forgive others: A king once had a servant who owed him ten thousand
pieces of money. When the king called the servant that he might pay
back the money, the servant had nothing to pay: not even one piece of
money could he pay back, and he owed--ten thousand. Then the king
ordered that the servant and his wife and children should be sold as
slaves, and work until there was enough money to pay back the ten
thousand pieces. When the servant heard this he fell down on his face
before the king, and said, "Lord, have patience with me, and I will
pay thee all;" in other words, "Do wait a little longer and I will
pay back all the money." Suppose Alfred's mother owes the baker for a
great many loaves, and he was to come to her house one day and say,
"I must have my money; I won't go away till you pay it to me;" and
then your mother were to cry, and tell him how sorry she was she had
no money, but that the children had been ill, and that she had had to
give all her money to the doctor, but that if he would wait a week
longer she would get the money and pay him. Well, suppose the baker
was to feel quite sorry for your mother, and should say, "Well, I
won't ask you for the money: you need not pay me at all. I will give
you the bread you've had." Now, that is what this king did. The
servant said, "Wait a little longer and I will pay you." The king
said, "You need not pay me at all: I forgive you it all." The servant
went away. As he was going away he met a man who owed him a hundred
pennies: he went up to him, laid hold of him very rudely by the
throat, and said, "Pay me what you owe me!" The man fell down at his
feet, and said, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all."
_How_ much money had the king just forgiven the servant? _How_ much
did this man owe the servant? _What_ ought he to have done? But he
did not forgive him, but had him put in prison directly. Some
servants were standing by and saw what this unkind servant had done,
so they went to the king and told him all about it. He ordered the
servant to be brought back before him, and then the king said to him,
"O you wicked servant I forgave you all that debt: ought you not to
have forgiven the poor man what he owed you?" The king was very angry
with him, and had him put in prison until he paid the very last
farthing. Then Jesus told the people to whom he was speaking that so
their heavenly Father would not forgive them if they would not
forgive one another.
_How_ many pieces of money did the servant owe his lord? _Had_ he any
money to pay back with? _What_ did the king order to be done to him
and his wife and children? _What_ did the servant then say? _Did_ the
king give him a little longer time? _How_ much did a man owe this
servant? _Tell_ me how he treated the man? _Who_ went and told the
king all about it? _What_ did the king _say_ to the servant? _What_
did he _do_ to him? _Who_ was it prayed for those who treated him so
cruelly? _Now_, when you go home, I want you to tell your mothers and
fathers about the lesson. Repeat it. If we do not forgive others, God
will not forgive us. Try and remember three things--about Harry and
Fred; the king and the servant; the Lord Jesus.
XVI.
YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN'S BIBLE-CLASSES.
We can hardly find words to convey our impression of the surpassing
importance of these classes. To train teachers, to train mothers and
fathers, to restrain from doubtful company, and to furnish good
companions and Christian associations, reading, habits, impulses to
the young men and women of this generation, is a work worthy of the
highest aspirations of the best and noblest of our race. If we look at
the census, we cannot fail to notice the striking fact that a little
more than _one-third_ of the entire population of New York are young
men and women over fifteen and under thirty years of age, while more
than one-half of our population is under twenty years of age.
In a very short time the destinies of our country and of our churches
will be in the hands of these young people. To a large extent they
have been neglected in the family, in society, in the Sabbath-school,
and in the Church; and as Dr. James W. Alexander said: "Be it ever
remembered, that the neglecters of the Church have been neglected by
the Church." These young people can no longer be petted as children,
and they are not generally treated with the respect due to them as
rising young men and women. Said a youth of fifteen once: "Uncle, I
don't know what I can do with myself. I am too old to play with
children, and I am not old enough to be interesting to the older
people." This anomalous position such young people sadly feel. They
are sensitive, beyond any other period of life, to any slight or
neglect, and after a vain struggle to gain a recognition and position
anywhere, they rush to the gilded saloons or the giddy dance for that
sympathy, kindness, and regard which they vainly seek for in the
family, the Sabbath-school and the Church of Christ.
