Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

find yourself betrayed into anything like what I have been warning you against to-day, remember your fault in your evening prayers. Bring thus all your little and great faults before GOD, and, asking pardon, ask also for grace to do better another time. Never mind the bad example which you cannot help. Only never fall in with it. You can see (those of you who have special pets) that GOD has given these dumb creatures and these little birds feelings, which prove your care is not cast away.

That is not the highest reason for your being good to animals, though it is a kind of proof of GOD's approval of your care.

But the highest reason of your goodness is, that from what GOD has taught you about His dealings with His creatures, and your evident duties. to them, such goodness and gentleness will please GOD.

it.

One thought more! The text supplies

Have clear notions about GOD'S providence. Then know how much GOD loves you yourselves.

for oxen and for sparrows.

He cares

He cares

for all things. He "preserves man and Oh how excellent is His

beast."

loving-kindness.

Fulfil your duties to Him and to His creatures, and thus know how He

will love you.

It is because we know

of His love for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air, that we, who are much better than they, can put our trust under the shadow of His protecting Almighty wings.

66

Oh! Lord, in Thee is my trust; oh, cast not out my soul!"

Lent.

[ocr errors]

USING LENT.

Sanctify a fast."-JOEL ii. 15.

We have now entered upon Lent. Today I want to teach you what Lent should mean to you, and how you can best use it.

In the last three Sundays you have heard how GOD made the world good -how man brought in sin because of his own disobedience-and how the world went on in wickedness till GOD destroyed all save eight persons by a flood of waters. This was introductory to the present time of Lent: for this reason because now we are told specially of how that world's sin was put

away.

Whenever GOD sent man a punishment for his sin, He gave also a

promise of safety from the flood of misery that man brought upon himself. At Adam's expulsion from Eden there was added the promise that "the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head." GOD never at any time left man, however sinful he had become, without a hope of restoration to His love. And often the promises

were renewed.

You know how they were in the fulness of time fulfilled. You know that our dear LORD Jesus Christ became really man-born of the Virgin Mary the seed of Eve who had sinned-and Himself without sin died for the ungodly. GOD tells us that His death was for our transgressions. In Adam we all die through sin.

By

Christ the LORD's death all were enabled to be saved. And thus the LORD Jesus was made man and made manifest in our flesh, though He was GOD,

to destroy that work of the devil which was begun in Paradise, and all those works which he yet brings upon us.

Having then again been thus shown the reason for the sacrifice of the life and death of Christ, we are now, in Lent, bidden to think very particularly of it. These forty days tell of the Temptation of our blessed LORD: and in them we are led up to thoughts about His death when He hung upon the Cross to save us from sin. All this was done by Him for every one of us. Yes, He hung upon that terrible Cross that every one of you children should be saved. So now in Lent (thus shown to be a very special time of saddened thoughtfulness), we ought to think of that which caused Him, oh! such pain and misery. And we ought to think of it in order to hate all that gave Him a single pang.

F

« ZurückWeiter »