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Children's Sermon
The Mourners.
By Rev. Stuart Nye Hutchison, D. D.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall
he comforted. ? Matthew 5 :4.
When we see people dressed in blaek and
looking so sad and sorrowful, it makes us
very sorry. "We know that they are mourn
ing for some one who has been taken away
from them. In the second beatitude Jesus
said, "Blessed," that is, "happy," are they
that mourn. It always seems to us that there
cannot be very much happiness in mourning,
and if it had not been Jesus who spoke those
words we would think that there must be some
mistake. But Jesus, who knows so much more
than we know, said it, and we know that it
must be true.
IIow does mourning bring happiness? Let
me tell if I can, and see if we can understand
just what this beatitude means.
All boys and girls like candy and cake, but
if you had nothing to cat but candy and cake,
you would soon become very sick of it. We
all like to have clear days, when the sun shines
all the time and we can play. Maybe some
times we have thought when the rain came
down and spoiled our fun, ?what a fine thing it
would be tc live in a place where it never rains.
Suppose you could go to-day to a land where it
never rains, what would you find there? You
would find a desert. Nothing grows in the
desert. It is sand, sand everywhere and no one
can live in the desert. We must have the
rain as well as the sunshine so that plants,
and animals, and boys and girls can live. So
we see it would not do to have all sunshine.
Therefore, God gives us rain along with the
rest.
In the same way, boys and girls, God doesn't
give us all pleasure. If He did we would be
come like that desert, worthless and good-for
nothing. He sends us trouble and sorrow some
times, to make our hearts grow. You know
the heart must grow as well as the body and
|lhe mind.
ft Then God sends us trouble. He makes us
Kourn, so that we can think of Him. Thore
?as a mother once who had a little boy whom
pne loved very much. He became sick and
[died, and the poor, sad mother was heart
broken. A little while after one of her friends
met her and said, "I am so sorry. It is so
sad." The mother said, "Yes, but I can under
stand it all. I didn't think before about God
at all. All I thought of was myself and having
a good time. But God took my little boy up
to live with Him. And then I began to think:
'I want to see him again some time. And if
I am ever to sec him, I must go up to live
with God, too.' And then I began to wonder
whether I was ready to go to be with him.
Now I am trying to live so that when the time
comes there will be a place there for me, too,
beside him."
But there is something else that we ought
to mourn over. It is our sins. Long ago there
was a very wicked city called Nineveh. It was
one of the wickedest cities that ever was. At
last God told one of His prophets to go and
tell the people that unless they repented He
would destroy the whole city. So the prophet
went and told the people what God had said.
They were very much afraid and asked the
prophet what they should do, so that God
might have mercy and save them. This is
what he told them. "Go and put on mourning
everyone of you." They were to mourn for
their sins. They did as the prophet told them,
and all went into mourning, and God saved
the city.
Do you know why the monks and nuns all
wear black. It is the mourning color. It is
not because someone has died. It is because
of their sins. They are mourning for their
evil deeds.
There are two kinds of men and women and
boys and girls. One kind, when they do some
thing wrong say, "I don't care." They are
not sorry for what they have done. They
make God very angry. The other kind are
the people who, when they have done wrong,
are sad and sorrowful, and kneel down and
ask God to forgive them. This is what we
mean by mourning for our sins. It is being
sorry and asking God to forgive us, and
promising never to do it again.
It isn't so hard after all, is it, to know what
Jesus meant, "Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted."
Norfolk, Va.
Itients. Testaments were pulled out to see to
I what is printed. What could he mean? And
Diere one and there another read the precious
fwords, "For God so loved the world that He
[gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever be
lieveth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." "It was to do me good, and
so it has!" the sufferer cried. Luther called
this verse "The Miniature Bible." When these
poor sick folk read the tender words and
heard the unconscious comment ? "It was to
do me good, and so it has!" ? the spirit stirred
within them, and God the Holy Ghost used
that text then and there to the conversion of
souls. There was "joy in the presence of the
wngels of God" over sinners that repented.
fcThe sovereign power of God the Holy Spirit,
^sed this one text from the lips of a poor ig
?orant boy in that hospital ward and souls
were saved.
