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CHAT III. "Taken to the Police Station."
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Pictures to Paint—5. WHAT BIBLE SCENE IS THIS?
Now take the engine. Can it move itself? Not without the steam power within. If there is no steam, there is no movement. The wheels of the engine cannot move themselves. Without the steam, the engine can do nothing.
Have you seen great guns being fired? What sends the great shells flying through the air for miles and miles? Can they make themselves go? No, it is just a spark that ignites the powder. Without that spark the shells, the guns can do nothing.
So we, capable as we may think ourselves, can do nothing unless we are linked on—or are in touch with—our Lord and Master. "Without Me ye can do nothing."
Do you think you can get on without Him?
Just think hard a minute. Sometimes you get up in the morning and you feel good! You say to yourself: "f shan't lose my temper to-day," or, "I shall do nothing to be scolded about."
And almost before you know it, you have given way to temper, or you have got into disgrace for doing something wrong. How was it? You can't explain it. "I forget," you say. Who can remind you just in time? The One who offers to help you all day long.
Imagine a big battle about to take place, and the soldiers going into it without any officer or general to tell them what to do. Would those soldiers get the victory over well ordered troops coming against them? No—never. And you will never get the victory over your enemies unless your Captain is leading you, and you do what He tells you. "Without Me ye can do nothing."
You must remember that the Devil with his hosts of wicked spirits are out to try to get you to sin every day and all day. What chance have you against the Devil? None at all, without your Captain's strong loving Hand holding yours, and helping you to fight.
A little boy was bullied by a big boy. He tried to stand up to him, but was knocked down at once. And then he caught sight of his father walking down the street. In an instant, he picked himself up and darted to his father's side.
"Hold my hand tight, Daddy," he cried.
The father did so.
Then the little fellow called to the bully to come on. "I'm ready for you now," he said; "I'll beat you easy!"
He was secure and safe in his father's hold, and he feared nobody, and nothing. That is how we can feel when Jesus is holding us by the hand. Will He do it? This is what He says in His Word:
"I the Lord have called them in righteousness, and will hold their hand, and will keep them."
Now, when did Jesus say, "Without Me ye can do nothing?"
It was just before His death, that He told His disciples this truth. He told them that He was like a vine, and they were like the branches, but that just as branches cannot bear grapes if they are cut away from the vine, so they could not bear fruit in their lives unless they were joined to Him.
What a wonderful thing! Can a boy and girl be joined to Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords?
Yes, if they open their hearts' door to Him, He has promised to come in and abide with them, and then He will help them to bear fruit.
Do you want to bring forth fruit in your life to-day?
Then keep close to Jesus and ask Him to fill your heart with the sunshine of His presence. For:
"Without Me ye can do nothing."
Do you remember the story of the shepherd boy killing the giant?
David might have had his sling and stones, but they would have been useless unless he had had God with him when he went to meet him. He told Saul that God had helped him to kill a lion and a bear, and that He would deliver him out of the hand of the giant.
"Without Me ye can do nothing."
It locks the door against all our own efforts and struggles. And the key that unlocks it is:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
A sailor lad gave his heart to Christ one Sunday evening after a mission service had been held. The minister talked to him afterwards, and found out that he had a very bad home in the East End of London, and was going home to spend the rest of his leave there.
"I don't know how I shall do it!" the poor boy said. "My mother drinks and is hardly ever sober; my father and brother hate religion of any sort, and have half killed a mission preacher when he was down our way. How can I stand up against them?"
"But," said the minister quickly, "if the Almighty has you by the hand and goes home with you, won't you be stronger than they?"
The boy smiled.
"Ay, sir, I'll be like David. I can tackle giants. I'm not afraid now."
He went home, and he was the means of bringing all his family into the Kingdom of God. It was not he. It was God with him that did it.
You'll be afraid of nobody and of nothing if you have God holding you by the hand.
But remember!
"Without Me, ye can do nothing."
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CHAT V. "In a Railway Station."
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Pictures to Paint—6. WHAT GREAT EVENT IS THIS?
CHAT VI———
A Free Gift
"The gift of God iseternal life throughJesus Christ our Lord."(Romans 6.23)
A Free Gift
"The gift of God is eternal life throughJesus Christ our Lord."(Romans 6.23)
DON'T you like getting presents? I do. Birthdays and Christmas are always enjoyable times. We love receiving surprise presents. I remember visiting a house in the country once, and a little boy and girl of the house came into my room when my luggage was being unpacked, and eyed everything being taken out of my bag and boxes with the greatest interest. At last they could keep silent no longer.
