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(Sermon to Children): — The Bible does not generally speak well of dogs. The word dog in the Scriptures often means a wicked person. When he says, "Deliver my darling from the power of the dog," it is a prayer that God would deliver His only Son from the hands of wicked men. In Eastern countries dogs are reckoned as unclean animals, and there if you want to give a man a bad name you call him a dog. But there are good dogs and bad dogs, dogs to be trusted and dogs to be avoided. Let us think about the good dogs first. Most of you have read the beautiful story of the hound Gelert. And in Scott's beautiful story of the Talisman there is a story of Roswal, a noble deer hound who kept guard over the English standard. And there are the dogs of St. Bernard, who go out in the snow to rescue lost travellers. And there are the blind men's dogs. All these are good dogs. But there are bad ones. Here are the names of some of them. First, there is a dog called SULKY, a black do. I remember when I was a little boy my mother used to tell me not to let the clack dog get on my shoulder, that is, not to be sulky. When a child is bitten by that black dog his face becomes quite changed. All his beauty goes; and his character is altered too. He becomes stubborn, obstinate, won't work, won't play. His speech is altered too; he is rude, and the very tone of his voice is quite different. Beware of that black dog. Then there is another dog — a red one this — and he is called PASSION. Yes, a very fiery red dog, with gleaming, cruel eyes and foaming mouth. If he bites you he sends you mad for a time. The old Romans were quite right when they called anger a snort madness. If you see a child with a very red face, kicking and stamping and screaming, you may be sure that the fierce dog Passion has bitten him. Julius Caesar, when he was provoked, used to say over all the letters of the Roman alphabet before he gave an answer. Beware, then, of that fierce dog Passion. There is another dog of which you must beware. He is called IDLY. You never see him doing anything useful — carrying a basket or a bundle, as some dogs will, He lies in the sun sleeping, almost too lazy to get up and eat his food. Don't let him bite you. If he bites a child the boy or girl becomes heavy and slow. Instead of getting up in the morning fresh and bright, with plenty of time to say his prayers and start for school after breakfast, the child bitten by dog Idle gets up late, and so begins the day badly. The only thing he cares for is play, and very often he is too idle even for that. There is another dog called MISCHIEF, which is very dangerous. You must not think that I am speaking of Fun and Merriment, — they are good dogs, which skip and play about, and do good, not harm. But Mischief is sly and secret, he goes about in dark places, and is never safe to meddle with. When a child is bitten by dog Mischief no one can tell what harm he may do. I know a poor man blind for life through a stone thrown by a mischievous boy. There is another dog of which you must beware. His name is CARELESS. He is not so bad as some dogs, — at times we can scarcely help liking him, and yet he does much harm. When a child is bitten by dog Careless things go badly with him. Perhaps, in school, the child is writing a copy, suddenly he lets a great drop of ink fall on his copybook, and there is a blot. And he is guilty of more things than these. Be on your guard against dog Careless. There are many other dogs of which I could warn you, but! will only speak of two. There is dog SELFISH, — one of the worst dogs of all. When we get a bite from him we are never happy ourselves, and we make others unhappy too. Then there is another dog called GREEDY, and he is a very near relation to dog Selfish. Children are often bitten by him, and they generally suffer; for greedy people by trying to get too much often lose all. There is a fable which tells us how dog Greedy was one day crossing a bridge over a river, and carrying a piece of meat in his month. As he looked into the river he saw his own shadow. Thinking it was another dog who carried a larger piece of meat than his own, dog Greedy flew at him with an angry bark, and as he opened his mouth the meat fell into the river and was lost. So it is often with greedy people, because they are not contented with what they have they lose it altogether.

(H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.)

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KJV: Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

WEB: Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog.