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Discourses Doctrinal and Practical, Partly Occasional, Chiefly Common, Delivered in Different Country Churches
Discourses Doctrinal and Practical Partly Occasional Chiefly Common Delivered in Different Country Churches Author:John Morley General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1815 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: SERMON II. Matthew, Chap, xvm, Ver. 5. Whoso shall receive one such little Child in my name, receiveth me. JL He disciples of our blessed Saviour came to ask him " who was the greatest in the kingdom of '' heaven." To make his answer as striking as possible, he "called a little child unto him, and ' setting him in the midst of them," declared that " unless they were converted, and became as " little children, they should not enter therein ; " and that " whosoever should humble himself as " that little child, the same should be greatest in " the kingdom of heaven.' ' To show, moreover, his tender regard for little children, and their importance to society, he added the words of my text. To explain what is meant by receiving them the next verse may suffice, which expresses, in the strongest terms, the sinfulness and danger of offending or injuring them, whether by unkind treatment, or by retarding their progress in religion. An opposite kindi of conduct towards them is doubtless, therefore, what our Saviour enjoined: that is, whensoever necessity requires and opportunity offers, to receive them under our protection. From the common accidents of life we cannot always guard them; we cannot keep ourselves safe from disease, nor from the numerous calamities to which man is born ; but the strong can assist the weak, the wise can direct the ignorant, and the wealthy can protect the poor ; and all may, by their united efforts, effectually secure the weak from oppression, the ignorant from many errors, and the poor from extreme want; particularly when the objects of their benevolence are in a state of childh...« less