none of you who have not seen a flock of sheep, with the little lambs frisking about, and the shepherd watching the sheep and taking care of the lambs. Now this represents Christ and his Church. Christ says to Peter in my text, Feed my sheep; feed my lambs; by which he means, Teach sinners, instruct the young.

There are three things to which I wish you now to attend:

I. JESUS CHRIST IS OUR SHEPHERD.

II. ALL GOOD CHILDREN ARE THE LAMBS OF HIS FLOCK.

III. JESUS CHRIST FEEDS THE LAMBS OF HIS

FLOCK.

I. Let us then first think of the SHEPherd. Whenever you have seen a flock of sheep, you have observed a man with them who is called the shepherd, whose business it is to take care of the sheep, to give them food, to bring them into the fold, to fetch back any sheep that may wander, to lift any one up that may fall, and to help the weak and young lambs. Well, my dear children, there is a great and glorious Saviour, who is the Shepherd of the Church, Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary, and who died for the sake of the sheep; that is, for the salvation of us sinners. Though he was the Lord of Glory,

he took our nature, and was born in so low a state of life, that his mother had no place to lay him in but a manger. And this Shepherd did for us, what no shepherd ever did for his sheep, he died for his flock.

Children, did you ever think of this? Did you ever try to think why it was that Jesus Christ came into the world? Why he suffered himself to be treated ill by men? Did you ever think why he let the Jews put a crown of thorns upon his head, and the soldier take a spear and thrust it into his side? Did you ever think that all this was because the sheep had wandered from the fold, and because God was angry, and because the sheep must all have been lost for ever, if the shepherd had not died for them? Jesus Christ poured out his blood to save the sheep, he made an atonement-an offering of himself to God for them, that they might repent and believe and go to Heaven.

Jesus Christ is frequently called the shepherd in the Bible. The Prophet Isaiah says of him, He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with, young'. And our Lord says of himself, I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep".

Isaiah, xl. 11.

2 John, x. 11.

This is the first thing I have to talk to you

of: Jesus Christ is our shepherd.

Let us now go on to consider,

II. Who are the LAMBS of Christ's flock. My dears, all good children are the lambs of Christ's flock. By a good child, I mean a child who is turned away from sin; a child whose heart is changed by the Holy Spirit, who is sorry for his sins, and weeps over them, and tries to believe in Jesus Christ, and tries to love God and do his duty. Every little boy or girl who does this is a lamb of Christ's flock. He was before like other children, wandering from Christ's fold; but now he is brought back to it. Remember, children, that you and I were by nature separated from God, like lambs going away from the shepherd. The Bible says, All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way 3. Remember, too, that all wicked children are not as yet Christ's lambs, but are like sheep still going astray from the fold.

Now wicked children like these are marked by three things.

First, A wicked child is one who tells lies. Children who are not truly become lambs of Christ, are too apt to do this. I do not mean merely telling direct untruths, which you know will be found out, but concealing what you

3 Isa. liii. 6.

have done amiss, not always telling the whole truth.

Secondly, The second thing that marks wicked children is, their disobedience to their parents. Every child that is not truly turned to Christ does this. Such children do what they are desired not to do; and when their parents find fault with them, then they are sulky and disobedient. Now I fear that almost all the children here, if they put their hands on their hearts, must own that they have disobeyed their parents. Such must know that unless they are converted, they cannot be the lambs of Christ.

Thirdly, The third thing that marks wicked children is, that they are quarrelsome. A little boy, who is not a lamb of Christ's flock, quarrels with his brothers, or sisters, or playmates; he always takes the largest share of any thing that is given between them; he is cross and selfish: and if he is a big child, he beats the younger ones. Now I am afraid that almost every child here, if he asks his own heart, must own that he has done these three things.

But there is another thing that wicked children do, but it is so bad that I hardly like to thention it; and yet I must mention it, lest any little child here should be guilty of it. What I mean is, speaking bad words, swearing, and taking God and Christ's names in vain. This

VOL. II.

is a very, very wicked thing; but I am afraid many little children, who would not be allowed to do it in school, do it when nobody hears them. I have been very much shocked, as I walked along the public streets, to hear very bad words from little boys not above eight or nine years old so early do they learn to sin.

But when the grace of God begins to soften the heart of a little boy or girl, and the child feels what a sinner he has been, and thinks within himself, I must die and be laid in the church-yard, and the worms must feed on my body, and if I have not loved Jesus Christ, I must go to hell; when a little child feels his sins at the bottom of his heart, and begins to pray, it is the first sign of one who is becoming a lamb of Christ's flock. I hope there is not a child here who does not say his prayers; but, my dear children, there is a great difference between saying your prayers and praying. But when a little child begins to turn to God and to feel his sins, then he begins really to pray to God from his heart, and to beg of God to pardon his sins for Christ's sake, and he tries to leave off every thing naughty, and to love God and obey his commandments, and govern his tempers, and he seeks God's grace to do this --such a child is a lamb of Christ's flock, a lamb, belonging to the great and good shepherd Jesus Christ. Such a little child was once