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Jesu8 said, "Suffer the little children, ai.,1 forbid them
not. to come unto me, for of such in the KinRdo-ii of
Heaven "-Matt 19: 14. " And he took them up in his arms
put his hands upon them, and blessed them." -Mtirk 10: 16.

DuDLtY & Burns, PKiNitRS
1901.

CONTENTS.

Preface, -

Part I -CHRIST AND THE CHILDREN.

Chapter I.
Little C:hildren Need to he Saved, . 9

Chapter II.
Little Children May be Savt'd, i-

Chapter III.
It is Desirable that Little Children Should he

Saved, 25

Part II.- THE CHURCH AND THE
CHILDREN.

Chapter I.
Receiving the Children,

Chapter II.
Caring for the Children, .

Chapter III.
A Word to Parents,

4«
55
67

PREFACE.

It has been suggested to mc, as Sunday School
Evangelist, that the circulation of printed matter
relative to the work might render it more effective.

Hence this little booklet, which is affectionately
commended to any who desire the joy of Jesus in
the salvation and Christian development and use-
fulness of the children, and thus in the best inter-
ests of the Christian Church.

Nothing is said in these pages of children inca-
pable of knowing their sinfulness and of repenting,
or, of learning of Jesus and of loving and trusting
Him Where Scripture is silent, or nearly so, we
may be ; however, we may hope and believe that
through the redemption of Christ, heaven is made
sweeter by the unconscious departed babes. But,
as soon, at least, as the children's responsibility
begins, ours does, and our object is to show that
it begins earlier and is more pressing than many
suppose.

PART I.

ehrist and m €bildrcn.

Do you hear the children weeping, O my brothers.

Ere the sorrow comes 7vith years ?
They are leaning their young heads against their
mothers.
And that cannot stop their tears.

E. B. Browning.

€l)ii$t m m ehildren.

CHAPTER I.

Little Children Need to Come to
Jesus and be Saved.

Jesus said : " The Son of Man is come to save
* that which was lost." " For, it is not the will of

your Father who is in heaven that one of these
little ones should perish." — Matt, xviii. ii, 14.

That children are lost and need to be saved,
Scripture and reason affirm.

" All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have
turned every one to his own way." — Isa, liii. 6.

" That which is born of the flesh is flesh : and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel
not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."
— John iii. 6, 7.

2 9

Christ and the Children.

" They that are after the flesh do mind the things
of the flesh ; hut they that are after the Spirit the
things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is
death ; but to be spiritually minded is life and
peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh
cannot please God." — Rom. viii. 5-8.

" Among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind ; and were by
nature the children of wrath, even as others." —
Eph. ii. 3.

" For .... by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin, and so death passed upon all
men, for all sinned." — Rom. v. 12.

From the above passages it appears that children
as sinners need to come to Jesus and be saved.

Observation also confirms this.

Those who have most attentively observed child
life have noticed how early and naturally it "goes
astray."

Rev. D. Hutchinson says ; From what I

Children Need to be Saved.

know 01 children, it is not difficult for me to believe
in the doctrine of human depravity. How very
early does the evil tendency begin to reveal itself.
Temper, self will, obstinacy, disobedience, insin-
cerity and deception, etc, Hke germs in the soil
waiting for air and sun and shower to germinate,
so these evil propensities in childhood seem only to
need the proper conditions to develop.

Thus Elizabeth Browning describes Isobel as
saying to her child, —

" A solemn thing it is to me

To look upon a babe that sleeps —

Wearing in its face the deeps,

The undeveloped mystery
Of its Adam's taint and woe,

Which when the}* developed be.
Will not let it slumber so,"

The Psalmist seemed to recognize this inherited
depravity and pray for its only real remedy when
he said : " Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and
in sin did my mother conceive me. . . .Create in
me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit
within me." — Ps. li, 5, 10.

Indeed, if children were without sin they would

Christ and the Children.

not need Jesus as a Saviour, nor could they claim
Him ; for, " His name was called Jesus because
He was to save His people from their sins." —
Matt. i. 21.

" Christ Jesus came into the world to save sin-
ners." — 1 Tim. i. 15.

" Christ died for the ungodly."— Rom. v. 6.

In his admirable topic for these times, "The
Old Evangel and The New Evangelism," Dr. C.
A. Eaton says : " If in Adam all do not die because
of sin, then in Christ all cannot and need not be
made alive."

In fact it is only as saved sinners that any can
ever sing with the redeemed : " Unto Him that
loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own

blood, be glory and dominion for ever and

ever, Amen." — Rev. i. 5, 6.

Conviction of Sin.

If children are not sinful, how can we account
for their conviction of sin, which is often deep and
strong, even at a very early age.

How strikj igly Mrs. Hemans describes early
conviction, in her lines entitled, —

Children Need to be Saved. 13

THE CHILD READING THE BIBLE.

" The soul, the awakening soul I saw ;

My watching eye could trace
The shadows of ita new-born awe

Sweeping o'er that fair face :
As o'er a flower might pass the shade
By some dread angel's pinion made."

When holding children's meetings in London,
Ontario, a very excellent Christian, in speaking of
early religious impressions, said, that when she was
only five years old she was very deeply convicted
of sin and often used to weep in penitence and
long for pardon. She believes that a little gospel
teaching then, with the Spirit's influence, would
have readily led her to Christ.

I have heard another woman, who is nearer to
me than any other, say, that when she was about
four years old she would often go away and weep
alone, and being found by her mother and asked
the cause of her tears, she would say, like Luther,
" My sins, my sins."

Surely such sense of sin and longing for salva-
tion as many very young children experience, prove
their need of a saving interest in Christ.

Christ and the Children.

'• I write unto you, little children, because your
sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." — i John
ii. \2.

Hindering Children from Coming to Jesus.

" Then were brought unto Him young children
that He should touch them ; and the disciples
rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus
saw it He was much displeased, and said unto
them. Suffer the little children to come unto me,
and forbid (hinder) them not, for of such is the
kingdom of God." — Mark x. 13, 14.

The late Rev. C. H. Spurgeon said :

" It must be a very great sin indeed to hinder
anybody from coming to Christ, the only way of
salvation.

"Who would dare to keep a perishing soul from
Jesus ? To obstruct a person fleeing to the city
of refuge, would have been an inhuman act deserv-
ing the severest punishment. But he who holds
back a soul from coming to Jesus, is Satan's ser-
vant and doing his worst work."

Yet, alas ! how many, if not by force, or ridicule,

Children Need to be Saved.

«5

or disuasion, by unbelieving apathy and indiffer-
ence, hinder the little ones from coming to Jesus.

Let the uhihlren come to JeaiiH,

WlioM kind touch such hlessing gave ;

For they need Him now at ever,
In His woodrouii power to save.

