that is, deny ourselves, every day (Luke ix. 23). You know" even Christ pleased not Himself."

we

The road to heaven is a slippery path; for we read that David, who was walking in it, prayed God that his footsteps might not slide. Our Guide-book tells us that going to heaven is like running a race. Why is that?-(Because mustn't stop.) No, not for a moment. If we do, Satan will most likely get hold of us, and put us in the broad road. Also we must put away every naughty temper, every naughty thought, word, or deed that would hinder us in running the heavenly race. I hope all of you, dear children, will try and walk in the narrow way. Here is a nice little prayer to offer up to Jesus to enable you to do so: "Hold Thou me up, and I shall be SAFE 99 (Ps. cxix. 17).

HELEN.

THE GREAT ENEMY.

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."-Eph. vi. 11.

MOST of you little ones do not know how very much we have to depend on God in our journey through this world. We have very many things to ask Him for; first to put us in the narrow road, then to keep our feet from slipping,-to give us the Guide, His Holy Spirit,-to teach us to understand the Guide-book, the Bible; and now you see from our text we must seek strength.

You know what it is to seek for a thing: it is to go on asking and looking for it till we get it. What do we want this strength for? Because of? (the enemy.) What! have we an enemy in this narrow way?—(Yes, teacher.) What is an enemy?-(Some one who tries to do us harm.) (Some one who hates us.) (Some one who fights us.) Yes, you are all right; but what enemy can this be, who hates us and wants to fight us?-(The devil.) Yes; what does your Catechism call him?-(Our ghostly enemy.) And that means- -? (We can't see him.) No, we can't see him; but he is near us, and tries to do us all the harm he can.

He tries to get us out of the narrow road; he tries to make our feet slip, and to make us disobey our Guide and Guidebook.

Who can help us against this cruel enemy?-(God.) Ah yes, we may seek strength where strength can be found. What is strength? (To be strong.) Are you strong?-(Not very.) (I am, teacher.) But your father is stronger than you, isn't he ?-(Oh yes.) Well, our enemy is very strong; but there is One far stronger, who has power over us and our enemy too. Who is that? (God.) Yes; so we needn't mind the enemy if God helps us, for you know the Scriptures say, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

People used to wear armour a long time ago, which completely covered them; it was made of steel; and they had something to cover the head, that was called a helmet; they also had a long sword, and a large plate of iron called a shield, which they held in their hands to keep off the enemy's darts; whenever they saw a dart coming, they put up the shield, and the dart striking against it, it couldn't hurt them.

Now as we have such a dangerous enemy, we must have armour too! St. Paul says we must put on the whole armour of God. But we haven't got any; how shall we get it?-(God will give it to us.) Yes; He will give it us if we ask Him. We may also obtain strength from His word. The Bible is called the sword of the Spirit, because it is so useful in driving away Satan; and if we attend to what it says, and obey its instructions, God's presence will be with us, and will be like armour to us to keep us from harm; for the Bible says that as the mountains are round about Jerusalem-they are all round the city you know-so shall the Lord be always round about His people.

I will tell you a little story about God being round about His people. You all remember the prophet Elisha ?-(Yes.) Well, one time a wicked king wanted to kill him, and he sent men and horses and carriages, and put them all round the city where Elisha lived. Elisha's servant was very much frightened when

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he saw them all, and thought his master would certainly be killed; but Elisha told him not to be afraid, for that there were more with them than all that were trying to hurt them. The servant did not know what he meant ; but Elisha asked God to show him how they were protected, and God showed the young man that there were a great number of horses and chariots of fire round Elisha. God did not permit the prophet to be killed; for He made all the wicked people blind, so that they couldn't find Elisha.

You see God's presence is like armour, all round us and over us. If we have the thought of Him in our hearts, it will help our feet over the rough parts of the way. You know if you have something to make you very glad, you don't seem to mind disagreeable things half so much, do you?-(No.) And what a happy thought it is to know that our good kind heavenly Father is near us always, and all round us, and that when Satan tempts us to say or do naughty things, we have only to whisper "Our Father," and He will hear and help us.

