Scripture histories for little children / by the author of "Mamma's Bible stories" ; with sixteen illustrations by John Gilbert

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JOSEPH SOLD TO THE MERCHANTS.

SCRIPTURE HISTORIES

LITTLE CHILDKEN.

BY THE AUTHOR OV

"MAMMA'S BIBLE STORIES."

SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN GILBERT.

NEW-TOEK :
EVANS AND DIOKERSON,

697 BROADWAY.
1854.

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PRINTER AND STEREOTYPES,

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CHAPTER I.

Joseph in his Coat of Many Coloues — Wanders in Search
of his Brothers — They put him into the Pit — Sell him
to some Merchantmen.

HERE are many beautiful stories in
the Bible. One of the most beauti-
ful of them is the story of Joseph.
Joseph's father's name was Jacob.
Jacob had twelve sons; and Joseph was
the youngest but one. He was a good and
dutiful boy, and his father loved him very
much. He gave him a coat of many colours
to wear ; and this made his brothers jealous.
They thought their father loved Joseph more

2 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

than he loved them; and this made them
feel angry and unkind. One day the ten
brothers were among the mountains, some
way from home, taking care of their father's
flocks, for they were shepherds. Joseph,
and his little brother Benjamin, the youngest
of the twelve sons, were left at home. Jacob
told Joseph he wished he would go and see
after his brothers, and bring him word where
they were, and how they were going on. Like
a good and obedient son, he set off directly,
wearing his coat of many colours. After he
had wandered about in the fields for some
time, he met a man, and the man asked him
whom he was looking for ; and Joseph said
he was looking for his brothers. Then the
man told him which way they were gone ;
and Joseph went in search of them, as his
father had bid him.
When Joseph's brothers saw him at a dis-

JOSEPH IS PUT INTO THE PIT. 6

tance coming towards them, they were vexed
and angry. Perhaps they thought he was only
coming to see what they were about, and that
he would go back and tell their father some
tales about them. If they had been kind
brothers, they would have been glad to see
Joseph, as he had come more than fifty miles,
and had taken so much trouble to find them.
But instead of being kind, they began to say
to each other, " What shall we do with him?
Let us kill him, and then tell our father that
a wild beast has torn him to pieces ; and as
'he is so far off, he will never know." But
Eeuben, the eldest of the brothers, said, " No.
Do not let us kill him with our own hands,
but let us put him into this pit." For there
was a deep pit in the middle of the wide
common. But there was no water in the pit.
Reuben was not quite so cruel as the others,
and he, perhaps, meant to take Joseph out

4: THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

of the pit and send him back to his father
again, when his brothers were gone away.
So, as soon as Joseph reached the place where
they were, they caught hold of him . roughly,
pulled off the coat of many colours, which his
father had given him, and without minding
his cries and tears, bound cords round his
hands and feet, and threw him down into the
dark dismal pit. Poor Joseph ! how it must
have grieved him to think he should never
see his dear father again ! and how cold and
hungry he must have felt ! Brothers and
sisters ought to love each other, and to try
to make each other happy, instead of being
cruel and unkind, like Joseph's naughty
brothers.

Soon after the brothers had done this cruel
thing to poor Joseph, Reuben went away, and
the rest sat down on the grass a little way
off to eat their dinner, How sad it was that

JOSEPH SOLD TO THE MERCHANTS. O

they could eat and drink and be happy, when
they knew their poor brother was left to
starve in the pit ! Whilst they were eating
their dinner, they saw a great many people
coming along the road. These people were
called merchants. They were riding upon
camels, and were going down into Egypt.
Some of the camels were laden with spices,
and balm, and myrrh, which the merchants
were going to sell.

As soon as Joseph's brothers saw the
camels and merchants coming in sight, one
of them, named Judah, said to the others,
"How much better it would be to take Joseph
out of the pit, and to let these men give us
some money for him, and then take him away
with them!" The other brothers said, "Yes;
it would be a very good plan to sell Joseph."
So they called to the men, and asked them if
they would buy a young lad. The men said,

6 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

"Yes." Then the cruel brothers went and
drew Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to
the merchants for twenty pieces of silver, and
the merchants put Joseph on one of the
camels, and took him away with them to be
their slave or servant. Poor fellow ! how
sorrowful he must have felt to be sent so far
away from his own happy home, where he
used to live when he was a little boy ; and
from his father and his dear brother Ben-
jamin ! After the camels were gone, Reuben,
the eldest brother, came back to the pit,
meaning most likely to help Joseph out ; but
what was his surprise and alarm when he
found the pit empty. He said, " Oh ! what
shall I do ? The child is not ; and I, whither
shall I go ?" Then he began to cry, and was
afraid of going home, because he could not
bear to see his poor father. The other
brothers, in the mean time, had thought of a

GRIEF OF JOSEPH S FATHER. i

plan to deceive good old Jacob. They went
and killed a kid, and dipped poor Joseph's
pretty coat in its blood, and then carried it
home to their father. Thus they were not-
only cruel but deceitful. They pretended
that some wild beast had killed their brother
Joseph ; and when their father Jacob saw the
coat, his heart was almost broken with grief.
He cried very much, just as your papa and
mamma would have cried if they had lost one
of their dear children ; but the naughty, cruel,
unkind brothers did not tell him what had
become of Joseph.

&

CHAPTER II.

Joseph is taken to Egypt — Sold to a Rich Man — He is put
in Prison — He Explains the King's Dream — The King
makes Joseph a Ruler over the Land.

00R Joseph ! where is he now ?
He is far away from his dear
Father. The merchantmen are taking
him down to Egypt, to sell him as a
slave. He is very sorrowful and un-
happy. He had a long way to go on
the camels ; and it was many, many days
before the merchants got down to Egypt;
but when they did get there, they sold
Joseph to a rich man who lived in that coun-
try to be his servant. This rich man was a
kind man, and a kind master to Joseph. He
did not send him to work in the fields, as he
did many of his poor slaves, but he made him

JOSEPH IS PUT INTO PRISON. 9

a servant in the house, and told him to take
care of the house and gardens and every thing-
else. Joseph took great pains to please his
master, and for some time all went on well,
though he must often have wept, when he
thought of his dear aged father, and of his
cruel brothers. At last, however, without
any good reason, Joseph's master became
angry with him, very angry indeed, and he
bound him in chains and put him into prison.
A prison is a dark gloomy place with very
small windows, and bars of iron before the
windows, and iron gates and bolts. The man
who kept the keys of the prison was called
the keeper. God put it into this keeper's
heart to be kind to Joseph, and Joseph
behaved so well that the keeper soon took
off his chains, and allowed him to walk about
where he liked, and to take care of the other
prisoners.

10 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

v

After poor Joseph had been for some years
in prison, the king of the country had a
wonderful dream, and he tried to find some
one who could tell him what it meant. God
was pleased at that time sometimes to make
his will known by means of dreams. Some
one told the king that there was a young man
in the prison who could explain dreams ; and
the king said, " Let him be sent for." So
the servants came to the prison, and said to
the keeper, " We are come to fetch the young
man Joseph. The king desires to speak to
him." Joseph must have been glad when he
heard this. He was dressed in poor shabby
clothes not fit for a king to see, but the
servants gave him some neat clothes to put on
before they brought him to the king. When
he came into the king's house, the king said,
" I hear that you can tell the meaning of
dreams." Then he told Joseph his two

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JOSEPH IN PRISON.

» . , ' ' ' :

hkioif odwmsi

•

JOSEPH IS MADE RULER. 11

dreams, and God helped Joseph to explain
them to him. Joseph told the king that
there would soon be a great famine in the
land — that there would be no corn to make
bread of, — and that the people would become
hungry, very hungry indeed, because they
would have nothing to eat. Joseph then told
the king that he had better look out for a
very wise man who would save up the corn
and put it into large barns, so as to have a
store of food for the people against the time
of famine came. And the king was so much
pleased with what Joseph said, and thought
him so wise and clever, that he said to his
servants, " Where can I find a man who will
do so well as Joseph ? Joseph shall be ruler
over the land, and shall be the greatest man
in the country, except myself." Then the king
took a ring off his own finger and put it upon
Joseph's finger; and he gave him beautiful

12 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

clothes to wear, and put a gold chain about
his neck. He also gave him a fine chariot to
ride in, and desired the people to bow down
when they saw Joseph's chariot coming.
Thus he was made a great lord, and ruler over
all the land of Egypt. Through all his trou-
bles God took care of him, for he loved, feared,
and obeyed his heavenly Father.

CHAPTER III.

Joseph's Brothers come into Egypt to buy Corn — They do
not know Joseph — Joseph tells them to bring Benjamin
— Joseph's Cup is Found in Benjamin's Sack — Joseph tells
his Brothers who he is.

v 0"W glad Joseph must have felt to
be taken out of that dark, dismal
prison! The first thing he did,
when he was made ruler of the land,
was to order large barns to be
built, and large stores of corn to
be laid by, that when the hour
of famine came, people might have some-
thing to eat. For seven years the corn
went on growing, but after that time scarcely
any corn grew. It was soon known that
the ruler of the land of Egypt had plenty

14 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

of corn in his barns, and great numbers of
people came to him to buy food for themselves
and families. Among the rest came ten men
riding upon asses. Each of them had an ass,
and on the ass an empty sack, and in their
hands they brought money. Who could these
ten men be ? They were Joseph's brothers —
those very brothers who had sold him to the
merchants so many years ago for twenty
pieces of silver. When Joseph saw them, he
knew them directly, but they did not know
him, for he did not look as he used to do.
He was older, and he was dressed in grand
clothes, very unlike those he used to wear
when he was a shepherd-boy, or even the
coat of many colours. He was not unkind
to his brothers, as he might have been. JSTo ;
he liked better to return good for evil. You
know that Jesus has told us to love our
enemies, to do good to them that hate us, and

JOSEPH SENDS FOR BENJAMIN. 15

to pray for those who treat us unkindly.
Joseph felt ready and willing to forgive his
brothers for all their unkindness ; but he
wished to see whether they were sorry for
what they had done, and whether they loved
their father and their younger brother Benja-
min. So he spoke roughly to them, and said,
" Where do you come from T Then they told
him they were ten poor brothers come down
from the land of Canaan to buy food. They
told him also that their father was an old man,
and that they had one little brother left at
home. Joseph, in order to try what they
would do, told them to go back and fetch this
little brother ; for they should not have any
more corn, he said, unless they brought Ben-
jamin with them. The brothers were very
much grieved when they heard what the ruler
of the land said, for they knew their father
would not like to spare his dear child, and

16 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

they knew also that they must all be starved
when the corn was gone, if they could not
get any more. With sorrowful hearts they
set off on their journey home ; for Joseph
would not allow Simeon to return with them.
He kept him back, to see how the brothers
would behave.

When the brothers arrived at home and
opened their sacks, they were much surprised
to find the money, which they had taken with
them to pay for the corn, put into each of
their sacks; and Jacob, their father, was
greatly grieved to find that Simeon was left
behind. All these things puzzled them
much. At last, however, the corn they had
brought back from Egypt was eaten, and
they were so badly off for food that they did
not know what to do. Jacob wished his
sons to go down into Egypt again without
taking their youngest brother with them ; but

JOSEPH S JOY ON SEEING BENJAMIN. 17

they said they were quite sure it would be
of no use, as the ruler of the country had told
them they should have no more corn unless
they brought Benjamin with them. Their
father gave his consent at last, though he
was greatly grieved to do so, and very sorry
to part with his dear boy ; but he knew they
would all be starved if they could procure
no more corn. When Joseph saw his bro-
thers coming back again, bringing little
Benjamin with them, he was so glad to see
him once more, that he could hardly help
crying for joy. Then he asked them if their
father were alive and well. They said,
"Thy servant our father is in good health,
he is yet alive:" and they gave him the pre-
sent of nuts and almonds, which they had
picked from the trees in Canaan, and honey
that the bees had made, and some sweet
smelling balm and myrrh, and some spices

2

18 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

which they had brought with them. They
gave him back also the money which they
thought had been put by mistake into their
sacks when they went home before. Joseph
told his servants to put some dinner ready
for the men ; and the servants told them that
the dinner would be ready at twelve o'clock.
While they were waiting, the servants
brought them water to wash their feet, and
gave them some food for their poor tired
asses. Twelve o'clock came. The men sat
down to their dinner. There were three
tables in the room. Joseph sat at one
table. The eleven brothers sat at another,
and Joseph's servants at the third. The
brothers were very much surprised when
they found they were seated according to
their age, and they wondered how Joseph
could know which was the eldest and which
was the youngest, as they had not told him.