Let the children come to Jesun,
In their simple, chihl-like way ;

For the heart that was 8o tender,
Is the same toward them to-day.

Dr. J. V. Smith, whose success with b adds
weight 10 his words, says : •' It is to bt eared
that there is in the Christian church to-day a great
deal of latent scepticism concerning the conversion
of children.

" How few really try to bring the children to
Christ at once. They imagine that at some future
time they may make more intelligently the better
choice. And so the children instinctively discover
that they are not expected, or perhaps desired, to
become Christians at once, and thus they begin
their first lessons at procrastination, which, alas !
they only learn too early and well. They begin

Christ and the Children.

resisting the gracious influences of the Spirit.
They become familiar with saving truth, but not
experiencing it in heart or life, it becomes the
savor of death unto death, and not of life unto
life."

Rev. W. W. Weeks says, on " Do not sin against
the child."— Gen. xlii. 22 :

" Many sin against the child, by thinking it is
so innocent and pure that it does not need a
Saviour.

" But it is worthy of note that our Lord's most
explicit declaration concerning the doctrine of
depravity, viz. : ' The Son of Man is come to save
that which was lost,' was in connection with His
teaching concerning the salvation of children.

" Doubtless many a child would come to jesus
and be saved, but for the attitude of older Christ-
ians towards them, whose spirit of unbelief, even
if unspoken, utterly discourages and hinders them.
"There is a v :)ndrous correspondence and sym-
pathy between the heart of Jesus and that of a
little child, and we sin against them both when we
keep them apart."

CHAPTER. II.

LiTTi.E Children May Come to Jesus and
BE Saved.

" I \o e them that love me, and those that seek
me early hall find me."— Prov. viii. 17.

Jesus said : *' Sjffer the little children to come
unto me." — Mark x. 14.

From the above passages it is evident that little
children can come to Jesus and be saved. And
this has been experienced by very many children.
Indeed it is wonderful how many Christians date
their earliest and some of their deepest religious
experiences to very early childhood.

The famous children's evangelist, Rev. E. P.
Hammond, in his beautiful little book, entitled,
"Early Conversion," mentions several instances
of children, from three to five years old, coming
to Jesus as conscious sinners, accepting Him by

Christ and the Children.

faith as their Saviour, and giving evidence in after
life of genuine conversion.

Indeed, such instances of children from five to
ten years of age are quite common.

And why not ?

Is there anything in the way of salvation, or in
the gospel message, or in the Spirit's work, un-
adapted to childhood ?

Or is there anything in childhood unadapted to
the salvation of Christ ?

Knowledge.

Many seem to think that children, say, from
five to ten years old, are incapable of understand-
ing the way of salvation and becoming Christians.

Dr. Andrew Bonar says : "There is a practical
error very common among God's people. All of
them profess to believe that the Holy Spirit may
convert souls at any age, and that conversion
cannot be too soon, while yet they do not look for
the conversion of children with the same lively
faith that they do for those of riper years. The
same warm-hearted believers who labor for older

Children May be Saved.

people, and are satisfied with nothing but their
immediate conversion, do not practically so feel
and act in reference to children. They do not
press home on them, as on older persons, their
present acceptance of Christ." Evidently they
forget that salvation consists in realizing one's
sinfulness, and in trusting Christ ; and that infinite
wisdom and love never were more displayed than
in making the way of salvation so simple as to be
easily apprehended by the most feeble mind.
Indeed it is so simple that, instead of being too
difificult for the child, the chief difficulty with older
people is in coming down to its simplicity. Thus,
instead of children having to grow up before they
can come to Jesus and be saved, as so many seem
to think, Jesus asserts the very opposite : " Verily,
I say unto you, except ye be converted, and be-
come as little children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven." — Matt, xviii. 3.

Again, He says : " I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid
these things from the wise and prudc-t, and hast
revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father ; for
it seemed good in thy sight." — Matt. xi. 25, 26.

Christ and the Children.

But those who question the ability of children
to apprehend the way of salvation, seem to forget
how intelligent they are. In secular things, they
"wonder how such little heads can carry all they
know," and yet forget that in religious things they
are equally intelligent.

If Elijah and Elisha stretched themselves each
upon a child to bring life into it, so some of the
noblest men of the church to-day are devoting
their best powers to simplify the Word of Life
for the children.

Rev. R. E. Knowles says : " Children are not
on the verge of intelligence— they are intelligent."
To show how clearly many of them can appre-
hend the simple gospel and the way of salvation,
one or two extracts from children's letters may be
given :

"Dear Mr. Porter:— Your meetings have not
only led me to Jesus, but have shown me how to
live a Christian life. I always thought, before
Sunday night, that we had to be very good before
we could become Christians. But now I know
that we must just come to Jesus as we are, and

Children May be Saved.

give Him our hearts, and believe that He receives
us as He says He will."

Another writes: — "I have been trying to get
two little girls to become Christians. One has
become a Christian already, but the other said
that she was trying to become a Christian.

" I told her that there was no trying about it,
but it was simply believing and trusting in Jesus.
I am enjoying the meetings v y much. I am
trying to help mother and God, too."

Rev. C. H. Spurgeon says: — "I ^nve usually
found a clearer knowledge of the Gospel in the
child convert than m the man convert." John
says :— " I write unto you, little children, because
ye have known the Father."— i John ii. 13.

Repentance and Faith.

" Repent ye and believe the Gospel."— Mark i.
'5-

" When He is come He will reprove the world

of.... sin, because they believe not on me."

John xvi. 8, 9.

I think I never shall forget a ruddy, bright- faced

Christ and the Children.

little girl of six or seven years, with whom I con-
versed in Montreal during our children's meetings.

On asking her if she had put her trust in Jesus,
with the usual childlike frankness, she replied,
" No." On asking her if she ought not to, with
equal seriousness and frankness she said, " Yes."
On speaking to her, further, of the love and long-
ing of Jesus for her, and how He came from
heaven and died upon the cross to save her, and
now invites and waits to receive her, the feelings
that had evidently been suppressed, and that
evidenced the Spirit's work, seemed to melt and
overpower her, and sobbing as if her little heart
would break, she hastened away, like Mary, to
weep alone in another part of the church, where I
heard her sobs for some time, and where Jesus, I
doubt not, met her, and folded her in His arms
and blessed her.

Next day she came to meeting with a calm,
sweet, happy face, and, on asking her if she had
\>wx her trust in Jesus, with the same childlike
frankness, but with the evidence of a blessed
cliange, she answered, "Yes.'

Children May be Saved.

Rev. C. H. Spurgeon says again: '■ O, dear
friends, talk not of a child's incapacity for repent-
ance. I have known a child weep herself to sleep
for the month together under a crushing sense of
sin. If you would know a deep and bitter and
awful fear of God's wrath, let me tell you what I
felt as a boy.

