and they are ready to exclaim, "His words are as 
ointment poured forth." When Mary heard her 
Saviour pronounce her name, she could say, with the 
loving spouse in the Song of Solomon, " It is the voice 
of my beloved." A little while before, the tears 
which descended Mary's cheeks were tears of grief; 
but now, the tears which flowed so plentifully were 
tears of joy. 

What did Mary say when she found it was Christ ? 
" She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, 
which is to say, Master." This word is Hebrew, 
and signifies literally, "my master," or, "my dear 
master." Christ was her Lord, her dear Lord, her 
only Lord. Now she found her Lord. She sought a 
dead Lord, and she finds a living Lord. She sought 
him with tears, and she now finds him with joy. 



MARY MAGDALENE. 205 

We are told, " She turned herself." "When she 
thought Christ was only the gardener, it is likely she 
turned from him to look at the angels. But when 
she found it was not the gardener, but her Lord, she 
turns from the angels to Christ. Angels are worthy 
to be looked upon ; but Jesus is infinitely more wor- 
thy. Angels are lovely ; but Jesus is " The chiefest 
among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." Mary 
would rather look upon the angels than the garden- 
er ; but she would rather look on Jesus than the 
angels. Little children, if we enter heaven when 
we die, the sight of myriads of angels will be a glo- 
rious sight. Remember, however, that the most 
glorious sight in heaven, is Christ in the midst of 
the throne. 

It appears from the account which St. Matthew 
gives, that Mary fell down, worshipped Jesus, and 
held him by the feet. Probably Avhen she rose up 
she laid hold of her Saviour's hand, as she had been 
accustomed to do before his death. She may also 
have thought that Christ was to continue living 
among his people on earth after his resurrection, as 
before it. This explains the reason why our Saviour 
said to her, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascend- 
ed." He says, " Touch me not," that is, " do not dote 
upon my body." His bodily presence could not be 
long with her. He says, "I am not yet ascended." 
That shows he was to ascend in a little while 
Mary must therefore set her afiections and desires 



206 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

upon his spiritual presence. The bodily presence 
was only to continue for a very little time, but the 
spiritual presence was to continue till tin.e should 
be no more. 

Jesus intrusts her with ai. important message. 
He says, "Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I 
ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my 
God and your God." See how kind and condescend- 
ing it was in Christ to denominate his disciples his 
brethren. Though an exalted Saviour, he is not 
ashamed to call them brethren. See how merciful 
and forgiving is Christ. His disciples forsook him 
and fled, when he was going to die. Truly, they 
deserved to be for ever disowned by him. But no, 
he does not cast them off. He sends a loving mes- 
sage to them, and informs them they are his breth- 
ren still. 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 20' 



LECTURE XXIV. 

RESURIIECTION AND JUDGMENT-DAY. 

" And I saw tlie dead, small and great, stand before God." 
Rev. 20 : 12. 

My little cfflLDREN, I Call your attention to a 
most wonderful day. It is the day of judgment. A 
great poet, in speaking of this solemn day, makes use 
of the following language, which I can never read 
without being solemnly impressed : 

" The day of ^VTath, that dreadful day 
When heaven and earth shall pass away. 
What power shall be the sinner's stay? 
How shall he meet that dreadful day? 

"When, shrivelling like a parched scroll, 
The flaming heavens together roll ; 
When louder yet, and yet more dread, 
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead ! 

" 0, on that day, that wrathful day, 
"When man to judgment wakes from clay. 
Be thou the trembling sinner's stay. 
Though heaven and earth shall pass away." 

That was a memorable day when God created the 
world. It was a wonderful day when Christ came 
to save the world. It was a wonderful day when 
Christ died to redeem the world. And that will be 
a wonderful, a solemn day, a day never to be forgot- 
ten, when Christ shall come to judge the world. He 
came to make the world, he came to save the world,' 



208 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

and he will come io judge tlie world. Children, you 
neither saw the first day, nor the second, but you will 
see the third. In the prospect of that day, present 
the following prayer : 

'•0 may I stand before the Judge, 
When earth and seas are fled, 
And hear the Judge pronounce my name, 
With blesshigs on my head." 

May the Holy Spirit answer this prayer. 

In speaking to you of this day, I will show you 
what will take place in the morning of the day, 
what will take place in the 'princiiml part of the 
day, and what wdll happen at the end of the day. 

WJiat shall hapjyen in the morning of the day. 

