That mother is with me, and baby dear,
For some of my little friends have lain
On a hospital bed, in lonely pain.
Oh, God, my Friend, Thou art surely kind,
And we, poor sinners, are weak and blind;
Little we think, and little know,
Of the love that suffered for human woe.
We hail Thy birth with a gladsome song,
But Thou hadst sorrow life's journey long;
And Thou hadst power Thyself to free,
Yet chose to suffer for things like me.
Oh, come to my heart this Christmas Day!
I am weak and weary, and far away;
Since help and mercy are Thy delight,
Oh, come to my father's house to-night!
Bring rest for my mother, and joy for me;
My head will not throb as I listen to Thee;
And my heart, though too weak for a footfall below,
Will bound, without aching, Thy coming to know.
Thou callest the children, and I am a child;
Thou callest the guilty, and I am defiled;
They gather about Thee in joyful array;
Oh, put me among them, Lord Jesus, to-day!
Put one of my hands in that right hand of Thine,
And hold out Thy wounds to Thy Father divine;
He would not, He could not, say nay unto Thee,
And I should for ever Thy diadem be.
M. A. CHAPLIN.
_Galleywood, Chelmsford._
ANSWER TO BIBLE ENIGMA.
(_Page 255._)
"_Peace be unto you._"--JOHN xx. 19.
P ekah 2 Kings xv. 25.
E glon Judges iii. 14.
A masa 2 Samuel xvii. 25.
C ush 1 Chronicles i. 8.
E uphrates Deuteronomy i. 7.
B enjamin Genesis xxxv. 24.
E lah 1 Kings xvi. 8.
U rijah 2 Kings xvi. 10.
N ahor Genesis xi. 26.
T opaz Exodus xxxix. 10.
O g Psalm cxxxvi. 20.
Y oke Jeremiah xxvii. 8.
O badiah 1 Kings xviii. 3.
U nicorn Numbers xxiii. 22.
ANN PICKWORTH
(Aged 11 years).
_Sydney House, Sleaford._
BUNYAN'S DEATH.
It was on the 31st of August, 1688, that John Bunyan left the Valley of
the Shadow of Death, Doubting Castle, Vanity Fair, and all those other
stages of the progress of a soul in its efforts to find rest and peace,
to cross the dark river that, in his immortal dream, flowed under the
walls of the Celestial City. This is how Mr. Froude describes the
closing scene of his great life:--
"His end was characteristic. It was brought on by exposure when he was
engaged in an act of charity. A quarrel had broken out in a family at
Reading with which Bunyan had some acquaintance. A father had taken
offence at his son, and threatened to disinherit him. Bunyan undertook a
journey on horseback from Bedford to Reading, in the hope of reconciling
them. He succeeded, but at the cost of his life. Returning by London, he
was overtaken on the road by a storm of rain, and was wetted through
before he could find shelter. The chill, falling on a constitution
already weakened by illness, brought on fever. He was able to reach the
house of Mr. Strudwick, one of his London friends, but he never left his
bed afterwards. In ten days he was dead."
Mr. Froude thinks that the exact date is uncertain; but Southey and
other biographers generally fix it upon the 31st of August. He was
buried in a vault belonging to the Strudwick family, in the famous old
Nonconformist burial ground of Bunhill Fields, where his
monument--restored of late years by admiring and appreciative
friends--may be seen any day by the passer-by, on which runs this
inscription--"Mr. John Bunyan, Author of 'The Pilgrim's Progress,' ob.
31st August, 1688, aet. 60."
John Bunyan wrote sixty books, and lived sixty years. His chief work,
"The Pilgrim's Progress," has been translated into seventy-two distinct
languages and dialects, and thus has had a wider circulation and been
more read than any book next to the Scriptures. More than fifty years
ago Macaulay spoke of it as "the only book of its kind that possesses a
strong human interest--that, while other allegories only amuse the
fancy, this has been read by thousands with tears." What was true then
is no less true now.
EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE SEA.
