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M.A. KVANUKI.IST .iVl'THiiM (IK "Cl>NVKHMK WITH TlIK KlNO.' 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 i 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 10 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. II 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 12 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. 14 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 i6 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 17 i8 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. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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 32 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. n 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 24 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 36 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 28 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. 29 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." 30 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 32 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 34 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. 36 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 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. 45 "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- 46 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. 11 Receiving the Children. 47 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. 48 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 largf 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, 55 56 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. 57 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." S8 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. 59 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 ? 6o 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 6i 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. 62 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." 64 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. 65 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. 66 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. 67 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. 69 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. 7' 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 7a 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" 73 Special Prices by Ordering Direct from the Author. h < *• 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,