And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wis- dom; and the grace of God was upon him. Luke ii. 40. Page 55 THE NOTICE TAKEN OF CHILDREN BY JESUS. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and SERMON I. GOD CREATED YOU. COME YE CHILDREN, HEARKEN UNTO ME. I WILL TEACH YOU THE FEAR OF THE LORD. Ir my children will look in their Bibles for the thirty-fourth Psalm, and the eleventh verse, they will find there the words of the text. In the language of scripture, I call upon you to listen to me, while with affectionate concern for your improvement and happiness, I endeavor to teach you the principles of religion, or, which is the same thing, the fear of the Lord. I mean to do this in some sermons, which I shall write on purpose for you, and which I shall try to make so plain, that you cannot help understanding them if you will only listen. And yet, though I shall try to make them plain, they will have the same things in them which I preach to grown up people. And these things are very important. Indeed they are the most important things which can be told, either to men and women, or to children. My first sermon will be about the first and most important thing to be known, which is, that you, and I, and all people, and all creatures and things, were made by one Being, or Mind, whom we call God. You remember that the first question in your catechism is, "Can you tell me, child, who made you ? And the answer is, " God made me, and all things." The question is a natural one, and the answer is perfectly true. And how do we know that it is true? You may say, because the Bible tells us so. That is a good reason. The Bible does tell us so very often. The first words in the Bible are, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And afterwards, in that same chapter it is said, "So God created man." And in the fourth commandment it says, "The Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." There are a great many other places in which God is spoken of as the Maker of all things, and the Maker of all men. And so you would be right in saying that the Bible tells you, that the answer in the cate |