the form of apt _suppositions_. For instance, said he: "Suppose you
wished to separate a quantity of brass and steel filings mixed
together in one vessel; how would you effect this separation? Apply a
loadstone, and immediately every particle of iron will attach itself
to it, while the brass filings remain behind. Thus, if we see a
company of true and false professors of religion, we may not be able
to distinguish them; but let Christ come among them, and all His
sincere followers will be attracted towards Him, as the steel is drawn
to the magnet, while those who have none of His spirit will remain at
a distance." Again: On a visit to a weeping mother, who refused to be
comforted for the loss of a beloved child: "Suppose, now," said he,
"some one was making a beautiful crown for you to wear, and that you
knew it was for you, and that you were to receive it and wear it as
soon as it should be done; now, if the maker of it were to come, and
in order to make the crown more beautiful and splendid, were to take
some of your jewels to put into it, should you be sorrowful and
unhappy because they were taken away for a little while, when you knew
they were going to make up your crown? He can take better care of them
than you could." The mother smiled through her tears at the thought
that her jewel was taken from her but for a season, and said, in meek
submission: "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord."
The question here arises, From whence shall Sunday-school teachers
gather illustrations for use? I reply, generally, everywhere, and from
everything; but to particularize: 1. From the home-surroundings,
circumstances, and home-life of the pupils. 2. Facts and incidents
that are constantly occurring around us. "_Facts_ are the arguments of
God," said Rev. Dr. Chalmers. 3. History, biography, and
geography--sacred and profane. 4. Agriculture, horticulture, and
botany. 5. Proverbs, maxims, wise sayings, and poetry. 6. Emblems,
similes, metaphors, etc. 7. Science and art; manners and customs.
I need not extend this list, for these will readily suggest many
others to the teacher.
XII.
PICTORIAL TEACHING.
Pictorial teaching is only a slightly different form of Bible
illustration, and, therefore, will appropriately follow the previous
subject.
It presents, first, pictures and maps to the pupils for examination,
in order that they may get a clearer view of truth. It consists,
secondly, more particularly in picturing out in words, or in vivid,
graphic description, so that the truth will appear real to the
imagination of the child. It awakens interest and deepens impression,
and all good teachers avail themselves, more or less, of its power.
"But," says a quiet teacher, "all this must be graphically done." I
reply: "Of course it must;" and the answer returns: "Well, I can't use
it, then, for I am not graphic." I will give all such teachers a
recipe that will render them always graphic with children. If they
would dwell clearly and plainly on all the little details in their
descriptions to children, they will always be graphic. The
imaginations of scholars of ten or twelve years of age are so vivid
that much of the teacher's power over them, to interest and impress
truth, will depend largely upon this power of "word-picturing." Words
containing objects largely should be most used, instead of a mass of
sentiments and principles. Let the objective words preponderate.
The following statement embraces about a dozen words in _principles_:
"It was David's _duty_ to _know_ the _will_ of God, and as he had
great _faith_ in the divine _power_, he went forth without
_reluctance_ to meet the _foe_, and the _result_ was the death of
Goliath."
Let us now transpose the sentence into _objects_ mainly, and it will
not be difficult to see which will make the clearest and best
impression upon children's minds:
"Young David _stood_ in the _valley_ and slung a _stone_ into the
_forehead_ of the _giant_, Goliath, and he _fell_ dead upon the
ground."
Abbott gives many illustrations. He says:
"You tell a man, 'He went down to the shore, and got into a boat and
pushed off.' You would interest a child more if you say, 'He went
down to the shore and found a boat there. One end of the boat--the
front part, which they call the bow--was up against the shore, a
little in the sand. The other end was out of the water, and moved up
and down gently with the waves. There were seats across the boat, and
two oars tying upon the seats. The man stepped upon the bow of the
boat; it was fast in the mud.' And so on, describing the water under
one end, and sand under the other; the one end rocking and rattling
the oars, and the man walking back and pushing the boat off," etc.