A Queenstown correspondent telegraphs that the National Line steamer
_Spain_, from New York, which arrived at Queenstown recently, brings
intelligence that an aged gentleman, named Murtagh, residing in
Brooklyn, received a letter on October 11th, from one of the uninhabited
islands of the South Sea group, Ojee, written by a friend of his, named
Captain Green, who was supposed to have been lost at sea in 1858, in a
vessel commanded by him, called the _Confederation_. She sailed from New
York, in February of that year, for Australia, and not having been heard
of afterwards, it was presumed that she had foundered with all on board,
numbering sixteen, including two women. The letter, written on a soiled
leaf of a ship's log, was dated July, 1887, and had been put aboard a
whaling barque which passed near the island about that time. The writer
observes that no doubt all hands aboard the _Confederation_ had been
given up as lost. He then relates how the vessel foundered in a gale
after being nine weeks at sea, and how her crew, including himself and
two women, having taken to the boats, after forty days, landed on the
coral reefs of the Island of Ojee, there being no signs of habitation,
but an abundance of game, fish, fruits, and water. No vessel came near
the place until one evening in December, 1862, when eight of the crew
put off in a boat to intercept her. The weather being very stormy, they
never returned to the island, and Captain Green thinks they were lost.
He further states that the women became the wives of two of the
remaining castaways, and that although there had been several deaths on
the island, the population at the time he wrote consisted of twelve
persons, who felt quite contented. They were, however, badly in need of
clothing. During thirty years, they had communicated from the island
with only three vessels, and this letter had been four years written and
ready to be sent by some ship. Captain Green adds that he is sixty-eight
years of age, and in good health.
PLEADING.
(RUTH i. 16.)
"Intreat me not to leave Thee," Lord;
What is this world to me?
No happiness can it afford,
O God, apart from Thee.
Thou art the joy of my delights;
The Life of life to me;
The comfort of my darkest nights;
Yea, All in all to me.
Dark were this world without Thee, Lord,
But, lighted with Thy love,
Thy watchfulness, Thy tender care,
More fully here I prove.
More subject for my song above
I gather day by day;
Deeper experience of that love
Which guides my pilgrim way.
Oh, give me grace to serve Thee, Lord,
Each swiftly-passing day,
That I the approving word, "Well done,"
At last may hear Thee say.
A SOWER.
THE ANTI-ROMISH BOOK.
During the reign of that Popish King, James II., the law in Scotland
was, that no clergyman might preach, and that no bookseller might sell,
any book that reflected on the Romish Church.
One of the Royal messengers entered a bookseller's shop in Edinburgh.
"Had he any books in stock written against the Roman Catholic Church?"
"Yes, he had a Book that reflected very severely indeed against that
Church. Might he sell it?"
"Let me see it," said the messenger.
The old bookseller went to his shelves and took down a volume--a Book
which does certainly speak very emphatically against Romanism--the
Bible!
BIBLE ENIGMA.
My 1, 11, 7, 6, 9, 5, a governor of the Jews.
My 2, 10, 5, 14, 6, the father of Joanna.
My 3, 13, a king of Bashan.
My 4, 6, 14, 10, 9, 11, a disobedient queen.
My 5, 8, 11, a priest.
My 6, 4, 11, 9, 10, the city of Hadad.
My 7, 3, 9, 6, 12, the brother of Timna.
My 8, 5, 4, 11, one of the twelve tribes.
My 9, 3, 7, 6, a son of Issachar.
My 10, 5, 12, the son of Zephaniah.
My 11, 14, 2, 6, 5, 8, the surname of Jacob.
My 12, 3, 1, 10, a city threatened with a plague.
My 13, 11, 10, 3, 12, a river of Eden.
My 14, 11, 4, 6, 12, a Jewish month.
My whole is a precept given by an Apostle to a Christian Church.
THOMAS TYLER
(Aged 13 years).
_Potton, Beds._
HOP PICKING.--THE LAST POLE.
(_Frontispiece to Volume._)
The LITTLE GLEANER no doubt is read and welcomed as well by the aged and
middle-aged as the young, for whom it is especially intended. In the
southern counties, the readers of the LITTLE GLEANER, of all ages, are
more or less familiar with "the last pole." In the counties more north,
where we hope the LITTLE GLEANER is read with equal interest, many dear
children have never seen that lovely and charming sight of Nature in
cultivation, the hop garden. To us who, by the hand of Providence, are
located in these hop-growing districts, the hop gardens in the months of
August and September are always interesting, and share largely in our
love and admiration for the products of Nature and industry combined.
For the information of those not so familiar as ourselves with the hop
plant under cultivation, we would say that many hundreds of poor people
find employment for a few weeks in the autumn at hop picking, by which
they are able to earn a little money, which is useful in helping them to
pay their rent and provide the necessaries of life. This time is looked
forward to, year by year, with deep interest by such.