A trum'pet shall be sounded. "In a moment, in 
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; for the 
trumpet shall sound." " For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of 
the archangel, and with the trump of God." 1 Cor. 
15 : 52 ; 1 Thess. 4:16. An archangel will blow 
this trumpet. He will sound the trumpet so loudly, 
that all the inhabitants of the earth shall hear it. 
At one instant all who are alive shall hear it, and 
all the dead in their graves, and those who are in 
the bottom of the ocean, shall hear it. The powerful 
sound of this trumpet shall pierce through mountains, 
and shall enter into the deepest tombs of the dead. 

The Judge shall appear. He shall come in the 
clouds. 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 209 

" Behold, on flying clouds he comes : 
The saints shall bless the day ; 
While they that pierced hini sadly mourn 
In anguish and dismay." 

The Judge shall come suddenly, and when no one 
is expecting him. While men shall be engaged in 
their usual employments — while the gardener is em- 
ployed among his trees and flowers, and the husband- 
man in cultivating the fields, and the tradesman in 
his business, and the merchant in his counting-house, 
and the king sitting among his nobles, then, in a 
moment, shall the Judge appear. 

The Judge shall come honorably attended. His 
holy angels shall attend him. " When the Son of 
man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels 
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his 
glory." He shall be attended by his saints. "Be- 
hold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his 
saints, to execute judgment upon all." Matthew 
25:31; Jude 14. 

The dead shall he raised. On the morning of the 
day of judgment, the resurrection of the dead shall 
take place. AVhen the assizes are held, tlie prisoners 
who are to appear before the judge to be tried, are 
all in a state of readiness in the morning of the 
day. So it will be on the morning of the judgment- 
day. 

In speaking of the resurrection, the following things 
are very important to be remembered. 

I*c. toChil.-Vol, II. 14 



210 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

God can raise the dead. He is almighty. With 
greater ease than I can hft a rose from the ground, 
God can raise the dead from their cold graves. God 
can as easily awake the dead in their tombs, as a 
mother can awake her babe in its cradle. Besides, 
God has shown that he can raise the dead, for he 
has done it already in several instances. He raised 
to life the son of the Shunamite, he raised to hfe the 
body of a man who was buried in the grave of Eli- 
sha, he raised the son of the widow of Nam, he raised 
the body of Lazarus, and he brought to life the de- 
ceased Dorcas. 

God loill raise the dead at the last day. He has 
given us his word that he will do it ; and his word 
cannot fail. Hear what he has said : " Many of them 
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some 
to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting 
contempt." Daniel 12 : 2. As God has spoken in 
the Old Testament, he has also spoken m the New : 
" The hour is coming, in the which all that are ui 
the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; 
they that have done good, to the resurrection of life ; 
and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of 
damnation." John 5 : 28, 29. The righteous shall 
rise first. Saith an apostle, "The dead in Christ 
shall rise first." We know not how long before the 
v/icked they will rise. On earth the wicked are 
often first, they stand before the righteous. Yes, 
and they look upon them with disdain. At the day 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 211 

of judgment, matters will be completely changed. 
The righteous shall he first, and the wicked shall be 
last. The righteous beggar shall be first, and the 
wicked king shall be last. what a change I 

The righteous will rise with great glory. They 
\A^ill shine brighter than the stars for ever and ever. 
How amazing : the bodies of the righteous will come 
out of the dark tomb shining like glorious suns. 
Very difierent will it be with the wicked. They will 
rise covered with the defilements of sin. We cannot 
conceive how shocking they will appear. 

The righteous will rise with great joy. Their 
faces will be joyful Hke the countenances of angels. 
The wicked will rise with great sorrow. Anguish 
win be painted in their mournful looks. The right- 
eous will rise with singing. "Awake and sing, ye 
that dwell in the dust." The music of angels will 
awake them from the bed of death, and as soon as 
they awake, the righteous will begin to smg the 
praises of God and the Lamb. How different with 
the wicked: they will awake with sighmg, weep- 
ing, and groans. Their crying will pierce the skies. 
My dear children, may God deliver you from so 
dreadful a doom. See with what confidence and 
delight the righteous shall rise, and with what trem- 
bling and horror the wicked shall come out of their 
graves. No wonder, for the righteous shall rise to 
meet their Saviour, and the wicked, to meet an 
avenging God. Thuik of this, my yomig friends 



212 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

Happy, happy will you be, if, in the prospect of this, 
you shall be able to sing, 

"Arrayed in glorious grace, 
Shall our vile bodies shine ; 
And every shape, and every face, 
Look heavenly and divine." 

In the prospect of that joyful morning, pious chil- 
dren may lift up their voices, and sing, 

"How loud shall oar glad voices sing, 
When Clirist his risen saints shall bring, 
From beds of dust and sleeping clay. 
To realms of everlasting day. 

