He made them too! And yet He walked along the streets like a man, as the other men did, and few of them knew that God, in their own form, was living among them. "The word was made flesh," as the Bible says, when it is speaking of Jesus, for He is called The Word; but only a few of the men that lived in Jerusalem "beheld His glory." "He came unto His own," St. John says yes, unto His own brethren and country, but they received Him not." Which of you would like to have seen Jesus walking along the streets! All of you, I am sure, and so should I. Oh, If He had been weary, or hungry, or thirsty, we would have helped Him. Yes, helped Him who made all things in heaven and in earth! Let us in our minds watch Jesus, as when He lived in Jerusalem. It is evening the sun is setting over the sea, and making the clouds in the sky all like gold. But see! What is that great building there which the setting sun makes to glitter so beautifully! O, it is the Temple! What a glorious sight! Now Jesus walks along the street towards the Temple; then He passes it, and goes down a very steep hill, down towards that valley there. He goes further down: then crosses a little brook, and then begins to climb another hill-the Mount of Olives. Is He walking towards the setting sun, or away from it? He gets to the top of the hill, then turns round, and looks upon the valley below, with its beautiful little brook; and then upon Jerusalem, with its glittering Temple. He listens to the hum of the people as they walk and talk in the streets. What is He thinking about, I wonder! Who can tell His thoughts? On He goes down the other side of the Mount of Olives, and along a lonely path. Where can He be going? I see a hill yonder, with a little village on the side of it. What a nice little village, and how many rocks there 9 all round it. That is Bethany. going there. If you look at the village, you will see a nice little cottage, with a flat roof, and on the top of it there are three persons walking about enjoying the beautiful evening. Two sisters and one brother. You can tell me their names;-Mary, Martha, Lazarus. Don't you see how they look towards the path that leads from Bethany to Jerusalem? Yes, they are all looking for Jesus. Do they expect Him? Oh, yes, He often pays them a visit, and they all love Him dearly. Look? Mary sees Him, - Martha hastens down to meet Him, and she brings Jesus to the house-top, to walk about and talk with them. Oh, how happy they are that Jesus is with them: look how they all smile and are so pleased! And Jesus is pleased to see them too, and He smiles. What are they talking about? I cannot tell you for certain, but I dare say they are talking about God, and the angels and heaven: for Jesus has seen them all, and knows all about them, for He came down from heaven. And many such evenings did Jesus spend there, sometimes on the housetop, when the hills and fields were green and beautiful in the spring; and sometimes by the fire-side, when the night was cold and dark. Often would He leave the busy and noisy city of Jerusalem to spend a few happy hours with His three beloved friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, in the quiet village of Bethany. Wouldn't you like to have been with them? Yes, you would;-and one day, if you love Jesus and do what He would like you to do, you will see Him, and Mary and Martha and Lazarus too, in a more beautiful place than Bethany, or even than Jerusalem, -in heaven! Now we will sing a little hymn: Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, Suffer me to come to Thee! Fain would I to Thee be brought; J. S. "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle.”—Job vii. 6. Draw the attention of the children to any articles of dress;-the materials are various, as silk, cloth, cotton, linen, but they all have the common property of being woven. Weaving, in our own time and country, is carried on by powerful and complicated machinery, which imitates the motions of weaving by hand; but even now, in the East, as in the time of Job, weaving is entirely a work of manual kbor. Picture out the Eastern weaver. He sits on the ground, or sometimes in a little hole dug before his loom, which is constructed of large pieces of wood; one is above his head, and one rests nearly on his knees. (The children may remember that Goliath's spear was "like a weaver's beam.") Between them are stretched a number of threads, called "the warp." He is very busy, swiftly passing a little piece of wood from side to side, under and over every other thread of the warp; these Cross-threads are called the woof, and this piece of wood or "shuttle" is something like a little boat filled with thread. He passes it continually to and fro, adding one thread at a time, to the length of the piece or "web." When he ceases passing the shuttle, and the thread it contains is cut off, the piece is completed. All the knots or stains in the thread show in the piece; he is working very quickly, and perhaps he does not observe them. It is only when he looks at the finished work that he sees them; but then it is too late, for they are woven into the piece and cannot be taken out. And even if there is no glaring faults, the whole piece looks very brown and dirty; it must be washed and cleansed before it can be fit for use. APPLICATION. -There is something which we are all weaving; it is the web of life. The weaver has many materials, so are men's lives different; some are rich and some poor, some are placed in high ranks and station, others are lowly. But they all have this in common-that they are passing rapidly away; cach day