then ask you to place your obedience to this requirement in the other
side of the balance. I am sure there are a great many grown men and
women who could not be weighed against this requirement. If a man loves
money, so that he sacrifices his obedience to God, or sacrifices his
character, or gives too large an amount of time to money-making, and
money-getting; if his love of money is very great, you see how he makes
money a sort of a god--that is, that he exalts his love of money above
his love of God. In the same way a person can worship pleasure, and
ease, and fame in such a way as to exalt these above God. Now any one
who has done this, cannot be weighed against this requirement of God's
law without being found wanting.
If we take the next Commandment, it reads, "Thou shall not take the name
of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless
that taketh his name in vain." Now anybody who has ever sworn cannot be
weighed against this Commandment. A man who curses and swears is a very
wicked man. I hope that none of you, boys or girls, will ever profane
God's name and disgrace yourself by swearing.
I want to caution you, also, against the use of by-words. Sometimes boys
swear without knowing it; they say "By Jiminy." Now, the word "Gemini"
means "Twins," and refers to two heathen gods whose names were "Castor"
and "Pollux," and when boys use the expression, "By Jiminy," they are
swearing by those two heathen gods. Jesus said, "Swear not at all."
(Matt. v: 34.) Then not only those who literally swear, but all those
who use God's name without reverence and who make light of sacred things
break this Commandment. So you see that many are not able to be weighed
against this Commandment.
Then take the next: "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy." There
are many people who remember the Sabbath Day simply to make it the
occasion of visiting, letter writing, and to enjoy a trip into the
country, or in the park. They remember the Sabbath Day, but they do not
remember it to keep it holy. So you see that you would not be able to be
weighed against that requirement.
Now take the next: "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may
be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." If God were
to come into this community and weigh the boys and girls against this
Commandment, how many do you think would be found to whom God would turn
and say, as He did to Belshazzar: "Thou art weighed and art found
wanting"? Any boy or girl who speaks of his father as "The old man," and
of his mother as "The old woman"; any boy or girl who is disobedient;
any girl who yesterday when mother asked her to dust the furniture, or
any boy who when mother asked him yesterday to run upon an errand, grew
petulant, and scowled and scolded, perhaps went out of the room and
slammed the door behind them, all such boys and girls would be found
wanting. You see how, with one after another of these Commandments, if
God were to weigh us we would be found wanting.
If we take the other Commandments, "Thou shall not kill," anybody who
has hated his brother in his heart; "Thou shall not commit adultery,"
any one who has harbored lust in his heart; "Thou shall not steal";
"Thou shall not bear false witness"; "Thou shall not covet"; think of
each of these and see how many times in your life you have broken them,
if not in letter, yet in spirit.
Now, if you cannot be weighed against these different requirements and
you have come short of them in the past, how can you expect to stand in
the great Day of Judgment, when God shall take into account every idle
word that we have ever uttered, every wicked thought; when we shall be
weighed in the just balances of an infinite God? When God shall place
these requirements upon one side of the balance, and you and I shall
step in upon the other side of the balance, there is only one possible
way in which we could then be heavy enough, and that is if we could have
our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, to step into the balance with us, as He
is willing to do, and God should accept the obedience and holiness of
His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ in our stead. Unless you and I have
Jesus Christ with us when we step into that balance, it will be said,
"Thou art found wanting." Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your friend,
and are you trying to serve Him? If you have not now made Him your
friend, how can you hope to have His friendship then? May God help you
to have Jesus as your friend in life, as well as in death; in this life
as well as in the life to come, now while being tempted and tried in
this world, as well as when being weighed in the next.
QUESTIONS.--What was the handwriting on the wall
at Belshazzar's feast? Does God weigh our bodies?
What does He weigh? Against what was Belshazzar
weighed? What are we weighed against? Are we
weighed against each commandment separately? Can a
person who has sworn be weighed against the third
commandment? Is the use of by-words swearing? Are
we honoring our parents by speaking
disrespectfully of them? Can we break a
commandment in thought as well as in deed? Tell
how. Will all these requirements over-balance us?