But will our great enemy trouble such little children as you?-(Yes.) Ah, yes he will, he often tells you to do naughty things. Mary is absent this morning: perhaps he whispered to her to stay away from class, and join some idle companions. If such is the case, what a foolish little girl to have listened to him, when God would have helped her to drive him away. [Instances of this kind, which may suitably apply may very appropriately be introduced by the teacher.]

Whenever any of you little ones feel anything naughty come into your mind, remember it is our enemy that puts it there, and that whatever he advises you to do is sure to make you unhappy. If he puts a naughty thought into your mind, don't let it stay there; you can't help Satan putting it into your heart, but you can help letting it stay there a minute. One more word, and I shall have finished my lesson to-day: fight bravely, like good children of Jesus Christ, against Satan and all his wicked advice; don't be afraid of him, but trust

in God, and ask Him every day to give you strength because of the enemy.

HELEN.

THE TRUE FRIEND.

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"There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."-Prov. xviii. 24. WHAT a nice subject, my little friends, we have for our lesson to-day! Last Sunday I spoke to you about the great enemy who stands in the narrow way, trouble us. Who is that?-(The devil.) Yes; but we have also a Friend to help us, and such a Friend,-a Friend who never changes, whose love can never die. Can any of you tell me His name? -(Jesus.) Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ, our best and truest Friend. Should you not like, all of you, to be friends of His? (Yes, teacher.) I have no doubt you would.

Without the help of Jesus, we should all have suffered for going in the broad road; for we have all sinned and done wrong many times, and have offended God and broken His holy law. As God is just and holy, He must have punished us by sending us to hell; but our loving Friend and Saviour bore our punishment for us, He suffered that we might go free; and for His sake God has opened the door of His own beautiful home, and all who walk in the narrow way may go in and be happy for ever. Would you not all like to join Jesus in His heavenly home?-(Yes, teacher.) Well, to do so, you must try and imitate Him, and pray to God for His Holy Spirit to enable you to do so.

Jesus not only suffered for our sins, but, previous to doing so, He went along the narrow way Himself step by step, as we must try to do now, that He might know all the difficulties of the road and be able to feel for us in everything. How can we be grateful enough for such love?

Do you think this Friend cares for little children?-(Yes.) Yes, I'm sure you can all answer that question. When He was on earth the mothers brought their little ones to Him, that He might bless them, and the disciples wanted to

send them away; perhaps they thought they were too young to go to Jesus; but He didn't think so, did He?—(No.) What did He say?-(" Suffer the little children," etc.)

Let us look at our Guide-book, and find out a little about the Lord Jesus. He is a gentle Friend. One day when His disciples were in a ship, Jesus came to them walking on the water, and His disciples were afraid and called out for fear. Jesus didn't scold them for being so foolish; He spoke gently to them, and told them not to be afraid. Another time a poor woman came to Him who was very unhappy. She had been very wicked, and her neighbours wouldn't have anything to say to her; but she knew that Jesus could wash away her sin, so she went to Him. He did not send her away (He never does that), but spoke gently to her, and told her her sins were forgiven. If such of you as can read the Bible for yourselves will look into it, you will find a great many other beautiful stories of His kindness and gentleness.

Jesus is a forgiving Friend. When the wicked men put Jesus on the cross, and nailed His hands and His feet, He not only forgave them Himself, but prayed the Father to do so, "Father, forgive," etc. He is a considerate Friend. When great numbers of people went to hear Him preach, He knew that some of them had come a long way, and He pitied them, and made them sit down on the grass, and fed them. He is an almighty Friend. What does almighty mean?-(Able to do all things.) Yes, and there is nothing too hard for the Lord Jesus to do; He is the Son of God. He made the wind and storm obey Him when He was on earth; He cured sick people, made blind people see, the lame ones walk, and the deaf hear. Did He do any other wonderful thing?-(He made dead people live.) Yes, and could the grave keep Him?-(No.) Oh no, you know what your hymn says—

"He burst the grave, He rose
Victorious from the dead."

