the love of your heavenly Father, my children, speak the truth. 4. And, finally, I wish that you may live the truth. That is, I wish that truth may shine out through your whole life, and be seen in all your character and conduct. I certainly wish that you may always speak the truth, but I do not care that you should speak much about the truth; because I have known persons who were in the habit of talking frequently and quite in raptures about truth, saying how lovely and excellent it was, and yet who did not seem to me to speak and act more truly themselves, than many others who did not say so much about it. Do not be affected. Do not pretend to feel more than you really feel, or to be more than you are. Be polite, and considerate of other people's feelings, but at the same time be true. Be true to your faith. Do not say a good thing, and afterwards be afraid to act it. Do not lend yourselves to help out any piece of fraud or low cunning. Be fair and frank in all your dealings and proceedings, but at the same time gentle and kind; for truth and charity agree together like loving sisters; but truth and rudeness do not agree together at all, but whatever truth does rudeness is sure to spoil. Be not rude, but be true; kind and true. Then you will be beloved and respected, and you will be happy. And if you care about being thought handsome, the best way and the only way in your power is to be honest and true. In your face and form you cannot be different from what God made you. But deceit and habits of falsehood will so hurt the handsomest face, that people will think it no longer handsome; while truth will add beauty to the most beautiful. The most celebrated of English poets has said the same thing, in words so simple that you will understand them at once. "Oh, how much more doth beauty beauteous seem, By that sweet ornament which truth doth give! Bind this sweet ornament about your neck, my children, and always wear it, and then you need not give yourselves any concern about your beauty; for you must be beautiful in the eyes of all who know you. Now I have given you my New Year's Wish, and may God grant that it be fulfilled! It is that you may walk in truth; and it was explained to you under four divisions or heads, which I will repeat to you that you may remember them. I wished that you might love the truth, learn the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth. Whether we shall meet together on the first Sunday of the next year, I know not. How long we shall live together in this world, I know not. No one knows. Children die, and men die; and we cannot tell who will be called to their last account in the present year. But if we walk daily in truth, we have the sure promise of God, that we shall walk together in the heavenly city, in light and glory, and live through the heavenly year, which is immortal and eternal. SERMON X. FAULTS OF CHILDREN. EVEN A CHILD IS KNOWN BY HIS DOINGS, WHETHER HIS WORK THIS is a wise saying which concerns children; and it may be found in the Book of Proverbs, 20th chapter, 11th verse. The meaning of it is, that a child, as well as a man, is to be known, or distinguished, by his character, his habits, his behaviour, his talk; so that you can tell, young as he is, and brief as his residence has been in this world, whether his work, or the amount of what he does, is pure and right, or whether it is impure and wrong. Some children are obedient to those whom they ought to obey, and some are disobedient; some are disposed to be calm and quiet, and some to be peevish and fretful; some are gentle, and some are rude and passionate; some speak the truth always, and some speak a great deal of falsehood. Now by all these doings a child is known. He is not so widely known as a man is, because he does not act on so wide a stage as a man does; but still he is known. He is known by his playmates and schoolmates, and he is known by many grown up people, the friends and acquaintances of his family, the neighbors, and others. He cannot help being known. There are many eyes upon him, which must see what he is doing, how he conducts himself; and therefore there are many minds which form an opinion concerning his work and his conduct. It is important that you should be aware of this, my children, and that you should govern yourselves accordingly. It is important that you should be aware, that even at your early time of life, people observe you, and have their thoughts and feelings about you. You are sometimes too apt to imagine that people are taking notice of your clothes, when in fact they are not; but you may depend upon it, that many persons, who do not care the least whether you are dressed in one way or another, cannot fail to mark your behaviour, and are pleased to see you |