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PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
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LONDON DL
[PEAW S Son. LUODGATE HILL:
BipLe & PRAYER BOOK WAREHOUSE,
A COMPANION TO HAPPY SUNDAYS.
PRRARRARARARAARAA RARE
oe SUNDAYS.
BY
FRANCES UPCHER COUSENS,
AUTHORESS OF “* STORIES ON THE COMMANDMENTS,†ETC. ELC.
DEDICATED (BY PERMISSION) TO THE
REV. CANON DALE, M.A,
purivs the Secon.
LONDON:
DEAN AND SON, 11, LUDGATE HILL,
WHOLESALE BIBLE AND PRAYER-BOOK WAREHOUSE.
LONDON :
DEAN AND SON, PRINTERS, BOOK AND PRINT FUBLISHERS,
11, LUDGATE HILL.
—
PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.
THE ABSENT GUESTS.
Mama.—I suppose you can tell me,
my dear Alice, what was the subject
of the Epistle. You must have re-
membered, while you were reading it,
all I said to you yesterday about the
value of time.
Axice.—Yes, mama, I did indeed
remember it. You told me about re-
deeming the time. That to redeem,
meant to buy anything back, which
we had once lost. But you said, once
time was really gone, no power could
bring it back.
VOL, Il. A
2 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—And you perceive the
Epistle and the Gospel of to-day both
lead to the same point. The one
teaches us to make the best of the
time, while it is given to us, to learn
‘God’s will and to’ do it ; and the other
shows the fatal effects of not coming
to God, when He invites us to come.
Auicu.—I was just thinking this
afternoon, mama, how fast the time
does slip away. Only think, it is
half-a-year since you told me the first
story. And when I was going to
read in my “Happy Sundays,†I
found I had to begin a new book. I
was just as much surprised as Robert
was, mama, that the days went so
fast; and I began thinking, that if
you were to put the stories you have
told me, on all these Sundays into
a book, we should have to begin a
new book too.
Mama.—I think it would take a
very large book, to hold all I have told
THE ABSENT GUESTS. 3
you, and all I hope to tell you this
year. But your little head is my
book, and I hope all I have: said is
kept in it, and remembered.
Aicr.—I do try to remember it,
and I like you to talk tome. I think
T am as happy as Robert used to be,
when his mama told him the story
about the wicked people who made
excuses and would not come to the
wedding-supper. But, mama, people
now would not be so wicked and dis-
obedient as not to go when they were
really sent for P
Mama.—Indeed, my daughter, there
are many people who will not heed
the kind invitations of their Saviour
to come and learn of Him to be meek
and lowly; to come and taste His
holy Supper, and His love. But this
is rather more than you would be able
to understand; so I shall tell how God
can, in other ways, punish those who
are disobedient to His word, and who |
4, PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
would not attend to the call of duty,
and go where they ought, and when
they ought.
Autcr.—I sometimes don’t come
just when you want me. I hope you
don’t mean me, mama ?
Mama.—I am sorry to be obliged
to own that you do not always obey
my call as readily and promptly as I
could wish, and it is to teach you the
evil of not doing this which induces
me to tell you this story. I once knew
some children who would not go to
see their kind father when he was
dying, because they were proud and
disobedient ; and as they were “ absent
guests†in this world, and would not
listen to the voice of their earthly
parent, I fear they may be absent
guests when their Heavenly Father
invites them, and then they will be
punished accordingly.
Axtcr.—Oh, do please, mama, tell
me all about them.
THE ABSENT GUESTS. 5
Mama.—I will do so, but you must
not interrupt me every minute with
questions, as you do when I am ex-
plainmg the texts to you, for it is
rather a long history.
In one of those secluded dells which
are to be met with not unfrequently in
the north of England, surrounded by
inaccessible mountains, whose lofty
crests proclaim the mightiness and
power of the Omnipotent Creator of
all, was a small, a very small hamlet.
Few were the tenements it could boast,
and lowly, but from amongst them
one might be singled out, betokening,
from the taste displayed in the exte-
rior, as well as the interior, that its
inhabitants belonged to the higher
ranks of life. ‘This pretty but unpre-
tending cottage was occupied by an
invalid gentleman and his wife. Her
name, unknown upon earth, is, we
may humbly trust, registered in heaven,
for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Aa
6 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Years had told their tale on the man,
yet it was not age so much as misfor-
tune which had furrowed his brow and
whitened his hair, but now a calm and
holy serenity showed that, though the
sprightliness of youth had passed away,
there was that peace within which
passeth man’s understanding-—a peace
which the world cannot give or take
away. Mr. Mortimer had. seen his
threescore years and ten, and he was
now preparing to lie down and sleep
in Jesus, and he was happy to depart
and be at rest. With the patriarch
of old, he would exclaim, “ Few and
evil have been the days of my pilgrim-
age here on earth.†But there was
one wish yet to be fulfilled, for on this
earth we cannot find perpetually a
cloudless sky; and o’er the sunniest
landscape the shadows of life must
fall. Early in life Mr. Mortimer had
realised great gains as a merchant.
Living in a large house in London,
eg
THE ABSENT GUESTS. 7
and possessed of much wealth, he had
married a lady much younger than
himself, of high birth and talents, and,
above all, rich in that one thing need-
ful, the pearl of great price—that sav-
ing knowledge which can alone make
us wise unto salvation, and heirs of
that inheritance which fadeth not away.
She no sooner discovered her hus-
band’s ignorance of religious truths
than she strove by every means in her
power to lead him to the Saviour, and
make him sensible that there was a
great and mighty want of his nature
unsupplied within, and that it was the
boundless, the unsearchable love of One
all powerful to heal, who, by His one
sacrifice, redeemed us from the curse
of the law; and having made a full,
perfect, and sufficient atonement for
our sins, for ever sat down on the
right hand of God. For, as St. Paul
says, ‘‘ Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was
8 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
manifest in the flesh, justified in the
spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the gentiles, believed on in the world,
received up into glory.†She loved him
fondly, and that love it was which had
so strangely blinded her to this imper-
fection in his truly estimable character ;
and now she set herself to remedy it.
But so firmly had the world set its
_ mark upon him, and engulphed him in
its ambitious desires after the things
of this life, that she would, estimable
and amiable as she was, have been
taught the sad and bitter lesson of the
deceitfulness of all human hopes (in
that the heart is desperately wicked,
who can know it), had not Providence
sent a severer chastisement, and weaned
his heart from these fleeting bubbles,
by proving to him their evanescence,
and depriving him of his perishing
idols. lated with former successes,
he foolishly engaged in hazardous
speculations—fearful losses were the
THE ABSENT GUESTS. 9
result, and at one fell blow he found
himself a ruined man. Bereft of for-
tune, fame, and friends, he then learned
what it was to build his house on the
sand. How well would it have been
for him, had he hearkened to the wise
sage of the East—“ If riches increase,
set not your heart upon them,†&c.
For a while, reason seemed tottering
on its throne. Happily for him, he had
a prayerful wife—there was a refuge
in his distress; he proved the truth of
the words of the Christian poet, “‘ The
Christian shines the brightest in afflic-
tion’s night.†“The sorrow of the
world worketh death, but godly sorrow
worketh repentance unto life, not to be
repented of.†In the days of his pros-
perity, he had not felt her gentle worth ;
but now that the gale of adversity
threatened to overwhelm him in the
whirlpool of destruction, she was as
a sweet messenger sent from heaven
to be his pilot through the storm ; and
10 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
ere the fiat went forth to recall dust to
dust, her prayer was granted, and she
had the happiness of seeing her hus-
band strong in that hope which pass-
eth not away. At the time of their
misfortunes, they had two sons and one
daughter. An offer was made by
Mr. Mortimer’s brother, a proud,
worldly, and wealthy man, to educate
and bring up the young people as his
own; for he was childless. Painful as
it would have been to Mrs. Mortimer’s
feelings to part with her darlings at
all, the separation was rendered much
more grievous, from the circumstance
that Mr. William Mortimer, consider-
ing poverty in the light of a disgrace,
prohibited, from the time of their
arrival under his roof, any intercourse
being held between the parents and
children. Gladly would Mrs. Mor-
timer have declined the proffered help,
conscious of the evil tendency of an
irreligious education; but she could
THE ABSENT GUESTS. il
not find any plea strong enough to
urge against that which was indeed a
kind and liberal offer, (had it not been
for this interdict), and in the shattered
state of her husband’s health, and the
low ebb to which their finances were
reduced, she dared not refuse a shelter
for the children, or shut out from her-
self, the only means of support to
which she could cling. With deep
and heartfelt sorrow, she bade her
little ones adieu, committing them, in
prayer, to the Lord; humbly trusting .
that a few years would see the re-
establishment of her husband’s health,
when, by strict frugality, they might
accumulate sufficient to live together
once more. It was a comfort to her
to think they had arrived at an age,
when, she trusted, the religious prin-
ciples she had striven to implant had
taken root. Amiable and pious as
she was, she depended too much on
the converting influence of the Spirit ;
12 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
and heeded too little the evidences
which we find in God’s Holy Word,
that religion is a growth in grace;
“that sanctification is the gradual
purifying ourselves, even as He is
pure.†Mr. Mortimer’s pride revolted
at having any witnesses of his penury
and prostration, and he sought out
the remote spot for his habitation, in
which we find him at the beginning
of our tale. Here his devoted wife
ministered to his wants; her time
and her talents were assiduously de-
voted to nursing him, and gradually
the Holy Spirit’s influence was felt,
and perceived. “Whom the Lord
loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom He receiveth.†“ ‘Thy
will be done,†O God! was not only
breathed outwardly, but was the in-
ward ejaculation of the heart. All mur-
muring and discontent had ceased, and
he felt that it was good for him that
he had been in trouble. How different
eet
es
THE ABSENT GUESTS. 13
the calmness and placidity which
rested on that brow now, to the
former look of busy care and dis-
satisfaction. The one betokened the
weary search after many things; the
other, that he was possessed of that
peace which passeth all understanding ;
that having food and raiment, he was
therewith content; and that he had
not only sought, but found the one
thing needful, which should not he
taken away from him. And now
the aged’ man had but one earthly
‘desire—to embrace once more his
children. To these children we will
again return. Their uncle had, in a
worldly sense, performed his part: tke
sons had been educated, and were now
acquiring riches and station in the
law, whilst the daughter, accomplished
and amiable, was still living under her
uncle’s roof. Worldly maxims and
views, had stifled the mother’s precepts
in the hearts of the young mealies
VOL. Il,
14 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
the seed sown amongst thorns, in our
Saviour’s parable. Not so with Emma
Mortimer ; the knowledge which she
had received of that truth which is in
Jesus, she had nourished by earnest
prayer and diligent attendance on the
means of grace. Sabbaths profaned
and sacraments disregarded are great
hindrances to a growth in grace;
indeed, no one can expect the spiritual
influence on the regenerated heart
without an observance of ordinances.
The farmer prepares the ground and
sows the seed, else how could he expect
to reap the abundant harvest ; still it is
God who giveth the former and the latter
rain, causing the increase. Obedience
and love are the ground-work of faith,
which combined bring forth fruit
unto eternal life. ‘For faith,†says
the Apostle, “ worketh by love.†Thus
thought Emma, and spite of her being
ridiculed, as Methodist and Puritan,
she religiously persevered through
THE ABSENT GUESTS. 15
good report and evil report. The
thought of her parents would often
recur to her, and she would long for
the time when she might join them ;
that she might mingle her morning,
evening, and mid-day supplications
with that dear mother’s, whose example
she had striven to imitate. The wed-
ding garment of Christ, in which she
had been arrayed at her baptism, had
remained unspotted. They had all
become, in that blessed sacrament,
children of God, members of Christ,
and as such inheritors of heaven, and
as such had been sanctified by the
Holy Spirit, having attained the
righteousness which is in Christ;
“For Christ is become the righteous-
ness of all them that believe.†How
sad was then her brothers’ fall, for,
like the wicked angels of old, it might
be said of them, “They kept not their
first estate.†“ Better not to have
known the way of righteousness.†It
16 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
was at this period in their life that
they each one received a summons or
invitation from their aged parents,
from whom they had been so long
estranged, and the reader may guess
with what different feelings. To
Emma, it was the realization of the
fondest wish of her heart. She saw her
course of duty plain; and packing up
a few things, she delayed not, but
instantly set forward on her journey,
even at the risk of offending her uncle,
and blighting her earthly prospects.
But it was far otherwise with her
brothers. The impressions of a
father’s love and tenderness had been
effaced by contact with the world;
and that which was the cause of such
gladness to the sister, was the source
of annoyance to them. Like, as in
godly things, “that which is the
savour of life unto one, becomes the
cause of death unto another.†The
elder of the two found an instanta-
THE ABSENT GUESTS. 17
neous excuse in some important busi-
ness; and the younger, of a more
vacillating disposition, contented him-
self by delaying his departure for a
day or two. ‘Tears of sadness and
grief rolled down the old man’s cheeks,
when he found that onze only of his
dearly-loved children had obeyed his
wishful mandate. What blessings were
showered upon her head! and how
thankful did she feel to her Heavenly
Father, that the fifth commandment
had not been as a dead letter to her!
For his sand-glass was indeed well
nigh run out, and the pain of his sons
disobedience, acting on an enfeebled
frame, produced a fit from which he
never rallied. Bitter now were the
reflections of those who had neglected
the call, either in resolute disobedience
or tardy obedience. Of them it might
be said, “ Many were called, but few
chosen.†‘They had neglected the
first commandment, which is with
B2
18 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
promise. The Spirit and the Bride
had said, “ Come! and let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will,
let him take the water of life freely.â€
Sad and sorrowful was their after life ;
but with Emma it was far different.
“The blessing of the Father of the
fatherless’ was with her, to sanctify
her, and bless her prompt obedience
and love; she enjoyed a joy and hap-
piness which few realize on earth,
and I have no deubt her end wiil be
peaceful.
Auice.—Oh, how happy she must
feel when she thinks of her father,
that he blessed her before he died.
Mama.—And that she can look
forward to meet him in the world to
come, “at the marriage supper of the
Lamb.†And she may surely hope
to enjoy that long life which is pro-
mised to those who “ honour their
father and mother.â€
Autcu.—I hope, mama, that I shall
THE ABSENT GUESTS. 19
always honour and obey you; and I
will not let you call me twice, as you
did yesterday when I was at play in
the garden. Will you forgive me for
that ?
Mama.—I am always ready to for-
give you, my child, when you confess
that you are wrong. But it is not
enough to confess it, unless you try to
amend. And you will find it more
easy to be obedient in great things, if
you practice doing so in little things,
If you make my will your law and
keep it, you will be following the ex-
ample of Christ, who was obedient to
His parents, or, as the Scripture says,
subject to them.â€
Auicz.—To make me remember
this, mama, I will repeat my little
hymn about
OBEDIENCE.
Sweetly now and quiet,
We lay our little heads,
With our own dear mothers,
Sitting by our beds.
20 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Sweet our play at evening,
Round our father’s knees;
Birds are not so merry,
Singing on the trees.
Lambs are not so happy,
’Mid the meadow flow’rs ;
They have play and pleasure,
But not love like ours.
For the heart that’s loving,
Works of love will do;
Those we dearly cherish,
‘We must honour too.
To our father’s teaching,
Listen day by day ;
And our mother’s bidding
Cheerfuliy obey.
For when in His childhood,
Our dear Lord was here,
He too was obedient
To His mother dear.
TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.
THE LOST SHEEP.
_Mama.—We had a very nice sermon
this afternoon, my little girl. I was
rather sorry I did not take you to
church with us; I think you would
have understood it, and learned a good
deal from it.
Auicr.—I wish I had gone, mama,
because it is very pleasant to walk
home with you and papa, and hear
you talk about the sermon.
Mama.—the text for this afternoon
was taken from the Gospel of St. Luke,
which we read this morning; it was
part of the sixth and seventh verses of
22 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
the fifteenth chapter of St. Luke,
* Rejoice with me, for IT have found
my sheep which was lost. I say unto
you, That likewise joy shall be in heaven
over one sinner that repenteth, more
than over ninety and nine just per
sons, which need no repentance.â€
Auzcz.—l liked to read that Gospel
so very much, mama; it put me in
mind of the day when I lost my dear
little white dove. I never knew before
that day, that I liked Lily better than
Cherry; but when I found that Lily
was gone, I thought I should not have
cried so much, or have been half so
sorry if he had flown away. I thought
it was so very ungrateful of Lily to
go and leave me; and, oh! mama,
when it grew quite dark, and the gar-
dener came back and told papa that he
had looked everywhere, and could not
find her, and that he had given up all
hope of finding her again, I felt so
unhappy ; and all night I kept listen-
THE LOST SHEEP. 23
ing for her to come to my window;
and Cherry, too, kept cooing all the
time, as if he were crying for her. I
am sure I shall never forget how
pleased I was in the morning, when
George came into the breakfast-room
with Lily on his finger; and, mama,
when she flew’ into my bosom, it
seemed just like asking me to forgive
her for flying away, and I believe we
have all loved her better ever since.
There was much greater joy over her
after she had been lost, than over
Cherry, who had been a good, affec-
tionate bird, and never offered to go
away.
Mama.—Indeed, my love, that is a
true picture of the joy that is felt on
the recovery of a lost sheep, or a lost
sinner. And Jesus Christ says, “I
came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.†It was tne
lost sheep that He came to bring back
to His fold; and in His desire to in-
24 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
terest His disciples in this cause, He
tells them several parables, to prove to
them His desire to save the lost, and
his joy at their repentance. What is
the first parable in the Gospel to-day ?
Aticr.—But, mama, first tell me
why he spoke to them in parables ;
would they not have understood Him
more easily if he had spoken out
plainly.
Mama.—The reason for His doing
so is given at the beginning of the
chapter. ‘Then drew near unto Him
all the publicans and sinners for to hear
Him.†Now, Jesus knows the hearts
and thoughts of all people, and He
knew that they did not come to be in-
structed, or because they wished to
learn of Jesus. No! they only came
to listen to what He talked about to
His disciples, and in the hope that He
might say something which they could
take up, and find fault about, or make
out that it was contrary to their law ;
THE LOST SHEEP. 25
and even while they were congregated
around Him, under pretence of hear-
ing His words, they were murmuring
to themselves, “That He received pub-
licans and sinners, and ate with them.â€
Auice.—I suppose they were jealous
of the notice He took of the poor people,
mama ?
Mama.—Jealous in two senses,
Alice. In the first place, because He did
not court their notice or their favour:
He knew that they counted themselves
righteous, and believed they had no
need of repentance ; therefore He gave
his attention to those who were willing
to be taught and to be healed; and
they were still more jealous of His
power, His miracles, and of the num-
ber of people who followed Him, and
flocked to hear His words. And
Christ was quite well aware of their
reason for coming to hear Him, and
of their secret. murmurings, which
He took the opportunity of se oving
VOL. II.
26 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
in parables. He inquired of them,
«What man of you, having an hundred
sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not
leave the ninety and nine in the wil-
derness, and go after that which is
lost, until he find it? And when he
hath found it, he layeth it on his
shoulders, rejoicing; and when he
cometh home, he calleth together his
friends and neighbours, saying unto
them—â€
Axicu.—‘ Rejoice with me, for I
have found my sheep which was lost.â€
Mama.—JIn this parable, Jesus
meant to compare Himself to the
owner of the sheep, who are His
people, and He meant that He would
leave or overlook the ninety-nine (or
the multitude of righteous and self-
righteous) people, and seek after the
lost sinners, for whom there seemed to
be no hope of salvation. What did
He tell them likewise ?
Auicr.—*“ I say unto you, that
THE LOST SHEEP. 27
likewise joy shall be in heaven over
one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety and nine just persons, who
need no repentance.â€
Mama.—God and the angels in
heaven would rejoice over the return-
ing sinner. And the more fully to
convince them of His intentions, He
put forth another parable unto them,
saying, “ Hither what woman having
ten pieces of silver, if she lose one
piece, doth not light a candle and
sweep the house diligently till she find
it.†Now, can you tell me what is
meant by the candle ?
Auiczy.—Did it mean the light of
the Gospel, mama ?P
Mama.—Yes, my dear. All sinners
are in the darkness of sin, and if is
necessary that the light of truth,
“That light which was to lighten the
gentiles,†should shine forth, and en-
lighten the hearts and minds of the
lost simners, before they could be found,
28 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
or recovered; just as the light of a
candle would shine upon the piece of
silver that had rolled into a dark corner,
and had to be swept out. Jesus then
tells them that ‘‘ when she hath found
it she calleth her friends and her
neighbours together, saying, ‘“ Rejoice
with me for I have found the piece
which I had lost.†And how does He
apply this?
Axtce.— Likewise I say unto you
there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth.â€
Mama.—And that last part was
intended to comfort and console those
poor sinners (who were just awakened
by His words and miracles to a sense
of their danger and their lost condi-
tion), with the promises of pardon and
acceptance.
Avice.—But, mama, are there any
people so good that they need no re-
pentance? I thought the very best
THE LOST SHEEP. 29
people could not help doing wrong
‘sometimes.
Mama.—And you thought rightly.
“The hearts of all men are indeed
deceitful and desperately wicked,†and
“There is none that doeth good, no
not one.†But Jesus meant by those
who needed no repentance, those just
people who have received the grace of
the Holy Spirit, who endeavour to
fulfil the laws of God, and on whom
the light of heaven is continually fall-
ing ; so that they, if they do commit an
error, repent of it directly, and pray
so earnestly for forgiveness, that it is
not like the deep repentance of those
who have gone on in the ways of
sin for a long season, and on whose
first return to God, and on whose
true repentance the angels, and the
spirits of the just made perfect, are
supposed to rejoice—those who have
long been a prey to Satan, and have
only just escaped from his net. After
C 2
30 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
this, Jesus went on to repeat to these
proud pharisees the parable of the
Prodigal Son, which he intended as
another lesson to them on their pride
and self-sufficiency, and their jealousy
of His notice of these poor sinners,
and of His pleasure at their timely
repentance. And the Epistle of St.
Peter, which we read this morning,
begins by exhorting us to be humble
in our demeanour, ‘for God resisteth
the proud, and giveth grace to the
humble,†as Christ overlooked the
proud pharisees, and showed mercy
and pity upoa the lowly. Therefore
we are warned to humble ourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that
He may exalt us in due time, “casting
all your care upon Him, for He careth
for you.†And then St. Peter warns
all Christians to be sober and vigilant,
‘Because your adversary the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour.†You know
THE LOST SHEEP. 31
Satan is always on the watch to en-
snare people, and it is all the good
Shepherd can do, to save His people
from the power of this “ roaring lion,â€
who is ever on the watch for His sheep.
I must not forget to tell you who was
one of the “lost sheep that was
brought back to the fold of Christ ;â€
and that was your favourite, St. Paul,
who was actually on his way to Damas-
cus, to persecute the early Christians ;
hoping, that in the synagogues he
might find out some of these good
people, and bring them as prisoners to
Jerusalem, to be burned or put to
some cruel death. But before he
reached the city of Damascus, all at
once a bright ight shone round about
him, brighter than the sun at noon-
day. And he fell to the earth over-
come, and heard a voice saying to
him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me ?â€â€ Now Saul could see no
one, but he felt at once that it was
32 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
the Lord who was speaking to him.
And he said, “ Who art thou, Lord ?â€
And the Lord said, “I am Jesus
whom thou persecutest ; it is hard for
thee to kick against the pricks†(or
resist my power). And Saul said,
trembling and astonished, “ Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do?†And
the Lord said unto him, “ Arise, and
zo into the city, and it shall be told
thee what thou must do.†And all
the people that were travelling with
Saul heard the voice, but could see
nobody. And they were afraid to
speak, until Saul arose from the earth,
and then they found that he had lost :
his sight, neither did he see anything
for three days, nor did he eat or
drink; until the Lord Jesus had also
appeared in a vision, or dream, to a
good and pious man named Ananias,
who was desired by God to go to Saul.
At first he felt frightened to go near
a man who had been the cause of
THE LOST SHEEP. 33
so much trouble and sorrow to the
Christians, and had done them such cruel
injuries ; but, obedient to God’s word,
he went, and entered the house where
Saul was, and putting his hands on
him, said, “‘ Brother Saul, the Lord,
even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in
the way as thou camest, hath sent
me, that thou mightest receive thy
sight and be filled with the Holy
Ghost.†And immediately there fell
from his eyes, as it had been scales.
And he received sight forthwith, and
arose and was baptized.
Autcr.—And then he was called
Paul, was he not, mama?
Mama.—Yes, and from that moment
he became one of the most sincere
Christians. He tried to undo all the
mischief he had done, to teach others,
and to make them love Jesus as much
as he loved Him himself. He suffered
all kinds of trials and persecutions ; was
beaten, whipped, stoned, and_ ship-
‘B4 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
wrecked, for the sake of his religion;
and to the end of his life he continued
to call himself the chief of sinners—
‘one of the lost sheep who had been
mercifully brought to the fold of
Christ. He was indeed one over
whom the saints and angels rejoiced,
and whose bright example should
cheer us on our way. May you, my
dear child, be one of those lambs who
never stray from the fold of Christ,
but always lie down in His pasture,
and feed among His flock.
Sweet, gentle Jesus, Shepherd meek,
How blest are all within thy fold!
The heart that feels the bliss can speak,
The tongue must leave the joy untold.
Ah, since this happy lot is mine,
Within Thy favoured fold to be,
May I be ever wholly Thine,
And Thou, good Shepherd, ai/ to me.
Watch o’er me still, dear Shepherd kind,
Nor let me ever stray from Thee ;
But let me ever bear in mind,
Thy precious blood was shed for me.
THE LOST SHEEP. 35
In mercy and in love restore,
The lost sheep to Thy fold again ;
And never let them leave Thee more,
But happy at Thy feet remain.
TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY.
FORGET AND FORGIVE.
Mama.—Well, my little Alice, what
have you to tell me about the Gospel
to-day ?
Autce.—It is a very pretty Gospel.
It tells us to be merciful, and kind,
and gentle, and not to judge unkindly
of others, but to be forgiving, and a
great many other good things.
Mama.—Yes; it enjoins upon us
the old golden rule, as it is called,
Do unto others as you would that
they should do unto you: “ For with
what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you again.â€
FORGET AND FORGIVE. 37
Aticr.—But, mama, what is meant
by the “ blind leading the blind ?â€
Mama.—lIt means blinded by sin.
How shall one sinful man teach
another to do what is right? Only
by God’s grace, first teaching him to
see his own sinfulness. Jesus said,
that a man often “beheld the mote in
his brother’s eye,†but was unable to
perceive the beam in his own eyes;
which signified that people were able
to see very small specks, or faults, in
others, while they were blind to their
own great faults. A mote, or mite,
meant a small speck, but a beam is a
large object ; and this was his method
of teaching His disciples to correct
their own sins and failings, and to
pray to God to cure them ; and not to
be spying out the faults. of each other.
You know nobody is without fault.
Antce.—No, mama; all have
sinned, except Jesus Christ.
Mama.—You will observe shat St.
VOL. II.
38 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Paul says, “The whole creation groan-
eth and travaileth, under the burden
of sin,†until the redemption pro-
mised in Christ, and since all are
sinners, all have need to forgive, and
make allowance for the sins of others.
Auice.—If any one offends or hurts
me, I ought to think about my own
faults, instead of being angry with
them, and that would make me forgive
them. But did you ever know any-
body that was never angry, mama?
Mama.—Perhaps not, my dear ;
but I have known many good Chris-
tians who were ready to forgive those
who injured them; and there are
many instances of this in the Bible.
Joseph forgave his brethren; Stephen
forgave his murderers, and prayed for
them. I am acquainted with good
people myself, who have fulfilled this
Christian rule; and I do not know
that I can find you a better example
than by relating the history of Char-
FORGET AND FORGIVE. 39
lotte Stanfield, who was left an orphan
at the early age of eleven years. (Her
father had died some time previously,
leaving his widow to struggle with sick-
ness, on the poor half-pay of a military
officer.) Consumption soon told its
tale on her over-taxed powers, and the
widow left Charlotte to the care of
her only brother, who, moved by her
entreaties, promised to bring her up
the same as his own little girl and
boy. ‘The poor child, though too
young to be fully sensible of the great-
ness of her loss, mourned deeply at
the thought that she should never see
her dear mama again ; but her parting
words and wishes came to aid in
checking her tears, and recalling her
to a sense of her duty; and, as she
threw herself on her: knees, she re-
membered that her mama had told
her (though invisible to her mortal
eyes) that she should be with her still ;
that the Church above, and the Church
40 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
below, were all one body; that the
saints above, and the saints on earth,
might join together in hymns of praise ;
and this was ‘‘the communion of saints,’
spoken of in the Creed or Belief; and
then she prayed that she might become
indeed a saint ; for though she could
not understand the whole mysteries of
the truth, her childlike trust received
the word of God without doubting,
and realized the sweetness of having
been admitted a member of the one
Holy Catholic Apostolical Church, by -
washing of regeneration in the pre-
cious blood of Christ. ‘ God had sent
His Son into the world,’ He had
founded His Church, He had sent the
Holy Ghost the Comforter to bestow
spiritual gifts upon men, and He had
made His Church the channels of those
gifts, she believed; and, therefore, it
was done unto her. Graces descended
largely upon the little nursling ; her
prayer was the whispered desire that
FORGET AND FORGIVE. Al
the heavenly might be formed within
her, that she might be filled with the
Holy Spirit; for if each plant, each
insect, each animal, bears the likeness
and the character of the race and
tribe to which it belongs, how could
she be a child of God, and a member
of Christ, if she was not stamped with
the heavenly image? She had often
read the fifth chapter of St. Paul’s
Epistle to the Galatians, and the thir-
teenth chapter of his First Epistle to
the Corinthians, where he so beauti-
-fully pourtrays the loveliness of the
Christian character, and she exclaimed,
“Oh, my God ! make me more like my
dear mama, that I may one day go to
dwell with her.†Her exhausted frame
found relief in sleep,:a sweet calm
came over her; she seemed to behold
her mother, with the sweet and gentle
smile she had worn on earth, bidding
her not to grieve, and pointing her to
heaven. Sometimes she fancied she
D2
42 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
heard sweet voices of angelic bands,
and then a voice sounded in her ears,
“Through much tribulation you must
enter the kingdom of heaven.†“Be
not overcome of evil, but overcome
evil with good.†Then a terrible dark-
ness enveloped the scene, and she
trembled; but a voice sounded again,
“ When thou passeth through the
waters, I will be with thee; and
through the floods, they shall not
overflow thee.†Then the sun broke
forth again, and her mother’s sweet
countenance smiled upon her as in
days of yore, and she awoke with the
precious word of life on her lips,
“Oh, ye of little faith, why are ye
fearful ?†and her sorrowing heart was
at rest; for she said, “‘It is God; let
Him do what seemeth Him best.â€
Though she was going amongst com-
parative strangers—for she had had
little intercourse with her cousins,
being at a distance—she knew she
FORGET AND FORGIVE. 43
was safe with Him who had said, “It
were better for him that a millstone
were hanged about his neck, and he
cast into the sea, then that he should
offend one of these little ones.†The
conflict would have to be fought; but
Christ would be her shield. After the
funeral, she returned with her uncle to
his house, striving, by her cheerful-
ness and obedience to all his wishes, to
show her gratitude for his kindness.
He was, indeed, a kind-hearted man,
and, as far as the mere outward ob-
servances of religion went, in the eyes
of the world a good Christian ;
but it is something more than this
which constitutes a follower of the
meek and gentle Jesus. We cannot
serve God and Mammon; and our
little friend soon became sensible that
her mother’s maxim was not the rule
of their conduct in her uncle’s family,
and that it might be said of them,
«They loved the praise of men more
4A PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
than the praise of God.†Her mother’s
was a faith which worketh by love;
the ruie of the Christian character
had been drawn from the highest
standard; the precepts of our great
Exampler, and the study of the saints
and martyrs of our Church, that great
“crowd of witnesses by whom we are
encompassed,†as St. Paul said. Her
favourite petition was, “ Forgive us
our trespasses, as we forgive them that
trespass against us.†Remember,
my dearest child (she would say), to
be. always forbearing and forgiving ;
for, without you forgive others, our
blessed Lord, against whom you have
so grievously sinned, will not forgive
your sins. We are all one in Christ
Jesus, and if we would fulfil His laws,
we must “bear one another’s burdens.â€
“He is our head, and we are the
members ; and if one member suffer,
all must suffer with it ;’ therefore, if we
are Christians, we “shall rejoice with
FORGET AND FORGIVE. AD
them that do rejoice, and weep with
them that weep.†You have been re-
ceived into the Catholic communion—
you cannot live to yourself alone,
therefore you are no longer a solitary
individual; you must be “one in the
unity of the spirit, in the bond of
peace, and in righteousness of life,â€
with the whole household of God.
Christ has promised to dwell in you,
“but the evil spirit must be banished
from your heart.†St. John says,
“* God is love, and he that loveth God
must love his brother also.†We
must walk in love, as Christ also loved
us, and gave Himself for us, that He
might present us unto Himself (being
very God) a glorious church, not hav-
ing spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.â€
When you have done wrong, my
child, are you not very glad when I
kiss you again and forget it, and speak
kindly to you. Now, God fully waits
for you to confess your fault, and to
A6 PLEASAMT SUNDAYS.
feel sorry for having offended, for it is
of no use saying, “ Forgive me my
sins,†unless you grieve from your heart
that you have done amiss ; and when
you do so; like unto the prodigal son,
He hasteneth to meet you, and com-
mands the fatted calf to be slain, and
the best robe to be prepared ; that is
to say, in the abundance of His love
He overwhelms the delinquent by
fresh favours, so that he is forced to
confess, “ How could I do this great
wickedness, and sin against God?â€
against such loving mercy and tender
kindness; and this is the mark at
which we should aim. By this shall
we know whether we are the children
of God, if we love Christ and keep
His commandments, “for if we offend
in one point, we are guilty of all.â€
And then she would bid her read the
seventeenth chapter of St. Matthew’s
Gospel, about the unforgiving servant,
and remark on the fearful punishment
FORGET AND FORGIVE. A7
as a warning to us. Our Saviour’s
dying prayer for His murderers was
another and special instance which she
loved to recall, “ Father, forgive them,
for they know not: what they do ;†and
the first holy martyr of our church,
who said, in like manner, “ Lord, lay
not this sin to their charge.†Often
the little girl marvelled at her mother’s
oft-repeated admonitions on this head ;
but in after years she recalled the pre-
cious truths with thankfulness and
awe. It did indeed seem as if her
parent’s eye. had pierced futurity, to
see the shoals and rocks which should
beset her daughter’s path, and enable
her to pray with sincerity, not only
that God might forgive her her tres-
passes, but help her to act in obedience
to Christ’s commands in the eleventh
chapter of the Gospel according to
Saint Mark, and twenty-third verse,
“And when ye stand praying, forgive
if ye have ought against any, that your
48 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Father also, which is in heaven, may
forgive you your trespasses.â€â€™ But if
ye do not forgive, neither will vour
Father which is in heaven forgive your
trespasses. Cecilia, for that was her
cousin’s name, had unfortunately been
indulged in every whim, petted and
spoiled. She had never been used to
an equal, much less a superior, in the
house, and she could ill brook to hear
one (especially who was a year her
junior) receive praise and commenda-
tion, however small even that praise
might be, But it could hardly be
surprising that, retiring, mild, and
gentle though Charlotte was, her oblig-
ing disposition, amiable wish to please,
and render herself of use to those about
her, would cause her to be admired and
loved. Cecilia had always appeared so
amiable, not having had the evil pas-
sions of her nature brought to light,
that her parents thought her dislike
of the intruder must proceed from
Â¥ORGET AND FORGIVE. 49
poor Charlotte, who strove by every
kindness and attention to win her
cousin’s love; but finding her efforts
to win her affection occasioned her to
be taxed with slyness and artfulness,
the full current of her affections was
centred on her cousin George, who
returned it warmly, and being much
older, whilst he remained at home,
proved a great comfort to her. This,
however, increased Cecilia’s dislike to
hatred, for when once evil gets into
the heart it increases rapidly, and
many a bitter struggle did it cost poor
Charlotte when she found her actions,
words, and thoughts misrepresented,
and all her labours of love not only
rejected, but made a medium of abuse.
How fortunate for her that her mother
had so early enshrmed within her
child’s heart the precious words of
“Holy Writ.†And if for a moment
she felt anger springing up within her
heart, it all vanished away as she knelt
VOL, II. E
50 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
before her Heavenly Father’s foot-
stool, and supplicated, “ Forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive them that
trespass against us.â€
Auicr—What a good little girl
Charlotte was, mama! Iam afraid I
should never be so forgiving. I could
not help feeling angry if people were
so unjust and unkind to me.
Mama.—My dear little girl, that
spirit of Christian forgiveness, is the
very thing I am so desirous of teach-
ing you; and yet I have no power of
myself to make you learn it. Only
the Holy Spirit can pour into your
mind these right and proper feelings,
and can root out all the prejudice and
ill-will that is so natural to it. And
this spirit I pray to our Lord Jesus
Christ to send you every day.
Auicy.—Do you think, mama, that
I shall ever learn to be so good
and forgiving as Charlotte Stanfield
was ?
FORGET AND FORGIVE. 51
Mama.—I sincerely hope you will,
my child; but you must yourself pray
very earnestly for God and the Holy
Spirit to help you. You can never be
a true Christian till you can tread in
the footsteps of your Saviour, and
learn to obey His will. It is his own
word that bids you to “ Forgive, as
you hope to be forgiven.†And that
will be always a standard by which
you may try your own heart. If you
wish to know whether you are Christ’s
disciple, ask yourself, Have I truly
pardoned every one that has com-
mitted an offence against me? Have
I forgotten the wnkindness, and am L
willing to do them any kindness in
my power? ‘Then you may fall at
Jesus feet, and say, from your heart,
“Forgive me, even as I forgive those
who have offended me.†But the hour
has passed so rapidly, that I cannot
spare you any longer time to-day. Let
me hear the hymn you have prepared.
52 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Autce.—Can you not tell me what
happened to Charlotte afterwards ?