What must we do to make a proper balance? Is
Christ willing to step into the scales with us?
[Illustration]
WHITE AND CHARRED STICKS.
GOOD AND BAD COMPANY.
SUGGESTION:--Objects: A few pine sticks, some
charred; ink and water.
ALL boys and girls like to have companions, some one to play with, and
therefore it is very wise that I should talk to you to-day about good
and bad company.
First of all let me read some passages from the Bible. "Blessed is the
man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the
way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." (Psalms i: 1.)
"Forsake the foolish and live; and go in the way of understanding."
(Proverbs ix: 6.) But here is a passage of Scripture which is exactly
suited to my purpose to-day: "He that walketh with wise men shall be
wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." (Proverbs xiii: 20.)
When you go into a large library to select books you will always find
that they are classified. Some of the shelves have books of history,
others have books of poetry, and so on throughout the entire library. In
this way God has classified different people in this text. One class is
called wise, and the others are called foolish. A companion of wise men
shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. In the same
way there are good boys and bad boys, good girls and bad girls; and when
you choose your companions it is important that you should choose them
among the good, and not among the bad.
I think you will better understand the teaching of the text, when I show
you this one stick that has been burned black, or charred, as we say.
Now here are several clean sticks which have not been burned, which are
white and not tarnished. Let this black stick represent the boys who
smoke, or chew, or swear, or lie, or deceive their parents; boys or
girls who do not go to Sunday-school, who do not obey their parents, and
who do not love God. These clean sticks will represent good boys and
girls. Now suppose the good boys and girls choose the bad boys and girls
as their companions and playmates; what do you think would be the
result? I will mix these sticks together. I am sure that nobody would
expect that the white sticks would transfer their purity and cleanness
to this black stick. When I mix them, or rub them together, the black
sticks get no whiter, but all the white sticks get blacker.
[Illustration: White and Charred Sticks.]
That is the way it always is with the boys who keep bad company. Instead
of exerting a good influence, so as to reform and purify, and make good
boys of the bad boys, the bad boys make bad boys of the good boys. At
first the good boys are horrified at what they hear and see the bad boys
say and do. After a while it ceases to be unpleasant to them. A little
later they may possibly laugh at the bad boys, but after a while they
will come to like the bad boys, and finally they will do as the bad
boys do and become like them in conduct and in character.
Perhaps you have seen boys who like to take cork and burn it in the
candle or fire, and then blacken their faces with it, so as to make them
look like colored people. Now, it is not the best thing for a white boy
to try to look like a colored boy, but if he does rub this black on his
face, he can wash it off with soap and water. But when a good boy goes
with bad boys and his character becomes tarnished and blackened, he
cannot cleanse and purify it so easily. He not only gets a bad character
but a bad reputation as well, both of which are very difficult to
cleanse or to get rid of.
[Illustration: Glass of Water and Bottle of Ink.]
Now, here I have a glass of water and a bottle of ink. If I take and
pour a half a teaspoonful of this water into the ink, it makes no
particular difference in its color. But if I take only two or three
drops of ink and mix them with the water, it discolors the entire glass
of water at once. One or two good boys in the midst of many bad ones are
likely to be influenced in a bad direction. This is especially true if
the good boys have sought the bad boys as companions. Even one or two
bad boys, placed in the midst of several good boys, may exert a very bad
influence over them. I suppose you have all seen this illustrated in the
school room. You may have had a set of good boys, or a set of good girls
in your class, but some day a bad boy came to the school, or a bad girl
joined the class and they were frivolous, laughed and talked and were
disorderly, disobeyed the teacher, played truant and did all kinds of
naughtiness when in school, and it had its bad effect upon the entire
class, and sometimes even upon the entire school.
The text teaches us that we should avoid such foolish boys and foolish
girls; boys and girls who do not obey God or revere the Bible, who do
not listen to their consciences, nor do that which is right. Such should
be avoided at all times, and in choosing our companions, we should
always prefer those who will have an influence for good upon us
socially, intellectually and morally.