"Hasten, dear Lord, the glorious day. 
And this delightful scene display ; 
When all the saints from death shall rise, 
Raptured in bliss beyond the skies. 

Soon shall the trumpet soimd, and we 

Shall rise to immortahty." 

We now proceed to show what will take place 
during the 'princiiml 'part of the judgment-day. 

Five tliuigs will take place. The Judge will ap 
pear ; angels and men shall appear before him ; the 
books will be opened ; all shall be judged accord- 
ing to their works ; and just sentences will be pro- 
nounced. 

0, while I speak to you of these things, may Jesus 
deeply affect your young hearts. 

The Judge will «appear. Jesus Christ shall be 
the Judge. He who was ordained to be the Saviour 
of men, is appointed to be the Judge of men. " The 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 213 

Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son." 
Perhaps none of you ever saw a Idng sitting upon 
his throne. But all of you shall see Christ seated 
upon his throne of judgment. " Every eye shall see 
him." the millions of millions who shall look upon 
him when he is seated on his glorious throne I No 
man or angel can tell how glorious this throne will 
be. Great is the glory of the 'rambow in the sky ; 
but compared with the glory of the throne of judg- 
ment, it is no more than one single dew-drop upon 
the blade of grass. We must not even speak of the 
majesty of an earthly king upon his throne. Com- 
pared with Christ upon the throne of judgment, it is 
no more than the enthroning of a worm or a winged 
insect. "\Ye know not where this throne will be 
placed ; but it will be where all the vast assembly 
shall see it. So glorious and bright shall the appear- 
ance of the Judge be, that he shall, hke the sun, 
seem equally near every individual who shall be 
placed before his tribunal. 

How shall Christ appear on the throne of judg- 
ment ? St. Jolm saw Christ in his glory, and thus 
speaks of him : " His head and his hairs were white 
like wool, as white as snow ; and his eyes were as 
a flame of fire ; and his feet like unto fine brass, as 
if they burned in *a furnace ; and his voice as the 
sound of many waters. And he had in his right 
hand seven stars ; and out of his mouth went a 
sharp two-edged sword : and his countenance was as 



214 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

the sun shiiietli in liis strength." Rev. 1 : 14-16. 
Tn the foUowmg manner, this apostle speaks of the 
terror with Avhich the appearance of Christ the Judge 
shall strike his enemies : " And the kings of the earth, 
and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief 
captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, 
and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens, and 
ill the rock,s of the mountains ; and said to the moun- 
tains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face 
of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath 
of the Lamb : for the great day of his wrath is come ; 
and who shall be able to stand ?" Rev. 6 : 15-17. 

When shall the Judge appear? This question 
we cannot answer. " Of that day and hour knoweth 
no man ; no, not the angels of heaven, but my Fa- 
ther only." Great and blessed changes must take 
place before that day arrives. The Jews will be 
converted to Jesus. That is a blessed event yet to 
come. The gospel must be preached in all lands. 
That blessed event is yet to come. Jesus shall won- 
derfully reign a thousand years on earth, when, like 
a mighty ocean, knowledge, love, and holiness shall 
overspread the earth. That blessed event is yet to 
come. All these tilings must take place before Christ 
shall appear in the clouds as the judge of all. 

Aiigels and men shall appear before him. Good 
angels shall attend him, and bad angels shall be 
dragged before him in everlasting chains. "God 
spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 215 

down to hell, and delivered them into chains of dark- 
ness, to be reserved unto judgment," 2 Peter, 2 : 4. 
" And the angels which kept not their first estate, 
but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in 
everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment 
of the great day." Jude 6. 

" Down headlong from then- native skies 
The rebel angels fell : 
And Christ, when seated on the throne, 
Shall cast them into hell !" 



216 l-ECTURES TO CHILDREN. 



LECTURE XXY. 

DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." 
Rev. 20 : 12. 

In speaking of the judgmeiit-daj^ we proposed to 
consider what shall take place on the morning of 
the day, during the lyrincipal 'part of the day, and 
at the clo?,e of the day. We have considered the 
first, and we entered upon the second. During the 
principal part of the day the Judge shall appear, 
angels and men shall be assembled before him, the 
books shall be opened, all shall be judged according 
to their works, and the sentences shall be pronounced. 
We have considered the coming of the Judge, and 
have spoken of the appearance of angels before the 
tribunal. It remains that we observe on this par- 
ticular : 

Men shall appear before the Judge. It is not 
said that merely a great multitude of men shall ap- 
pear, but it is said, "Before him shall be gathered 
all nations." 

" When Christ to judgment shall descend, 
Ajid saints surromid their Lord, 
He calls the nations to attend. 
And hear liis awful word." 