Mama—Not to-day, my dear. Her
life all through was an example of
Christian forgiveness, and I shall have
occasion to tell you more upon that
subject next Sunday.
Forget and forgive, is a lesson
We all ought to study and learn ;
If any should do us a mischief,
We ought to do good in return.
Forget all the wrongs they may do us,
And all their unkindness forgive,
As we hope to be like our dear Saviour,
And trust in His service to live.
ORIGINAL.
THIRTIETH SUNDAY.
THE FISHERMAN.
Auice.—I have been wondering all
day, mama, what St. Peter meant
when he asked Jesus to depart from
him ; why was he so sinful, and why
did he wish Jesus to go away?
Mama.—St. Peter did not wish
Jesus to go away and leave him, my
dear, neither was he more sinful than
he had been before; only that when
-he beheld the wonderful miracles that
Jesus did, he felt quite overcome by
the wonderful power of his Lord, and
of his own unworthiness; and he felt
unfit to enter into the presence of so
E2
54 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
great a God. Perhaps, too, the words
Jesus had been saying to the people
before, and after He entered into the |
ship, had greatly affected him. You
know Jesus had been preaching to, and
teaching the people.
Auicu.—Yes, mama, as they stood
by the lake of Gennesareth, and after-
wards He entered into Simon Peter’s
ship, and there He taught the people
again.
Mama.—And while Jesus was talk-
ing to the people, He knew that the
poor fishermen had been fishing and
casting their nets all night in vain, and —
that they had no bread to eat, and no
fish to sell, to bring in the money
wherewith to buy bread for the next
day ; and so, to show them His great
power, as well as to do them a kind-
ness, He wished to perform a great
miracle before their eyes; so He said
to Peter, “Launch out into the deep, —
and let down your nets for a draught.â€
THE FISHERMAN. 55
‘What answer did Peter make to his
Lord?
Attcr.—‘ Master, we have toiled
all night and taken nothing; uever-
theless, at Thy word I will let down
the net.â€
Mama.—Yes; Peter, although he
fancied the case was hopeless, that he
should find fish in the water where he
had fruitlessly dragged his nets for
many weary hours, without finding a
single one, instantly expressed his
readiness to obey his Lord. ‘ At Thy
will,†he says, ‘I will let down the
netâ€â€”which meant, [ will do anything.
Not my will, O Lord, but Thine be
done. Where does Jesus teach all
people to follow this example ?
Aticr.—In the Lord’s Prayer,
mama, we say, “ Thy will be done.â€
Mama.—Yes, and we ought all to
be ready to do what we think is the
will of the Lord, however useless, or
disagreeable, it may appear to us at
56 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
the time. We can no more see in the
fature the fruit or consequences of our
obedience, than Peter could see through
the waves the multitude of fishes that
-were instantly collected together at the
word of the Saviour.
Axtcr.—But was it not very won-
derful, mama, that so many should
get there all in a minute?
Mama.—Wonderful indeed, to us
frailand helpless creatures, who “ have
no power of ourselves to help our-
selves.†But “the eyes of the Lord
are over the righteous, and His ears
are open to their prayers ;â€â€™ and, there-
fore, it was no more wonderful for Him
in one instant to supply the wants of
His people, than at His word, to create
the whole earth in the beginning.
But tell me, what was the conse-
quence of Peter’s instant and ready
obedience ?
Aticu.— When he had let down the
net, mama, he enclosed an immense
THE FISHERMAN. 57
multitude of fishes, and their net
broke.
Mama.—Because the load was too
great for the net to bear, so they were
obliged to beckon to their partners,
who were in another ship close by,
that they should come and help them;
and when they came, they found fishes
enough to fill both the ships, so that
they began to sink; and they seemed
in danger of losing them all again ;
and this teaches us another lesson, that
it is very difficult for people to be
overwhelmed with blessings and good
fortune, without getting into danger
of sinking. The goods and gifts that
are so plentiful, are too apt to over-
whelm the heart, and it sinks into
indifference and forgetfulness of the
Giver; or rather, the many cares and
pleasures that wealth brings upon us,
are too frequently the cause of our
losing life eternal. ‘The ships were so
full, that they would have been over-
58 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
whelmed with their riches, had not
Christ been at hand to save and
uphold them. And it was no doubt
that feeling of weakness and sin that
overcame the heart and conscience of
St. Peter, for he fell down at Jesus’
knees, saying, “ Depart from me, for
T am a sinful man, O Lord.â€
Auice.—-And yet, mama, he had
obeyed Jesus without doubting His
word. .
Mama.—And he had been rewarded.
with wealth and riches beyond his
deserts and expectations. St. Peter and
the disciples who were with him were
fishermen, and all their living consisted
in the fishes they were able to catch
and to sell, and therefore this great
draught of fishes would supply them
with money for a considerable time.
Atice.—And the other fishermen
who were partners with him were as-
tonished at the miracle, as well as
Peter.
THE FISHERMAN. 59
Mama.—Yes. All through the story
Peter is called Simon, which was his
original name; he was afterwards
called by the surname Peter, which
signifies a rock, or stone, because he
was to be a great supporter of the
church and religion of Jesus, when
our Lord should have risen again.
Atice.—St. Peter afterwards denied
Christ, mama ?P
Mama.—True, my dear. St. Peter
was one of those impulsive persons
who act upon their feelings at the
moment. We find the same traits
exhibited all through his character
and history; and not till he had be-
come truly regenerate and made a
new man by the Holy Spirit, did he
overcome this quickness of temper
which led him into many faults. We
read of him that when our Saviour
washed the feet of His disciples, St.
Peter felt distressed to see our Lord
engaged in this humble office for one
60 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
who so little deserved the Saviour’s
love, and said, “Thou shalt never
wash my feet.†But no sooner did
Jesus explain to him His motive for
so doing, saying, ‘“ If I wash thee not
thou hast no part with Me,†than
he went instantly to the extreme, and
cried, “Lord, not my feet only, but
also my hands and my head.†So
when he was expressing his love for
Christ, the Saviour warned him of his
fault, saying, “Simon, Simon, behold
Satan desireth to have you, that he
may sift you as wheat. But I have
prayed for thee that thy faith fail not;
and when thou art converted†(meaning
when thou hast received the gift of the
Holy Spirit)“strengthen thy brethren.â€
Now mark the ready answer, the self-
confidence which rendered him an
easy prey to the evil one. ‘ Lord, I
am ready to go with Thee, both into
prison and to death.†And when he
spoke these words, in his warm and
THE FISHERMAN. 61
true affection, he quite meant what he
said; but in order to show him the
evil and frailty of his nature, Jesus
foretold that he would deny Him
thrice. And when the hour of trial
came, the disciple denied all know-
ledge of his Lord for whom he had so
lately promised to die.
Axtce.—But Jesus did forgive him,
did he not, mama?
Mama.—Yes, my child, He turned
and looked upon Peter with such a
look of gentle reproach and affection,
that the heart of Peter was touched ;
he melted into tears of repentance,
and he was pardoned. You must re-
member that Jesus Christ had not
then fulfilled all the work that He had
come to do, and therefore His dis-
ciples lacked the knowledge that we
now possess. They had but prophecy
to guide them, while we have the
New Testament, which tells us of His
birth, His life, His death, end: the
VOL. II.
62 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
accomplishment of these prophecies.
So there was far more excuse for those
who disbelieved then, than there
would benow. And, therefore, Jesus
wrought the miracle of the ‘draught of
fishes†to convince them of His reality.
Auicu—And they were all con-
vinced that Jesus was the Son of God
then ?
Mama.—Yes; and when He was
sure of their faith and conversion, He
desired them to leave all, and follow
Him.
Auicr.—What became of all the
fishes, mama? —
Mama.—Why, my dear, the Scrip-
tures do not tell us precisely whether
they were sold by the disciples; but
if not, they were taken possession of
by their families, and the sale of them
would provide their necessities for
some time.
Axice.—What does Jesus mean by
making them fishers of men, mama?
THE FISHERMAN. 63
He says, ‘‘ Henceforth thou shalt
catch men.â€
Mama.—By this the Saviour meant
that they, by their preaching and
teaching, should convert other people
to Christianity. And the wonderful
account of the number of souls con-
verted at one time, and baptized by
the Apostles (just after the descent
of the Holy Spirit, or the gift of
tongues), which amounted to more
than three thousand, was quite as
wonderful as the draught of fishes,
which had so astonished Simon and
his partners. And now, my dear, you
had better get your Bible and read
that account in the second chapter of
the Acts of the Apostles; and re-
member, that “all these things were
written for our learning,†and that we
should take pattern by the conduct of
the disciples, willingly to give up all
things for Jesus’ sake, and that by
our good examples, works, and ways,
64 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
we should win others to love and
serve Him, and walk in His ways.
And, by fulfilling the advice of the
Epistle, learn to be peaceable, gentle,
and forgiving, and ever ready to leave
all and follow Him who died to save
us “ sinful creatures.â€
By the lake Genesaret,
The weary fishers cast their net,
But fruitless was their pain;
All night they spent in useless toil,
Nor could they take the smallest spoil—
Not e’en a fish could gain.
Till Jesus came! in pity cried,
“Launch out the net into the tide!â€
Obedient as He spake,
Abroad their empty net they cast,
Enclosing multitudes so vast,
Their net began to break.
Their partners in a ship close by
Their help soon gave to load the fry ;
. Both ships unto the brink
Were filled with fishes great and small,
But neither could contain them all,
For both began to sink.
THE FISHERMAN. 65
Till saved by Jesus’ wondrous power.
Converted from that very hour,
Their Lord his followers see,
Who thus their terrors kindly ease,
By raising Simon from his knees—
“ Fear not! but follow me.â€
ORIGINAL.
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY.
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL.
Autce.—I am so happy to sit down
with you again, mama. I am longing
to hear more about Charlotte. I could
not help thinking about her this
morning while we were reading the
Gospel, which is very much like the
chapter for last Sunday, is it not ?
Mama.—Yes, my child, it incul-
cates the same Christian doctrine, and
teaches the same Christian rules of:
brotherly love and forgiveness. In-—
deed it goes further; it not only
means forgive as you hope to be for-
given, but this also threatens the dis-
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL. 67
pleasure and anger of God on those
who are angry without a cause, who
rail against others, or call ill names.
And both the Epistle for last Sunday
and the Gospel for to-day are of the
same origin. The Epistle of St.
Peter exhorts us all to be of one
mind,
Autce.—That means to agree to-
gether.
Mama.—Yes; even if you do not
think alike on all subjects, do not
quarrel about them; but if you be in
the right and believe others to be
wrong, ‘“ have compassion one of
another, love as brethren, be pitiful,
be courteous, not rendering evil for
evil, or railing for railing, but con-
trarewise blessing.†Now, can you
tell me what that means ?
Axice.—That we should not be
rude to those who are rude or unkind
to us, but, on the contrary, return
good for evil.
68 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—Yes, and I know a little
girl who did so this morning, when
her little brother was cross and tore
her book, and his mama was obliged
to punish him. The little girl came
and begged to have him forgiven, and
by so doing she fulfilled the duty of a
Christian child; and such conduct is
acceptable in the eyes of God.
Autce.—Ah, mama, I was thinking
about Charlotte then, and I wished to
be forgiving like her.
Mama.—I am, indeed, very glad
that my lessons are not thrown away,
but that you try to profit by what I
tell you. I shall at once show you
‘that she not only forgave, but that
she did good to those who had injured
and ill-treated her. And through evil
report and good report, poor Charlotte
was, through the power of God, en-
abled to say, “ All things work toge-
ther for good to those that love Him.â€
In her chamber she learned to hold
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL. 69
communion with her Heavenly Father
and friend, who kept her in health
and safety under the covert of His
wings; while the bitter worm of
jealousy was gnawing upon her cousin’s
heart, and her wicked feelings of
malice and hatred had, at length, sucha
visible effect upon her health and spirits,
that she lost her colour and her appetite,
and looked the very picture of sick-
ness and misery. When she became
really ill, Charlotte strove the more
earnestly to supply her every want,
to perform her slightest wish. But
this only increased her ill-humour and
peevishness, and at last the poor girl
finding every effort useless, and that
her presence and affectionate atten-
tions only increased her cousin’s ill-
ness, she determined, however trying
to herself, to leave her uncle’s house,
though she had no home to go
to. It was a hard struggle, in-
deed, to seek a situation among
70 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
strangers, and leave a home that might
have been so comfortable, had not
Satan gained such influence over the
heart of one of its members; and, as
St. Paul says, “when one member
suffers, the other members also suffer
with him.†And thus the malice of
one, whom she felt bound as a relation
to love, obliged her to perform what
she considered an act of duty, for
Charlotte was a true Christian, and
esteemed her soul’s health above all
other considerations. As a follower
of the meek and gentle Jesus, she
endeavoured at all times to keep in
mind His prayer, “Forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive them that
trespass against us;’ and from her
heart she prayed for her cousin, and
those members of her uncle’s family
who added to the unhappiness of her
situation, when she made known to
them her determination to seek an-
other home, by heaping reproaches
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL. 71
upon her for her ingratitude, in wish-
ing to leave her invalid cousin, instead
of staying and rendering her assistance
in nursing the sick one; for, in the
blindness of parental love, both her
uncle and aunt were unable to per-
ceive the faults of their child; and the
arrow did indeed seem to enter her
very soul when her cousin George, who
had hitherto loved her so fondly, and
had on all occasions upheld her for her
high principles, was led to believe her
ungrateful and deceitful. But God
was with her an all-sufficient “help in
time of need,’ and who, with every
“temptation, giveth also a way to
escape,†and in the hour of need, God,
the all-seeing, raised her up a friend.
A widow lady, who had frequently
been a visitor at her aunt’s house, and
who had been an eye-witness of her
disinterested conduct, no sooner heard
of her intention to become a governess,
than she wrote and offered her a situa-
%
72 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
tion to go and reside with her in the
country, and to instruct her two little
girls. Gladly did she embrace this
friendly offer, relying upon the pro-
tection of her heavenly Father, and
with the grateful acknowledgement,
that “the arm of the Lord was not
_ shortened, that He could not save.â€
He had brought her in His mercy to
a home indeed; and in the affection of
Mrs. Mortimer she found a mother’s
love. In the faithful discharge of her
daily duties, and in the rapid improve-
ment of her pupils, and their reci-
procated affection, she experienced
that comfort and peace, which she had
so long sought in vain. Her mind re-
gained its tone, her cheek resumed the
rosy tint of health, and her spirits the
even cheerfulness of a will chastened by
God’s will; and, through her aunt’s
letters to her friend, she learned
that her cousin’s health continued to
decline, and that she was rapidly sink-
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL. 73
ing. Much as she deplored her un-
timely fate, she could but feel that it
had been produced and accelerated by
Cecilia’s evil passions, and ill-regulated
feelings; and she could only pray
most earnestly that God would grant
to her pardon and repentance, while
she rejoiced that He had spared
her the pain of witnessing the suffer-
ings that her presence would have in-
creased. It was pleasant to know
that her invalid cousin was surrounded
with every comfort that wealth and
affection could supply. re long, the
tidings of Cecilia’s death reached them ;
but that was all they could learn, and
all correspondence seemed from that
moment to cease. Some years had
elapsed since Charlotte had found a
haven of rest in the bosom of Mrs.
Mortimer’s family, when the whole
party accepted an invitation to pass a
few weeks near the Lakes of Cumber-
land. ‘They reached the place ot their
VOL. II.
T4 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
destination on Saturday evening, pre-
pared to enjoy upon the Lord’s-day the
Christian festival of rest and praise.
Early on the Sabbath they hastened to
the house of prayer to join in the
general thanksgiving of the church:
the sweet choral hymn concluded, and
the sermon commenced, and what was
_the delight of Charlotte, when she re-
cognised in the reverend form of the
preacher her mother’s valued friend
and faithful priest. The recognition
was mutual, though they had not met
for many years; and after the early
prayers, next morning, he returned
with Charlotte to her friend’s house.
le, too, was a stranger in the neigh-
bourhood, and by the over-ruling power
of the Divine Director, who “ ordereth
all things†that are best for His crea-
tures and His faithful servants, he had
come, at the very time of the orphan’s
arrival, to visit his old friend the
pastor of the village. Tears flowed
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL. 75
apace, as the agitated girl, in answer
to his fatherly questions, gave him the
whole history of her trials and ex-
periences since her mother’s death.
“Thanks be to God, my dear child, that
He has given you ‘strength to stand
in the day of temptation,’ and that He
considered you worthy to bear the
cross for His sake; and the charitable
manner in which you have now endea-
voured to throw a veil over the errors
and imperfections of your departed
cousin, has still more endeared you
to my heart. We are frail, erring
creatures ourselves, and we ought
to feel pity for the dead. May God
have mercy upon her!†‘ Amen!â€
answered Charlotte fervently. ‘“ May
He forgive me, as I also have forgiven
her.†And after a little more conver-
sation, he alluded to her uncle and his
family. <“ Indeed,†said she, “I am
very desirous to know of their welfare,
more particularly of George, who was
76 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
ever kind and considerate to me.â€
“‘ Heis quite well, and is indeed a pro-
mising young man ; for the last twelve-
months he has resided with me, an
earnest follower of the cross of Christ ;
and his recent ordination enables me
to leave my flock at this season without
anxiety or regret.. He has, however,
been much deceived in your conduct ;
and with what pleasure shall I now be
enabled to vindicate you, from my own
knowledge of the facts, as well as from
conviction, Indeed, I have always told
him there was some good reason for your
leaving them at that particular juncture,
which only needed to be explained.â€
And as her tears were falling too fast
for her to utter a word, he thus con-
tinued :—‘“ The love of God maketh
us to abound in love to our fellow-
creatures. The Lord Himself taught
us to pray for all His creatures: He
maketh His sun to shine upon the just
and the unjust. Weep no more, my
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL. T7
child, but consider whether you would
be able to carry out still further the
doctrine enjoined by our Saviour by
returning good for evil, for ‘ except
your righteousness shall exceed the
righteousness of the scribes and phari-
sees, ye shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven.’ And though we
are not commanded to act towards
those we cannot esteem in the same
manner that we do towards those we
venerate and love as Christians ; yet,
if duty calls upon us to associate with
them, we must do all in our power to
help them, ever pitying and praying
for their infirmities. And now peace
be with thee, my child.†A few days
after this, he again called upon Char-
lotte, and gave her a letter he had
received from George, wherein, after
expressing his great pleasure at the
information of his cousin’s health and
happiness, and the satisfaction the
explanation of her conduct had given
G2
78 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
him, he went on to say—“TI grieve to
tell you that my mother continues to
get worse daily, and she is now entirely
unable to leave her bed. What gives
me great uneasiness is, that I have no
sister, no aunt, no friend, on whom
one can rely to take charge of her,
and in sickness it is-so sad to be left
to the tender mercies of a hired nurse.
How delightful it would have been to
have had our Charlotte always at her
side! to show her those thousand at-
tentions, that she used formerly to
lavish upon poor, fretful Cecilias But
after all that has occurred, how can I
expect she would leave her present
happy home to attend upon relatives,
who have, to say the least of it, treated
her so unjustly.†The colour faded
from the rosy cheeks of Charlotte as
she perused the letter. What! she
thought, must I indeed leave my dear
children, my kind friend, to go back
to those who were so unjust, and
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL. 79
heartless towards me? and who knows
how harshly I may be received? But
it appears to be my duty, and, if so,
I ought to go. Yes, it is my duty!
Then turning to the old clergyman,
who had been silently scrutinizing her
varying countenance, she said, ‘ Will
you write to my aunt, and tell her, if
I can be of any comfort to her, that
I will go to her at once?’ ‘* God be
praised! my child, that your good
mother taught you the lesson of for-
giveness, and that He has fortified
your mind with His Spirit. Remember
the clouds that darken this earth
serve to fructify the soil, and that our
trouble and self-denial here ‘ worketh
for us a far more exceeding weight of
glorv’—an eternal reward.â€
Autcr.—And did Charlotte go to
her aunt ?
Mama.—Yes, my dear. She went,
and, by her gentle and friendly man-
ner, she soon set her aunt and uncle
80 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
at ease. Her tender care smoothed the
last days of her aunt’s life, who died
blessing her for the good that she
had returned for the other’s evil, and
thanking God, “ who has prepared for
them that love Him such good things
as pass man’s understanding.†And,
much to the regret of her kind friend’
and her former pupils, she remained
with her uncle his constant com-
panion, and the soother of his melan-
choly hours.
Auicu.—Is she alive now, mama?
T should like to know her very much.
Mama.—After some time she be-
came the happy wife of her cousin
George, who has, however, it seems.
inherited the delicacy of his family ;
and, therefore, a great many duties
devolve upon her, as the faithful wife
of a country clergyman. Many a
visit of charity, to the sick-beds of the
poor, and the dying, she pays to spare
her husband’s health; and how ten-
RETURN GOOD FOR EVIL. 81
derly she is beloved by all who know
her, you are as well able to judge as
Tam.
Auicu.—Surely, mama, you have
been telling me of Mrs. Shaw, for
her name is Charlotte, and it is just
like her.
Mama.—Take her, then, for your
example in true Christian forgiveness ;
and remember that God says to you
and to all, ‘“ Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.â€
Should my brother injure me,
I to him will mercy show ;
I will try to let him see
That is what he ought to do.
Not to show an angry spite,
If in all he does not please ;
For such conduct is not right—
Jesus’ lambs are not like these.
They are humble, good, and meek,
And for every angry word,
They in gentle accents speak—
Such are pleasing to the Lord.
82 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
If I would His child become,
Good for evil must I pay,
Lest I lose my heavenly home,
And in wrath be turned away.
Jesus, make me meek and civil,
Ready to give good for evil.
THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY.
THE HUNGRY FED.
Auicu.—lIs it not strange, mama, that
the Gospel, to-day, is just like the
story of the loaves and fishes in my
dear “ Happy Sundays ;†and I have
been reading it over to nurse, mama.
It was so dreadfully hot in the house,
we went into the library, and even
into your bed-room, but we could not
find a cool place anywhere, and at last
nurse said we would go into the grove,
where it was shady.
Mama.—That was a very wise
thought of nurse’s, and I daresay you
enjoyed sitting out of doors very much.
84 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Aticr.—Indeed I did, mama, and
nurse enjoyed it too, and so did my
brother—for I took my ‘“ Happy Sun-
days,†and read it out loud to them
all, and even baby seemed to listen,
she was so quiet.. And we did not go
in till we saw the servants crossing the
lawn, and I was afraid of keeping you
waiting, mama.
Mama.—Your papa and I also found
the sun very hot, and we were obliged
to walk very slowly.
about the sermon, mama.
Mama.—-I should first wish you to
tell me what you have learned about
the Gospel.
Auicr.—The care of Jesus Christ
in providing for the wants of His dis-
ciples, and the people who came to
hear Him.
Mama.—Just in the same way as
Te now supplies the wants of all that
call upon Him. He never knows our
THE HUNGRY FED. 85
necessities without supplying them,
and He knows far better than we do
what is best and most needful for us.
What did Jesus say to His disciples ?
Attcz.—‘ I have compassion upon
the multitude, because they have now
been with Me three days, and have
nothing to eat; if I send them away
fasting to their own houses they will
faint by the way,†for divers of them
came from far. They had followed
Him a long way to obtain spiritual
food from His holy lips, and now He
takes compassion upon their weary and
fainting bodies, and out of seven
loaves and a few small fishes, He made
sufficient to satisfy them all; and after
they were filled, they gathered up of
the broken meat that was left seven
baskets.
Attcr.—That was very wonderful,
considering that four thousand people
. had been fed. It must have been a
great deal more than at the beginning.
VOL. I.
86 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—And yet no more wonder-
ful than the feeding of all those thou-
sands of Israelites, who were encamped
in the wilderness, with manna. Not
more miraculous, than the bringing of
water out of a stony rock. Nor more
extraordinary, than the supplying of
Elijah with food by means of the
ravens. You know that they brought
him bread and meat every day, so long
as he needed it. And I remember
reading a similar story the other day,
about an Italian gentleman, who was
shut up in prison, and was kept upon
bread and water, and such small quan-
tities of these were allowed him, that
he was very nearly starved.
Auicu.—Why was he put in prison,
mama ?
Mama.--I should not have forgot-
ten to tell you, that it was on account
of his religion that he was imprisoned,
because he persisted in worshipping
his Maker in the way that he believed
w
THE HUNGRY FED. 87
to be right. But it so happened that
he was without money, and he had no
means of letting his friends know where
he was, or what he wanted. However,
the same good God, who provided for
the fainting people in the wilderness,
knew how to provide for His faithful
servant in the gloomy prison. ‘I'here
was only a small window in the cell
where the prisoner was confined, and
out of this window he used to look up
to the bright heaven, where the sun
was shining, and to pray to his Father
to hear him, and to have mercy upon
him. The only thing that the poor
prisoner could see (for the window was
very high up) was the sky, and the
clouds that passed quickly over his.
head, and now and then a bird skim-
ming along in the air. Well, one day,
to his great surprise, there came two
large birds to the window—I believe
they were jackdaws—and the poor gen-
tleman went up close to the window
88 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
where they were resting, but they did
not attempt to fly away; and presently
he observed that one of them had
something in its beak, which it dropped
at his feet, for this window had only
iron bars across, and no nice glass like
our windows. When the prisoner
picked up this piece of cloth, which
the jackdaw had dropped, he found
that it contained a piece of money.
Axicr.—Oh, mama, how glad he
must have been. Did he not think
God had sent it ?
Mama.—He was sure that God,
who provides even for the little birds,
had taken these wonderful means of
supplying his need. The piece of
gold was enough to provide him with
food for a long time; and, before
the money was quite spent, there was
an order signed to release him from
prison.
Axicr.—Was he not thankful to
God, for helping him out of trouble ?
THE WUNGRY FED. 89
Mama.—And yet we have daily
as many mercies to be thankful for,
and are often forgetful of Him who
sends them to us. And thus we
ought always to be on the watch
against our spiritual enemy, who, as
we are told in the Epistle, is always
on the watch to lead us astray, and
to make us careless and forgetful of
our Benefactor. Satan is like “a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour ;†whose greatest delight is,
to make us unthankful and dis-
obedient ; and the only protection we
have against him is to pray for the
grace of the Holy Spirit to be with
us, and dwell in us continually.
Axtcr.—Don’t you remember those
two lines you told me, mama, a long
time ago, when you were talking
about this same miracle of Christ’s
feeding so many people, and when I
had been naughty, and would not eat
up my crumbs? It was this—
H2
90 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
“Satan trembles when he sces
The weakest sinner on his knees.â€
I think you very often make him
tremble, mama.
Mama.—Not so often as he makes
me tremble, my dear, though not so
much for myself as for my children;
and my only comfort is the memory of
Christ’s gracious promises, “ Fear not,
little flock, it is your Father’s good
pleasure to give you the kingdom.â€
Auicr.—If you have time, mama,
do tell me the story of the widow
who fed Elijah when the ravens left
off.
Mama.—The ravens did not leave
off feeding him as long as the brook
supplied him with water; but when
the brook was dried up for want of
rain, God ordered the prophet to go to
Zarephath. ‘And when he came to
the gate of the city, behold the widow
woman was there gathering of sticks :
And he called to her, and said, Fetch
THE HUNGRY FED. 9]
me, I pray thee, a little water in a
vessel, that I may drink. And as she
was going to fetch it, he called to
her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee,
a morsel of bread in thine hand.
And she said, As the Lord thy God
liveth, I have not a cake, but an
handful of meal in a barrel, and a
little oil in a cruse; and, behold, I
am gathering two sticks, that I may
go in and dress it for me and my son,
that we may eat it and die.â€
Auicu.—I cannot understand why
she wished to die, mama.
Mama.—She did not wish it, but
her faith, which had doubtless been
long tried, was getting weak ; and that
was, perhaps, the reason why the Lord
sent Elijah to her, to comfort and
strengthen her just at that time, as
well as to provide for her necessities,
and those of the child. You see, that
God took especial pity on the father-
less and the widow, and that it was
92 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
the Holy Spirit that revealed to her
at once that Elijah was a holy man;
because he was a stranger to her, and
most of her people, like Ahab their
king, were idolatrous and wicked ;
and it was as a punishment and a
warning that God had sent this
drought upon them. But the moment
the woman spoke to Elijah, she said,
“ As the Lord thy God livethâ€â€”which
proved that she knew he was a servant
of the living God, come just at that
time, when she had reached the end of
her provisions, and she saw no prospect
before her but starvation and death.
Elijah, however, soon comforted her,
saying, “ 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 for thy son:
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, _
The barrel of meal shall not waste,
neither shall the cruse of oil fail,
until the day that the Lord sendeth
THE HUNGRY FED. 93
rain upon the earth.†And then the
good woman felt her faith restored,
and she knew that the Lord had heard
her prayers. She hastened to obey the
voice of Elijah, and God supported
them upon the meal and the oil for
many days: for the meal and the oi,
like the bread which Jesus fed the
poor people with in the wilderness,
seemed to increase the more, the more
of it they used—a striking proof to
us that the more we desire of God,
the more we shall obtain; His ear is
never deaf to our cry, nor His hand
closed to our necessities. When the
poor and needy seek water, they shall
obtain it; and the needy shall be
supplied with food. Christ’s own
words to us and to all are, ‘““Ask, and
ye shall receive; knock, and it shall
be opened unto you.â€
Axicr.—But, mama dear, there was
one thing I could not help remark-
ing to-day, and that is the great
94, PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
number of times this miracle was re-
peated and mentioned. It comes in the
Gospels three Sundays in the year ;
and after I found it in my “ Happy
Sundays,†as one of the lessons, I
looked in all the four books of St.
Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and
St. John, and I found one or other of
the miracles of feeding the people in
every one of them. Why did Christ
perform the same miracle twice over ?
and why is it spoken of so fre-
quently ?
Mama.—For more reasons than
one; partly, because on two occa-
sions Jesus beheld the hungry and
fainting multitude with pity, and
His mercy never fails. Day after day,
God supplies the hungry with daily
food ; and wherever there is most need,
there is most mercy. Besides, Jesus
knew that people were self-indulgent,
and that the supply of their necessary
food, and the gratifying of their appe-
THE HUNGRY FED. 95
tites, would be more likely to make
an impression on their minds and
memories than all His gracious words.
People would rather leave their prayers,
than their meals, if they were pressed
for time; and Jesus did not wish that
suffering should cause those who had
come to hear the truth, to be frightened
from their course at the first outset ;
while their faith was weak, and their
knowledge of him so recent. And
this ought to be an encouragement to
all the poor and afflicted, that He
who pitied the hungry while on earth,
is the same yesterday, to-day, and for
ever, and that He will hear and help
those who cry to Him.
HYMN.
Christ, who fed the hungry poor,
Can to us all things ensure;
Christ, who doth the hungry feed,
Can supply our utmost need.
96 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
All your wants to Him unfold,
And supplies, a hundred-fold,
Are from heav’n like manna sent,
E’en beyond our hearts content.
Satan seeks us for his prey,
Jesus hears each word we say ;
He can all our sins forgive,
Vanquish hell that we may live.
ORIGINAL,
THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY.
FIGS AND THISTLES. —
Auice.—What kind of a tree is a fig-
tree, mama? Did I ever see one?
Why do they not grow in our garden?
Mama.—Do you call yourself a
reasonable little girl, Alice, to ask me
three questions in a breath, without
giving me time to answer one, and
without giving me a chance of sitting
down after my long walk ?
Auice.—I am very thoughtless and
impatient sometimes, mama; but I
did not mean to hurry you in that
way, only I was afraid of forgetting
the questions I wanted to ask you.
Mama.—But you must learn to ex-
VOL. Il. I
98 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
ercise your giddy young head, and
make it carry its ideas a little further,
and a little longer.
Axtce.—TI wish I could grow better,
and more like you, mama; for if I do
not, I shall be like a barren fig-tree.
Mama.—Both you and I must pray
most earnestly to God, my darling, °
that you may be spared to bring forth
fruits of righteousness, and that of
you it may never be said, “ Cut it
down, why cumbereth it the ground ?â€
Auicr.—Yes, mama; I must pray
to God for that. I cannot think how it
is, that I so often forget and do wrong,
when you take so much pains to make
me good. I don’t think all mothers
would have so much patience.
Mama.—The cause of your error,
my love, is the same cause that makes
us all do wrong so frequently—the
frailty of your nature; and, for this
reason, we are all bound to pray to
the good God, “ whose never-failing
FIGS AND THISTLES. 99
Providence ordereth all things, both
in heaven and in earth,†and humbly
beseech Him “to put away from us all
hurtful things, and to give us only
those things which be profitable for us.â€
And now I will try and answer your
questions. We have no fig-tree in our
garden, because the climate of England
is generally too cold for figs to come
to perfection; and perhaps one only
gets a crop of figs, about every three
or four years, unless the tree happens
to stand in avery favourable situation,
so as to get a great deal of warmth, and
to be quite sheltered from the north
wind. We had a small tree near the
library chimney, but the winter we
were abroad, the gardener forgot to
protect it during some very cold
weather; and when we returned, the
tree: was dead, and, of course, papa
gave orders to have it cut down.
Antcr.—I don’t remember that, do
J, mama ?
100 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—No, my child; you were
then too young to remember anything
about trees. Why, you could not
recollect your grandpapa, when we
returned; and I remember seeing
tears in his eyes, because you screamed
and would not go to him, as you had
been accustomed to do before.
Auice.—Then IT must have been
very little, as well as very silly, if I
forgot my dear, kind grandpapa. So,
no wonder if I could not recollect
seeing a fig-tree. Has it not very
large leaves, mama ?P
Mama.—Yes, my dear; strong,
dark-green, large, thick leaves; but
I do not remember that I ever pointed
one out to you. When we go to see
our old friends at Mickfield, I will
show you a fig-tree that grows in their
kitchen-garden, and which generally
produces very nice, sweet figs; so if
we should go there next summer, you
would probably taste them. I donot
FIGS AND THISTLES. 101
think we shall leave home this year;
but if you are a good girl, I will
request your papa to send to town for
a few figs, and I will order the gar-
dener to get us two or three fig-leaves,
if there are any to be had in the
neighbourhood, that you may see
what fine leaves they are.
Auice.—You know, mama, that it
says in the Bible that “Adam and
Eve sewed fig-leaves together to make
themselves aprons,†and that was one
reason why I was so anxious to see
what sort of leaves they were.
- Mama.—Indeed, the fig-tree, its
leaves, and fruit, are continually men-
tioned in the Holy Scriptures. ‘They
are mentioned in the chapter you now
spoke of, for the first time, that is, in
the Book of Genesis. In the second
book of Kings, the fruit is spoken of;
for king Hezekiah being very sick,
everybody supposed he would die,
and the king himself believed that his
T2
102 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
death was near at hand; for he turned
his face to the wall, and wept, and
prayed very earnestly to God. The
merciful Father in heaven heard his
prayers, and suffered him to live a few
years longer. So he sent the prophet
Isaiah to him, who ordered his at-
tendants to put a lump of figs upon
the boil as a plaster, and Hezekiah was
cured. And in the thirty-sixth chapter
of the Prophecies of Isaiah, he again
speaks of the fig-tree as a blessing, for
he makes the Assyrian king hold it
out as an inducement to the Jews to
disobey their own king, Hezekiah—
that if they will do as he desires,
“they shall eat every one of his own
vine, and every one of his fig-tree.â€
And we should therefore understand
by these frequent allusions, that the
fig-tree was a great favourite, and a
very flourishing tree in those warm
countries, as it is now; and that it
probably grew wild in the hedges,
FIGS AND THISTLES. 1038
because in the history of the barren
fig-tree, which you mentioned a little
while ago, it says that when Jesus
was returning from Bethany to Jeru-
salem, “ He was an hungered.†And
when He saw a fig-tree in the way, He
came to it, and found nothing thereon
but leaves only; and said to it, “‘ Let no
fruit grow on thee henceforward for
ever.†And presently the fig-tree
withered away. Now we may be sure
our Saviour, who taught His disciples
to keep God’s commandments, one of
which says, Thou shalt not steal,
would not have gone to gather figs off
the tree, of any person, without per-
mission; and this convinces us that
in that beautiful country the fig-trees
grew wild by the road-side, and were
food for travellers, or anybody. And
for this reason, He makes the fig-tree
the subject of a parable. You had
better read the account.
Auice.—“ A certain man had a fig-
104 PLEASANL SUNDAYS.
tree planted in his vineyard, and he
came and sought fruit thereon, and
found none. Then said he unto the
dresser of the vineyard, Behold, these
three years I,came seeking fruit on
this fig-tree, and find none; cut it
down, why cumbereth it the ground?
And he said, Lord, let it alone this
year also, till I shall dig about it, and
dung it; and if it bear fruit, well;
and if not, then after that thou shalt
cut it down.â€
Mama.—Can you tell me, Alice,
who was the owner of the vineyard,
and who was the dresser that pleaded
for the tree ?
Auice.—I suppose the master of
the vineyard means God, mama; and
the vinedresser means Jesus Christ,
who intercedes for us.
Mama.—You are quite right; God
says of himself, that “He is a jealous
God, and a just God,†and therefore jus-
tice often calls upon Him to punish sin-
FIGS AND THISTLES. 105
ners, to cut down in His wrath the “un-
fruitful cumberers of the ground†—His
unfaithful and unprofitable servants.
But Jesus Christ, the all-merciful, pleads
for a little longer forbearance, a fur-
ther trial. He, like the vine-dresser,
gives them another chance; He digs
about their hard hearts, He sheds the
dew of His mercy, and He enriches
the mind with the unction of His
grace; butif, after all these efforts, no
amendment of life appears, if they still
continue barren and unfruitful, al-
though they may have the /eaves—the
appearance of decent profession—but
if still no fruits of righteousness adorn
their stems, no ripe fruits of a true
and living faith, no works of a holy
life appear upon their branches, then,
alas! “they must be cut down; why
cumber they the ground?†For, by
their works ye shall know them. ‘They
may appear as “gentle as the sheep,
but inwardly they may be ravening
106 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
wolves. Ye shall know them by their
fruits. Do men gather grapes of
thorns, or figs of thistles ?â€
Azicz.—Thistles are very useless,
disagreeable things. I believe they
only grow to scratch people’s ankles.