Among the customs and ceremonies of the hop gardens, at the time of
picking, or gathering, there is generally a little ceremony in pulling
and picking the last pole. In September, 1886, the writer of these lines
was one of the pickers in a very lovely hop garden in Kent, and
witnessed the pulling down of many thousands of these heavily-laden hop
poles, in all their fresh and lively beauty. But lo and behold! it came
not only to the last day, and the last hill (or stool of three poles),
but to the last pole, which was selected beforehand, and remained
standing until all the others were picked. Then comes the master
himself, and takes down this last pole, amid the waving of hats, and
shouts of "Hurrah! Hurrah!" But was this all? No, no! There were sad
hearts that sighed as they remembered the days of adversity endured by
them, and as they wondered what was to be their next employment, and how
their table was to be supplied during the coming winter, should it not
be their turn to be gathered in like the poles that had passed under
their hands. But one poor, trembling heart among the rest could not help
thinking of that last great day, when the last stone of that great
temple not made with hands should be carried up with shouts of "Grace,
grace unto it!" and the following lines came softly into the mind--
"The moon and stars shall lose their light;
The sun shall sink in endless night;
Both heaven and earth shall pass away;
The works of Nature all decay.
"But they who in the Lord confide,
And shelter in His wounded side,
Shall see the danger overpast,
Stand every storm, and live at last."
What! those poor bruised reeds who fear that they shall never hold up
their heads again--shall they outlive the moon? Shall they outshine the
sun?
However, let us return to our subject--the last pole--and reflect.
"We, like the crowded poles, all stand,
And all are sure to fall;
The dog and hook[13] are in God's hand,
And soon will reach us all."
[13] In hop gardens these are instruments used by those who lift
the poles.--ED.
Yes, my dear young readers, whatever may be those delightsome games of
which you are so fond, the last game will soon come. Yea, how soon will
be the end of all our earthly pleasures none of us can tell. If we look
forward to any day or time of some kind of pleasure, it may seem to
approach us very slowly, but how soon do we look behind us, and say,
"Alas! that too has gone, never, never more to return."
In like manner also we miss a dear brother or dear sister, a friend,
schoolmate, or teacher; perhaps a dear, loving mother or father. "Ah!"
we say, "they will never return again." Sometimes we reflect with sorrow
upon some unkind words or actions towards them--some pain and grief that
we caused them. Perhaps we were too proud or too stubborn to ask their
forgiveness while they were with us, so we let the sun go down upon our
wrath, and now we can never forgive ourselves. Though they are gone, we
see them still--
"We see their smiles, we see their tears;
The grave can never hide them;
A few more days, or months, or years,
A few more sighs, a few more tears,
And we shall lie beside them."
Seeing that it is quite uncertain which of us will be the next to have
our earthly ties cut, and all our bloom and beauty stripped off, may I
ask my dear young friends what are their thoughts on the subject?
Whether it is passed over with indifference, presuming you shall be as
well off in the end as other people, or are there moments when thoughts
arise like these--"Oh, if death should overtake me as I am--so careless,
so unconcerned, so thoughtless, and yet unpardoned! Oh, if my name
should be left out--and how can I expect anything else--so prayerless as
I am, for the most part, and my performance so unlike prayer when I do
make the attempt? Oh, if I could but know that the dear Lord had a
favour towards me! Why, if all the world were mine, I would lay it all
down this minute to be sure that Jesus died for me"? And is there
sometimes a little thought stealing from thine heart, and a tear like a
drop of the morning dew trickling from thine eye, which says, "Oh, if
ever I should be able to say, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul,' how I should
leap for joy to be thus quite sure of being the Lord's"? Then, if this
is your feeling after Christ Jesus, I will tell you how it will be with
you some day. The Lord, who has said, "Seek, and ye shall find," will
give you the desire of your heart, even pardon and peace through faith
in His blood, and at last--
"When shivering in the arms of death,
When friends shall watch thy parting breath,
Though then thy lips can no more speak,
Though deathly paleness clads thy cheek,
Glory shall fill thy soul."
T. G.
OUR BIBLE CLASS.
GLEANINGS FROM THE BOOK OF RUTH.
The Book of Ruth is supposed to have been written in the reign of her
great-grandson, perhaps by his own pen. It is a beautifully interesting
story. As a fragment of history, it is connected with the birth of David
and of David's Lord. As a record of God's providence, it shows how "all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose."
The two chief personages in this Book, the hero and heroine of the
narrative, are Boaz, the near kinsman of Naomi, "the mighty man of
wealth" in Bethlehem, and Ruth, the Moabitess, the stranger and
foreigner, who left her own people and her father's false gods, and came
to put her trust beneath the shadow of Jehovah's wings.