All the nations of Asia, Europe, Africa, and Amer- 
ica shall appear before him, with their hundreds of 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 217 

millions of inhabitants. It is believed that there are 
eight hundred milhons of human beings now living 
on the face of the earth. The same number are born 
and the same number die every thirty years. Think 
then, my young friends, what multitudes of human 
beings have lived on the earth from the days of Adam 
to the present day, a period of between five and six 
thousand years. Think also of the millions that shall 
live on the earth from the present time to the end of 
the world. Avhat an immense number of human 
beings shall be gathered before Christ at the judg- 
ment-day. Of all this multitude, not one individual 
shaU be absent ; none shall be able to hide themselves 
from the face of the Judge, 

All the kings of the earth shall be there. All the 
Caesars and Alexanders that ever reigned shall be 
there. All philosophers and generals and rich, luxu- 
rious merchants that ever lived shall be there. Mal- 
efactors, murderers, robbers, and persecutors shall be 
there. All who were the plagues and curses of the 
human race shall be there. And all who were the 
instructors and benefactors of the human race shall 
be there . ' ' Before him shall be gathered all nations . ' ' 

The vast assembly shall be divided. The right- 
eous are compared to sheep, and the wicked to goats. 
" He shall separate them one from another, as the 
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And he 
shall set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats 
on his left." Now, the righteous and wicked are 



218 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

mingled together in the same families and societies 
and cities. Then, they shall be for ever separated. 
The wicked may enjoy, on earth, places of the great- 
est honor and power, and the righteous be pressed 
down with poverty, oppression, and disgrace. At 
the judgment-day, the righteous shall be exalted to 
the greatest glory. They shall be placed on the 
right hand of the Judge, and sit beside him on his 
throne. The wicked shall be placed on the left 
hand, clothed with ignominy and shame. Wicked 
kings who now inhabit palaces and are crowned 
with gold, shall then be placed with devils and the 
refuse of the earth on the left hand of the Judge. 

" Siiuiers, awake betimes ; ye fools, be wise ; 
Awake before this dreadful morning rise ; 
Change your vain thoughts, your crooked works amend, 
Flee to the Saviom", make the Judge your friend, 
Lest like a lion, his last vengeance tear 
Your trembling souls, and no deliverer near." 

The books shall be opened. " And I saw the 
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the 
books were opened." What books? I answer, the 
book of conscience, the book of God's law, the book 
of the gospel, the book of God's remembrance, and 
the book of life. 

The book of conscience shall be opened. The con- 
science is a monitor and a judge that dwells in every 
bosom, and in the heart of every child. On earth the 
wicked endeavor to shut this book, and refuse to read 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 219 

its lessons. At the day of judgment this book will 
be opened wide, and the wicked will be compelled 
to read. And there they will find written out at full 
length all the sms they ever committed. Sins they 
forget now, they shall read and remember then. 

The book of God's laiv shall be opened. This 
Avill be he-Id up to the view of the wicked. When 
they look upon it, they shall see how awfully they 
have scorned and despised the authority of the God 
of heaven. 

The book of the gosi^el shall be opened. When 
that book is held up, the gospel-despiser shall see, to 
his eternal shame, the gospel blessings he has set at 
naught, and the generous Saviour he has rejected. 

The book of God's remembrance shall be opened. 
what a book I The wicked shall see, upon the 
pages of this book, all the sins they have ever com- 
mitted from their cradle to their grave. 

The book of life shall be opened. There the 
names of all good children and of all saints shall 
be seen shining brighter than burnished gold. The 
righteous shall see their owm names, and shout for 
joy. The wicked shall see the names of the right- 
eous, and howl for anguish. 

Little children, if you go mto a court of judgment 
to see the judge, you will see large books laid on the 
table before him. What amazing books you shall 
see when you appear before the judgment-seat of 
Christ I Blessed, blessed shall you be, if you find on 



220 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

that solemn day your names written on the pages of 
the book of hfe, and shining brighter than the morn- 
ing-star. In the prospect of that day, offer up the 
following prayer : 

" When He reveals the book of life, 
may I read my name 
Among the chosen of his love, 
The followers of the Lamb." 

Just sentences shall be pronounced. It is a very 
solemn thing to hear an earthly judge pronounce a 
sentence ; but 0, what solemnity shall prevail when 
Christ shall pronounce a just sentence on all who 
shall appear before him. 