Don’t you remember how bad my feet
were when I got into the thistles in
the park? Surely nobody would ex-
pect to find fruit on them.
Mama.—They are only food for
cattle—your donkey likes a good meal
of thistles ; but still they are considered
very worthless, and therefore our Sa-
viour quotes them to His disciples as
unfit to bear fruit. He says, “ A cor-
rupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit,
neither can a good tree produce evil
fruit.’†So a good man, or a good girl,
will do good works, and not evil ones,
and a wicked person will do all things
that are evil. Let us pray fervently
to our intercessor, that He will spare
us, and incline our hearts to all good
FIGS AND THISTLES. 107
things, that we may be taken under
His especial care, that He may dig
about us, and prune and nourish us,
so that we may bring forth fruit to
His praise and glory. How sad would
it be, after all Christ has done for
us, if we should turn away from Him.
How bitter the reflection that, unless
we become fruitful, in spite of all His
sufferings, His tears, and prayers, we
must perish everlastingly, for only
those who do His will shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven.
The young, the young, those tender plants,
Which grow within thy garden fair,
How shall we meet their touching wants,
And all their injuries repair ?
How shall we purge from errors blight,
The infant branch so soon defiled ?
How cleanse the fresh buds, green and bright ?
By prudent dealing, firm and mild.
Here are the means—Thy gracious book
Of holy words and earnest pleas ;
Here waters, here faith’s pruning-hook,
Are sent us for these precious trees,
108 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Oh, give us faith the means to use,
Which mercy hath prepared us here;
And bend each youthful heart to choose
The cleansing influence of Thy fear.
ORIGINAL.
US
THIRTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.
THE ROCKS AGAIN.
Constancr.—Don’t you remember,
when I was staying here in the spring,
aunt, and you lent me that pretty
sketch of the rocks and the wreck, to
copy, that you promised you would
tell us some other adventure that hap-
pened to you on the rocks—something
that gave you great pleasure to think
about ? You cannot tell how frequently
T have recalled that promise, and
wished to hear the rest of the
story,
Mama.—What could have brought
it into your mind just now, > love?
VoL. IL.
110 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Have you been looking over the sketches
again ?
Constancre.—No, aunt; Alice and
I were reading over the Epistle for the
day, in which Christ is called the
Spiritual Rock, and that led us to talk
of the pleasant Sunday we spent here
together, and you told us about the
rocks in Jersey.
Auicr.—You will perform your
promise to-day, mama, will you not,
and tell us the remainder of the
story?
Mama.—I don’t know when my
little daughter will be tired of hearing
“astory,†as she callsit ; nevertheless,
Tam quite willing to gratify you. I
wish the little incident I am going to
relate to make a lasting impression
upon your minds, and as a bruised
reed was once made the means of
giving me bodily comfort, who can tell
whether the relation of God’s mercy
to me and others, may not produce a
‘THE ROCKS AGAIN. 111
deep and earnest conviction of your
own frailty and weakness? It may
prove to you what small means G'od
can use to relieve those who are in
distress, and may teach you to use the
ingenuity with which he may have
endowed you to some useful purpose,
should you ever find yourself in need
and necessity; for none of us can tell
what path God has marked out for us,
or for what purpose we may be re-
served. However, I should like first to
learn what good counsel you found in
the Epistle for the day.
Constance.—It tells us of the
mercies we have received as members
of Christ’s church; of the trials and
temptations that are likely to happen
to us from the world, the flesh, and
the devil; it points out to us the
Rock of truth and mercy on which
all our hopes of salvation must be
founded; it points out to us the
various examples of good and evil that
112 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
are recorded in the Scriptures; it
shows us the folly, and destruction of
the Jews in the wilderness; and it
warns us not to commit the sins they
fell into.
Mama.—And to what intent were
these examples and warnings given to
us, my dear Alice?
' Arice.—“To the intent that we
should not lust after evil things, as they
also lusted. Neither be idolatrous, as
some of them were. Neither let us
tempt Christ, as some of them also
tempted. Neither murmur, as they
murmured, and were destroyed.â€
Mama.—Yes, my dears. All these
sins were punished by plagues and
various kinds of destruction, against
which we are ail warned. We have
not only “ precept,’ as they had,
but we have also their example;
wherefore we need take double heed
lest we fall; and we are further
assured, “ that no temptation can befal
THE ROCKS AGAIN. 118
us, but such as is common to man;â€
that is, such as others have been
tempted with, and, therefore, while we
remain in this world, we must be
tempted like as others are and have
been; but we are told God is faithful
to us, “that He is ever watchful and
true to His poor frail children,†and
that if we cry to Him earnestly in the
time of temptation, as did our blessed
Saviour, on the cross and in the wilder-
ness, we shall always find that God
“ will not suffer us to be tempted above
that we are able, but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape
that we may be able to bear it.†At
the very last moment—when our
strength, and even our hope, seems to
give way, on a sudden He sends
deliverance. When Abram was about
to slay his only son by God’s com-
mand, the very knife was in his hand
to strike the blow, when, lo! an angel
directed his eyes to the ram that was
K2
114 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
caught in the thicket close by, and at
the last moment the life of the beloved
son was spared. When Hagar fainted
in the wilderness, and laid her boy
down under a shrub at some distance,
that she might not see him die of
thirst, which she was unable to re-
lieve, God heard her cry for pity, and
showed her the water that saved his
life. So, upon various occasions, -
when the children of Israel were
tried (though many of them mur-
mured and rebelled, and forgot the
great miracles that God had done for
His people), there was always some
Rock of deliverance at hand, and there
were always some few good and faith-
ful people left, to cry for help and
pardon—always some leader, some
Moses, raised up by God to be their
mediator, and to supply their need, as
he did when, at God’s command, he
supplied them with water from the
stony rock; and this brings me to
THE ROCKS AGAIN. 115
the little history that you are both so
anxious to hear.
Before I left Jersey, at the time of my
first visit,it was proposed by my cousins
that we should again visit this part of
the island, that I might have an op-
portunity of visiting the wonderful
caves, which I had missed before
through my accidental slip. Accord-
ingly we again collected a joyous,
merry little party ; and, having paid a
long visit to the caves, we strolled
along the sea-shore, now gathering wild-
flowers, that grew there almost down
to the water's edge, now collecting
shells, now a bunch of sea-weed, till
we became so entangled among the
rocks, that we knew not in which
direction to return to our carriage ;
and, to do so, we were obliged to face
the sun, now at its meridian height,
and scorching down upon us; till,
wearied with fatigue and thirst, we
sat down at the foot of a large
4
116 PLEASANT SUNDAYS
rock, which yet remained in shadow,
and longed for a drop of water to
quench our thirst. As we sat still,
and almost breathless, we fancied we
could discern a dripping sound like
falling water ; and, when our attention
was once called to the fact, we became
certain that we could distinctly hear
the trickling of water. After sundry
researches, we discovered a perpen-
dicular split in the side of a rock, just
above us. ‘Through the crevice gushed
a tiny stream of the clearest water ;
but, alas! it ran down so close to the
rock, that, although we could both see
and hear it, it was quite impossible to
taste it—the crevice being too narrow
to admit our tongues. You may
imagine our desire to obtain it, and
our disappointment at not being able
to effect this, as we stood casting
many a wistful glance at the unat-
tainable treasure; but while some
lamented, others set about trying what
THE ROCKS AGAIN. - 117
could be done to relieve our necessity ;
and a plan was at length hit upon for
the purpose. One had discovered a
reed near by, and came and tried to
force it into the crack; but the reed
was too large. Another of the party,
however, took out a penknife, and split
the reed, leaving it just wide enough
to enter the crevice, and down came
the precious water in a crystal stream,
dripping into our parched lips. We
all had cnough; and, with grateful
hearts, we left our little contrivance
for the benefit of any future traveller.
Anice.—Oh! mama, what a clever
contrivance. Why did you not show
it to me? .
Mama.—lIt was most likely gone
long ago; and, besides, you were too
young to venture on such a rugged
path; and I hardly knew where to
find the rock myself, after so many
years’ absence.
Aurcr.—lI shall always like rocks
118 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
now, mama; you have told me so much
to make me think about them. I used
to fancy they were cold, grey, danger-
ous, miserable looking things, only to
wreck ships upon; but I see they are
useful sometimes as well as dangerous.
Mama.—As you grow older you
will learn that all things have their
uses; and now I have told you what
happened, I must tell you the pleasant
thoughts that the rocks put into my
mind. I think that my Saviour is
like Moses, and that as Moses brought
water out of the stony rock by the
stroke of his rod, so we, through God’s
mercy, obtained it through a broken
reed. And I feel no more than a
broken reed myself in God’s hand, and
by His mercy I hope I have been
engrafted into the Strong Rock, my
Saviour Jesus Christ; and J look upon
the water that flowed out of that hard,
barren rock, to relieve my fainting
body, as an emblem of the refreshing
THE ROCKS AGAIN. 119
grace that flows to me, and all Chris-
tians, out of Christ’s rock, the church;
and it is also a type of the Holy Sacra-
ment, wherein Christ gives His body
and blood to refresh our souls, as “‘ our
bodies are refreshed by the bread and
wine.†I trust you will think seriously
of what I have told you. Remember
that you have both (as Christian chil-
dren) been permitted to pass through
the waters of baptism, as the Israelites
passed (in the beginning of their jour-
ney to Canaan) through the waters of
the Red Sea; that you are permitted
to drink of the same Spiritual Rock
that followed them, and that Rock was
Christ ; upon which Rock, if you build
securely, you can never be removed.
There are many places in this life as
tempting and deceitful, as the hole in
the rock into which I fell, on a for-
mer visit; and from which I only
escaped by clinging fast to the rock,
and a helping hand. Take care, then,
120 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
to hold fast by the rock of faith, or
you will inevitably perish. Cry ear-
nestly to Jesus, that He may stretch
out the right hand of His mercy, and
draw you out of many and deep waters,,
into which sin and Satan may entrap,
you. And, above all, do not forget
the service of the bruised or broken
reed. Although you are young and
helpless children, and little better than
broken reeds, in whom little depend-
ence can be placed, you may yet be
useful, in some way, to those who are
younger and weaker than yourselves.
As the broken reed supplied us with
water in our need, so your good ex-
ample or advice may supply some little
one, with the very counsel or know-
ledge that he thirsteth for. Be sure,
too, to ask yourselves sometimes, whe-
ther you are trying to draw nourish-
ment from that Rock by a true faith?
whether you are taking fast hold of the
Rock of Ages. If so, there is no doubt
THE ROCKS AGAIN. 121
that He will, at some time, make you
the means of conveying to others the
living stream of the knowledge of life
eternal.
HYMN.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy pierced side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Guilty, plead Thy righteousness,
Helpless, look to Thee for grace ;
Vile, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.
While I draw this ficeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
<—
VOL, II. L
THIRTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.
JERUSALEM.
Aurcy.—Papa says his head is much
better now, mama, and that I was a
very good nurse while you were away.
Did he tell you so?
Mama.—I was very glad to find
that your papa had fallen asleep ; and
I hope when he wakes, he will feel
much better; so you must be very
careful not to disturb him. Mean-
time, bring your book, and let us
make the best of this golden oppor-
tunity. What is to be the subject of
our conversation to-day ?
Auice.—Jesus weeping over Jeru-
JERUSALEM. 123
salem, and foretelling all the evils that
should come upon it.
Mama.—Think how great and deep
must have been the sorrow of our
merciful Saviour, that could make Him
weep over His people, and their beau-
tiful habitation. He knew all the
sufferings that were to come upon
them, the sins they would commit,
the cruel manner in which they would
reject their King, and crucify Him ;
and the punishment and doom they
would bring upon themselves, their
city, and their country, then the most
beautiful country in the world, flowing
with milk and honey.
Atice—I suppose it means that
milk and honey were both very pienti-
ful there.
Mama.—Yes ; every beautiful fruit
was abundant there, and all the neces-
saries of life. Your papa was reading
me a description of it the other day.
It said, “that a better country earth
124 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
did not contain.†[t was a delightful
and pleasant land, a goodly heritage
of the hosts of nations. It was varie-
gated and intersected with the elements
of sublimity and beauty, and whatever
was bold. It was prolific, without a
miracle; a wealthy place, where the
aromatic herbs grew upon the hills,
and the fairest flowers in its valleys.
Axicr.—Does not aromatic mean
sweet-scented, mama, like your aro-
matic vinegar ?
Mama.—Aromatic means having a
delightful perfume. The rose grew
in Sharon, the lily in the valleys, the
soft voice of the turtle-dove was heard
in the land. As I told you the other
day, the vines and the fig-trees grew
there in abundance. ‘There also grew
dates and pomegranates. The cedars
grew upon Lebanon, and other moun-
tains, and the myrtle skirted their
sides. When the south wind passed
over the gardens, it came laden with
JERUSALEM. 125
spices, and the large clusters of grapes
were nowhere to be equalled; those
of Eschol could not be lifted by the
hand of one person.
Autcr.—I remember your showing
me the picture of two men (Joshua
and Caleb, I think they were) carrying
an immense bunch of grapes on a
pole.
Mama.—You are right. They had
been sent by Moses to spy out this
beautiful land, which God had given
to His people, and where His own
dear Son was one day going to be
born, and live, and teach, and be
crucified—where the fir-trees waved
their arms in the breeze, and where
the olive unfolded its fair blossoms,
and the birds sang among the branches.
The sun was seldom too hot by day,
the moon shone clearly at night ; and
the beautiful lakes cooled the air at
noon, and reflected the shadow of the
stars at night. There the beautiful
L2
126 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
rivers of Jordan and Kedron poured
forth their streams, the lign aloe
drooped from their banks. The rain
filled the pools, and the dew lay thick
upon Mount Hermon. How lovely
was the situation of Sion, how ex-
cellent was Carmel, and how glorious
Mount Lebanon, as they towered
up to the deep-blue sky, while the
cattle browsed upon a thousand hills,
and the pastures were clothed with
flocks. The barns were filled with
plenty, and the presses burst out with
new wine. The little hills rejoiced on
every side, and the year was crowned
with goodness, for the heavens dropped
fatness. The vineyards were filled
with grapes, and the fields waved with
corn; because the Lord God cared
for that land, and His eyes were
always upon it.
Autcr.—How lovely that country
must be, mama. Should you not like
to go and see it?
JERUSALEM. 127
Mama.—Alas! my child, none go
to visit that once fair country, without
lamentation and tears. Where stood its
once magnificent temple, was, not
long since, a waving field of corn.
The prophecy of our Saviour has long
since been fulfilled, “That not one
stone should be left upon another.â€
That once beautiful country is now
infested with hordes of wild Arabs ;
where the flocks graze at freedom on
the still luxuriant herbage, but the
most fertile plains lie uncultivated,
most of the land is in a deplorable
state, and the countryman who ven-
tures to sow any seed, is obliged to
do so with a musket in his hand.
Auxiczr.—Is that beautiful picture of
the temple of Solomon that hangs up
in papa’s dressing-room, the temple
that Jesus used to teach the people
in?
Mama.—Oh, no!—that beautiful
temple only retained its complete
128 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
and original beauty about thirty-three
years, when it was plundered by
Shishak, one of the kings of Egypt.
Many other enemies plundered and
pillaged it at various times, and at
last it was utterly destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar, the wicked king of
Babylon.
Aice.—God punished Nebuchad-
nezzar for doing such a wicked action,
I am sure. Was it not by taking
away his senses and making him eat
grass in the fields with the oxen? I
wish you would tell me about him,
mama.
Mama.—No doubt God was dis-
pleased with Nebuchadnezzar, but He
must have been still more angry with
His disobedient people, the Jews, or
He would not have suffered their
magnificent temple to be destroyed,
and the people to be led away cap-
tive.
Atice.—But He afterwards forgave
JERUSALEM. 129
them, when they repented of their
sins.
Mama.—And allowed them to re-
turn back again to their own land,
and to rebuild their beautiful temple
upon Mount Moriah; though the
second temple was not half as fine
and glorious as the first had been.
Auice.—But I like the second
temple best, mama, because that was
the one that Jesus was carried into
when He was a baby.
Mama.—And the one in which He
afterwards taught the people, and out
of which He drove the money-changers,
saying, “ My house shall be called the
house of prayer, but ye have made it
a den of thieves.â€
Anicr.—And Christ knew then,
that it would soon be quite destroyed
again, mama; and that was partly
what made Him weep over the city, I
dare say.
Mama.—But more than all, He
180 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
mourned over His people’s sin—their
unbelief and hardness of heart. And
in His agony He wept over the city,
and told His disciples that the days
would come upon it, “When the
enemies of Jerusalem would cast a
trench about it, and encompass it
round, and keep the people in on
every side, and should lay her even
with the ground, and her children
within her ; and,†He continued, “they
shall not leave in thee one stone upon
another.†Not many years after
Christ’s death, all these threats were
actually and literally fulfilled. The
Romans came and besieged Jerusalem,
and fought against it, and enclosed it
in (as our Saviour had foretold) on
every side, so that the poor unhappy
Jews could neither go out at its gates,
nor have any provisions brought into
them; and in addition to all the
horrors of warfare, the sword, and the
fire, their stock of food was soon
JERUSALEM. 131
exhausted ; they had nothing left fit
to eat, but to save their lives, they
ate first their horses, and even their
dogs and cats; and at last, when
starvation appeared ievitable, they
ate the dead bodies of their brothers
and sisters; and Josephus, who wrote
the history of that terrible siege, tells
very awful stories of the cruel extre-
mities to which they were driven by
want. At length, when they were
too feeble and weak to defend their
city any longer, the Romans took
possession of it. The Emperor Titus,
who commanded the Roman army,
desired his soldiers to spare the beau-
tiful temple; but Jesus had said, that
“not one jot or one tittle of His word
shall pass away unfulfilled,’ and there-
fore all the care and pains of Titus, to
preserve the Jewish temple, were vain.
A drunken soldier accidentally threw
a burning torch down in a shed,
adjoining some part of the temple,
132 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
and this set fire to some shavings that
were collected in one corner of the
shed ; and in spite of every effort that
was made to save the temple, it was
entirely consumed as Jesus had pro-
phecied, “not one stone was left upon
another.†By the old law given to
Moses (their leader), the Jews were
forbidden to eat the flesh of pigs, or
even to keep them, because they were
unclean animals; and one of the most
humiliating things that happened to
them, was the placing of a large stone
figure of a dog over the principal gate
of the city; and beside this floated
the Roman flag or banner, with an
eagle upon it; thus showing their
degradation in having a pig always
before their eyes, when they went out
or came in. The Roman banner, or
eagle crest, floating over the gates,
while the bones of the poor starved
Jews lay unburied in the streets,
was a fulfilment of the prophecy,
JERUSALEM. 133
that “where the carcases were, there
would the eagles be gathered together.â€
All the miseries and sorrow that He
had foreseen and mourned over, came
upon these unhappy people, because
“they knew not the time of their
visitation.†And just so does Jesus
mourn over the sins of His people
now, when He sees them neglecting
their God and their Saviour, for the
toys and pleasures, or the business of
the world. Just so Jesus weeps over
His little lambs who stray from His
fold and break His commandments,
when they will not come to Him, that
He may lay His hands on them and
bless them, and make them the heirs
of His glorious kingdom. Think, my
little girl, whenever you are inclined
to forget your God, that Jesus is ever
waiting to gather you under [is wings,
and to mourn over the sins, which He
died to wipe away.
VOL It. M
134. PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Azicr.—Thank you, mama, I will
try to think of it; but I must not keep
you any longer. I heard papa’s bell,
and I am afraid he wants you.
TIYMN.
Jerusalem, once favour’d city,
Hast moved the Saviour’s heart to pity ;
His gentle eyes o’erflow with tears;
He gazes on her placid beauty,
And mourns His people’s breach of duty,
Their deaf and harden’d ears.
“ How oft,†He cries, “ would I in kindness,
Have wakened thee from wayward blindness,
And as a tender parent hen,
Have gathered thee My feathers under,
Secure from sin, from woe, and blunder—
I vainly called thee then.â€â€™
Oh! wretched people, vainly warned,
How hast thou every precept scorned,
And now ’tis all too late;
Thy doom is seal’d, too long thou’st striven,
And Jesus all His tears has given,
And wails thy wretched fate.
ORIGINAL.
THIRTY-SIXTH SUNDAY,
THE PROUD SINNER.
Mama.—What did the Gospel of this
morning remind you of, my little girl?
I hoped you were thinking of your
past faults ?
Axice.—Oh! yes, mama, the tears
would come into my eyes ; for I thought
I must be the naughtiest girl in the
world, for I am so often doing wrong ;
and yet when you talk to me I mean
to be so good, and not to give way to
my pride: again.
Mama.—We all have a besetting
sin, that we are more prone to fall into
than any other ; and your besetting sin
is pride. I was almost sorry that I did
136 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
not send you back again, to have your
frock taken off before church. I knew
quite well that, as you walked along
the church path, beside poor Betsy
Smith, you were thinking how pretty
my frock is, how much finer I look
than Betsy? And I saw with sorrow
that you threw up your head, and
walked quite unlike a lady.
Auice.—I did not notice it.
Mama.—I am sure anybody who no-
ticed your manners, must have said in
their hearts, “‘ There: is a proud, vain,
little girl.†How grieved your dear
godmama will be, when I write her
word, that her present, instead of being
a blessing and a pleasure to you, has
helped to make you naughty and
wicked.
Auice.—But you will not write such
a bad account of me. Oh, pray, mama,
forgive me; do not let my godmother
know how naughty Tam. I will not
do so again.
TUE PROUD SINNER. 137
Mama.—Not just directly, perhaps;
but you are quite wrong to say you -
will not do so again, you know you
have no power of yourself to keep
yourself from sin, and that God de-
clares His almighty power most, chiefly
in showing mercy and pity, and grant-
ing us such a measure of His grace,
that we may run in the way of His
commandments, and obtain His gra-
cious promises. God’s grace alone
can keep you from committing this
and every other sin.
Autcr.—Oh, I will pray God to
make me better, if you will not tell
my godmother this time.
Mama.—However painful it may be
to you, it will not grieve you more
than it does myself; but I consider it
a strong duty to acquaint your god-
mother of your faults, for two reasons—
the first is, that it will teach her not
to give you presents likely to arouse
your vanity; and the second is, that
M2
138 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
I fear your present distress arises from
the same cause. Not sorrow for hav-
ing done wrong, not sorrow for hav-
ing offended God; but shame that
your friend should know that you
have a naughty heart, and a vain dis-
position.
Autce.—But really, mama, I am
sorry for having offended God and
you. I don’t despise Betsy Smith
now; and I am not proud now.
Mama.—Indeed you have nothing
to be proud of, you are a poor, help-
less, sinful child, born of sinful parents,
and without the means to fecd, or clothe
yourself, or to provide for your own
necessities. And because God has
given you kind friends, who supply
you with better clothes than fall to the
lot of your poorer neighbours ; you
put your trust in your finery, and for-
get the wickedness of your heart. I
was rather relieved to see your eyes
filled with tears, when I looked at you
THE PROUD SINNER. 139
in the church this morning. What
did you think my look meant ? ,
Autce.—I knew quite well, mama,
that you thought me a proud little
Pharisee, like the one we were reading
about just then.
Mama.—Yes, and I also thought
how unlike you were to St. Paul, who
styled himself the least of the Apostles,
“not mect to be called an Apostle,â€
because he had persecuted the Church
of God. And I prayed in my heart
that my little, sinful daughter might,
by the grace of God, be made better,
and that His manifold mercies and
grace might not be bestowed upon her
in vain,
Auicr.—If you will write to my
godmama, will you send her the frock
back again, please ; and then it will not
get me into trouble any more ?
Mama.—That is not exactly my
way of doing things. I would rather
teach my children to resist temptation,
140 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
than take the temptations out of their
way. I know that a time must come,
when my children are grown older,
that I shall be unable to be with them
at all times, to remove their tempta-
tions out of their path. I know that
the world is full of snares and tempta-
tions, and that if they do not Icarn
self-control (that is, to govern them-
selves so as to withstand these snares
and temptations) while they are young,
they will not be able to govern their
desires and wishes when they grow
older, because the temptations will be-
come stronger every day; and, there-
fore, instead of sending your pretty
frock away, I shall hang it up in your
room, just opposite to your bed, that
it may remind you daily of your weak-
ness; and I shall hope that every time
you see it, you will say in your heart
the prayer of the poor publican, “ God
be merciful to me, a sinner.â€
Auicre.—So I will, mama; and I will
THE PROUD SINNER. 141
also pray to God every day to take the
naughty pride out of my heart, and
to make me humble like Jesus, and
like St. Paul.
Mama.—You see God threatens,
that those who exalt themselves shall
be abased (or shamed), as you are
now at your own folly and pride; but
He promises that those who are meek
and humble shall be exalted, even unto
heaven. You asked me last Sunday
to tell you about that great and
powerful king, who was called Nebu-
chadnezzar, who was punished by
God for his pride and vanity; and
God humbled and abased him in the
eyes of every one, that he might be an
example to all people.
Atrce.—You told me he had helped
to destroy the Temple, mama; how
did God punish him ?
Mama.—God was justly displeased
with him for his pride. He had given
him a beautiful kingdom to rule over,
142 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
a fine palace to live in, servants to
wait upon him, gold and _ silver—in-
deed, every good thing in abun-
dance.
Atice.—Did he not set up an
image of gold, mama, and want all the
people to worship it ?
Mama.—Yes; but in that he was
more excusable, because he did not
then know the true God; and God
worked wondrous miracles to teach
him that idols were useless things, and
that He alone was able to preserve his
people from fire and danger. I dare
say you know the history of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, so I shall
merely explain to you that God, by
preserving those three Jews, who had
been cast, by the orders of King Nebu-
chadnezzar, into the burning fiery fur-
nace; convinced the king, that there
was no other God, who could deliver
after this sort. But before God had
shown this to Nebuchadnezzar, he
THE PROUD SINNER. 143
began to be proud, and to forget that
God, who gave him power and other
good things, could also take it away ;
and God then sent the king a wonder-
ful dream, and troubled his mind very
much; he knew there must be some
hidden meaning in these wonderful
dreams, but nobody could be found to
interpret, or tell the meaning of these
dreams. At last Daniel, one of the
prophets of God, offered to go and
explain the dream to Nebuchadnezzar ;
and God put into Daniel’s mind all
the wonderful things that He had
caused Nebuchadnezzar to dream
about ; and Daniel advised the king to
leave off his evil ways and proud
doings, or else God would humble him,
and take his kingdom from him; and
that it was to give him timely notice
of repentance, that God had sent the
king these dreams. But Nebuchad-
nezzar still continued proud, and he
thought a great deal of himself, and,
144 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
like the Pharisee, despised others ; and
as he walked in his beautiful palace,
he boasted thus—‘“Is not this great
Babylon, that I have built for the house
of the kingdom, by the might of my
power, and for the honour of my
majesty >†But even “ while the word
was in the king’s mouth, there fell a
voice from heaven, saying, ‘O king
Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken,
The kingdom is departed from thee ;
and they shall drive thee from men;
and thy dwelling shall be with the
beasts of the field; they shall make
thee to eat grass, as oxen, and seven
times shall pass over thee, until thou
know that the most High ruleth in the
kingdom of men, and giveth it to
whomsoever He will.’ That same hour
was the thing fulfilled upon Nebu-
chadnezzar. He was driven from
men, and did eat grass as oxen, and
his body was wet with the dew of
heaven, till his hairs were grown like
THE PROUD SINNER. 145
eagles’ feathers, and his nails like
birds’ claws.â€
Auicr.— How dreadful, mama!
What made him eat grass P. ~Why was
he turned into the fields ?
Mama.—Because God had_ taken
away his reason, and he was no better
than a beast; so he was driven out
of his palace, and took refuge in the
fields, and, having no other food, he
was glad to eat what he could find—
roots, grass, or anything.
Autce.— But he recovered his
reason, mama?
Mama.—Yes ; God was very merci-
ful to him, and pardoned him upon his
repentance. Here is his ownaccount of
it:—‘ And at the end of the days, I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes
unto heaven, and mine understanding
returned to me; and I blessed the
most High, and I praised and honoured
Him that liveth for ever, whose domi-
nion is an everlasting dominion, and His
VOL. II. N
146 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
kingdom is from generation to genera-
tion. And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing ; and He
doecth according to His will in the
army of heaven, and among the in-
habitants of the earth ; and none can
stay His hand, or say unto Him,
What doest Thou! At the same time
my reason returned unto me; and for
the glory of my kingdom, mine honour
and brightness returned unto me, and
my counsellors and my lords sought
unto me; and I was established in my
kingdom, and excellent majesty was
added unto me. Now I, Nebuchad-
nezzar, praise, and extol, and honour
the King of heaven, a// whose works
are truth, and Ilis ways judgment ;
and those that walk in pride He is able
to abase.†You see the king acknow-
ledges the wisdom and judgment of
God in thus punishing his wickedness,
and humbling his pride; and he ap-
pears tobe thankful for the chastisement.
THE PROUD SINNER. 147
Auice.—TI am afraid God would have
punished me in some way, if you had
not done so, mama. Indeed, I am quite
punished enough by grieving you, and
my godmother will be grieved too,
Tam sure. How I do wish I could
be good.
Mama.—But the only way to do
this, is to pray earnestly to God,
that it may please Him to give you
true repentance, to forgive all your
sins, negligences, and ignorances (par-
ticularly your pride), and to endue
you with the grace of His Holy Spirit,
to amend your life according to God’s
word. You must first repent, and be
sorry for your sins, and leave them off;
and not say you are sorry for your
sins without leaving them off. You
must, from the bottom of your heart,
pray to God to clothe you with the
grace of His Holy Spirit ; for if the
Spirit of God does indeed come down
upon your soul, as the dew does upon
148 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
the grass, your soul will be filled with
life, and your body will be clothed
with the garb of righteousness (which
is far more precious than fine frocks
or fine gold). Let us both pray ear-
nestly, that the dew and sunshine of
His grace and blessing may rest upon
our souls and bodies, now and ever-
more.
HYMN.
God! that great God, who made us,
And keeps us by His power ;
Whose arms of mercy shade us,
And guard us every hour ;
Who formed each sea and river,
Each flower, field, and tree ;
The kind and gracious Giver
Of every good we sce ;
That God is near to guide us,
By day, or darksome night ;
And nothing can divide us
From His all-piercing sight.
When we have sinn’d against Ilim,
By action or intent,
Our only chance of pardon
Is quickly to repent.
THE PROUD SINNER. 149
If pride should ever snare us,
And make us proud and vain,
We know God will not spare us,
But bring us low again.
Whatever may be near us,
Nor human aid is by;
Yet this one thought can checr as,
Our God is ever nigh.
ORIGINAL,
RIEL s
THIRTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.
THE DEAF MAN.
Axicr.—What a dreadful misfortune
it is to be deaf, mama, is it not?
Don’t you remember when we were
on a visit in Hampshire with my aunt,
what a number of people there were
deaf. Nearly all the people who
worked upon my uncle’s farm were
deaf, and it was a great trouble to
talk to them.
Mama.—Yes, I remember it quite
well. Your uncle told me he supposed.
it had something to do with the situa-
tion of the town, which is as high as St.
Paul’s; and he was inclined to fancy
THE DEAF MAN. 151
there was some peculiarity in the air or
climate, which occasioned deafness.
Aitcr.—I was thinking to-day,
mama dear, what a happy thing it
would be for those people, if Jesus
Christ were upon earth now—how easily
He could cure them, could He not ?
Mama.—You forget that Jesus
Christ, although He is now in heaven,
is just as near to His people. He
knows all their thoughts, their wants,
and wishes ; and, if it be His pleasure,
He can cure the deaf and blind as
easily as He could when He dwelt
upon the earth. And you must re-
member that ‘“‘ He is always more
ready to hear than we to pray, and is
wont to give more than cither we
desire or deserve.â€
Auicr.—And He did “ pour down
the abundance of His mercy†when he
cured the blind, the lame, and the
deaf, mama.
Mama.—And to some of those on
152 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
whom He had mercy, He said, ‘Thy
sins be forgiven thee.†And by heal-
ing their souls, as well as their bodies,
He gave them those good things
which they were not worthy to ask,
or even to receive of God, except
through the mediation and interces-
sion of his dear Son, Jesus Christ.
And that is “the trust we ought to
have in God,†as St. Paul tells us, in
the third chapter of his second epistle
to the Corinthians, “ not that we are
sufficient (or able) of ourselves to
help ourselves, or to think anything
(that is good) as of ourselves, but our
sufficiency is of God.â€
Autcr.—What a pleasant sight it
must have been for the poor blind
people, when Jesus had opened their
eyes, to look upon His sweet beautiful
face, mama. I dare say His face was
brighter than the face of Moses was,
when the Jews were not able to look
upon it.
THE DEAF MAN. 153
Mama.—And God blinded the
hearts of these Jews, so that they
could not look upon Him whom they
pierced ; and only those whose hearts
were opened to the light of truth,
were able to recognize their Saviour,
even when they looked upon Him.
A1icE.—What is the meaning of
impediment, dear mama? St. Mark
says, they brought unto Jesus one
that was deaf, and had an impediment
in his speech.
Mama.—An impediment means a
hindrance. ‘The poor man_ having
been unable to hear how other people
pronounced their words, on account
of his deafness, was unable to speak
his words and sentences properly ;
consequently it was almost as difficult
to understand what he said, as_ to
make him comprehend what others
wished to say to him. So when his
friends and relations heard of the
wonderful cures Jesus had performed
154 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
in other places, no sooner did they hear
of His arrival on their coasts, than they
hastened to bring the deaf man to
Jesus, hoping to receive mercy at His
hands ; so they besought Jesus to put
His hand upon him. See how kindly
Jesus listened to their prayers. He
instantly took the poor deaf man
aside out of the multitude, and He
put His fingers into his ears, and He
spit and touched his tongue, and look-
ing up to heaven He sighed, and said,
“Be opened.†And straightway his
ears were opened, and the string of
his tongue was loosed, and he spake
plain.
Auice.—Why did Jesus put His
fingers into the man’s ears, mama?
He could have cured his deafness
without touching his ears, could He
not ?
Mama.—Jesus wished the friends
of the deaf man to see Him co some-
thing, because He fancied that they
THE DEAF MAN. 155
would the more easily understand
what they saw; and they were not
near enough to see their Saviour lift-
ing up His eyes to heaven, nor to hear
His silent prayer to God, His father,
to have mercy on the sufferer, so they
fancied that His fingers, the touch of
His fingers, had made the cure.
Auice.—But, mama, when there
were so many people to hear and see
this miracle, why did Jesus ask the
man not to tell others about it?
Mama.—Because Jesus knew that
Iie had many bitter, cruel enemies ;
and He was sure that these enemies
would injure and persecute any one
who loved and believed in Him; and
he wished the poor man to escape
from their wickedness, if he could.
And for this reason (not for His own
sake), He bade him be quict.
Auicr.—But was it wrong of them
to disobey Jesus ; for when He charged
them to tell no man, the more He
156 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
charged them, so much the more a
great deal they published it.
Mama.—lI hope they were too grate-
ful for His mercy, to intend to dis-
obey the Saviour; but it appears that
their hearts were so full of joy, won-
der, and astonishment, that they could
not refrain from telling the happy
news to every one whom they inet.
They could not help exclaiming, “ He
hath done all things well; He maketh
both the deaf to hear, and the dumb
to speak.†Don’t you think you
would be astonished if any clever
surgeon were to make Gilbert speak,
that nice, gentle boy we used to
meet at Dr. Stone’s? Would you
not say what a wonderful cure
had been performed, and what a
clever man he must be to do such
things ?
Aticr.—I dare say I should,
mama. I used to think it was a
dreadful pity Gilbert could not talk,
THE DEAF MAN, 157
he was such a nice boy. I wish he
could be cured, don’t you?
Mama.—I should be very glad
indeed to know that he was cured ;
but all that you and I can do to help
him is, to pray to God for him. God,
who is everywhere present, can sce
the thoughts of every man, woman,
and child. He knows their wants,
and he pities the sorrows of their
hearts, when even their dearest friends
do not know them. So we must ask
God to help those who are in any
trouble and trial; and that if He
sees it good for them to make trials
and misfortunes come upon them,
He will also make them patient and
able to bear it.
Auice.—I am sure Gilbert is pa-
tient, mama; he is always so cheerful,
and he looks as happy as a lark.
Mama.—Then you perceive that
God, in withholding one blessing from
the dear boy, has bestowed upon him
VOL ll.
158 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
another, which is, a happy, cheerful
disposition. I have no doubt he is
much happier than many children
who have eyes, ears, and speech ;
because they do not make so good a
use of God’s gifts. Those are the
happy children, who know how to pray
to God when anything vexes them.
His mercy shall be a shelter to them,
as the chickens are sheltered under
the wings of a hen; and it is a good
habit for children to pray for others,
because it fills their minds with kindly
feelings, and they can hardly avoid
being kind to the people they pray
for: it helps to keep them from being
proud and ill-natured. And it is fit
that, when people meet together in
the house of God, that. they should
ask God to have mercy upon others,
as well as on themselves.
Atice.—The collect for to-day tells
us, mama, that God will hear our
prayers. I like that collect very
THE DEAF MAN. 159
much; for it assures us that God “is
always more ready to hear than we to
pray, and is wont to give more than
either we desire or deserve.â€
Mama.—Alas! yes. If God only
gave us what we really deserved, we
should indeed be worse off than the
deaf and dumb; and if we will not
ask or desire blessings at God’s hands,
how can we expect to receive them?
Our Saviour himself looked up to
heaven, as if seeking God’s help and
blessing; so that, even in doing a
charity, He set us an example of
praying to His Father and our Father.
Therefore, we should take it as a
lesson, always to look up to heaven,
and ask God’s blessing on everything
we do, everything we begin, every
plan that we form. Because, if Christ
found prayer necessary for fim, how
much more necessary must it be for
us, who are helpless, ignoraut, self-
willed, and dependent upon God for
160 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
every mouthful we eat, and every
comfort we enjoy.
