I think when I read that sweet story of old,When Jesus was here among men,How He called little children as lambs to His fold,I should like to have been with them then.I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,That His arm had been thrown around me,And that I might have seen His kind look when He said,"Let the little ones come unto Me."Yet still to His footstool in prayer I may go,And ask for a share in His love;And if I thus earnestly seek Him below,I shall see Him and hear Him above.In that beautiful place He has gone to prepareFor all who are washed and forgiven;And many dear children shall be with Him there,"For of such is the kingdom of Heaven."
I think when I read that sweet story of old,When Jesus was here among men,How He called little children as lambs to His fold,I should like to have been with them then.
I think when I read that sweet story of old,
When Jesus was here among men,
How He called little children as lambs to His fold,
I should like to have been with them then.
I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,That His arm had been thrown around me,And that I might have seen His kind look when He said,"Let the little ones come unto Me."
I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,
That His arm had been thrown around me,
And that I might have seen His kind look when He said,
"Let the little ones come unto Me."
Yet still to His footstool in prayer I may go,And ask for a share in His love;And if I thus earnestly seek Him below,I shall see Him and hear Him above.
Yet still to His footstool in prayer I may go,
And ask for a share in His love;
And if I thus earnestly seek Him below,
I shall see Him and hear Him above.
In that beautiful place He has gone to prepareFor all who are washed and forgiven;And many dear children shall be with Him there,"For of such is the kingdom of Heaven."
In that beautiful place He has gone to prepare
For all who are washed and forgiven;
And many dear children shall be with Him there,
"For of such is the kingdom of Heaven."
Throughout her life Mrs. Knowles constantly experienced the blessing of sowing and the happy reward of reaping. Numerous instances could be cited, had we the space to spare, in which direct answers to her prayers have come to her while in the act of beseeching God's aid and blessing upon some one object of interest to her. Her own son was one among many of such cases. In the early part of 1857 he had become associated with many bad companions and was a source of anxiety to both his parents. His father thought if he could get him to attend church the good influence there obtained would tend to lead him to Christ and into the paths of salvation. But the youth refused to go, and the mother at once besought the aid of God in influencing her son's heart. At first, after praying with him for some time, she found him asleep on his knees. She roused him up and prayed again with him, and on her husband's return from church he found his penitent son beseeching Jesus to forgive him and lead him into the way of righteousness.
CHAPTER XI.
DAILY MISSIONARY WORK.
Shall He come and find me faithfulTo His parting words to me;"If I go—a place preparing—I will quickly come to thee."Shall He come and find me workingIn the vineyard full of love;Only working, till the gloryBreaks upon me from above?
Shall He come and find me faithfulTo His parting words to me;"If I go—a place preparing—I will quickly come to thee."
Shall He come and find me faithful
To His parting words to me;
"If I go—a place preparing—
I will quickly come to thee."
Shall He come and find me workingIn the vineyard full of love;Only working, till the gloryBreaks upon me from above?
Shall He come and find me working
In the vineyard full of love;
Only working, till the glory
Breaks upon me from above?
The following part of her narrative of Christian work, taken fromOur Missing Link, is deeply interesting, and deserves the reader's careful perusal.
At one time Mrs. Knowles wrote that, during part of the summer months great weakness and general debility prevented her from laboring as much as usual; and when she resumed her visits, she found many had been making inquiries after her in church, not knowing her place of residence. One young woman especially, who had made an unfortunate marriage, and who had been badly treated by her husband, was extremely anxious to see her, to tell her what comfort she had derived from a Bible given her by Mrs. Knowles. She said she had never read so much in one before. She had been brought up a Roman Catholic, but having lived a few months in a Protestant family, she had there seen a Bible, and occasionally read in it. That upon leaving the family the lady presented her with one, which she was obliged to hide away in her bed, lest her mother should know she possessed it. It afterward disappeared and she thought one of her family must have seen her reading in it, and since then she had never been able to procure another. "When I gave her this one, her husband had spent all her wages, and she had not the means of paying for it; but now she paid me for it, and hoped I would come again soon and talk with her about it.