The influence of bad companions will tend to destroy all our best
interests physically, by leading to every kind of vice and evil; destroy
us financially, by causing us to be inattentive to our work, causing us
to prefer idleness and pleasure to labor and usefulness; destroy us
morally, by making light of the teachings of the Bible, the importance
of the Sunday-school and of the Church, the authority of father and
mother and the wisdom of what they teach and require of us.
But in addition to all this, we should remember that those who are our
companions upon earth, will be our companions in the world to come. If
we go with the wicked and the profane here, we shall dwell with them
forever in the world to come. If we desire to go to heaven and to be
forever with those who are good and righteous, pure and holy; if we
desire to be happy for ever and ever in the world to come, we must
choose as our companions here, those who are living not for this present
fleeting life, but who are living for the glory of God and who are
trusting sincerely in Jesus Christ for everlasting salvation.
May God help us all to be wise and to walk with the wise, and not to be
foolish and choose fools as our companions, both for time and eternity.
QUESTIONS.--Into what two classes has God divided
people? What does the Bible tell us will happen to
a companion of fools?--of wise men? Whom do the
charred sticks represent? Who are like the white
sticks? If the sticks are rubbed together, what is
the result? What happens to good boys who keep bad
company? Do the good boys become bad immediately?
What do bad companions do to one's character? Can
a boy wash "burnt cork" from his face? Can he wash
the stains from his character? What else besides a
bad character is given? Will a few drops of water
change the color of a bottle of ink? Will a few
drops of ink change the color of a glass of water?
Who are like the ink-drops? Who are like the
water-drops? Why? Whom shall we choose for
companions? Who will be our companions in
eternity?
[Illustration: The Camp of the Israelites.]
DOGS.
THE DOGS OF ST. BERNARD.
SUGGESTION:--If a real live dog is too diverting,
an earthen or bisque dog, or the accompanying
picture of the dogs of St. Bernard, may be
sufficient.
MY DEAR BOYS AND GIRLS: I want to talk to you to-day about dogs. The dog
is what is called a domestic animal, and wherever you find civilized men
and women, you will find dogs of some kind. Dogs are not only loved
because they are companionable, but because they are also, oftentimes,
very serviceable.
In Switzerland there are some very high mountains, and some years ago,
when there were no tunnels yet dug under the mountains, as there are
to-day, travelers during the winter, when going from Germany to Italy,
or returning from Italy to Germany, had to cross over the tops of these
mountains. The snow was always deep and the journey was always
dangerous, particularly in the winter.
[Illustration: The Dogs of St. Bernard
Copyrighted 1911 by Sylvanus Stall]
There are several places where the mountains can be crossed, and these
places are called "passes," such as the Simplon, St. Bernard and St.
Gothard passes. Some years ago, in company with a friend, I crossed the
St. Gothard pass on the 20th of June. That year the season was very
late, and after we got well up the mountain, we found the snow from five
to ten feet deep on the level, and when we arrived on the top of the
mountain, the snow was even with the roof of a two-story building which
stood there, and the people living in it had tunneled under the snow,
around the outside of the building. If this was the way it was on the
20th of June, you can easily imagine what an awfully cold and stormy
place it must be to live during the entire winter. It took our horses a
long time to take us up the mountain, but when we went down on the
Italian side they went quite rapidly, and in one hour and forty minutes
from the time we left the Hotel de la Prosa, where the snow was so very
deep, we were down in the village of Airolo, where little girls were
selling ripe cherries. It seemed as though we had jumped right out of
the heart of winter, into the pleasant and fruitful days of summer.