Auicr.—I heard you reading some-
thing about that to papa this morning.
I should like you to explain those
lines to me, mama. I noticed the
words particularly, because they were
what Mr. Shaw said to Mr. Simmons
the day they dined here. When Mr.
Simmons told him, ‘the more chari-
table people were, the more ingratitude
they met with; and that he thought our
poor people would be all spoiled by too
much charity.†Don’t you remember
it, mama ?
Mama.—And Mr. Shaw quoted the
first lines of the poem in the “ Chris-
tain Year’’—
“The Son of God, in doing good,
Was fain to look to heaven, and sigh ;â€
And shail the heirs of sinful blood
Find joy unmixed in charity >â€
Azicre.—-Those are the lines I mean.
Do go on, please, mama.
THE DEAF MAN. 161
Mama.—You are scarcely old enough
to appreciate them yet, my child. By
and by, we shall enjoy reading Keble
together. It is enough for you to un-
derstand that Jesus was sorry for our
misfortunes, and prayed to His Father
to help us. And, as I told you just
now, that all our gifts of hearing, and
speech, and sight, should be used for
God’s glory, we should open our
ears to hear His word; we _ should
open our eyes to “behold the wonders
that He docth for the children of
men ;†we should open our mouths to
‘show forth His praise ;†and to im-
plore Him to open our hearts to re-
ceive thankfully His gracious offers of
salvation. ‘Knowing that we are
not sufficient of ourselves, but that
our sufficiency (or ability to profit by
God’s gifts) is of God.â€
Axice.—That was part of the
Epistle, mama, in which there were
several hard words.
02
162 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—But the true meaning of
which is, that we must put our entire
trust in God, and not in our good
works, or in mere outward forms, as
the Pharisees did; and that we must
thoroughly examine ourselves, whether
we have a real love of Christ, and
whether we worship Him in spirit
and in truth. We cannot discover
this, unless He will open our hearts
by the light of His truth. But
although we cannot, like Jesus, restore
the blind, or the deaf, we can show
our kindness to them by our prayers,
if we cannot help them in any other
way. And we ought to do this for
all people ; because we know, that our
prayers would be acceptable to Him
“who doeth all things well.â€
HYMN.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures, great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
THE DEAF MAN. 163
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
And spread their tiny wings.
The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them high or lowly
And ordered their estate.
The purple-headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset, and the morning,
That brightens up the sky.
The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.
The tall trees in the green woods,
The meadows, where we play,
The rushes, by the water,
We gather every day.
He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips, that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.
THIRTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?
Aticr.—Before we begin our conver-
sation to-day, martha, I want to ask
you a question. Did you like the
gentleman who preached to-day? Was
he not a kind man ?
Mama.—To your first question, I
can answer that I liked both the dis-
course and the preacher; and to your
second question, I can only reply that
he had a very kind and earnest manner ;
so I may suppose him to be kind, and
that is one reason why I liked him.
Auicr.—And is that why you liked
him, mama? I liked him because he
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 165
spoke so kindly about the poor soldiers,
and their wives and children, till I
could not help crying; and I saw a
great many ladies wiping their eyes.
Mama.—Yes, he spoke very feel-
ingly of the situation and sufferings of
poor soldiers, in a far distant land.
He told us how much pain, and cold,
and hunger they had endured in the
service of their country; how many
had died for want of proper food and
clothing, and for want of beds to rest
upon when they were weary and sick ;
and how many had died in the field of
battle, with nobody whom they loved
near them ; and he bade us who lived
at home in ease and comfort think of
the suffermgs of our poor brothers
and countrymen, and to do the best
we could to alleviate their distresses.
Axtcr.—Yes, mama, he said just
what you said to me last Sunday about
our prayers. LHe said, “ Let those who
have money, give moncy; Ict those
166 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
who have clothing, or rags, give rags
and clothing ; and let those who have
but little else to give, give their earnest
prayers for all who are in danger, ne-
cessity, and tribulation.†I had often
read that in the Litany, mama, without
thinking that it applied to the soldiers
and their families.
Mama.—But you heard to-day that
the soldiers were in continual danger
of being killed, wounded, starved, and
and injured in various ways; and they
especially needed the help of God, for
their bodies as well as their souls. It
is much casier to understand the wants
of the body, than the wants of the
soul; and the clergyman said he feared
there were many who prayed to God
to keep their bodies from harm, who
did not ask Him to keep their souls
from sin. But if we really love our
bodics, and the bodies of our friends,
and relations, we shall fear sin for our
souls, and for their souls; for at the
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 167
day of judgment, if our sins have not
been blotted out, and our souls washed
from guilt, and made white in the blood
of the Lamb, when our bodies will be
raised again from the dead, they will
not spring out of the ground like fair
and blooming flowers, offermg the
sweet incense of praise to Him who
sitteth on the throne for ever; but
they will be like poisonous weeds, only
fit for burning and destruction. ‘There-
fore we should pray God to keep the
bodies of the poor soldiers from danger;
but if it should please Him to suffer
some of them to be killed in the battle-
field, we should pray Him to have
mercy upon their souls, to succour
them in danger, to help them in need
and necessity, and to comfort them in
sorrow, and at the hour of death.
Auice.—That is what it says in the
Litany, mama: “That it may please
Thee to succour, help, and comfort
all who are in danger, necessity,
4 \
168 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
and tribulation ;� which means sor-
row ?
Mama.—Yes, my dear, and our
poor soldiers are exposed to all these
three things. They are in danger of
being killed or wounded; they have
been in great necessity, for they have
not had beds to lic down on, proper
food to eat, or clothes to wear; not
even the means of keeping themselves
clean and decent. How thankful
should you feel, my little Alice, that
all your wants are well supplied, and
that, unlike the poor soldiers, you know
not the meaning of the word tribula-
tion.
Auicr.—I think it means, such
sorrow as our bodies feel when they
are sick, or in pain, or when they
meet with very unkind treatment.
Mama.—How precious is comfort
at such times, how pleasant to be
soothed and comforted; and how
much do our poor soldiers need it
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 169
night and day, when they think of
their wives and children far away from
them, and whom they may never see
again in this world. And we who
have been taken care of in danger,
helped in necessity, and comforted in
tribulation, should daily and hourly
thank our God, and pray more
earnestly to Him to succour, help,
and comfort everybody else.
Auicr.—That is what the clergy-
man told us, mama, and more parti-
cularly the poor soldiers; and that we
ought to do all we could to succour,
help, and comfort them ourselves.
And he told us to pray also for all
“ prisoners and captives,†for many
of our brave fellows were pining in a
foreign prison. And it is very likely
that some of these poor men cannot
read, and do not know much about
the word of God, and therefore they
may not know so well how to pray for
themselves as well as we are able to
VOL, II. P
170 PLEASANT SUNDAYS,
pray for them. We can at all times
ask God to pity and have mercy upon
them.
Mama.— You have remembered
that part of the sermon very well in-
deed. You know what he afterwards
told us, that “if one member suffered,
all the members suffer with it,’ and
that there cannot be poverty, sorrow,
or sickness among one class of people,
without affecting another class; and
that there could not be war among
nations, without affecting and grieving
the inhabitants of all these nations;
because all the soldiers, in every
country, must have mothers, sisters,
wives, or children, who would be
grieved for their absence and their
death. And he told us all these evils
were brought upon the world by sin.
He said also, “ If we could, from one
of the battlements of heaven, espy how
many men and women at this time lie
fainting and dying for want of bread,
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 17]
how many young men are hewn down
by the sword of war, how many poor
orphans are now weeping over the
graves of their father, by whose life
they were enabled to eat ; if we could
but hear how many mariners and
passengers are at this present in a
storm, and shriek out because their
keel dashes against a rock, or bulges
under them, how many people there
are that weep with want, and are mad
with oppression, or are desperate by
too quick a sense of constant infeli-
city, in all reason we should be glad
to be out of the noise and participa-
tion (or share) of so many evils.â€
(Bishop Taylor's works.)
Auicr.—Oh, mama! it makes me
cry to hear about it. How sorry I
am for those poor children who lose
their fathers. I am very glad my
papa is not a soldier.
Mama.—That is one of the mercies
for which you have to be grateful to
172 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
God; that your papa is not called out
to fight in this terrible war, that you
are not a little orphan and your
mother a desolate widow; while
hundreds of little children, in black
frocks, are perhaps cryig round their
mamas, who are in dreadful sorrow. be-
cause they are left alone. ‘They have
lost their best friend in this world,
they can never see him again, and they
can never find anybedy who can make
up to them for their loss. Some of
these children are very poor, and would
be in danger of wanting bread and
clothes, if God did not raise them up
friends to help them. Are we not
bound, then, to pray to God for all
these people who are left desolate,
either in this country, or in Russia,
or Turkey, or anywhere else, because
God is their Father as well as our
Father; Jesus Christ died to save
them as well as us. They are all our
neighbours, though we do not know
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 173
them ; and we can ask God to take
care of them and comfort them; He
has said, when our father and mother
forsake us, He will take us up; that
He pitieth, even as a tender father
pitieth his own children.
Autcr.—Is Jesus sorry for the suf-
ferings of the little Russian children ?
I thought, mama, that Jesus would
not love the Russians at all for going
to war P
Mama.—Youare under a slight mis-
take; neither the little Russian children,
nor even the poor soldiers, are to be
blamed for the war. If it pleases our
Queen and governor (whom we are all
bound to obey), to make war, all her
subjects are bound to go out and fight ;
and so it is with the Russians, or any
other people, if their Emperor chooses
to make war, it is their duty to go and
obey his decrees, for it is God only
who can order these things; He can
bring afflictions, or war, or sickness,
P2
174 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
or death, or whatever He sees fit, upon
people and nations; but though our
soldiers are gone to fight the Russian
soldiers, it is no reason why we should
not love the poor little children. You
see in the parable that Jesus put forth
to the lawyer, who was trying to tempt
or puzzle Him, that it was neither the
Priest nor the Levite (two men who
ought to have been holy, and kind, and
merciful, and have set a good example)
who had mercy upon the poor wounded
man, who had fallen among thieves,
and been robbed and cruelly used,
and left half-dead by the wayside;
they both went and looked upon him,
but when they found he was a stranger,
and not one of their own people, they
passed by on the other side ; they went
on their way, leaving the poor man to
die of hunger, or cold, or thirst—they
thought it was no business of theirs.
But when the Samaritan, a foreigner,
a person who lived in Samaria, came
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 175
that way, and saw the poor wounded
Jew, he had compassion on hin, he
got down off his horse, and bound up
his wounds, bathing them with oil,
and gave him wine to drink; and
when he was sufficiently refreshed to
hold up a little, he placed him on his
own beast, and brought him to an inn,
and took care of him.
Axicr.—I was reading all about it,
this afternoon, in my “ Happy Sun-
days,†mama; that the Samaritan
was the good neighbour, for he not
only did all he could to nurse and take
care of the sick man himself, but
when he was obliged to go away and
leave him, he paid the master of the
inn to take care of him, till he should
be well enough to go home; and he
also promised to pay more for him, if
that were not enough. I suppose
that is what we ought to do for the
poor soldiers, and their wives and
children ?
176 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—That was the purport of
the Gospel, and of the sermon to-day,
that we should give all we could spare
to relieve their wants, and pray to God
to give them help in their necessities.
Christ tells us how to show mercy to
our neighbours, and who are our neigh-
bours; and then he says, “Go thou, and
do likewise.†But I must not forget to
relate to you a little story I heard the
other day about a soldier’s child, who,
no doubt, tried to comfort everybody
when she was able to do so. One day,
not long after her father’s death (for he
had been killed in the war), she went
into the bed-room, and she found her
mother knecling down before a large
chest, and turning out some of her
father’s clothes, that he had worn a
few days before he left them. The
mother was crying bitterly, and the
little girl, who was about seven years
old, went and put her arms round her
neck, and began to cry also; but as
)
a
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 177
soon as she perceived that this only
increased her mother’s grief, she began
to try and comfort her, by telling her
how dearly she loved her, and what a
good obedient child she would be, and
what care she would take of her when
she grew older; but when she found
that her caresses did no good, she ran
away, and got a Prayer-book, which
had, at the beginning, a picture of our
Saviour nailed upon the cross. She
gently pulled her mother’s handker-
chief down from her eyes, saying,
“There, mama dear, just look at that,
and don’t cry any more.â€
Auice.—And did that make her
mother leave off crying P
Mama.—I believe it did; for she
called the child to her, and kissed her,
and told her to go and pray to that
dear Saviour to have mercy upon them
and pity them; and then she knelt
down and prayed herself. And surely
that was more pleasing to God and
178 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
much better for her in every way than
to sit and ery over her poor husband’s
clothes. She felt directly, that He
who had suffered so much for her,
could take care of her and her orphan
children.
Auicr.—What a good little girl
she was to comfort her mother.
Mama.—You see what very small
kindnesses sometimes give consolation
to people when they are unhappy, or in
distress. A. kind word spoken in sea-
son may do more real good than the
gift of a large sum given grudgingly
or unadvisedly ; and that can be spo-
ken even by a child. We cannot tell
how much comfort may be given to the
soldiers’ wives and children, through
the money that was collected to-day ;
and to-morrow we must look over the
wardrobes, and see what we can spare
in the way of clothes for the poor chil-
dren, or rags for the poor wounded men;
and send them to Mr. Shaw’s house,
WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 179
to be forwarded to London ; and we
must pray God to send a blessing upon
these little gifts, that they may be use-
ful and acceptable to those who need
them, and to Him who has taught us
to love our neighbours as ourselves—
who has shown us how to help them,
and who hast said, “ Go thou and do
likewise.â€
The world, they say,’s a dreary waste—
A fact, alas, too true;
While sunny days pass by in haste,
Its golden days are few.
Most happy those, who lay them down,
In childhood’s days to sleep—
Who never fear its scorn, its frown,
Nor o’er its falsehood weep ;
Who toil not ‘neath its noontide blight,
Nor feel the heavy dew
That bathes the soul in sorrows night—
Life’s golden days are few!
When friends are false or losses great,
Afflictions prove severe ;
Or severed, by adverse fate,
From those we love most dear;
180 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Nor sunshine, pleasure, wealth, or mirth,
Can happiness impart ;
Nor all the vanities of earth
Can soothe a wounded heart ;
‘When ev’ry hope that cheer’d us on
Is blighted, lost, or dead ;—
We feel as though life’s zest were gone,
Its golden days all fled.
The suff’rings of our fellow-man
Oft, Levite-like, we shun ;
Nor, like the good Samaritan,
To his assistance run.
And yet, as we our past review,
Life’s only cheering rays
Reflect from some good act or deed,
Performed in happier days.
Some broken spirit we have sooth’d,
Some bitter wrong forgiven,
Some weary pillow we have smooth’d,
Some “cup of water†given,
Some gentle deed of sacrifice,
That sorrow can’t efface ;—
These are the countless pearls of price—
These are life’s “ golden days.â€
ORIGINAL.
THIRTY-NINTH SUNDAY.
THE GRATEFUL STRANGER.
Axice.—Last Sunday, mama, you
told me one reason you had for liking
Mr. Grover was because he was kind ;
but you had not time to tell me the
other reason. I wish you would tell
me to-day, because I like to love
persons for the same reason you do.
Mama.—When you become older,
you will learn to like people for other
things, and you will be able to reason
for yourself.
Auice.—But now, mama, I gene-
rally love them because you do. I
think people must be good if uo love
VOL. IL.
182 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
them, because you are so very good
yourself.
Mama.—I hope you may always be
disposed to love people for their virtue
and goodness—it is a very excellent
rule to go by; as I told you the other
day, our Saviour says, “By their
works shall ye know them.†And my
other reason for liking Mr. Grover,
who was a stranger to me, was because
he reminded me of a very good and
excellent clergyman, whom I used to
know when I was young.
Aticr.—Tell me his name, if you
please, mama? I always like to know
the names of persons you tell me
about; I can remember and think
about them so much better.
Mama.—The name of this good
and amiable clergyman was Edward
Bickersteth. My dear mother used
to think he was the best and most
pious man in the world; she knew
him very well indeed, and she used to
THE GRATEFUL STRANGER. 183
tell me how good and generous he
was to leave his wife and children,
and go away into a far distant and
most unhealthy country, for the sake
of teaching the poor negroes the way
of salvation.
Auicr.—Was he a missionary then,
mama ?
Mama.—He became a missionary
because he was so anxious to save the
souls of the poor heathen. He told
me, that long before he went out, or
resolved to go out in Christ’s cause,
the words of St. Paul were constantly
in his memory, “‘ How, then, shall
they call on Him in whom they have
not believed; and how shall they
believe in Him of whom they have
not heard, and how shall they hear
without a preacher, and how shall
they preach except they be sent?†He
found that missionaries were wanted,
and in his great desire that his
Heavenly Father’s name should be
184 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
hallowed, he determined to become a
labourer in the vineyard himself.
Auicr.—I hope he lived to come
back again, mama?
Mama.—It pleased God to spare
his valuable life for many years,
although the country to which he
went, Sierra Leone, is considered the
most sickly place in the world, and
very few Englishmen return alive.*
However, our dear friend returned in
very fair health, and I had the plea-
sure of sceimg him at my father’s
house, and of hearing a great many
histories of what had happened to him
abroad. We then lived in a retired
country village, and the object of this
excellent man was to do good, wherever
he wént; so, during his short visit to
us, he held a public meeting, to tell
the people about the wants and neces-
sities of the poor heathen; and he
*TI believe he was sent out by the Society to
inspect the Missionary Stations in Africa.
THE GRATEFUL STRANGER. 185
induced a great many persons in the
village to become regular weekly
subscribers of the different small sums
they could afford to give; and though
I was then a very little girl, not older
than you, he provided me a book and
some cards, and entrusted me with the
office of collecting the money for the
missionary society, and this money was
sent to him every six months, as long
as we lived there. He also preached
two sermons during his stay in Essex,
calling earnestly upon his hearers not to
neglect the means of grace, the faithful
preaching of the Gospel, diligent read-
ing of the Holy Scriptures, the sacra-
ments, earnest prayer and self-examina-
tion; and with these things, he doubted
not that their humble efforts might be
blessed to the conversion of thousands
of souls, who now lay in darkness,
without a shadow of light.
Auicr.—By which he meant the
light of the Gospel, I suppose ?
Q2
186 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—He begged of each one who
enjoyed the light of the Gospel, to con-
sider with what a price he had been
bought; and not he alone, but every
one of his fellow-creatures ; and that,
out of gratitude to our Saviour, Jesus
Christ, for having purchased for him
an inheritance by His blood, he ought
to devote himself most earnestly to
the service of Christ, and to try and
do his utmost to bring others to the
knowledge of the same mercy, and to
long carnestly for the time when there
should he one flock, and one shepherd.
Auicr.—How well you recollect all
he said, mama !
Mama.—Yes, my dear, his conver-
sation was a privilege which I shall
never forget; and though so many
years have passed away, all his words
and sayings are as fresh in my mind
as the sermon of this morning. I
remember well his taking me upon his
knee, just before dinner, and telling me
THE GRATEFUL STRANGER. 187
a story of a shark, which is, you know,
a very rapacious monster. ‘here are
a great many sharks in the river at
Sierra Leone, and one evening, when
Mr. Bickersteth was going in a large
boat with several negroes up the river,
all at once they beheld an immense
shark coming up close to the boat.
The men rowed as fast as they were
able, but the shark came nearer and
nearer, and began to lift its great head
above the water, and, with its jaws
wide open, it lashed about in the river
till the boat rocked. Everybody was
in a great fright, lest the horrid crea-
ture should upset the boat and swallow
them, when all at once, before any one
could prevent her, a poor Indian mother
who was in the boat, took her baby
from her bosom, and threw it into the
shark’s mouth.
Auice.—QOh, how cruel! Howcould
she do such a wicked trick !
Mama.—The poor creature thought
188 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
only of saving her own life. White the
shark was eating the poor infant, the
sailors rowed fast away, and got safely
on shore. This poor ignorant woman
did not know that her child had a
soul ; she did not know that she had
a never-dying soul herself; she never
knew that God had made her, or even
that there was a God;-so she did not
know she was acting cruelly to her
child, or that God could save her life,
even when the greatest danger assailed
her. But the good missionary took
great interest in that poor woman, and
taught her all these things ; she learned
to love her Saviour, and to worship
God in sincerity and truth, and tried
all in her power to teach others to
do so,
Axicu.—I hope that is not all you
are going to tell me about Mr.
Bickersteth. I like so much to hear
about him, mama ?
Mama.—However pleasant it may
THE GRATEFUL STRANGER. 189
be to me to speak about him, I must not
spend too much of our time in telling
you these little tales; but the circum-
stance of this poor converted negress
reminded me of the ten lepers who
were cleansed by Jesus, and only one
of them returned to give glory to God.
The ingratitude of these men seems to
have astonished our Saviour Himself ;
for, on seeing the single suppliant,
He exclaimed, “ Were there not ten
cleansed ? but where are the nine?
There are not found that returned to
give glory to God, save this stranger.
And He said unto him, Arise, go thy
way, thy faith hath made thee whole!â€
So of all the people in the boat,
there were none who listened to the
preaching of the good missionary save
the one poor woman; and she soon
learned to give glory to God, to love
Him who was able to cure the leprosy
of her soul, which is sin; and who
was able to say unto her, “ Arise, go
190 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
thy way, thy faith hath made thee
whole.â€
Aricr.—And He would forgive her’
for throwing her baby into the shark’s
mouth ? .
Mama.—God would pardon her for
those sins she had committed when
she was ignorant of the truth. In
St. Luke’s Gospel for to-day, Jesus
condemns those who sin with their
eyes open; He pitics those who are
ignorant, saying, “ Blessed are the
eyes which see the things that ye see.
For I tell you, that many prophets
and kings have desired to sce those
things which ye sce, and have not
seen; and to hear those things which
ye hear and have not heard them.â€
And if the negro woman had done
this act, after she had been told there
was a God, who would be displeased
with her, then there would have been
no ground for hope and forgiveness ;
at least, I mean that she would not have
THE GRATEFUL STRANGER. 191
ignorance to plead as an excuse; and
that persons who commit wilful sin can
only hope for pardon, if they “repent
them truly of their sins,†and pray for
pardon through the atonement of Jesus
Christ, stedfastly purposing to lead a
new life. And part of England’s mis-
sion is, to teach these ignorant beings to
live a peaceable and godly life, and to do
all that is acceptable in the sight of
God our Saviour.
Auicr.—How thankful that poor
woman must have been to Mr. Bicker-
steth! And how sorry she would feel
afterwards for killing her child.
Mama.—There is no doubt of it;
but I had not time to ask him any
more questions about her. I believe
she became a teacher in one of the
missionary schools. Our friend left
us the next day. He had appointed
to preach a sermon at Colchester,
which was twelve miles from where
we then lived, and unfortunately the
192 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
only horse we had became quite lame,
and was not able to go the journey.
There were no coaches, no railroads,
no means of getting from one place to
another, as there are now. My father
regretted the circumstance very much,
but proposed as the only alternative
that he should drive him over in our
little donkey-chaise. Mr. Bickersteth
gladly accepted this offer, and we all
accompanied him to the door. Just
as he was getting into the chaise my
father said, ‘‘ I am. very sorry I have
no better vehicle to offer you.†He
answered, in his quiet, humble way,
“Our Lord rode more humbly than
this.†Never since that day have I
seen a donkey-chaise, that has not re-
called to my mind the humility and
piety of Edward Bickersteth.
Avicr.—How different he was from
the lawyer who tempted Christ, mama.
He tried to be like Jesus in all things,
I think.
THE GRATEFUL STRANGER. 193°
Mama.—He was one of those
shining lights that now and_ then
come upon the earth, showing forth
the truth as it is in Jesus, who dedi-
cate themselves to the Lord afresh, in
holy, active, self-denying service, sacri-
ficing their homes and comforts for
the interests of the Redeemer’s king-
dom, who appear to ‘“‘love the Lord
their God with all their heart, with all
their soul, with all their strength,†and
their neighbours as themselves. Let
us endeavour to take example by this
holy life, and to serve God faithfully
to the end; not like the nine lepers,
who could come to Jesus in time of
affliction and cry for help, yet as soon
as they obtained His mercy, forgot
His loving-kindness, and returned
again to the world from which their
leprosy had once separated them ; but
let us, like the stranger, bend humbly
before His footstool, and may His
blessing be upon us, so that we may
VOL, II, R
194 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
go our way in peace, possessing Him
for evermore.
How could the nine forgetful prove
Of Jesus’ mercy, Jesus’ love ?
Healed of their dire disease, they tuun—
With no true faith their bosoms burn—
His benefits so soon forgot!
Nor thank Him for their favour’d lot.
Ten cleansed, and only one remain—
To bless his gracious Lord again!
What, only one can still be found
To linger on the holy ground,
Beside our blessed Saviour’s feet,
To offer him the incense mect !
How many, when their woes are o’er,
Turn to the world they left before,
Forgetting Him, who died to save,
Who snatched them from the yawning grave!
May I the sole exception be,
Who left the nine to follow Thee.
ORIGINAL.
<<
FORTIETH SUNDAY.
THE LILIES.
Auicr.— Consider the lilies of the
field how they grow. They toil not,
neither do they spin. And yet I say
unto you, That even Solomon im all
his-glory was not arrayed like one of
these.†I was so glad to read this
text to-day, mama. Don’t you re-
member that you made me learn it
one day, when I was so proud of the
pretty new frock my godmama sent
me, and you were not at all pleased
with me? You called me a vain,
proud, little girl. /
Mama.—I do not think there was
196 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
any great pleasure in the remembrance
of your faults, or more particularly in
having displeased me.
Autcr.—No, not that. I did not
mean that. I meant that I was glad I
was not a proud, vain, little girl now,
like Miss Thompson. Do you know,
mama, that she told my cousins, only
such people as her papa and mama
could afford to give their little girls
such beautiful frocks and bonnets.
And she said her new muff cost—Oh,
such a great deal of money, I think it
was——
Mama.—Never mind the money
the muff cost, that is no subject for
present consideration. I find you
quite proud and puffed up, because
you are able to remember a text I
gave you to learn, and because you
have no new frock to be proud of.
Auice.—I did not know I was
thinking or saying anything wrong,
mana.
THE LILIES. 197
Mama.—Anybody who had heard
you praising your own improvement,
and telling me the faults of Kate
Thompson, would have said, ‘‘ What an
unkind, conceited little girl!â€
Aicr.—Oh, mama, how could I
be so foolish. I did not think I was
praising myself.
Mama.—I fear you have sinned in
the sight of God, as well as before me ;
and I hope you will lose no time in
seeking His forgiveness. How sad it
is that a little girl who is so often
told what is right should so frequently
fall into sin.
Auicr.—I cannot tell what makes
me do so. Can you tell me, mama?
Mama.—I can tell you what is
written in the sixth chapter of St.
Matthew’s Gospel—“ That ye can-
not serve two masters, God and
mammon.â€
Atice.— What does mammonmeanP
I do not know, mama.
R2
198 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—It means the world, and
things of the world—the world, the
flesh, and the devil. And you cannot
serve and obey God while you are
loving and worshipping yourself so
much. And, besides that, it makes
me very sad to hear you talk in this
way. Only a few Sundays ago, I was
pointing out to you the difference
between the proud Pharisee and the
humble Publican, and proving to you |
the wickedness of having such a good
opinion of ourselves; and now I find
you falling into the.very sins against
which I then warned you.
Aztcr.—How was I committing a
sin, mama? I only said I was not
proud, like Miss 'Thompson.
Mama.—You were trying to cen-
vince me and yourself, that you were
better and more amiable than your
friend, just as the proud Pharisee
thought he was better than other men,
and particularly better than the Pub-
THE LILIES. 199
lican, whom he despised. You see,
your little heart must be quite overrun
with the weeds of pride and vanity,
and while that is the case, there is no
room for the good seed to take root.
Only a few weeks ago, you were unable
to attend to your prayers and your
religious duties, because your kind
godmother had sent you a new frock as
a reward for your diligence ; and I was
obliged to teach you how very inferior
you were to the flowers of the field,
and you have fallen into the same fault.
Now, the Gospel goes on to tell you,
“Take no thought for your body what
ye shall put on.†But, you see, instead
of being thankful to God that you are
so much better endowed and provided
for than the fowls of the air, you are
thinking only, “ How good I am; how
much better than my neighbours !â€
Auice.—Pray, mama, forgive my
naughty thoughts, and pray to God to
give me a better heart.
200 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—And if you pray to Him
earnestly yourself, God will, for His
dear Son’s sake, forgive you as freely
as I do.
Autcz.—lI will ask Him, dear mama,
to pardon me, and I thank you for for-
giving me again. But will you tell me
what Jesus meant when He said, ‘‘Con-
sider the lilies of the field.†Do such
beautiful flowers as lilies grow in the
flelds P
Mama.—Not in this country, my
dear; nor is it supposed that the
beautiful white lilies which you admire
so much in our garden, grew in Pales-
tine. You must not forget that the
miracles which Jesus performed upon
earth, were done more than eighteen
hundred years ago, and that He was
born in another country, a long way
from England; and, therefore, the
flowers which He called lilies might
be very different from any of the lilies
we grow here. Some people have —
THE LILIES. 201
supposed that it meant the tulip, but
neither do tulips grow wild in Pales-
tine.
Antcr.—What sort of a flower do
you suppose it was, mama ?
Mama.—Well, from the way in
which Jesus was accustomed to teach
His disciples, we are led to believe
that Ife pointed to the flowers, from
which He wished them to learn a
lesson of humility and contentment ;
and for this reason Sir J. Smith con-
siders that our Saviour alluded to
some beautiful golden flowers, of a
lily shape, that overrun the fields of
that country in autumn. It has a
very hard botannical name, which you
would hardly be able to recollect, if I
told you.
Anicr.—But I can try to remember
it, mama, and I will say it over very
often, if you will teach it to me.
Mama.—He calls it the Amaryllis
lutea, and He gives a very glowing
202 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
description of the brightness and
beauty of these flowers, which he
terms one of the most brilliant, gor-
geous objects in nature, and that the
expression of “ Solomon in all his
glory†(his robes, his kingly attire),
“was not arrayed like one of these,†was
a most appropriate comparison. ‘The
inferior beauty of every kind of dress
was here shown to teach them humility ;
and the words, ‘ They toil not, neither
do they spin,†was an example of con-
tentment.
Auicr.—But what did He mean by
spinning, mama ?P
Mama.—Ah, I forgot that you had
never seen anybody spin; it is now
getting quite out of fashion to spin
with a wheel, as it was customary for
all women to do in the olden times.
All the clothing that was then worn
had to be sroduced by the hand and
a spinning-wheel. ‘The wheel was
turned round very quickly with one
THE LILIES. 203
hand, while the other held a hank of
wool, or cotton, or silk; and the end
of this was fastened to a long pin, or
spindle, and every time the wheel
turned, it caused the spindle to turn
also, and thus the wool was twisted .
very evenly and smoothly, round and
round. If you ask me the next time
we go into the village, I will take you
into a cottage where, I think, I once
saw a spinning-wheel.
Axicre.—But why do not the people
spin now, mama?
Mama.—Because there have been
so many new machines invented to do
this kind of work, and there are large
factories built in different places, where
many hundred wheels are turned at
the same moment by one large steam-
engine. I went over one at Wigan,
in Lancashire, not long ago, and there
were a hundred and seventy large
wheels going in one room, and there
were eighteen hundred women, boys,
204 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
and girls employed in it every day,
and therefore it pays them much better
to work at these mills, where they can
do more in one hour than they could
spin at home m a month with a wheel.
Autcr.—Oh, thank you, mama; I
shall know now what is meant by their
not spinning, and when I grow older
you will take me to one of these mills,
will you not, mama P
Mama.—If we should both be
spared to visit any town together,
where these mills are to be seen;
meantime, I hope you will learn a
lesson from the beautiful flowers that
grow in our garden. All flowers teach
you the same lessons of humility and
contentment ; and the spotless white
lily that grows in your own little bed
should teach you to offer up to your
Maker a continual incense of praise,
that would be sweet as the perfume of
the lily; and when you look upon its
fair, spotless leaves, you should pray
THE LILIES. 205
to your Saviour to make your heart as
white and free from stain, and as fair
an altar for His Grace to rest upon.
Aticr.—Mama, what were those
pretty verses you were reading to papa
this morning, about sweet nurslings
and lilies? I wanted to hear theni,
but papa scent me up-stairs for his
handkerchief, and when I came back
you had just finished them.
Mama.—Since you wish it, I will
read them over to you; but if you
find them rather too hard for you to
understand, you can ask me to explain
it all to-morrow.
Sweet nurslings of the vernal skies,
Bath’d in soft airs, and fed with dew,
What more than magic in you lies,
To fill the heart’s fond view !
In childhood’s sports, companions gay,
In sorrow, on life’s downward way,
How soothing! In our last decay,
Memorials prompt and true.
* * * * * *
VOL. II. Ss
206 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Ye dwell beside our paths, and homes,
Our paths of sin, and homes of sorrow;
And guilty man, where’er he roams,
Your peaceful mirth may borrow.
For ye could draw th’ adimir
Of ZZim, who hearts and worlds surveys,
Your order wild, your fragrant maze,
Ife taught us how to prize.
Ye felt your Maker’s smile that hour,
As when He paused, and own’d you good;
His blessing on earth’s primal bow’r,
Ye felt it all renewed.
What care ye now if winter’s storm
Sweep ruthless o’er each silken form ?
Christ’s blessing at your heart is warm,
Ye fear no vexing mood.
Alas! of thousand bosoms kind
That daily court and caress,
How few the happy secret find
Of your calm loveliness !
“ Live for to-day! 'To-morrow’s light
To-morrow’s cares shall bring to sight;
Go! sleep like closing flowers at night,
And heaven thy morn will bless.â€
‘* CHRISTIAN YEAR.â€
FORTY-FIRST SUNDAY.
THE WIDOW’S SON.
Mama.—Can you tell me, my daugh-
ter, how the church of God and
His people are governed and_pre-
served ?
Axicr.—By the help and goodness
of God, mama, through Jesus Christ.
Mama.—Without His help, and
His continual pity, we should be
unable to help, or keep ourselves from
sin and danger. It is by His help
that I am enabled to teach you the
meaning of these things ; and by His
help, you are enabled to understand
them.
208 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
AuicE.—I know I ought to be
very grateful to God for having given
me such a good mama. I don’t know
how wicked I should have been with-
out your care—a great deal worse than
I am now.
Mama.—It is, indeed, a cause for
gratitude, that you have parents to
take pains with you, and teach you
what is right; but you must re-
member that where much has been
given, much will be required, and
there is (as I have told you very
frequently) less excuse for your doimg
wrong than for many other children.
Anicr.—Than those who have no
parents you mean, mama ?
Mama.—Or those, whose parents
take no interest in the welfare of the
souls of their children.
Auicre.—I’ll tell you what I was
thinking to-day, mama. That if I
were to die you would be very sorry ;
and I was thinking you would cry for
THE WIDOW’S SON. 209
me, just as the young man’s mother
cried for him when he was dead.
Mama.—Possibly. I should cer-
tainly feel very sorrowful, if it should
please the Lord to take you away
from us, my beloved child; but I hope
I should not be rebellious to the will
of my Lord and Saviour. God him-
self gave His only heloved Son to die
for us. Abraham, at God’s com-
mand, was willing to offer up his only
son as a sacrifice. And however hard
the parting might be, I hope I should
willingly give back to God what He
has only lent to us for a_ short
season.
Auicr.—That is what you told
Mary Green, mama, when she cried
so for her baby. She said she should
never, never be happy again. And
you said, children were God’s gifts,
lent to us for a little while; but that
like many other blessings, Ile could
take them away again, if He saw
$2
210 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
that we were making an improper use
of His gifts.
Mama.—The second command-
ment tells us, ‘That the Lord our
God is a jealous God,’ and He will
not suffer anything to be loved and
worshipped in His place, or before
Him. And people said that poor
Mary was so fond of her baby, that
she thought of nothing else but
nursing and dressing, or playing with
it. She forgot all her other duties;
and when her husband came home at
night, he often found the dinner things
not washed, and his supper not pro-
vided for him. And when he found
fault with Mary’s inattention to his
comforts, she uscd to begin to cry;
and then take her baby and run over
to her mother’s. ‘Till at last George
Green went more frequently to the
ale-house than he went home, after his
day’s work ; and he and his wife often
had words about the money he spent.
THE WIDOWS SON. 211
And no doubt matters would have got
worse and worse, had it not pleased
God to take away their little sinless
baby. It was suddenly seized with
croup, and died before morning, al-
most before anything could be done
tosave it. Fora few days, you know,
Mary did nothing but cry. She
would sit beside the bed and ery all
day ; tillsome of her neighbours asked
me to go and comfort her if possible.
IT went and talked to her for some
time, and bade her look at the fair
peaceful brow of the happy child, and
see how much better it was provided
for than she could provide for it ; that
it would never suffer any more pain or
sorrow, and that it would never, like
her, sit and weep over a dead baby.
And I think she listened and grew
calmer, but she did not cease crying.
Axicz.—But it was after the baby
was buried that I went with you,
mama, and she said then she should
212 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
never be happy again; and yet she
looks very happy now, do not you
think so ?
Mama.—Yes; God has many dif-
ferent ways of teaching His children
to be good and dutiful, and of bring-
ing them back to His fold, when they
stray away like lost sheep; and in this
casc His taking away the poor baby,
although it seemed a very heavy
trial at first, was a great blessing
to both husband and wife. Gcorge
was very gricved himself at the loss of
his child, and when he saw his wife
weeping over her pretty baby, he tried
to comfort her and be kind to her,
and he promised her, if she would
cheer up and not ery so, that he would
not go to the public-house any more ;
for he knew he had done wrong, and
he thought that God had sent this
punishment upon him for his wicked-
ness. And when Mary heard her hus-
band blaming himself, and listened to
THE WIDOW’S SON. 213
his kind words and promises, she
began to think about her own faults,
how often she had neglected his com-
forts to play with her child, and she
began to ask herself whether God had
not taken away the child as a_punish-
ment for her sins, and neglect of her
husband. And when she began to
feel how wrong she had been, she
began to pray to God for forgiveness.