"And what have you brought us?" they asked.
I was filled with confusion, for I had brought them nothing. I had not known of their existence. Their expectations were disappointed.
Another little boy of my acquaintance came to lunch with me one day. His mother was with him, and I think had talked to him beforehand about being on his best behaviour. I had got a toy for him to amuse himself with, and he had a very good time after lunch playing with it.
When he was going away, I told him he could take it with him. "I'll make you a present of it," I said.
To my surprise, he put his hands behind his back, and said, "Oh, no, thank you."
"Don't you want it?" I asked.
He shook his head, though he eyed it lovingly.
"I assure you, your mother will like you to have it," I said.
But nothing would induce him to take it, and he went away without it.
I fancy he was trying to be extra good. He thought it was not good manners to take a present away.
"What a silly boy!" you say.
But we often act like that with God. And it is such a pity, for we lose so much by not stretching out our hands to take what He offers us.
We may have a present offered us, but if we won't put out our hands to take it, what is the good of it to us? And how ungrateful to the kind giver!
Sometimes people get unsuitable presents. I heard of a little girl who bought a tiny doll's tea-set, and gave it to her mother as a birthday present.
And a scholarly old bachelor uncle gave his little nephew on his seventh birthday a Latin book, "Virgil's Aeneid."
We can fancy that neither of these presents was suitable!
Now God knows exactly what we want, and He gives us everything suitable to our age and circumstances. But there is one gift that is wanted by everybody, big and small, rich and poor. Many of the gifts we get in this world, wear out, and come to an end; this one cannot come to an end. And it is the gift that God likes to give us.
Some presents cost a lot of money. This one cost Somebody His life to get, and that makes it the most valuable gift in the whole world.
In the time of slavery, there was an old negro woman who had a son whom she loved very dearly. She and he lived and worked on a sugar plantation in the West Indies, for they were both slaves. But at that time some of the slave owners would allow their slaves to purchase their freedom, and though it cost them a great deal of money, some freed themselves in this way. It was this old woman's one desire in life to work overtime, save her money, and free her son from bondage.
She did not tell him what she was doing but she worked when he was asleep—and never took any rest or holiday herself. The consequence was, she ruined her health, and after many years of this dreadfully hard laborious life, she broke down, and had to take to her bed. But by that time she had earned the money to buy the freedom of her son. She called him one night to her dying bed, and produced a canvas bag.
"Here," she said, "is money to set you free, my son. You will never be a slave any more. I have worked all my life to get it, and now I have got the money, I die in peace."
She died in her son's arms—and he felt that his freedom had cost his mother her life.
Now the gift that God offers to us all cost the Lord Jesus Christ His life, and it is only through Him—or because of Him that we can get it.
What is it?
"The Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Is not Eternal Life a tremendous gift to be offered to us? Yet we can all have it. Every one of us—great and small—rich and poor. And if we know we have it, death will not make us afraid. Our souls cannot die. Eternal life with our Saviour in Heaven. That Land of Happiness which is too glorious to be described. Who would not stretch out their hands for such a gift?
But it needs empty hands to take it. We must let everything else go, and we must take the Lord Jesus Christ for our own Saviour. It is only for His sake, and through Him, that God gives us this gift.
Take it from Him now. Thank Him with all your hearts for giving it to you, and serve Him and love Him for the rest of your lives. That is how you can show your gratitude for such a gift as this.
It is the biggest gift you could have offered to you.
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SELLING SPARROWS. Luke 12.6, 7.
Suppose you had everything you want in this world, but no life in the next?
If you were drowning, and were offered a pony, or a purse, or a house, or a bag of gold, would you be glad of such gifts? "No," you would cry; "it's my life I want. Save me."
And all the gifts that this world can give will be useless when we come to die.
God's Great Gift of Eternal Life will be what we shall want then, and if we have refused to take it all our life from His hands, how do we know that we shall receive it from Him then? God will not offer His gift for ever. It is insulting His love and goodness to refuse to take it, to despise it, to be indifferent to it now. Stretch out your hand, lay hold of Eternal Life! And you will thank God for ever and ever for His wonderful Gift.
"The wages of sin is death, but the Free Gift of God is Eternal Life."