"I am kindly received wherever I go in my new district. There has been much sickness, especially among the children, and much care is needed. One man I visited presented a pitiable condition. When I entered his room he was far gone in consumption. A little girl was raising his head to give him drink, as the mother had gone to her work. He looked surprised to see a stranger enter his room, but I went forward and asked him if he was looking unto Jesus. He said, like many while in health, he had thought too little about those things. I read and prayed with him. Upon leaving him he shook my hand and asked me to come again, saying the Lord must have sent me. I returned soon with some nourishment, which was greedily partaken of—'It tasted so good.' He lived but little more than a week, and I visited him daily, reading and praying with him. I carried with me the little bookCome to Jesus, which he loved to hear, as, 'It was so full of Jesus;' but he said he had neglected the Saviour, and how could he hope He would have mercy on him now. I told him how Christ died praying for his enemies, and that the thief on the cross looked to him and was saved, and repeated to him the hymn 'Just as I am,' etc. This seemed to encourage him, and he said he wanted to trust in the mercy of God through Christ to save him; while all who came to see him, he would urge not to delay, as he had done, coming to Jesus. He said I was the first to speak to him about the salvation of his soul, and expressed great gratitude to me, and great solicitude about his wife and children, till I told him he could surely trust One, who had done so much for him, to care for them. He finally became too weak to speak, but toward the last I saw him clasp his hands together, while he repeated, 'O blessed Jesus, save me.'
"The woman whom I mentioned in a former report as so solicitous about her children being all out of Christ, tells me she is much encouraged, as her eldest son now attends church with her, and is so changed and so much concerned about the other members of the family, she has great reason to hope for great things for all the rest.
"If those dear ladies who furnish us with means could only see for themselves how grateful these poor creatures are for any small kindness done them, or for a word spoken in kindness, how greatly encouraged they would be. And how great is the responsibility of the Bible woman, as she goes from house to house, and from one apartment to another, listening to the many tales of distress which greets her ears, and witnesses for herself the many objects of pity and destitution which meet her gaze, while she knows that something is expected from her to alleviate, in some measure, the sorrow of these poor sufferers; and then, when these people look up to her for counsel and advice, she is often at a loss to know what to say to them. I often entreat them to go to Jesus, and kneel and pray with them that the Lord may direct them what to do.
"I have brought a number of persons to church, and trust, through blessing, prayer, and continued efforts, much more may be accomplished in the future."
It is only by an experimental knowledge of the condition of the citizens of New York and other large centres of population, who are huddled together in the high tenement houses, that we are able to form a correct understanding of the peculiar circumstances that surround the daily life of the faithful city missionary, especially when they are not thoroughly acclimated. A native-born American does not feel the stifling heat of the summer sun like those who are born in a more northerly European country. But even the Americans themselves suffer severely from the heat. Hence, many of them close their churches and Sabbath-schools, and resort to their summer retreats by the seashore, at Ocean Grove or Long Branch, while others seek rest and refreshment to their jaded spirits at Saratoga, or snuff the balmy breezes at Mount McGregor, where General Grant breathed his last, and ended his creditable career in the cause of his country.
At this time we find that she suffered much during the summer months of 1867. Great weakness and general debility hindered her from laboring incessantly, as was her usual custom for her dear Saviour. Sickness seems to have been the only limitation to her labors. When I think that I am writing not about some imaginary character, but one with an untainted reputation, abeau idealas a Christian worker, known perhaps to a few outside of the circle in which she lived and labored, encouraged not by applauding throngs, but attracted and held to her toil, year after year, by sorrowful hearts and weeping eyes, and helpless hands that hang down the widow and the fatherless—these were the objects of her Christ-like and heart-felt compassion.