THE CUP FOUND IN BENJAMIN'S SACK. 19

Five times more dinner was sent to Benjamin
than to the other brothers. All this seemed
very curious ; still the brothers did not find
out who Joseph was.

The next morning, as soon as it was light,
they set off on their way home. Their asses
were laden with sacks full of corn. Simeon
and Benjamin were with them, and they felt
quite pleased and happy. But, alas! their
joy did not last long. Soon they heard some
one running behind them. They looked back
and saw that it was one of Joseph's servants.
"Stop, stop," said he, "why have you be-
haved so badly to my master ? Why have
you taken away the silver cup?" The men
were quite surprised, and could not think
what the servant meant, "I must look into
your sacks," said he, " and I must keep as a
slave the man in whose sack the silver cup
shall be found." So they took all their sacks

20 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

off their donkeys and opened every one of
them in turn. Keuben, the eldest, opened
his first, but no cup was to be found. Then
the second opened his sack, but there was
no cup hid among the corn. Then the third
opened his, and so on each brother in his
turn. At last they came to Benjamin's sack.
How great must have been their surprise and
dismay when they spied the silver cup ! The
servant said, "You must come to my lord.
You must be a slave. You must not go back
to your father's house."

Joseph had done this to try what the
brothers would do. He wished to see
whether they were grown kinder in their
feelings towards their aged father and their
little brother than they used to be. They
said directly that if Benjamin were to go
back, they would go back with him. They
would not return home without him, for it

1 "V; ' ' fj^S?1 . t

iff fi V*T*V

THE CUP FOUND IN HENJAMIN'S SACK

J

JOSEPH PROVES HIS BRETHREN. 21

would break their father's heart to lose his
clear Benjamin. So Joseph's servants let
them go back to Egypt.

Joseph was in the house waiting for them.
He was very glad to see them all come back
with Benjamin, and to find they were all
crying lest poor Benjamin should be kept for
a slave, as it shewed that they were become
much kinder than they were when they sold
him to the merchants some years before.
When the men saw Joseph they bowed down
their faces to the ground. Joseph spoke to
them as though he was angry, and asked
them why they had stolen his silver cup ?
and he said he must keep Benjamin for a
slave, because the cup was found in his sack.
Judah knew it would be of no use to say
that Benjamin had not stolen the cup, but he
began to beg Joseph not to keep his little
brother for a slave. He said he would rather

22 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

be kept for a slave himself than that Benja-
min should be kept, because it would be, he
said, such a grief to his father to lose his
favourite boy. When Joseph heard Judah
speak thus, he felt ready to burst into tears,
and could no longer conceal his feelings. He
therefore told all the servants to go out of
the room, that he might be left alone with
his brothers. His heart was quite full, and
he could not help crying aloud, while he said
to them, "I am Joseph. Is my father yet
alive ?" Were the brothers full of joy when
they heard this ? No : they were frightened.
They could not speak a word. They dared
not come near him. Joseph did not wish to
alarm them. He longed to put his arms
round their necks and kiss them. So he
called them to him one after the other, be-
ginning with Benjamin, and kissed them and
spoke very kindly to them. Then the

RECONCILIATION. 23

brothers did not feel afraid any longer, but
began to talk to him. What a happy sight
it must have been! How happy Joseph
must have felt to see that his brothers were
sorry for their past sins, and to think he
should perhaps see his dear aged father
again !

CHAPTER IV.

Joseph's Father comes down to Egtpt to see him — Joseph

GOES OUT IN HIS CHARIOT TO MEET HIS FATHER He PRESENTS

him to the King.

JSTD did Joseph really ever see his
dear father again? You shall
hear. When he sent his servants
out of the room, while he made
himself known to his brothers, he cried so
loud that the servants, who were standing
outside the door, heard him, and soon they
knew that he had found his brothers. Then
there was a great deal of talk about it,
and before long it came to the ears of the
king, and the king was glad, for he was fond
of Joseph; and he called Joseph, and said
to him, "Your brothers must come and live
near you, and their wives and their little

JOSEPH SENDS FOR HIS FATHER. 25

children must come, and your father must
come, and they shall have the best food in
all the land to eat, and every thing they
want to make them happy. Send wagons
to fetch them. Give them food to eat on the
journey, and let them come down to Egypt."
Then Joseph ordered the wagons to be got
ready, as the king had said, and he gave
them handsome presents to take with them.
He gave them each two suits of clothes, but
to Benjamin he gave five suits, besides three
hundred pieces of silver. He also sent
a present to his father, — ten donkeys
carrying all kinds of nice things, and ten
asses more laden with corn, and bread and
meat, for his father to eat on the journey.
When all the things were ready, Joseph took
leave of his brothers, telling them to come
back as soon as they could. He told them
also not to quarrel by the way. It would

26 THE HISTORY OP JOSEPH.

have been very sad and very ungrateful if
they had done so, after all God's goodness to
them.

How surprised good old Jacob must have
been when he saw his sons coming back
with the wagons and the asses! Yes; he
had been watching for them ; and when he
saw that they were all safe, and that Benja-
min was really with them, he felt very glad.
Soon they told him the joyful news, that
Joseph, his dear Joseph, his long-lost son,
was yet alive, and that he was the great lord
who sold corn in the land of Egypt. But
Jacob could not believe it. It was more
than twenty years since his dear boy had
been lost; and he thought what his sons
said could not be true. Then they told him
of all that had happened to them, and shewed
him the asses laden with presents, and the
wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him

JOSEPH MEETING HIS FATHER.

JOSEPH GOES OUT IN UTS CHARIOT. 27

and his children and grandchildren. When
good old Jacob saw the wagons, he did be-
lieve, and he said, "It is enough. Joseph
my son is yet alive. I will go and see him
before I die." How Ml of grateful joy the
heart of this good old man must have been,
when they set out on their long journey !
He rode in one wagon, and some of the little
children and their mothers rode in another,
and some in another, and so on. All the
wagons were filled. How delighted the little
children must have been when they set off
on their journey to see their grandfather !

At last they reached tfye land of Egypt,
Long before they got to Joseph's house they
saw a fine chariot coming towards them,
Who was in it? It was Joseph, — Joseph
coming to meet his father. Then the wagon
that good old Jacob was in stood still.
Jacob's hair had become grey, and he was

28 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

i

old and feeble ; but Joseph, liis beloved and
long-lost son, knew him again. He threw
his arms round his neck, and wept for a long
time. Oh, what a happy meeting it must
have been ! Jacob was glad, so glad that he
said he was now ready to die, since he had
seen his own dear son once more.

Almost the first thing that Joseph did
after he had seen his father, was to go to the
king, and to tell him that he was come. He
took five of his brothers with him. When
the king saw them, he asked them what their
employment was, and they told him they
were shepherds, but that there was no grass
in their country for the cattle, for the famine
was sore in the land. The king very kindly
said he would give them a great many fields
in the land of Goshen, where the pastures
were finest, and that they should dwell there

JACOB BLESSES THE KING. 29

with their flocks, and their wives, and their
children. Then Joseph went and fetched his
aged father, and brought him also to the
king; and when good old Jacob saw the
king of Egypt, he put his hands on his head
and blessed him, because he had been so
kind to his dear son Joseph. And the king
said, "How old are you?" And Jacob told
the king that he was one hundred and thirty
years old, and that he had had many troubles
to pass through; but that God had been
very good to him, and had blessed him, and
kept him during his long life. Then the
king told Joseph to let his aged father live
in the land of Goshen, with all his children
and grandchildren round him. And thus
they lived very happily together till good old
Jacob died. And now both Jacob and
Joseph are, no doubt, praising God together

30 THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

in heaven, and thanking him for the good-
ness and mercy which followed them all the
days of their life whilst on earth.

t\i Jtarg of IJJflses.

CHAPTER I.

Moses is put into a Little Ark of Bulrushes — The King's
Daughter finds him — Moses leaves Pharaoh's Court —
He becomes a Shepherd.

OU have heard the history of
Joseph : — of his being sold by his
cruel brothers, and sent away on
the camels, and carried down into
Egypt. Yes. You have heard of
his being put into prison there, and then of
his being brought before the king, and of the
king's kindness to him, when he put a ring
on his finger and a gold chain round his
neck, and made him ruler over the land of

32 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

Egypt. Yes. You have heard that there
was a great famine in Canaan, the land
where Joseph lived when he was a boy, as
Avell as in Egypt ; but that God foretold him
that this famine was coming, and that he
built barns and storehouses, and laid up a
great deal of corn against the time when the
famine came. Yes. You have heard that
among the people who came down into
Egypt to buy corn, Joseph's brothers came
— those very brothers who had, many years
before, so cruelly sold him. Yes. You have
heard too that Joseph sent them back to
fetch their aged father, Jacob, that he might
live with them in Egypt ; and that good old
Jacob came, and that they lived all happily
together during the rest of their lives. Yes :
we have heard all this ; but we should like
to know what became of Joseph's children
after Joseph, was dead. Was the king who

THE ARK OF BULRUSHES. 33

was so kind to him, kind to his children
also?

The king who had been so kind to Joseph
died, and then another king came in his
place; but he was very unkind to the
Israelites, and he said that all their little
boys should be drowned in the river Mle.
The Mle is a large wide river, which flows
through the land of Egypt. What sorrow
and trouble the poor people must have been
in, when they heard of the king's cruel order !
There was one poor woman who had a dear
little baby whom she hid for about three
months. When this poor woman found she
could no longer hide her baby, she made a
little cradle or ark of bulrushes, and put him
in it, and placed it by the river-side, among
the tall long flag-leaves that grew there.
She believed that God would take care of
her darling babe, and so He did. This is

34: THE HISTORY OF MOSES,

the picture of liim in his little ark. The
water could not get in, for it was covered
with slime and pitch to keep it out.

When the poor woman I was telling you
about had put her dear little baby in the
ark, and hid it among the tall leaves by the
river side, she went away. As she dared
not stay herself, however, she told her little
girl, Miriam, to stand a little way off and
watch what became of the baby. This little
girl was about ten years old. No doubt she
dearly loved her baby-brother, and perhaps
she prayed to God that he would take care
of him. Brothers and sisters ought always
to pray for each other.

King Pharaoh's daughter often came down
to the river side to wash herself in the river.
This lady was called a princess, because she
was the king's daughter. Very soon after
little Miriam had been placed to watch, the

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IMIARAOI. S DAWU1ITKK AND TIIB INKANT MUSKS.

THE ARK IS FOUND. 35

princess came down to the river side. She
walked along the banks of the river, and her
maids walked with her. Presently she spied
something among the flag-leaves. It looked
like a small cradle with a covering upon it.
The princess stood still, and desired one of
her maids to fetch it. They took off the
covering, and there they saw the sweet babe
— it held out its little hands and cried —
perhaps it was cold — perhaps it was hungry
— it wanted its own mamma, though it could
not speak to say so. When the princess
heard it cry, she was sorry for it, and said,
" It must be one of the Israelites' children."
The little girl Miriam now ran up to the
princess and said, "Shall I go and call a
nurse, that she may come and nurse the child
for you?" And the princess said she might.
To whom did the little girl go, do you
think ? To his own mamma. Oh, yes : and

36 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

how pleased she must have been to run and
call her mother to come and nurse her own
dear baby ! How thankful the poor mother
must have felt too, that her dear little one
was safe — that it was not carried away by
the waters of the Nile, or eaten by the croco-
diles that bask upon its shores.

Did the princess know that little Miriam
fetched the baby's own mother? I think
not ; for she told her to take the child and
nurse it for her, and said she would pay her
for doing so. She meant, as soon as he was
old enough, to bring him up at the palace,
and adopt him as her own son.

So Jochebed, for that was the woman's
name, took the dear little baby in her arms,
and carried him home ; and often no doubt,
as she hushed him to sleep, or watched his
playful smiles, she thanked the great God
for his goodness in preserving her dear

MOSES IS TAKEN TO THE PALACE. 37

child ; — perhaps too she prayed that God
would make him his own child for ever.
Pious parents pray for their children. There
is nothing that they long for half so much as
for their children to love God, and to be
brought up in his holy ways.