CHAT VII———
To Be Ready
"Be ye therefore readyalso, for the Son ofMan cometh at an hourwhen ye think not."(Luke 12.40)
To Be Ready
"Be ye therefore ready also, for the Sonof Man cometh at an hour when ye thinknot."(Luke 12.40)
WHAT is it to be ready? To be prepared.
We don't like unpunctual people. Some children are always late for meals and late for school. But we lose pleasure sometimes by being late. By not being ready. Suppose a rich uncle comes to take you out for the day. He is going to take you into the country by a certain train. You are not ready when he comes for you, you lose the train, and he is so angry that he says he won't take you out at all. You lost your treat by not being ready for it.
But "ready" does not only mean being in time. If a grown up girl was going to be presented at the King and Queen's Court, she might be at the Palace in time, but if she were not suitably dressed, if she had not troubled to put on a court dress, she would not be "ready" for the presentation.
Do you remember a story in the Bible like this? There was a man who went to a palace at the King's invitation and sat down to feast with him in his common soiled working clothes. He had been offered a suitable party suit of clothes before he went into the Palace, but he refused them, and he was sent away from the banquet, and turned away in disgrace.
There are lots of stories about people coming to grief by not being ready, though they were warned beforehand.
The trouble is with most of us, that we put off getting ready till too late. It is no good to wait to get ready till the time comes. If people move from one house to another, they pack up and prepare for weeks beforehand. If you are going a journey, you don't wait to pack your box till the car is at the door. Now, our Lord warns us that one day He is returning to this world. He will surely come; but He will come when people are not expecting Him. And then in a moment, every one in the world will be separated from one another. Those that are ready will meet Him and be happy with Him for ever; those that are not ready will be sent away in disgrace and misery.
Do you remember the story of the wise and foolish Virgins. Only those who were ready went inside the bridegroom's house, the others were shut outside. When the flood came suddenly, only those who were ready went into the Ark with Noah and were saved. When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, only those who were ready to leave it escaped with their lives. And our Lord tells us the story of some servants who were left in charge of their master's house whilst he was away. The master comes back suddenly, and finds some of his servants not ready to meet him. They had been enjoying themselves and not taking care of his house. They had nothing ready for their master's return.
Jesus reminds us that He has gone away for a time, but He is really and truly coming back, and by the signs in the world, His Return is very near. Are you ready to meet Him? If He came to-day, this evening just after dark, would you be found ready?
A soldier is shot if he is on sentry duty and found sleeping at his post. Are you awake? Are you serving your absent Master as you would do if He were close to you watching all that you do or say?
Perhaps you have never tried to serve your absent master. Perhaps you say: "I don't think I am His servant at all."
It will be very sad and dreadful for you if the Lord comes back to this world before you have begun to serve Him. You are indeed not ready for His return. Won't you think about this very seriously, and determine to get "ready" as soon as you can? How can you do this?
By giving your heart to Jesus, by asking Him to forgive you all your sins, and make you His faithful and true little servant.
I can promise you from His own Word that He will answer these two prayers.
He will forgive you your sins.
He will make you His young servant, and He will help you to serve Him truly and faithfully every day till He comes.
Then you will be "ready" to meet Him.
CHAT VIII———
The UnknownVisitor
"There standeth Oneamong you, Whom yeknow not."(John 1.26)
The Unknown Visitor
"There standeth One among you, Whomye know not."(John 1.26)
SOME little time ago our popular Prince of Wales was at a Race Meeting in America, where he was almost mobbed by a rude and curious crowd. Cameras surrounded him, and at last, out of patience with the mob, he moved away, and after a time got amongst some grooms and jockeys lower down the course, where he was not recognised, and where he enjoyed a quiet time. The men with whom he talked in such a friendly fashion had little idea that they were talking to the heir of the English Throne.
He stood amongst them and they knew him not.
Now, in the world to-day, in many an English home, One much higher and more wonderful than a British Prince "stands amongst" the boys and girls in that home, and "they know Him not."
Who is He? Jesus Christ, the King of Glory.
Why does He stand there?
Waiting to be known. Waiting to be loved. Waiting to be served. He knows them. He loves them. He has served them even to laying down His life for them. All has been done that can be on His side to win their love and allegiance. Nothing, so far, has been done on their side.
He stands amongst them, and they know Him not.
Now, let us think how we get to know people.