This should never be, and it must not be. But can these persons be
reached and gained by the Sabbath-school? And how? After due
consideration, I reply, in the first place, that they _can_ be
reached. My reasons are:
1. Because earnest, warm-hearted, disinterested efforts in this
direction have ever been successful. When building the Brick Church in
Rochester, N.Y., the names of all the scholars and their ages were
transcribed and placed in the corner-stone, when it was ascertained
that, of the whole number--I think 652--the average age was fourteen
years and ten months; and other churches in that city present a
similar record, because the able and influential Christian business
men and women of Rochester devote themselves to this great work.
2. Because no class of persons is more susceptible to kind attention
and real sympathy. They are quick to perceive and prompt to act. No
class is more hopeful.
3. Because these senior classes, when appropriately conducted, are
well adapted to meet the wants of their personal, social,
intellectual, and religious nature, and to fill a secret void that is
keenly felt by these precious youth.
In the second place, _How_ can our young men and women be reached? I
answer:
1. Christian men and women of real talent and character, of religious
and social position, must be thoroughly aroused to a self-sacrificing,
devoted, heartfelt interest for them. They must put their hearts into
it. No feigned respect will do. Nothing but real sympathy will be
received. No mere professions will answer. These youth are quick and
sharp-sighted to detect anything insincere or unreal. The best men and
women of our churches must be chosen to take charge of their
classes--persons who can and will understand, appreciate, and respect
young people. They must evince a more anxious and watchful desire to
notice and approve what is right in them, than to condemn that which
is wrong. They must be patient and forbearing, with a good control of
their countenance, tone of voice, language, quick to discover the
value and bearing of the half-uttered opinions of the class, with an
earnest personal interest in each one and all things that concern
them. They should be enabled to prove themselves sincere friends and
counsellors of all--both for this life, in employment, business,
social questions, amusements, etc., and for the life that is to come.
They should have an intelligent enthusiasm in the great work, with a
strong faith in God, in his Word, and in his Spirit, and a hearty
good-will to man.
2. Lay your plans for these classes on so large and liberal a scale as
to command the scholars' respect as well as your own. Render them as
pleasant and as attractive as possible. Make the best arrangements you
can as to room, seats, library, and periodicals. I am sure _The
Sunday-School Times_ and other Sabbath-school journals and magazines,
would be very useful in such a service. Do all you can to raise these
classes in their own estimation, and omit no opportunity to cherish
self-respect on the part of each member, and try to inspire them all
with higher aspirations and better hopes. Manifest, as well as feel, a
_personal_ interest in each one.
3. Aim high and direct. Have a distinct, definite aim and object in
all your teachings, and see that each member of the class clearly
understands it. Young people want drawing out and leading forward in
gentle confidence. In these classes we ought to select and train for
the purpose our best Sabbath-school teachers. If the exercises are
allowed to degenerate into unprofitable discussions, the examination
of curious questions, controversies, or skeptical subjects, they may
be productive of positive evil. Care should be taken, therefore, to
engross them with the most ennobling themes. None can better
appreciate what is truly excellent than these young people. An appeal
to the Word and to the Testimony they will understand and respect.
Lead them to compare Scripture with Scripture. Illustrate the Old
Testament from the New, and also bring illustration for the New
Testament from the Old. Induce the young people to make the best use
of a good reference Bible, searching out parallel passages for
comparison, inference, and illustration, and all will be interested
and benefited. Use similes, metaphors, etc., which so abound, as well
as comparisons and inferences. The following quotation may serve as an
illustration of four figures of speech, all brought into one sentence:
"Imagine a father bewailing the loss of his son, by drowning.
_Simile_--He stood firmly upon the beach, like an oak of the forest,
_Metaphor_--and cried out, with trumpet voice,
_Hyperbole_--louder than the cannon's roar:--
_Apostrophe_--Oh ocean! thou hast robbed me of a beloved and
courageous son."
4. The character, interests, and feelings of the class should be the
teacher's unwearied, daily study. This will be a noble work. Nothing
which concerns them should be treated by the teacher with
indifference. His profoundest thoughts, reading, observation, and
study should be laid under contribution to his class. Painstaking
saves thousands, neglect ruins millions. Count no sacrifice too dear
to win souls.