As soon as she went to God, He gave
her comfort and forgiveness ; and she
now confesses her former foolish and
wicked conduct, and blesses God for
having brought her back again to her
proper and humble frame of mind.
Axice.—I dare say she loves her
other baby now, quite as much as she
did the one who diced.
Mama.—No doubt of it; but she
does not now neglect her husband
and everything for its sake; but she
serves her God first, and her child
next.
214 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Autcs.—Do you think, mama, that
the widow of Nain loved her son more
than she loved God, and that was why
he died ?
Mama.—The Scriptures do not tell
us this; but we know that God has a
wise purpose in everything He does,
and we suppose the death of this
young man (like the death of Lazarus,
whom Jesus loved) was permitted for
the sake of showing the Jews, the dis-
ciples, and many unbelieving people,
the wonderful power of the Saviour in
raising the dead to life. It might
also be a warning to the poor widow,
who having lost her husband and all
her other relatives, not to cling so
closely to the one tie that was left her,
as to forget the Giver and Preserver
of his life. So the son was taken for
a short time, and the poor woman
who had been partly supported (as it
is supposed) by the work of her son’s
hands, was left desolate and unpro-
THE WIDOW’S SON. 215
vided for, ‘The kind eyes that had so
often been turned to her’s were closed,
the lips that had always smiled upon
her with affection, were pale and cold,
the voice that had always answered to
her grecting was mute, and her bitter
sobs fell unheeded upon ears that had
ceased to hear. Yet im all this trouble
and affliction she seems not to have
been left without sympathy; she ap-
pears to have had many kind ncigh-
bours,who wept with her and tricd to
console her. And these fricnds and
neighbours were going with her to
the grave. For we read, ‘‘ And it
came to pass the day after, that Jesus
went into a city called Nam; and
many of His disciples went with, Lim
and much people. Now when Ie
came nigh to the gate of the city, be-
hold, there was a dead man carried
out, the only son of his mother, and
she was a widow, and mucli pcople
of the city was with her.†‘lherefore
216 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
we see she was not left quite alone in
her grief, and Jesus, who knew all
things, knew precisely the moment
when He should meet with the dead
body of this young man, and He
knew also that there would be a great
crowd of people with the mourners,
who, as well as His own numerous
followers, would be witnesses of the
wonderful miracle He was going to
perform. He knew that many who
beheld Him raise the dead man to
life, would afterwards believe in Him
as the Son of God, their promised
Saviour; and He had*brought them
there to see the wonderful works of
God. So when He came up to her,
and saw the poor weeping mother,
‘He had compassion on her,†and
said unto her, “ Weep not.†What
sweet and tender words they must
have been! Then “He came and
touched the bier.â€
Atice.—I have seen a bier, mama.
THE WIDOW'S SON. 217
It is that long stool with handles that
the men carry the coffins upon.
Mama.—Yes, my dear; but in
eastern countries they did not put the
dead into coffins; they merely hung a
pall over the body, which had been
wrapped in grave clothes; and so
when Jesus touched the bier, they that
bare it (or carricd it) stood still, and
Jesus said, “Young man, I say unto
thee, Arise.†The word of Jesus was
all-sufficient. “Tle that was dead sat
up†(for you see there was no coffin-lid
to prevent his doing so instantly), ‘Cand
began to speak. And He delivered
him to his mother.â€
Anicr.—How overjoyed the poor
woman must have been! I dare say
she knelt down, and thanked Jesus.
Mama.—No doubt she thanked
Him, as soon as she recovered a little
from the joyful surprise of hearing her
son's voice, and secing him restored
to her arms. “And there came fear
VOL II. t
218 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
on all, and they glorified God, saying,
That a great prophet is risen up
among us, and that God had visited
His people. And this rumour of Him
went forth throughout all Judea and
the region round about.â€
Axicy.—The people might well be
astonished at it and talk about it.
Mama.—And bless God who had
visited His people, who had sent His
only begotten Son to raise the dead to
life, and to die Himself, and be raised
again for our justification. We read
in the Scriptures that Jesus wept, or
shed tears, for the death of Lazarus ;
but for the whole world of sinners,
even for His bitter enemies and per-
secutors, He shed not only His tears
but His own blood. And how can
mankind be sufficiently grateful for
the sacrifice? Another thing which
we ought to remark is, the wide dif-
ference between the conduct of our
Saviour, and the conduct of people in
THE WIDOW’S SON. 219
general. The first thing which at-
tracted the notice of our Lord, as He
entered into the city, was a humble
funeral—a sight of sorrow, which He
at once pitied and relieved. Most
people on going into a city, or town,
for the first time, would have been
occupied in examining the houses, the
buildings, the gay scenes, and would
have turned away their eyes from the
gloomy sight of death and sorrow,
presented by the funeral of a poor
and needy stranger. It is only the
true disciples of Jesus who remember,
that “it is better to go to the house of
mourning, than to go to the house of
feasting ;†‘for by the sadness of the
countenance, the heart is made better ;â€
and that part of their duty is to
soothe and comfort those who are in
trouble, sorrow, need, or sickness ; for
even while we are in peace and ease,
there are many in the world as deso-
late as the poor widow mourning over
220 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
her only child, who require comfort at
our hands; and if we cannot, like
Jesus, effectually remove the cause
of their sorrow, we may direct them
to Him, who can give them strength
to bear the burden with patience and
resignation. And now I will read you
the Honourable Mrs. Norton’s de-
scription of “ The Widow of Nain :â€â€™â€”
And thou, Nain’s grieving widow !
Whose task of life seem’d done,
When the pale corse lay before thee,
Of thy dear and only son.
Though death, that fearful shadow,
Had veiled his fair young eyes,
There was mercy for thy weeping,
There was pity for thy sighs!
The gentle voice of Jesus
(Who the touch of sorrow knew),
The grave’s cold claim arrested,
Ere it hid him from thy view.
And those loving orbs re-open’d,
And knew thy mournful face,
And the stiff limbs warm’d and bent them,
With all life’s moving grace.
THE WIDOW’S SON. 221
And his senses dawn’d and wakened
From the dark and frozen spell,
Which death had cast around him,
Whom thou didst love so well;
Till like one returned from exile,
To his former home of rest,
Who speaks not, while his mother
Falls sobbing on his breast;
But with strange, bewilder’d glances,
Looks round on objects near,
To recognise and welcome
All that memory held dear.
Thy young son stood before thee,
All living and restored ;
And they who saw the wonder,
Knelt down to praise the Lord.
T2
FORTY-SECOND SUNDAY.
PRIDE AND HUMILITY.
Autcr.—I was so afraid you would not
be home in time to talk with me,
mama dear, and I should have felt so
much disappointed.
Mama.—I am afraid that after all
my talking, as you call it, all my les-
sons and explanations, you are still a
little selfish at heart. You think more
about your own pleasures and comforts
than you do about others.
Auicr.—I, too, fear that what you
say is true, for all the time you were
out, I was wishing you back again,
PRIDE AND HUMILITY. 223
and thinking that you might go to see
Mrs. Wilde to-morrow, or the next day.
Mama.—But poor Mrs. Wilde is
very dangerously ill, and it is hardly
probable that she may live till the day
after to-morrow; so that if IT had
neglected my duty in going to see her,
and help and comfort her to-day, I
might never have had the chance of
seemg her alive. You know that I
never vo away from home on the Sab-
bath-day, except in cases of illness, or
sorrow; and to do this we have the
command and example of our Saviour
himself, who, in answer to the question
of the lawyers and Pharisees, asked
them, ‘‘ Which of you, having an ass
or an ox fallen into a pit, will not
straightway pull him out on the Sab-
bath-day?†And if Jesus gives the
example, as well as the command, to
heal, or relieve the sick, upon the Sab-
bath-day, my duty leaves me no choice
about it.
224 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Autcz.—I wish I could learn to do
my duty as you do, mama, I should
be so much happier. But I did not
know the poor woman was so very ill,
and likely to die. Could not God
make her well again, if He pleased,
mama ?
Mama.—With God all things are
possible, my dear child; but it does
not seem at all probable that this poor
woman will ever recover; and all we
can do for her now is to supply her
wants, and try to ease her pain as
much as possible, and to pray to God
that He may fit her soul for death,
and pardon her past sins.
Autcr.—But I thought she was
such a very good woman. Do you
think she has many sins to be sorry
for, mama ?
Mama.—She has for some years
appeared to be a pious, steady, in-
dustrious woman ; and during her ill-
ness everybody has remarked, how
-
PRIDE AND HUMILITY. 225
patient and resigned she seemed. But
to-day she told me that she had a
wicked and rebellious spirit, and that
she had often thought to herself, when
she was suffering great pain, that
her’s was a hard lot; and then she
would wonder what she could have
done so much worse than others, to
deserve this painful disorder that God
had afflicted her with. And that she —
knew all the time that she was thinking
very wrong and improperly, and that
she had many such wicked and im-
patient thoughts to repent for; while
God, in sending her so many com-
forts, and raismg her up so many
kind friends, had showered blessings
upon her, of which she was quite
undeserving.
Auict.—But it does seem wonder-
ful, I think, mama, that God should
send such afflictions upon the good;
and that wicked people, like old Brom-
ley, seem to get off without any sick-
226 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
ness or trouble at all, but have every-
thing they wish for.
Mama.—That is a very disre-
spectful way of speaking of our neigh-
bour, who is not so very old after all.
Auice.—But that is what nurse,
and the coachman, and even Mr.
Burgess call him; for I heard him
say to papa the other day, “Old
Bromley has been up to his tricks
again.â€
Mama.—Possibly ; and you see in
him the effects of bearing so bad a
character. If Mr. Burgess had felt
any respect for Mr. Bromley he would
have spoken of him very differently,
so that you see he has not everything
he wishes for; for J am sure he has a
great desire to be thought a person
of importance, and he is very anxious
to be visited and noticed by those
who are richer and higher in the
world than himself; but the very
means that he takes to aggrandize
PRIDE AND HUMILITY. 227
himself are sufficient to make good
and respectable persons avoid and dis-
like him.
Atics.—And he got turned out of
the court the other day, for I heard
papa talking to Mr. Shaw about it,
and Mr. Shaw said, “ It served him
quite rightly,’ mama. But I do not
understand what he did.
Mama.—There was a meeting of
the county magistrates to arrange
some business, and Mr. Bromley is
not a magistrate, as your papa is;
and, therefore, was not required to
attend. But during the discussion,
Mr. Bromley must get up and give
his opinion. The chairman allowed
him to say what he wished, and then
very coolly asked him, “ What office
he held in that court?†or whether he
was “clerk to the solicitor ?†Of course
Mr. Bromley was very much annoyed
at being mistaken for a lawyer’s clerk,
so he answered, “ That he was not
228 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
clerk to any body—he was a gentle-
man of property.†But the chair-
man answered, that as ‘‘ the business
of the magistrates that day was a
private matter, no strangers could
be admitted; and he must therefore
request the gentleman, whatever his
property might de, to leave the
room.â€
Auice.—Ah! that was just like the
parable we read to-day, about being
sent to the lower room. It says,
«When Jesus marked how they†(the
Pharisees, I suppose, mama) “chose out
the chief room; saying unto them,
When thou art bidden of any man to
a wedding, sit not down in the highest
room, lest a more honourable man than
thou be bidden of him; and he that
bade thee and him come and say unto
thee, Give this man place; and thou to
begin with shame to take the lowest
room.†Jam sure Mr. Bromley must
have felt ashamed, after going up into
PRIDE AND HUMILITY. 229
the magistrates’ room, to be turned
out altogether.
Mama.—No doubt he did feel
ashamed of having exposed himself
to such a reproof; but, as Mr. Shaw
said, “he was rightly served.†If he
did not know his place in society,
others must point it out to him; and
“‘ Whosoever (unduly) exalteth himself
shall be abased,†or cast down and
humbled, at some time or other.
These dre the very words of the meek
and humble Saviour, and therefore
they are sure to be verified. However
prosperous the proud and wicked may
appear to be for a time, we know that,
either in this world or in the world to
come, they will be cast down, and
utterly abased and punished. In the
prophecy of Jeremiah, the prophet
asks, “ Wherefore doth the way of
the wicked prosper? wherefore are all
they happy that deal very treacher-
ously?†But he afterwards answers
VOL II. U
230 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
the question, to prove that God lets
them enjoy their prosperity for a while,
that their punishment or fall may be
the greater:—“I understood their
end; Thou did’st set them in slippery
places; Thou castest them down into
destruction.†And David says, in the
Thirty-seventh Psalm, “I have seen
the wicked in great power, and spread-
ing himself like a green bay-tree, yet
he passed, and, lo, he was not.†And
though the wicked may, in many
things, have their worldly advantages,
and seem to carry all before them;
and though the righteous suffer for a
time, and seem to find no relief, yet
Christ promises to both their reward.
The righteous may, like poor Lazarus,
suffer to the end; but their full reward
is hereafter. If they suffer with Him,
they shall also reign with Him. And
St. Paul says, “I reckon that the
sufferings of the present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory
PRIDE AND HUMILITY. 231
which shall be revealed in us.†And
the repetition of this text seemed to
afford great comfort to poor Mrs.
Wilde, in her suffering to-day ; and, as
she said, “ her afflictions were needed
to break her hard and rebellious heart :
and that she feared it yet required
many a sharp stroke from the hammer
of justice, before she should be puri-
fied, and made a beautiful or a use-
ful vessel, fit for the temple of the
glorious Master.’ And I believe there
are very few Christians in this parish
who would not the rather choose the
part of this poor suffering woman, in
her mean cottage, than be the owner
of the beautiful mansion on the hill.
Aticr.—Mama, the comparison be-
tween Mr. Bromley and Mrs. Wilde
reminds me of the parable of the rich
man and Lazarus.
Mama.—I am glad you remember
the circumstances of Holy Writ; if
you will constantly carry these things
232 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
in your mind ; you will have less room
there for idle, vain, and selfish thoughts
and wishes, and you will learn that, if
you would be Christ’s disciple, you
must take up the cross, and bear suf-
fering.
Autcr.—It would be better to bear
suffering, and die of sores at the rich
man’s door, and go to heaven, than to
live in luxury, and ease, and pride in
this world, and to be afterwards tor-
mented in hell.
Mama.—ZJust so; and the remem-
brance of the future judgment should
make us humble, pitiful, kind, and
tender to those who are poor and sick,
and ready to give up our own ease, and
comfort, and convenience, to do them
service; it should teach us that even the
Sabbath was intended for acts of mercy
and kindness, or else our Saviour
would not have healed the sick on that
day; and it should also be a great
warning to us, not to question God’s
PRIDE AND HUMILITY. 233
dealings with the wicked; not to be
envious of their temporary prosperity,
their wealth, or their position ; because
we know that there is a day of wrath
and reckoning in store for them.
Autcr.—I should think nobody
would envy Mr. Bromley, for nobody
likes him.
Mama.—Neither should they envy
him; nor should they condemn him
too severely ; they should rather pity
him for his pride and ignorance, and
while endeavouring by his faults to
correct our own, we should look upon
him as the Saviour looked upon the
city of Jerusalem, with tender com-
passion, and earnest prayers that he
may yet learn and understand the
things that belong to his peace. And,
like the poor sick woman whom I saw
to-day, we must also pray, ‘‘ Make me
faithful unto death, and at length give
me a crown of life, for Thy name’s
sake.â€
U2
234
PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
HYMN.
The mercies of our God
We ev'ry day enjoy,
Let all our hearts with praise inspire,
And all our tongues with joy.
At each return of night,
Thy favour still we need,
To pardon all our daily sins
In thought, in word, and deed.
O God, for Jesus sake,
Thy mercy on us pour ;
That we may sleep in peace with Thee,
Nor dread our latest hour,
But should’st Thou bid us wake
In other worids than this,
Oh! let us wake with Thee to live
To endless praise and bliss.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah !
Praise ye the Lord.
a
FORTY-THIRD SUNDAY.
THE TWO COMMANDMENTS.
Aticr.—You see, dear mama, how
proper it was of you to go and see
the poor sick woman last Sunday.
Tf you had thought more about my
pleasure and indulgence, you would
not have seen her again, for nurse
told me she died on Monday night,
and she is going to be buried to-day.
Did you see the funeral, mama ?
Mama.—We met the coffin and
the mourners just entering the church-
yard. Her son and her daughter
had come down from London to
follow the remains of their good
236 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
mother, and were both in great
sorrow.
Auice.—I dare say they were just
as grieved to lose their mother as I
should be to lose you, dear mama?
Mama.—No doubt of it, my dear.
And yet they ought not to sorrow
without hope, “for their loss will be
her gain.†Her last prayer for her
children was, that they might be found
“blameless in the day of our Lord
Jesus Christ.†And they have cause
to thank God always on her behalf,
that grace was given to her by Jesus
Christ, and that her mind was so en-
riched by Him in all knowledge ; and
that she, in a great measure, was en-
abled by that grace to withstand
many of the temptations of the world,
the flesh, and the devil.
Axice.—Do you think, mama, she
kept the two great commandments ?
Mama.—If she had been enabled
to do so entirely, there would have
THE TWO COMMANDMENTS. 237
been but little need of her Saviour’s
intercession. But we know that no-
body is able to keep the law perfect
and entire; and that, without the
atonement of her Saviour, all her en-
deavours to do right had been useless ;
for no one, except Jesus, is without
sin. The earth, and all things be-
longing to this earth, are impure and
unholy in His eyes. God’s com-
mandments are pure themselves, and
they make those pure who receive
them. But no one can entirely fulfil
them.
Autcr.— The Pharisees did not
keep the commandments when they
tried to tempt Jesus, did they, mama ?
Because they were tempting God, and
Jesus told Satan when he tempted
Him in the wilderness, “ It is written,
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God.â€
Mama.—The Pharisees were very
jealous of the miracles and good
3358 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
works which Jesus did; and they fol-
lowed Him about from place to place,
watching all His actions and His
words, hoping that He might say or
do something contrary to their law,
and then they would have occasion to
put Him to death. And as they could
find no fault with His acts of love
and mercy, they tried to entangle
Him with strange and artful questions,
hoping to make Him angry, or to
make Him contradict Himself in some
way. Now, in the Gospel of the day,
they tempt Him by inquiring “ which
of the ten commandments was the
greatest,†meaning which was the most
particular to be kept. And you see
Jesus answered them, that the whole
were equally important. He says,
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind.†Now
this duty comprises the first four com-
mandments, which all taught them
THE TWO COMMANDMENTS. 239
how to serve, and love, and obey the
God in whom they believed. And
He said, ‘‘ This is the first great com-
mandment. And the second is lke
unto it. Thou shalt love thy neigh-
_bour as thyself.†To do this they
must keep the other six. Honour
and obey their parents; neither kill
nor injure another; neither commit
adultery ; nor steal; nor he; nor bear
false witness by slandering ; nor covet-
ing, or desiring the goods of others.
And, he continued, “on these two
commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.â€
Autce.—Do you think, mama, that
T ever broke all the commandments ?
Mama.—I am very much afraid
you have; but you can try for your-
self. Don’t you remember my taking
away your doll once?
Aticr.—Oh, yes, mama, because
you said I made an idol of it, as Mary
Green did of her baby; and my new
240 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
frock, that my godmother sent me, had
to be hung up to make me ashamed,
when I was bowing down to it, and
thinking about it all church-time, and
that was breaking the Sabbath; and
you said all the time I was reading the
prayers, I was taking God’s name in
vain. Only think, mama, that one new
frock made me break all those four
commandments !
Mama.—In fact it made you break
the first great commandment, and if
you go on, you will find you broke
others for the same cause.
Auice.— Did I indeed, mama?
Oh, yes! I remember now that I was
proud and vain, and thought myself
better than Betsy Smith.
Mama.—And you dishonoured me
and your papa; and you stole away,
both from God and your parents, the
honour that was due to them.
Atice.—Well, I could not believe
such a simple thing as a new frock
THE TWO COMMANDMENTS. 24]
would have made me break six com-
mandments. I am afraid, too, that I
have broken the others. OnceI stole a
cake, and did not tell the truth about
it at first; and I have often wished
for things belonging to other people.
Mama.—Then you see you wished
for your neighbour’s goods. Only
last Sunday you were coveting my
company when IJ was with Mrs. Wilde,
which proved that you did not love
your neighbour as yourself. So, you
see, it is very difficult to keep these
two great commandments to the letter,
and still more impossible to keep the
very spirit of them.
Autce.—Do you think the Pharisees
understood this, mama?
Mama.—lIt seems to have silenced
them, for they made Jesus no answer ;
they must have felt in their hearts that
they were doing wrong, that they
were loving themselves and their own
pleasure, and despising the mee God
VOL. II.
24.2 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
in whose presence there are pleasures
for evermore ; and yet the presence of
the meek and holy Jesus was to them
a cause of envy, jealousy, and spite;
and every time they looked upon Him
and desired His death, they were break-
ing the sixth commandment, and
murdering Him in their hearts. When
Jesus found that He had silenced them,
He went on to convince them of their
folly in attempting to puzzle Him, to
whom all secrets are known and all
hearts are open. He asked them,
saying, “ What think ye of Christ P
whose son is he? They say unto Him,
The son of David.†He then asked
them, “ How then doth David in spirit
call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said
unto my Lord, sit Thou on my right
hand till I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool? If David, then, call him
Lord, how is He his son? And no
man was able to answer Him a word;
neither durst any man from that day
THE TWO COMMANDMENTS. 243
forth ask Him any more questions.â€
They found their inability to hide their
wicked thoughts from Him; and they
could not but acknowledge to them-
selves that if David (whose son they
called Him), and who had lived so
many years before Christ’s birth, called
Him Lord, He must have been exist-
ing in heaven in those ancient times,
when that very King David reigned
on earth; and how should David have
called Him Lord, had He not been
the Son of God? Andif their wicked
consciences were at once awakened to
the feeling that Christ, the Son of God,
was then conversing with them, they
were glad to be silent, lest He should
give a more convincing proof of His
divine origin.
Auiczr.—Do you think they were
ashamed of tempting Him?
Mama.—We are not told in the
Gospel that they were sorry for their
sin; they were only glad to be quiet,
244 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
for fear of exposing their own igno-
rance and Christ’s power.
Aticze.—What was that you were
saying to papa, the other day, about
tempting God? Don’t you remember
those poor people who were killed in
the excursion train, or in the omnibus,
or something of that sort, one Sunday
morning; and you said, if people
tempted God, they could hardly ex-
pect Him to protect them from danger.
Mama.—I know what you allude
to now—the accident that happened in
Yorkshire. ‘There was an excursion,
that is, an extra train put on to the
railroad, on purpose to take people
from one place to another, and these
trains generally run a great deal
cheaper than the usual trains; and
many people, who knew better than
to go out visiting and pleasure-taking
on Sunday (the day that God ‘has
commanded us to keep holy, and to
rest upon), were tempted by the low
THE. TWO COMMANDMENTS. 245
fares, to go and see their relations, or
to spend the day in looking about
them. Well, when the train was to
_ start, there were so many people to go
by it that there were not omnibuses or
cabs. sufficient to accommodate them
all, but rather than be disappointed of
their trip, these foolish people tempted
God, by crowding together such an
immense number into the omnibuses,
that they were in danger of breaking
down ; and, not content with that, the
drivers of these two vehicles kept
‘whipping their horses and racing, to
get to the station first. All at once,
just as they got on to a hill, the driver
of the last omnibus was trying to pass
the other, when the first one broke
down, and overturned all the people,
just under the wheels and horses of
the last one; and thus all the poor
people were smashed together, the
poor horses- kicked and plunged, and
tried to free themselves from the har-
xX 2
246. PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
ness, and there was a dreadful scene ;
those very people who had two minutes
before been laughing, shouting, and
cheering the drivers, were now groan-
ing and screaming with broken heads
and limbs, and some of them being
kicked to death by the frightened
horses. There was a sad end to come
to, to die just in the act of breaking
God’s commands, desecrating His holy
Sabbath, and some of them taking
His name in vain. And, as I said to
your papa, when he read me the
dreadful account, that I hoped those
whose lives had been mercifully spared
a little longer, would take warning by
the narrow escape they had had, and
that they would never again tempt the
Lord God by travelling and pleasuring
on His day of rest; and how can
those who wilfully break God’s laws
expect Him to spare them? For
though God forbears for a long season, ,
He punishes at last. Those whom He.
THE TWO COMMANDMENTS. 247
loves, He cannot suffer to go on too
long in sin, without giving some proof
of His heavy displeasure ; those who
were incorrigible, were killed outright
—hody and soul perished together, in
the act of disobedience; others, who
escaped with broken limbs and bruises,
were warned of their sin and folly,
and plainly shown that if they abuse
more light and more opportunities,
God will surely punish them at last.
Sometimes He may suffer sin to go
on through two or three generations
without seeming to notice it ; but if the
children persevere in their father’s
transgression, God will visit the whole
3 ‘tipon their heads at last. Let this be
a lesson to you, if you are ever inclined
to put yourself in the way of any
danger, that you have been cautioned
against by your parents, that you are
tempting God, and are undeserving of
His care ; for instance, if you or your
little brothers were to persist in going
948 PEEASANT SUNDAYS. |
too near the large fish-pond in the
park, or in going to look into the deep
well in the back-yard; in either case
you would be rebelling against your
parents, against God ; and if you were
to fall in and be drowned, you would
not. deserve our sorrow or our pity.
And always consider, when you are
tempted to do anything contrary to
God’s will, whether by so doing you
would be tempting the Lord God, as ©
these Pharisees did.
Axicze.—I will, indeed, try to re-
member this, and I shall tell Charley
and Walter about it too; for they are
very fond of gomg close to the bank
to see the fish jump up out of the
pond ; and nurse gets very frightened
if ever they go that way.
Mama.—They would be hardly old
enough to understand all I have said
to you, but you can talk to them about
the risk they run, and of the wicked-
ness of disobeying their parents and
THE TWO COMMANDMENTS. 249
their nurse, and I have no doubt that
your good advice and your good exam-
ple will be of service to them, because,
as the eldest, you are the one to whom
. they look for example; and may God
give you all grace to withstand the
temptations of the world, the flesh,
and the devil, that, with pure hearts
and minds, you may follow the only
true God, even unto the end.
O God, Thou puttest in our mouths
A song of praise and joy;
O may we not our lips alone,
But hearts in praise employ.
To Him, who little children took,
And in His bosom held,
And, blessing them with looks of love,
Their rising fears dispell’d.
To Him, while flowers bloom on the banks,
Or lambs sport on the lea ;
While larks with morning hymns ascend,
Or birds chant on the tree:
To Him let every creature join,
In prayer, in thanks, in praise ;
Infants their little anthems lisp,
And hallelujahs raise.
FORTY-FOURTH SUNDAY.
THE CHRISTIAN’S ARMOUR.
Mama.—We have so much that is
interesting and worthy of remark,
both in the Gospel and Epistle of to-
day, that I was anxious to come up
stairs to you a little earlier to-night.
Auict.—How kind you are, dear
mama, to think so much of my
pleasures. I have been making a list
of the questions I wished you to
answer. You know you explained to
me something about armour some
time ago; but there are a few things
I don’t understand. I don’t know
exactly what a breastplate is. I have
THE CHRISTIAN ’S ARMOUR. 251
seen @ helmet, and a shield, and a
gauntlet.
Mama.—A breastplate was a part
of the armour that used to be worn
across the soldier’s chest; but the
dresses and accoutrements of the
soldiers that serve our Queen, are very
different from those then worn by the
Jews, and Roman soldiers. I will
show you a picture of one of these
soldiers in your papa’s large Bible,
after dinner, and he will explain the
different parts and names thereof. I
will therefore only ask you, why we
and all Christians are enjoined by the
Apostle Paul to put on the whole
armour of God?
Auicr.—That we may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil.
Mama.—When St. Paul wrote the
Epistle, or letter, to the Ephesians, or
people of Ephesus, he knew that, like
us, and all of the human race, they
were continually exposed to the assaults
252 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
of the world, the flesh, and the devil ;
and he knew that good Christians,
like good soldiers, should be always
on the watch to fight against their
enemies. And the early Christians
had a great many bodily enemies to
fight against, as well as spiritual ones ;
for in those days all the followers of
Christ were more or less persecuted
by those who would not believe in
our Saviour. And you and every-
body who has ever read the Bible,
may easily perceive that Satan has
always been trying to fight against
God, and to make people wicked and
miserable ; and he tries some one way
and some another. St. Paul could
very well speak of this, because he
knew that Satan had for many years
stirred up his own naughty, proud
heart to ill-use, and kill, and persecute
the followers of Christ. And nobody
is so well able to give advice to others,
as those who. have experienced the
THE CHRISTIANS ARMOUR. 253
same things; and therefore St. Paul
tried to persuade the Christians at
Ephesus, whom he loved, to be faith-
ful to God, and to be always ready to
defend themselves against Satan and
his wiles, or temptations.
Aticr.—I thought wiles meant
temptations, but I do not understand
the word wrestle. |
Mama.—To wrestle means to strug-
gle with, or resist. Formerly the
Romans, who were very proud of their
strength, used to have a kind of game
called wrestling. They used to as-
semble together in large fields, or
places expressly appointed for the
purpose, and then the young Romans
used to struggle together, to try and
throw each other on the ground; and
whichever could succeed in throwing
his . antagonist, was considered the
strongest and cleverest wrestler, and
he received a laurel crown, or some
‘such reward ; so every person consi-
VOL. II. ~ Y
254 . PLEASANT SUNDAYS. |
dered it an honour to be able to
wrestle well. Now, St. Paul explains
to these Christians, that they will
have to resist Satan, and to struggle
hard against principalities—or Satan,
the prince of darkness, and his people,
and his powers; against the rulers in
this world, whom he had got under
his dominion, and against the spiritual
wickedness that often prevails among
the rich and noble. We English
people cannot, indeed, be too grateful
to God for the good example that is
set to us, and to all classes, by our
gracious and pious Queen, who neither
does evil herself, nor encourages others
to do so.
Axicz.—Does the Queen never do
wrong, mama? How happy she
must be!
Mama.—She would, indeed, be
happy were it possible to shake off
from her the taint of evil that is in-
‘herent in her mortal: nature; but
“@
=
THE: CHRISTIANS ARMOUR. 255
although we hold her up as a pattern
to her people, as an excellent wife,
mother, and mistress; as one whom
God has especially blessed by be-
stowing upon: her, in addition to her
noble and worthy husband, and her
- fine family, the more excellent blessing
of. virtue and true wisdom; so that
amid all the allurements of the world,
the flesh, and the devil, she conducts
herself, her kingdom, and her house-
hold with prudence, piety, and. inte-
grity. Yet we must not suppose that
she is exempt from trial, or that her
thoughts and acts are at all times free
from sin, or well-pleasing in the eyes
of God; but I mean, that very few
persons in her sphere or station would
so nobly, devotedly, and punctually
_ fulfil the many and onerous duties re-
quired of her. And we may believe
that she has, in a great measure, put
on “the whole armour†that can
alone enable her to withstand the
256 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
“powers and principalities†against
which she has to fight.
Auice.—And Prince Albert is a
good man too, mama ?P
Mama.—Truly good, in the sense
in which you apply the word good.
I believe him to be among “the ex-
cellent of the earth â€â€”as good as can
be found among us poor perishable
and frail creatures, of whom the
Psalmist says, ‘‘ There is not one that
doeth good; no, not one. They
have all gone out of the way.†And
people who are placed in such a high
position are the more easily discovered
to be in fault. And they need earnest
prayer, strong faith for a shield, and
well-tried armour for their protection,
that in the evil day they may be able
to stand. The Apostle writes, ‘‘ Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth.†Honesty and sincerity
are also meant, just as the soldiers are
girded with their military belt. Keep
“o
THE .CHRISTIAN’S ARMOUR. 257
the breast and conscience clear, that
living in the practice of righteousness
and true holiness, the soul and con-
science may be preserved from the
wounds of sin, which is the weapon
with which Satan inflicts his most
deadly injuries. Thus shall your piety
prove a breastplate, while your feet
must be shod with a holy readiness of
spirit, to endure any hardship in your
Christian warfare, or in running in
the way of God’s commandments. .
And this frame of mind can only be
wrought in you by the doctrines of the
pure and holy Gospel—those glad
tidings that are meant for every ear.
Above all it is necessary for every
Christian to take for his defence the
shield of faith, by means of which you
may realize unseen objects, and so ward
off the temptations of the devil, as
soldiers received the spears and arrows
of their enemies upon their shields,
often causing them to rebound.
Y2
258 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Anicr.—And the helmet of salva-
tion, what does that signify P
Mama.-—The bright animating hope
of eternal salvation, which will “ cover
the head in the day of battle,†and
make you bold and brave, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word
of God.
Anice.—-I remember, mama, that
the word of God was the only sword
Jesus used to fight against the devil;
when He was tempted by him in the
wilderness, He said “It is written,
thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God.â€
Mama.—aAnd the knowledge and
recollection of that which is written
in the Word of God, in the moment
of temptation, will be sufficient to
drive the tempter to a distance, at
any time. But all this armour will
be an insufficient protection without
constantly praying and making suppli-
cation in the Spirit, on whom we must
cad
=
THE CHRISTIANS ARMOUR. 259.
depend for grace and help, and with
great perseverance seek for His assist-
ance. And St. Paul concludes by
reminding the Ephesians how he, then
a bondsman and prisoner on account
of his zeal and bold speaking in
the cause of Christ, prayed daily for
all the saints, and needed all their
prayers for him.
. Auice.—I dare-say, mama, that is
what you were thinking about, when
you wrote that hymn for my cousin
Constance. Was it not?
Mama.—I suppose you mean that
about youthful conquerors. I wonder
if you can repeat it P
Autce (repeating) :—
“ There are, within this Christian land,
Children (the Saviour calls them His),†&¢. &e.
Mama.—Very well. I hope you
will understand the verses better than
you did before, and I hope you will
strive.to become one of those chil-
dren.
260 .. PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
_ Aticz.—lI have often meant to ask
you, what is meant by a saint? I heard
Mary say to nurse one day, “You
know I am no saint, I am not fond of
saints, and. I don’t wish to become
one.†-And nurse seemed very sorry,
and she said “I hope you will know
better some day.â€
Mama.—I hope. so too, because a
saint is, according to the language of
the New Testament, a believer in
Christ, a true Christian; it signifies
one separated from the world and.
devoted to God; and therefore it is
very wrong of worldly and unre-.
generate people, such as I fear Mary
must be, to despise or ridicule that
sacred name. A saint must be a holy:
character ; and to the saints God has
promised eternal life, an inheritance
that passeth not away. And you, my
little girl, will, I trust, learn to have
this faith, that you may not be terrified
- or moved by the vain taunts of the.
“9
=
THE CHRISTIANS ARMOUR. 261]
workers of wickedness; but that you
may truly become one of that elect
band, that true and faithful army who,
in complete armour, like the children
in the hymn you have just repeated,
shall have fought “ manfully under his
banner, against the world, the flesh and
the devil ;†that after death you may
with them receive the crown of life, the
prize of their high calling, the recom-
pense of their reward. For the time
will certainly come when, whether the
world believe it or not, the Lord Jesus
Christ shall reign over the earth. And
the saints (and none but the saints) shall
possess the kingdom. Therefore, my
Alice, if we would enjoy such blessings
and such communion, we must follow
the advice of the blessed Apostle, and
“be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love, and for an helmet
the hope of salvation.â€
Auice.—Thank you, I understand
now what that helmet is.
262 . PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—May God the Holy Spirit
enable you to comprehend all things
necessary for you to attain that salva-
tion. And now, to impress all this
more deeply on your memory, let
me read to you a very pretty hymn,
written by Bishop Mant about the
saints :-—
What more befits the Church’s name,
Than to uphold the saintly fame
Of those who, in the Saviour’s might,
Fought for His sake the Christian fight?
Through perils they, and toil and strife,
Held fast the way, the truth, the life;
Weigh’d heavenly gain with earthly loss,
And chose and bore their Saviour’s cross.
Taught by the Church, be ours, O God,
To tread the path Thy servants trod;
Ourselves with Thine elect acquaint,
And love the Master in the saint.
All blessing, honour, glory, power,
To Thee, whom all Thy saints adore;
Thy Church on earth, Thy heavenly host,
Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
FORTY-FIFTH SUNDAY.
THE WEDDING GARMENT,
Axicr.—I cannot understand the Gos-
pel to-day, mama. I don’t know
what I should do, if I had not you
to come to, to explain hard and
difficult things for me.
- Mama.—I am very happy to explain
all your difficulties, my little girl.
‘What new one has arisen to puzzle
your young brain P
Auicr.—Why, mama, the Gospel
for to-day says, “The kingdom of
heaven†(which, I suppose, means God
the Father) “is like unto a certain
king, who made a marriage for his
264 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
son, and sent forth his servants to call
those who were bidden to the wedding,
and they would not come.†And then
afterwards he sent the servants out
into the highways to send anybody
into the wedding, both bad and good,
as many as they could find, till: the
wedding was furnished with guests.
But when the king came in to see
the guests, he found there a man who
had not on a wedding garment, and
the king bade the servants take him
away, and cast him into outer dark-
ness. Now, mama, don’t you think
the king was very harsh and unjust to
punish a poor man, who was brought
in out of the highways, because he
had not a fine handsome dress to ap-
pear in?
Mama.—In the sense you have
taken it, the conduct of the king may
appear harsh to you; butit is because .
you do not understand the customs of
Eastern countries. Jesus, you must
THE WEDDING GARMENT. 265 ©
remember, told this parable to the
Jews, and, according to the customs
of their country, all the persons who
were invited to a wedding feast, were
furnished, at the entrance of the house
where the feast was held, with a proper
dress to wear on the occasion; and as
all the others who had been brought
in out of the highways had taken the
trouble to avail themselves of the
king’s kindness in providing them
with proper dresses, there is no doubt
that a dress had been provided for the
- stranger, if he had taken the pains or
trouble to dress himself in the wedding
garment, without which it was neither
suitable nor proper for him to sit down
as a guest at the king’s table.
