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THE STORY OF THE FIRST MISSIONARY SHIP.

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SHIP. II.

AN our young readers find a map of Palestine? If so, to look at it for a little will help them to understand the voyages of the little ship which waited upon Jesus.

On the north-western shore of the lake of Galilee, we find Capernaum. On this spot most travellers believe that that city once stood, for there is no city of Capernaum now. A few ruins are all that remain of that once highly favoured city. Peter's house was there, and Jesus often abode with him after be left Nazareth. Capernaum was the centre, from which Jesus made so many journeys through Galilee.

On the eastern shore of the lake, we find the district of country which belonged to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. In the time of our Saviour, it was inhabited by a very ignorant, ungodly people, many of whom were Gentiles. Jesus had an errand of mercy to Gadara, which lay in that dark, benighted region; but before going thither, He must preach to the multitudes who had gathered around him by the sea shore. As the little ship was lying by the water-side, Jesus again entered into it, sat down and taught the people, and on this occasion we know much

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of what He said. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, give us each an account of the sermon which Jesus preached in the little ship, that afternoon. It was a sermon which even the little boys and girls who heard it could remember, because it was full of stories. There was one story of a sower, and the different kinds of ground on which he cast the seed: another, of a man who sowed good seed, and an enemy who sowed tares: then there were stories of how the seed grows; first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear; of how a small seed becomes a great tree, &c. It was a missionary sermon. In a chain of beautiful parables, Jesus shewed how the good seed of the Word would yet be sown over all the earth, and how notwithstanding all the efforts of the enemy to hinder its growth, the whole field, which is the world, would yet bring forth fruit to God

The same evening Jesus embarked in the little ship for Gadara. Wearied with the fatiguing labours of the day, He fell asleep on the pillow in the hinder part of the ship. While Jesus lay asleep, a storm of wind came whirling down the ravines upon the lake, and the foaming waves dashed over the little ship, filling it with water. These fishermen were well accustomed to the gales which frequently spring up on the lake of Galilee, and they must have been in very great danger when they were so alarmed. Though they made every effort to steer their little bark safely through the storm, still the water gained upon them, and they saw that the vessel was fast sinking, and felt that they could do no more. Then they remembered Jesus. Where had he been while his disciples were vainly striving with the winds and the waves? He still lay asleep on the pillow, undisturbed by the raging tempest. Awaked by the distressed cry of his terrified disciples, Jesus arose, rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, 'Peace, be still.' And there was a great calm. What a wonderful manifestation of Himself did Jesus give to His disciples that night, in the little ship! One moment they saw Him a weary man asleep, and the next moment

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THE STORY OF THE FIRST MISSIONARY SHIP.

"The storm is changed into a calm,

At His command and will;

So that the waves which raged before
Now quiet are and still.'

No wonder that as they rowed along the now peaceful waters they could only say to one another 'What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?' Thus did Jesus gently train His disciples to put their trust in Him, and to seek His help in every time of need. Long afterwards Peter wrote in his epistle 'Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.' He would not then have said 'Master, carest thou not that we perish?' for he had learned to know Jesus better and to trust Him more. Ever since that night, the storm-tossed little bark on the lake of Galilee has been looked upon as an emblem of the sin-troubled soul, and many a weary one has been comforted by the sweet story. How often has the prayer ascended

'O Lord, the pilot's part perform, And guide, and guard me through the storm; Defend me from each threatening ill, Control the waves, say, 66 'Peace, be still."

But what was the errand of Jesus to Gadara? It is not long before we find this out, for immediately on landing, two men who were possessed with evil spirits met Jesus. One of them is especially mentioned as being so very strong and fierce, that he was the terror of the neighbourhood. To deliver these poor demoniacs from the power of Satan, and to restore them to their right mind, was the errand of Jesus to that desert shore. He who but a few hours previous had rebuked the wind, now rebuked the demons and set the poor man free from their power. Soon the inhabitants of the city gathered around Jesus, and saw the man who had so long been a terror to them. sitting at the feet of the Healer, clothed and in his right mind. Surely they must have rejoiced at the wonderful change wrought upon their poor afflicted countryman. Surely they would entreat Jesus to remain among them, and become their teacher and their friend. But, no! These ungodly Gadarenes cared more for the few swine they had lost, than for the great blessings Jesus had come

to bestow upon them, and they besought him to depart out of their coasts.' What a terrible that was; and it was prayer answered, for we never again read of Jesus visiting that district. The Gadarenes put away from them the only opportunity they ever had, of welcoming Jesus to their shores. It is a terrible thing to pray to Jesus to depart from us. Perhaps our young readers think no one would do such a thing now. If Jesus were in their town they are sure they would welcome Him, and invite Him to stay with them in their own homes. Are you sure of this, dear young friends? If so, Jesus is here now, knocking at the door of your hearts, and waiting for you to invite Him to come in and abide with you for ever. But many still shut their hearts against Him, and like the Gadarenes, pray Him to depart out of their coasts.

What then did the poor healed demoniac do when he saw Jesus enter into the little ship to depart from him? Did he, like his countrymen, wish to be separated from Jesus? That poor demoniac had already received such blessings from Jesus, that he clung to Him and implored that he might be with Him in the ship; he did not wish ever to be separated from Jesus again.

His prayer was a far better one than that of his countrymen, and yet his request was denied, while theirs was granted. And what became of the poor man after the little ship sailed away and Jesus was no longer with him? He became a zealous home missionary. He went about publishing in all that district how great things Jesus had done for him, and perhaps even those ungodly ones who would not listen to Jesus Himself, listened to the words of their own countryman. Jesus knew that this poor man could serve Him best by remaining among his own friends, to whom by the new life he led he would ever be a monument of His power and of His love. The visit of the little ship to the shores of Gadara, accomplished a great missionary work, and ever since the case of the poor demoniac of Gadara has encouraged both home and foreign missionaries to prosecute their arduous labours, and many times have they

VISIT TO A SABBATH FORENOON SERVICE.

been rewarded by seeing those who had been as fast bound by Satan as the poor Gadarene, become meek and lowly followers of Jesus.

Whole islands. once peopled by fierce and cruel savages, have by the power of the gospel, been so changed, that nearly all their inhabitants are now found sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in their right mind. Such wonders does Jesus still work among us.

Travellers have discovered the very spot where this miracle was wrought. On the eastern shore of the lake, there is one steep place where the beach runs right down into the deep waters, and this marks the scene of the miracle, for only there could the swine run headlong into the sea, and perish in the waters.

Leaving the shores of Gadara, the little ship soon returned with Jesus and His disciples to Capernaum. Ere long we again find them setting sail on another errand of mercy. But we must leave the next voyage of the 'little ship which waited on Jesus,' for another time.

VISIT TO A SABBATH FORENOON SERVICE.

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HE Sabbath school readers of 'The Dayspring' who have never attended a 'Forenoon Service for the Young,' will perhaps feel interested in a short account of one of these very important meetings, which are designed only for children whose parents do not attend any place of worship.

It was on a beautiful though cold morning in January, that we found ourselves on the way to the children's church. The 'bells' had ceased to ring out their welcome tones, for the worship in our Forenoon service does not begin till the congregations have all assembled. As we neared the comfortable looking hall in which the service is conducted, we saw a number of working boys and girls tidily dressed in their everyday clothes, with bibles or hymn books in their hands, making their way to the meeting. We enter the hall with the little ones. The seats are partly filled, the boys on the one side and the girls on the other.

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A blazing fire gives the room a cheerful and comfortable appearance. The monitors are all in their places, roll book in hand, welcoming with a pleasant smile the young worshippers as they take their seats.

It is now time for worship: the door is closed, and the services begin by one of the office-bearers giving out the 100th psalm. The young people stand, and all heartily sing that grand old psalm and tune. All then unite in prayer, and from the stillness and solemnity which prevail, one cannot help thinking that at least some of the assembly feel that they are in the audience chamber of the Great King. After the prayer a portion of God's word is read; this morning it was the first chapter of Genesis. A very few words of explanation accompanied the reading. A part of the thirty-third psalm was then given out, and it was pleasing to hear how the youthful congregation joined in singing

'The heavens by the word of God
Did their beginning take;
And by the breathing of his mouth
He all their hosts did make.'