5. It is indispensable that the teacher of such a class should always
be courteous. Religion should at least make its possessor a gentleman,
and this the young people all know right well. His whole life and
bearing will influence the little circle. The personal appearance also
should be duly regarded. Says a teacher: "The manner of a teacher
should always be marked by these qualities: 1. Animation--a quickened,
active state of the whole soul; 2. Intention--the aim and endeavor to
impart the information required; 3. Earnestness--zeal in executing the
instruction."
6. The class should be consulted, as far as possible, respecting the
subject of study. The teacher should lose no opportunity to evince his
respect for their opinions. His difficult questions should be asked
generally of the class, while the personal questions should be easy
and adapted. He should receive all their answers with an abounding
charity and confidence, and make the most of the feeblest responses. A
tart reply to a single remark will ofttimes seal the lips and hearts
of a whole class. They love confidence, and become afraid to trust a
teacher with their stammering, half-uttered, imperfect answers,
particularly if he appears more anxious to be smart and witty than to
do them good and honor them. Let the lessons be systematic and
complete. The teacher should aim to draw out the thoughts of his
pupils in an easy way, instead of pouring in his own. "_Thoughts_, not
words," should be the class-motto, and none can appreciate them better
than young people. Let the illustrations be well-chosen and
appropriate. If you strike an important practical question during the
lesson, do not leave it until satisfactorily investigated, whether the
lesson is covered or not. Let every mind be calm and unembarrassed, so
that it will work well; much depends upon the class, as well as upon
the capacity of the teacher. "A few pebbles, a piece of leather, and a
cord, are in some hands, a more formidable weapon than the sword of a
giant, although it be strong as a weaver's beam and keen as a blade of
Damascus steel."
7. These young people should be especially induced to look into their
own hearts, and study their own mental and moral mechanism. Lead them
often to converse about themselves. It has been truly said, that "it
is a law of human nature, that man is interested in nothing so much as
about himself." Whatever relates to his own personal experience always
claims his especial regard. Many quite fail as teachers, as well as
preachers, because they are so impersonal.
8. Social meetings of the class should be held now and then, and pains
should be taken to make them attractive and useful. Young men and
women must have their social nature regarded. The teacher should on
such occasions strive to recall the freshness and vivacity of his own
youth, and live it over again; enter into it heartily, and show the
class his acquaintance and sympathy with all their peculiar wants,
fears, and trials. Band the young people together, in social bonds and
mutual pledges if you please, to attend church, prayer-meeting, and
Sabbath-school, to read the Bible and pray _regularly_, and perhaps
pledge also against improper reading, associates, games, drinking,
smoking, late hours, neglect of the Sabbath, and unite them in
associated literary efforts, in tract missions, Sabbath-school work,
in visitation, and in all ways of doing good. There should be social
prayer-meetings of the class at convenient times. Have, also, a
well-chosen library for them, and point out from time to time the
books best adapted to peculiar wants and circumstances.
9. Give each pupil distinctly to understand that every step in your
efforts on his behalf is intended to lead him to Christ; that all
there is to be desired in this life and in that which is to come, is
embodied in this idea; that you expect, as soon as they get their
minds clear upon the glad tidings of the gospel, that they will
embrace them at once. Life is short, and there is no time to lose.
Besides, young people when convinced are generally prompt to act, and
therefore there is great encouragement. In fact, no field of
benevolent effort is more full of hope and encouragement than this one
of which we speak. In a Bible-class in one of our church
Sabbath-schools not long since, fifty-five persons united with that
church during the current year; and in another church and class,
_fifty_, and in another still, _thirty-four_--all as the results of
one year's labor. How glorious! Let then our sons and daughters, our
clerks, scholars, and servant-girls, all be gathered without delay by
the churches of Christ into these adult classes. Thus let the warm,
burning influences of the living teacher reach every youthful heart.
Says an earnest worker: "Among persons of all ages, truth most
frequently has power when spoken by the living voice. The words of a
teacher's mouth should be ever warm with the Spirit's breath, and
strong with the vital impulses of his throbbing heart. Such words
children feel." In the language of one of our Bible commentators, the
truth evidently is this: "_That personal effort for the souls of
individuals_--the lip, the thought, and the heart of a living
man--brought into contact with the lip, thought, and heart of a living
man, IS A GRAND INSTITUTION OF GOD FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD."