Be exceedingly minute, therefore, with little children. In all the
details which you describe take very short steps, and take each one
distinctly. The Bible narratives are wonderfully adapted to good
pictorial teaching. Bible emblems, which so abound, must be carefully
pictured out; as, "The Lord God is a sun and shield," a "rock," and
"refuge." "As the hart panteth," etc. Detail it so as to make the
scene as real as possible to the child, and enable him to see the
hart, the mountain, the water brooks, etc. Suppose you were on the
lesson of the apprehension and trial of Christ:
"Children, see that crowd of people wending their way through the
streets of Jerusalem! Some of them carry torches or lanterns in their
hands; others have staves or swords. See, in the midst of them there
walks one who looks very kind, but very sorrowful. Who is it? It is
Jesus. The multitude, led on by the cruel priests, have just been to
the garden of Gethsemane and hurried him away from His disciples; and
now they are going to take Him before their rulers, that they may
have Him put to death. Then describe the High Priest, Pilate, and
Herod; the judgment hall, the drops of blood, the soldiers, and crown
of thorns; the cross, the angry cries of, 'Crucify Him!'"
All this must be done with care and exactness, and before adopting it
the teacher must make himself _very familiar_ with every part, so as
never to hesitate or labor in it; and then afterward call it all back
by questions, in the children's own language.
Again: Suppose you wished to make a lasting impression on a child
while developing a single important thought; as, for instance, the
omniscience of God. Talk candidly to the child somewhat as follows:
"Mary, do you know that God knows all things? He saw Adam and Eve
when they hid themselves in the trees of the garden. He saw Moses
when he lay in his little ark by the side of the river. He saw
Timothy when his mother taught him to read the Bible. He sees every
person in the world just now. You know in Africa there are a great
many millions of men and women. They are black. They are called
negroes. God sees them all, and he sees the missionaries who are
there teaching them God's word; and at the very some moment he sees
all the people of this country, and every person in this town. He
sees you, Mary. He saw you when you were a little babe in your
cradle; he sees you at all your plays, and in the school; he knows
what you say, and what you think; he sees every tear that falls from
your eye, and every smile that plays on your cheek; he hears you sing
his praises; and when you pray, Mary, God listens to everything that
you ask; and when you lie down, and the room is dark and still, and
there is nothing moving but your pulse, and nothing heard but your
breathing, then God sees you, for the darkness and the light are both
alike to Him."
Thus dwell _amply_ on a thought until you associate it in the child's
mind with many circumstances. For Bible-classes, of course, a teacher
would not descend to all the details of some of these examples, yet in
every age and class be graphic and life-like in word-picturing. The
parables of the prodigal son, and of the good Samaritan, are divinely
beautiful examples of pictorial teaching, for when our Saviour wanted
to impress love to our neighbor he _pictured_ out for us the beautiful
story of the good Samaritan.
The following example is from "David Stow's Bible-training," published
in Edinburgh, and is the "Training System" pictured out in words:
_Example._
"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God." Ps. xlii. 1. The more common way that the pious teacher
or parent takes, is to pass over the emblem, and at once proceed with
the spiritual lesson--_thus beginning at the end_--without any
natural picture having been presented to the mind's eye of the
pupils, by which they maybe assisted to the analogy--_as_ and _so_,
as the Natural, so the Spiritual--which is so uniformly done by the
Spirit of God in Scripture.
_Points in the Natural Picture to be brought out._
1. Some points in the natural history of the hart--different names
given to the animal--swiftness of foot--where generally lives. 2.
Frequently hunted. 3. Where to flee to in a mountainous country, as
Judea, when pursued--hills or valleys. 4. Heat, drought, dust--effect
on the animal, particularly after running--thirst. 5. Running about
seeking for water--increasing--not merely a drink, but a brook, where
it may plunge in as well as drink. 6. Why, then, a brook, and not
stream?--picture out a brook. 7. Brooks more likely to be found in
plains--but animal pursued there. 8. The hart, heated and thirsty,
therefore _pants_--what is panting? 9. Has the hart ever bathed in
water brooks before? If not, would it have panted and longed for it?
The full picturing out of these points (even in the incomplete and
imperfect manner that can be done on paper) would greatly exceed our
limits. The natural picture or condition of the hart being visible to
the minds of the children, the analogy to the circumstances in which
David was placed will appear, viz., pursued by his enemies, and
especially by his own son, Absalom--fleeing to the mountains for
safety--away from the sanctuary, etc., etc. He, no doubt, on seeing
the harts near him panting and seeking for water brooks, mournfully
and longingly expressed himself: "So panteth my soul after thee, O
God."
_Teacher._--I must tell you, children, before we commence our lesson,
that it is supposed this psalm was written by David, who was obliged
to flee from his enemies to the land of Jordan, and that when there
he probably took up his abode in the mountains, away from the public
worship of ... _God's house_, and seeing the harts running ... Where?