It is not enough to know of their existence. We all know that we have a king, we hear about him, but we do not know him as our friend.
Can we know anyone if we do not see them? I think so. A little girl's father is in India, but her mother is always talking to her about him; she reads bits of his letters to her, and tells her stories of what he used to do and say when she was a tiny baby. By and by the father begins to write to his little girl, and she writes to him. She tells him all she does, and what she likes, and what she dislikes. He tells her what he is doing, and gives her advice when she wants it.
At last, after years of waiting, he comes home.
Somebody asks the girl: "Will you be shy of your father? Won't he be a stranger to you?"
"Oh, no," she says; "he and I are great chums; we've always written to each other. I love his letters, and I love him."
Now this is how we should feel about the Lord Jesus Christ. When He comes back to this world, He should be no stranger to us. We have had His letters. We can read all His beautiful words to us in the New Testament. We can do more than that little girl, we can talk to Him, instead of writing. For He stands close to us always, and He hears our faintest whisper.
Peter the Great, who ruled over Russia, was very fond of disguising himself and going amongst his peasants, and seeing their poverty, noticing who was most worthy of relief. He always won their confidence, but on one occasion a man who was out of work and wanting employment, was very rude to him.
"Go away," he said. "You are poor like ourselves, your clothes show that; we don't want your pity or your comfort. We want money and nothing else. You're no good to us at all."
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WASHING FEET. John 13.3-5.
He little knew who was standing amongst them, but later on he was told.
"Oh," he cried, "had I only known, what a lot I could have asked for!"
We can't admire a man like that, but our Lord stands amongst us to help the needy, to strengthen the weak, to comfort the sorrowful.
"Oh," you say, "I have all I want. I'm not very poor, and I'm not sad, and I'm having a pretty good time just now."
Then you don't want to know your King?
Let me tell you that when He comes back again to this world He will either be your Judge or your Friend and Saviour. Which would you like best?
If you have refused to know Him down here, when He opens the gates of Paradise, the Golden City, and you press forward with the others who are going in, He will look upon you sorrowfully, and will say:
"I never knew you. Depart from Me."
And you will be shut out.
How sad! Why not now come to Him and belong to Him? Remember, He bought you with His precious blood. He knows it is difficult to be always good. He has been a boy himself, and knows how boys get tempted. And He stands close to you, ready to help you fight your battles over your besetting sins, longing to fill your young hearts with joy and happiness, wanting to show you that a life in His service is a hundred times happier than one lived in the service of the Devil, who wants to destroy your soul.
Will you lift up your hearts, and ask Him to show Himself to you?
Here is another thought for you. You don't make friends of a stranger in a moment, but you can fall in love at sight, and then the more you talk with a person, the oftener you see them, the better you know them.
You have heard of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have read about Him, but if you really want to know Him and take Him as your best Friend, you must come to Him, pray to Him, and talk to Him often; you must read what He says in His Word, and you must try and carry out His wishes every day of your life.
Ask Him to make you know Him, love Him, and serve Him.
You cannot help loving Him when you remember that He has died for you, when you realise that He will never leave you nor fail you as long as you need His help.
Do not let it be said of you:
"There standeth One among you, Whom ye know not."
CHAT IX———
OurInheritance
"An inheritance incorruptible,and undefiled, and that fadethnot away, reserved in Heavenfor you."(1 Peter 1.4)
Our Inheritance
"An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,and that fadeth not away, reserved inHeaven for you."(1 Peter 1.4)
WHAT is an heir? A man or boy who comes into possession of a big house, or money, or property when the owner of it dies. Have you ever read a story called "Little Lord Fauntleroy?" It is about a little boy in America who came over to England and found out he was heir to an Earldom. His inheritance was a very big one.
Sometimes quite poor men suddenly come into an inheritance, for which they are utterly unfitted. I remember a story of a tramp doing this. And when he was placed in the big house which was part of his inheritance, he was miserable.
At last he came to his lawyer and said: "Look here, I'm an uneducated man, and I'm only happy amongst my own kind. The servants wait on me, but they despise and laugh at me. I sit in a library full of books—I can't understand one of them, and I'm not a reader. There's a place they call an observatory, where you're supposed to study the stars. I can't use it, for I'm ignorant of it all. There's a music room, but what is the good of piano or organ to me, when I can't play a note. There's a museum and a picture gallery. I don't care for either. I haven't been educated enough to understand them. And the big people round who come to call on me, terrify me. We haven't a thought in common. You'll have to sell the house and property, and give me the money. I'll spend it in drink and food amongst my friends."