" If you want to know what faith in Jesus is,
you must look to the dear children who have
taken Jesus at His word and belitve.l in Him,
and therefore know that they are saved. Capacity
for believing lies more in the child than in the
man. We grow less, rather than more capable of
faith in Jesub.''

Whether we regard salvation as believing Christ's
word, trusting His person, or receiving His gift,
reason and experience agree with Christ's own
word, that instead c f children having to grow up
to become Christians, adults have to become as
littie children.

" At the same tinu- came the disciples unto
Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven ? And Jesus called a little child unto

Christ and the Children.

Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said.
Verily, I say unto you. Except ye be converted,
and become as little children, ye shall not enter
into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, there-
fore, shall humble himself as this little child, the
same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." —
Matt, xviii. 1-3.

Of course, at any age, the work of regeneration
is only e/Tected by the Holy Spirit. But to some
we are encouraged to proclaim the Gospel, with
special assurance that the Holy Spirit will accom-
pany the word with saving power : as the Lord
said to Paul at Corinth : " Be not afraid, but
speak, ... for I have much people in this city." —
Acts xviii. 9, 10.

And so Christ's word, " Suffer the little children
to come unto me," seems to carry with it the divine
promise of the Spirit's power in proclaiming to
them the Gospel message.

CHAPTER III.

It is Desirable that Little Children Should
Come to Jesus and be Saved.

" To every thing there is a season, and a time
to every purpose under the heaven."

" Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy
youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years
draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure
in them.' — Ecc iii. i ; xii. i.

Those who have not labored much with children
have an idea that they are all pretty much alike in
their susceptibilities to the Gospel, and especially
to any direct efforts for their salvation. But they
differ as much in this respect as older people do.

In London, Ontario, at Adelaide Street church,

where we had a very gracious work among the

children, a little boy ten years old wrote me : " I

asked some of the bovs at school to come o the

3 25

Christ and the Children.

meetings, but they made all kinds of excuses. I
got one of ihem to come, but I couldn't get him
to come again."

One of the sad things with children, as with
older people, is the utter indifference, if not oppo-
sition, of many of them to things spiritual ; also
the hardening effect of the Gospel upon them. To
some it is " the savor of life unto life," but to
others, " of death unto death."

I asked a blacksmith one day how he hardened
iion. " Heat it and hammer it," he said. And I
thought, O that parents, Sabbath school teachers,
and ministers might realize more that God's word
is as a fire and a hammer, to break and subdue,
or to harden. Perhaps they would more earnestly,
as a lady at Owen Sound expressed it, "try to
bring the children to Jesus and then teach them."

In speaking to Dr. Thomas of the hardening
effect on the children of teaching them the Gospel,
and not expecting them to receive it, he said :
" Yes, and it hardens the teachers too."

Turning a Stream.

" A pebble on the streamlet sc. it,

Hiis turned the course of many a river."

Desirable for Ch.ldren to be Saved. 27

The conversion of a soul from sin to God is
like turning the course of a river.

Crossing the Rocky Mountains, on reaching
the summit, one may notice by the railway a
spring, which a child's hand could turn there
toward the Atlantic or the Pacific. But coming
down the mountains, gathering speed and volume
in its course, what power could turn it ?

Crossing a River.

Dr. Edward Judson compares conversion to
crossing a river. The person converted in child-
hood crosses near its source, where it is easy to
do so. But the person converted later in life
crosses where the current has become deep and
wide and strong, and it is very difiicult to get over.

And so the cares of the world and the tempta-
tions of life, with ever increasing unbelief, deepen
and widen as years advance, till they become as it
were impassable.

Bending a Tree.
The conversion of a soul may be compared to
bending a tree to the desired shape. But how

Christ and the Children.

much easier to bend the sapling, than the grown
tree.

" To day if ye will hear His voice harden not

your hearts Lest any of you be hardened

through the deceitfulness of sin."— Heb. iii. 7, 8,
13

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the
leopard his spots 1 then may ye also do good that
are accustomed to do evil." — Jer. xiii. 23.

Dr. Behrends says : "The probabilities of moral
reformation diminish as men grow older. Char-
acter seems to tend to permanence at a very early
period. Do not wait till you are older. Come
to Jesus while you are boys and girls. T. way
back to God is harder and rougher the longer you
wait. The best and wisest thing that anyone can
do is, with "the very first knowledge of sin, to come
to a pardoning God and get forgiveness and a new
heart. '

Dr. J. V. Smith says again :

" If our boys are not converted and cared for in
the days of their youth, what then ?

" Anyone who has given the subject any prac-

Desirable for Children to bt Saved.

tical attention, knows that it is much easier to lead
a boy ten years of age to Christ than it is to lead
a young man of twenty. If our youth are not
saved before they laave their teens — aye, before
they are far advanced in their teens — the proba-
bility of their conversion becomes exceedingly
doubtful. There never was a period in the history
of the world when it was more important for a boy
to start out with fixed religious principles, and
stick to them at all hazards, than the present
The temptations to wrongdoing are so numerous,
so subtle, and so strong, that nothing but the grace
of God can save them from making a total wreck
of life.

" Lord Shaftesbury stated in a public meeting
in London that, from personal observation, he had
ascertained that of the adult male criminals of that
city, nearly all had fallen into a course of crime
between the ages of eight and sixteen years, and
that if a young man lived an honest life up to the
time he was twenty years of age, there were forty-
nine chances in his favor, and only one against
him, of living an honorable life thereafter."

Chriit and the Children

(fRArriNG.

'• Make the tree good and his fruit good."
Human nature is lik » corrupt tree. Nothing
can change the real nature of its fruit except
grafting it.

But how much easier and better to graft the
tree when it is young. It becomes more homo-
genous The old tree after being grafted has to
be continually watched and carefully pruned to
keep the natural shoots from outgrowing the grafts
ana sapping their vitality. But how different
when the tree is grafted when young. I»s growth
is all graft ; and so • .♦b the Christian. How
greatly have the tendencies and habits of earlier
life marred and hindered Christian character and
usefulness. An aged Christian once said to me :
•' I wish you would persuade my son to give up
swearing. Although I have been a Christian
thirty years, when I am suddenly vexed I am
tempted to swear."

Probably it was so with Peter.— Matt. xxvi. 74.

"The backslider in heart shall be filled with
his own ways. "■— Prov. xiv. 14.

Desirable for Children to he Saved. 3 1

With Thomas the sceptical habit beset him. —
John XX. 25. Happy for those who become
Christians before evil habits have become fixed
and strengthened, requiring much of the energy of
after years to grapple with them. Even after
becoming Christians, —

" Twill save us from a thousand snares
To miml religion young."

Happiness.

