The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young Part 2

Before the couch, pray!

Before the throne, pray!

Before the canopy, pray!

Before the building of the lofty head, pray!

Before the rising of the dawn, pray!

Before the fire, pray!

By the tablets and papyri, pray!

By the side of the river, pray!

By the side of a ship, or riding in a ship, or leaving the ship, pray!

At the rising of the sun, or the setting of the sun, pray!

On coming out of the city, on entering the city, pray!

On coming out of the great gate, on entering the great gate, pray!

On coming out of the house, pray! on entering the house, pray!

In the place of judgment, pray!

In the temple, pray!"

This is like the Bible rule of--"praying always."

"Praying for a Dinner." "Grandma, aren't we going to church this morning?" asked a little girl.

"My child, we have had no breakfast, and have no dinner to eat when we come back," said her grandma.

"But the Lord Jesus can give it to us if we ask him," said the little girl. "Let's ask him." So they kneeled down, and asked that G.o.d, "who feedeth the young ravens when they cry," to remember them, and help them.

Then they went to church. They found it very much crowded. An old gentleman took the little girl upon his knee. He was pleased with her quiet behaviour. On parting with her at the close of the service, he slipped a half crown into her hand. "See, Grandma," she said, as soon as they were out of church, "Jesus has sent us our dinner."

But when we ask G.o.d to help us, we must always try to help ourselves.

"Working as well as Praying." Two little girls went to the same school; one of them, named Mary, always said her lessons well, the other, named Jane, always failed. One day Jane said, "Mary, how does it happen that you always say your lessons so well?" Mary said she prayed over her lessons, and _that_ was the secret of her success.

Jane concluded to try praying. But the next day she failed worse than ever. In tears, she reproached Mary for deceiving her. "But, did you study hard, as well as pray over your lesson?" asked Mary.

"No; I thought if I only prayed, that was all I had to do," replied Jane. "Not at all. G.o.d only helps those who try to help themselves.

You must study hard as well as pray, if you wish to get your lessons well," was Mary's wise answer. The next day Jane studied, as well as prayed, and she had her lesson perfectly.

The greatest work we can ever do, is to bring a soul to Jesus, or to convert a sinner from the error of his way. Here is an ill.u.s.tration of the way in which this may be done by prayer and effort combined:

"The Coachman and His Prayer." "I was riding once, on the top of a stage-coach," said a Christian gentleman, "when the driver by my side began to swear in a dreadful manner. I lifted up my heart for G.o.d's blessing on what I said; and presently, in a quiet way, I asked him this question: 'Driver, do you ever pray?' He seemed displeased at first; but after awhile he replied, 'I sometimes go to church on Sunday; and then I suppose I pray, don't I?' 'I am afraid you never pray at all; for no man can swear as you do, and yet be in the habit of praying to G.o.d.'

"As we rode along he seemed thoughtful. 'Coachman, I wish you would pray now,' I said. '"Why, what a time to pray, Sir, when a man is driving a coach!"' 'Yet, my friend, G.o.d will hear you,' '"What shall I pray?"' he asked, in a low voice. 'Pray these words: '"O Lord, grant me thy Holy Spirit, for Christ's sake. Amen."' He hesitated, but in a moment he repeated them; and then, at my request, he said them over a second, and a third time. The end of the journey was reached, and I left him.

"Some months pa.s.sed away, and we met once more. 'Ah, Sir,' said he, with a smile, 'the prayer you taught me on that coach-box was answered. I saw myself a lost, and ruined sinner; but now, I humbly hope, that through the blood which cleanseth from all sin, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I am a converted man.'"

And so, when we think of the twelve apostles, appointed by Jesus to preach his gospel, these are the four things for us to remember in connection with them, viz.:--_the men_ whom he chose; _the work_ they had to do; _the help_ given them in doing that work; and _the lesson_ we are taught by this subject--the lesson of prayer.

Whatever we have to do, let us do it with all our hearts, and do it as for G.o.d, and then we shall be his apostles--his sent ones. Let me put the application of this subject in the form of some earnest, practical lines that I lately met with. The lines only speak of boys, but they apply just as well to girls. They are headed:

DRIVE THE NAIL.

"Drive the nail aright, boys, Hit it on the head, Strike with all your might, boys, While the iron's red.

"Lessons you've to learn, boys, Study with a will; They who reach the top, boys, First must climb the hill.

"Standing at the foot, boys, Gazing at the sky, How can you get up, boys, If you never try?

"Though you stumble oft, boys, Never be downcast; Try and try again, boys, You'll succeed at last.

"Ever persevere, boys, Tho' your task be hard; Toil and happy cheer, boys, Bring their own reward.

"Never give it up, boys, Always say you'll try; Joy will fill your cup, boys, Flowing by and by."