On the righteous, Christ will pronounce the fol- 
lowing sentence : " Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foun- 
dation of the world." This sentence will flow from 
the lips of Christ sweeter than the sweetest music of 
heaven. As soon as it is pronounced, angels and 
saints shall shout the most joyful acclamations of 
praise. Look to this sentence, and see that it con- 
tains a heaven of boundless wealth, glory, and bless- 
edness. In this sentence the saints shall be pro- 
nounced blessed, and blessed of God the Father. 
Jesus shall declare their royalty, and they shall enter 
upon the possession of a kmgdom over which they 
shall reign for ever. Pious, praying children, that 
kingdom shall be yours. " In the prospect of it, sing 
the followins: animating lines : 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 221 

" Henceforth there is laid up for me 
A crown which cannot fade ; 
The righteous Judge at that great day 
Shall place it on my head." 

The Judge will pronounce a sentence upon the 
wdcked. It will be a sentence of eternal death, eter- 
nal banishment, and eternal misery. This will be 
the sentence : " Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." 
heart-rendmg, excruciating sentence I Depart from 
Qiie — ^from me who alone could make you happy and 
blessed — from me whose mercy and grace you de- 
spised. Depart from me, ye cursed — ye who have 
brought curses on your own head by your sins ; ye 
who are cursed of God, of devils, and your own con- 
sciences, depart from me, into the burning flames, 
where you shall be for ever tormented. You would 
not receive my grace to save you, and now you must 
endure my wrath to punish you. I invited you to 
become my children, that ye might for ever dwell 
with angels in heaven, but ye would not. Your 
doom is now fixed; you shall be "filled with your 
own devices." You must dwell with everlasting 
burnings, with the devil and his angels. Dear little 
ones, offer up this prayer : 

" May I with those for ever dwell 
Who here were my delight, 
While sinners, banished down to hell, 
No more offend my sight." 



222 LECTURES TO CHILDREN. 

We Avill show, lastly, what shall take place at the 
close of the judgment-day. 

The heavens and the earth shall imss aiuaij. 
" But the day of the Lord will come as a thief hi the 
night ; in the which the heavens shall pass away 
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with 
fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are 
therein shall be burned up." 

The righteous shall go into everlasting life. It 
was a noble sight in ancient times, to see conquering 
kings enter their chief cities in triumph, after great 
victories. How infinitely more glorious Avill it be to 
see Jesus and all liis saints leaving the place of judg- 
ment, passing along the skies, and entering through 
the pearly gates of the new Jerusalem into the heav- 
en of heavens. 

Ye children who are the lovers and servants of 
Christ, in the prospect of that day, sing sincerely the 
following song : 

" Hasten, dear Lord, the glorious day. 
And this delightfvil scene display, 
When all the samts from death shall rise 
Puaptured in bliss beyond the skies. 

" Soon shall the trumpet sound, and we 
Shall rise to immortality." 

The wicked shall go into everlasting ^punishment. 
The angels shall drive wicked men and devils into 
that melancholy prison of darlaiess and pain, from 
which they shall never be able to escape. It is an 



DAY OF JUDGMENT. 223 

afTecting sight to see a man dragged to a dungeon. 
It is still more affecting to see a man taken from 
prison to the place of execution to be put to death. 
But how overwhelming the thought, to see assem- 
bled millions of the hardened enemies of Christ driven 
to the prison of hell, from which they shall never 
return. 

" But bloody hands, and hearts unclean. 
And all the lying race, 
The faithless and the suffering crew, 
That spurn at offered grace, 

" They shall be taken from my sight. 
Bound fast in iron chains. 
And headlong plunged into the lake 
Where fire and darkness reigns." 

My dear children, after addressing you on a sub- 
ject so awfully solemn, I will now conclude by giving 
you a few kind advices. 

I advise you to think often of the judgment-day. 
that day concerns you deeply. That day must 
come. You will be present on that day. Your eyes 
will see the Judge. Your ears will hear his voice. 
That day you will be sent either to heaven or hell. 
Therefore, often think on that solemn day. 

I advise you to 'prepare for the judgment-day. If 
a man has a case to be tried before an earthly judge, 
he prepares for it, and he employs a counsellor to 
plead for him. Dear cliildren, you have a trial com- 
ing on at the judgment-day. It is an important 



224 LECTURES TO CHlLDRExNf. 

trial. It concerns your soul, and your eternal all. 
seek grace to prepare for that important day. 
Have you begun? If not, begin now. You are 
much to blame for delaying so long. Delay no lon- 
ger. If you do, it may be your eternal perdition. 

Give yourselves to Christ. He is to be the Judge. 
If you commit yourselves into his blessed arms, he 
will prepare you for the judgment-day. It is impos- 
sible to tell how willing he is to save you. He says, 
"Suffer little children to come unto me." He is 
more willing than the fond mother to embrace her 
babe. 



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