" God made all men to be happy." — Epictetus ;
and it might be added, All men wish to be happy,
but, through sin, have lost the clue, and only God
can give it to them.

" Blessed are the people that know the joyful
sound, they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy
countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all
the day." — Ps. Ixxxix. 15, 16.

" Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and
all her paths are peace." — Prov. iii. 17.

"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria,
and preached Christ unto them. And the people
with one accord gave heed unto those things

Christ and the Children

which Philip spake. . . .And there was great joy in
that city."— Acts viii c, 6, 8.

" Christ desired for His followers " ;hat their
joy might be full."— John xv. ii. Surely it is not
unreasonable to desire the highest happiness of
those we are interested in. But as Mr. Spurgeon
says again : " If you would know joy in the Lord
you should look for it in the experience of child-
hood. Many a child has been as full of it as his
little heart could hold."

If one thing more than another, in letters
received from children converted in our meetings,
has impressed me, it has been the note of joy that
has pervaded them. And this seems the more
surprising, because I had sooken so little about
joy in addressing them.

The following extracts from letters written by
children from eight to twelve years old, speak .or
themselves :

" I have given my heart to the Lord Jesus
Christ, and He has received my heart ; foi I can
feel it in my heart I am so glad that I gave my
heart to Jesus, for He has made me so happy;

Desirable for Children to be Saved. 33

ativ i hope thsi He will keep it." Eight years
olc

" i a.D s^ happy since these meetings began ; for
I know Jesus better now than I did before." Nine
years old.

" When I gave my heart to Jesus I thought
mor.iing would never come, I was so happy."
Nine years old.

" I gave my heart to Jesus two weeks ago, and
have been happier ever since. I am sure every
one who loves Jesus feels happier than before."
Ten years old.

" I found Jesus on Sunday, Feb. 24th. I play
around and enjoy everything far better, and am
better satisfied now than when I was without
Him." Ten years old

And still another writes :

" I have been a Christian nearly two years I
do not see how any one can live without Jesus ;
the Christian's is so easy and happy a life to live."
Twelve years old.

And why should not the dear children be
happy, with such conceptions and experiences of

Christ and the Children.

the privileges and blessings of those who believe ?
As a child thirteen years old, writing to me, said :
" I have been a Christian for some time, but your
meetings have drawn me nearer to Him. I realize
more that I have Jesus and all that is connected
with Him now. Pray that I may love and follow
Him more and more."

Such expressions as the above show the readi-
ness of the child-mind to seize and appropriate
some of the grandest truths of the Gospel, empha-
sizing still further the importance of getting people
as far as possible to attend to religion young.

it is said that in foreign countries our children
outstrip the older people in acquiring the language
wonderfully.

And so, in acquiring some of the more difficult
arts and sciences, it is necessary to begin young.

But what acquirement so difficult as the con-
ception and outworking of that life, concerning
which its most ardent and successful apostle, after
long and strenuous effort, said : " I have not yet
attained."

Truly has Froeble said : " It is of the utmost

Desirable for Children to be Saveu. 35

importance to bring the young into an early con-
scious relation with God."

" O, satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we
may rejoice and l)e glad all our days." — Ps. xc. 14.

Love.

" Everyone that loveth is born of God and
knoweth God." — i John iv. 7.

"Whom having not seen ye love." — \ Pet. i. 8.

Sometimes a little child who has never seen its
father has bten taught by its mother so to know
and love him, as eagerly to look for and Joyfully
to hail his home-coming.

Mr. Spurgeon says again : " I have usually
found a warmer love to Christ in the child con-
vert than in the man convert. Fror. personal
knowledge of young children, some of them very
young indeed, I have more confidence in their
spiritual condition than in that of older people. I
have even met with a deeper spiritual experience
in children ten and twelve years old than in per-
sons of fifty and sixty."

Notice what some of the little children say : —
" I just love the name of Jesus." Ten years old.

Christ and the Children.

" I found Jesus on Monday evening at my bed-
side. I love Jesus." Eight years old.

" I love Jesus. I've loved him since Sunday.
I love you for helping me to love Jesus. I am
your little friend." Eight years old.

" I do love Jesus Jesus bids us shine, and I
want to shine for Him every day." Eight years
old.

" I love Jesus because He first loved me. I do
love Jesus. He is my shepherd." Nearly seven
years old.

CHILDREN WELL MAY SING.

Children well may siu>{ the story

How the Saviour came from glory,
And in Bethlehem's lowly manger cradle lay :

For they sing that wondrous story

In the realms of endless glory,
With angelic hosts adoring Him to-day.

Cho.— Oh, they'll sing that wondrous story
When they rea<!h the land of glory,

And with saints and angels praise Him evermore.
Yes, they'll sing that sweet, glad story
In the home of light and glory,

With the Saviour dw elling on that blissful shore.

Children well may sing the story

How the Saviour left His glory,
And for them on Calv'ry's cross did bleed and die ;

For they sing that joyful story

In the land of love and glory.
With the ransomed ever praising Him on high.

Children well may sing the story

How the Saviour now in glory
Gathers still the children fondly in His arms,

For they sing that blissful story

To their golden harps in glory.
Ever safe from sin and sorrow and alarms.

PART II,

Cbc eburcb and m Cbildren.

Better trust all and be deceived.

And weep that trust and that deceiving.

Than doubt one heart that, if believed,
Had blessed the life with true believing.

Frances Annie Kemble.

Cbe eNrcb and iDe eMMren.

CHAPTER. I.

Receiving the Children.

" Whoso shall receive one such little child in
my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend
one of these little ones that believe on me, it were
better for him that a millstone were hanged about
his .leck, and that he were drowned in the depth
of the sea." — Matt, xviii. 5, 6.

It is said that a little boy in New Brunswick,
many years ago, was converted and wanted to join
a church. But not being able to answer fully the
questions put to him (some of which might per-
haps have puzzled the questioners), he was refused
4 41

The Church and the Children.

admission until he should become older. Shortly
after he was welcomed into another church and
became one of its most earnest workers and staunch
supporters. In fact, he became one of the most
prominent men, socially and politically, as well as
religiously, of his native province Who can tell
how much of strength and influence and blessing
the one church lost and the other gained by their
different spirit and action.

(iROWTH.

" Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." — 2 Pet. iii. 18.

Till maturity is reached life is expected to
develop, and the more important and precious the
life, the more anxious we are for it to attain to
maturity.

It is said of the infant princess of Italy, that so
anxious are her parents to have her properly
develop, that her nurse, besides receiving liberal
pay and a pension, with the coming of the baby's
first tooth, is to have $2000, and when the child
can speak, $2000 more, and again a similar sum
when she cnn walk unsupported.

Receiving the Children.

Such is the interest these parents feel in the
growth and development of their little offspring.