When the little boy was three or four years
old, his mother took him to the king's palace
for the princess to see him ; and the princess
liked him very much, and she called his
name Moses, because she drew him out of
the water. The word Moses means drawn
out

Did little Moses live at the king's palace ?
Yes ; he lived there until he became a young
man, and he did not then forget his heavenly
Father, who had watched over and guarded
him from danger in his little cradle. Al-
though the princess herself was very kind
to Moses, it made him sad to see how cruelly

38 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

his brethren, the poor Israelites, were treated,
and how hard they were made to work ; and
he often wished they could go back to Ca-
naan, their own happy country. The people
of Egypt knew nothing of the true God, but
worshipped idols that could do them no
good. The people of Canaan were followers
of the true God.

Now, one day as Moses went out to see
his brethren at their hard work, he saw an
Egyptian smiting one of his brethren. This
made Moses very angry ; so he looked to see
if any one else was near, and not seeing any
body, he slew the Egyptian, and hid the
body in the sand. The next day, whilst
Moses was out, he saw two of his brethren
quarrelling. This made him very sorry, and
he spoke to the one that was in the wrong.
This man did not like Moses to correct him,
and he asked him who made him a ruler

MOSES FLEES FROM THE COURT. 39

over them, and if he wanted to kill him as
he did the Egyptian ? Moses did not think
that any one knew about this, so it made
him afraid, for he knew that when the
wicked king heard of it that he would slay
him ; so he resolved to go away and leave all
the grandeur and riches of the king's court.
One day, soon after Moses had left king
Pharaoh's palace, he sat down by the side
of a well ; and while he was sitting there,
seven young girls came down to the well to
draw water to water their father's flocks ; for
in that country it was a common practice for
women to do such things. Stone troughs
were placed round the well for the cattle to
drink out of. Just as the girls had filled the
troughs with water, some rude shepherds
came down and drove them away. I sup-
pose they wished their own sheep to drink
the water, for in that hot and sandy country

40 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

k

water is scarce. When Moses saw the shep-
herds so unkind to the young girls, he got
up and drew some more water for their flocks.
They were very thankful to him for his kind-
ness ; and when they returned to their father,
he asked them how it was they were come
home so soon. Then the girls said that a
man, whom they found sitting by the side
of the well, had sent the rude shepherds
away, and had drawn water and watered
their sheep for them. When their father
heard this he was pleased, and said, " Where
is the man ? Why have you left him ? Go
and find him, and ask him to come to my
house, and dine with me to-day." Then the
girls went back and found Moses, and he
came home and lived many years with their
father; and at last Zipporah, one of the
seven girls, became his wife.

CHAPTER II.

Moses sent to tell the King to let the Israelites go —
King Pharaoh is drowned in the Eed Sea.

T must have been a great change for
Moses, after he had lived so many
years at the king's palace, to wander
as a shepherd among the mountains taking
care of sheep ; but he was very happy in
this employ, and year after year passed
away. At last the king of Egypt died, but
another king, quite as wicked, rose in his
place, and the poor Israelites were treated
as cruelly as ever. Some among them prayed
to God that he would let them go back to
their own country, and not let the cruel king
treat them so unkindly any longer. God al-
ways hears the prayers of his people, and he
heard the prayers of these poor Israelites,

42 THE HISTORY OF MOSES,

and answered them in a very wonderful
manner. I will tell you how it was.

One day as Moses, now an aged shepherd,
was taking care of his flock in the lonely
valleys of Horeb, he saw a bush on fire, but
the blaze did not pass away, and the bush
was not burnt. This surprised him. He
went towards it, and soon he heard a voice
speaking to him from the midst of the bush.
It was the voice of God. God told him that
he must go to king Pharaoh and ask him to
let the people of Israel go back to their own
country, and that he must be their guide or
leader, and go before them, and shew them
the road to take, for there was a very large
wilderness or desert to be passed through.
But how did Moses know the way? God
said that he would direct him and shew him
the way. Moses felt very much afraid of
speaking to the king, for the Israelites were

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MOSES IN THE PRESENCE OF PHARAOH.

GOD PUNISHES THE EGYPTIANS. 4:3

his slaves, and worked very hard for him,
and most likely he would not choose to part
with them.

At length, however, Moses took courage
and went up to king Pharaoh, and told him
what God had said. The wicked king did
not care for the great and good God; nor
would he listen to the words of Moses. He
only answered in a very rude manner that he
did not care for what Moses said, and that
the Israelites should not go — indeed, he was
so angry about it, that he ordered the task-
masters to make them work harder than
ever.

Many, many times did Moses go up to king
Pharaoh, as God desired him, to beg him to
let the Israelites go back to their own coun-
try. But no ! He always declared they
should not go. God therefore sent many
judgments, or plagues; to punish him for his

44 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

wickedness. But his heart was very hard,
and it seemed as though nothing would move
him. At length, God sent a plague greater
than all the rest. One night the eldest child
of every family throughout the land of Egypt
suddenly died. The king was frightened
now, and he got up in a great hurry and
called for Moses, and told him the people
might go, and go directly. This was a sad
night for the people of Egypt, but a joyful
one for the Israelites. They collected to-
gether as fast as they could, and set off, even
before the morning sun shone on them.
What an immense multitude! Thousands
and thousands of people, men, women, and
children — more people than you have ever
seen together in your life. They did not
even stop to make bread for the next day,
but tied up the dough before it was baked,
and carried it on their shoulders, as well as

PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 45

whatever else they could collect. How did
Moses find the way ? God made a pillar of
a cloud go before them by day7 and a pillar
of fire by night. When the pillar moved on,
the people moved on ; and when the pillar
stood still, the people rested.

Thus they proceeded for several days. At
length they came to the sea-shore ; and then
to their great terror they found that king
Pharaoh and his soldiers were in full march
after them. What could the poor Israelites
do ? There were mountains on this side and
mountains on that side. They dared not
turn back again, and they had neither boats
nor ships to carry them across. Now, dear
children, only think of the wonderful good-
ness of God ! He made a dry path for his
people across the great sea. At his word
the waters divided, and formed, as it were,
a high wall on each side, so that the Israel-

4G THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

ites walked through the sea just as though
they had been walking on dry ground. How
happy they must have felt when they got to
the other side ! There they were safe for
ever, out of the reach of the wicked king.

But what became of King Pharaoh ? You
shall hear. No sooner did he see what God
had done for the Israelites, than he thought
that he and his soldiers might also cross the
Red Sea. They began to do so — horses and
horsemen — chariots and people, with King
Pharaoh at their head. And what happen-
ed? God spoke the word, and at his com-
mand the mighty waters rushed down upon
them, just as they had reached the middle of
the sea, and thus that cruel king and all his
host were overthrown and drowned, and
punished for their wickedness.

How glad the people of Israel must have
been when they got to the other side of the

MIRIAM S SONG OF PRATSE.

47

sea, quite out of King Pharaoh's reach!
Yes : they were indeed glad. Miriam, the
sister of Moses, took a musical instrument,
called a timbrel, in her hand, and sang
praises to God for his goodness ; and a great
many people joined her in singing this song
of praise.

CHAPTER III.

The Israelites travel in the Wilderness — They are fed by
God with Manna — God gives them Water from a Dry
Rock.

FTER they had crossed the Red Sea
^in the wonderful manner of which I
have just told you, the Israelites
wandered for a long time through
the wilderness. A wilderness is like a very
large, wild-looking plain, where there are
neither trees nor houses. At length all the
food they had brought with them from Egypt
was gone, and they began to get very hun-
gry. What could they do ? There were no
barns full of corn in the desert; no shops
where they could buy bread. They began to
be impatient, and to find fault with Moses ;
and they even went so far as to tell him that
they wished he had left them in Egypt, in-

GOD PROVIDES FOOD. 49

stead of bringing them up into the wilder-
ness to die of hunger. This was very un-
grateful of the people after all the kindness
they had received from him. But God was
so good to them in the midst of their dis-
tress, that he told Moses he would rain bread
from heaven for them to eat, and give them
quails for food.

There were, as I said, no houses or inns in
the wilderness; but when the people had
gone as far as they could for the day, they
put up tents to sleep and rest in at night.
The tents were made of poles, with curtains
thrown over them, and a number of these
tents together were called a camp. When
evening came, and while the Israelites were
resting in their camp, great numbers of
small brown birds called quails flew round
about the camp so as quite to cover it, and
so tame as to be easily caught ; and in the

50 THE HISTORY OP HOSES.

morning the Israelites found the ground over-
laid with manna. This manna looked like
hoar frost which you see upon the ground on
a winter morning. The Israelites were
quite puzzled to think what it could be, for
it tasted sweet like flour and honey. Then
Moses said, " This is the bread which the
Lord hath given you to eat:" and he bid
them gather it up and take it to their tents,
for God had sent it for their food. How glad
they must have been to hear this! Men,
women, and children went out directly, and
began to collect it. Moses told them not to
lay any by ; for God would send more as soon
as it was needed. Six days they were to
gather it ; and then, when Saturday came, they
were to pick up enough to last over Sunday,
because Sunday is God's day, and we must
not then do any work that we can help. God
always sent a double supply of manna on the

THE ISRAELITES MURMUR AT MOSES. 51

sixth day, that the people might rest on the
seventh, and keep that day holy to the Lord.

When God sent the quails and the manna,
the people of Israel had plenty of food to
eat: not for a day, or a week, or a month
only, but during the whole time of their jour-
ney through the wilderness ; for there was;
as I told you, a fresh supply of manna ready
for them every morning.

They had manna to eat ; but had they any
thing to drink ? "Were there any springs of
sweet fresh water in the desert ? No : there
were very few springs there ; and again they
murmured at Moses, and were almost ready
to stone him for having brought them up out
of Egypt. Moses again prayed to God, and
God heard his prayer. He told him to go to
a hilly part of the country, called Horeb, and
to strike a rock there, for, when he did so,
water would flow out.

52 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

Did Moses mind what God said to him ?
Yes : he went forward before the people, and
struck the rock with a rod or stick which he
held in his hand. In a moment a stream of
water gushed from the hard rock — nice, cool
water. Oh, what a joy to the poor thirsty
Israelites ! How ought they to have praised
God for so great a blessing ! When you have
been running and playing, and are tired and
thirsty, how glad you are of a draught of
fresh water ! What, then, must it have been
to these poor people after their long wander-
ings in the dry, sandy desert !

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MOSES STRIKING THE ROCK

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CHAPTER IV.

God gives Moses the Commandments — He goes up to Mount
Sinai — He makes a Tabernacle to worship God in — The
Israelites set up a Golden Calf.

HEN the Israelites had wandered
about for some months, they came
to a part of the wilderness where
there were a great many moun-
tains. Some of these mountains
were very high, so high that their tops
seemed to touch the sky and were almost
lost in the clouds. One of them was higher
than all the rest. It was called Mount Sinai.
A very wonderful event came to pass on
Mount Sinai, which I will tell you about.
When the Israelites had set up their tents
and formed their camp at the foot of this
mountain, God called Moses, and told him to

54: THE HISTORY OF MOSES,

come up to the top of the mountain, that he
might speak with him. What a great honour
put upon Moses ; thus to be called up the
mountain for God to speak to him as a friend
speaks to a friend !

None of the people went up with him.
They stopped at the bottom. They were
told not even to touch the mountain, but to
listen to all the words that God should speak,
for on the third day God would speak so
loud that all the people might hear.

What a solemn time it must have been!
When the third day came, there were thun-
ders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon
the mountain, and the voice of a trumpet so
loud that all the people in the camp trem-
bled when they heard its sound. Six hun-
dred thousand people were standing round
about the mountain at the time these events
took place, and though there was so great a

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 55

multitude, they all heard every word that
was spoken when the trumpet sounded.
These words were the Ten Commandments.
Those Commandments that we hear read in
church every Sunday morning, and which
are meant for us as much as they were for
the Israelites.

After the Ten Commandments had been
read to the people from Mount Sinai, God
gave them to Moses written on tables of
stone.

One of the Ten Commandments is, "Re-
member the Sabbath day to keep it holy ;"
but there were no churches in the wilderness
where the people could worship God when
Sunday came. God therefore told Moses he
wished him to make a large tent or taberna-
cle, which could be moved from place to
place, and where the people might meet to
pray to Him, and to sing praises to his holy

56 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

name. The two stones or tables on which
the commandments were written were also
to be kept in this tabernacle.