We will look at the hero first, because, though the Book is called by
Ruth's name, all her honour was derived from her connection with Israel,
the chosen nation, to which Boaz naturally belonged, and because, as we
think of his riches, his faithfulness, and his kindness, we cannot help
exclaiming, "Surely a Greater than Boaz is here!" He was the near
kinsman of Naomi's husband, and the same Hebrew word is called
"redeemer" (Job xix. 25). And how often we speak of Jesus as "the
Redeemer," who "gave Himself a Ransom for many." The ancient "goel," or
"near kinsman," had many important rights and responsibilities. Abraham
was nearly related to Lot, and when the latter was taken prisoner, his
uncle took all his servants with him and went to the rescue, because he
was his near kinsman, and he redeemed him by conquest, through the help
of God, in whom he trusted (Gen. xiv.).
If a man of Israel died, leaving no children to take his property, his
"near kinsman," if unmarried, was expected to marry the widow, and the
children that they might have afterwards were to be called by the name
and take the lands of the first husband.
If a Hebrew became poor, and sold his land--or, still worse, sold
himself for a slave--his kinsman was expected to redeem him and his
possessions if he could (Lev. xxv. 25, 47-49).
Thus Boaz, as Naomi's kinsman, redeemed her inheritance, and married the
childless widow of her son Chilion, the woman who was no longer to be
called a stranger and a foreigner, but a fellow-subject of Israel's God
and King.
So Jesus--who redeemed His Church, His bride, His people, and secured to
them the rich inheritance they had lost by sin--was, and is, the Near
Kinsman of His beloved ones. They were, and always will be, "a people
near unto Him" (Psa. cxlviii. 14). His own kindred He called them when
He came to redeem them (Matt. xii. 50). His Father loved them, and He
loved them also, and the kindness of God the Saviour was shown when He
came down from heaven for their sakes. "Kindness!" Sweet word! It means
the act of a kinsman, and God's kindness is "loving-kindness," the
sweetest description we can possibly have of the tender pity and grace
of the Lord.
But the kindness shown by Boaz was only a dim shadow of the love of the
"Great Redeemer from above." He did not make much sacrifice apparently
when he purchased Naomi's inheritance and made Ruth his wife, but "ye
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was rich, yet
for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be
rich."
And more, far more, than this--He suffered scorn, and shame, and death
itself--the bitterest of deaths. He gave Himself--He laid down the life
that was so dear to Himself, so precious to His Father--that He might
redeem, buy them back to God by His blood. He endured their punishment,
He paid their debts, and then, since Satan had made them his slaves,
like Abraham, Jesus fought for His kindred, only He fought alone. He
conquered the strong one, and set the captives free, and Satan still
must yield up his prey at Christ's command. The Redeemer ever proves
Himself "mighty to save" those for whom He died.
Then Ruth furnishes us with a striking picture of one who is seeking
Jesus.
She was not a native of the promised land--not born of Israelitish
parents. She reminds us of what Paul says--we all are, as sinners,
"children of disobedience," "children of wrath," "far from God by wicked
works." But a change came over her mind and spirit. "The Lord opened her
heart to attend unto the things spoken" by Naomi. A new, a heavenly
light dawned upon her, and she saw the evil of idolatry and sin--the
beauty of holiness and God--so that, like Moses, she "chose rather to
suffer affliction with His people than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
for a season." She would sooner "lodge" with Naomi in poverty, than
dwell in comfort among her former companions; and before she thought of
being enriched and made happy by Boaz, she had "chosen that good part"
which shall never be taken away from those who seek and find it.
The diligent shall be made prosperous, and Ruth gleaned in the fields of
Boaz before she knew anything of the relationship he bore to her late
husband's family. She was not ashamed to labour as a poor and needy
woman, and she gained a good supply of corn from her work by the special
favour of Boaz.
There is a remarkable little word connected with her choice of that
field. It was her "hap" to light upon it--a word not very often found in
the Bible, which always traces everything, great or small, to the will
and permission of God. Yet this syllable of three letters came "of
purpose" into the record, and teaches us that all the "accidents" of our
lives, pleasant as well as painful, are directed and overruled by the
Lord. Things "come to pass," and we are filled with wonder, but it is
because "He doeth all things well."