Anicz.—Oh! now I understand,
mama. It was the man’s own fault
that he did not put on, or accept the
garment that was offered to him. I
thought before that it was hard to
punish Aim for it, if he had not the
VOL, II. Z
266 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
money, or the time to pode a dress
for himself.
Mama.—You see how necessary it ©
is to understand every matter tho-
roughly before we give our opinion
about the conduct of anybody. It is
-a fault people are very apt to fall into,
to say how unkind is such a person;
how extravagant is another; or how
unjust a third, as you said of the good
king just now; whereas those who
condemn them are quite unable to
judge of the motives from which they
act. I know a lady, who was un-
fortunate in losing a great deal of her
property, and was, of course, unable
to live in the style which she had
been accustomed to do; but she had:
wealthy relatives and friends, who
would not ‘have liked to offer her
_ trifling sums of money to supply her
own necessities ; but they were accus-
~* tomed to send her handsome dresses,
bonnets, cloaks, and such useful .arti-
“9
a,
THE WEDDING GARMENT. 267
cles of. clothing, as enabled her to
visit and appear amongst her old
friends, dressed in the same style as
themselves, who were so much richer.
_ She was very grateful for their kind-
ness; but, as for the real love of
dress, I don’t think she cared a bit
about it: However, one of our neigh-
ours, who knew nothing of her cir-
cumstances, one day remarked to me
that, ‘Mrs. Browne could not be very
poor (as she wished to be thought), or
she could not dress herself so. extra-
vagantly.. For her part she believed
Mrs. Browne spent every penny she
could obtain upon finery, such as few
of her neighbours could afford to
wear.†I did not feel called upon to
explain Mrs. Browne’s circumstances,
so I merely said to her, I have reason
to know that my friend spends very
little upon herself, and that she sets
very little value on finery, as you term
it; but allow me to remind you of
-
268 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mr. Shaw’s text last Sunday morning,
* Judge not that ye be not judged:
condemn not, and ye shall not be
condemned. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal, it shall
be measured to you again.â€
Axiczr.—I understand now, mama,
what you mean; and I shall try to
think before I speak harshly of any
one’s actions.
Mama.—Well, now let us return to
the parable for to-day, which is a most
beautiful and instructive lesson; it
foretold to the Jews the very things
that were afterwards accomplished, viz.,
their rejection of their Saviour, their
punishment and exclusion from many
blessings and benefits that were, in
their stead, bestowed upon the Gen-
tiles. As you supposed, the kingdom of
heaven meant the Lord God, who from
the time of good and faithful Abraham
invited the Jews, His own peculiar,
favoured people, to join in celebrating
“°
THE WEDDING GARMENT. 269
the union of our: Saviour with His
church, which is in many places in the
holy Scriptures termed the Bride of
Christ. And this union is in the
parable likened to a wedding feast,
which was among the Jews a very
grand affair. There was a great deal
of feasting for many days at a Jewish
wedding, and very handsome presents
were exchanged among the parents.
And on the day of the wedding, the
master.or provider of the feast had a
great number of dresses provided, ac-
cording to the number and quality of
the guests ; and whenever a guest pre-
sented himself at the door of the
house where the feast was held, a dress
was given to him, according to his
station, that he might be fit to sit
down at table in the place appointed
for him. I think I have told you that
these large festal rooms were raised in
different platforms; the upper end of
the room, where the bride and bride-
Z2
270 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
groom and the principal guests: were
seated, was the highest ; down below a
few steps was a second table, where
those of the next rank were enter-
tained; and the lower end near the
door was the table prepared for the
poor relations, or poorer visitors; and
of course the dress given to every new
comer was more or less costly and
handsome, according to the table, or
part of the room which the guest was
intended to occupy.
Autce.—Now I understand what
Jesus meant, when He told His disci-
ples not to choose the highest rooms
when they were bidden to a wedding,
lest a more honourable man _ being
bidden, they might be ordered to give
him place, and begin with shame to
take the lowest room.
Mama.—And now you may also
conceive the just displeasure of the
king of the feast, who came in, and
‘found one of the guests without a
a
THE WEDDING GARMENT. 271]
wedding garment. And he saith unto
him, “Friend, how camest thou in
hither, not having a wedding gar-
ment?†Now, the wedding garment
which Christ has prepared for all those
who would appear at His table, and be
made partakers of the feast of ever-
lasting life, must, upon the day of
judgment, present: themselves before
Him in the garb of righteousness and
humility, clad in the spotless robe of
innocence, washed and made white in
: the blood of the Lamb.
Autcr.—Like dear little Innocence
in my pretty book, “The Shadow of
the Cross.â€
Mama.—yYes, the robes of the
saints “shall shine as the sun in the
kingdom of your father,†and “as the
stars for ever and ever.â€
Autce.—And who is intended by
the guest who had not put on a
garment? I see now, mama, that it
must have been his own fault.
272 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Mama.—It is supposed to mean
the self-righteous, the observer of
forms, the person who professes and
calls himself a Christian, and who
will not acknowledge the need of a
Saviour’s blood and intercession, who
fancies that his own good works and
prayers will be sufficient to save him
from the condemnation of the open
sinner, and to secure him an entrance
into heaven. But when the King shall
come in to see the guests, and finds
not the garb of humility in which He
desires us to be clothed, when He
looks in vain for the robe of Christ’s
righteousness, and the renewed and
regenerate spirit, without which none
must appear at the marriage supper of.
the Lamb, He will say to His ser- —
vants, “ Bind him hand. and foot, and
take him away, and cast him into
outer darkness, there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.â€
Auice.—Mama, it makes me fright-
a
THE WEDDING GARMENT. 273
ened to think of living in darkness
for ever. . What a dreadful punish-
ment it would be.
Mama.—Indeed, my child, the loss
of light and heaven must be a punish-
ment beyond conception, and yet how
many will have to bear itP All those
who have lost their heavenly birth-
right, and are unfit to dwell with
Jesus and the holy angels in heaven.
How frequently should we ask our-
selves, my little daughter, whether
we are living like God’s children? I
know you wish to go to heaven when
you die; I am sure you would wish
to be at the right hand of God at the
day of judgment, and to receive His
blessing, and to dwell for ever in His
glorious kingdom. I need not ask
you the question whether you desire
this? But I would ask carnestly
whether you are seeking to obtain the
wedding garment? whether you are
setting your affections on things above?
Q74, PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
And what answer does your con-
science make to me? If it answers
me that you are proud, that you are .
impenitent, that you are ungodly, that
you are self-righteous, then you know
you cannot go to heaven in sin. And
yet heaven is before you; its bright
and everlasting gates stand open to
receive you, Christ invites you, saying,
“T have bought thee with My blood;
thou art Mine.†Leave, then, your
sins, my dear child; trust in the Lord
your redeemer—live for heaven—put
on the wedding garment long ago
prepared for you, and you shall in
time behold the glories of the city of
God, to sit down there at the marriage
feast of the Lamb, for ever and ever.
Remember though, my Alice, that we
are not Jews, not of the favoured race
of those who were first bidden to the
wedding ; but when they refused the
Saviour’s call, we were of the number
of those brought in from the hedges
THE WEDDING GARMENT. 275
and highways, to taste that grace of
which the invited guests had proved
themselves unworthy.
HYMN.
I would, although of Gentile race,
So run as to obtain,
A portion in that holy place,
A glorious crown to gain.
In armour clad I too must fight,
My enemies to quell,
A helmet of salvation bright,
Upon my brow must dwell.
Lest at the holy marriage feast,
A stranger guest I stand:
And, mid the lowest and the least,
I would, at God’s right hand,
The meanest, lowliest station fill;
Nor take the chiefest room,
Lest at the noble Bidder’s will,
With shame f hear my doom.
“ Without a wedding garment, why
Did’st thou find entrance here ?
Before my face, how durst thou try
Unfitly to appear? u
276
PLEASANT SUNDAYS,
“Let hand and foot in. chains be bound,
To utter darkness cast!â€
Be mine a better portion found,
In life that e’er shall last.
Though from the streets brought in by force,
When Israel would not heed ;
Let me with saints at Thy right hand,
For Israel intercede.
ORIGINAL.
~~ FORTY-SIXTH SUNDAY.
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT.
Aricze.—What a dreadful wet day
this has been, mama! But I should
not have minded it half so much if we
had been alone, because then I could
have been with you and papa. I wish
that tiresome Captain Andrews had
kept away. Don’t you, mama ?
Mama.—You surely do not expect
me to join you in saying anything so
uncharitable; and you should know
better than to speak so disrespectfully
of your papa’s guests.
Atice.—But I don’t think papa
likes him very much. He tells such
VOL. II. AA
278 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
long stories, and calls them yarns.
He thinks them very amusing, no
doubt; but when I began to laugh
at his imitating the tipsy cabin-boy,
papa sent me out of the room, and he
looked as if he did not like to hear it
himself.
Mama.—lIt is true that the old
Captain is very fond of telling tales
about his sea-life, which are most in-
teresting to gentlemen and those who
understand him. But he has the unfor-
tunate habit of saying improper words,
as too many seafaring men are apt to
do, and, therefore, your papa does not
wish you, or your little brothers, to
hear such expressions. You might,
perhaps, repeat them without know-
ing how wrong and wicked it is to
do so.
Aurce.—But if the words are
wrong and wicked, why does Captain
Andrews make use of them? He is
old enough to know better.
“*
=
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 279
“Mama.—His age, which far exceeds
your papa’s, is one reason why the
habit has become so streng and so
difficult to cure. He has been for so
many years accustomed to use these
foolish words, that he does not see the
evil of them. Besides, the Sabbath-
day is a very improper season to tell
tales about what happened on board
his ship years ago.
Azice.—But why did not papa tell
him it was wicked to talk nonsense on
Sundays P
Mama.—You are too young yet ‘o
judge what is proper for your papa to
say or do. The best thing you can
do is to obey his wishes cheerfully
yourself, and remember that he is
very particular upon that point. How-
ever, he, with all his care for his little
girl, has been unable to keep her out
of sin. It was quite as wrong to sit
here, and find fault with your papa’s
visitors and with the weather God has
280 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
thought proper to send us, as to join
in the Captain’s merriment in the
dining-room.
Auice.—Oh, mama, it is nothing
but sin, sin, all day long. The more
I.try to be good, the more naughty I
grow.
Mama.—Yes, your own trying is of
very little avail. Like the offending
brother of whom St. Peter speaks in
the text, you need pardon, not only
seven times, but seventy times seven ;
and as long as you continue to trust
in your own good resolutions, so long
will you remain in continual error.
It is the blood of Jesus that cleanseth
us from all sin, and it is by prayer to
Him, and faith in His promises alone,
that you can be kept from falling.
Auicr.—I suppose that was why
St. Paul in his Epistle to the Phil-
hippians tells them how he Bry for
them in every prayer.
Mama.—And how he thanks God
“e
THE, UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 281
for their remembrance of him, and for
this he prayed, ‘‘ That their love might
abound yet more and more in know-
ledge and in all judgment, that they
might approve things that were excel-
lent, that they might be sincere and
without offence till the day of Christ ;
being filled with the fruits of righteous-
ness, which are by Jesus Christ unto
the glory and praise of God.â€
Axicz.—But, mama, part of what
made me cross and fretful was, because
papa did not let me stop and hear the
end of the story about the cabin-boy.
Mama.—The end of the story I
can tell you, without using such
strange words as the Captain does.
The sailor, who had been forgiven by
Captain Andrews for getting tipsy
himself, took a great dislike to the
poor little cabin-boy, and he pur-
posely left some spirits in the boy’s
way, and when the child had drank
it, and made himself ill and stupid, he
: “AAS
282 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
reported him to the purser, who had
him severely punished. And _ the
Gospel to-day seems to have reminded
our old friend of the whole circum-
stance, and he expressed his indigna-
tion of the sailor’s conduct in very
strong language, as well as his pity
for the poor little cabin-boy.
Autce.—But, mama, he said the
poor little rascal was not to blame.
But surely nobody made him drink
the rum, and he ought to have known
better than to meddle with it.
Mama.—Precisely so. And it is
his extraordinary way of seeing and
speaking of different circumstances,
that makes your papa object to your
being much in the old gentleman’s
company. You are yourself old enough
to understand that the boy was wrong
to fall into the temptation. If he had
prayed earnestly to God to deliver
him from evil, he would not have
taken anything which was not his
“a
=~
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 283
own, even though it had been placed
in his berth ; so he did wrong in taking
it. But the Captain overlooks the
sin of the boy, in the greater sin and
meanness of the sailor. God, how-
ever, will judge them both according
to their deeds, and will punish them
accordingly. Another reason you
have also given for being kept out of
the dining-room, by repeating one of
the words we have just warned you
about. The word rascal is a name
often given by men to a_ wicked
person ; but it is a very improper word.
for a little girl to use, and one your
papa and I do not make use of, so I
beg that I may not hear one of these
expressions that you heard to-day
made use of again. It is, or ought to
be, sufficient for you to know that
your parents disapprove of them; and
if you love them, you will never say
anything to displease them or to need
their forgiveness, even though we are
284 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
ordered by God to forgive you even
until seventy times seven. ‘To what
does the Saviour liken the kingdom of
heaven in this parable P
Auicr.—Unto “a certain king who
would take account of his servants.
And one was brought unto him who
owed him ten thousand talents.’†What
is a talent, mama ?
Mama.—A talent was a Jewish
’ weight, or measure ; before people used
money coined as we now have it, they
used to give a certain weight of gold
or silver in exchange for other articles.
A talent of gold or silver weighed as
much as one hundred and twenty-five
pounds of English weight.
Auiczr.— More than a hundred-
weight, mama. Why, how could it be
moved about ?
Mama.—They used to carry their
treasure about in bags. But in the
time of which St. Matthew writes, a
talent of gold was worth £5475 of
“*
=
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 285 -
our present money, so you see ten
thousand times that sum seemed an
enormous and hopeless sum for a
poor man to pay, and the sale of his
wife and children and all that he had
was. ‘insufficient to meet half the
demand which his lord had upon
him. Wherefore, upon his interces-
sion and prayers, his lord was moved
with compassion, and meitcifully for-
gave him the debt. In this picture
Christ. would show us the picture of a
sinner, whose crimes and offences, com-
mitted, day after day, in thought, and
word, and in deed, far exceed the
number of talents in the parable; and
God knowing our utter inability
to meet the heavy demand, and give
Him satisfaction for our shortcomings,
upon our true repentance and cries
for mercy, provides Himself the atone-
ment, and mercifully pardons all. This
atonement our dear and blessed Saviour
Jesus Christ has taught us that, if we
286 PLEASANT SUNDAYS,
desire forgiveness through Him, we
must also forgive our debtors even as
God for His sake will forgive us; and
if we will not forgive, we must expect
eternal condemnation ; for that reason
He continues the parable, and shows
us the unworthy conduct of the servant
to whom his lord had shown so much
mercy. How does he act?
Axtcn.—He “ went out and found
one of his fellow-servants, who owed
him a hundred pence; and he laid
hands on him, and took him by the
throat, saying, Pay me what thou
owest. And his fellow-servant fell
down at his feet, and besought him,
saying, Have patience with me, and I
will pay thee all. And he would not,
but went and cast him into prison, till
he should pay the debt.â€
- Mama.—And then, you see, his
fellow-servants, who saw what was
done, were very sorry. ‘They, like
good Christians, grieved dver the
@
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THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 287
hardness of his heart, and over his
selfish unforgiving temper; and they
came and told unto their lord all that
was done. Then his lord called him,
and said, ‘‘O.thou wicked servant, I
forgave thee all that debt, because thou
desiredst me. Shouldest not thou also
have had compassion on thy fellow-
servant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth and de-
livered him to the tormentors, till he
should pay all that was due unto
him.†;
Auicz.—And that he would never
be able to do, mama. ‘Therefore he
would remain in torment for ever and
ever, as a punishment for his unkind-
ness to his neighbour.
Mama.—This should be a lasting
lesson to us, who are sinners, to be
kind and compassionate to others, be-
cause He who has shown us mercy has
said, “So likewise shall My heavenly
Father do also unto you, if ye from
288 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
your hearts forgive not every one his
brother their trespasses.†Our Saviour
tells us to ‘‘ Owe no man anything ; but
to love one another.†Do you think,
my little girl, that you were fulfilling
this command, when you were com-
plaining of our visitor just now?
Atice.—I am afraid not, mama. I
did not feel any love for Captain
Andrews.
Mama.—And you did not feel in-
clined to bear with his infirmities, or
to pity his faults? You forgot how
much need I have to bear with you ;
you forgot the vast debt that you owe
to your Creator, and your Redeemer ;
you forgot that every sin of which
you have been guilty stands in God’s
account against you. You felt even
vexed at your kind father’s desire to
keep you out of every temptation to
evil; and yet, knowing how many
opportunities you have lost, and duties
you have omitted, you are surprised
THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT. 289
that dear papa “ has patience†with the
old Captain; and, more than fiat,
that he invites him to visit us, in the
hope of being able sometimes to say
a word in season, as he did to-day.
He could not talk to an older person
than himself as I do to you; but he
tried by his remarks to make the old
gentleman see how often the conduct
of professing Christians was like that
of the sailor, and that we, too, fre-
quently see in others the signs of an
unforgiving spirit; and that it was
quite as contrary to God’s law for him
to say he could never forgive the
meanness of the sailor, as for the
man to be spiteful to the poor cabin-
boy. And, perhaps, papa’s words may
come to the Captain’s memory at
another time, and do him good. What
can you do to make up for your un-
kindness P
Auiczy.—You mean that I can pray
to God to forgive me, and that I
VOL. Il. BB
290 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
ought also to pray to Him to forgive
the Captain for all the naughty and
improper words that he says, and to
give him a new heart, and a new
spirit, so that he may learn to pray
himself for forgiveness ; and so I will,
dear mama. Good night.
How can we for forgiveness seek,
Who will not first forgive ?
How can we hope for mercy, if |
In enmity we live ?
How can we debtors, poor and frail,
Who all to Jesus owe,
Expect those debts will e’er be paid,
Who ne’er one debt forego?
Teach us, O Lord, like Thee to act—
Like Thee to pardon all;
Who, like ourselves, are sinners, and
On Thee for mercy call.
‘FORTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY.
SIDNEY BERN ARD.
Auicz.—How dreadfully dark it was
this morning in church, mama, I could
hardly see the words in my book. I
began to be quite frightened, mama !
Mama.—lI was not surprised to see
you getting up close to papa; I thought
you looked frightened. But tell me,
my darling child, what had you to be
afraid of? Youknow God can take care
of you as well in the dark as in the
sunshine.
. Aticzr.—I know that, dear mama,
but still it looked very dreadful, the
sky seemed quite yellow all at once,
292 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
and everything looked a strange colour,
and I thought the church was filled
with smoke. I suppose it was only the
fog though; but just then Mr. Shaw
began to read in such a solemn voice,
that I began to fear the end of the
world was coming. Did it not seem
very awful to you, mama?
Mama.— The remembrance of
Christ’s second coming to judge the
world, not as a meek, merciful Saviour,
but a just and severe Judge of every
act and deed of. our whole lives, is in-
deed at all times a subject of awe
and apprehension; but though we
should bear this coming in mind fre-
quently, it would be foolish to be
frightened at every storm, or a little
fog, which we must always expect at
this time of year. You must re-
member that it is now winter, the days
get shorter and darker, and this year
is very nearly at its close.
Auice.—Then Christmas will soon
9
=
. SIDNEY BERNARD. 293
be here, mama, and that will be a very
joyful time, for Constance will be
coming to stay with us, and my aunt
and uncle and the baby; and Christ-
mas day will not come on Sunday this
year as it did before, so we may have
some snapdragons.
Mama.—And that is how little
girls’ heads run on from one thing to
another. We must not now be think-
ing of the pleasures of Christmas,
God only knows whether we may all
be spared to see another Christmas-
day. Let us rather think how fast
the year has gone since last Christmas,
and question ourselves how we have
spent the intermediate time, how we
have improved it, and whether we are
any more fit to die, if it should please
God tocall us. It is very many years
since God gave us the warning, that
He would come as a thief in the
night, and that nobody should know
the day or hour; but that. everybody
BB2
294, PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
must be ready, and watch, lest they
should, like the unwise virgins, have
no oil in their lamps, and, while they
were getting ready, the door of mercy
would be shut. We know, indeed,
that God is merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness. We have many
proofs of this in the Bible. He
suffered Abraham to plead with Him,
for the cities of Sodom and Go-
morrah ; He promised that He would
spare those cities, if only ten righteous
people could be found therein. For
more than a hundred years, Noah
preached to, and warned the sinners of
the dreadful doom that God would
bring upon them, unless they would
repent; but although they saw him
building an ark, they would not repent
and go into it for refuge; and God
waited patiently all that time; and
when it was ended, and He found
that the people hardened their hearts,
‘and would not repent, He ordéred
‘e
SIDNEY BERNARD. 295
Noah and his family, and all that were
to be spared, to go into the ark; and
even then God waited seven days to
give any others a chance of being
saved, before He began to rain down
upon the earth in His anger. But the
people heeded no warnings, until they
knew that God had shut the door
of the. ark—‘ And the windows of ,
heaven were opened, and the fountains
of the great deep were broken up,
and at length the ark floated upon
the deep waters.†Then they began
to be frightened, and ran in their
distress upon the highest places. As
. their houses filled with water, they
climbed up to the tops; but all was in
vain. The floods followed them till the
waters covered the tops of the highest
trees and mountains, and every thing
that had lived upon the earth perished
in the waters.
Attcr.—How dreadful it must have
been, to see the rain pouring down
296 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
from the clouds, and great waves like
those at the sea-side, rolling forward
so fast that nobody could run away
from them! Do you think, mama, that
God saved the souls of any of the
people, who were drowned in the
flood ?
Mama.—The Bible tells us that
the rain fell for forty days and nights,
and therefore we may hope that some
of them had time to repent of their
sins and unbelief, and to pray for
pardon. We know that God could
have destroyed the world in a minute
if He had chosen; and, therefore, in
His great mercy, He may have allowed
some of them time to humble them-
selves before Him. And we may trust
that He, in His great goodness and
forbearance, would listen to their cries
for mercy and hear them, and perhaps
suffer their souls to be saved, though
their bodies perished in the flood.
. Axicr.—Indeed, mama, I hope
_ SIDNEY BERNARD. 297
none of us will be so foolish as to re-
fuse to hear what the preachers and
the Bible tell us, and that we may
listen and be obedient before it is too
late. :
Mama.—lI hope so too, for we have
a great many more warnings and ex-
amples than they had. We have the
' Scriptures in which all these things
were written for our learning, and,
therefore, we have still less excuse for
our sin, or for our delay, if we will
not come to Christ “ that we may have
‘Tife’â€â€™â€”that kind Saviour, who has
done so much for us.
Auicr.—Indeed, mama, it seems
hat Jesus was always most happy
when he was doing a kindness to
somebody. He cured one poor woman,
and brought a girl to life in a very
short time.
Mama.—Yes; our Saviour, when on
earth, only lived and moved to com-
municate blessings to others. ‘“ Mercy
298 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
‘and truth were met together,â€â€™ -where-
ever Christ appeared ; and this is our
comfort now, that Christ is always in
the midst of His church, as ready to
listen to every cry for help; and that,
while He is healing one, He is ever
ready to pardon another, or to console
a third, as He was to heal the poor
woman, while on His way to raise the
Ruler’s daughter. You see people in
this world are always in need of the
Saviour ; they all have their infirmities,
their sorrows, their pains, and their
losses—their trials of some kind. One
is mourning for the death of a child,
another for a parent; one is lame, or
blind, or deaf; another is groaning
under long-continued and painful sick-
ness. Hach heart knows its own bur-
den, and each one is perhaps disposed
to fancy his own burden the heaviest
to bear; but Jesus knows the sorrow
and trials of each one, and though
His miracles are not so visible, we
+e
=
SIDNEY BERNARD. 299
know that He can, at all times, ad-
minister the relief that is best suited
to our case. The poor woman, who
touched His garment secrétly, was not
only cured, but Jesus called her out
into public notice, and commended
her faith.
Autcr.—I am sure it -was very
wicked of those people who laughed
our Saviour to scorn; but I wish to
know why He said, “ Give place, for
the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.â€â€™
Was she only in a trance, mama, or
was she really dead? and why were
the people making a noise P
Mama.—Two questions at once,
Alice. I suppose I had better answer
the last first, as the Scripture says:
“And when Jesus came into the
Ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels
and the people making a noise, He
said unto them, Give place, for the
maid is not dead, but sleepeth.†It
is.usual for the Jews to come to the
800 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
houses of their neighbours, when there
is a death in a family, to mourn and
weep with them; and there is no
doubt that instruments of music were
made use of to accompany them in
their chants and lamentations for the
dead ; and as Jesus intended to restore
the child to life immediately, He knew
that this noisy mourning was quite
unnecessary ; and, most likely, when
He asked them to “Give place,†it
was because there was so great a
crowd in the rich man’s house, that
Jesus could not get near the bed, or
couch, on which the dead body of the
maiden was laid; and when He said,
“she sleepeth,’ He meant that death
only resembles a sleep, and that hers
would be a very short one. ‘And
they laughed Him to scorn.†The
people did not understand the meaning
of His words; and, although their
laughing and mockery would not have
prevented Jesus from doing what He
SIDNEY BERNARD. 301
wished in their presence, yet their con-
duct was so improper on this solemn
occasion, that Jesus had them “ put
forth,†or turned out of the apartment.
He then “went in, and took her by
the hand, and the maid arose.â€
Autcr.—I found a different account
of these two miracles, in the eighth
chapter of St. Luke, mama; and it
says there, that “when He came into
the house, He suffered no man to go
in, save Peter, and James, and John,
and the father and mother of the
maiden.†I suppose He wished them
to see the miracle ?
Mama.—Yes;:he wished His dis-
ciples to know and understand that
He was really the Messiah, and that
they might believe His words the more
readily, when He told them what
would happen hereafter. I am glad
you took pains to find St. Luke's
account, because I think it is clearer
and more easy for you to inpelends
VOL. i.
3802 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Axice.—But, mama, are there really
such things as trances? Nurse said,
when [read the Gospel to her this after-
noon, “‘ Perhaps the Ruler’s daughter
was in a trance!†and that she had
heard of persons having been buried in
a trance. Do you think that is true?
_Mama.—TI have heard of such
things as for persons to lie in a long
sleep that resembles death, and which
is called “being in a trance.†In-
stances have occurred of people being
buried in that state; but it is very
uncommon. I have seen the tomb of
a lady in the Liten, or burying-ground,
close by the Ruins of the Holy Ghost
Chapel, at Basingstoke, who is said to
have been twice buried alive. I suppose
she wasin one of these death-like sleeps.
Autce.—What do you mean by
Liten, Mama ?
Mama.—Liten is an old word, sig-
nifying a churchyard, supposed to be
derived from two Saxon words, Ke, a.
corpse, and ¢ume, an enclosure.
SIDNEY BERNARD. 303
Aaice.—But how did they find out
she was alive, mama, if she was buried ?
Mama.—By the mercy of God, my
dear. Although Jesus was not on
earth then to take her by the hand,
and say, ‘“ Arise!†He knew exactly
‘the way to save her; and when some
little school-boys went to play, in
crossing the churchyard, where their
school-house stood, they heard a noise
in the tomb. Possibly, the poor lady
hhad awakened, and was crying for
help to get out of the dark, narrow
coffin. And the boys soon brought
other persons to listen; so the tomb
was re-opened, and the lady restored
to her husband and family. You see
Jesus ordained that she should be
awake just at the time the boys were
at hand to hear her ; for if it had been
night, or any other time, she would
have laid there till she was starved ; so
her restoration was almost as wonder-
ful as the raising of Jarius’s daughter.
Auice.—Did you say she was twice
304 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
buried? JI wonder they were not
afraid to bury her the second time.
Mama.—No doubt they took care to
have her watched, and listened too for
some time afterwards ; but it happened
some years ago, and I cannot tell you
the exact particulars; however, the
stone, which is now broken and
cracked about, and partly sunk into
the ground, was pointed out to me,
when I was at Basingstoke, and I was
assured that the main circumstances
were true ; and we know that nothing
is too difficult or too wonderful for
God; therefore we should humbly
listen to His words, and the account
of: His miracles, with child-like reve-
rence, and, instead of scoffing at what-
ever appears mysterious to our. frail
and. ignorant natures, we should, like
Mary, “ponder them in our hearts,â€
praying constantly for faith and hu-
mility, until the time arrives when
we shall be satisfied with knowledge,
and know even as we are known.
SIDNEY BERNARD. 3805
Autcz.—How dreadful it must have
been for her to wake up and find her-
self in the dark. Do you know,
mama, I thought of the Egyptians
when we were at church. I began
to feel afraid of the darkness. Don’t
you think that was the most dreadful
of all the plagues P
Mama.—I don’t wonder that you
think so, because you are a silly little
girl, and are afraid of the dark ; although
1 have told you so often that God
takes care of His children as well in
the dark as in the light, and they have
nothing to fear. The Egyptians knew
that they were wicked and rebellious
to God, and therefore the dreadful
unnatural darkness made them afraid,
for they never removed from the place
they were in, when the sudden dark-
ness fell upon them. They who were
standing were afraid to sit down, and
for three days ‘they neither ate nor
drank. What terrified them was their
cCc2
306 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
own evil conscience. But you, my
little girl, should learn to fear no
evil. If your little heart were washed
from sin, you would not. be afraid of
Christ’s coming in clouds and dark-
ness.
\Anier,—But do you know any-
body, mama, who would not fear and
tremble, if they thought the world
would be at an end directly ?
Mama.—tThe end of the world will
make no difference to those persons
who are already dead; and I hope
there are many persons who do not
fear to die. I knew one good pious
gentleman, who is now dead, who
went of his own accord into danger,
and died in the service of his Lord
and Master, and in trying to do good
to his fellow-Christians.
Attce.—What was his name, dear
mama ?
Mama.—His name was Sidney
Bernard. He was a surgeon, and his
=
SIDNEY BERNARD. 307
great pleasure was to do good to the
sick and poor. It happened a few
years ago that there was a dreadful
fever broke out on board a ship called
the ‘‘ Eclair,†and the poor sailors
- and people died one after the other.
The ship doctors caught the fever, and
died too; and when the ship arrived
~ upon the shores of England, she was
put in quarantine; that is, she was
made to keep away from all other
ships, and not allowed to land her
passengers, or anything that had been
on board of her, for fear of spreading
the fever all over England. For some
weeks she was kept in quarantine,
and as fast as one surgeon died,
another was sent on board, to do what
he could to save the sick. At last, no
one could be found to go on board
the ship. The doctors were all] afraid
to go for fear they should take the
fever, and die also. Sidney Bernard,
however, had no such fear. He was
308 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
quite ready to offer his own life asa
sacrifice to save others; at least, to do
his best to save the poor sufferers on
this infected ship. So he went
willingly, and worked night and day
in nursing and administering medi-
cines and drink to those who were
unable to help themselves. He went
from berth to berth, consoling and
comforting, and he had the happiness
of restoring a few to health. Gradually
the disease gave way before his efforts,
or no more victims were left for the
fever to seize upon; when, nearly the
last, Sidney Bernard was himself taken
ill, and his frame was so worn out,
with watching and hard work, that
he sank under it,.and was soon num-
bered with the ‘“ Blessed who die in
the Lord.†He died while working
for his Lord, and no doubt it was
said of him, ‘Come thou blessed of
my Father, enter thou into the joy of
thy Lord.â€
“
=
SIDNEY BERNARD. 309
Autcz.—I should think God loved
him, mama ?
Mama—No doubt He did, my
darling child, and I earnestly hope
that you will listen to God’s kind
and gracious warnings; that you may
watch and pray against the day
of Christ’s coming; that you may
learn to serve Him better every day ;
that you may conquer your little
habits of pride and impatience, and
your other little faults of the same
sort ; that you may be humble-minded,
and fight valiantly against all your
naughty tempers and desires, and the
manifold temptations of a wicked
world ; that when the Son of Man shall
make His second Advent into the
world, He may find you and me em-
ployed at our Master’s work, ready
and glad to bid Him welcome, and to
enter with Him into His heavenly rest,
that we may not perish with the un-
believing world.
310 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
The miracles our Saviour wrought,
Had spread abroad His fame,
When, lowly down at Jesus’ feet,
The suppliant Ruler came.
But one fair girl, within his house,
His only cherished child,
Lay in her last expiring throes—
With grief his heart was wild.
Still did he build his hopes on Christ,
Who hearken’d to his prayer,
And through the throng He made His way;
But, as. He traversed, there
Came, close behind Him in the crowd,
A woman, sick and poor,
Worn down by long infirmity,
Beyond all human cure.
His garment hem she meekly touched,
With faith her bosom swells;
_She feels the instantaneous cure,
While loudly Jesus tells—
4“ Somebody touched Me, I feel,
Virtue from Me hath gone.
Who touched me?†The woman came,
And at His feet fell down.
SIDNEY BERNARD. 3ll
“ Sick and distrest to Thee, O Lord,
In humble faith I came;
I felt I needed Thy relief,
But dared not speak Thy name.
“TI merely touch’d Thy garment’s hem,
When instantly was cured
The sad and obstinate disease,
T had for years endured.â€
How kind were then the Saviour’s words,
“Daughter!â€â€”how sweet that sound—
“Be of good comfort—in thy faith
Thou health and peace hast found.â€
The minstrels and the mourners fill
The Ruler’s house with noise;
The child is dead—for her they mourn,
Once source of all their joys.
“Give piace,†nor vainly weep, saith Christ,
“The maiden is not dead—
She sleepeth!†Hear their shouts of scorn;
They knew that life had fled!
He took the maiden by the hand,
And softly said, “ Arise!â€
The life-blood cirel’d through her veins—
Unclosed her lovely eyes.
The maid arose.—Astonishment
At first chained every tongue!
At His command they gave her meat,
And o’er their darling hung.
312 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Jesus, our Saviour, is the same,
Who walked the earth of yore ;
He hears our prayers, and with His word
He could the dead restore.
But, in the world of woe and care,
Who seeks a second strife ?
The rather let us seek to win
The everlasting life.
ORIGINAL.
FORTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY.
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Axice.—Was it not a lovely sermon
to-day, mama? It made me think
of a great many things that you have
talked to me about’ lately; and I
could hardly help crying when Mr.
Shaw spoke so kindly about the Jews ;
I never liked Jews before, but I pity
them very much now.
‘Mama.—All good true Christians,
those who love God in’ sincerity and
truth, love God’s people, from whose
race came our dear Saviour, éo die that
.we Gentiles might also be saved. If
. we love one ae of a ary very
> WOR. Il.
314 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
much, we are disposed to love and
respect the other members of it, for
the sake of the one who is dear to us.
If we love Christ, we must also love
His people.
Autce.—But, mama, when will the
days come that are foretold by Jere-
miah the prophet in the Epistle for
to-day ?—“That God will raise up a
righteous Branch, and a king shall
reign and prosper, and shall execute.
judgment and justice inthe earth. In
His days Judah shall be saved, and
Israel shall dwell safely.â€
Mama.—Jesus Christ had not then
come down from His Father in Heaven,
to take upon Him our nature, and
suffer death upon the cross; but we
know that He was the righteous
Branch, of whom Jeremiah spoke ;
and though He did not then reign as
an earthly king, that part of the pro-
phecy, no doubt, relates to His second
coming, as a Judge, to administer
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 3815
justice to His people, and to punish the
wicked with eternal torment and con-
demnation. In those days the Gentiles
were not worshippers of the One Al-
mighty God, the Maker and Creator
of all things; and the Jews only ac-
knowledged “the Lord our Righteous-
ness’’ as the kind Deliverer who had
brought up the children of Israel from
astate of bondage in Egypt; but
Jeremiah then prophecied, that here-
after they should be restored to their
country (from which they had been
driven on account of their wickedness),
and that they should be enabled to
say, “The Lord hveth who brought
up, and who led the seed (or descend-
ants) of the house of Israel out of the
north country, and from all countries
whither I had driven them; and they
shall dwell in their own land.â€
Auice.—Is that land Palestine,
where the Jews used to live?
Mama.—yYes; many persons sup-
316 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
pose that Jerusalem will be rebuilt,
and inhabited by the Jews again,
before the second coming of our
Saviour. And it will be no greater
difficulty, on God’s part, to restore
them to their original power and
splendour, and to restore to them all
the blessings they have forfeited, than
it was for Him to feed five thousand
fainting persons with five barley loaves
and two small fishes. He who could
supply His people with earthly perish-
able bread, can also supply His perish-
ing people with the bread of life, the
knowledge of eternal truth. What
effect had the performance of this
miracle upon the minds of those who
were fed, and those who saw it ?
Auicr.—They said, “This is of a
truth that prophet which should come
into the world.â€
Mama.—And, in like manner, He
will one day open the eyes of the Jews
to behold His glory, and prove to
“@
=
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 317
them that “ He whom they rejected is
indeed the Christ, that Prophet that
should come into the world.â€
Aticr.—But, mama, there was a
great deal about stumbling-blocks in
the sermon. Does a stumbling-block
mean something to tumble over ?
Mama.—A stumbling-block is, lite-
rally, anything which is placed in our
pathway to occasion us to fall, and to
hinder us from getting forward, and
going right; and the stumbling-
blocks which were mentioned in the
sermon meant hindrances and occa-
sions for doing wrong. Christians
have placed many stumbling-blocks in
the way of the Jews by their sinful
conduct. Many of those who have
professed and called themselves Chris-
tians, have forgotten to show them-
selves the peaceable followers of the
meek and holy Jesus, for they have
persecuted the Jews in the days of
"their exile and affliction. They (the:
DD 2
318 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Jews) have, at different times, been
banished from different countries,
England, France, Spain, and Portugal,
and thus the professors of Chris-
tianity have dishonoured and dis-
pleased the meek and loving Saviour.