THE GREAT TEACHER

Teaching was the great business of the life of Christ during the days of his public ministry. He was _sent_ to teach and to preach. The speaker in the book of Job was thinking of this Great Teacher when he asked--"_Who teacheth like him_?" Job x.x.xvi: 22. And it was he who was in the Psalmist's mind when he spoke of the "good, and upright Lord" who would teach sinners, if they were meek, how to walk in his ways. Ps. xxv: 8-9. And he is the Redeemer, of whom the prophet Isaiah was telling when he said--He would "_teach us to profit_, and _would lead us by the way that we should go_." And thus we know how true was what Nicodemus said of him, that "he was a _teacher sent from G.o.d_." John iii: 2. Thus what was said of Jesus, before he came into our world, would naturally lead us to expect to find him occupied in teaching. And so he _was_ occupied, all through the days of his public ministry. St. Matthew tells us that--"Jesus went about all Galilee, _teaching_ in their synagogues." Ch. iv: 23. Further on in his gospel he tells us again that "Jesus went about all the cities, and villages, teaching in their synagogues." Ch. ix: 35. When on his trial before Pilate, his enemies brought it as a charge against him that he had been--"_teaching_ throughout all Jewry." Luke xxiii: 5. We read in one place that--"the elders of the people came unto him _as he was teaching_." Matt. xxi: 23. Jesus himself gave this account of his life work to his enemies--"I sat _daily_ with you _teaching_ in the temple." Matt. xxvi: 55. And so we come now to look at the life of Christ from this point of view--as a Teacher. There never was such a Teacher. We do not wonder at the effect of his teaching of which we read in St. John vii: 46, when the chief priests sent some of their officers to take him prisoner, and bring him unto them; the officers went, and joined the crowd that was listening to his preaching. His words had such a strange effect on them that they could not think of touching him. So they went back to their masters without doing what they had been sent to do. "And when the chief priests and Pharisees said unto them--Why have ye not brought him?

The officers answered, _Never man spake like this man_." Jesus was indeed--_The Great Teacher_. In this light we are now to look at him.

And as we do this we shall find that there were _five_ great things about his teaching which made him different from any other teacher the world has ever known.

_In the first place Jesus may well be called the Great Teacher, because of the_--GREAT BLESSINGS--_of which he came to tell_.

We find some of these spoken of at the opening of his first great sermon to his disciples, called "The Sermon on the Mount." This is the most wonderful sermon that ever was preached. Jesus began it by telling about some of the great blessings he had brought down from heaven for poor sinful creatures such as we are. The sermon begins in the fifth chapter of St. Matthew, and the first twelve verses of the chapter are occupied in speaking of these blessings. As soon as he opened his mouth and began to speak a stream of blessings flowed out.

It was a beautiful thought, on this subject, which a boy in Sunday-school once had. The teacher had been talking to his cla.s.s about the beginning of this sermon on the mount. He had spoken of the sweetness of the words of Jesus, when "He opened his mouth and taught" his disciples. "How pleasant it must have been, my dear boys," said he, "to have seen the blessed Saviour, and to have heard him speak!"

A serious-minded little fellow in the cla.s.s said, "Teacher, don't you think that when Jesus opened his mouth, and began to speak to his disciples, it must have been like taking the stopper out of a scent bottle?" I cannot tell whether this boy had ever read the words of Solomon or not; but he had just the same idea that was in his mind when he said of this "Great Teacher," "thy name is _as ointment poured forth_." Cant, i: 3. We perceive the fragrance of this ointment as soon as Jesus opens his mouth and begins to speak. If we had been listening to Jesus when he began this sermon, saying:--"

Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are the meek; blessed are the pure in heart; blessed are the peace-makers"--and so on till he had spoken of _nine_ different kinds of blessing, we might have thought that he had nothing but blessings of which to tell. It would have seemed as if his mind, and heart, and lips, and hands were all so filled with blessings that he could do nothing else till he had told about these. And the blessings spoken of here are not all the blessings that Jesus brought. They are only specimens of them. The blessings he has obtained for us are innumerable. David says of them, "If I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered." Ps. xl: 5. And these blessings are not only very numerous, but very _great_. Look at one or two of these blessings that Jesus, the Great Teacher, brings to us. He says, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Jesus came to bring comfort to the mourners. Hundreds of years before Christ came the prophet Isaiah had said of him that he would come to "_comfort all that mourn_." Is.

lxi: 2. And to show how complete this blessing would be which he was to bring, Jesus said himself--"_As one whom his mother comforteth_ --_so will I comfort you_." Is. lxvi: 13. A young girl was dying.

A friend who came in to see her said:

"I trust you have a good hope."

"No," she answered, distinctly; "I am not hoping--I am certain. My salvation was finished on the cross. My soul is saved. Heaven is mine. I am going to Jesus."

What a great blessing it is to have comfort like that!

When Jesus was speaking to the woman of Samaria, as he sat by Jacob's well, he compared the blessing of his grace to the water of that well. Pointing to the well at his side, he said: "Whosoever drinketh of this water will thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be _in him, a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life_." John iv: 13, 14. This is one of the most beautiful ill.u.s.trations of the blessing Jesus gives that ever was used. It is a great blessing to have a well of clear, cold water in our garden, or near our door. But, only think of having a well of water _in our hearts_. Then, wherever we go, we carry that well with us. We never have to go away from it. No one can separate between us and the water of this well. Other wells dry up and fail. But this is a well that never dries up, and never fails. This well is deep, and its water is all the time "springing up unto everlasting life." How happy they are in whose b.r.e.a.s.t.s Jesus opens this well of water!

Coleridge, the English poet, in writing to a young friend, just before his death, said:

"Health is a great blessing; wealth, gained by honest industry, is a great blessing; it is a great blessing to have kind, faithful, loving friends and relatives, _but, the greatest, and best of all blessings is to be a Christian_."

One of the most able and learned lawyers that England ever had was John Selden. He was so famous for his learning and knowledge that he is always spoken of as "the learned Selden." On his deathbed he said--"I have taken much pains to know everything that was worth knowing among men; but with all my reading and all my knowledge, nothing now remains with me to comfort me at the close of life but these precious words of St. Paul: 'This a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;' to this I cling. In this I rest. This gives me peace, and comfort, and enables me to die happy."

William Wilberforce was another of the great and good men who have been a blessing and an honor to England. When he was on his deathbed, he said to a dear friend: