in the box. Was the soul of the baby in the box?—No; its soul was gone up to God.
Will you not thank God for giving you a spirit? Will you not ask Him to take your spirit to live with him when your body dies?
Say to God, “Pray, take my spirit to live with Thee when my body dies and turns into dust.”
CHILD.
Tell me, mamma, if I must die
One day, as little baby died;
And look so very pale, and lie
Down in the pit-hole by his side?
Shall I leave dear papa and you,
And never see you any more?
Tell me, mamma, if this is true:
I did not know it was before.
MAMMA.
’Tis true, my love, that you must die;
The God who made you says you must;
And every one of us shall lie,
Like the dear baby in the dust.
These hands, and feet, and busy head,
Shall waste and crumble quite away;
But though your body shall be dead,
There is a part which can’t decay.
What is that part which can’t decay? It is your soul.
Your body will decay; it will turn into dust; but your soul will live forever: it will never decay.
LESSON IV.
OF THE GOOD ANGELS.
You know that God lives in heaven. He has no body, for he is a spirit.
Does he live in heaven alone?—No; angels stand all round his throne.
What are angels?
Angels are spirits. They are bright like the sun, but they are not so bright as God, for he is brighter than the sun. The angels are always looking at God, and it is God that makes them shine so bright.
They sing sweet songs about God. They say, “How good God is! how wise! how great!”
There is no night in heaven, for the angels are never tired of singing, and they never wish to sleep. They are never sick, and they will never die.
They never weep; there are no tears upon their cheeks, but sweet smiles, for angels are always happy.
If the angels were naughty, they would be unhappy. Naughtiness always makes people unhappy. The angels are quite good. They love God very much, and mind all he says.
They have wings, and can fly very quickly. God sends them down here to take care of us. As soon as God tells an angel to go, he begins to fly. They are very strong, and can keep us from harm.
Should you like the angels to be near you at night? Do you know this pretty verse or hymn?
I lay my body down to sleep,
Let angels guard my head,
And through the hours of darkness keep
Their watch around my bed.
You must ask God to send the angels, for they never go, except when God sends them.
God is their Father. They have not two fathers, as you have. The angels are the children of God, and live in God’s house in heaven. When you mind what your father tells you, then you are like the angels who mind God.
The angels love us very much. They wish us to grow good, and to come to live with them in heaven. When a child is sorry for its naughtiness, and prays to God to forgive it, the angels are very much pleased.
When a little child who loves God falls sick, and is going to die, God says to the angels, “Go and fetch that little child’s soul up to heaven.” Then the angels fly down, the little darling shuts its eyes, it lays its head on its mothers bosom, its breath stops;—the child is dead. Where is its soul? The angels are carrying it up to heaven.
How happy the child is now! Its pain is over; it is grown quite good; it is bright like an angel. It holds a harp in its hand, and begins to sing a sweet song of praise to God. Its little body is put into a grave, and turns into dust. One day God will make its body alive again.
Dear children, will you pray to God to send his angels to fetch your souls when you die?
Around God’s glorious throne above
The happy angels stand,
And ever praise the God they love,
And fly at his command.
Their faces, like the sun, are bright,
And sweetest smiles they wear;
They never sleep; there is no night,
Nor need of candle there.
But though the angels live so high,
They love us men below,
And hope to see us in the sky
In garments white as snow.
And when a dying infant lies
Upon its mother’s breast,
The angels watch it while it dies,
And take its soul to rest.
LESSON V.
OF THE WICKED ANGELS.
When did God begin to live in heaven? God always lived in heaven.
Once there was no such little child as you, but there always was God.
Once there was no sun, but there always was God.
Once there were no angels, but there always was God.
No one made God; God was the first of all things, and God made everything.
A very long while ago God made the angels. How many angels did he make? No one could tell how many. There were more than could be counted. They were all good and happy.
But some of the angels grew bad. They left off loving God, and grew proud, and disobedient.
Would God let them stay in heaven after they were bad? No; he cast them out, and put them in chains and darkness.
One of these bad angels was called Satan. He is the chief, or prince of the bad angels. He is called the devil.
The devil is very wicked, and hates God. He can never go back to heaven again, but he comes here where we live, and he brings the other devils with him.
We cannot see Satan, because he is a spirit, but he is always walking about, and trying to make people naughty.
Satan loves mischief; he does not wish to be good. It pleases Satan to see people in pain and in tears; but it pleases him best to see them naughty, because then he thinks that they will come and live with him in his dark place. He wishes that there should be a great many people in hell, so he tries to make us do wicked things, and keep us from praying to God.
I cannot tell you how very bad Satan is. He is very cruel, for he likes to give pain. He is a liar and teaches people to tell lies. He is proud, and wishes people to mind him more than God. He is envious, and cannot bear to see people happy.
The devil hopes very much that you will come and live with him when you die. He knows that if you are bad like him, you will live with him. So he tries to make you like himself.