MR. WAUGH'S SERMONS FOR CHILDREN.* IN the days when the
present writer was a child, good people were strict Sabbatarians, and one of the few enjoyments of the young, on a Sunday, was a picture Bible. Those pictures excited the imagination, but scarcely satisfied the intelligence of children ; and, besides, though they returned to them again and again, they could not look at them all day long. Parents have a broader idea now of what is innocent and harmless for Sunday occupation, but it is even still difficult, for such as have an ideal of religious education far out-reaching their ability for instilling it, to make Sunday a happy day, without allowing its opportunity—indeed, its duty—for lessons of holiness to slip past unused. Even to those who are content with the plainer lessons of the Gospels, and do not seek to explain the deeper meanings of the Epistles, or the mystic out-pourings of the Prophets, language will not always come, and a consciousness of ignorance and vagueness will overwhelm even a mother alone with her little child. Of late, many writers have endeavoured to help the anxious, but ignorant or diffident instructor ; but only with a very partial success ; because such writers have
• Sunday Evenings with My Children. By the Bev. Benjamin Waugh. London William labiater, Limited.
generally attempted to instil theological views, and to dogma- tise on the special creeds of the sect to which they belong ; and the teacher has felt either a want of sympathy with the doctrine, or at least that it was unsuitable—if not altogether incompre- hensible—to a child. But Mr. Waugh has written a book for which we are truly grateful—a book for children's Sundays —full, by-the-bye, of beautiful pictures—and not only one to which no one can object, because it avoids all doctrine, but which every one who reads it will admire, because, in truly persuasive, earnest, and beautiful language, it seeks to instil simply a love of God, and a desire to do his will in all things. The author's purpose evidently is to make religion to children as bright, broad, and cheerful as it is, we should fancy, to himself. His plan is to take some quality of Christ, and talk about it simply and briefly, but so as to make it admirable and lovable ; or some temptation of a child, and make him realise how the giving-way to it will grieve one whom he himself would be unhappy to grieve, telling him about God and Jesus so as to make him feel the same kind of love for his heavenly father and brother that be does for his dearest earthly friends. And each quality or temptation is illustrated by a story from real life—which, indeed, forms the main portion of every little sermon—and about which cluster naturally the explanations that have to be made, and the motives and aspirations which it is desired to excite or
foster. The one great object of Mr. Waugh's book is to re- move all fear from the child's mind, and to substitute an absolute confidence and childlike trust and love. The book supplies, indeed, a very pressing want, that has long been felt by all eompanions and instructors of children. It has always been a difficulty to know what books to put into their hands that will interest while instructing, and that will bear upon the true spirit of the Sabbath,—the spirit of a day of real intellectual and moral rest. Children's minds soon tire of the strange and, to them—in modern times—incomprehensible Bible stories, about the very facts of which the teacher himself, when appealed to, is often either incredulous or ignorant. But Mr. Waugh, when he uses them, shows clearly to the child the spiritual meaning and value of the story, and illus- trates it by another, quite within the comprehension, if not the experience also, of the child. He has succeeded so per-
fectly, that his book will become a household treasure of great value. Each service begins with a hymn that a child will like, a short and interesting passage from the Bible, and a very short and simple prayer, in Mr. Waugh's own words, that children can easily follow, and that is appropriate to the subject; and then follow the stories, about which the applica- tions and simple morals gather quite naturally, and illustrate the lesson of the Bible passage.
The following extract—as much as we have space for—is taken without selection, but it will show sufficiently the spirit of the whole book. It is from an address attempting to make children understand the meaning of such expressions as "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you ;" and the writer has referred, in the beginning, to the grace of natural things—
a swan, a bluebell, &c. :—
"Let me tell you another story of a similar kind, and it shall be another soldier's story, because I want you to think that roughness and strength may sometimes do deeds of pity and tenderness alto- gether lovely. In a dreadfully cold winter, many years ago, an army was flying from Moscow, a city in Russia. With this army there was a German Prince and a few German soldiers. The land was covered with snow. They tramped through bitterly cold days, with little food, rested through more bitterly cold nights without beds, often without even a roof for shelter. One by one the marching soldiers had fallen down by the way, and perished of cold and hunger. At length only a mere handful of them remained alive, the prince and a few common soldiers, and these were all nearly spent. The bitter day was ended, and the night winds had begun to blow, when they came up to the storm-ruined remains of a hovel, once built to shelter cattle. But in the wild, snow-covered waste they did not despise it ; the little shelter from the sleet and wind of the coming night which this tumble-down shed could afford, even the child of a palace was glad of ; and there, hungry, weary, and cold, he and his men lay down to sleep. The men were rough, stern-looking fellows, yet when they saw the prince, so delicately brought up, used to comforts they had never known, spent, heart and body, come to such want, glad to sleep in such a place, they were moved with compassion ; and the sight of the worn man asleep, with no bed, no covering, sleeping, perhaps, his last sleep, was more than they could stand, and without a word they stripped off their own cloaks, and laid them all gently on him, one by one, lest they should awake him. He would not be so cold with these,—perhaps he would live with their warmth. Then they threw themselves down to sleep. The night passed, and the prince awoke. Where am I?' was his first thought. 'Am I at home, in bed ?" He was so warm, and he turned over and raised himself up to look about. He was not at home. All around was snow, and all was silent save the wind, which whistled through the planks of the broken shed. Where were his men ? He stood up and looked, when lo ! there they lay, huddled together to keep. warm, not yet awake. He spoke, but they answered not. He ad- vanced and touched them—they were dead ! Without their cloaks, too Where were their cloaks ? A glance towards where he had lain, and all was plain. The prince burst into tears. His men were- dead ; they had died to save him. Those poor fellows had done easily, quietly, and naturally a noble and beautiful deed, a deed in its kind and in its manner ' full of grace.' So 'grace' in men's dealings with one another is a deed which is in itself good, very good, and which is done in the quietest, nicest possible way. When we see such deeds we cannot help admiring them, as we admire the motion, of a swan or the form of a bluebell. As long as men do deeds as those soldiers did, there will always be something by which we may rise towards an understanding of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The illustrations are very suitable and attractive, and give reality to the stories. Some of them are chosen from the very best pictures—the frontispiece, for instance, is one of Raphael's Holy Families.
Previous page
