The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-01-01
NV .iUNRESN.

Nv ADDRESS,.
Delivered before the Almena. Bloomingdale,
Pine Grove and Waverly Sunday-school Insti-
tute, held IN Gobleville, Nov. 27 and %, 1874.
by the Rev. Mrs. q. 4. Preston, associate pastor
with her husband, of Pine Grove Circuit
Published by request of the Institute.
Poorer OF SyBipathy ia sabbath school
TeachiHs.
The Sabbath-school is the great nursery Of
the Church, lit is the training school; and the
teacher who would go into this great nursery
and labor successfully for God cannot do better
than to initiate her Divine Father, and carry
into the school-room heart all alive with genial
love and sympathy. Childhood is the hour Of
sunshine; the period of quick Development
The child's soul seeks after the warmth OF
sympathy and the sunshine OF love. The teach
or whose heart beats with the warmest, truest
sympathy, who can feel for the cfild's wants
and sympathize with its trials, comes to the
childs heart like the warm rays of the sun to
struggling plant-it imparts warmth, life, every
thing Place the plant ID darkened cell. with
but Que ray OF light stealing in, and how 1t
struggles aud tolls 10 reach that sunbeam. so
the child must have sympathy it will find 1t
somewhere, and if il finds it III the Sabbath
school it will seek the school as the plant. the
light, but if it cannot find sympathy animating
the heart Of the teacher, it will seek it else
where. Can we afford to lose the hear is of our
children Shall we drive them to the world for
BY npathy, and then, when their young hearts
have become stepped in storms OF vice and
passion, attempt to uproot these plants OF
years growth? The sympathetic teacher comes
to the child and implants in its soul loftier as
pirations, holier thoughts, and it desires TO
know something of that higher and holier life,
to feel that divine sympathy which comes from
God alone. 1t has been SAID that the whole
duty OF man could be comprehended In that one
word. love-iu its fullest broadcast and truest
sepse-supreme love to Cod, aud love to our
fellow man. That soul which has this divine
principle, this God power dwelling richly within,
that soul has within It d formation OF living
waters not alone springlng up into everlasting
life, bat gushing out in the warmest sympathy,
the truest love. and noblest friendship man
ever knew. That man or woman can teach
Christ and his gospel in the Sabbath -school so
chat it shall prove Gods charm to the youths
OF our land, to draw them from sin and holding
them by the bond OF sympathy nay, show them
the wonderful love OF the Savior, Our sympa-
thy is but the outworkings of this divine prncl-
pie, Love- that dwells within the soul, and leads
us not alone to weep with those who weep, but
also to rejoice with those who do rejoice, hence
it leads us to sympathize with the children who
have more joyful spirits and enthusiasm, more
OF every thing good and great than anything
else God has made.
The teacher should reproduce Christ In his
life, but If she fails to bring His charming
simplicity, Ills true, earnest sympathy into our
Sabbath-schools, the children cannot be reached.
If our religion Is not sweet and sunshiny enough
to go down from us and shed it's royal sympathy
over these young hearts, these early years, there
is something wrong, and we need to be taught:
we needto take lessons from our great Master,
who knew how to sympathize with our Infirmi'
ties. The true Christian teacher carries about
a magnetism that stirs. moves, attracts and
moulds the mind OF the child in this power oil
sympathy The teacher who has not this love
who feels not this sympathy, drives from Christ
and is where he ought not to be. lie may have
intellect AID the ability to teach, but without
this sympathy that attracts he Is attempting tC
ill place for which he is not fitted. How
many fond parent or teacher, not understand
ing this power Of sympathy, have driven from
Christ, when they would have attracted to Him
pity that man or woman who cannot sympa.
thl2e with the warm sunshine of childhood
What an eloquent burst and flow OF the souls
sunshine vas Richter when he said, al love
God and little children" Noble words the,
expressed he ali sweetness, all sympathy
with the freshness of youth II the power oil
sympathy Is anything in the Sabbatti-schooI, il
is everything to the teacher. 1t is the strong
cord that binds the heart of the child 10 thu
teacher, and more than this At is the greai
bond that binds Ito heart of the teacher TO The
savior hence. this bond OF sympathy un,tes
pupil and teacher ID Christ. Who can tell how
great is the power which the sympathy of thu
SatIor for his people exerts ever the world p
/ WhSf binds more firmly than the great sympa
thy which Jesus has for our inhrmtIee (? Chris
knowe bow 10 sympsthize With man because h,
had been temple cd in all points like as we. TIL,
earnest christian teacher l-nows bow to sympa
thize With his pupils because he has felt theil
needs has kRqwn what il was to sorrow for SIR
and bas fef the soy OF redeoming love hence