Chalmers observes, in a sermon preached at an Anniversary Missionary meeting, held in the High Church in Edinburgh: "What the man of liberal philosophy is in sentiment, the missionary is in practice. He sees in every man a partaker of his own nature, and a brother of his own species. He contemplates the human mind in the generality of its great elements. He enters upon the wide field of benevolence, and disdains those geographical barriers by which little men would shut out one-half of the species from the kind offices of the other. His business is with man, and let his localities be what they may, enough for his large and noble heart that he is bone of the same bone. To get at him he will shun no danger, he will shrink from no privation, he will spare himself no fatigue, he will brave every element of heaven, he will hazard the extremities of every clime, he will cross seas, and work his persevering way through the briars and thickets of the wilderness. In perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by the heathen, in weariness and painfulness, he seeks after him. The cast and the color are nothing to the comprehensive eye of the missionary. His is the broad principle of good-will to the children of men. His doings are with the species, and, overlooking all the accidents of climate or of country, enough for him if the individual he is in quest of be a man—a brother of the same nature—with a body which a few years will bring to the grave, and a spirit that returns to the God who gave it. The missionary is a man of large and liberal principles."
These characteristics, enumerated by the warm and large, and generous-hearted Chalmers, dwelt richly in her whose biography we have tremblingly attempted to portray. She knew little of the soothing influences of nature and solitude. Her life's work was spent in this city, so cosmopolitan, composed, almost, of every creed and color under heaven.
After restoration to health, the great purpose of her life was joyously resumed. And at this time we have an opportunity of knowing thoroughly, and weighing precisely, the opinions of her parishioners regarding her, for when she began to resume her labors she found that the dear ones she had brought to Jesus were kindly inquiring about her. Surely, it is good to be missed, when either laid aside by sickness or called away by death.
How precious are the promises of God's Word, amid domestic difficulties and trials. The relations of the home circle are such that, unless there is the utmost harmony and good-will, one toward another, everything seems to go wrong. Hence, the importance of the injunction of the Apostle, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." Her own domestic happiness was constantly preserved. They told me on the steamer, during a summer excursion, "that during the forty-seven years of their wedded life, they never needed to be reconciled." And the secret of their joy at home, even when they commenced housekeeping, was that they erected the family altar, and established a church in the house. Conceive, then, her feelings of gratitude to God, when she learned that the young Roman Catholic wife, unfortunate in her marriage, who was badly treated by her husband, was greatly comforted through the prayerful perusal of the Bible. Her deep feelings of moral sensibility enabled her to truly sympathize with her own sex in their home troubles.
Her intense love for the children was a magnificent trait in her character. Why? Because she felt the significance that attaches itself to the sayings of Christ, bearing on the children. His authority must be recognized. He said: "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." There is a beautiful passage in Isaiah, that illustrates how tenderly God cares for the little ones:
"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
"Whoso," said Jesus, "shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me."
There are too many instances in our daily experience where the children are sadly neglected, and where they are looked upon as little heathens, and discouraged in their endeavors to follow Jesus in early life. It should be the constant care of parents and Sunday-school teachers to take the children to Him who will in no wise cast them out. Who can look into the clear, bright, blue eyes of a little boy or girl, and not see in their countenance a holy radiance expressive of trustfulness, innocence, and affection? It is no wonder, then, that Jesus said: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye can in nowise enter into the kingdom of heaven."
"Are you looking unto Jesus?" she said. Where can we look for a more important searching question to shadow forth the indispensable necessity of not only this consumptive man, but all men, whether in health or sickness, to renounce all other methods of trying to get to heaven, but by "looking unto Jesus." No change of character can take place in any other way. "Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, and beside me there is none else." They looked unto Him and were lightened. "O! it is easy to look to the hills from whence cometh our help," when the Holy Spirit is working upon the heart. But ah, it is a tremendously difficult task to perform when the poor sinner is bereft of this divine power.
CHAPTER XII.
DESTITUTION AND REFORMATION.
Oh, use me Lord, use even me,JustasThou wilt, andwhenandwhere,Until Thy blessed face I see,Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
Oh, use me Lord, use even me,JustasThou wilt, andwhenandwhere,Until Thy blessed face I see,Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
Oh, use me Lord, use even me,
JustasThou wilt, andwhenandwhere,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
Her willingness to toil in any direction attests the grand purpose of her life and the ingenious methods employed in assisting and saving souls.
