William Wilberforce was another of the great and good men who have been a blessing and an honor to England.  When he was on his deathbed, he said to a dear friend: 

“Come, let us talk of heaven.  Do not weep for me.  I am very happy.  But I never knew what happiness was till I found Christ as my Saviour.  Read the Bible.  Let no other book take its place.  Through all my trials and perplexities, it has been my comfort.  And now it comforts me, and makes me happy.”

Here we see “this well of water springing up unto everlasting life.”  And Jesus, who came to tell us of this water, and to open up this well in our breasts, may well be called, “the Great Teacher,” because of the great blessings—­of which he tells.

In the second place Jesus may be called “the Great Teacher” because of the—­GREAT SIMPLICITY—­of his teachings.

I do not mean to say that we can understand every thing that Jesus taught.  This is not so.  He had some things to speak about that are not simple.  He said to his disciples, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.”  John xvi:  12.  This means that there are some things about God, and heaven, of which he wished to tell them, but they were too hard for them to understand, although they were full-grown men.  And so he did not tell them of these things.  But even among the things that Jesus did tell about, there are some which the wisest and most learned men in the world have never been able to understand or explain.  Some one has compared the Bible to a river, in which there are some places deep enough for an elephant or a giant to swim in; and other places where the water is shallow enough for a child to wade in.  And it is just so with the teachings of Jesus.  Some of the most important lessons he taught are so plain and simple that very young people can understand them.

We have a good illustration of this in that sweet invitation which Jesus gave when he said,—­“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. xi:  28.  Very young people know what it is to feel tired and weary from walking, or working too much, or from carrying a heavy burden.  And, when they are too tired to do anything else, they know what it is to go to their dear mother and throw themselves into her arms, and find rest there.  And, in just the same way, Jesus invites us to come to him when we are tired, or troubled, that our souls may find rest in him.  We come to Jesus, when we pray to him; when we tell him all about our troubles; when we ask him to help us; and when we trust in his promises.

  “Was there ever gentlest shepherd
    Half so gentle, half so sweet,
  As the Saviour, who would have us
    Come and gather round his feet?

  “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
    Like the wideness of the sea;
  There’s a kindness in his justice
    Which is more than liberty.