On the top of each of these mountain passes, there is built what is
called a hospice, which means hospitality, the same word from which we
get our word hospital. These buildings are erected for the entertainment
of poor travelers, who are compelled to cross the mountains in the
winter. There are a number of monks, who live in each of these places of
entertainment. On each of these mountain passes the monks have some
large dogs, which are known as the dogs of St. Bernard. In the winter
when it is snowing, and travelers are likely to be exhausted by their
efforts to ascend the mountain, and are liable to be lost in the
snow-storms which prevail almost every day, these dogs are sent out by
the monks with a supply of food and wine suspended from their necks, and
they go all over the mountain, barking and making a great noise. When
they discover a poor traveler who is perishing in the snow, they allow
him to take the food and the wine in order that he may be stimulated and
revived, and then these faithful and intelligent dogs lead the way to
the place of safety and security.
Oftentimes they find men who have become nearly frozen, who have fallen
down in the snow in an unconscious state and are ready to die. If left
for a time these men would soon freeze to death beneath the snow that
falls very rapidly upon them. These dogs are very intelligent, and
immediately they will begin to scrape the snow off the traveler, lick
his hands, and if he does not give any indications of life they will
then lie down upon his body, that the warmth from their own body may
quicken him again into consciousness, that he may drink the wine and eat
the food and be stimulated enough to do something toward getting himself
on to the place of safety. If the man is not too heavy, the dog might
even be able to carry him.
[Illustration: Dogs Rescuing Traveler.]
At the hospice on the St. Bernard pass they once had a faithful dog
which had been successful in thus rescuing sixty-eight persons from
freezing to death upon the mountains. The dog was very sagacious, and
seemed to know exactly what to do when he found a poor traveler dying in
the snow. One day he found a man who had evidently been lying for some
time in the snow, which had already quite buried him. The man was
entirely unconscious, and when the dog found him he began immediately to
scrape away the snow and then lay down upon this dying man, that the
warmth of his own body might quicken him again into consciousness. When
the man began to revive, and discovered that there was something warm
lying upon him, he thought it was a wolf or some wild animal which
possibly designed to take his life. He reached into his belt and drew a
dagger, which he thrust into the body of the faithful dog that had come
to rescue him from freezing to death. The poor dog was fatally wounded.
He started back home, but in a short time after reaching it bled to
death. The monks had this dog's skin stuffed and placed in the hospice,
and now he seems constantly to teach an object lesson to all travelers
who cross the Alps and stop at the hospice.
The story of this faithful dog and his sad death reminds us of that
loving Saviour, who came from heaven to this world, to seek and to save
those who were lost. And although He came to redeem and rescue us from
death, yet wicked men in this world crucified Him by nailing Him to a
cross upon Calvary, and this is what every person is doing to-day who
rejects the Lord Jesus Christ. He comes to you and to me, desiring to
save us from our sins and from everlasting death; to save not only our
bodies, but our souls for all eternity. If we reject Him we are told in
the Bible that "we crucify Him afresh, and put Him to an open shame." I
am sure no thoughtful boy or girl would be guilty of wilfully stabbing
any kind dog that would come to their rescue if they were perishing in
the snow, and I trust that none of you will ever reject Jesus and thrust
Him away from you, and thus crucify Him for yourself and put Him to an
open shame before the world.
This faithful dog should also teach you and me another lesson. If a dog
can make himself so useful as to save the lives of sixty-eight people,
you and I should ask ourselves the question whether we are doing as
much for the blessing and the salvation of men as this faithful dog did
on the mountains of Switzerland? But you can do a great deal more than
this dog. He could only save the lives of people, but God can use you to
save their souls as well, by the influence of a noble Christian life, by
what you say and do, by your contributions to missions, and in various
other ways you may help to save the souls of many who must otherwise
perish.
But this faithful dog teaches us a lesson of constant, daily duty. It
was no easy thing for this dog to go out in the fierce cold through the
deep snow and run about all day to hunt for lost travelers, but it was
by keeping constantly at it and working faithfully day after day that he
accomplished this grand result. He did not save sixty-eight people all
at one time, but saved one at a time, and sometimes worked for days and
weeks without finding a single traveler whom he could help. In the same
way, if you desire to be useful in this world, you must use every little
opportunity which comes to you daily. You must be willing to work hard
and keep at it, and even though you cannot succeed in doing any great
thing at any one time, remember that you must keep doing little things
all the while. I trust that God may inspire each of you to desire to
accomplish grand results in your lives by the constant doing of both
little and great things for God and man.