There is such a great necessity for adapting each lesson perfectly to
the age, acquirements, etc., of the scholar, that I add a single
specimen lesson from "The Sunday Teachers' Treasury." It is upon the
same subject as that taken up in Mr. Wells's infant-class lesson--"The
Passover"--and is given that, by comparison of style, the adaptation
of the same lesson to infant and Bible-classes may be seen:
_Specimen Lesson for a Senior Class._
_The Feast of the Passover._
(Exodus xii.)
Circumstances of the Israelites at this time; how solemn, how
stirring, how intense in interest! The institution of the Passover
seems to have a threefold design. It was--1. An act of faith and
obedience on the part of Israel. 2. A memorial of their deliverance.
3. A type of Christ. In the last view we will study it to-day,
looking less closely at those points which we had on a former
occasion, and connecting with the actual celebration of the Passover
that which God connected with it--the feast of unleavened bread and
the offering of the first-fruits of the barley harvest.
The Passover, then, was a type of Christ.
I. The victim was to be a lamb; and this title is applied to Christ
(John i. 29).
The first altar exhibits a lamb slain; the first act of God for
Israel is the slaying of the lamb; the first deed of the new
dispensation was presenting, and then offering, the Lamb; the first
opening of the sanctuary above, shows the "Lamb that was slain."
1. Without blemish (Matt. xxvii. 4; 1 Pet. i. 19; Heb. vii. 26).
2. Set apart four days (ver. 3, 6; John xii. 1, 12).
3. Roasted with fire (Isa. liii.; Ps. xxii.; Luke xxii. 44).
4. Not a bone to be broken (John xix. 33).
5. All the congregation were to take part (ver. 6; Matt. xxvi. 1;
Acts ii. 23-36).
6. The blood was to be shed and sprinkled. Where? On the side-post
and upper door-post; not on the floor, where it would be trampled on
(compare 1 Pet. i. 19; Heb. x. 29).
It is not enough that Christ's blood is shed; it must be sprinkled on
our hearts (Heb. xii. 24; 1 Pet. i. 2). The act of sprinkling it upon
the door-posts was equivalent to a profession, "I am the Lord's." It
was the means of safety, "When _I see the blood_," etc.
What encouragement for timid Christians! Perhaps, as the angel went
on his awful mission, the shriek and wail from some neighboring house
would reach the ears of an Israelitish family. A mother might tremble
and clasp her child to her breast with fear; her faith might be weak;
but if the blood were on the door she was safe, though trembling.
"When I see the blood, I will pass over you." "Pass over." The
general idea that God was passing through by his destroying angel,
and left those doors on which the blood was seen. This, perhaps, is
not strictly the meaning. At least, Bishop Lowth, an eminent Hebrew
scholar, says, "Two agents are supposed--the destroying angel on his
errand of judgment, and Jehovah Himself, as it were, accompanying
him; and when he sees the sign, 'springing forward before the door,'
he makes Himself the safety of his own" (compare Isa. xxxi. 5).
Peculiar beauty of the type thus viewed. If the blood of the Lamb is
sprinkled upon us, we are as safe, though not yet as happy, as the
redeemed in heaven (Rom. viii. 1, 31, 33, 34). Nothing but the blood
of the great Sacrifice will save the soul. Have you come to it? No
outward membership, no self-denial, no suffering, nothing but Christ
can save.
II. The paschal sacrifice was to be eaten.
1. The blood was to be sprinkled _before_ the food was eaten. It was
consciousness of safety through the blood that enabled them with
gladness to partake of the feast. We must have faith in Jesus before
we can have communion with him.
2. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread--the
former the emblem of their bitter oppression and the type of sorrow
for sin; the latter showing that the redeemed must be holy. They are
set free, but it is to be made pure.
III. The Passover was to be kept.
The feast of unleavened bread was to last seven days. It was, as it
were, the continuance of the Passover. The one exhibits the _way_ of
pardon; the other, the holiness which follows pardon.
IV. In closing our subject, not exhausting it, turn to Leviticus
xxiii. 9-11.
1. "On the morrow after the Sabbath," that is, the first day after
Passover Sabbath, sometimes the third day after the Passover,
sometimes later.
2. The sheaf is evidently "Christ the first-fruits" (1 Cor. xv. 23).
Jesus rose the third day after the Passover, and this has become our
Sabbath ever since.