The tabernacle was quite different from
any thing the Israelites had ever seen before.
It did not look like a common tent. It was
covered over with planks and curtains. The
inner curtains were made of fine linen of
beautiful colours, purple, blue, and scarlet;
then curtains of goats' hair, and, lastly,
sheep-skins dyed red and blue. Each side
of the tabernacle was formed of upright
boards covered with gold, and the boards
had golden rods passed along them to fasten
them together. There were eight pillars at
one end, and beautiful crimson curtains
were thrown over them. The inside was di-
vided into two rooms. The inner room was
called the holy of holies, and the outer room
was called the holy place. The tables of

THE ISRAELITES MAKE FALSE GODS. 57

stone, on which God had written the ten
commandments with his own ringer, were
placed in a chest or box, covered with gold,
and called the ark. The ark was kept in
the little room called the holy of holies. The
tabernacle was a beautiful and glorious place,
and there Moses and the children of Israel
used to worship God.

Did all the Israelites keep the command-
ments which God gave them on Mount Sinai ?

I am sorry to say they did not. Even be-
fore Moses came down from the mountain
they broke one of them. The people had
become so tired of waiting for him, and
thought him gone so long, that they begged
Aaron, his brother, to make some gods to go
before them and lead them to the beautiful
land whither Moses had promised to take
them. Would Aaron do such a wicked thing ?
I am sorry to say he did. He told the

58 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

people to bring all their gold ear-rings to
him, the ear-rings which the women of Egypt
had given them before they set out on their
journey. Then he melted all the ear-rings
in the fire; and, when the gold was soft,
Aaron made it up into the shape of a calf,
and told the people of Israel they might pray
to this golden calf.

How great was the grief of Moses when
he came down from the mount and heard
music and singing, and found that all the
people were making a great feast, and wor-
shipping a golden calf ! He had in his hands
the two tables of stone upon which the ten
commandments were written ; but so great
was his sorrow and distress to see what the
people were doing, that he threw the stones
down upon the ground and broke them to
pieces. Then he took the golden calf which
Aaron had made, and threw it into the fire.

MOSES BREAKS THE GOLDEN CALF. 59

When it was soft, he ground it to powder and
strewed it upon the water, and made the
children of Israel drink this bitter water.
Then Moses prayed to God that he would
forgive them their great wickedness in hav-
ing made to themselves gods of gold which
could do them no good.

Do little children ever break God's com-
mandments, do you think? Yes: I fear
they do. They may not make to themselves
golden calves as the Israelites did, but when
they go to God's house of prayer, if they are
thinking of their dolls, and their playthings,
and their amusements, instead of trying to
love him, and to pray to him, is it not break-
ing the commandment which says, "Thou
shalt have no other gods before me ?"

If little children pay no attention to what
their papa and mamma say to them, or do
those things which they have told them not

60 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

to do, is it not breaking the commandment
which says, "Honour thy father and thy
mother ?"

If little children play on Sunday as they
do on other days, and forget that it is God's
holy day, is it not breaking the command-
ment which tells us to " remember to keep
holy the Sabbath day ?"

If little children tell tales of their brothers
and sisters, particularly if they tell any that
are not altogether and perfectly true, is it
not breaking the commandment which tells
us "not to bear false witness against our
neighbour ?"

If little children long to have things which
their playfellows possess, and to keep them
for their own, is it not breaking the com-
mandment which says, "Thou shalt not
covet?"

Now if we think over these things, dear

THE COMMANDMENTS ARE FOR ALL. 61

children, we shall see that we often break
the spirit of God's commands, as much as
the Israelites did when they worshipped their
golden calf. The ten commandments are
intended for us, equally with them. When
we pray, therefore, let us say, " Make me to
go in the path of thy commandments: for
therein do I delight."

CHAPTER Y.

The Spies bring Grapes from Canaan — God sends Fiery
Serpents to punish the Children of Israel.

OOK at these two men carrying a
large bunch of grapes between
>thern. Yines could not grow in
the wilderness. Where can the
two men have been to find them ?
It is quite true that the Israelites found
no vines in the wilderness, but after wander-
ing about for many years they arrived just
on the outskirts of the promised land. Moses
then sent twelve men to look at the country,
and to bring word to the rest what they
found there. They had been told that Ca-
naan was a good land — a land flowing with
milk and honey — and this was quite true;
for when the twelve men, oiw spies as they

THE SPIES RETURN WITH FRUIT. 63

were called, entered it, they found it full of
trees bearing the finest fruit, corn-fields full
of corn, and meadows of green grass and
beautiful flowers. They thought the best
way of proving to the Israelites, whom they
had left in the wilderness, what a beauti-
ful land it was, would be to carry back some
of the fruit with them. They found one
bunch of grapes so large, so very large, that
one man could not carry it by himself, so
they took a strong stick and fastened the
bunch of grapes to it, and one man held one
end of the stick across his shoulder, and the
other man held the other end, and then they
carried it back with them, as well as a great
many figs and other fruits, to the tents of
the Israelites. "Were not the Israelites very
glad to see the grapes and the fruit, as they
had had only quails and manna for so many
years ? I am sorry to say they were ungrate-

64 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

M people, and instead of being pleased,
they behaved so badly that at last God told
them that their children should go into the
beautiful land of Canaan, but that instead
of going into it themselves, they should stay
and die in the wilderness.

Did the Israelites behave any better when
they found God was so much displeased with
them ? I am sorry to say they did not. They
still murmured and complained, and were
ungrateful to Moses, and, what was worse
still, to the great and good God who had
done so much for them.

At last God sent a more dreadful punish-
ment upon the people than he had ever sent
before. He sent fiery serpents among them.
These serpents came into their tents and
twined round their arms and legs, and bit
them, so that many of them died. The
people now felt that fliey had sinned ; and

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THE BRAZEN SERPENT.

THE BRAZEN SERPENT SET UP. 65

again they came to Moses and begged him
to pray for them. He did so. Did God hear
his prayer ? Yes : God always hears the
prayers of his servants. He desired Moses
to make a large serpent of brass, and to put
it upon a high pole in a wide open part of
the wilderness, where all the people could
see it, and to tell the Israelites that all who
looked at this serpent of brass should be
made well. Did Moses do this ? Yes. He
loved God, and he always did directly what
God told him to do. As soon as he had
made the serpent of brass, he placed it upon a
high pole, where every one could see it ; and
then he called to the sick people, and told
them to look at it and be made well. How
wonderful ! They had only to lift up their
eyes towards the brazen serpent, and directly
they looked their pains went away ; they felt
strong and well again, and able to thank and

5

66 THE HISTORY OF MOSES.

praise God for his mercy. "Well, dear
children, so it is with us. We have all
sinned. Satan, who is sometimes called the
" old serpent," has got into our hearts and
made us sin. No child has ever lived but
has sinned. But as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, so Jesus Christ
has been lifted up upon the cross, that those
who look to him may not perish, but have
eternal life. Let us, dear children, look to
Jesus. Let us thank God that He has given
his only Son to die upon the cross for our
sins. We have a better country before us
than the Israelites had. They were going
towards an earthly Canaan, a beautiful land,
it is true ; but we are going to the heavenly
Canaan, a country far more beautiful ; for
there, " angels with their golden harps sing
praises to God ;" there, holy people go when
they die ; there Jesus, our •Hear kind Saviour

THE JOYS OF HEAVEN.

67

lives ; and there we shall be clothed with
white robes, and have palms in our hands,
and crowns of glory on our heads, and see
Jesus face to face, and dwell with him for
ever, if we truly love and serve him while
here on earth.

C|f Jistorj) of (finr Jlalrarar.

CHAPTER I.

Jesus in the Manger — The Shepherds Visit Jesus — The Wise
Men Visit Him — Jesus is taken down into Egypt.

ESFS CHKIST, our blessed Saviour,
was born at a little village called
Bethlehem. His mother's name was
Mary. When Jesus was born, Mary
and Joseph, her husband, were taking a long
journey : they were going from their own
house to the little village of Bethlehem, to
pay money to the king. This was called
going to pay tax-money. Money paid to the
king or queen is called tax-money. Bethle-
hem was a great way from* their own home,

THE BIRTH OF JESUS. 69

and it took them many days to get there.
At last, however, they reached the place.
Mght was coming on, so they went to the
inn, and asked the people to let them have
a room to sleep in, for they were tired with
their long journey, and wanted to rest them-
selves. But the master of the inn said that
his house was quite full, and that there was
no room for them. What could poor Mary
do ? Did she sleep out of doors ? ISTo : she
said she would sleep in the stable if the
master would let her. The master said she
might if she pleased. So Mary went down
to the stable to rest herself among the cows
and asses; and while she was there, Jesus
Christ was born. God had sent an angel
some time before, to tell Mary that she
should have a son, and that he should be
called Jesus, for he should save people from
their sins. Now Mary knew this was the

70 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

baby God had promised. How happy she
felt when she saw him smile !

There was no soft cradle for him to sleep
in, so she wrapped him in clothes called
swaddling-clothes, and hushed him to sleep,
and laid him amongst the hay which was
put for the cows and asses in a manger in
the stable. Then she sat down by the side
of the manger to take care of her dear
baby, and she thought how good and kind
God had been in sending her so sweet a gift.

Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, was a
little village. There were green fields all
round it, and mountains upon which large
flocks of sheep used to feed. There were
many shepherds taking care of the flocks of
sheep near Bethlehem. Men who take care
of sheep are called shepherds. These shep-
herds used to sit up at night to watch their
sheep ; for in that country there were wolves

JESUS IN THE MANGER. 71

and hyenas, and perhaps these wolves and
hyenas and other wild beasts might have
come in the night to kill the sheep if the
shepherds had not kept guard. There are
no fierce wolves or hyenas in the country
where we live.

As the shepherds were watching their
flocks one night, they saw a bright light in
the sky, and soon a beautiful angel came
from heaven. At first the shepherds were
afraid ; but the angel told them not to fear,
for he had good news to tell them, — news
that would fill their hearts with joy and glad-
ness. What news do you think the angel
brought ? He told the shepherds that Jesus
Christ, the only Son of God, was born in the
little village of Bethlehem, and that if they
went to the inn they would find the babe
wrapped in swaddling-clothes and lying in
a manger. While the angel was speaking

72 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

to the shepherds, hundreds and hundreds of
bright angels filled the sky, and began sing-
ing songs of praise to God. These are the
words they sang : " Glory to God in the high-
est, and on earth peace, good-will toward
men."

As soon as the angels had sung this song
of joy they went back to heaven, and the
shepherds were left alone in the fields. Then
they said to each other, " Let us go to Beth-
lehem, and see the little baby of whom the
angels have told us." So they got up at
once and left their flocks, and went as fast
as they could to the inn at Bethlehem. There
they found Jesus lying in the manger among
the hay. When the shepherds saw the sweet
infant, they told Mary and Joseph, who were
sitting by him, what the angels had said to
them ; and then they went back to their
flocks, singing and praising God for all the
things that they had heard and seen.

*«*u»i§

JESUS IX THE MANGER.

THE WISE MEN OF THE EAST. 73

At the time that Jesus Christ was born,
some wise men, who lived in a country a
long way off, saw a very bright star shining
up in the sky, and they knew by this star
that Jesus Christ was born. They wished
very much to go and see the dear babe ; but,
as they did not know where to look for him,
they went to the great city in which the king
of the country lived, to inquire whether Jesus
was there, and to ask the people where they
might find him. As they went along, they
said, " Where is he that is born king of the
Jews ? for we have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him." But neither
the king nor the people could tell, so the
wise men went away again. As they went
along, they looked up and saw the beautiful
star which they had seen in the east moving
before them in the sky. How glad they
must have felt to behold this wonderful sight !

74 THE HISTORY OP OUR SAVIOUR.

t

for they knew that God had put the star
there, on purpose to shew them the road to
the place where Jesus and his mother were.
So they watched and watched it, as it moved
before them, till it stood still over the very
stable in which the infant Jesus lay ; and
when they went into the stable, and saw him
on his mother's lap, they fell down and wor-
shipped him. Then they opened the trea-
sures they had brought, and gave him a
great many presents, gold, and sweet-smell-
ing spice, and myrrh. Though he was now
a little baby in his mother's arms, the wise
men knew that he was the Son of God, the
Saviour of the world, and therefore they
rejoiced to see him, and to shew their joy in
every way they possibly could.