W Consciousness returned, and the poor little
?ellow gazed around him; how vast it looked!
fcnd how quiet it was ! Where was he 1 Present
s' a voice from the next bed said ? John Thr-ree
Sixteen, and how are you to-day, "Why, how
do you know my new name? Know it! You've
never ceased with your John Thr-ree Sixteen,
and I for one say, Blessed John Thr-ree Six
teen !v This sounded strange to the little lad's
ears. To be called "blessed" ? he for whom no
one cared. "And don't you know where it
comes from? it's from the Bible."
"The Bible! what's that?" The poor little
waif had never heard of the Bible ? that blessed
book, God's word to man. "Read it to me,"
he said; and as the words fell on his ear, he
muttered, "That's beautiful! it's all about love
and not a home for a night, but a home for
always!" He soon learned the text, saying,
"I have not only got a new name, but some
thing to it."
Days passed on and there were changes in
the ward but our little friend never felt lonely ;
he fed on his text and its precious words.
Another soul in that ward was to be won
to Christ by his means, and now in simple con
scious faith he was to be the agent of bless
ing.
On a cot near by him lay an old man who
was very ill. Early one morning a nun came
to his bedside, and said, "Patrick, how is it
with you to-daj I" "Badly, badly!" groaned
the old man. "Has the priest been to see
you?" asked the nun. "Oh, yes, but that only
makes it worse, for he has anointed me with
the holy oil, and I am marked for death. I'm
no' fit to die ? oil, what shall I do?" "Patrick,
it's very sad to see you so," she gently ans
wered; "look! here are these beads, they have
been blessed by His Holiness the Pope, and
they will help you to die happy.' She placed
them around his neck, and then, wishing him
good-bye, went out. But how could a string
of beads ease a dying man facing eternity, with
his sins unforgivcn? Poor Patrick groaned
aloud. "God ha' mercy!" he cried; "I am
such a sinner, I'm no' fit to die. What shall I
do? Oh, what will become o' me?"
Our little fellow heard his miserable words.
"Poor old man," thinks he; "he wants a pass."
"Patrick," he called, "I know something that
will do you good ? quite sure ? it has done me."
"Tell me, tell me quickly," cried Patrick. "If
only I could find something to do me good."
"Here it is. Now listen, John 3:16. Are you
listening?" "Yes, yes, go on." "John 3:16 ?
'For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever lielieveth in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.' " Through these words Patrick found
peace in his dying hour, and entered into ever
lasting life ? another soul brought to Christ in
that hospital ward by means of a single text
blessed by the Holy Spirit.
Our little friend recovered. For long, John
Three Sixteen was his one text. God blessed
his simple faith ; friends placed him at school,
and now he is an earnest hearty worker for
the Master.
"Blessed are they that hear the "Word of
God and keep it." Luke 11:28.
Children's Letters
HAS A GOOD SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER.
Dear Presbyterian : I am a little girl twelve
years old. I am in the fourth grade. We have
thirty-two scholars in our school. I have one
brother going to school. Miss Carrie Patter
son is my teacher. She is really pretty and she
takes the Presbyterian of the South. I go to
the Christian Church. My Sunday-school
teacher is Mrs. Susie Martin and she is a good
teacher.
From your truly friend,
Richmond, Ya. Manchie Lee Martin.
ASKED GOD TO HELP HER.
Dear Presbyterian: I am a little girl 10
years old today, November 27th, 1916. I go
to the same school I went to last year. I
am in the third grade. My teacher is Miss
Came Patterson. She is good to me. I will
be glad when Santa Claus comes. Hope he
will not forget me. I go to Sunday-school as
often as I can. I am in a class of 45 little
girls. I try to be a good girl, and obey my
mother the best that I can. I ask the Lord
to keep my lips pure and clean all through
the day. May they speak alone truth, dear
Lord, I pray !
Gladys E. Tucker.
Ellerson, Va., R. 1.
If tomorrow should mark your entrance into
glory, then live today as you will wish you had
when you see him. ? Chapman.