We have also treated them with con-
tempt, which was very contrary to the
spirit of the Gospel, by which we
profess to be guided. We have oft-
times broken the laws of God, and
of Moses, and slighted many of its
observances. How, then, could the
Jews suppose our faith to be a purer
or better creed than their own? We
have appeared to them rather like
strangers, endeavouring to wrest their
mercies from them, than like friends
seeking their highest good.
Axtce.—But their greatest stum- -
bling-block was their disbelief of
Christ.
Mama.—True; they have placed
a great many hindrances in their own °
“9
=
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 319
way to salvation. Their self-right-
eousness—their belief in the traditions
of men—their covetousness and love ©
of money—their false views of God—
and, above all, their unbelief in the Son
of God, the just and holy One whom
they denied, and desired a murderer
to be granted in His place, and killed
the Prince of Life, whom God raised
from the dead; who, though He has
not yet all things subdued under Him,
will, according to His own promises,
return (after a little while) and esta-
blish everywhere His own happy
kingdom. St. Augustine says, “ When
a house is to be built, instead of the
stones or bricks rising at once from
the ground, the ground itself is dug
into for a good foundation. When a
rich crop is to be produced, the land
~ must be manured with dung and soil,
which seem to cover the grass, and
hinder the flowers from springing up,
and to be quite opposite to the ends
320 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
to be attained.†So God has, in His
wonderful dealings with mankind,
suffered His own peculiar people to be
scattered about as the dung of the
earth, that He may hereafter gather
them again together, and reap a richer
crop of praise and glory to Himself.
He will, after their long punishment,
awaken them to humility and contri-
tion, He will show them the error of
their ways and doings—He has. pro-
phecied, by the mouth of His prophet
Zechariah, that He “will pour out
upon the house of David, and upon
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace and supplication, and
they shall look upon Him whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for
Him, as one mourneth for his only son,
and shall be in bitterness for Him, as
one that is in bitterness for his first-
born.†And thus, when they are con-
trite for their past sins, God will
revive them and heal them, and Jesus:
+
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THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 321
will appear again among them, far
more gloriously; and their former
deliverances from their bondage in
Egypt—their long and perilous jour-
neyings in the wilderness—their battles
under the judges and their kings,
and their captivity in Babylon, shall
be no more related for the greater
deliverance yet to come; even that
which Jeremiah has predicted in the
chapter from which our Epistle is
_ taken.
Atice.—How happy the Jews will
be to be restored to their lost country !
—don’t you think so, mama?
Mama.—They will have cause to
rejoice in God their Saviour, “ who
will heal their backslidings, and Jove
them freely,†and who will restore them
‘to peace and comfort—such | perfect
peace, that when Jesus shall return to
reign over them, “they shall beat
their swords into ploughshares, and
their spears into pruning-hooks;
322 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
nation shall not lift up sword against
nation; neither shall they learn, war
any more.†“In His days shall
the righteous flourish, and abundance
of peace so long as the moon en-
dureth.â€
Axicr.— Don’t you wish that time
had already come, mama, and then
there would be an end of all the
dreadful wars.
Mama.—In God’s good time the
wars will be ended ; but in the Scrip-
tures it is foretold that “there shall
be wars and rumours of wars,†before
this day of blessedness and glory shall
arise, in all its healing, and shine
forth over all the earth—‘ when the
kingdoms of this world are become ©
the kingdoms of our Lord and of
His Christ—when the Deliverer shall
come out of Sion, and turn away un-
godliness from Jacob.†Do we ever
pray for the coming of this day, my
child ?
*
=
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. $23
Auice.—Yes, mama; when we re-
peat the Lord’s Prayer, we say, “Thy
kingdom come.â€
Mama.—And both Jews and Gen-
tiles will be inheritors of that king-
dom. God will Himself say to Sion,
“ Arise, shine, for thy light is come,
and the glory of the Lord is risen
upon thee; and the Gentiles shall
come to thy light, and kings to the
brightness of thy rising.â€â€ And the
whole glorified hosts of heaven and
earth shall, with shouts of joy, ac-
knowledge the Lord our Righteous-
ness.
Thou Judge of quick and dead!
Before whose bar severe,
With holy joy, or guilty dread,
We all must soon appear.
Our sinful souls prepare
For that most solemn day,
And fill as with a watchful care,
And stir us up to pray:
324
PLUASANT SUNDAYS.
To pray, and wait the hour,
The awful hour unknown,
When, cloth’d with majesty and pow’r,
Thou shalt from heav’n come down.
Oh! may we then be found
Obedient to Thy word ;
Attentive to the trumpet’s sound,
And looking for our Lord.
Howarp.
When Jews and Gentiles all
Round Thy bright throne shall press,
And Thee in union call,
The Lord our Righteousness.
ORIGINAL.
FORTY-NINTH SUNDAY.
THE FIRST COMING.
Autcr.—Oh, how glad I am to see
you, mama. It is so tiresome to stay
at home all these long days. My feet
are so sore I could not.run about,
and nurse would not light a candle for
me to see to read, and I began to be
so tired, I did not know what to do
with myself.
Mama.—But why did you not
have your little brothers or sisters to
talk to you? I thought you told me
the other day, that it was impossible
to be dull where Walter was, and [
‘am ‘sure you might have spent the last
VOL Il. EE
3826 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
half-hour pleasantly, and profitably too,
in answering his questions. He would
have found something to say, I have
no doubt.
Auxicr.—But that’s just it, you see,
mama. Nurse took the children away,
and would not let me have a light to
read by.
Mama.—It is very unusual for
nurse to thwart you in anything ; but,
perhaps, if you spoke to her in the
same fretful way that you now speak
to me, she had some good reason for
taking the children away from you.
Aticre.—She said I was a cross,
discontented child, and that she should
not allow me to set them an example
of grumbling. But then, if she had
given me a candle, I should not have
grumbled, only she would not let me
have what I wanted.
Mama.—I do not think she would
have shown herself my friend, or yours
either, if she had given you anything
“*
=
- THE FIRST COMING. 327
she thought improper for you to
have.
Aticr.—But, mamma, what could
there be improper in wanting a
candle ?
Mama.—Nothing improper in want-
ing a candle, Alice; but the question
is, how or in what manner did you
ask for it? I begin to fear ee was
not very properly done.
Aticr.—I said first I wanted a
candle, and I wished nurse would
light one, because I wished to show
Walter the pictures in the large Bible ;
and nurse said I had better wait a
little while, till she had got the tea
ready ; for Walter had not made a good
dinner, and would be wanting his tea.
Mama.—Well, I consider all that
very reasonable, and I suppose a little
girl of good sense and good temper
would have waited patiently, while
nurse prepared tea for her little
brother.
328 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Autce.—So I would have waited,
but nurse went down stairs, and
stayed such a long time ; and when she
came back she had no candle, and I
said to her, “‘ Well, where’s the light >â€
And nurse said, “I am afraid it is
under the bushel, for I do not see a
proper light, to set before my little
ones here, Miss Alice, and I shall not
give you a candle while you speak im-
properly.â€
Mama.—Nurse was quite right.
Now the question is, were you right P
What did you say to her in return ?
Atice.—I said it was very unkind
of her to keep me here without a
light, and that if she did not give me
one directly I should tell you of it ;
then nurse said I might tell you what
I pleased, so long as I told the truth ;
but she would not give me a candle
till I asked properly.
Mama.—Which I suppose you did,
if you really wanted a candle.
‘THE FIRST COMING. 829
Aticz.—I did not think nurse had
any right to keep me without a candle,
so I rang the bell, and when Jane
came up, I told her to bring me a
candle directly, out of the dining-
room. And Jane went and brought
me the candle, and put it on the table.
But as soon as she was gone out of
the room, before I could find my place,
nurse put the candle out, and carried
it away, and so I rang the bell again ;
but when Jane came up, nurse opened
the door, and told her there was
nothing wanted, ove of the children
rung, she said, and if the bell rang
again it need not be answered till her
mistress came home.
Mama.—This is a very, very sorry
account to give. I hope you recovered
yourself when you found nurse deter-
mined not to give you your own way.
Auice.—I thought she was very
unkind, and I said so; and I told her
she liked Walter a great deal. better
EE2
330 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
than she did me, for she always. gave
him the things he wanted. So then
nurse called me a naughty girl; and
I said she was a naughty cross woman,
and little Walter said, ‘“ Naughty
cross woman, naughty nurse;†and
that made her very angry. So she
took the children out of the room,
and said they should not stay to have
a bad example set them, and to be
taught to be rude. Then she bade
Mary carry the tea-things into the
other room, and said, “If I had not a
bad cold she would put me to bed;
but I should have tea by myself, and
sit here in the dark till you came
home ;� and——
Mama.—She acted quite properly,
‘but you have acted most improperly.
This is how you have been spending
your Sabbath-day, making yourself
and nurse uncomfortable, when you
ought to have been singing Hos-
annah.
THE FIRST COMING. 331
Anicr.—I am sure, mama, I could
not sing; I did not feel in the humour
to sing. With such a dreadful cold,
and such sore feet, and no light to see
with.
Mama.—Your bad cold, and your
chilblains, are ailments sent by God ;
and you ought, therefore, to bear them
patiently ; and, instead of being fretful
and peevish at every little ailment,
you should consider how fearfully and
wonderfully you are made, of how
many wonderful, delicate parts your
body is made, and then you would
not wonder that for once you should
suffer with your feet, or your head;
you would feel surprised that you have
been so long preserved in health and
safety. Remember that this .is the
first illness you have had for a whole
year, and that, for the whole twelve-
months, this is the very first Sunday
on which you have been prevented
from going with me to the house of
332 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
God; and instead of being thankful
for the blessings of forty-eight Sab-
baths, you give way to fretfulness and
ill-temper on the forty-ninth, because
you have a cold, and cannot go out,
and do precisely what you wish to do.
Auice.—Indeed, mama, I should not
‘have been cross, if you had been at home.
Mama.—Perhaps you might not
have had precisely the same tempta-
tion to get out of temper; but, as I
told you a few Sundays ago, you cannot
expect me to be always with you to
keep you out of the way of evil; and,
therefore, you must learn to rely upon
yourself, and upon your Saviour, to
overcome temptations, when they do
come; for we do not know, till we
are left to ourselves, how little we can
bear up under the little trials and
temptations of this life; we do not
consider that all our pains and trou-
bles are brought upon us by reason
of our sin, and that sin is, indeed, the
*
=
THE. FIRST COMING. 333
whole cause of our sufferings ; . and
that. when we are impatient under any
kind of illness, we are, in fact, adding
sin to sin, and grieving the holy
Saviour, who willingly endured for us
ten times more pain and agony without
a murmur, and who, in His greatest
suffering, cried out to His Heavenly
Father for pardon for His murderers,
“Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do,†and who, when He
asked for drink, was given the most
bitter and horrible mixture, and yet
He murmured not; while you have
been fretful and disrespectful to your
nurse, because you could not have a
candle at the very moment you de-
sired to have one.
Atice.—I am afraid I have been
very naughty. Oh, mama, how hard
it is to be good.
Mama.—That is the cry and feeling
of many older than you, my poor
child; and there is but one way of
334 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
becoming so—keeping Christ for ever
in your mind. God knows how to
bring good out of evil, and He some-
times lets the very best of His people
do wrong, that He may show them how
weak and helpless they are; and then,
in the critical moment, He sends them
some unexpected help. Just at the
time when the Jews had no king,
‘when they had been conquered by the
‘Romans and were governed by a
foreign governor, that was the time
when God sent His Son to deliver
those who would believe on Him from
sin and death.
Auicr.—That was at His first ad-
vent, mama, which we are going to
talk about to-day. You said, last
Sunday, that I was to begin the
Collects to-day, and so I learned the
first. I wonder at that, because it
seems funny to begin the Collects just
now, when we are quite at the end of
our other year.
“9
=
THE FIRST COMING. 335
Mama.—Yes; I thought it would
be more easy for you to understand
the Collects if we took them as they
were read in the churches ; and, there-
fore, I did not go back to the begin-
ning, as you call it. Now, what doo
you mean by Advent?
Auice.—You told me last Sunday,
mama, that Advent meant coming. The
‘Coming of Christ.â€
Mams.—Yes; the present season
of Advent proclaims the approach of:
Christ, and it reminds us of His two
comings—the first in humility and
mercy, to save; and the second in
' power and terror, to judge.
Axice.—Christ came first as a little
baby, mama.
Mama.—True; God had been very
angry with everybody in the world,
-because of the sin of Adam and Eve;
‘and their sin and disobedience had,
as you know, brought pain, and sor-
row, and death upon all their children.
336 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Autce.—Don’t you wish they had
been good and obedient, like Jesus,
mama ?
Mama.—Then, my dear,there would
have been no need for a kind Saviour.
If we had been all good, Jesus Christ
would not have left His Father’s
throne, and come down to be a man
and die.
Axice.—How good He was to be
punisked for our sins, mama!
Mama.—For our sakes He came
into the world, a poor little helpless
baby; not the child of rich parents,
who could give Him fine clothes, and
toys, and indulgences; but He was
born in a stable, and His mother was
a poor woman, who had to work for
her living. This was to teach us
humility. Then the Gospel tells us
that He was very obedient to His re-
puted parents, and that is a lesson for
all children to be obedient to their
parents. And all through His life we
“@
a
‘THE FIRST COMING. 337
learn lessons of what we ought to do;
and whenever we do evil, we know
that we are not following His bright
example, nor “casting away the works
of darkness.â€
Autcz.—Do the works of darkness
mean sin, mama?
Mama.—The works of darkness
are evil doings, sin of every kind; all
bad deeds may be called the works of
darkness, because they will not bear
the light of the Gospel, they are not
fit to meet the eyes of God. Sin is
always displeasing to Him, and there-
fore the first Collect of the year of the
church, or the secular year, begins
by asking God to give us grace to
cast away the works of darkness, that
is, to leave them off. And you know I
have told you that there is a particular
Collect (or short prayer) appointed’
for every particular Sunday, and this
one is to prepare for the coming of
Christ. And thus all Christians are
VOL. II. FF
838 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
called upon to be in readiness to re-
ceive the great Captain of their salva-
tion, under whose banner every Chris-
tian is bound to fight manfully.
Auicz.—But little girls cannot be
soldiers, mama.
Mama.—In this sense they can
follow Christ their leader. They must
obey His commands, and follow the
banner of the cross, and bear it too,
as I have before explained to you.
Those who will not bear His cross,
must not hope to wear His crown.
Auicz.—What is meant by armour,
mama? Swords, guns, and such
things ?
Mama.—Part of if; but you must
remember, as I have before explained
to you, that at the time the Gospel
and Epistles were written, the soldiers
used to wear steel, brass, or iron-
chain armour all over their bodies, to
protect them from the swords and
arrows of their enemies. And _ all
e
THE FIRST COMING. 339
Christians need such a protection from
the shafts and assaults of sin and
Satan. All have their enemies ; even
little girls have to fight against their
enemies, which are their naughty
tempers, their bad thoughts, and all
the evils that arise from the flesh, the
world, and the works of darkness.
And these are very hard enemies to
fight against, and they require little
Christians to have the armour of holi-
ness that was bestowed upon them
when they were received into the
blessed state, and made one of Christ’s
soldiers. By and by, you shall read
what St. Paul says in the sixth chapter
of Ephesians and the thirteenth verse,
about this whole armour of God, to
refresh your memory on this point,
although we have spoken so lately on
the subject.
Auice.—I hope I shall leave off
having naughty tempers, and that I
shall be a good soldier and servant,
340 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
some day, mama. That I may have
my armour bright when Christ comes
to judge the world:
Mama.—You must pray always for
grace to do what is right, that whether
you be alive, or already dead before
the last day, that you may rise to
dwell with Him in heaven, where He
will reign for ever and ever.
Axicr.— The Epistle for to-day
was very easy to be understood.
Don’t you think so, mama?
Mama.—It is, you see, part of a
letter written by St. Paul to the
Romans. It is part of the thirteenth
chapter, and it admonishes or warns
them to be just and honest, to keep
the commandments, and, above all, to
love one another. And it calls them
to awake from their sleep (which
meant a state of carelessness and idle-
ness), for the time of the Lord was
near at hand. Every day and every
hour brings us all nearer and nearer
7?
Berens
THE FIRST COMING. 341
to that dreadful day when Christ will
come to judge the world. St. Paul
does not make use of the word armour,
_ but he tells them to “put on the
Lord Jesus,†which means to be like
Him and follow His footsteps. Do
you understand this? To be patient
and gentle.
Auicr.—Oh, yes, mama. But I
hope you will have time to tell me a
little more before the dinner-bell
‘rings.
- Mama.—I will just tell you how
Jesus made His entry into Jerusalem ;
because it is another proof of His
wonderful power and humility. He
told His disciples where they would
find an ass tied, although He had
never been there; and He desired
them to go and bring it to Him.
And then He placed Himself upon
this docile animal, and rode towards
the city. His wondrous deeds of love
and mercy had already made Him
FR2°.
342 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
known to the poor, who came forth in
joyous crowds to meet Him, showing
their pleasure in His coming. ‘ Ho-
sanna,†they cried, ‘‘ Hosanna to the
Son of David! Blessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest.â€â€ The meaning
of the word Hosanna is, ‘“‘save now.â€
Those who had beautiful garments
spread them in the road that the ass
‘might walk upon them, which they
considered an honour. Those who
had nothing better, plucked the young
branches of sweet green palm, and
strewed them before Him as offerings.
It was the custom in old times to strew
the path of a conqueror with flowers ;
and those who had faith in the Saviour,
already beheld “im as the conqueror
of sin, of Satan, and of death.
Autcr.—I should have liked to join
them, and cried, ‘‘ Hosanna in the
highest,†too, mama.
Mama.—How much more reason,
THE FIRST COMING. 3843
my dear love, have we who have read
of all His wonderful doings, and know
how much He has done and suffered
to save our souls from everlasting
punishment, to cry Hosanna! And
every Advent of our lives we should
be more earnest in our prayers for
pardon.
Aticr.—Mine has been a very bad
spent Advent, mama. But I will
pray God to forgive me, and ask nurse
too; and you will help me to watch
and pray always, will you not ?
Mama.—Yes; we must pray for
each other, that at Christ’s second
Advent to judge the world, we may
be found acceptable in His sight, and
must daily endeavour to pour forth
our gratitude for His love and mercy.
Our first thought in the morning
and our last word at night should
indeed be, “ Hosanna, Hosanna in the
highest.â€â€ And now let me hear the
hymn you have chosen for to-day.
844 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
HYMN.
Hark, the glad sound, the Saviour comes!
The Saviour promised long ;
Let every heart prepare a throne,
And every voice a song.
On him, the Spirit, largely pour’d
Exerts His sacred fire ;
Wisdom and might, and zeal and love,
His holy breast inspire.
He comes! the prisoners to release,
In Satan’s bondage held ;
The gates of brass before Him burst,
The iron fetters yield.
He comes! the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure ;
And with the treasures of His grace,
To enrich the humble poor.
He comes! from thickest films of vice,
To clear the mental ray ;
And, on the eyes oppress’d with night,
To pour celestial day.
Our glad Hosannas, Prince of Peace,
Thy welcome shall proclaim !
And heaven’s eternal arches ring
With Thy beloved name!
FIFTIETH SUNDAY.
THE BIBLE.
Atice.—Is not the new book that my
cousin Constance has got for her prize
a beautiful book? Oh, mama, I
should like one just like it! Do you
think my papa would buy me one for
a Christmas-box, just like it? You
know papa generally lets me choose
my own books ; I mean he gets three
or four for me to take choice of, and if
you would remind him that I like my
cousin’s book very much, he would
buy me one, I really think.
Mama.—He has generally given you
your choice of books, when they have
346 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
been books of amusement; but this
year he has fixed his mind upon giving
you a book that he brought from
London, the last time he was there, and
I believe he would feel rather disap-
pointed if I asked him to exchange
it.
Autce.—But I am sure I should
like one like Constance’s best; I wish
he had not already bought one.
Mama.—That appears to me a very
ungrateful wish ; more particularly as
he has had your name put within it
in golden letters.
Autce.—Has he indeed, mama?
What can it be, I wonder! What a
kind thoughtful papa he is. I am
glad I asked you about it first, mama,
because I might have vexed him by
asking for the other.
Mama.—My child, you will find
your mother your wisest and best -
counsellor on many occasions; I, too,
am very glad you named the subject
THE BIBLE. 347
to me; and now I see you so ready to
take my good advice, and to give up
your own wishes, I will further indulge
you, by telling you that the Christmas
present your kind papa purchased for
you in London, was a book he had
often heard you wish for. Can you
guess what it is P
Auice.—Oh, mama, can it be a new
Bible ?
Mama.—It is indeed a very hand-
some pocket Bible, with notes and re-
ferences, and with your name already
gilt inside the cover.
Auice.— How delightful !—a Bible, a
real Bible of my own! I will take
such care of it. But, mama, after all,
T am afraid I don’t deserve to have
lie >
Mama.—And why not? What have
you done so wrong lately, as not to
merit your papa’s intended and pre-
cious gift?
Autczr.—I have been ungrateful,
348 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
more so than you can helieve, mama.
Only think, I wished yesterday, when
I saw Constance showing her books—
that last new one makes three prizes
she has gained, mama—and I was so
silly as to wish I went to school, that
I might gain prizes as well as Con-
stance. But you see, mama, if I
had only thought for a minute,
that I must leave you and my dear
papa to go to school, I should not
have wished such a foolish wish.
Mama.—True, my dear; want of
thought, or reflection, is often the cause
of our doing very foolish, and some-
times very wicked things. I believe,
on second thoughts, you would be much
better pleased to remain at home ;
besides, you have only to consider the
presents your papa makes you, as a
reward for your good conduct, in the
light of a prize; and you are then as
well off as if you went to school.
Auice.—And a great deal better;
THE BIBLE. 349
for I see you both every day, and
Constance only sees her mama once a
month, except during the holidays.
I am quite sorry now that I said such
a foolish thing.
Mama.—All we can do is to repent
when we have done wrong, and I
trust your present regret will be a
warning to you not to speak so hastily
again.
Autce.—Do you think my papa
would give me the book if he knew
how ungratefully I had spoken ? for
indeed I would rather have the Bible,
than the beautiful book Constance
has !
Mama.—We will say nothing about
it at present, because I think papa
would like to surprise you by giving
you his present; but, when he does so,
you had better tell him freely the
whole history of your thoughtlessness,
and all that has passed to- day, and he
will then judge whether to Be you
VOL. I,
350 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
the Bible or not, and you will learn
how to acquiesce or yield to his deci-
sion. I know he much wishes you to
possess a copy of those Holy Scrip-
tures, which were written for our learn-
ing. It is his earnest desire that his
child should daily ‘‘read, mark, learn,
and inwardly digest them,†which
means to think about them, and en-
deavour thoroughly to understand their
meaning, “that by patience, and com-
fort of God’s Holy Word, you may
embrace and ever hold fast the blessed
hope of everlasting life, which He has
given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ.â€
What does the Epistle of St. Paul to
the Romans tell you in the fifteenth
chapter, beginning at the fourth
verse ?
Axicr.— Whatsoever things were
written aforetime were written for our
learning, that we through patience
and comfort of the Scriptures might
have hope.â€
.
THE BIBLE. 351
*Mama.— Which hope is the hope of
everlasting life; truly, that is the
greatest hope and desire a father can
feel for his child; and to secure to
you the means of entertaining this
hope, is your papa’s intention in
giving you this new Bible. He
wishes the Bible to be the continual
guide of your life and actions, as it
ought to be of every one’s life; and
his giving you these opportunities, is
the best way of making you dutiful
and obedient while you are a child,
and holy and happy when you are
grown up. ‘The Jews, who were
God’s peculiar chosen people, had
very clear and strong directions on
this point. Moses told them on more
than one occasion, to keep the Scrip-
tures always in their hearts and
minds. He says, ‘ Hear, therefore,
O Israel! the Lord our God is one
Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy lcart, and with
352 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words which I command
thee this day, shall be in thine heart,
and thou shalt teach them diligently
unto thy children, and shalt talk of
them when thou sittest down in thy
house, and when thou walkest by the
way ; and when thou liest down, and
when thou risest up. And thou shalt
bind them for a sign upon thine hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between
thine eyes.†Ought we not, then, to
be doubly anxious to learn His word,
to whom so much more has been
revealed ?
Auice.—What is the meaning of
the word Bible, mama? Who called
it a Bible?
Mama.—The word Bible signifies,
the Book. It is taken from a Greek
word which means the Book of Books,
or the one book necessary, which, if
properly studied and valued, brings
the greatest advantage ; but which, if
THE BIBLE. 353
neglected, will be the cause of our
condemnation and sorrow. We are
everywhere enjoined to ‘search the
Scriptures.†Now the Scriptures
mean The Writings; and the word
the, as applied to the Sacred Writings,
also signifies that The Writings are
above all other writings. And when
the “ Word of Godâ€â€™ was written, the
method of printing books had not
been discovered, so the Word of God,
and all that it contains, had to be
written by holy men, who were in-
spired by God. What part of the
Bible was written by God himself
upon tables of stone ?
Axice.—The Ten Commandments,
which God gave to Moses. You
know, mama, I have often read about
it in my “Stories on the Command-
ments.’ And you gave me the verse
to learn once which I have not for-
gotten. It was this: “And He
gave unto Moses, when He had made
GG2
354. PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
an end of communing with him upon
Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony,
tables of stone, written with the finger
of God.â€
Mama.—And what were the five
books called which are supposed to
have been written by Moses ?
Autce.—The Pentateuch, ‘which
means the five books. Genesis means
generation, original, or beginning.
Exodus, departure or going forth.
Leviticus, laws of the Levites. Num-
bers, numbering of the people. Deute-
ronomy, the law repeated. You see,
mama, I have not forgotten.
Mama.—You have remembered
them very well, and I am glad of it;
because it gives me reason to hope
that you think seriously about these
things when I am not with you. And
if the words of this precious book are
constantly in your mind and thoughts,
I have no fear of your doing any very
great sin; it is only those who dis-
THE BIBLE. 855
believe or slight the Word of God who
become vain-glorious, proud, selfish,
and immoral in their conduct; while
those who strive to live according to
its rules are remarkable for their humi-
lity, uprightness, benevolence, honesty,
and gentleness, and are diligent and
delighted to do good to others. Be-
cause all through the Bible, which was
written by good and holy men, we
find sin, and falsehood, and fraud,
and all that our own conscience tells
us is wrong, utterly condemned; and
while it insists upon truth, honesty,
and righteousness, it declares that “ all
liars shall have their portion in the
lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone ;†and all through its pages
we find revelations and promises of a
Saviour. It proves to us our own
frailty and sinfulness, and then it:
shows us poor lost creatures a way of
free and complete deliverance from
our sins, planned and executed by the
356 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
great God himself, and this He
makes known to every human being
who will learn this truth—the heaven-
provided way of salvation.
Autcr.—But, mama, the Jews don’t
read this. Miss Herschel says the
New Testament which we read _ has
nothing to do with their law, and she
does not believe it at all.
Mama.—The Jews, who are the
descendants of Abraham, believe in
the contents of the Old Testament,
which they profess to have been written
by inspired Jews. It contains all the
history of their own nation, their
origin, their increase, their bondage,
and deliverance out of the land of
Egypt, their wanderings in the wilder-
ness, their sinfulness, and their mer-
cies, the miracles that God wrought
for their deliverance, in various ways
and times, the histories of their pro-
phets and kings. And the. great proof
of the truth of these books is, the
THE BIBLE. 357
details that they give of their in-
dividual and national crimes, and
the punishments inflicted upon the
Jews ; and this, they assert, is not what
they would have invented, or have
been proud of handing down to future
generations ; and as they admit this
to be true, they must admit the truth
of the prophecies which so clearly
foretell the coming, the history, the
sufferings, the death and resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom they
afterwards rejected, although these
prophecies were written hundreds of
years before our Lord Jesus Christ
came into the world. And as God
only could foretell or foreshow these
events, it is to all men a striking
proof that the Bible is the “ Word of
God.’ But God had also prophecied
concerning the Jews, that “‘ they were a
stiff-necked and rebellious generation,
and that He would harden their hearts
and blind their eyes, so that they
358 PLEASANT. SUNDAYS.
should not discern the things that be-
longed to their peace.†And this is
the accomplishment of the prophecy,
that they refused to acknowledge their
Saviour when upon earth; and now
He has ascended into heaven, they
still refuse to read the legacy which
He left behind Him, which is the New
Testament, the rock of our salvation.
Auicr.—Do you not wish they
‘would read it, and believe in it,
mama ?
Mama.—All good Christians look
forward to the day when they also
shall be like-minded with us, when
our Lord shall establish His glorious
kingdom, ‘‘ when all the kingdoms of
this world shall become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of His Christ ;’’ and
“the Deliverer shall come out of Sion
and turn away ungodliness from
Jacob.†But before that time “there
shall be signs in the sun, and in the
moon, and in the stars ; and upon the
THE BIBLE. 359
earth distress of nations, with per-
plexity ; the sea and the waves roaring ;
men’s hearts failing them for fear, and
for looking after those things which
are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken,
and then shall they see the Son of
Man coming in a cloud, with power
and great glory.â€
Autcr.—lI could not help thinking
of that dark, foggy Sunday, while we
were reading the Gospel to-day, mama.
I was glad the fog did not come
to-day, or I should have fancied the
Son of Man was really coming in a
cloud.
Mama.—But, as I told you then,
those who love and trust in the Lord
“ will not be afraid of any evil tidings,
for his heart standeth fast, trusting in
the Lord.†Far different from those
who trust only in this world, they
who know how to turn to their Bibles
for comfort in all troubles and changes,
360 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
when “other men’s hearts are failing
them for fear, and for looking ‘after
those things which shall be coming on
the earth,†learn that these things are
proofs of God's good will towards
them; and consider every trial as a
sign that their redemption draweth
nigh, and that they must lift up their
heads, even above this world. ‘The
most stout-hearted, if they have. not
this trust in God, and full reliance on
His holy Word, would tremble, if
they saw death actually at hand, and
every fresh sign of its approach would
strike them with dismay. Those, on
the contrary, who love and trust in
the Bible, who live after its rules, find,
under all circumstances, their comfort
and support in its pages; they feel
that they are but followers of Him,
whose “ words shall not pass away,â€
who has already “entered for them
into that within the veil,’ and has
gone to prepare a place for them.
THE BIBLE. 361
Axicze.—But, mama, when I get
my own Bible I may read it by my-
self. Where shall I begin it? Shall
I begin at the beginning, and go all
through it?
Mama.—Reading it for the sake of
getting through it would not, I fear,
be a very profitable way of doing it.
You must read those portions that are
most likely to be blessed to your ever-
lasting good, and as there are some
parts of the Bible you would not be
able to comprehend, you had better
let me be your guide for some time to
come. But I should not be able to
make any selections for you to-day,
and you have not yet received your
Bible; so we had better resume the
conversation next Sunday, and by the
time your book is ready, I will mark
out in writing the best portions for
your general study and meditation.
VOL. II. HH
362 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
HYMN.
The Holy Bible! from above
May teach us heavenly things;
By it we all may learn to love
And serve the King of kings.
This will our souls towards heaven lift,
It is God’s best, most precious gift.
While in its words we speak,
We cannot pray amiss ;
And e’en the youngest child may seek
To bless the Lord for this.
May we attend to wisdom’s voice,
And make God’s book our daily choice.
ORIGINAL.
reas
FIFTY-FIRST SUNDAY.
THE NEW TESTAMENT.
Auice.—You promised, last Sunday,
to talk to me about the Bible again,
mama. And there is one question I
wish to ask you first; in our large
family Bible, which I was reading the
Psalms in this afternoon, there was the
word Selah at the end of the verses, and
in the Prayer Book, it is never put at
all. What does Selah mean, mama?
Mama.—Bishop Horne tells us that
the word Selah is supposed to signify
pause or rest, and to call on us parti-
cularly to observe what is said, and to
pay attention to what follows. And
now let me read to you a small portion
364 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
of a book I value very much, for two
reasons ; one because it was presented
to me by Mr. Bickersteth many years
ago, and the other is because it was
written by himself.
Attce.—Oh, thank you, mama, you
know how much I like to hear about
him.
Mama.—The chapter is called “The
Value of the Bible.†It begins thus :—
“Suppose a person, compelled to quit
a foreign country, were invited to
return home, to receive a large posses-
sion which his father had promised
him. Suppose he is entirely unac-
quainted with the road he has to go,
but knows that it is often rugged,
difficult, and dangerous; that there
are also many false guides to mislead
him, and many enemies to encounter,
and that thus he will be exposed, not
only to the loss of the promised pos-
session, but of everything that he has,
and even of life itself. What would
THE NEW TESTAMENT. 365
be such a person’s chief inquiries >—
Where can I get a sure direction? Is
there any protector who can defend
me from my enemies? With what
delight he would hear—‘ Your father
has given youa plain, full, and particu-
Jar directiou, and an all-sufficient pro-
tector!†How diligently would he look
at this direction as he went along, and
how entirely would he trust his pro-
tector! This journey is the Chris-
tian’s life; God is his Father; heaven
is his home; eternal bliss is_ his
promised possession; Christ is the
all-sufficient Protector, the Captain of
our salvation, who has Himself tra-
versed the road, and conquered every
enemy, and who now guards and
defends all who commit themselves to
Him; and the Bible affords a sure
direction to God, to heaven, to ever-
lasting bliss. ‘The testimony of the
Lord is sure, making wise the simple.’â€
Now, you see, your earthly father is a
HH 2
366 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
tender and a loving parent, and he
knows that you are, like him, a tra-
veller to a distant country, and he is
very anxious to secure to his child a
guide, a protector, and a heavenly
inheritance. He knows—that is, by
means of the Bible—God can direct
your paths, and he wishes that you
may never be without “a light to your
feet, and a lamp to your paths.†He
knows that the days may possibly
come when we ourselves, and many
earthly blessings, will be taken from
you; he knows that all things in this
world are very changeful and uncer-
tain ; he knows that all flesh is but as
grass, and all the glory of man as a
flower of the field, that passeth away ;
but the word of the Lord endureth
for ever. And if you have your feet
firmly fixed upon this foundation, you
will have comfort and support, and
hereafter an everlasting portion.
Axicze.—I know that my papa is very
THE NEW TESTAMENT. 367
good, and that he loves me, and there-
fore I shall love my Bible for his sake.
Mama.—lI wish you could also say
from your heart, my darling child, I
love my Saviour. I know that He is
very good and merciful, and for His
sake I shall love to read His words
and learn His will. I hope I shall
never see your Bible laid up as a
task-book upon the shelf; and I trust
I shall never hear you say you have
no time to read it. Because you must
remember that you must give an
account to God of all your time; and
and that no time which you spent in
the study of the Bible, will appear
mis-spent; and that while you can
find time for eating, and drinking,
and sleeping, you can also find time
for reading your Bible. I will tell
you a story about a poor woman, who
loved her Bible. She had a son whom
she loved very much also, but she
loved him properly ; that is, she loved
368 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
his. soul better than she loved his
body. In spite of all her care and
tenderness, the boy grew wild and
careless after his father’s death; and
often, to get out of the way. of his
mother’s lectures, as he called them,
he would slip away of an evening,
and join idle companions, and at
length he suffered himself to be per-
suaded to go to sea. Some other
foolish lads laughed at him, and said
he was tied to his mother’s apron-
string. And he was silly enough to
mind what they said, instead of
answering them like a man, and
telling them that his good and gentle
mother had nobody else to care for
her. He was ashamed of his duty;
and, at last, he made up his mind to
go to sea. When his poor mother
heard this sad news, you may suppose
she was very unhappy. But she went
to her Bible, and read, “Call upon
me in the day of trouble;†and she
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=
THE NEW TESTAMENT. 369
cried earnestly unto God, and He gave
her fortitude and peace. So she
made up her mind to let him go;
and she set to work to get his few
clothes in order, and packed them
into his trunk. I believe that when
he found his mother so ready to part
with him, and so cheerful and kind to
her disobedient son, he began to be
very sorry, and to wish he had not
apprenticed himself to be a sailor.
But it was too late to repent. And
the day came when he must leave
his home and his friends; and the
night before, his mother talked to him
very seriously before he went to bed;
and after giving him a great deal of
good advice, she took out of her
table-drawer, a very neat Testament,
with large print, and said, ‘‘ This, my
dear boy, is the best present I can
afford to give you. May it be your
guide and your comfort in danger.
Value it as the best and last gift of
370 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
your mother; and promise me to read
it, if not every day, at least every
Sabbath-day, and in a short time, with
the blessing of the Almighty, you
may learn to love it for the sake of
the dear Saviour, whose life and death
are contained in it. Will you promise
me, my dear son, that you will never
go without it by day or by night;
let this Book be your constant com-
panion.†The young sailor was touched
at the earnest manner of his mother,
the only dear relative from whom he
was about to be separated, perhaps
for ever. So he knelt down before
her, and gave her his promise. His
mother blessed him, and afterwards
made a silk bag for it, and wadded it
with wool that the salt-water might
not get to the book if the waves
washed over the vessel, and the boy
tucked it under the band of his
trousers, and the next day he sailed
away from England. Well, for some
*
=
THE NEW TESTAMENT. $71
time he used to read this book now
and then, when he thought about his
mother. But, by degrees, just as she
had hoped and prayed that it might
happen, he grew more and more fond
of this precious book, when he learned
how much his dear Saviour had suf-
fered for sinners like himself. One
thing that he was very fond of reading
about was the shipwreck of St. Paul
on the Island of Melita, or Malta.
When he had been away from home
about three years, it happened that a
dreadful storm arose one night, and,
like his favourite St. Paul, the lad
was shipwrecked also. The wind
roared and drove the ship along, and
tore off her sails, and the great waves
dashed like mountains over her sides.