There was a very wicked king living in the
great city near Bethlehem. His name was
Herod. He was a naughty, cruel man ; and

THE WICKED KING. 75

when he heard that Jesus Christ was born,

he was vexed and angry, for he thought that
if Jesus lived to become a man, perhaps he
might be king in his place. He told the
wise men, as they passed through the city,
to come back and tell him when they had
found Jesus, that he might go and worship
him also. But Herod did not really mean
to do so. No ; he only wanted to kill him.
The wise men did not go back to tell the
king, but went away again to their own
country. Then the wicked king was so angry
at not being able to find Jesus, that what do
you think he did ? He gave orders to have
all the little children in Bethlehem killed
who were not more than two years old, hop-
ing to kill Jesus. How very sad this was !
Men were going about with swords in their
hands, peeping into every house and asking
for the children ; and the poor mothers were

76 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

t

crying so bitterly; and the little darlings
were holding out their little arms to go to
their own mammas, and the cruel men were
snatching them away ; and all was one sad
scene of sorrow and distress. But was Jesus
killed ? Oh, no. God took care of him.
Yery soon after the wise men were gone back,
God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream;
and the angel told Joseph to get up, and
take the young child and his mother, and go
down into Egypt, and stay there a long time,
to be out of wicked King Herod's way.
Joseph did at once what the angel bid him.
He got up and saddled his ass, and set off
in the night with Jesus and Mary his mother,
and went down into Egypt. It was a long
journey over mountains and along sandy
roads. But Joseph did not mind. Indeed
he was very glad that he had done directly
what the angel told him, when he heard that

JESUS RETURNS HOME. 77

the naughty cruel king had killed all the
dear little children at Bethlehem.

At last King Herod died. Then God again
sent an angel to speak to Joseph while he
was asleep ; and the angel told him to take
the infant Jesus and his mother, and go back
to his own country. So they all went back
together, thanking God for the kind care he
had taken of them. It is God who watches
over us by night and by day, and who is
always doing us good.

°%gv^

CHAPTER II.

Jesus in the Temple — Jesus Blessing Little Children —
Jesus Riding on a Colt.

AR-Y and Joseph came back from
Egypt, and lived at a place some
way from the village where Jesus
was born ; for, although the cruel King Herod
was dead, they still felt afraid lest another
cruel king should be living there.

There was a great feast held every year at
the city of Jerusalem. Numbers of people
used to go to this feast. Mary and Joseph
used to go. "When Jesus Christ was twelve
years old they took him with them. They
had a long, long journey to take, and
it took them many days to get there. People
in that country used to ride upon camels and
asses, and the roads were not so good as

JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. 71)

our roads, so that they did not get on very
fast ; they had to wind round among tlie
mountains, and up and down very steep
hills ; and there were no inns at which they
could rest.

At last the feast was over, and Mary and
Joseph set off on their way home. There
was a very large company of people, and
they thought that Jesus was among them ;
but when they had gone a whole day's jour-
ney, and were about to stop and rest for the
night, he was nowhere to be found. How
frightened poor Mary must have been, to miss
her dear child ! "What did Joseph and Mary
do ? Instead of stopping to rest themselves,
they turned back directly to Jerusalem to
look for him, travelling up and down hill
and across the sandy plains, till they came
to the great city. And did they find Jesus
there ? Yes : after three days they found

80 THE HISTORY OP OUR SAVIOUR.

him — where do you think ? in the temple, or
church, sitting among the doctors and learn-
ed men, both hearing them and asking them
questions. Though he was so young, yet
the questions he asked and the answers he
gave were so wise and proper, that every one
was quite surprised to hear him. Even
Joseph and Mary were filled with wonder and
astonishment. At last Mary, his mother, told
him how sorry they were to have lost him,
and asked how it was that he had stayed
behind and alarmed them so much, instead
of going with them when they set off towards
home. Jesus said to her, "How is it that ye
sought me? Wist ye not that I must be
about my Father's business ?" Mary hardly
knew at first what Jesus meant by this an-
swer ; but he meant that he must be employ-
ed at those places and about those things
which belong to God. He liked to talk of

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JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.

JESUS HEALS THE AFFLICTED. 81

God, and of heaven, and of holy things, even
while he was so young ; and he was so good,
so meek, so wise, so lovely, that every one
might have known him to be God's own
child. "When he heard, however, that Mary
and Joseph wished him to go back with
them to their own home, he went directly.
He knew that children should obey their
parents, and it was his delight to please them
and make them happy. Dear little children,
learn to be good and obedient like Jesus
Christ, and then you also will make your
dear papa and mamma happy.

When Jesus Christ grew up to be a man,
he did a great many wonderful things. He
cured poor people who were ill, and made
them well again. He touched the eyes of
poor blind people, and made them see as
well as ever. "He caused lame people to
walk and deaf people to hear, and even

82 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

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raised to life again those who had been
dead. The wonders that Jesus did were
called miracles.

Jesus had twelve friends whom he called
his disciples. One of them was named Peter,
and another Andrew, and another John, and
another James ; but perhaps you would for-
get if you were to hear all the names at once.
Peter and Andrew were fishermen : they had
a little ship of their own, and they used to
go out in the night as well as in the day to
catch fish. One day, as Jesus was walking
along the beach, he saw them casting their
net into the sea, and he called to them and
told them to leave their net and follow him.
And Peter and Andrew directly put down
their net, and left their little ship, and went
with Jesus. Then Jesus went a little farther,
and saw James and John, his brother, sitting
in their ship with their father, mending the

JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES. 83

boles in their nets, for they also were fisher-
men. And he called them, and they left
their father and their nets in the ship, and
went with Jesus. Jesus called what people
he pleased to come with him. His twelve
disciples used to go about with him wherever
he went, and he used to talk so kindly to
them, and tell them about God and about
heaven, and teach them many things, that
they might teach others. They loved Jesus
Christ, and they used to like to listen to the
words that he spoke.

Jesus was always kind and good, and full"
of gentleness and love. Sometimes he used
to preach to people in the temple, or church ;
and as there were not many churches in that
country, sometimes he preached in the fields.
Sometimes he sat in a ship, and the people
stood so near the edge of the water as to
hear the words he said. One of Jesus

84 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

Christ's sermons is called the sermon on the
mount, because he preached it on the top of
a mountain. The sermon on the mount is a
very beautiful sermon, and you shall read it
in the Bible itself when you grow older.

Jesus loved to think of his father in
heaven whilst he was here on earth. He
liked to speak of his glory, and to teach peo-
ple to love Him. He liked to be often alone,
that he might pray to God. He used to get
up early in the morning, that he might have
time to pray, and sometimes he spent the
whole night in prayer.

Prayer is asking God, our heavenly Father,
to give us what we need. Once, when Jesus
had been praying with his disciples, they
said to him, " Lord, teach us to pray." Then
Jesus taught them a little prayer. It was
this : —

" Our Father, which art in heaven, hallow-

the lord's prayer. 85

ed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy
will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And for-
give us our trespasses, as we forgive them
that trespass against us. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil : for
thine is the kingdom, and the power, and
the glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

This prayer is called the Lord's Prayer,
because our Lord Jesus Christ first taught it
to his disciples. It is a very beautiful
prayer, and one which most little children
learn to say. Jesus Christ loves little child-
ren. He hears them, whether they pray in
their own words, or say the Lord's Prayer.
When he was down on earth, some women
one day brought young children to him, that
he might bless them. His disciples thought
it troublesome, and were going to send them
away again ; but Jesus was so very kind

86 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

and good that he did not like to have them
sent away. He held out his arms to the dear
little children, and put his hands upon their
heads and blessed them, and said, " Suffer
the little children to come unto me, and for-
bid them not, for of such is the kingdom of
heaven." How kind it was of Jesus to
love little children! He loves them still,
though he is now on his throne of glory in
heaven. He calls them his little lambs ; and
if they love Jesus while here on earth, he
wTill take them to heaven when they die, to
live with him, and with God, and with the
holy angels for ever!

As Jesus was once taking a long journey,
he stopped to rest himself near a little
village. Then he told two of his disciples to
go a little farther to a place where two roads
met, where they would find an ass with a
colt standing by its side. He said they were

JESUS BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN.

JESUS RIDES INTO JERUSALEM. 87

to untie the colt, and bring it for him to ride
upon. A colt, you know, is a young ass.
The men did as Jesus told them. They very
soon found the young ass, and began to untie
the string which held it. Then the man to
whom the colt belonged came and asked
them what they were going to do. The
disciples said they were going to take it for
Jesus to ride upon. When the man heard
this, he was quite willing to let it go. So
the disciples brought it to Jesus, and put
some of their own clothes across it instead
of a saddle, and sat Jesus upon it. As Jesus
rode along, numbers of people — men, women,
and little children — came to see him pass.
They knew that he was the same Jesus who
had made so many sick people well, and who
had done so many wonderful things, and
they were glad to see him. Some of the
people took off their coats and laid them

88 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

down in the road for the ass to tread upon,
and others gathered large branches from the
trees and strewed them on the path, while
little children ran along by the side of the
road carrying green boughs in their hands
and singing songs of joy ; and in this manner
Jesus entered into Jerusalem. How happy
these little children must have been ! They
knew that Jesus was their Lord and Saviour.
They knew that Jesus loved them, and they
also loved Jesus. We cannot see our Saviour
now, for he is gone back to heaven ; but we
can sing his praises here on earth, and we
hope when we die to go to heaven, to wear
crowns of glory, and to live with him for
ever.

There we shall better praises bring,

And raise our voices higher ;
Angels will teach us how to sing,

And we shall never tire.

CHAPTER III.

Jesus in the Garden — Judas Betrays Him — Jesus taken

BEFORE THE JUDGE He IS NAILED TO THE CROSS — JeSUS

put in a Tomb — Ascends into Heaven.

OOJST after Jesus had entered Jeru-
salem riding upon the colt, a num-
ber of wicked people, who did not
like him because he was so good
and holy, met together and said they would
try to kill him. How sad this was, and how
sad it is to think that one of these very men
was his own disciple Judas ! Satan had
come into Judas' s heart and made him so
wicked. When naughty thoughts come into
our hearts, it is Satan who puts them there.
The men did not know where to find Jesus,
but Judas was so often with him that he
knew quite well, and he said that if they

90 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

would give him some money lie would soon
tell them. Then the wicked people said
they would give him thirty pieces of silver.
Judas pretended to love Jesus, but he did
not really do so, or he could never have
acted so unkindly towards him.

When the evening came on and they had
sung a hymn together, Jesus and some of
his disciples went out into a garden. It was
a shady and a pleasant garden. Jesus told
Peter and James and John to stay where
they were, while he went a little farther on
by himself, that he might pray to God.
Jesus loved to pray to his Father in heaven,
and he- often went alone to this garden.
Sometimes his disciples went with him, so
that Judas knew the place. When Jesus
had done praying, he came back to his dis-
ciples, and told them it was now time to go
home, for the sun had set a long time, and

JUDAS BETRAYS JESUS. 91

it was almost dark. Just at this moment a
great crowd of men and soldiers, armed with
swords and sticks, and carrying lanterns and
lighted torches in their hands, rushed from
behind the trees. They were looking for
Jesus. Judas had watched Jesus go over
the little brook into the garden that night,
and had called the band of men and officers
together on purpose that they might follow
and take him. Then naughty wicked Judas
went up to Jesus and kissed him. He did
not kiss him because he loved him, but only
that the soldiers might know whom to seize
upon. Jesus did not run away. He only
asked the men whom they were looking for.
When the men said they were looking for
Jesus, he said " I am he." Then they bound
his hands with cords and led him away,
laughing at him as they went along, and
treating him in the most cruel and unkind

92 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

manner they possibly could ; but Jesus was
so meek and gentle, that he hardly spoke a
word.

Then the soldiers took Jesus to a grand
house in Jerusalem, where a number of the
proud wicked men who wanted to have him
killed were sitting up together. They had
sent the soldiers to fetch him. When the
proud men saw Jesus they were glad. They
kept him there all night, meaning in the
morning to take him before the judge, and
to ask the judge what they should do with
him.

As soon as it was morning the wicked
people said to each other, " Now let us take
Jesus to the judge." Then they left the line
house where they had been sitting up all
night, and went away to the judge. The
judge was sitting upon a high seat in the
judgment-hall. His name was Pilate. He

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JESUS BROUGHT BEFORE PILATE.

HE IS BEATEN BY THE SOLDTERS. 93

had never seen Jesus before, and lie did not
like at first to have him punished, for he
could not find that he had done any thing
wrong. The wicked men, however, who had
brought him to Pilate, made such a noise,
and talked and begged so much, that at last
the cruel judge gave orders for Jesus to have
nails run through his hands and feet, and
that he should be fastened up upon a wooden
cross. When the soldiers heard Pilate give
this order, they were so glad that they shout-
ed for joy ; and they led Jesus down stairs
into the common hall, where they beat him
with hard ropes full of knots till the blood
ran down his back. Then they took off his
own clothes and dressed him in a purple
robe, such as kings wear, and plaited a
crown of thorns and put it on his head, and
put a reed in his right hand, and knelt down
before him, laughing at him, and saying all

94 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

the unkind things they could think of. Oh !
what cruel wicked people they were, thus to
treat the kind and gentle Saviour !