I have told you what the Lord Jesus Christ was when He was on earth; well,

He is just the same now; He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He is still gentle, forgiving, and considerate. He is still almighty, and can still forgive sins. His name, Jesus, means Saviour, because He saves from sin. Therefore all of you little ones must take every sin to Him, even the very smallest, to be washed away directly; or you will never keep straight in the right way.

Repeat the text to me once more.("There is," etc.) It is very nice to have a brother's love. I remember Polly when she was in disgrace, because it was thought she had broken the schoolroom window, and her brother said, "Never mind, Polly; I'll stick by you, whatever happens." I thought Polly must be glad to have her brother stick by her in her trouble. [The teacher will, no doubt, have little difficulty in supplying illustrative instances somewhat similar to this.] But how nice it is to feel that we have a Friend who sticketh closer than a brother! Jesus is such a Friend. You may tell Him all your troubles; He will never be tired of listening to you: you may ask Him for anything you want; He is never far off. He says, "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." The Bible says that Jesus is like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Have you ever been out for a walk on a very hot day, when there was not a bit of shade near at hand ?-(I have, teacher.) So have I, and I have longed for something to throw a shadow. Now this world is often a weary land; you little ones have not yet found it so; but it won't be always pleasant to you; there will come times when you will be weary and unhappy, and you will long for a shadow to rest under. The refreshing shade of Jesus, the great Rock, is the only one which will then satisfy you. Whether distressed, weary, or unhappy, He will comfort you.

My little ones, won't you love this gracious Friend, keep close to Him, and try to please Him, and be like Him in everything?

"Children, do you want a Friend,
Ever faithful, ever true;

One whose kindness knows no end,
One whose love can shelter you?
Jesus is the Friend you need,
Jesus is a Friend indeed."

HELEN.

THE END OF THE JOURNEY.

"In Thy presence is fulness of joy, at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." -P8. xvi. 11.

WELL, little ones, this is my fourth lesson about our life being like to a journey. Last Sunday I spoke to you of— ? (the true Friend.) And the Sunday before that of- ? (the great Enemy.) Yes, and to one or other of these we give our souls. To-day we shall have to speak about the end of our journey.

What is the end of our journey?— (Heaven.) Yes, the end of the narrow way is heaven, God's house, His presence. What does David say of it in our text?("In Thy presence is fulness of joy, and at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.") Our Guide-book-what did I tell you that was?-(The Bible.) Yes, our Guide-book does not tell us much about heaven; but it tells us quite enough to show us that there there is perfect happiness.

I told you in one of my previous lessons that the pleasures of this world don't satisfy us; that we are always longing for something else; but that at the end of our journey, if we have loved Jesus and given our hearts to Him, we shall have no more longings, but fulness of joy.

You remember, too, I told you that nothing here lasts; however pleasant it may be for a time, it fades away and is gone. At the end of our journey this will not happen: we shall then have pleasures for evermore. They will never fade away, never be finished, but continue for ever and ever.

Where does our text say there are pleasures forevermore ?-(At God's right hand.) Yes, and at the left hand will be those who have trod the broad road; and these will receive everlasting punishment (Matt. xxv. 46). What an awful thing to think of! Pray God very earnestly, dear children, to keep

your feet far away from that unhappy road.

Now let us look at our Bibles a little, and find out all we can about our heavenly home. We read that God is the Maker and Builder of it (Heb. xi. 10). Sometimes people say they are sorry to think of this world being burnt up, and all the beautiful things in it; but the same God who gives us all our pleasures here can also give us far better ones hereafter. You would not mind giving up sixpence if you were to get a sovereign for it, would you ?—(No, teacher.) Well, the same God, who has made such a beautiful world for us to live in, can make another and better one; and we know that heaven will be better, because we are told that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind can fancy such good things as God has prepared for those that love Him.

Now I want one of you to mention some of the things that the Bible tells us about heaven.-(People won't be hungry there, teacher.) Quite right: some of you perhaps know what it is to be hungry; it is very painful to have no bread to eat. In heaven, however, we shall have no wants of this kind; for the Bread of Life is there. is the Bread of Life?-(Jesus.) Yes, and He suffices for all our heavenly wants.