Poor man! Don't you feel sorry for him? He wasn't able to enjoy what belonged to him, for he had not been trained in the right way.
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CHAT VII. "Think about this seriously."
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Pictures to Paint—7. WHAT NEW TESTAMENT SCENE IS THIS?
Now, boys and girls who love the Lord Jesus are all heirs to an inheritance. What does the Bible say?
That through Jesus, who died to get it for us, we have "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you."
We can't all look forward to coming into an inheritance on earth, but we can look forward to one in Heaven. It is being reserved or kept for us there. Now, if we aren't prepared in this life for that inheritance, we shall be like that poor tramp: we shall be very miserable when we get there. And that is just why God sent us into this world of trouble, and pain, and difficulty, to train us and teach us and prepare us for our inheritance.
When the old Queen Victoria, one of the best queens that has ever ruled over the British Empire, was a little girl, she was trained in every way by her mother and governesses for her inheritance. And when she was told that she might become the queen one day, she clasped her little hands and cried, "I will be good! I will be good!"
All Royal children are brought up much more strictly than you are, for they must be educated and trained for their future inheritance. They learn when quite small to please others before themselves, to put duty before pleasure, to get up early to do their lessons, to study the feelings of others, to control their tempers, and only to associate with companions chosen by their parents or teachers.
An heir to a glorious inheritance must be prepared for years for it. And God wants to prepare us for our glorious inheritance.
It is a most beautiful home in Heaven that will last for ever and ever.
Can we be sure of having this?
If we have been to Jesus to have our sins washed away, if we have held out our hands for the pardon He purchased for us on Calvary and thanked Him for it, if we are trying to serve Him day by day, then we can be sure that the inheritance will be ours. But we must ask God to train us, and when disagreeable things happen, we must not lose our temper, for they are sent to test our tempers, to make us control ourselves, and so to make us more fit for our inheritance by and by.
Boys and girls are often sent away to school, but one day they will have finished their education, and then they will come home to their father's house, and be able to take part in all that is going on there.
We are at school here being educated. By and by our education will be finished, and we shall be called home to our Father's House in Heaven, to take part in all that is going on there.
We have not worked for this inheritance. Like many earthly heirs, it came to us through the death of Someone else. Who was this?
The Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, who loved us and gave Himself for us, as we have already seen.
In the Acts of the Apostles, God sent St. Paul to the Gentiles "to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith."
You very often go up steps to a hall door, don't you? There are four steps leading up to the golden door of our inheritance.
1st. Our eyes must be opened to see we are sinners.2nd. We must be willing to leave the darkness of sin and choose the light of goodness.3rd. We must be delivered out of the power of the Devil, and come to the Lord Jesus.4th. We must receive forgiveness of our sins.
Can we do this ourselves? No, we can't take one of those steps in our own strength.
God will do it all if we ask Him.
And then we shall be at the top of the steps waiting to be let through that golden door into our glorious and beautiful inheritance.
The City Bright
THERE is a city bright;Closed are its gates to sin;Nought that defileth,Nought that defilethCan ever enter in.Saviour, I come to Thee;O Lamb of God, I pray,Cleanse me and save me,Cleanse me and save me,Wash all my sins away.Lord, make me, from this hour,Thy loving child to be,Kept by Thy power,Kept by Thy powerFrom all that grieveth Thee,—Till in the snow-white dressOf Thy redeemed I stand,Faultless and stainless,Faultless and stainless,Safe in that happy land.