After this they took off the purple robe
and put on his own clothes again, and led
hirn away to crucify hiin. The place where
Jesus Christ was crucified was called Mount
Calvary.

Were all the people glad to have Jesus
treated in this dreadful manner ? JSTo ; there
were a few people who were sorry, very sor-
ry, to see him so cruelly used. His own mo-
ther, Mary, and a few other women, came
crying after him as the cruel soldiers led him
along to the hill where they meant to crucify
him. As they were going there, they met a
man named Simon, and they made him come
and carry the cross upon which they were
about to nail Jesus. When they reached
the top of Mount Calvary they laid Jesus

HE IS CRUCIFIED. 95

upon the cross, stretching out his arms on
each side, and running sharp nails through
his hands and his feet. Then they dug a
hole in the ground, and made the cross stand
upright in the hole, with Jesus nailed upon
it. The crown of thorns was still around his
head, and large drops of blood trickled down
his face.

Nailed upon the cross, behold,

How his tender limbs are torn ;
For a royal crown of gold,

They have made him one of thorn.
Cruel hands, that dare to bind
Thorns upon a brow so kind !

How great his pain and sufferings must
have been! and yet amidst them all, though
our blessed Lord could not put his hands
together in prayer,- he still prayed to God to
forgive the wicked people who were treating
him so cruelly. These were the words Jesus
said : " Father, forgive them ; for they know

96 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

not what they do." There was a cross on
each side of Jesus, and a thief was nailed on
each cross at the same time. One of these
thieves prayed to Jesus to remember him
when he got to heaven, and Jesus promised
that he should go to heaven with him that
very day.

When Jesus was crucified, Pilate, the
judge, wrote these words and put them on
the top of the cross : " This is Jesus the King
of the Jews." The people who lived in Je-
rusalem and that part of the country were
called Jews. When they saw these words,
they shouted and said, " If you are a king,
come down from the cross." Then they
walked backwards and forwards nodding
their heads at Jesus, and laughing at his
sufferings. And when he asked for some-
thing to drink, one of the cruel soldiers ran
and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put

"it is finished." 97

it on a reed, and held it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had tasted the vinegar, he cried,
" It is finished !" By this he meant that his
sufferings were over. He was going to die —
going to heaven — going to be with God and
with the holy angels. This was at three
o'clock in the afternoon of the day that we
call Good Friday. Though it was day-time
when Jesus died, yet God made it dark, quite
dark ; and there was a great earthquake, and
the people were very much frightened. But
it was too late to undo what they had done.
They had crucified Jesus, and his sufferings
were over for ever.

Many people were very sorry when they
saw Jesus Christ nailed upon the cross.
Mary, his mother, was very sorry ; her heart
was almost broken with grief. All the dis-
ciples, except the naughty wicked Judas,
were sorry, and there was one good man

98 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

t

named Joseph, who was very sorry. He was
a rich man, and had a large garden. There
was a tomb in his garden cut out in the side
of a rock. A tomb means a place to bury
people in. When Joseph found that Jesus
was really dead, he went to the judge and
asked leave to take his body down from the
cross, and to bury it in his own new tomb.
The judge said he might if he liked. So
Joseph took it down and wrapped it in
linen, and carried it to his own garden, and
laid it in his own new tomb. Then he
rolled a large stone to the door of the
tomb, that no one might open it. This was
on the Friday evening. Early on the Sunday
morning after, just as it was getting light,
two women who had loved Jesus very much,
and who had watched Joseph take him down
from the cross, came into the garden and
went to the tomb, hoping they might find

i

THE EMPTY SEPULCHRE. 99

some one who would roll away the stone.
But to their great surprise it was rolled away
already. Then they looked into the tomb ;
but Jesus was not there. Two beautiful
angels, dressed in white, were sitting in the
place where the body of Jesus had lain, and
they spoke sweetly and kindly to the women,
and told them that Jesus was come to life
again, and that they should soon see him.
How very full of surprise and joy the women
must have been, when they heard the angels'
words ! They hardly knew what to do, they
were so glad. At last they thought they
would run back and tell the disciples the
wonderful news. But just as they were
going, Jesus met. them, and called them by
their names, and spoke to them in his own
kind voice. Then they knew that what the
angels had said was true, and that their own
dear Lord and Master was indeed come to

100 THE HISTORY OP OUR SAVIOUR.

life again. How wonderful! It was Jesus
their Saviour, the very same Jesus who,
only two days before, had been nailed upon
the cross on Mount Calvary.

The women soon went and told the disci-
ples what had happened ; that they had seen
Jesus, and that he had been talking with
them. Then the disciples were very glad
also, so glad that they could think of nothing
else. Jesus told them that he should not
die any more, but that he should soon go to
heaven, and that when he was in heaven he
would send down his Holy Spirit into their
hearts to comfort them. He told them also
that they should soon meet him again in
heaven, and that they must go about teach-
ing people to love and serve God, and obey
his commands.

A few weeks after this time, as Jesus was
one day walking with his disciples near a

CHRIST ASCENDS TO HEAVEN. 101

little village called Bethany, they went to-
gether to the top of a hill. Then Jesus
began to pray and to lift up his hands and
to bless his disciples, and while he blessed
them he was parted from them and taken up
into heaven. They watched him as he rose
higher and higher, till a cloud received him
out of their sight. He was gone far, far
beyond the blue sky. Then they could see
him no longer ; but they knew that he was
gone back to God, his heavenly Father, there
to sit upon a throne of glory at his right
hand, and to prepare a place for all who love
him.

And now, dear little children, we have
traced the history of Jesus Christ, our bless-
ed Saviour, from the time that he was lying
as a little baby in the manger at Bethlehem,
until he ascended up to heaven from the hill
at Bethany. How kind, how gentle, and

102 THE HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR.

how full of love Jesus was ! How much he
suffered when the cruel people nailed him
on the cross ! Why did he go through all
those dreadful pains ? Why did he leave his
throne of glory in heaven, and come clown
into the world, and live so many years here
on earth, and then allow those wicked people
to crucify him ? Dear little children, it was
to save us from our sins. We should all
have gone to hell, if Jesus had not died upon
the cross. But Jesus knew that if he died
upon the cross, every one who loved him
would go to heaven when they die. There-
fore let us all love Jesus, our dear, kind
Saviour. Let us pray to him more, and
love him more, and try more and more to
please' him. Let us ask him to send his
Holy Spirit into our hearts to help us to do
so ; and then we know that when we die,

HOLY ANGELS. 103

he will take us up to heaven ; there to wear
crowns of glory, and to join the holy angels
in singing songs of praise to God and to the
Lamb for ever.

~^p8^

C|e fjjirades d (Sur ^atarar.

CHAPTER I.

Jesus turns Water into Wine — Cures the Nobleman's
little Boy — He raises a little Girl from the Dead.

UR blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ lived when he was on earth,
in a country called the Holy Land.
It is a long way, a very long way,
from the country in which we live.
It would take us many days to get
there, and we could not get to the Holy
Land without going in a ship or steam-boat
across the sea. There are many mountains
in the Holy Land, high mountains, the tops
of which seem almost to touch the clouds ;

THE HOLY LAND. 105

and there are great deserts where you may
travel for many miles across the sand with-
out seeing a shrub or a tree. Sometimes
people come to a little spring of water when
they are crossing the deserts, and then they
are glad ; for the country is warm, and they
are pleased to find water to drink. Some-
times people come to a clump of high trees,
called palm-trees, and then they are glad;
for it is very pleasant to rest under the
shade of the palm-trees. The chief city or
large town in England, is called London.
The chief city or town in the Holy Land is
called Jerusalem. In the northern part of
the Holy Land there was a little town called
Cana. It was at this place that Jesus
worked his first miracle. By a miracle is
meant something very wonderful. Some-
thing that only God, or Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, could do. I will tell you what

106 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

the first miracle was. Jesus was always
kind, and he used often to go to the houses
of the people who loved him. There was
a man living at Cana who loved Jesus, and
who asked him to go to his house. This
man gave a grand dinner or feast to his
friends, and it was called a wedding-feast.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there, and
some of his disciples were there also. By
his disciples, I mean his friends, Peter, and
Andrew, and Philip, and James, and John.
The people had wine to drink at the feast.
The wine was made of grapes that grew on
vines in the Holy Land. But there was not
wine enough for so many people, and before
the feast was over, they had drunk it all.
Jesus' mother told him that the wine was
gone. She knew that Jesus could do all
things, and perhaps she thought that he
would make more wine. Did Jesus do so ?

JESUS TURNS WATER INTO WINE. 107

Yes, he did ; but lie made the new wine
without having grapes to make it of. He
only told the servants who were standing by
to fill, some water-pots with water. These
water-pots were very large, and were made
of stone. As soon as they were full, Jesus
said, " Draw out now, and carry some to the
master of the feast." Then the servants did
as Jesus bid them ; and when the master of
the feast had tasted the water, he found
that it was turned into nice sweet wine!
How wonderful this must have seemed to
him, and to all the wedding guests who
had come to Oana that day ! They felt sure
now that Jesus was the Son of God; for
no one could have done such a wonderful
miracle as this, or turned water into wine,
except Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who
came down from heaven, and who, during
the whole time he was upon earth, went
about doing good.

108 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

Sometimes, dear little children, you are
ill, and then how anxious your dear papa
and mamma are about you! Your mamma
nurses you. You lean your head upon her
bosom, and she does all she can to soothe
your pain, and to hush you gently to sleep.
And while she does this, she thinks of Jesus
and of all his tender care and love to little
children ; and often she kneels down by
your bedside, and prays to him to make you
well again. True, he is not now here upon
earth; but still he hears our prayers, and
can answer them just as he used to do when
he lived in the Holy Land, and when the
people used to bring their poor sick friends
to him and beg him to cure them. You will
like to hear, I think, about the nobleman's
son, whom Jesus cured by only speaking a
word, without giving him medicine, or even
seeing him. Jesus had been to Jerusalem,

HE CURES THE RICH MAN'S SON. 109

and was just returned, after a long journey,
to Cana, that little town I told you of in the
last story, where the marriage-feast took
place, and where he turned the water into
wine. While Jesus was stopping at Cana,
a rich gentleman, who lived at the town of
Capernaum, a place about fifteen miles off,
came to see Jesus, and to beg him to go
down and heal his son ; for he was so very
ill that no one thought he could live. " Sir,
come down," he said, " ere my child die."
He was in great grief, and could hardly
speak for weeping, just as your own papa
and mamma would have cried if either of
their dear children had been so ill. Did
Jesus go down ? JSTo ; I will tell you what
he did, which seems even more wonderful.
He spoke in a kind tender voice to the
nobleman, and said, " Go thy way, thy son
liveth." The nobleman believed what Jesus

110 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

said. He knew that whatever Jesus said
must be true. He did not ask him again to
come down. He did not ask him again
whether his little boy would get well, but he
set out with joy on his journey home, feeling
sure that his child would not die. This was
Faith. Faith is believing — feeling quite
sure that whatever God says is true. Faith
is pleasing to God. He likes us to believe
what he says ; and he gives us his Holy
Bible to tell us what to believe, and his
Holy Spirit to help us to believe.

The nobleman had a long way to go back,
across sandy plains, and winding along the
steep mountain side ; and it was not till the
next day that he had nearly reached his
home. As he drew near to the little town
where his house was, he met some of his
servants. What could they be coming for ?
Was it to tell him that his child was dead ?

THE CHILD RECOVERS. Ill

Oh, no ; it was to tell him the joyful news
that his little boy was alive and getting
well again. How happy the poor father felt
when he heard this ! JSTow his tears were all
wiped away, and his face looked Ml of joy
and gladness. "When did he begin to get
better ?" he asked. " How long is it since ?"
"Yesterday," said the servants, "at seven
o'clock the fever left him." How wonderful !
for that was the very hour when Jesus was
speaking to the nobleman — just the very
time when he was saying to the father, "Thy
son liveth." Just then the child began to
get well, and the fever left him. This was
the second miracle that Jesus did, and num-
bers of people came to him, and believed in
him, and loved him, when they saw it. But
though Jesus is gone back to heaven, and
we, cannot come to him as the nobleman did
when our friends are ill ; yet, as the little
hymn says,

112 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

" Still to his footstool in prayer we may go,
And ask for a share in his love ;
And if we thus earnestly seek him below,
We shall see him and hear him above."