Indeed, I knew c' a mother who scarcely ever
mentioned or showe^ one of her children as she
did the others for the little one scarcely grew
from its birth.

With what different feelings Paul must have
written, Heb. v. 12: "When for the time ye
ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach
you again the very first rudiments of the oracles
of God " ; and 2 Thess. i. 3 : '* We are bound to
thank God always for you, brethren, for that your
faith groweth exceedingly ''

But proper development requires suitable con-
ditions.

"Can the rush grow up without mire?" — Job

viii. II.

Trees.

"That they might be called trees of righteous-
ness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be
glorified." — Isa. l.xi. 3.

Time to Grow.
Trees of the firmest grain and finest fibre.

The Church and the Children.

whose wood can bear the greatest strain, or
receive the smoothest polish, require time to
develop.

And so with Christians. How true this is of
the most stalwart saints of Scripture.

Thus, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, Daniel and
Jeremiah, like Obadiah, could all say : " I thy
servant fear the Lord from my youth." — i Kings
xviii. 12.

They were like Josiah, who, " while he was
young began to seek after the God of his father."
— 2 Chron. xxxiv. 3.

Like David they could exclaim : " Thou art my
hope, O Lord God. Thou art my trust from n y
youth. Thou hast taught me from my > utti
and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Now, also, when I am old and grayheaded. O
God, forsake me not until I ha\ e showed thy
strength unto this generation, anu thy power to
every one that is to come." — Ps. Ixxi. 5, 17, 18.

Soil and Climate.

" I am like a green olive tree in the house of
God."— Ps. lii. 8.

Recfiviti':; the Children.

"The righteous shall flourish like the palm
tree ; he shall grow like a cedar of libation
Those that be planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God. They
shall still bring fo'-th fruit in old age ; they shall
be fat and flourishing." — Ps. xoii. 12-14

Everything prospers best in its own place and

element.

" The world is not a friend to grace
To help iH on to f»od,"

any more than northern frosts to develop tropic
vegetation.

When persons, young or old are truly converted,
they incline as naturally to Christ's church and
people as the converts did on the day of Pentecost.

" Then they that gladly received His word were
baptized ; and the same day there were added
unto them about three thousand souls. And they
continued steadfastly in the apos.es' doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking ot bread, and in
prayers." — Acts ii. 41, 42.

If we accept, as the apostles did, the Saviour's
commission, " Go ye and disciple all nations, bap-

The Church and the Children.

tizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you," by what authority can we refuse His ordin-
ances and the fellowship of His church to those
who humbly and sincerely trust and love Him ?

Dr. B. L. Whitman says; "I can remember
when little children were very scantily welcomed
into the membership of our churches. To-day
the pastor whose heart is aflame counts it double
joy, not only seeing a soul saved, but a life and a
lifetime, when the little ones come into the king--
dom."

But it makes a wonderful difference what con-
dition a church is in when she receives into
her membership young converts. I have known
persons try to raise fruit trees, by setting them in
holes a few feet round, leaving the earth all hard
around them. Thus when the rootlets got through
the softened soil and reached their hard environ-
ment, they ceased growing. By and-bye it was
found that, to grow fruit trees the soil must be
mellowed and enriched all around them as far as
the roots could extend.

Receiving the Children.

And so it is in receiving young converts into
the church. We are taught this in the parable of
the vineyard : " My well-beloved hath a vineyard
in a very fruitful hill. And he gathered out the
stones thereof and planted it."— Isa. v. i, 2. "Thou
preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to
take deep root and it filled the land "— Ps. Ixxx.
9. And so to-day. if the tender plants are to
thrive they must have rich, mellow soil to grow in.

And besides this, how much easier and surer to
have the trees grow if planted young.

" The Westminster " says : " The strength and
activity of the church of to-morrow, its very life,
depends, under God, on the young people and
children of to-day, and their attitude to religion,
and their equipment for service."

Lambs.

" He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he
shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry
them in his bosom." — Isa. xl. 11.

" Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ?

Feed my lambs." — John xxi. 15.

The Church and the Children

A shepherd being asked how he had such fine
sheep, answered : " By taking care of the lambs."

A story is told of a good old Scotch elder who
was greatly grieved at his pastor's constant refusal
to admit children into church fellowship. Invit-
ing him to his house one day, after tea the elder
took his pastor out to see him put his larg<i flock
of sheep into the fold. Taking his stand at the
entrance, the elder allowed all the sheep to enter,
but with his heavy stick he roughly kept the Iambs
from going in. The pastor became quite indig-
nant, and exclaimed : " What are you doing ?
The lambs need the shelter of the fold far more
than the sheep."

'' Just what you are doing to the children of the

church," was the elder's prompt reply. The object

lesson was effective, and never again did the pastor

attempt to shut out Christ's Utile ones from His

fold.

Children.

" Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will
give thee thy wages." — Ex. ii. 9.

" And Hannah said. For this child I prayed ;

Receiving the Children.

and the Lord hath given me my petition which I
asked of him ; therefore also I have lent him to
the Lord ; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to
the Lord."

" But Hannah went not up (to the yearly sacri-
fice) ; for she said unto her husband, I will not go
up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring
him, that he may appear before the Lord, and
there abide for ever."

" But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being
a child. And the child Samuel grew before the
Lord."

" And the child Samuel grew on, and was in
favor both with the Lord, and also with men."

" And the Lord called Samuel again the third
time And Eli perceived that the Lord had called

the . Id."

" Ad Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him
and did let none of his words fall to the ground."—
I Samuel i. 27, 28, 22 ; n. 18, 26 ; iii. 8, iq.

How diflTerent Hannah's conduct from that of
many : and how different the results. She prayed
for her child, and when the Lord answered her,

The Church and the Children.

she believed and acted accordingly, and her child
grew up to be an honor and a blessing.

Many pray for the children and teach them the
way of salvation, and when the Lord hears their
prayers and blesses their efforts, they don't credit
it ; and when these children come and tell them
that they have accepted Jesus as their Saviour and
put their trust in Him, and now in their joy and
love want to confess and follow Him, instead of
gratefully and gladly sympathizing with and encour-
aging them, they too often help the enemy to fill
those little hearts with doubts and unbelief by
their incredulousness.

How well did Jesus couple " unbelief and hare
ness of heart" (Mark xvi. 14), and never is their
union sadder than when it begets in the hearts of
Christ's disciples opposition or indifference to the
salvation and religious training of the children.

As Rev. Mr. Weeks says again : " We sin against
the children by opposing an open confession after
they have received the Saviour. Not that we
should urge children to join the church, or fail to
use proper care and discrimination in receiving

\.\

Receiving the Children.

them, but when from love to Christ they come
asking the privilege of obeying Him in His ordi-
nances, and of communing with His people, we
should be sure that we have good reasons for
refusing them.