About thirty years ago, one Sabbath morning, a group of youths were
starting from Clerkenwell, intending to spend the day gathering
blackberries in Highgate Woods. It so happened that a dispute arose just
outside the chapel where my late dear Pastor preached, and one lad
refused to go any further with his companions. To while away the time he
peeped into the chapel just as the hymn, "When Thou, my righteous Judge,
shalt come," was being given out, and he ventured to slip into a seat in
the gallery. He was so much impressed by what he heard that he came
again, was savingly converted to God, was baptized, and remained for
many years an honourable member of the Church. His "hap was to light
upon" a field of Gospel corn, and he received a rich blessing, but his
steps, like Ruth's, were directed by the Lord.[14]
[14] From the "Memoir of the late Mr. John Hazelton."
And we learn the benefit of wise, Christian counsel. Ruth needed Naomi
very much, poor and lonely though she was. From her she learned the good
news of the rich man's kinship; from her she received instructions how
to act so as to ensure his protection and care. Her conduct, strange as
it would be to-day, was in those early times quite in harmony with the
behaviour of a virtuous, modest woman, but it has its chief charm when
we see in it a picture of one who is seeking Jesus.
Some dear Christian friend, like Naomi, encourages and instructs the
youthful seeker by telling of the love and grace of the Saviour, and
saying, as a beloved minister once said to a young person, "I cannot
give you the blessing; _He_ can." Naomi wanted the help of Boaz as well
as Ruth, and all God's people, old or young, strong or weak, need and
crave the loving care of Jesus, but it is a privilege and joy to commend
one another to Him, and tell of His goodness and grace "who is rich unto
all that call upon Him."
In seeking Ruth's happiness Naomi found her own great joy (see chap. iv.
14). In dutiful consideration for Naomi, Ruth obtained a hundred-fold
more than she could ever have hoped to find, as an honoured wife and
mother favoured with both earthly and heavenly prosperity. Those who
honour God He will honour. Those who water others shall be watered
themselves. May we receive from the Lord that spirit of love which seeks
the welfare of others, and the glory of God, as well as our own
happiness.
Our next subject will be, Isaiah xxxv. 8--_The King's Highway, and its
Travellers._
Your affectionate friend,
H. S. L.
THE EDITOR'S CLOSING ADDRESS TO HIS YOUNG FRIENDS.
Dear young friends,--We are nearing the close of another year, and we
may be nearer the close of our mortal career than we think. What a mercy
if we belong to Christ! If so, we are blessed indeed, for those who are
His are forgiven their iniquity, are justified from all unrighteousness,
are reconciled to God, and made "accepted in the Beloved." Oh, that you,
dear reader, may enjoy that blessed portion! Then, come poverty or
wealth, sickness or health, life or death, all will be well with you.
All such are the children of God, and none besides. To those who love
Him, He will say, "Come, ye blessed of My Father"; but to those who are
"without Christ" He will say, "Depart, ye cursed!" Which will be your
lot? God grant that you may be taught to flee as sinners to Him who
"died for the ungodly," and who has said, "Him that cometh unto Me I
will in no wise cast out." We trust you will never find rest and peace
only in coming to Christ. If our feeble labours in sending forth the
GLEANER are but blessed to this end, we shall be amply rewarded, and we
wish the Lord to have all the glory.
Dear young friends, we do not ask you to join the "Salvation Army," so
called, but we hope you may be an army yourselves, seeking to spread
abroad good reading among both young and old; and we believe that the
GLEANER and SOWER will be found most acceptable and adapted for such a
purpose, therefore we ask you to join the "Try Army," and shall be glad
to receive the names of any who are willing to enlist, to whom we will
send sixteen Magazines, post free, monthly, for one shilling and
twopence. The postage rate, however, will not allow us to send a less
number at a reduction, but a larger number can be sent in proportion,
for schools. The Almanacks are nicely got up, and will be found useful
to put on walls in bed-rooms, &c. We hope that you will get orders for
as many as possible. We will send fifteen for one shilling, post free;
no less number can be sent at a reduction. This we do to encourage our
readers to obtain subscribers, and to spread abroad the Magazines. The
Yearly Volumes are very nice books for presents. GLEANER, picture
boards, very attractive, three volumes, four shillings; GLEANER, cloth,
also SOWER, cloth, three volumes, five shillings, post free.
Now, dear young friends, we hope you will become a "Try Army," and that
we shall see pleasing results arise from your efforts. We hope, too, if
spared, shortly to greet you again with "A Happy New Year," and may the
Lord bless you each and all with the best of all blessings, that we and
you may rejoice together in His mercy, and live to show forth His
praise.