I told you of a little boy whom Jesus
cured. Now I will tell you of a little girl.
I do not know her name ; but her father's
name was Jairus. He was a good man, and
one who loved God, and he believed that
Jesus Christ could make his little girl well
again when she was ill ; and even more than
this, could make her come to life again when
she was dead. The little girl was about
twelve years old. She had no brothers or
sisters, and her papa and mamma loved her
dearly. At length she became ill. A little
child may be gay and rosy, running about
the house in health and spirits one day, and
the next day this same little child .may be
lying on its bed weak and in pain. So it

JAIRUS'S DAUGHTER. 113

was with this little girl, Jairus's daughter.
She became very ill, and she grew weaker
and weaker every day, and at last she was
dying. Then her father, who had often
heard of the wonderful miracles that Jesus
did, and how he could cure poor sick people,
set off to go to Jesus. When he came to
him he fell down at his feet in great grief,
and said, " My daughter is even now dead ;
but come and lay thy hand upon her, and
she shall live." Jesus was always full of
kindness and of love, and he directly set off
to Jairus's house to see the little child. As
they were going along the road they met a
servant, who came to Jairus and said it was
of no use to trouble Jesus, for the little girl
was dead. When Jesus heard what the ser-
vant said, instead of turning back, he only
said to her father, "Fear not; believe only,
and she shall be made whole." It was the

8

114: THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

custom in that country, when any one died,
for people to call minstrels to come with
their drums and fifes, and to make mournful
music ; and when Jesus and Jairus got near
the house, they heard these minstrels with
their music weeping and wailing. Jesus
told them to stop ; saying, in his own kind
voice, "Weep not; she is not dead, but
sleepeth." They laughed when they heard
this, for they did not know how to believe
it. Jesus then sent all the people out ex-
cept Peter and James and John, and the
little girl's father and mother, and went into
the room and took hold of the little girl's
hand and called her, saying, " Maid, arise ;"
and her spirit came again, and she got up
directly as Jesus bid her, to the great delight
of her dear father and mother. How happy
they must have felt when they saw her open
her eyes and smile upon them again ! How

M ! ni

JAIRUS' DAUGHTER RAISED TO L1EE.

• jV

LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST. 115

they must have loved Jesus Christ for his
great kindness !

" I think when I read that sweet story of old,
When Jesus was here among men ;
How he called little children like lambs to his fold —
I should like to have been with him then.

I wish that his hand had been placed on my head,
That his arm had been thrown around me,

And that I might have seen his kind look when he said,
1 Let the little ones come unto me.' "

CHAPTER II.

The Loaves and Fishes — Jesus walks on the Sea — The
Fish with Money in its Mouth.

ARGE crowds of people used to
follow Jesus, because they liked to
e^hear him talk to theni, and to see
the miracles that he did. Many people, too,
liked to bring their sick friends to Jesus,
that he might make them well. There are
in the Holy Land large deserts or tracts of
country, without a single house or tree, and
one day an immense number of people, more
than five thousand, came after Jesus into
one of these deserts. I do not think you
ever saw so large a crowd of people. There
were men, women and children. The sun
had set, and it was getting dark, when the
disciples came and asked Jesus whether it

FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISHES. 117

would not be better to send the people
away, that they might go into the villages
and buy themselves something for their
supper ; for they had been a long time with-
out food, and must be hungry. Jesus said,
"No: do not send them away; give them
something to eat." " There is a lad here,"
said Andrew, "who has five barley loaves
and two small fishes ; but what are they
among so many ?" Jesus, however, said,
"Make the men sit down." So they sat
down in rows upon the soft, green grass,
fifty in one row and fifty in another. There
were more people than you see together at
church on Sunday morning. As soon as
they were all seated on the grass, Jesus took
the five loaves and the two fishes, and look-
ing up to heaven, he prayed to God to bless
the food they were about to eat. You see,
dear children, Jesus would not eat without

118 THE MIRACLES OP OUR SAVIOUR.

asking God for his blessing ; and we should
always do the same when we sit down to
our daily meals, for it is our heavenly Father
who causes the corn to grow, and who pro-
vides for all our wants. As soon as Jesus
had prayed for a blessing, he gave the
loaves and fishes to the disciples, and told
them to go round and give the people some
for their supper. Although there were so
many people, yet there was enough for them
all. The loaves of bread that they used to
eat in the Holy Land were thin and brittle,
like biscuits, and were therefore broken and
not cut ; but how wonderful it is that as fast
as. they were broked and given to the
people still they did not come to an end !
The food lasted so long that there was more
and more, and more and more. Every one
had a good supper. When all had done,
Jesus told his disciples to gather up the

WE MUST NOT WASTE. 119

bits that were left, that there might be no
waste, and they filled twelve baskets full.
This shews us that we ought not to waste
any thing. When little children are leaving
bits of bread and crust after their meals,
they should remember that Jesus told his
disciples not to waste any thing. The
crumbs that children leave on the table
after their breakfast or dinner would often
make a meal for a little bird ; and the bits
of bread that are left would often make a
poor hungry boy's eyes sparkle with joy.
When we pray every morning, " Give us this
day our daily bread," let us remember it is
the great and good God who gives us every
thing we have, and who sent his only Son
into the world, to go about doing good, and
to feed the poor hungry people in the desert.
After Jesus had fed that great multitude
of people with the loaves and the fishes, he

120 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

went up into a mountain to pray, and told
his disciples to get into a little ship and
cross over to the other side of the sea. They
loved Jesus, and they liked to do what he
told them to do ; and soon they set sail in
their little ship. But the evening came on ;
the wind began to blow, and it blew louder
and louder, until the little ship that the
disciples were in was dashed about among
the waves. They were all alone. Do you
think they were frightened ? We need never
be frightened if we place our trust in God,
who alone can take care of us in the dark
night as well as in the day-time. Jesus was
on the mountain praying; but when the
storm arose he went down from the moun-
tain that he might go and comfort his disci-
ples. Did he take a little boat to go across
the rough waves? No: Jesus can do every
thing. He could walk upon the water just

.1ESUS WALKING OiN THE WATKK

JESUS WALKS UPON THE WATER. 121

as well as upon dry land ; and he went
towards his disciples, walking upon the sea.
This was so wonderful, that even the disci-
ples themselves were almost frightened, and
could hardly believe it was Jesus. Soon,
however, he came quite near and spoke to
them in his own kind voice, and said, " It is
I: be not afraid." Oh! how glad they must
have been to hear that gentle voice, and to
find that their Saviour was indeed near them !
Peter was one of the disciples in the little
ship, and he asked Jesus to let him come to
him upon the water. Jesus said, " Come."
Then Peter stepped over the side of the ves-
sel and began to walk on the water. But
when he heard the loud wind blow, and saw
the great waves, he was frightened, and
began to sink, and cried out, "Lord, save
me!" Jesus was so kind that he put out
his hand to help Peter, and told him not to

122 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

fear. Peter need not have been afraid. He
ought to have remembered that Jesus would
take care of him. Jesus took Peter safely
to the ship, and then directly all was calm.
The wind left off blowing, and the great
waves became still as a lake. Just before,
the little ship was so dashed about that
there was danger of its being broken in
pieces ; but now it glided smoothly and gen-
tly in the midst of the sea, until it brought
the disciples safely to the place on the other
side, where they were going.

Dear little children, you see how wonder-
ful as well as how kind Jesus Christ is!
He could take care of his disciples in that
rough sea, and he will take care of every lit-
tle child who tries to love and please him.

People who go about collecting money to
pay to the king or queen, are called tax-
gatherers. There were tax-gatherers in the

THE TAX-GATHERERS. 123

Holy Land, who used to go about collecting
money. The people once came to Jesus and
asked him to pay some tax-money. Jesus
had no money to give them ; for though he
was the Lord of all, he was poor, and had
no house of his own, nor any place where he
might lay his blessed head. There is a text
in the Bible which says, "The foxes have
holes, and the birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man hath not where to lay
his head;" and you have learned the little
hymn which says,

" Soft and easy is thy cradle ;

Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay,
When his birth-place was a stable,
And his softest bed was hay."

Jesus, therefore, said to Peter, who was
standing by, "Go to the sea, and cast a
hook, and take up the first fish that cometh

CHAPTER III.

The poor lame Man cured — Lazarus raised to Life — The
bund Men cured.

OW I will tell you about a poor
lame man whom Jesus cured. This
poor man lived at Jerusalem. When
he was a little boy he could not
run about and play in the garden and in
the nice green fields as you do, for he was
lame and unable to walk. Poor man ! how
sorry we should have been for him if we
had seen him. It is sad to see poor lame
people when they are not able to move, or
to use their limbs. Now look at the picture,
and I will tell you all about it. You see
there is a pool, with steps down into the
water, and several people seem to be. bath-
ing there, while the poor lame man, with his

IfH i

m

Sj ■•■:■!--

THE LAME MAN C¥RED

THE LAME MAN CURED. 127

crutches, seems to be lying down by the side
of the pool, and great numbers of other
poor sick people are standing near him.
What are' they waiting for ? You shall hear.
An angel from heaven sometimes went down
into the pool and troubled the water ; and
then whoever stepped in first after the angel
had been, was made well of whatever com-
plaint he had. Now the poor lame man
wanted very much to get into the pool and
to be made well, but not being able to move
by himself, some one always got down
before him. When Jesus passed by one
day, and saw this poor lame man lying there,
he was sorry for him, and asked him whether
he should like to be made well. The poor
lame man said he should like it very much,
but he had no friend to put him into the
pool. Then Jesus said, " Rise, take up thy
bed and walk." Now the bed that the poor

128 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

man was lying upon was not like the nice
soft beds that little children in England
sleep upon : no ; it was only a large mat
made of grass, and could be easily rolled
up and unrolled. Poor people in eastern
countries still sleep upon mats that they can
roll up and carry from place to place under
their arms. Directly Jesus told the poor
man to take up his bed and walk, he had
only to get up and to roll up his mat and put
it under his arm. How surprised and how
pleased he must have been when he heard
the kind words that Jesus spoke ! He had
no medicine to take to make him well. He
need not ask any one to put him into the
pool, nor need he wait till some one came
by to take hold of his hand and help him.
No ; he had only to do as Jesus bid him, — •
to get up, and roll his little bed up under
his arm, and walk away with it. Was the

MARY AND MARTHA. 129

poor lame man grateful to Jesus for being
so kind to .him ? I hope he was ; for a short
time afterwards Jesus found him in the
temple or church. Perhaps he had gone
there to thank God for having sent his Son,
Jesus Christ, into the world to cure poor
lame people, as well as to " seek and to save
that which was lost."

Dear little children, I think you have
heard of the poor woman named Mary,
who loved Jesus very much, and who
poured sweet ointment on his head, and
wiped his feet with her hair. Well, Mary
had a sister named Martha, and they both
dearly loved their brother Lazarus. They
all three lived together in the same house,
at a little village called Bethany. But the
dearest brothers and sisters are sometimes
parted from each other by sickness and
death, and so it was now. Lazarus fell ill,

9

130 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

very ill, and poor Mary and Martha were
sadly grieved. The first thing they did was
to send for Jesus. They knew that he could
cure their brother. But Jesus was a long
way off; and before he got to Bethany,
Lazarus was dead, and had been laid four
days in the grave. The graves in that
country are not like the graves in our
churchyards here ; they are hewn or cut out
of the rock, and look like large caves ; and
then a stone is put to the opening, or door
of the cave, and often the cave is in a
garden, among the trees and shrubs. Our
blessed Saviour himself was buried in a
cave in Joseph's garden.

