THE K I NG ' S BUS I NESS what it is. (Children of primary age may know as soon as you mention mes senger, to what you refer, but keep them curious for a few moments.) We could not get along without it, for it helps us every time we eat or talk, and, Yes, you have guessed who this little messenger is, it is our tongue. You see it is very useful like the horse, and like the horse it can do so many good things, and help people and carry messages, and make people happy, and my, it would take me all day to tell all the lovely things these little tongues can do, hut you know it is just like the horse again, for it can run away. Now how do you suppose your tongue could run away. I saw a little run-away. tongue the other day in the stored and O my, it just screamed and cried and made so much noise every body turned around to see what the trouble was. This little tongue belonged to a little girl about five years old, and I think she was a pretty little girl, but that, runaway tongue had spoiled her looks, for her face was dirty from cry ing, and she looked so cross. What do you think made this little tongue run away? She wanted some candy and her mother did not want her to have it.' Now this runaway tongue hurt the little girl for she said cross words, and those cross words hurt the dear mother, and you see it is like the horse when it runs away, it hurts people. Another way our tongues run away, is by telling things that are not true. Ntfw we found out this morning that horses need bridles on so we can guide them right, and do you think our tongues need something to guide them too? Yes, indeed, and our story to-day is about speaking for Jesus, and if these little tongues run away, do you think they would be speaking for Jesus? No, indeed and it would hurt him, when they would say cross, angry words. Now these little tongues are so very small, and yet, sometimes we can not hold them from running away, so what can we do with them? We can ask Jesus to help us hold them, and He
689 knows all about these tongues, for He tells us in our story that they are very naughty, and that we can not hold them from saying wrong things without help, and He is the only one that can help us, and make these tongues say kind and loving words. Our memory verse tells that when we say kind words it helps others to say kind words too, and when we say cross, angry words, it makes those to whom we say cross words, feel like saying cross words. You know another way we can k’eep horses from running away is to shut them up in a barn and fasten the door tight, and we can shut our tongues up by shutting our teeth together real tight when our tongue wants to run away by saying cross words, or telling stories that are not true, and you know that tongue can not say a word when the teeth are closed, and then ask Jesus to help you to say kind, loving words, and always to speak the truth, and by that time you will not feel like saying anything cross, but will want to use the wonderful little tongue God has given to us to make peo ple happy, and speak a word for Jesus everywhere we go. Closing Prayer.— Let us thank God for giving us our tongues, and ask Him to help us to always speak a word for Jesus, our loving Saviour. TEMPLES “O Father! grant thy love divine To make these mystic temples thine! When wasting age and wearying strife Have sapped the leaning waifs of life, When darkness gathers over all, When the last tottering pillars fall, Take the poor dust thy mercy warms, And mould it into heavenly forms!” 1 — Holmes.
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