" Nor should we demand of them a higher
standard of piety, or a stronger evidence of conver-
sion than we do of older people. They have the
same spiritual needs, weaknesses, and difficulties
as older people, and equally need the strength and
comfort that come from openly confessing Christ
and serving Him."

I heard a farmer once say that he did not want
his orchard hedged in so that the wind could not
blow through it. The wind made the trees strike
deeper and grow sturdier, while it made the fruit
larger and more valuable, by blowing off the worm-
eaten and worthless.

A little girl in Kingston wrote : " I got saved
Tuesday night at home after meeting, and I was
so glad that I wanted to tell everybody. When I
went to school the next day the girls made fun of
me ; but I told them that I was not afraid to own

The Church and the Children.

Jesus as my Saviour, and now I am so happy in
Him."

Thus, the way of obedience is the way of bless-
ing just the same to children as to older people.

In keeping the commandments there is great
reward. — Ps. xix. ii.

" No man when he hath lighted a candle put-

tetii it under a bushel, but on a candlestick,

that they that enter in may see the light."— Luke

xi- 33-

" With the heart man helieveth unto righteous-
ness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation." — Rom x. lo.

Dr. J. V. Smith, on 'The Church and the Boys,"
says : " Many good people tell us not to be in too
great a hurry in receiving the children ; they say,
' Wait awhile, till they understand better, and can
act intelligently.'

" But, it has been well said that ' there are very
few children in the primary departments of our
Sabbath schools that do not know more about
Christ than the two families first gathered into the
Christian Church in Europe, namely, the family of

Receiving the Children

Lydia, and the family of the Philippian jailor, all
of whom were baptized after hearing their first
gospel sermon.'

" The jail r was a hardened heathen at sunset,
and a baptized Christian at dawn." So few and
elementary were the essentials Paul and Silas
deemed necessary to enter the school of Christ.

I asked our Foreign Mission Secretary, Rev. J.
G. Brown, one day, how the religious intelligence
of the Telugu converts compared with that of our
younger Sunday school scholars. His answer was :
" It doesn't compare at all."

In " A Plea for the Children," Mrs. H. M. N.
Armstrong, missionary, says :

" I sympathize with little children because I
remember my own struggles towards the light
when I was a very little child

" My mother used to pray for our conversion
daily, but, like many, looked for the answer to her
prayers in the future, rather than now.

"The greatest struggle of all my childish life
was to acknowledge my love to Christ, My con-
science whispered that if I truly belonged to Him
I ought to confess His name, and yet I could not

The Church and the Children.

bring myself to do this to those who did not expect
me to acknowledge Christ yet, and might be very
hard to convince that I knew what I was talking
about. I have followed my mother round the
house longing to tell her that I had given myself
to Christ, and did love Him wich all my heart, and
then when she asked what I wanted, my heart
failed me, and I ran away to weep over another
defeat.

" From a very little child till I was thirteen years
old I fought the battle with myself, and then God
gave me grace to confess His name publicly. A
little help many years before would have greatly
lightened my burden and made me a happier and
brighter Christian.

" I am firmly convinced that if parents looked
for the conversion of their children and expected
it, and would not be content without it, a multi-
tude of children would never pass through that
dark, barren waste of years that so often intervenes
between their first understanding ->f the way of
life, and their final acceptance of Christ. They
would accept the Saviour's invitation as soon as
they received it, and would grow up in the Saviour's
fold, trained to His service from their childhood."

CHAPTER II.
Caring for the Children.

" What shall be the manner of the child, and
what shall he do?" — Judges xiii. 12.

Possibly one of the most hopeful signs of the
present, and pro[)hecies of the future, physically,
mentally and morally, is, that, wearied and baffled
with the unsolved problem of the man, the world's
greatest scientists, and governments even are
devoting themselves seriously to the study and
development of "the father of the man," the
child ; and not without already some measure of
success. " The Metropolitan Magazine," Aug.,
1 90 1.

On " Do not sin against the child," Rev. Mr.
Weeks says again : —

"There is also another way in which the church
may sin against the children, by not properly caring
for them after they have been received,

The Church and the Children.

^•1*

" Too generally the preaching and services are
adapted to older people, and not to the young.
Certainly the older members in a family should
not be neglected, but special provision should be
made for the babes."

In doing this I am sure that the church will not
only be fulfilling her motherly mission, and the
desire of her Lord, but she will secure in the doing
of it His richest blessing.

In speaking of

"The Children's Portion,"

Rev. R. E. Knowles says in efTect :

" In a sense, the whole service should be for the
children. We have all they need : and they need
all we have. Their early religious and intellectual
impressions should be of the highest order, and in
quality, mature.

" The preacher who can best arrest the attention
and enchain the mind of the little ones with relig-
ious truth, will at the same time do so with the
older ones. Indeed, if we were but more alive to
the presence of children in our congregations, our

Caring for the Children.

preaching would be more exalted and enhanced in
power, being more permeated with the Personal of
the children's Christ

" * Tell me more about Jesus,' is the pleading
of many a little life, as it is the unspoken cry of
many maturer lives under the burdens of sorrow,
sins, and caie."

As Dr. J. V. Smith says again :

" If as Protestants we were as wise in our gen-
eration as the Church of Rome, in looking after
the children ; if we sought to mould their plastic
minds to the Divine pattern, what an era of pros-
perity we would enter upon. Cardinal Wiseman
showed his sagacity when he said : ' Give us the
children, and you (Protestants) can take the adults.'

" It does not need a prophet to affirm that the
church which is the most successful in laying hold
of the children and training them for the Lord, will
be the most powerful church in the next genera-
tion. It matters little who may be foremost in this
divine work, so long as it is rightly done."

The Church and the Children

Service.

Children are Ood'a apottlea, d»y by day
Sent forth to preach of love and hope and peaoe.

J. L. LowiLU

" Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast
Thou ordained strength because of Thine enemies,
that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."
— Ps. viii. 2,

•• The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the
calf and the young lion and the fatling together ;
and a little child shall lead them."— Isa. xi 6.

Dr. R. L. Whitman says ;

" In receiving child converts into the church a
new recruiting ground for Christian service has
been opened. Nor has it been wanting in
results "

As with the little captive maid in the cure of
Naaman's leprosy, or with the little lad and his
small barley loaves and fishes in supplying the
hungry multitudes, so little children have often
been God's most used and honored instruments
of blessing.

Caring for the Children.

Many of the children's letters written to me
show how soon and easily they learn what many
older people seem so slow in learning, that we are
" saved to serve." " That we being delivered out
of the hand of our enemies might serve him with-
out fear, in holiness and righteousness before him
all the days of our life." — Luke i. 74, 75.

One little child writes :

" Dear Mr. Porter :— I am so glad that you have
taught me about Jesus. I am going to try to teach
other little children about Jesus, and I hope that
I will grow to love Him more."