After this song of praise another of the office-bearers read an interesting story which had been selected for this morning. The boys and girls seemed deeply impressed, and could not but leave the meeting with a better understanding of the 24th verse of the 17th chapter of John's gospel, 'Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, &c.' appropriate hymn Around the throne of God in heaven,' was then sung, after which a part of the 10th chapter of Mark's gospel was read and a short address given, the substance of which is as follows:

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Is it not hard that for the want of ONE thing, all besides should go for nothing? You have repeated your bible text, or your psalm, and although one word may be wanting, we do not on that account tell you that the lesson is so badly said that it cannot be taken off your hand. Is it not, then, a little hard that for want of some one thing-just one thing, mark-a child should be kept out

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of the kingdom of heaven? That depends very much on what the one thing is. I recollect a good number of years ago getting a present of a silver watch. It was my first watch, and like every boy, I was immensely proud of it. It had to be pulled out at least every ten minutes to learn what the hour was, and to be admired afresh. Winding it up one night, a sudden, whirring noise which I had never heard in a watch before. told me that something had gone wrong. had broken the mainspring, and though it was but one thing that was wrong, that one thing was quite enough to make my watch completely useless.

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'Let us try it again. Two boys of my acquaintance, received from their father a plot of ground, sufficient for the raising of a few flowers. Spring came, and saw them busy with their little garden. One of them seemed to have a strong taste for making walks,' for his plot was cut up into squares, and triangles and circles, some of them not very round. When summer came, the garden was bright with convolvulus, and other annuals, and bees would come from miles away to have their dinner off the mignonette, and to play at hide and seek (for I have seen even busy bees' playing) among the bells of the snap-dragon. But there was one little patch in the garden, in which it seemed as if nothing would grow. It had been dug like the rest, and carefully prepared, and yet. there lay the black, rich mould with nothing to be seen except a dandelion or two, and a few spikes of grass. There was just one thing wanting, and that being so, all the hard work of the springtime went for nothing. The boy had forgotten to put SEED in it.

'Now, to show that a great deal depends

wound or injury had been sustained by the heart, he must have died, but that one thing, more important than the leg or arm being unhurt, life still continued.

'I have not taken these words of Christ, simply to tell you one or two stories in reference to them. I have taken them that I might get you to ask yourselves, have we this one thing, or is it wanting? LOVE TO CHRIST--FAITH IN CHRIST, that is the one thing, without which all other things are in vain. You may be very nice children every one: you may be able to say we have never broken the eighth commandment, or the third commandment, or the fourth commandment. Very true, perhaps; but it is Love or Faith that is the mainspring, and without it your life cannot go. so as to please the loving Jesus; and, on the other hand, if you have this love to Christ, though there be some things about you that I should wish to see improved, still it is the main thing, and it will soon conquer and destroy the other things that are not what they should be.

For LOVE and FAITH are LIFE; and the absence of these is DEATH.'

No congregation could have been more attentive. After the address all engaged in prayer. The sweet hymn 'I lay my sins on Jesus' was sweetly sung, and the 'Forenoon Service' was concluded with the Lord's prayer. The boys and girls were invited to come to church in the afternoon, and several accepted the invitation. For their encouragement the worthy minister addressed to the young some suitable and interesting remarks, which we may perhaps give in a future number of 'The Dayspring.'

upon the importance of the thing that is ONE

wanting, I shall tell you what I saw at a railway station the other day. A poor fellow who had met with some terrible accident, was dragging himself along by means of his arms, and two hand crutches. Both of his legs were cut off close to the body, and the wonder to me was that he should have lived at all. I began to think upon the matter and saw at once that if the

PALM TREES.

NE can have little difficulty in discovering that the Bible was, for the most part, written in a country where palm trees abound. But few children in our Sabbath schools ever saw a palm tree except in such a picture as that on the opposite page. How beautiful, how tall, how straight they look, rising up like arrows from the ground, and pointing right up to the throne of the Great King!

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