3. The first sheaf is the pledge of our resurrection--that is, of our
declared acceptance and full freedom by our resurrection (1 Cor.
xv. 20).
How full the meaning of the apostle's words, "Christ _our_ _Passover_
is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast!" Ours is a
greater danger, a nobler deliverance, a higher ransom, a grander
freedom. Let as live as those who are not their own, but are redeemed
from "vain conversation" as well as from death and condemnation.
XVII.
THE ART OF SECURING ATTENTION.
Every one will acknowledge the indispensable necessity of a teacher's
securing good attention. By attention we mean "fixity of thought,
steadiness of mind."
1. Says Mr. Fitch: "Attention is--1. An act of the _will_. 2. It is
_the one_ of all the mental faculties which is most under our control.
Therefore the degree of attention we give depends upon our
disposition, and is therefore largely a matter of _discipline_, and
other things being equal, that teacher will gain the best attention
who has most personal influence, and who is looked up to with the
greatest respect." (Teacher! is your character, conduct, and manner
such as will entitle you to respect?) "3. Attention is a _habit_. If
truly given, every day it becomes the easier. And every day we listen
languidly to a lesson or sermon the habit of inattention is
strengthened."
2. Attention is promoted by a deep and earnest interest in and
sympathy with the child, as well as for him. We must enter into
sympathy with him, so as to understand his nature, his weaknesses, and
his trials, and make all due allowance for them.
3. If the teacher would secure attention, he must be _accurately and
abundantly prepared_; for no teacher can teach all he knows, and the
moment a teacher approaches the limit of his preparation, he shows his
weakness and embarrassment, the child detects it, and he is gone.
4. Improve well the circumstances which surround the daily life of the
child, for you must here gather your best illustrations. Teachers can
do this, if they are industrious, and will keep their "Sunday-school
spectacles on."
5. Give the children frequent change of posture to relieve them. Study
to do this especially in infant-classes. Give much freedom of motion
and gesture to the little ones. If they speak of God and heaven, let
them point and look upward in harmony, and thus teach them in a
reverent manner to _act out_ their words and feelings.
6. Simultaneous reading and making of ellipses, leaving the children
to fill in a word at the close of the sentence or lesson, will aid in
securing attention.
7. Recapitulation is very important to gain the attention. The scholar
must give attention to be prepared for the expected review. Therefore
always ask in detail, in order to see that all is understood. No child
or man ever takes pains to grasp a subject, so as to fasten it in his
memory, unless he expects to be called upon for it, or in some way to
find use for it hereafter. We cannot retain in our minds isolated or
abstract knowledge. Todd beautifully says, "Ask a child if he knows
what whiteness is, and he will tell you no; ask him if he knows what a
white wall or white paper is, and he knows at once. Ask him if he
knows what hardness is, and he will only stare at you; but ask him if
he knows what a hard wall, or hard hand, or a hard apple is, and he
will tell you at once." Connect the lesson with previous knowledge,
and take great care to sustain attention with abundant resources, for
if it is once lost, it is a very difficult thing to regain it on the
same lesson.
8. _Pictorial_ power. Word-painting by the aid of the imagination and
ample details; the power of describing scenes and incidents, so as to
appear real to the child's imagination, will assist you in gaining his
attention. If you will dwell on all the little details of a fact
clearly, you will be graphic in picturing it out in words; and without
these details, the teacher may sometimes be very graphic with
children, even in the simple act of reading with suitable _emotion_,
_emphasis_, and _action_. Said a little girl, "Oh, father, Mr. F., the
minister, read the 21st chapter of Revelation in church to-day, and it
was just as if he had taken a pencil and paper and pictured it right
out before us." It is St. John's elegant description of the Holy City.
The Bible makes great use of the imagination in its numerous emblems,
metaphors, similes, etc. In fact, we cannot worship God without the
aid of the imagination. God is compared to a sun and shield; a rock
and refuge. Heaven itself is described with its streets and harps and
crowns of gold, its arches, mansions, rivers, etc. Even our divine
Redeemer calls himself the vine, the tree, the lamb, the bread, and
fountain of living waters.
9. Avoid a stereotyped or routine mode of teaching. If ever so good,
strive to improve it; vary it, and freshen it up in some way, and thus
keep each child expecting something.