"I visited one family," she writes, "a few days since who had not eaten anything for twenty-four hours. The father was out of employment, and in desperation was just about to take the children to some charitable home, when I came in time to supply their wants and procure aid and work for him. Many others, rather than make known their wants, have pawned everything they possessed. I have had to give and lend them articles of clothing to cover them, and have procured coal and groceries for nine families during the past month."
The remarkable and unprecedented success of this one woman in reaching others of her own sex is nearly unparalleled. This fact has encouraged us to persevere in our attempt to make these truths known to the Christian world; for how emphatically true are the words of Gray:
"Full many a gem of purest ray serene,The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear,And full many a flower is born to blush unseen,And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
"Full many a gem of purest ray serene,The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear,And full many a flower is born to blush unseen,And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
"Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear,
And full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
This thought stimulates us to renewed efforts to present her experience in her own language, as she conscientiously discharged her duty with an eye single to the glory of God.
She mentions a case of reformation of an intemperate woman who had deserted her home, and after pawning and ridding herself of all she possessed, was at length brought to herself and sent for the Bible woman, and, through the omnipotence of loving-kindness, has been won to reformation, which she trusts may be permanent.
This case presents a sad and dark picture in the history of womanhood. An intemperate woman, through the blasting and blighting influence of liquor, leaving her home, and like the prodigal, spending her substance in riotous living, and at length being compelled to feed on the husks. A fallen woman seeking pleasure away from home with all its endearments. Alas! alas! "There is no peace saith my God unto the wicked. Whither, oh, whither can they fly as wretched wanderers from their homes?"
"Home, sweet home!There is no place like home!"
"Home, sweet home!There is no place like home!"
"Home, sweet home!
There is no place like home!"
It is a divine institution. A place of rest and peace and joy. To forsake home is to despise bliss and accept woe. It is to reject felicity and receive sorrow. When God has been so kind as to furnish a peaceable, well-governed home, nothing should tempt the young to leave it. All that is necessary for pure pleasure can be found in the family circle. The unwary are sometimes induced to leave home through false representations, and a desire to gratify every earthly propensity. Idle curiosity may be greatly augmented, and the new acquaintances formed may, for the time being, partially please the senses; but the calm recollection of former unalloyed joys in the cottage home naturally extorts the old cry from pale quivering lips, and a broken heart, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say: father I have sinned against heaven and before thee."
Such a course of turning to God, and such a cry, is always richly rewarded. Personal reformation is not only gratifying to relatives and friends, but well-pleasing to God. "Won to reformation" by the Bible woman through the omnipotence ofloving kindness! We are reminded by this incident of a story we heard told by the late John B. Gough. It was part of his experience a few days after he became a total abstainer. He had returned to work. But his burning thirst for liquor was intense. In his agony of mind and body, he said to his employer, "I have signed the pledge." The reply was, "You will keep it about a week." "If so, then I will go and get a drink now, for I cannot endure this awful agony any longer," he retorted. He rushed out of the room and down the stairs leading to the street, when he was accosted by the kind, gentle voice of a strange gentleman who met him.
"How do you do, Mr. Gough? I am so glad to see you; I was delighted to see you at the meeting last night, and I am so thankful that you had courage given you to go forward and sign the pledge. I simply called over to shake you by the hand and wish you God speed in your noble endeavor. Here is my card; I want you to call at my office, as I desire to get acquainted with you." Those kind words entered into his heart, and from that auspicious hour he resolved to be steadfast and immovable in his renunciation of his drinking habits.
God loves and prospers those who, like Jesus, speak kind words of encouragement to those who have gone astray from the paths of rectitude. The brevity and uncertainty of life ought to teach us the practical lesson that if we would save men and women from their sins we must be watchful and willing at all times to rescue the wanderers from their critical condition, constantly remembering that He has said, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God for he will abundantly pardon."