Who

Can any of you tell me anything else about heaven?-(There won't be any thirst there.) Quite right again. There will be no scorching heat, for our great overshadowing Rock is there; no bitter cold, for the Sun of righteousness is always shining there. There will be no sickness in heaven: the Bible says that the people there will never say "I am sick." Nor will there be any unkind. ness or weariness; neither will there be weeping or sorrow, for God will wipe away the tears from the faces of His children. There will be no quarrelling, no fighting, no cruelty, no sin of any kind; for our Guide-book says that nothing that can defile will go in at the gates of that holy city. Satan will be shut out; and all the happy people there will have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. There

will be no more death, no more fighting against sin and Satan; for the fight will be over, the victory won-it will be our rest.

But, better than all these things, there we shall always be with our Friend, our best Friend, and with our heavenly Father, and with all the holy angels. There will be golden harps in heaven, and lovely music, and the praises of our blessed Redeemer will be sung in a new song. There is a golden harp prepared for each of you little ones; also a golden crown, a white robe, and a place in heaven. Will you have these things? or must they be put away at the last day? If you are walking in the narrow way,

and keep steadily in it to the end, Jesus will give you all these things, and more, far more than you have ever dreamed of. Think of what I say, dear children, and seek to become God's children: your journey will then appear much easier. You know when we are looking forward to anything pleasant, it helps us through a great many difficulties; and the Bible tells us to look forward to our rest.

"Then welcome toil, and care, and pain,
And welcome sorrow too;
All toil is rest, all grief is gain,
With such an end in view."

THE WORDS SPOKEN BY OUR LORD ON THE CROSS.-No. I.

THIS is one of the most solemn seasons of the Church, and we are about to consider some very solemn words in connection with it-words spoken by our Saviour during the last hours of His life. May God the Holy Ghost fill our hearts with love to Him who so loved us. (Rom. v. 5-9.) [Describe, as time allows, the mockery of the trials before Pilate and the high-priest, the bearing of the cross, the following of the women, the crucifixion, etc.] Our Lord's first words were words of mercy, a prayer for forgiveness-for whom?(Luke xxiii. 34.) Yes; for those who had crucified Him. He pitied their ignorance. (1 Tim. i. 13.) They knew not that He was the Lord of glory; they mocked His claims, and yet He prayed for them. Their hearts were only full of earthly greed (John xix. 23, 24); pity even seemed to have departed from them (Mark xv. 16-20); they joined in the mocking cry of the Jews (Luke xxiii. 39), and so helped unknowingly to fulfil the prophecy in Psalm xxii. 7, 8. Little they thought that He was not only the King of the Jews, but King of all the earth, and that, though they imagined that He could not save Himself, He had

HELEN.

really come to save the lost, and wished to save them.

Was not His prayer a prayer of wonderful love? No wonder the apostle speaks of the gentleness of Christ (2 Cor. xi. 1). May we all, by God's help, follow the example He has left (Eph. iv. 32; Col. iii. 13). Well did both Stephen and Paul, and many a martyr since [illustrate by examples], learn the lesson of forgiveness their Master taught by word and example (2 Tim. iv. 16; Acts vii. 60). Let us remember for our comfort that Jesus is the same now as then (Heb. xiii. 8); still He intercedes for sinners (Rom. viii. 34; Luke xiii. 8, 9), and says, "Father, forgive them."

But these were not the only words which our Lord spoke. Can you tell me any others ?-(Yes; in Luke xxiii. 43.) To whom did Jesus say that? What kind of a man had this one been? How had he behaved to Jesus? Look at Matt. xxvii. 44; Mark xv. 32; Isa. liii. 12. What an example he was, that the heart is desperately wicked (Jer. xvii. 9). He was about to leave this world, and yet nearly his last words were wicked words. Nothing can change a heart, neither sorrow, pain, punishment, danger, nothing but the grace of God. He can do everything. (Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27; xxxvii. 3, 13, 14.) And His