Another writes :— " My sister, or friend and I
are going to try to get up little meetings, to see if
we can bring others to Jesus."

And still another : — " I have got two boys to
give their hearts to Jesus, and I am trying to get
a lot of boys to come to your meetings, so that
they will give their hearts to Jesus."

Such interested efforts for the salvation of others
impress us favorably when put forth by the early
disciples, or by converts in India or China.

Shall we discredit the working of the same Spirit
in the same manner in our children ?

Tht Church and the Children,

1-" !

€

■ J - !

O Father, mould my heart once more

By thy prevailing breath
Teach me, O teach me to adore,

E'en with that pure one's faith ;
A faith all made of love and light.

Child-like, and therefore full of might.

Mrs. Hkmans.

Prayer.

" God heard the voice of the lad." — Gen. xxi. 1 7,

How often, as with Ishmael, the Lord hears the
child's cry, even before the mother's.

In the hearts of children are open sincerity and
simple trust, essentials to acceptable prayer, more
than in the hearts of older people. Indeed, in
this, as in everything else, "he that will be the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven must become
as a little child." — Matt, xviii. 4.

In Mr. Hammond's books on children are many
wonderful instances of the power of children's
prayers.

If a complete history could be written of such
prayers and answers, I doubt not it would be
astonishing.

Caring for the Children

Mr. Spurgeon had a great confidence in child-
ren's prayers. He says : " It is a sacred joy to
tne to know that certain boys and girls make it a
habit of praying for me. I cannot tell how highly
I value such prayers."

Eternity alone will reveal what blessings may
have attended his ministry in answer to them.

In my work as Sabbaih School Evangelist,

nothing has given me greater encouragement and

)mfort, saving the Master's words, " Lo, I am

with you alway," than the knowledge of being

remembered in the children's prayers.

Praise.

" Childrenj let them praise the name of the
Lord." — Ps. cxlviii. 12. 13.

" When the chief priests and scribes saw the
wonderful things that [Jesus] did, and the children
crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the
son of David, they were sore displeased, and said
unto him, Hearest thou what these say ? And Jesus
saith unto them, Yea ; have ye never read, Out of
the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou per-
fected praise." — Matt. xxi. 15, 16.

The Church and the Children.

:Pzff

It is said that an artist labored to paint a picture
of Jesus that would lead men to worship and love
Him. Having finished the picture, he asked his
ittle daughter who it was. She answered, " Some
great king." Again he labored to bring out his
ideal. Calling his child again, he asked her who
it was. Clasping her little hands, she said, " My
Saviour ! " and the artist rested satisfied.

The unsophisticated child is a truer judge, and
more candid, than the connoisseur.

The Gospel, clearly and simply preached, is the
unveiling, or portraying of Jesus, as Eliezer por-
trayed to Rebecca Isaac, till she, "having not
seen, loved," and was willing to leave all and to be
his.

" Through flooda and flames, if Jesua leadi,
I'll follow where He goes,"

sings many a child heart with a devotion as genu-
ine and heroic as that of missionary martyr.

Yea, doubtless when the day dawns, it will be a
surprise how many young heads wear martyr's
crowns, swelling their hosannas.

Caring for the Children. 63

LET THE CHILDREN PRAISE THE SAVIOUR.

Let the children praise the Saviour,
And their grateful love outpour

To that Friend, who with fond pity,
All their sins and sorrows bore.

Let the children praise the Saviour,
And their sweet hoeannas sing ;

For no praise that men can ofifer
Is more precious than they bring.

Let the children praise the Saviour
With glad anthems loud and long ;

For to Him tbeir praise is sweeter
Than the best angelic song.

Will Those Converted in Early Childhood
Continue Steadfast 1

" Train up a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old he will not depart from it."— Prov.
xxxii. 6.

Some people seem to read this verse, " Train up
a child toward the way he should go, and when
he is older he will get into it."

The Church and the Children.

But, as Dr. Bonar has well said : " The sense
of the text is this : Be sure that you get (initiate)
a child in the way while he is still a child, and you
need not fear in regard to his continuing in it.
Get the truth into his soul while he is a child, and
rest assured that he will go on as he has begun.
It is a blessed text to encourage us to seek the
present and immediate conversion of children."
And with this some of the most recent psychologi-
cal discoveries of the child nature agree.

As the great Edmund Burke says : '« While the
child mind is as plastic as wax to receive impres-
sions, it is like iron in retaining them."

How often one may notice in a museum, or on
beds of rocks, impressions of foot-prints, raindrops,
and ripple-marks, etc., and wonder how they came
there, so indelible and distinct. But geologists
tell us that they were imprinted there when the
rock was clay or sand. And so on our concrete
sidewalks, one may notice the clear-cut imprint of
a horseshoe, or even of a leaf or flower ; and pause
to think, how iwporlant it is to get the Divine
truth and image fixed in the young heart while it
is tender and plastic.

Carin\![ for the Children.

Indeed, many who have had large experience
in Christian work, do not hesitate to affirm that,
with proper environments, at least, child converts
are more steadfast than any others.

The Saviour, who knew the heart and condition
of each, said : " Take heed that ye despise not one
of these little ones, for I say unto you, that in
heaven their angels do always behold the face of
my Father who is in heaven." — Matt, xviii. 10.

I have before me now the collected testimony
of over fifty leading ministers in England, Canada
and the United States, to the superior character
and steadfastness of those converted and received
into the church in childhood, over those converted
and uniting with the church later in life.

Dr. D. D. McLaurin says : " My experience is,
that those who are converted and baptized before
they reach their teens, make the truest and best
Christians."

Chancellor O. C. S. Wallace, D.D., says, he
can recall no case of discipline during his pastoral
experience of those joining the church under thir-
teen years of age.

The Church and the Children.

The late Mr. Spurgeon, who received hundreds
of converted young children into the church, and
exercised stricter church discipline than most min-
isters, said, that he never had to discipline any
received in childhood.

I have often wondered how or why Christians
could be indifferent or sceptical as to child con-
version. But, considering what early conversion
means to the convert, and to the cause of Satan
and of Christ, the wonder vanishes, leaving only a
deeper sense of the subtlety and sagacity of our
enemy and of Christ's. Surely there is no possi-
ble way that he could more effectively secure and
strengthen his kingdom, and hinder Christ's, than
to delude Christians into believing, (i) that little
children do not need to be converted ; or (2) that
they are too young to be converted ; or (3) that,
unlike older people, their profession of conversion
should not be accepted until it had been tested
and that, perhaps, not so much under trusting and
encouraging watchcare, as under distrusting and
dispiriting scrutiny.

CHAPTER III.

A Word to Parents.