"When I was hungry ye gave me meat; when I was thirsty ye gave me drink; naked, and ye clothed me." Little did this noble-minded woman think that when she was entering her daily experience in her diary that her deeds of charity were to be brought to light after death. A story is told of Xenophon, the disciple of Socrates, that while offering a solemn sacrifice he heard that his eldest son was slain at Mantinea. He did not, however, desist, but only laid down his crown and asked how he had fallen. When he understood that his son had fallen in battle fighting bravely for his country, he calmly replaced the crown upon his head, calling the gods to witness that he received greater pleasure from the bravery of his son, than pain from his death. We do not, naturally speaking, like to lose our loved ones, but when we think of their bravery and fidelity, we feel disposed to praise God for them. O, what transcendent dignity and honor are conferred on the faithful at the hour of death. It seems there is a reciprocal response on earth to the acclamations of heaven perpetually ringing in the ears of the ransomed, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
The Church's loss is her gain. Still the deeds of mercy call forth praise. Let us ever remember that a holy and just and good God is treasuring up all our words of faith and labors of love against the great day of account—the day of recognition and remuneration. Pollock beautifully describes the man or woman like her of whom we write, a person of enlarged benevolence and liberality, as practically illustrated in the foregoing authentic record of Christian experience. He says:
"Breathe all thy minstrelsy, immortal harp!Breathe numbers warm with love while I rehearse,Delightful theme! remembering the songsWhich day and night are sung before the Lamb!Thy praise, O Charity! thy labors mostDivine! thy sympathy with sighs, and tears,And groans; thy great, thy god-like wish to healAll misery, all fortune's wounds; and makeThe soul of every living thing rejoice—A finishing and polish without whichNo man e'er entered heaven. Let me recordHis praise; the man of great benevolence,Who pressed thee softly to his glowing heart,And to thy gentle bidding made his feetSwift minister of all mankind, his soulWas most in sympathy with heaven;Nor did he wait till to his door,The voice of supplication came, but went abroadWith foot as silent as the starry dews,In search of misery that pined unseen,And would not ask. And who can tell what sightsShe saw, what groans she heard in that cold worldBelow, where sin in league with gloomy death,March daily through the length and breadth of allThe land, wasting at will and making earth,Fair earth! a lazer-house, a dungeon dark!Oh, who can tell what sights she saw, what shapesOf wretchedness! or who describe what smileOf gratitude illumed the face of woe?"
"Breathe all thy minstrelsy, immortal harp!Breathe numbers warm with love while I rehearse,Delightful theme! remembering the songsWhich day and night are sung before the Lamb!Thy praise, O Charity! thy labors mostDivine! thy sympathy with sighs, and tears,And groans; thy great, thy god-like wish to healAll misery, all fortune's wounds; and makeThe soul of every living thing rejoice—A finishing and polish without whichNo man e'er entered heaven. Let me recordHis praise; the man of great benevolence,Who pressed thee softly to his glowing heart,And to thy gentle bidding made his feetSwift minister of all mankind, his soulWas most in sympathy with heaven;Nor did he wait till to his door,The voice of supplication came, but went abroadWith foot as silent as the starry dews,In search of misery that pined unseen,And would not ask. And who can tell what sightsShe saw, what groans she heard in that cold worldBelow, where sin in league with gloomy death,March daily through the length and breadth of allThe land, wasting at will and making earth,Fair earth! a lazer-house, a dungeon dark!Oh, who can tell what sights she saw, what shapesOf wretchedness! or who describe what smileOf gratitude illumed the face of woe?"
"Breathe all thy minstrelsy, immortal harp!
Breathe numbers warm with love while I rehearse,
Delightful theme! remembering the songs
Which day and night are sung before the Lamb!