_about the hills_, and panting for thirst, most likely induced him to
use the ... What metaphor or emblem did he use? Look at your books.
David says: "As the hart panteth after the ... _water-brooks_ (read
on, children), _so panteth my soul after thee, O God_."
The first thing we must speak about in this picture is the ...
_hart_. What is a hart? Can you tell me any other names given to the
hart? _Stag_--_deer_--_gazelle_--_roe_. Very right; these are the
names given to ... _this animal_, or ... _species_.
Well, the name of this animal or ... _species_, is called ... the
_hart_. Is it a slow or quick moving animal? _Swift_. It runs ...
_very swiftly_. What countries do harts chiefly live in? _Mountainous
countries._ Why do you think so? _The Bible says, "Like a young roe
upon the mountains._" And a young roe is ... _a young hart_. Well,
that is one proof that they live in the mountains; but can they live
in the plains? _Yes, sir; they live in plains in gentlemen's parks_,
which are sometimes ... _plain_, or nearly ... _level_. Very well;
but when allowed to roam and run about freely and ... _naturally_,
they ... _prefer the mountains_. Is the hart spoken of in the psalm
supposed to live in a warm or cold country, think you? _A warm
country._ Why? ... Bring down the map, children, and show the country
or countries you suppose to be meant. (The map of Palestine is
presented.) Point out those parts you think harts live in. You think
the Psalmist means ... _the mountainous parts of Palestine_. And
Palestine is ... What sort of a country? _Mountainous country_, and
... _very hot_. Now, we must get smartly on. The hart lives in ... _a
hot country_, and in the mountainous parts of ... _a hot country_.
How does the sun shine? _Over head, nearly perpendicular_, and,
therefore, the great part of the year the ground must be ... _very
hot and dry_. In what state will the soil be? _Parched and dusty._
And in mountainous countries, where the sun is very hot, what happens
to the streams or brooks? _The brooks dry up._ It is then a dry and
... _thirsty land_, and where ... _no water is_. If you turn in your
Bible to Job vi. 15, it is said: "And as the stream of brooks they
pass away,"--showing that the brooks in that hot climate are ...
_very apt to pass away_, or ... _dry up_.
Tell me, children, what you mean by panting? Show me what panting is?
This boy thinks it is simply opening the mouth. (Take nothing for
granted.) Have you ever seen a dog walking in a very hot and dusty
day, after having run a long way? _Yes, sir; it opens its mouth._
Does it simply open its mouth, as this boy did? _It pants, this way.
It feels uneasy._ Why uneasy? Because _it is weary and thirsty_.
Weary and thirsty from ... _the heat_; and a thirsty dog, that is
weary and very ... _hot_, would--what would it wish? _To have a
drink_, or, perhaps, to ... _plunge in the brook_. Of what had the
hart drank before? _The brooks._ Well, the hart having both drank of
... _the brook_, and ... _plunged in the brook before_, longed and
... _panted to do so again_. In this sad condition, therefore--heated
and ... _thirsty_, and running about, ... _panting_--how would the
hart feel? Would he be satisfied to lie down? _No, sir; very
anxious._ And what more? _Longing and panting for water._ Not at
rest, because it ... _felt_--the ... _want of something_ it could not
get at ... _that time_; and that was ... _the water brooks_.
Now, let us look at the verse, and see in what state or ...
_condition_ the hart is supposed to be. Repeat it, if you please,
each word, separately, slowly, and distinctly. "As, the, hart,
panteth, after, the, water, brooks." What is a brook? _A clear
stream_--not a muddy, stagnant ... _pool_. Do you think the hart had
drank of a brook before? _Yes; else it would not have panted for it._
What makes the hart so very thirsty? _Because it runs about the
hills, where there is no water._ And as the hart opens ... _its
mouth_, and ... _pants for water_, and runs about, it raises the ...
What do you think it raises? _The dust into its mouth._ And what does
the dust do? _Increases its thirst_, and causes the hart to long more
for ... _the brooks_--which are now ... _dried up_--or, perhaps, at a
... _great distance_. What would you expect the hart to do were it to
reach a brook? _Drink plentifully_--and, also, ... _plunge into the
water_. Why? _To cool_ and ... _refresh itself_. The application, or
spiritual lesson, is by recalling the _hart_, on the _mountains_,
_hunted by dogs_, _shot at by arrows_, _hot and thirsty_, _panting_
for _water brooks_, for a _plunge-bath_, and _drink_. So, David
fleeing on the mountains for life, pursued by enemies, _longing_ for
safety, and for the public worship of God at Jerusalem, _panting_ for
the Lord's house, where _God's law_ was read, and the true God was
worshipped, etc. He _desired, longed_ for, _panted_, _prayed_ for
God, the living God. Children, do _you so long for_, and _pant after_
God, the living God? etc., etc.