When Jesus got near to Bethany, Martha
came to meet him ; and when she saw him,
she said, " Lord, if thou hadst been here my
brother had not died." Jesus told her that
her brother should rise again. Then Martha

LAZARUS RAISED FROM THE DEAD. 131

went back home, and called her sister Mary,
and when Mary came, she also said to Jesus,
" Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother
had not died." Poor Mary! the tears ran
down her cheeks while she spoke, for Laz-
arus had been a kind dear brother to his
sisters, and now that he was dead and
buried, they thought they should see him
no more, Jesus loved both these sisters,
and he was grieved to see them in such
sorrow. He even wept himself when he saw
them so unhappy. And what do you think
he did ? He now performed one of those
wonderful miracles which shewed that he
was indeed the Son of God, for no one else
could have performed it. He came to the
grave of Lazarus, and told the people who
were standing there, to take away the stone
which, as I said before, was laid at the door
of it. As soon as the stone was rolled away,

132 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

Jesus lifted up his eyes and prayed to God.
Often, very often, did he pray to his heavenly
Father when he was here on earth ; and so,
dear children, ought we to do. If we are in
trouble, God will hear us. If there is any
thing we want, God will give it to us in
answer to prayer, if He knows that it is
really good for us to have it. When Jesus
had prayed, he cried, with a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come forth!" and in a moment
the poor dead man, who had been buried
four days in the grave, came to life again.
How surprised the people who were stand-
ing by must have been when they saw him !
and Martha and Mary, how full of joy they
must have felt when they heard their dear
brother Lazarus speak to them again in his
own kind voice, and saw him smile upon
them as he used to do ! Do you not think
that they were indeed glad, and that they

THE GOODNESS OF GOD. 133

loved, more than ever they had done before,
their blessed Saviour who had performed
this wonderful miracle, and brought their
dear brother Lazarus back to life ?

How thankful we should be for the light
of the sun ! Every morning when the sun
shines, every thing looks beautiful. The sky
is so blue, and the grass is so green, and the
flowers are so bright and gay, and little
children like to run in the fields and pick
the wild roses, or the daisies that are grow-
ing there. It is God, the great and good
God who makes them all, and who gives us
our sight to enjoy them. If we were blind,
as some poor people are, we could not see
the pretty flowers, or watch the light clouds
as they pass along the sky, or see the little
lambs as they frisk about in the meadows.
It is a sad thing to be blind. We ought to
be sorry for poor blind people, and to do all

134: THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

we can to help them. Jesus sometimes
cured poor blind people and made them see
again. He had only to touch their eyes, and
their sight came directly. There were some
poor men living in the Holy Land, who had
been blind for many years, whom Jesus
cured. One of them had not been able to
see since he was born, yet Jesus gave him
sight. I will tell you about it. This miracle
took place near a town of the Holy Land,
called Jericho. It was a large town, and
many palm-trees grew around it. Jesus
was going to Jerusalem, and the road he took
passed through Jericho. As he drew near
to the town, a sight caught his eye and
called forth his pity. He saw two blind
men sitting by the way-side. One of these
blind men was named Bartimeus. I cannot
tell you the name of the other. There were
great crowds of people going along the

BLIND BARTIMEUS. 135

road at the same time, and the poor blind
men asked what all the noise and bustle was
about. When they were told that Jesus was
passing by, one of them cried out in a loud
voice, saying, "Jesus, thou Son of David,
have mercy on me !" The people begged
him not to cry out so loud ; but instead of
being quiet, they both began to cry out still
louder, saying, "Have mercy upon us, 0
Lord, thou Son of David 1" This was a little
prayer. It was as much as to say, "0 Lord,
thou canst do every thing: give us our
sight." Jesus stood still, and desired some
of the people to bring the blind men to him.
Bartimeus was so glad when he heard this,
that he threw away his garment and came
to Jesus. In that hot country people used
to wear loose flowing garments, which could
be easily taken on and off, and the poor
blind man could run faster without it. I do

136 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

not know whether the other poor man threw
off his garment. However, they both came
and stood before Jesus. Then Jesus spoke
to them and said, " What will ye that I shall
do unto ye?" They said, "Lord that our
eyes may be opened." They longed to see
the trees, and the fields, and the flowers, and
their friends around them, and perhaps,
above all, they longed to see their blessed
Saviour, of whom they had heard so much,
and who was now about to perform this
wonderful miracle upon them. They had
not long to wait. Jesus felt pity for them.
He touched their eyes, just touched them
with his finger, saying, " Receive your sight ;
your faith hath saved you." No sooner were
the words spoken, than their eyes were
opened. The sight came into them. How
happy they must have felt ! How delighted
they must have been to see all that was

THE BLIND MEN PKAISE GOD. 137

going on ! Before, all had been darkness
and gloom. Now all was brightness and
joy. They began directly to praise God ;
and all the people also, when they saw it,
gave praise to God.

CHAPTER IY.

The Draught of Fishes — The Sick of the Palsy Cured —
Jesus Bids the Storm to Cease.

HE twelve men who mostly went
about with Jesus when he was here
on earth, were called his twelve
disciples. Sometimes Jesus called
them his friends. What a happy thing to
be the friends of Jesus ! It is worth more
than all the world besides. One of the
disciples, as you know, was named Peter,
another was named Andrew, and another
was named John. When Jesus first called
Peter and Andrew to come and follow him,
they were casting their nets into the sea to
catch fishes, for they were fishermen ; but no
sooner did they hear Jesus' voice, than they
left their nets and followed him. James and

THE FISHERMEN. 1?9

John were also fishermen. Now I will tell
you of another miracle that Jesus did. You
have heard how he turned the water into
wine ; how he fed a great many people with
a few loaves and fishes ; how he raised dead
people to life again ; and now you. shall hear
how he helped the poor fishermen when they
were in trouble because they could not catch
any fish. One day when Jesus was walking
on the sea-shore, so many people came round
him to be taught, and to hear what he was
saying, that there was hardly room for them
all, and his voice could scarcely be heard in
the crowd. He therefore got into a little
fishing boat that was drawn up on the
beach, and which belonged to Peter, and
asked him to push it out a little way from
the land. The boat was empty ; for the
fishermen had gone away to wash their nets.
Peter directly did as the Lord told him ;

MO THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

( »

and as Jesus then sat alone in the boat he
talked to the people, who stood round him a
little way off on the shore. What did he say
to them ? No doubt he told them that they
must love God with their whole hearts, and
try to please and serve him, and to do his
holy will in all things. He told them, too,
that he was come into the world to seek and
to save lost sinners, and that all who be-
lieved in him, and loved him, should have
their sins forgiven, and go to heaven when
they died. As soon as Jesus had done talk-
ing to the people that morning, he told
Peter to go out to sea in his boat and let
down the net, and catch some fish. Now
Peter and the other fishermen had been out
in their boats all the night long, for in the
dark night the fish come into the nets better
than in the day-time ; but they had caught
nothing. Though they had been hard at

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THE DRAUGHT OF FISHES

THE DRAUGHT OF FISHES. 141

work all night, not a single fish had come
into their nets. Do you think Peter was
surprised when Jesus told him to go and
fish again ? Perhaps he was ; but still he
did what Jesus told him. He only said,
"Master, we have toiled all the night and
have taken nothing ; nevertheless, at thy
command, I will let down the net." This
shewed his faith. By faith I mean, believing
that whatever Jesus says must be true. No
doubt Peter was very glad that he had
obeyed Christ's command ; for as soon as the
net was let down into the water, so many
fishes came into it that it began to break ;
and they caught more than enough to fill
Peter's boat. So many, indeed, that they
had to beckon to the people who were in
the other boats to come and help them.
And when they came, they too filled their
boats quite full of fish. Was not this very

1,42 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

wonderful ? Jesus could do every thing.
He could make the fishes in the sea come
into the nets when he pleased, just as easily
as he could give sight to a blind man, or
raise a dead man to life. James and John
and Peter were very much surprised ; they
were almost frightened when they saw how
wonderful and how powerful Jesus was.
But Jesus said to them kindly, "Fear not,
from henceforth you shall catch men." By
this he meant, that they should teach and
preach to the people, and shew them the
way to love and serve God, and that the
people would listen to them and come to
them to be taught, just as the fishes came
into the net.

After Jesus had performed this miracle,
Peter and the other fishermen left their
boats and their nets, and followed Jesus.
They loved him so much that they were

JESUS STOPS AT CAPERNAUM. 143

ready to give up every tiling to become his
disciples. We should he ready to do the
same. Children should be ready to give up
their own little pleasures whenever it is
thought right they should do so.

When Jesus Christ was here on earth, he
was, as I have often told you, always going
about doing good. He cured so many sick
people, that wherever he went, other sick
people were brought to him in hopes that
he would cure them also. He was once
stopping at a place called Capernaum ; and
when it was known that he was there, such
great numbers of people came around him
that very soon the house was quite full.
Now there was a poor man who was sick of
the palsy. He had been ill a very long
time, and he could not walk about as you
can, or do any thing for himself. He had,
however, some kind friends, who carried

144 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

him on his little bed, and brought him to
the house where Jesus was staying ; but
when they got there, there was such a crowd
around the door that they could not get in.
What do you think they did ? Did they put
the poor man in through the window, or did
they carry him back again ? No ; I will tell
you how they managed. The houses in the
Holy Land are not made with sloping. roofs,
like the houses in this country ; they are flat
at the top, so that people can walk on them,
and there are stairs outside the house which
lead up to the roof, so that people can go up
outside without going in-doors. Well, this
is what the poor men did. They carried the
poor man sick of the palsy in his little bed
up to the top of the house, and then made a
hole in the roof, and tied four cords to the
sick man's bed, and let him down into the
middle of the room where Jesus was. Do

THE SICK OF THE PALSY CURED. 145

you think Jesus made the poor man well?
Yes ; he spoke kindly to him, and told him
to take up his bed and walk. How thank-
ful he must have been to find he was able
to do so ! The people who brought the poor
man to Jesus had no need to carry him back
again, for now he could use his limbs and
walk as well as they could. The moment
that Jesus spoke to him he got up, placed
his little bed under his arm, for, as I have
told you before, the beds in that country can
be rolled up like mats, and went back to his
own home, praising and blessing Jesus
Christ.

Sometimes we go to the sea-side in the
summer, when all is calm and bright.
Little children often like to sit down and
play on the wide smooth sands, and pick up
pretty shells and sea-weed. Sometimes

they look at the little boats as they glide

10

146 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

along on the water, or watch the waves as
they gently roll on the beach. All this is
very pleasant, and whilst we enjoy it we
should think of the great and good God who
made the great sea, and who said to it,
"Hitherto shalt thou come and no farther,
and here shall thy proud waves be stayed."
Sometimes, however, a storm arises; and
then, instead of being so calm and beautiful,
the sea dashes up on the beach, and the
great roaring waves beat over each other in
the most frightful manner — the wind blows ;
the tempest rages — and ships and boats are
in the greatest danger. When Jesus was
here on earth he was once sailing, with his
disciples, in one of their little ships, when a
violent storm came on. The wind blew so
much that the ship was covered with the
waves. Jesus had been talking and preach-
ing to the people during the day, and he was

JESUS CALMS THE STORM. 147

so tired that he went to sleep on a pillow,
in the hinder part of the ship. Soon the
waves dashed so high as to cover the boat,
and it began to fill with water. The dis-
ciples were quite frightened, for they thought
it would soon sink in the sea, and that they
should all be drowned. So they went to
Jesus and awoke him, crying, "Lord, save
us, we perish." This shewed their faith. I
mean, it shewed that they believed Jesus
could save them ; and so he did. For he got
up directly his disciples called to him,
and stopped the wind, and the raging of
the water, so that there was a great calm.
How did he stop them? Only by speak-
ing a word ; he said, " Peace, be still ;"
and all was hushed directly. The wind
left off blowing ; the waves dashed no
longer ; the little ship again glided gently
and smoothly along, until they reached the

148 THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR.

shore. The disciples, although they had
seen so many wonderful miracles done by
Jesus, could not help being surprised, and
they said to each other, "What manner of
man is this, that even the winds and the sea
obey him?" Yes, dear little children, Jesus
can do every thing ; he can still the roaring
of the sea ; he can protect us when we are
in danger; he can keep us safe when we
are on a journey; he can make us well
when we are ill ; he can comfort us when
we are in trouble; he can wash away our
sins in his own precious blood ; he can take
us to heaven when we die ; he can make us
happy for ever and ever.

Published by Evans Sf Dicker son.

INDESTRUCTIBLE

PRINTED ON LINEN, BHATJTIFr/LLY COLOKED, NAMELY I

DEATH AND BURIAL OF COCK ROBIN.
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In Progressive Steps. The Picture Book — The Horn Book — Nursery
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Embellished with 200 small and 36 full-page Illustrations. 2 vols.

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No family in which children reside, or where they are to be entertained, should be with-
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ACTING CHARADE5 ;

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THE BEST AND CHEAPEST JUVENILE MAGAZINE IN
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Books for Young People.

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