Thy praise, O Charity! thy labors most
Divine! thy sympathy with sighs, and tears,
And groans; thy great, thy god-like wish to heal
All misery, all fortune's wounds; and make
The soul of every living thing rejoice—
A finishing and polish without which
No man e'er entered heaven. Let me record
His praise; the man of great benevolence,
Who pressed thee softly to his glowing heart,
And to thy gentle bidding made his feet
Swift minister of all mankind, his soul
Was most in sympathy with heaven;
Nor did he wait till to his door,
The voice of supplication came, but went abroad
With foot as silent as the starry dews,
In search of misery that pined unseen,
And would not ask. And who can tell what sights
She saw, what groans she heard in that cold world
Below, where sin in league with gloomy death,
March daily through the length and breadth of all
The land, wasting at will and making earth,
Fair earth! a lazer-house, a dungeon dark!
Oh, who can tell what sights she saw, what shapes
Of wretchedness! or who describe what smile
Of gratitude illumed the face of woe?"
Similarity of character is the firmest bond for forming permanent friendship, hence Christ says to all his followers, Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command thee. A glance at the picture presented to us in St. John's gospel, eleventh chapter, at the Feast of the Passover of the Jews, remind us of the character and spirit of Jesus when he took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitude who were set down upon the grass. For services of this kind God selects his servants. By filling them with the spirit of Jesus, they are thus thoroughly qualified to minister to the necessitous.
CHAPTER XIII.
HER FAITHFULNESS IN LITTLE THINGS.
There are small things in daily lifeIn which I may obey,And thus may show my love to Thee;And always—every day—There are some little loving wordsWhich I for Thee may say.
There are small things in daily lifeIn which I may obey,And thus may show my love to Thee;And always—every day—There are some little loving wordsWhich I for Thee may say.
There are small things in daily life
In which I may obey,
And thus may show my love to Thee;
And always—every day—
There are some little loving words
Which I for Thee may say.
"He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful in much."
She continues to write with her usual forcible descriptiveness: "I found a mother and daughter in a damp room, on the ground floor of a tenement building, in a wretched condition. The room was furnished with a broken stove, one chair, two trunks, and some bedding spread on the floor, as they had no bedstead.Bothwere very lame, and the girl quite feeble for want of care and nourishment. After relieving their immediate wants, I tried to lead them to Christ. The girl was so sick and discouraged it was difficult to convince her that any one cared for her, but at length she cried, and said, 'How nice it is to have some one talk kindly to me.' From that time she began to read the Bible for herself, and would often speak to me of different passages of the Scriptures. But after a while the landlord ordered them to move, because they could not pay their rent, and with some effort I succeeded in sending the mother into the country, and placing the girl in a hospital.
"Two other persons, who through a blessing on my labors have become deeply interested, and even led to study the Bible, have now openly professed Christ."
Take another glance at the above touching scene and behold the lively exercise of her wonderful sagacity and powers of observation. This graphic representation of squalor and consummate misery gives pre-eminence to her adaptedness as a successful missionary of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The eyes of the blessed Jesus, the model worker, were not closed to the wants and woes of humanity, hence his formidable power in preparing an entrance into the hearts of the people. Her Christ-like visits, carrying the rich treasure of the glad tidings, found an echo in the soul of those she visited. Although her elementary education had been sadly neglected, yet nevertheless, by her close study of God's Word and her varied experience for over fifty years in the lower part of a city like New York, she knew full well how to adapt herself to circumstances. Let us calmly follow her footsteps into this lofty tenement building and watch her movements. See how minutely she describes the sad scene. If a murder had been committed in the house and a reporter from theNew York Herald, or any other paper, had called to take notes, he could not have been more minute in his description of the surroundings than she. All the collateral or subordinate information essentially necessary to convey an accurate idea of a true picture peculiarly calculated to throw a flood of light on the whole panorama are carefully furnished us by her notes. And here we are forcibly reminded of the pithy and succinct saying of Scotia's beloved bard, Burns:
"A chiel's amang ye taking notes."
"A chiel's amang ye taking notes."
"A chiel's amang ye taking notes."