adds to the sum of those which are gone before, and brings life nearer its end; for the web is always being woven. The weaver's progress is by little threads; so our life is made up of little actions which we weave, with each hour and each day, into the whole piece. And all our words and thoughts and feelings are also like little threads which are wrought into the web. The weaver's work may be long or short, so may our life. Hezekiah, when he thought he was about to die, said, "I have cut off like a weaver my life." The weaver should be careful, for all the faults in his thread will show when his work is done; we, too, must be careful as we weave the the web of life. Truthful words, holy and happy thoughts, kind feelings-these are what we should try to work into the web. We must watch over little sins; we may forget and pass them over in our haste, or think we shall see and hear no more of them; but even what we think "little sins," will find us out. They are all seen by the eye of our Father above. Nor can we recall them; they are woven into our lives. The stained thread which, as we thought, would not show, makes a dark mark in the piece; and we cannot take it away. And though we might not seem to have interwoven great faults with our life, yet even our holiest thoughts and actions would all be sadly stained; there would be many flaws in the best thread. The Bible tells us that "all our righteousness is as filthy rags." We must be washed and cleansed from all our sins; and there is only One who can take them away, -even our Saviour, who has loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. We should learn then from this the swiftness of life; that yet it is not to be idly passed, for we must ever be doing something, like the weaver with his shuttle. We should learn to watch over our little actions; and remember that though the web of life is being quickly woven, yet if cleansed in the only fountain which can wash its stains away, we shall only the sooner become "meet for the Master's use LETTER TO PUPIL TEACHERS. No. V. which I feared would prevent him from ever commanding attention in a large School. "I difier from you there,' was the reply, "for I should consider it one of his greatest advantages. A young man of ordinary abilities can be taught, without much difficulty, the art of managing a School, and making the children attentive to him, and the lower his tone of voice, the greater the distinctly heard; but you can hardly ever soften down a loud, blustering fellow, and make him a kind and gentle teacher who will win the affections of the children, and really have influence in the School." I feel convinced that he was right in this, and would strongly recommend all who wish to be efficient teachers of the young, to take pains in softening down any roughness of manner that may be natural to them, and while careful to maintain order, (for that is absolutely necessary), to do it by quiet firmness, rather than by a loud voice, and authoritative tone. At the same time, avoid affectation; do not put on any appearance of kindness and gentleness which is not natural to you; but if you really love and feel an interest in the children, it will be natural for you to show that affection; while the cold reserve and distant sternness, and pompous manner, which are to be My dear young Friends. The next point that I would wish to bring before you is gentleness of manner, -the same thing may be done in very different ways. Of two persons, both equally securing obedience to certain rules laid down, the one may so win the sympathy of those who are to obey as to make their obedience a pleasure to them, while the other may so call forth their feelings of opposition by his dis-order that must be kept for him to be agreeable manner, as to render it in the highest degree irksome. It is possible that the latter may be in reality the kindest man of the two, but there is something in a rough and stern manner which is naturally repulsive to all, and which, (even if it does not give pain, or excite disgust), yet checks the warm feeling of affectionate confidence which ought ever to exist between the teacher and the taught. Now it is just in the first few years of your being teachers that you are getting into the manner and way of teaching that will probably distinguish you as long as you live. By diligent study you may afterwards acquire fresh knowledge; you may be daily adding to your stock of materials; and by increased experience, may be far better able to conduct a School; but there is nothing more difficult than to improve in manner, or to correct a bad habit which has once become your own. Be careful then at first; avoid every-seen in some masters, are really put on thing that is harsh, and rough, and imperious, and try to acquire a gentle and quiet way of teaching. Be firm, but yet kind; speak in a soft and gentle tone of voice, and never fall into the mistake that it is necessary to be loud and harsh in order that your authority may be felt. I remember once conversing with very experienced Trainer, about a young man who wished to become a Schoolmaster, and regretting that he had so weak a voice, a by those whose hearts are not in the work, being considered necessary in order to maintain their authority. If you do not love the children, but look upon them as troublesome creatures that you have to be teazed with for six hours every day, then you may be quite sure that you are not fitted to become a Teacher, and the sooner you give up an office so unsuited to your taste, the better. But I am writing to those who take a delight in teaching, |