Stories Illustrating Chats———
CHAT I. A Lovely Old GardenCHAT II. The Gardener and the LadyCHAT II. What the Preacher SaidCHAT III. The Big Dog and the BoyCHAT IV. Queen Victoria and the CottagerCHAT IV. The Liverpool Man and His RentCHAT IV. The Young Woman and Her MotherCHAT V. The Bully and the Little BoyCHAT V. The Shepherd Boy and the GiantCHAT V. Little David in the East of LondonCHAT VI. The Children and their VisitorCHAT VI. The Boy who Refused a PresentCHAT VI. A Mother who Got a Doll's Tea SetCHAT VI. A Bachelor Uncle's Peculiar PresentCHAT VI. The Slave Mother and her SonCHAT VII. The King and the Unwise SubjectCHAT VII. The Servants who Neglected their DutyCHAT VIII. The Prince of Wales in AmericaCHAT VIII. The Little Girl, and her Father in IndiaCHAT VIII. Peter the Great, Emperor of RussiaCHAT IX. Little Lord FauntleroyCHAT IX. A Tramp who Got a MansionCHAT IX. Queen Victoria and the Crown
Key to Coloured Pictures
FROM ORIGINAL WASH DRAWINGS BY E. FREE.———
I. The Potter—A Unique Eastern Wheel"Arise, and go down to the potter's house,and there I will cause thee to hear My words.Then I went down to the potter's house, and,behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. Andthe vessel that he made of clay was marred inthe hand of the potter; so he made it againanother vessel, as seemed good to the potter tomake it."(Jer. 18.2-4)II. A Measure of Meal—Woman working with meal"The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven,which a woman took, and hid in three measuresof meal, till the whole was leavened."(Matt. 13.33)III. Selling Sparrows—Evidently ready for offeringor cooking"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings,and not one of them is forgotten before God?But even the very hairs of your head are allnumbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of morevalue than many sparrows."(Luke 12.6, 7)IV. Washing Feet—Well-known Eastern Custom"Jesus knowing that the Father had given allthings into His hands, and that He was comefrom God, and went to God; He riseth fromsupper, and laid aside His garments; and took atowel, and girded Himself. After that He pourethwater into a bason, and began to wash thedisciples' feet, and to wipe them with thetowel wherewith He was girded."(John 13.3-5)
Key to Pictures to Paint
ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY C. B. BIRCH, A.R.A.———
I. The Passover In Egypt"And they shall take of the blood, and strikeit on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.And the blood shall be to you for a token whereye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass overyou, and the plague shall not be upon you todestroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."(Exod. 12.7, 13)II. The Firstborn Slain"And it came to pass, that at midnight theLord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on histhrone unto the firstborn of the captive that wasin the dungeon: and all the firstborn of cattle.And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and allhis servants, and all the Egyptians; and therewas a great cry in Egypt; for there was not ahouse where there was not one dead."(Exod. 12.29, 30).III. Isaac and Rebekah"And Isaac came from the way of the wellLahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.And Isaac went out to meditate in the field atthe eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw,and, behold, the camels were coming. AndRebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she sawIsaac, she lighted off the camel."(Gen. 24.62-64)IV. Young King Joash"Then they brought out the king's son, andput upon him the crown, and gave him thetestimony, and made him king. And Jehoiadaand his sons anointed him, and said, God savethe king."(2 Chron. 23.11)V. Peter at the Fire"But a certain maid beheld him as he sat bythe fire, and earnestly looked upon him, andsaid, This man was also with Him. And hedenied Him, saying, Woman, I know Him not."(Luke 22.56, 57)VI. The Rent Veil"And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gaveup the ghost. And the veil of the temple wasrent in twain from the top to the bottom."(Mark 15.37, 38).VII. Paul before Agrippa"Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thoupersuadest me to be a Christian. And Paulsaid, I would to God, that not only thou, butalso all that hear me this day, were both almost,and altogether such as I am, except these bonds."(Acts 26.28, 29)
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The Bible Pictures are from "Bagster's Bible Stories." A new handy pocket edition, containing nearly 50 Original Drawings by C. B. BIRCH, A.R.A. Very useful for children.
Key to Bible Quotations
"He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1.12).
"And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away" (Matt. 21.19).
"They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them" (Matt. 25.3).
"His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber" (Isa. 56.10).
"These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever" (2 Peter 2.17).
"I love them that love Me" (Prov. 8.17).
"And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know" (John 14.4).
"I am the Door" (John 10.9).
"Those that seek Me early shall find Me" (Prov. 8.17).
"No man cometh unto the Father but by Me" (John 14.6).
"My son, give Me thine heart, and let thine heart observe My ways" (Prov. 23.26).
"I dwell in the high and holy place" (Isa. 57.15).
"Lo, I am with you alway" (Matt. 28.20).
"I the Lord have called thee in righteousness" (Isa. 42.6).
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4.13).
"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity" (Matt. 7.23).
"John answered them, saying, I baptise with water: but there standeth One among you, whom ye know not" (John 1.26).
"To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God" (Acts 26.18).
"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth" (Rev. 21.27).