Another form of pictorial teaching is, after questioning the lesson
out of the scholars, and then in again, and explaining all the words,
etc., to paint imaginary pictures of the events described in the
lesson. Thus, in a lesson from Matt. xiv. 22-33, taught by the Rev.
Edward Eggleston, of Chicago, he said to the first pupil: "Carrie,
suppose that you were a painter with your canvas before you, what
picture would you draw from the 22d verse?" She replied, "Christ
sending his disciples and the multitudes away." "Mary, what from the
23d verse?" "Christ on the mountain, alone, in prayer." "Jane, what
from the 24th verse?" "The ship tossed with the waves." "Lily, what
from verse 25?" "Jesus walking on the sea." The next, "Peter sinking,
Jesus saving;" and then, "The sea calm, all safe in the ship,
worshipping Jesus." From these the lessons drawn are "Secret prayer,"
"Looking to Jesus for help in danger," "Not seeking danger," and that
"Jesus is God," to control the wind and waves. The doctrine is the
Divinity of Christ: "Of a truth, thou art the Son of God."
"Pictorial Teaching," by Hartley and Groser, on Illustrative Teaching,
further illustrates these subjects.
XIII.
OBJECT-TEACHING.
This is presenting an object to look at, for the purpose of getting a
clearer and more perfect view of the truth taught. It is simply
calling to our aid the _eye_. The eye is one of our two great learning
senses. It has been called "the king of the senses," and it is
emphatically so with children; for little children learn the most that
they do learn through the eye. Bunyan quaintly says: "Come to the mind
and soul through Eye-gate as well as through Ear-gate." This is the
most pleasant and effective way of giving and receiving some kinds of
knowledge. It cultivates, also, the important habit of close and
accurate observation. Says the Rev. Dr. Hill, the President of Harvard
University: "It is the thought of God in the object that stimulates
the child's thought." The great object is to teach the child more than
you can express in words. In illustration, he says: "I was walking
yesterday with my little girl, and showing her plants, insects, and
birds as we walked along. We were looking at lichens on the trees,
when she suddenly, and without hint from me, said: 'The maples have
different lichens from the ash. I mean to see if I can tell trees by
their trunks, without looking at their leaves.' So for a long distance
she kept her eyes down, saying to the trees as she passed: Elm, maple,
ash, pine,' etc--never failing. The difference was easy to _see_, but
the difference could not have been so well expressed in _words_."
Our schools of public instruction are largely using this mode of
teaching in the early years of school-life, with great gratification
to the children, and, also, with great success. The size, form, shape,
color, origin, and uses of many articles are thus taught, incidentally
weaving in spelling, reading, and a vast amount of useful knowledge.
If this were all, however, it would hardly avail much in our
Sabbath-schools above the infant class. But we apprehend that in some
particular Sabbath-school lessons, but not in all, object-teaching can
be used to great advantage by all classes and conditions of scholars.
Never force or crowd object-teaching, however, upon any lesson.
The simple difference between object-teaching and illustrative
teaching is this: If you were teaching on the words "Though your sins
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool," in _illustrative_
teaching, we should tell the children that the Turkey-red dyes are so
firm that no bleacher's salts will make them white, and therefore, we
make the Turkey-red rags into pink blotting-paper; in _object_-teaching,
we hold up the Turkey-red calico, explain it, and then _show_ the pink
blotting-paper--making it, by help of the two objects and the
explanation, more impressive with children. In fact, there are lessons
that cannot be plainly taught without the use of objects. They need,
however, to be used with discretion; and upon Bible lessons only on
those that will make the truths _better_ understood.