'• By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hid
three months by his parents, because they saw that
he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid
of the king's edict." — Heb. xi. 23.

"The parents should lay up for the children." —
2 Cor. xii. 14.

It is said of John Vine Hall's son that he
couldn't be an infidel, for the genuineness of his
parents' Christian character and influence pre
vented it. How sadly suggestive, on the other
hand the brief record of Ahaziah king of Israel,
"who did evil in the sight of the Lord, and
walked in the way of his father, and in the way of
his mother." — i Kings xxii. 52.

One parent may, perhaps, draw the child down-
ward, but it requires both, " as workers together

with God," to draw him up.

68 The Church and the Children.

Happy the child who in after life can say,—

My boMt ia not that I deduce niy birth

From loiu enthroned, or monarch'! of the earth >

But higher far my proud pretensions rise,

I boaat of parents passed into the skies.

Wm. Cowfkb.
Fathers.

"The glory of children are their fathers." —
Prov. xvii. 6.

What a place of influence and power the father
is designed to occupy and wield in the home.

" A good man leaveth an inheritance to his
children's children." — Prov. xiii. 22.

Fathers, what inheritance will you bequeath to
your children ? Will it be of moral worth, or
of worldliness and ambition ?

" The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wis-
dom :" and, " by humility and the fear of the Lord
are riches, and honor, and life."

A little boy was following his father across the
room one day, taking long strides, and being asked
what he was doing, he said that he was trying to
walk in his father's steps.

A Word to Parents.

How often in the '• Book of the Kings," or of
" The Chronicles " one finds this suggestive sen-
tence, " He walked in the way of his father," or,
" did according to all that his father had done."

" Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath,
but bring them up in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord." — Eph. vi. 4.

Say with David, —

■'Come, ye children, hearken unto me; and I
will teach you the fear of the Lord."— Ps. xxxiv.
II. But not by precept only, but by precept and
example. .

This high and sacred responsibility and privilege
are yours. Do not think to clear yourself by dele-
gating it to another — minister, S. S teacher, or
even to the mother. She has her part, but not
yours.

Think of those wonderful words with which God
closes the Old Testament : " Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord : and he shall
turn the heart of fathers to the children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come
and smite them with a curse." — Mai. iv. c. 6.

70 Tht Church and the Children.

Fathers, to you a troit U given,
More bleat than angela claim in heaven ;
To train the oflfipring of your love
For life that leads to life above.

Mothers.

Mother ! What a world of opportunity, privi-
U;ge and responsibility is in that word !

To you a greater than Pharaoh's daughter has
said : " Take this child and nurse it for me, and I
will give thee thy wages." — Ex. ii. 9

Mother, " Is it well with thee ? Is it well with
thy husband? Is it well with the child?" — 2
Kings iv. 26.

Happy, thrice happy if thou canst say truly,
" It is well."

A mother's hando ! what treasures rare they hold,
More precious far than richest gems and ({old !
Through pious influence and teachings wise,
To traia for earth, and^fashion for the skies !

From "CoHVBBSK with The Kino."

The following letter from the mother of a little
boy, eleven years old, who died from a cold taken

A Word to Parents.

in rescuing two other boys from drowning, only a
short time after his conversion and baptism, may
serve to impress others with the importance of not
hindering, but encouraging and helping the little
children both to trust and to follow Jesus.

••Paisley, Feb. 15, 1901.

•' Dear Mr. Porter :— I cannot thank >ou enough
for coming to Paisley, and for your meetings here,
if only for my boy Jimmie.

•' What hope and faith he had, and what a com-
fort I have that he put his trust in Jesus as his
Saviour.

'• I think I see him the night he came home
from meeting and wanted to be baptized. I
talked with him for a while and told him he had
better go and see the pastor. He went to see
him, and then went to the church to see if they
would receive him. He often told me wha^ you
said to him.

'• I got your book, ' Converse with The King,'
for him on Christmas, and he was so pleased with
it. How often he looked at your photo in it. He
intended to write to you. I asked him the day

The Church and the Children.

before he died if he would like to see you, and he
nodded his head, for he could not speak.

"That night his hand was pointing upward.
He died as easily as if he were going to sleep.

" My little girl has been baptized since. How
Jimmie wanted her to come to Jesus.

" He said he was praying for two boys, that they
might put their trust in Jesus as their Saviour.
He wanted to give something to missions, if he
could only give his Bible. He had put the only
dollar he had in the church treasury.

" Poor child, how hard it is to realize that he is
gone.

"But I feel rv faith grow stronger as I see that
white hand pointing heavenward.

" I would be so glad to have you write a few
verses in memory of Jimmie. They might do
others good. Yours, etc."

The last I saw of my little friend was at the
railway station. Paisley, the morning I left. It
was early, and cold, and snowy, but he had come
with a little paper bag of oranges for me, and to
bid me good-bye. Dear boy, I often seem to see
him ycl.

IN MEMORY OF JIMMIE WILLITS.

How oft in looking o'er the year
Of labor with the children dear,
Sweet memories my apirita cheer,
Of many whom we sought to win
To Him wh' -Tered for their sin,
Opening >! lie .ts to lei Him in.

AmoD^ thtn. :<,'. vnu (.f. ., )y's face

Wil! -" » .d !- yj. .ft.: ■,)!■-:• ,
Wh . •? lj , '\» -1,1 \?ii.'>iv ku effaoe.
!{"■ : ■ \ t " I'ii fki \nc V,
A.- \ ttii ' i <■ :>«';. 1 liis f'f e i J took,
) 'bt t .■ <■• (iiiij--* ,.[ Th-^ Book.

How (ifteu i..oii>oty 3 "i im ortve
Thefaviv • '■ -t waury ,rave
Where J«m. , who .V i to save.
And then arising from the tomb,
He did nut seem of earth ijid gloom,
But heir of light and endl^^'e bloom.

How often does his Christian love
My human selfishness reprove,
And help to lift my heart above.
How oft, too, does his dying hour
Come to me like a heavenly dower.
Reviving in me faltering power.

How often to my wistful eye.
That white hand pointing to the ky.
Says :— " Do not for me grieve o ry ;
I soon shall be on His dear breasi.
Whereon my soul found sweetest rest,
To be with Him forever blest"

Special Prices by Ordering
Direct from the Author.

*• Converse with the Kingr," Scripture Selec-
tions for each day in the year. Price, $i.oo.
Single Copy, 6oc.

'* Glimpses of Canada, Illustrated Acrostics."

A Choice Canadian Souvenir. Price, 20c.

Single Copy, loc. 15 for $1 00.

"The Children." Price, 20c. Single Copy,

IOC, 15 for $1.00. Cloth 20c. a Copy,

6 Copies for $1.00.

Address,

REV. W. H. PORTER, M.A.,
74 Bismarck Ave, Toronto,