QUESTIONS.--Are dogs serviceable? What kinds are
the most useful? Where do they live? For what and
by whom are they used? What do the dogs do to
revive a traveler? Tell the story of the dog of
the St. Bernard Pass. Of what does this story
remind us? Does Christ try to rescue us? What are
we doing when we reject Him? What lesson does this
dog teach us? Can we do as much as this dog did?
Why? What can we do which the dog could not do?
What other lesson does this dog teach us? Did the
dog save all the sixty-eight people at one time?
Are we able to accomplish God's work all at one
time? How must we do it?
THE CAMERA.
GOD'S PICTURE BOOK.
SUGGESTION:--Objects: A small camera and a small
looking glass.
[Illustration: A Camera.]
WHILE talking to you to-day about pictures, it will not seem strange
that I should have a camera as the object with which to illustrate the
sermon. But my purpose may not be so plain to you when you hear my text,
which is taken from the book of Revelation, twentieth chapter, twelfth
verse: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of
life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books, according to their works."
[Illustration: "Throwing a Black Cloth Over His Head He Moved About the
Camera."]
These words refer to the great Judgment Day. I suppose that you know
that we must all die, but possibly you did not know, or have
forgotten, that after a time God will raise up all the dead and will
separate the good people from the bad people, the righteous from the
wicked. The time when God will do this is called the great Judgment Day.
It is then that the words which I have read as my text tell us that "the
books shall be opened," and then all that we have ever done or said in
this life shall be found written in these books.
Now, if God is keeping a record of all our deeds and words, and even our
inmost thoughts, which He also knows; and not only keeping a record of
your words and thoughts and mine, but also of those of every man, woman
and child--a record of all the fourteen hundred millions now living upon
our earth--you might think that millions of angels would be kept very
busy writing all these things down in these books. I do not know just
_how_ God is doing this, but I do know two ways in which He could easily
accomplish what to us may seem a difficult or impossible task.
I will now try to show you how God might keep the record of everything
we do; and next Sunday I will try to tell you how, with equal ease, God
might secure and keep the record of all we say, of each and every word
we speak.
I suppose you have all gone to a photograph gallery and had your
pictures taken. When you stood before an instrument, something like
this, only perhaps much larger, the artist went behind the big
instrument, which was pointed right toward you, and throwing a black
cloth over his head, he moved about the camera, told you just how to
hold your head, and finally when everything was arranged and he was
ready, he pressed a small rubber ball which opened the little slide,
just as you would open your eye to look at any object, and in an instant
your picture was taken.
That large camera, with which the artist took your picture, was in
principle just like the smaller and more simple one which I have shown
you, and both are made to imitate, or in a rude way to be like the human
eye.
Now, if I point this camera toward you, make it dark back of the camera,
either by placing a black cloth over my head or in any other way, your
picture will at once appear upon this glass which is at the back of the
camera. Now the reason why I can see your photograph on this ground
glass is because the rays of light which are reflected or come from your
face, into this opening in the camera, have your likeness upon them, and
when the light falls against this glass I can see your picture which is
photographed upon the rays of light, just the same as your picture is
photographed on paper. So every object about us is photographed on the
rays of light and the picture becomes visible when we turn our eye,
which is a small but perfect camera, so that the rays of light can go
straight into our eye and the picture fall upon the back of the eye,
which is called the retina, and with which this glass in the camera
corresponds.
An ordinary looking-glass will demonstrate or show the same thing. This
covering on the back of the glass corresponds to the black cloth with
which the photographer shuts out the rays of light which come from the
back of the camera. In the same way the ground at the bottom of the pond
cuts off the rays from beneath, and on this account you can see the
hills, or stars, or clouds reflected in the water; so also in the
looking-glass, as you turn it in different directions you can see the
photographs of persons or objects which are pictured upon the rays of
light.