We have, however, the highest authority for the use of objects in
teaching religious truths. Our Saviour himself practised this mode of
teaching. It will be remembered that when the crafty Scribes and
Pharisees sought to entangle him in his talk, and proposed the
question--"Master, is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar or not?"
he, perceiving their wickedness, said, "Why tempt ye me, ye
hypocrites? Show me the tribute-money. And they brought unto Him a
penny." Why did the divine Redeemer, who never did a superfluous
thing, or spoke a superfluous word,--why did He, who is infinite in
wisdom, call for this penny? We may safely reply, Because it was
divinely _best_ and needful. He wanted to bring to bear the two great
learning senses, to wit, _seeing_ and _hearing_. He then directed the
eyes of these scheming men to the coin, with this pointed question:
"Whose is this image and superscription? They said unto him, Cæsar's."
Then came the inimitable _application_ of the lesson--without which
every lesson is a failure--viz.: "Render therefore unto Cæsar the
things which be Cæsar's, and unto God the things which be God's." We
are told that "when they had heard these words, they marvelled, and
left him, and went their way." The lesson was conclusive.
At another time, you remember that our Saviour "called a little child
unto him and set him in the midst of them," to teach his disciples the
answer to their query, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
Here the little child was the object. The lesson is obvious to all.
Even in the memorial service of our Saviour's death, he called for two
_objects_--the bread and the wine. It was divinely necessary.
We may seem almost to see the same divine Teacher bending forward and
pointing his disciples to the beautiful flowers at his feet,
exclaiming: "Behold the lilies of the field," or look at the "fowls of
the air," or see "the fields white unto the harvest," or the falling
sparrow, or the fig-tree, and a multitude of similar objects all
around them, which were used by him in his wonderful teaching, and
with such success that they were led to exclaim: "Never man spake like
this man." The whole of the types and ceremonies in the Old Testament
were but a magnificent series of this mode of object-teaching. This is
the whole, in substance, of object-teaching. It is Christ's mode and
the prophet's way of teaching. "It is nature's teaching," says a
teacher at our side. There is _no_ teaching, scarcely, that is not, in
some sense, object-teaching. Said the Rev. Dr. Chester, when
describing good teaching: "This is object-teaching, as all good
teaching of the young is. You must take their measure if you would fit
the garment of truth to them." Objects for teaching lie all over
nature as clearly as in cubes and squares and octagons. It keeps each
child pleasantly and profitably employed. It is calling the eye and
senses to our aid in affecting the mind and heart. The eye is our
first teacher. Hence it is indispensably necessary in an infant class
to have plenty of objects. Every good mother and good juvenile
class-teacher will make great use of the _eye_ and _action_ and
_motion_ to teach and impress the great truths of the lesson upon the
little ones. Use the eye more, and make your words few and well
chosen. "Present to the children _things_ before _words_, or _ideas_
before _names_." Even in manners and morals let the _person, life_ and
_tongue_ of the teacher be the "object." "She openeth her mouth with
wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness."
Here is an art that every teacher should become facile in, _i. e._,
looking up and using objects that will serve our purpose in teaching;
and for this reason, he should always wear his "Sunday-school
spectacles." A sprig of evergreen, or a bit of a vine picked from the
bush as we pass our garden-gate for the Sunday-school, may serve to
illustrate the duty of "abiding in Christ" as the branch must abide in
the vine. A little flower or grass, or a falling leaf, will
illustrate, through the eye, the brevity of life, and that "we all do
fade as a leaf." Even a pin may be used as an object, from whence to
draw lessons as to the value, use, and importance of _little things_.
When the pin is crooked and rendered useless, we can with it rebuke
crooked tempers or crooked tongues or characters.
A child may be led to see "the whole armor of God" in a picture of an
old knight with his "helmet," "shield," "breastplate," and "sword." A
plaster cast of a _faithful_ dog, loving doves, little Samuel in
prayer, or David with his shepherd's staff, have all been frequently
used to teach divine lessons. A specimen of good fruit will teach us
to bring forth good fruit--to be fruit-bearers; and the showing of a
watch may be made the means of much valuable instruction to children.
But we must sum up some of the leading things which may be used in
Sunday-school object-teaching, viz.:
1. Natural objects.
2. Texts, cards, etc.
3. Maps, charts, etc.
4. Pictures and drawings.
5. Word-painting, or pictorial teaching by aid
of the imagination.
6. Parables, parallels, etc.
7. Portable slates and paper.
8. The blackboard, which furnishes ample facilities
for object-teaching.
OBJECT LESSONS IN BRIEF NOTES.
_Examples._
The following is an outline lesson on a picture-print of
_David and Goliath._ 1 Sam. xvii.
Ps. xviii. 32: Success is from the Lord.