She tried in vain to cast anchor. The
ropes were broken, and at last the ship
was driven upon a rocky shore. The
sailors could not tell which way they
were drifting, because the compass
372 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
was washed overboard at the begin-
ning of the storm; and, like people
who have no Bible or guide, they knew
not which way to steer for safety, even
if they had been able to do so. At
length, after many hours’ terror and
hard work, it became quite dark, so
that the sailors could not see each
other; and they were unable to do
anything to help themselves, so they
tied themselves to the masts, and
hoped; some of them prayed for the
morning; but long before the morning
came, the ship was dashed against a
rock and went to pieces. ‘Those who
could swim tied themselves to the
planks and tried to keep afloat till
daylight. And amongst others was
the widow’s son Frederick. He went
down into the sea with the broken
mast, and was tossed about for an
hour or more, till he struck his side.
against something very hard and
sharp, and then he knew nothing
THE NEW TESTAMENT. 373
more. When he recovered his senses
in the morning, the sun was shining
brightly on his face as he lay upon
the sea-shore. He lifted up his head
and looked around him, feeling very
stiff and sore. He could hardly raise
himself up, and he found he was still
tied to a bit of the broken mast.
Nothing was to be seen but a few
fragments of the beautiful ship in
which he had sailed so merrily. No
living creature was to be seen, but a
few sea-gulls skimming over the waves
that still heaved violently. And Fre-
derick thought he was the only one
who was saved; and so it proved.
He knelt down as soon as he was able,
and thanked God for His great mercy
in sparing his life. As he took his
precious ‘Testament from under his
band, he found his side was all.
bruised and sore; that the sharp rock
upon which he had been cast had
quite broken the cover of his book,
VOL II. It
374 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
and he felt quite sure, when he saw
this, that his mother’s parting gift had
been the means of saving his life, for
the hard rock would have certainly
broken his ribs if they had not been
protected by the cover of the book
and its nice soft wadded case.
Axice.—How glad he must. have
been that he minded his mother and
wore the book always, mama.
Mama.—He used to say that the
Holy Spirit must have put that good
thought into his mother’s heart to save
her worthless child, for had he died in
sin and disobedience his soul would
have perished as well as his body.
But God mercifully spared him. He
climbed up the cliffs, and after wander-
ing some time, he came to a small
village, where he got food, and clothing,
and money to help him on his journey
to the nearest seaport. There he got
a passage in a merchant ship, and
worked his passage home. I cannot
“9
=
THE NEW TESTAMENT, 375
tell you with what joy his poor mother
welcomed her lost child, for the news
had already arrived that the ship had
been wrecked, and that every soul on
board had been lost. She said, with
prayers and tears, “This, my son, was
dead and is alive again, and was lost
and is found.†And this may be
said of all sinners who go astray from
God, and whose souls are saved from
destruction by means of this precious
book, even as the widow’s son was
saved from drowning and from ever-
lasting death. —
Auice.—Mama, I think it is a pity
everybody cannot read this story, that
they might learn the value of the
Scriptures. I hope I shall learn to
love my pretty Bible as much as
Frederick loved his Testament, partly
for the sake of my dear papa, who
made, me a present of it, partly on
account of the nice story you have
told me, and still more for the sake of
376 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Jesus Christ, who did such: wonderful
miracles, and who loves us little
children. And now, mama, will you
show me the list you have made for
me, that I may know where I am to
begin to read P
I love the verse, the sword of God,
The weapon that the Spirit’s power
Bathes in the sinner’s vital blood,
And lays him dead at mercy’s door.
I love the verse—it comes from heaven,
Swell’d with a bleeding Saviour’s love;
Tells how the worst may be forgiven,
And rise and reign with Christ above.
I love to learn a text each day,
"Twas written by a holy hand;
Though heaven and earth may pass away,
Yet truth, each text of truth shall stand.
When earth shall burn, and disappear,
When, like a scroll, the heaven is furl’d,
When Christ his final throne shall rear,
These solemn words shall judge the world.
ORIGINAL.
FIFTY-SECOND SUNDAY.
THE SAVIOUR’S MESSENGER.
Mama.—As this day will bring us
to the close of our explanations, my
daughter, I hope you will give me
your entire and prayerful attention.
Auicz.—Oh yes, indeed I will;
but I hope you do not think I am
generally inattentive, do you, mama? |
Mama.—TI have not much reason
to complain of that in a general way,
_ but the remembrance came strongly
upon my mind, darling child, that for
a whole year I have never missed
devoting to you one hour every re-
turning Sabbath-day ; and the feeling
I1l2
378 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
that you are a whole year older, and,
consequently, so much more respon-
sible to God for all these many oppor-
tunities (that He has granted to us) of
learning the true meaning of His holy
Gospels.
Aticr.—And on Christmas-day,
last year, you first began telling me
these beautiful stories. I think,
mama, I like your stories quite as well
as the stories in “ Happy Sundays,â€
for they have made my Sundays very
pleasant days; so, mama, if you were
to print these stories, and make a
book of them, as Robert’s mama did,
I should like my books to be called
‘Pleasant Sundays ;â€â€™ and that would
be a very pretty name, would it not?
Mama.—My darling child, I wish
your Sundays always to be the most
pleasant and happy days of your life ;
and the only way to make them so, is
to fulfil the command, or rather the
promise, which Isaiah gave to the
THE SAVIOUR'S MESSENGER. 379
Jewish people, in the fifty-eighth
chapter, saying, “If thou turn away
thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing
thy pleasure on my holy day, and call
the Sabbath a delight, holy of the
Lord honourable, and shalt honour
Him, not doing thine own ways, nor
finding thine own pleasures, nor speak-
ing thine own words, then shalt thou
delight thyself in the Lord.†If you
fulfil these words, then you cannot fail
to spend every Sunday happily and
pleasantly.
Axicr.—But yet, mama, it is you
who have made my Sabbath-days
pleasant all this year, and now we
‘shall finish all through the Gospels.,
To-day is the very last. I was wishing
before you came home that the year
would last a little longer, because I
shall miss your nice stories every
Sunday afternoon.
Mama.—And does my little girl
think that her mother can find nothing
380 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
pleasant to teach her, or talk to her
about, when these gospels are finished ?
Surely, now she has her beautiful new
book, she will never lack a subject for
thought and conversation. ;
Auicz.—Oh, I forgot that, mama;
I shall always have that to read when
I cannot have you to talk to me. Was
it not kind of papa to allow me to
keep it after I had confessed to him
my naughty, envious behaviour, in
wishing to go to school with Con-
stance? What a kind good papa and
mama God has given me!
Mama.—For which blessings, my
child, you cannot be too thankful, nor
bless the bountiful Giver of all good
too often.
Axice.—Mama, I was thinking to-
day that now I was a whole year
older, and had grown so much bigger
‘ and stronger, that perhaps you would
allow me to go to church with you in
the afternoons as well as on Sunday
“9
ti.
THE SAVIOUR'S MESSENGER. 381.
mornings. You know, dear mama,
that I should have nice long rests
during the service; should I not?
Mama.—Very true; and on fine
~ dry Sundays I do not think the walk
would hurt you; but I shall make
you wait until the spring. These
damp foggy evenings are not fit for
children to be out. But by next
Easter, I trust there will be no hin-
drance to your going with us.
Axicr.—-Of course you know better
than I do, my dear mama; and while
I am a child I must be quite obedient
_ to your wishes, for I have just been
reading in the Epistle, “that a child
differeth nothing from a_ servant,
though he be lord of all, but is under
tutors and governors.†And you are
my teacher and director.
Mama.—Or rather directress, which
is better grammar. And I trust you
will be always ready to fulfil the
wishes of those who take charge of
382 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
you, whether myself, your governess,
or your nurse. That is meant by the
words of the Epistle, “‘ Let your mode-
ration (or good conduct) be known
unto all men.†:
Aurcr.—And the next sentence
seems just as if it had been written
for to-day, mama. “The Lord is
at hand,’ means the Lord is coming;
and now Christmas-day, the day on
which Jesus was born, is close by.
Mama.-—And that is partly the
reason why the holy and clever men
who arranged our Church Services
selected that portion of Scripture to
be read to-day. And that sentence
may also, if read in connection with
the following one, have another mean-
ing. It may signify, the Lord is
near—He hears all things, therefore
* be careful for nothing ;â€â€ He can take
care of and for you, therefore be not
fearful or over-anxious yourselves ; you
are His people, and let your wants be
THE SAVIOUR’S MESSENGER. 383
what they may, “be careful for no-
thing, but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto
God.†Which means, Pray to God
for all you want, but do not forget at
the same time to give Him thanks for
all the mercies you receive.
Anicr.—Mama, I wished to ask
you why John did not tell the priests
and Levites his name. Why did he
say, “I am the voice of one crying in
the wilderness, Make straight the way
of the Lord?â€
Mama.—He wished to convince
them from the writings of one of their
own prophets, who had plainly foretold
his coming and his mission, between
seven and eight hundred years before
John was born.
Auice.—Oh, please mama, do let
me find it. What chapter is it in P
Mama.—the fortieth chapter of
Isaiah. Well, that is quite right.
384. PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
Begin at the third verse, and read
what the prophet says of John.
Auicr.—* The voice of him that
crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye
the way of the Lord, make straight in
the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and
every mountain and hill shall be made —
low. And the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough places plain.
And the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together; for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken it.â€
Mama.—Well, you see, my dear
Alice, that the Jews were accustomed
to read these prophecies in their syna-
gogues; and if they had chosen to
attend to the meaning of them, and
tried to understand what they read,
they would have known that John
was the promised forerunner of our
blessed Saviour. They knew all that
took place around them, and they
THE SAVIOUR’S MESSENGER. 385.
must have known that this wonderful
child of promise, who was borii to
Zachariah and Elizabeth im their old
age (whose birth had been foretold to
them by an angel from heaven); was
the one who was sent to make the
hearts of the people ready to receive
the promised Messiah. The Scrip-
tures tell us that “there was a man.
sent from God, whose name was John,
who was sent to bear witness of the
light, that all men through him might
believe.†No doubt these priests and.
Levites had heard the wonderful tale
of John’s birth, because Zacharias,
being a priest, was actually performing
his duties in the Temple when the
angel appeared to him, and said,
“Fear not Zacharias, for thy prayer
is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall
bear thee a son; and thou shalt call
his name John. And thou shalt have
joy and gladness, and many shall re-
joice at his birth; for he shall be
KK.
VOL, II.
386 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
great in the sight of the Lord, and
shall drink neither wine nor strong
drink. And he shall be filled with
the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s
womb. And many of the children of
Israel shall he turn to the Lord their
God. And he shall go before Him in
the spirit and power of Elias, to turn
the hearts of the fathers to the children
and the disobedient to the wisdom of
the just, to make ready a people pre-
pared for the Lord. And the angel
Gabriel gave Zacharias a sign, to con-
vince him of the truth of his promises,
for he made Zacharias dumb until the
naming of the child.†All these
wonders, and the future life of John,
must have been well known by these
priests and people, and yet when they
heard of his marvellous preaching and
baptisms, they came or sent people
to inquire of him his name, and
his calling, saying, “ Art thou Elias ?
art thou that prophet? or who art
*
=
THE SAVIOUR’S MESSENGER. 387
thou?†What answer did John give
them?
Axtcr.—He told them the words
of Isaiah that had been prophesied of
him—“ I am the voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Make straight the
way of the Lord.â€
Mama.—And that, my child, is the
voice we hear every time we open the
Word of God. And if we do not
heed that voice, we are as much in
fault as those who questioned John as
to his baptisms ; and if we believe not
these words, we know not Him who
is ever among us, whose shoes’ latchet
even John himself was unworthy to
unloose. How unworthy then ought
we to feel when we come before Him.
And yet His own words are, “ Come
unto Me all ye who are heavy laden.
Take My yoke upon you, for My yoke
is easy, and My burden light.†As I
have, Sunday after Sunday, endeavoured
to lead my little girl’s thoughts aright,
388 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
so I trust, Sabbath after Sabbath, she
will study for herself these holy truths,
and they may be to her a well-spring
of delight.
Auicr.—How much I thank you,
dear mama, for all you have told me!
But if you would have them printed
into a book I could teach my little
brothers. And, mama, will you not
tell me the reason why you have
service on so many of the week-days
at, this time of year P
Mama,—These will form the sub-
ject of our future conversations. I
have no doubt that I can find an op-
portunity. of explaining the service
used upon the different holydays and
festivals in our Church. Meantime
you have much to reflect upon and
remember what has heen already
explained to you; and I know not
that I can end our conversation better
than by using the last verse of the
Epistle, praying ‘That the peace of
THE SAVIOUR’S MESSENGER. 389
God, which passeth all understanding,
may keep our hearts and minds,
through Jesus Christ.â€
Father of all, whose tender love,
Whose bounty all Thy creatures prove;
We feel Thy goodness, own Thy power—
Thy hand sustains us ev’ry hour.
Supported by Thy gracious care, °
Thy blessings, while we daily share,
Our infant minds, which else would stray,
Are early taught to know Thy way.
This happy day, which God has blest,
We pass in prayer, and holy rest ;
Cheerful we sing our Maker’s praise,
And wish to serve Him all our days.
By Christ’s example we are led
The sacred paths of truth to tread ;
To shun the sinner’s dangerous way,
To love our duty and obey.
Cheerful obedience to His word
Will present peace and hope afford ;
And never-ending joys await
The righteous in a future state.
KK2
390 PLEASANT SUNDAYS.
O may these éarly pious cares
Appear in our succeeding years ;
And every future action show
The happy fruits of what we know.
THE END,
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Qy--—«(12.- 1d. parts, or bound ©
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Sin boards.
by, $a :
aN wi
HOWARD'S SPELLING AND |
READING BOOK.
Third edition. 1s., bound .
in leather.
PRETTY PRIMER. |
A First Book for Children.
Many engravings.
7 : éd., sewed. 2
SSS
Ss
ae
WES
ENGLAND THAT SHOULD BE
PLACED IN THE HANDS OF A
CHILD. Third Edition. By Miss
CoknER; Author of the “ Play
Grammar,†“ Every Child’s History
of England,†&c. in Eight Divisions,
each embellished with four pages
of plates, price 6d. each, and printed
in a largetype, as follows :— _ :
1, An interesting description of the [|
Ancient Britons, and their Civiliza-
tion by the Romans.
2. The Conquest of the Romans and
Britons by the Saxons.
3. The Life and Times of Alfred the
oe Great, — . heyy
Uf 4, The Norman Conquest.
efti| | 5. The Feudal Times.
6. The Manners and Condition of the
People of England in the Middle
Ages .
7. Ditto, inthe 16th and 17th ; and
8. Ditto, in the 18th and 19th centu- |
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Handsomely bound in cloth, gilt
edges, for a Present, 3s. 6d. ;
r without the twenty-
five pages of Plates,
285 60a) ine <<
Dean & Son, 1
1, Ludgate ill, z
ae
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“e ee
a eT
Sees
ceaos
a
cme
i
aad
‘os6d PRESENT & GIFTBOOKS \)
Nt | The type is ange and on
, the ilh ti
nd quite suitabie. ff}
ger branches of a —
Tale, or Series
\ » being interestingly jt
A\l w tea, with a so moral. {ji}
SCRIPTURE ME UEKE HIS-
| TORY; by the Rev. J. Youne, A.M.
_ Aplea: ing deser iption of the nature
and habits of the most interesting
ey ioe: wonderful of the Works of
| God, as exhibited in Creation, and:
ee recorded in Scripture. _ With nu-
_ merous engravings, and 8 pages of
tinted illustrations ; 2s, 6d. hand-
somely bound in cloth, gilt edges.
: PLEASANT STORIES AND
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containing Charades for Acting,
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&e. With 57 illustrations, 2s. 6d.
CHRISTMAS BERRIES AND.
DAISY CHAINS, for the ‘Young
and good, 2s. 6d, .
-_“ Above the common average of Story
-Books.—The Tales are well written, and
the subjects | Se Spe OEM, "— Church of ©
fiends. Quarterly Review.
__“ These are neither Holly nor Mistletoe
Berries; but. pretty poems and tales, for
i amusement & Anstraction.â€â€”Literary Gaz.
SPRING FLOWERS AND.
SUMMER. BLOSSOMS, for the
Young and Good. By the Author
of, and in the same style, ag_
“Christmas. -Berries;â€
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OF Ee wh
eee
a†vl Al & PAINTED PiGTOKE }
(| PLAY BOOK,
Intended for exercises in-
colouring. Handsome cover,
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With a box of coloursand
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bus that our children wiil
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{| THE LAUGHABLE LOOKING
- GLASS, for Little Folk. By —
_NrwmMan, one of the late writers
in Punch. Humorous and abun.
dant: illustrations by H. Mc Con-
NELL. Price 2s. 6d. —
_ This book, after the style of the
German Struwellpeter, will indeed be
found a rich treat for the little ladies
and gentlemen of this present genera-
; tion; and if some lesson from its
teaching—
* Serve to curb one passion wild,
Rich reward; for oh! ’tis something
‘To have rightly taught a child.â€
THE CONTENTS ARE,
Quarrelsome Children.
Story of the Spoilt Frock.
Mischievous Fingers, or Tom Tutchall
The Cruel Boy.
The Dirty Boy.
The Ill-natured or Selfish Boy.
Little Miss Consequence. el)
Harry Heedless, or Eyes and no Eyes.
| The Glutton. _
The Conceited Child. ©
The Little Slattern.
x. These comical told tales to the
Se -above subjects are such that
y our Children will truly
tae aa ere Cate Sit
San oe nee eae A 4 Eoin lie ee sy
Bie on ein il ee gee Sat a eee ett Se oy
Se eo
laugh and grow
Ludgate Hil,
a».
THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES ©
OF A DOG.
i By Tomas Mitter, Author
Ni of “Tales of the Seasons,â€
| * Poems for my Children? ve
1 &c. &c.; fully illustrated by
i] HARRISON WEIR. Price 2s. 6d.
A/\ cloth, fall gilt edgesand sides.
my | A Companion to Sanauatrne “Easy :
_REaDING AND SToRY Book,â€
LITTLE TALES FOR THE
NURSERY, Amusing and Instruc-
tive. By the Author of “Sketches —
of Little Girls,†“ Little Boys,†&c.
With many illustrations. Is. bound.
These little Tales will be found
to impart in a simple form and
infantile language lessons that will
_ prove of benefit to the class of
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ILLUSTRATED JUVENILE
KEEPSAKE OF AMUSEMENT
AND INSTRUCTION. With up-
wards of sixty engravings, by H.
-ANERLAY, J. Ginpert, W. H.
Brown, A. Mrapows, H. Weir,
#H. Warner, and others. Ts. sewed,
or Is. 6d. bound in cloth lettered.
This book contains a large variety
of useful and amusing matter.
| Now ready, ~ ss Ph cia Book,
BESSIE’S & JESSIE’S FIRST
BOOK. Price 2s. 6d. Size folio
| foolscap, with coloured illustrations,
“x, and the stories in words of not
\. more than three. letters, and
. in large type. Tntended
hia interest children ~/%
Sin their lessons _,Z
ie SN ACR RSD PU AS tee tbh Fa eT ate NEP, AKL Shonen erty MLE OA eM Ny FUTUR STING
| APC NEW SORIPTURAL SERIES, OR
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Ni} With Coloured Engravings, —
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UJ Gi the People, and the Scener
Be : Eye AMe) of the Countries in whic
i vy Wr the incidents described took |
‘ tiZ f | placze.—10 different. REE
(r= ea.
(i | History of Cain and Abel.
Isaac and Rebecca.
Esau and Jacob.
History of Moses.
Joseph and his Brethren.
Ruth and Naomi. ;
History of Samuel and Eli. —
History of David. Fy
Elisha, and the Widow's Cruise of Oil.
The Disobedient Prophet.
History of the Prophet Daniel.
History of Our Saviour. _
Scripture Historical Alphabet.
sh All 6d. each. |
Now ready, handsomely bound, with efit
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handsome plates. 787 pp. Price 6s. 6u.
52 SABBATH READINGS.
Dedicated to the Right Reverend
the Lord Bishop of London. ‘
HIEROGLYPHICAL BIBLE:
a pleasing Introduction to reading.
_ the Holy Scriptures; numerous
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to the number of 200. 6d. sewed.
Ht SABBATH BLESSINGS FOR
= THE YOUNG AND GOOD. A.
series of 4 Packets, ls. 6d.
_ each; containing 13 tales WH
suited for Sunday .
«distribution anc Lb
a reading. (47
4, n Pio ®
Sy Ia SA ey
/ o
f
ee
et
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ten oe ar RR EE a a A
TERR Sa PAI Tipe Me aaa
San Sâ„¢-2 Oe po
Ae CLOTH-BOUND BOOKS, y
| 18mo. size. Six of this Series }\
kK} are published; and Messrs. /X
yf sean & Son trust that in 1h
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‘i Tor parents and teachers use- |
tul, and at the same time We
“ji amusing resources for those fi
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as
DEAN'S As. BOOKS,
Na ace in Cloth, 18mo. size, lettered
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: ae cine he By Nise
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| THE SOLDIER'S ORPHAN. A
HE Tale for Boys. 1s. cloth. | By Miss :
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Zz | AMUSING POETRY, AND READ-
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eee POEMS, FOR THE |
|| THE, CHILD-LIFE OF AN OLD
LADY, and other Tales. By the
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4 | Summer Blossoms.â€
| | 1s. Books suited for the very Young.
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TALES FOR THE.
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N & SON’S SERIES OF }\\ a
Is. PACKETS,
Suitable fer Reward and Gift
| Books, all well illustrated, and {
i} sewed in neat wrapper. — ty
82mo. Series, all in words of 4
Â¥ One syllable, by Miss Corner
y and Mrs. Burpsn, 12 different
| tales, in elegant packet, viz.:
) Va
. The Sailor Boy; or, the Woed- 1
man’s Sen a
. All Good Things come from God -
. The Great Dunce; or, Kate and } IK if
Jane io
|. The Cow Boy; or, the Lost Purse ia
. The Good Children; or, the Ink ;
Stain —
. The Good Man of the Mill
Careless James, & the Box of Toys
. Little Rose; or, Pussy and the Bird
. The Stray Child; or, a Visit to ,
the Fair 1
. James and Anna; or, Truth is Best no
Little Miss Fanny; or, the Sea Ba
shore ia
12. The Faithful Dog, and the Idle Cat We
13. The Lame Boy, and his Best i
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18mo. ROYAL SERIES OF SIX 4
BOOKS OF TALES, suitable for { | if
presentation to Sabbath School or OF
other Children. By Miss SarcEanr. ee
The novelty of this packet is, that .
the tales are progressive, beginning i
in words of one syllable; and each j
tale gradually leads the child 4
' onward in reading. Each ‘a
page has two or more if
illustrations. ,
_
.
Wu
a
a
a
a = ie
aa fil { PAPA AXD MAMMA’S
EASY LEsSONS FOR THER |
LITTLE ONES.
VN With a Picture to each page.
/\| 1.—The Easy Reading Kooks
-2.—The Child’s Book of Pleas-
= § iM ing Tales and Pictures.
OY EN " Price 6d. each.
Oo
eae oy eal on
-MOTH ER HUBBARD, AND
| OTHER OLD FRIENDS. Hand-
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Ts _ Fancy coloured boards, 3s. 6d.
EASY & PLEASANT STORY
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|THE FAVOURITE. PICTURE
AND STORY BOOK: by Cousin
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yin
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Pana S SES >
~ The name of Dean has 86
long been associated with our 4%
Children’s Coloured Books,
that it is unnecessary to say
any shine. % praise of them; \\
indeed most of our rising ih) N
i}. generation have some time j
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# amusement or instruction to {ih ‘*
| these‘Coloured Books.—Atlas. KN
DEAN AND SON’S SERIES OF
Sixpenny Original
LARGE GOLOURED TOY BOOKS,
150 DIFFERENT KINDS,
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HEART’S,—I4 sorts _/
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WZ,
: eet PIP od "9
ys 5B tye
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ge 6%, e"
MD Se RES br
Dean & Son, 1, Ludgate Hill,
Se Fann ieee eee
ee i ea ———___—— <
ve . —
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fo The 3 Re oS mance
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| DEAN'S coer UNTEAR-
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8vo. Super Royal, 1s. each.
(MB a. Alphabet of Flowers and Fruit.
ee i i : | 4, Alphabet of Flowers,
it f 5. Alphabet of Nouns and Objects.
| | 2. Comie Alphabet, with a
| 3. Comie Alphabet.
f
LY 6. Alphabet of Horses, Dogs, & Ships - |
ets Pe etty Poetical Spelling Book.
| 8. Stories of the Alphabet.
tl | 9. Alderman’ s Feast, a New Alphabet.
{| | 10. Alphabet of Trades and Industry.
# | EY. The Railway Alphabet.
- '}2. My Aunt’s Ball, a New Alphabet. mn
i] 13. New Royal ABO, & Spelling Book.
%| | DEAN & SON'S TALES OF GOODNESS,
AG RUTH, AND KINDNESS, = = ji
tl A For the Children of England, By
xl b ‘Miss Srrickiann, &e. —
6d. each. —
‘|| Ke Little Downy; or, the Field Mouse.
| The Soldier's Orphan. |
| | More about the Soldier's Orphan. __
4| | An Oilld Lady's Story of her Child Life.
C'S o Poetry for the Young and Good.
yJUR.| Old Sambo’s Tales, by Uncle Tom.
— Poems for Little People.
ales of other Lands. —
Easy Reading and
ee Story Book.
Keo ‘ _ Harry Perey.
: Wa x
a NS pe fi Teh 9 ze
es aes ga
ft AN DH ad
oS
. a . yey,
Ss
VICTORIA DANSE DU MONDE \
AND QUADRILLE PRECEPTOR,
describing the Varsoviana,
Quadrilles, Polkas, Waltzes,
4) Mazurkas, Cotillions, and ff
i} other fashionable Dances.
1 Gilt edges, cloth, lg.; revised ,
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a a a il
h WS
: Cot. . = e Rati: ma X
LADIES’ BOOK OF ‘FANCY IN
WORK, with very many illus- [| !
trations, and the directions for ) 1
working clear and explicit as | | i
possible; 6 different, each com- | a
plete in themselves :— lhe a
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2, Embroidery. f
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4. Anti-Macassars.
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7. Point Lace and Braiding.
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GRAMMAR & DICTIONARY
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a ® These two books have coloured a
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‘ \ on oO & euch page. L Yh
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WS 7
EM a ey S YZ
oe Y
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\ ee Mo, »» e, ° p \S: als
: \ we % on, 4,
}A Me
alegre \
ao 29 tn ‘On
ey ied
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\ & e oT 4s, oY A
W os ie) ne ont j
as % ¢ Op Cyt Ae
3 ° ad o p oN >
> %,
=
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fi’ WEALTHY HOMES, AND HOW
| TO MAKE THEM,
_ With Hints useful to all who
#4 intend touching bricks and
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“ - J y ae Se 2 — . r
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SEIS AAT ed ER RAM PIE CA AE i IE IETF Se in CE GE Pe MEINE a a
See ro ae eek nee ee ae cer ee re Se 5 — ne i Cece Se See weit Ma
— _ — - - Ca ae site ? Me BG > * Tee s os = ~
= MO 9 Wa) He TS ae ere ae WS aarp ame seer aay ae » aisle’ roof 2
a
a poe
. 58 -_ -
Sar oes
% ko Se oN
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ise stiff cover, 1s.,6d. cloth boards.
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No family should be with-
AY
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AW )
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(| THE MAID-OF-ALL-WORK’S
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Dean & Sonsrecommendthe ¥
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THE HOUSEMAID’S COM-
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small income. New edition. By
the Author of ‘ Cookery made
Easy.†6d. sewed.
CATERING AND CARVING.
For Family use. 6d. sewed. |
PARENT’S AND NURSE’S
HOUSEHOLD MEDICAL
i 32 a “X By a Hoc Be A iy
‘ eon. 6d. sewed. |
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& 2, 7@ >. Se
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Dean & Son, 1), Ludgate Hill.
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(| LADY’S LETTER WRITER. |\\
(| GENTLEMAN'S LETTER XY
| WRITER, |
Original Letters, upon sub-
ects of general correspond-
ence, written in a modern
style. By Cuarues Acton
Smiry, B.A. 6d. each sewed.
N
RABBIT KEEPER’S GUIDE.
Plain directions for keeping in
health, breeding and rearing Prize |
and Fancy Rabbits, and curing their
diseases. By J. Rogers. With
engravings of the varieties. 6d.
sewed,
best method of breeding and rearing
DOG KEEPER'S GUIDE. The
of Dogs. With engravings of the
valuable and fancy varieties. 6d.
sewed,
PIGEON KEEPER'S GUIDE.
The management of Fancy Pigeons} |
directions for breeding and preserv- |
ing the valuable kinds; diseases
subject to, &c. 6d. sewed,
POULTRY KEEPER’S GUIDE.
Best methods of breeding and
rearing Cochin China and other
Fowls, and Poultry, and curing
their diseases. By J. M. Morrat,
6d. sewed.
FRUIT & FLOWER GARDEN.
and FORCING
XY FRAME. 6d. each,
- pewed.
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Se EH cre mets pe ee en es 3 sy eee Ste eet ae ae Ty es a
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WORSLEY’S \
NEW DRAWING BOOK, ‘AR
} On Progressive Principles. N
t Commencing with designs in \\
} Outline to half and full shade, |} AWS.
and on to perfect finished
Ay specimens. ive sorts, 1s. " WY
} each; or 5s. 6d. bound. \ * \
i
Sy
YOUNG ARTIST’S DRAWING
BOOK. ls. 6d. 52 plates of Easy
Subjects. By J. Barroor.
ELEMENTARY & PROGRES- |}
SIVE DRAWING BOOK; com- |
prising examples of Still Life, |
Figures, Animals, and Landscape,
Shipping, &c. By C. RoBINSON.
In 13 numbers, 6d. each; or the set
in one vol. 7s. |
ELEMENTS OF PERSPEC-
TIVE DRAWING; an easy mode
of acquiring the knowledge of
Drawing in Perspective, by pro-
gressive lessons. By Symns and
Crovucu. 3s. neatly bound.
ELEMENTS OF PERSPEC- |
TIVE DRAWING; suitable for the
practice of beginners. With 8 pages |
of illustrations. By A. Deacon. 2s.
WORSLEY’s DRAWING BOOK
or Crayon Prints on Tinted Paper.
_ Price ls.
DRAWING BOOK OF TREES,
with Pictorial Hlustrations of their
Uses to Man placed round each -
. Tree. Four large plates in
NS each book. In four ,
parts, 8d. each 4
< ; {4
Wee fe
eee + ———*.), “howd
DEAN & Son, 11, Ludgate Hill, ]
SS a RR eR RE aa a a a aaa,
Cali hal air acta ile tc Shs ea er cx Td eign anc Sakiay peta eon aes ee 7 y =
Vexel Scrap Sheet,—Little Sweeper, Mother | |
Q le
INSTRUCTORS,
Or Amusement and Instruc- }
tion blended, and Learning #}
made a pleasure in lieu of #J
RE i at oe
ye ave]
ROYAL NURSERY PICTURE |
INSTRUCTORS. Sell is. each, | jj
coloured...
Royal Nursery Clock, on steut card-
board, with moveable hour and
minute hands. — -
Royal Nursery Musical Alphabet.
Royal Nursery Mariner’s Compass.
Royal Nursery Calendar.
Royal Nursery Peep into the Royal
Road to Learning,
Royal Nursery Peep into Geography.
Royal Nursery Astronomy.
Royal Nursery Peep at Natural His-
tory. \
Royal Nursery Peep at the Flags of all
Nations.
Royal Nursery Kings and Queens of | {fs
England, or a Peep into History.
Royal Nursery Costumes of all Nations
Royal Nursery Clock, with Religious
and Moral Sentences. ©
The Royal Visit to the Exhibition,
showing its T'en Courts.
NEW COLOURED SCRAP
PRINTS, 6s. per doz., well coloured,
to imitate drawings. ;
. and Child, Pet Lamb, Bird Cage. 4
Y, Scrap Sheet,—Sixteen small WJ
; Views, Landscapes, &c.
gf
Ly,
on the sheet. gp
ee noes
7% : Teer
ic Teh Serena See bn art bec re Sener eA ea Se a cabal oe ope ae eae
pba 5 Meus z
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pede eae RR Na Ca oa ee ere
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SCRAP PRINTS OF FLOWERS, 4
ETC.
Fifteen sorts—four to twenty-
three subjects on each sheet,
—coloured from nature. On if
superfine stout paper, Is. (RR
each.
COLORED TINTED SCRAPS,
Sell at ls. per sheet, 9s. per dozen.
Thirteen Sheets, each sheet com- |
prising several subjects, elegantly
coloured, on tinted grounds.
One sheet, 64 Fancy Heads.
One sheet, 56 Fancy Heads.
Two sheets, 34 Fancy Heads.
One sheet, 9 Cupids.
Three sheets, 4 Fancy Heads on each
One sheet, Waverley Scraps, 30 Figs.
Les Huit Belles: 8 oval Fancy Por-
traits.
Sailor Scrap Sheet, 34 on the sheet.
COLOURED PRINTS, Its. 6d.
each, Size, half sheet large Royal,
18 by 14 in. | . .
The Young Gipsy, by Greenless.
-Eece Homo! painted by CoypgEt, en-
graved by W. Warp, Jun. rey
Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficul-
ties; from a painting by FaARRIER.
Stakes and Trotters, after PoLLaRp.
The Saviour, after RAPHAEL.
Lord, have mercy upon us, and write | iM
all these Thy laws on our hearts,
we beseech Thee.
Let us come before His presence
- with thanksgiving, and show Gp
\.- ourselves glad in Him ly
with psalms. -
A pair oval.
Sees Sg ag SE TE
ene “AAR S
- Dean & Son, 11, Ludgate Hi., } t
Suitable for Evening Parties,
&e. &. A series of four Fox
Hunting Prints, showing the
‘Right & the Wrong Way.â€
On stone by C. Dennis, after
Povrarp. Size of each print, ©
14 by 11 in., Is. 6d. each
coloured, or 5s. the set.
SHIPPING PRINTS ds. EACH,
well coloured. :
Man of War Cutter chasing a Smug-
gler Lugger, off the Isle of Wight.
Calm; Frigate and Corvette at Anchor. |
Fresh Breeze; Mariner overboard.
Boats in a Fresh Breeze.
‘Light air of Wind; Frigate coming
into Harbour, po:
A fresh Breeze; a Revenue Cutter on
the starboard, and a Cromer Crab-
boat on the larboard tack.
A Calm; a Revenue Cutter and a
north country Fishing Coble ready
to weigh on the making of a flood.
Morning; a Lugger close on a wind,
and an Indiaman preparing to weigh.
Sunset; a Brig of War going out of
- Harbour.
TINTGRETTE VIEWS, &c.,
Ten sorts, 6d. each. —
Tower of London, from Tower Hill.
Richmond Hill. —
Richmond Bridge.
| Regent's Park. — cies
| Osborne House, Isle of Wight.
Hampton Court Palace. Bs
- Netley Abbey. | pe «
Tintern Abbey, Mon- Zé ie
% Ay _mouthshire. ~~ So)
Y Windsor Castle. 4 ce Sg
ty Y Balmoral.
se 9 Vy
7 iene “sp UY N77
ae MES = — : Q
MARY ANUINTING THE FEET i
OF CHRIST.
* splendid line engraving, by
T. M. Listarp, after SeBastTi-
| anos Ricci; printed by Mac~ ii
JM QUEEN. Size of ‘paper, 42 by fD}
S/i| 27 in.—size of print, 33 by WANA
f 19 in. Published at £3 3s., {RS
| reduced to 10s.
ae A ae ae
TA †DEAN’ S$ NEW TINTORETTE
i SKETCHES OF COACHING
SCENES, imitating Tinted Draw-
ings. These extremely cheap and | |)
novel sketches are circular in | }
form, and suitable for Scrap Books, § |
Framing, or Folio. 12 sorts, sell. |
4 ~~ at. 6d. each. me y
Hold Hard. Mail in a Flood.
Stepping Out. Midway, Greeting.
gabe them Leader i in a Ditch. :
Up. Mailina Storm. | nh 3
Wheel on Fire. | Good Morning. , (
ChangingCoach- Music hath Charms. |
| > men. Mail just in Time. ,
TINTORETTE SKETCHES } i.
OF RAILWAY SCENES, 12 sorts, | kw ;
sell at 6d. each.
Cattle Train.
The Loop Line, Changing Passengers.
Ministerial Express Train.
Her Majesty and Suite, en route to # pss
- Windsor Castle. ©
A Trainin a Drift of Snow. |
The Safe Arrival.
- Luggage 'T'rainon Fire.
Signal of Danger.
A Train in a Flood.
The Railway over the Menai
Q Straits.
\ A Mail Train at Night.
_ Railway Accidents. , z
= : —— z ’ : 7
PETERPALETTE'SPICTURES |
FOR CHILDREN TO PAINT.
18 numbers, 6 pages in each
book, 4d. each ; or bound in
2 vols., the Ist series, 2s. 6d.,
the 2nd series, 3s. 6d.; or
the same coloured, 6d. each
number. .
TINTORETTE SKETCHES
OF SHIPPING SCENES, 12 sorts,
sell at 6d. each.
The Regatta. ;
An American Liner. — ae
Revenue Cutter in Chase of a Smug-
glerLugger. > eh
A Frigate in Full Sail, r
The Isabel, in search of Sir John
Franklin. :
The Screw Steamer do. do.
A Night at the Arctic Regions.
LA Night at Séacos es: 32
Taking in Tow. — na
i Launch of a Man of War.
_ The Man of War.
The Queen Steam Yacht.
NEW SIXPENNY CARICA-
_ TURES, 30 sorts. After A. Crow-
QUILL, G, V. Barret, GunruorpE, | |
&e. &e.
Optical Delusion.
The Calculating Boy.
Pot Luck. |
Indeed! | yall :
London Cries, new s.yle, 6 in set,
_ very clever. .
_ Take your Time, Miss Lucy.
&, Looking down upon his Luck.
Street Pleasantries,
Evident Truths,
comically told.
S
2
———ooo
oe
“ %
1g keegan