Notice how she enumerates the persons and things in the apartment. The mother and daughter. The damp room. The ground floor. The wretchedness. The broken stove. The one chair. The two trunks. The bedding spread on the floor. The absence of a bedstead. The lameness. The feebleness. How consummate the skill displayed in her graphic and touching description of pitiable facts emanating from her pen with such brilliancy of rhetorical power; and all spontaneously springing not from the schools of moral and intellectual philosophy, but from the school of Christ Jesus her Lord who said to his sorrowful disciples: "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you, but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." TheParaclete, who is infinitely competent to perform the instruction necessary amid all the exigencies of life, and by whose divine influence every difficulty and trial is easily adjusted, was evidently her great instructor.
"The girl," she says, "was quite feeble for want of care and nourishment." In a public address recently delivered in this city by the good and kind Dr. John Hall, of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, at the opening of a Newsboys' Lodging House, on the corner of Eighth Street and Avenue B, an institution built through the liberality of Mrs. Robert L. Stuart, at a cost of $50,000, the doctor said, "A man left to himself will choose the bad rather than the good, because the majority do, and it is easier besides. As crime breeds misery, so misery too often breeds crime.We should take note of this fact and try to mend it."
Mr. Bruce, another speaker, said "thousands of children, assisted, have gone West, and now own farms and are prosperous." He concluded his address by asking the boys to cheer Mrs. Stuart, which they did gratefully for their new home provided by this inestimable and generous lady.—New York Daily Tribune, Tuesday, March 29, 1887.
It is the philanthropist's great aim to defend the moral honor of the homeless as well as to minister to their temporal necessities. This important service was rendered to thousands by our model missionary woman, and eternity alone will disclose the gigantic results.
But let us more specifically analyze her course of conduct under the foregoing circumstance. In the first placeshe immediately relieved their wants. I have read somewhere the story of Dr. Guthrie when he was first called to the metropolis of Edinburgh. Of their filling his pockets with tracts, and with all the ardor of his noble heart, commenced his great work. He ascended the creaking stairs of a high building in the old town, and knocking at the door, an elderly woman made her appearance, whereupon he proffered her a tract. Looking earnestly upon him, and in a loud shrill voice she exclaimed, pathetically: "'Deed, Sir, I dinna want yeer tracts, I weed thank ye for a loaf o' breed." Ah! he thought to himself, here is a case of destitution, and excusing himself he hurried down-stairs, and going to the baker he ordered bread, and to the butcher he ordered beef, and to the grocer he ordered some English breakfast tea and sugar, a few dainties, and a cart of coal, and requested them to be sent at once to the woman in want. Calling a few days afterward he found her comfortably seated with a neighbor around a cheerful hearthstone drinking their newly made tea. When she opened the door she enthusiastically exclaimed, "Come awa, noo, Doctor, I am ready to hear you on the subject o' religion." Our departed sister also recognized the necessity of attending to the temporal as well as the spiritual wants of her parishioners simultaneously. "After relieving their wants I tried to lead them to Christ."
We shall now proceed to show that this incident, in conformity to the teaching of God's Word, assures us that suffering and want are the means used by the kind providence of God to lead the careless sinner to seek a saving interest in the Lord Jesus Christ. David says, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, and thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me." He delivereth the poor in his affliction. "The Lord will not cast us off forever. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies." And here is the reason given: "For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men."—Lam. iii. 31-33.
In this instructive part of the diary we find described a truly pathetic and animated scene. A humble missionary woman leading souls to Christ. This employment excites the deep interest and profound admiration of heaven. The general assembly and church of the first born above are intently gazing on, not as idle spectators, but the angels may be observed pressing through the crowd of crowned ones with glory-lit face, and sanctified step, communicating the cheering intelligence of accessions to the ranks of the church militant which must swell the highest strains of celestial music and deeply increase and augment the joy of the church triumphant.
In the hour of deep distress this woman was sent by God to relieve the wants of this stricken household, and at the same time lead them "to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world." There are many, alas, who see no beauty in the despised Nazarene until, by deep suffering, they are absolutely compelled to completely renounce self and to fall down, wounded and bleeding and bruised and heart-broken at the feet of Him who shed the last drop of his crimson blood on the Cross of Calvary for our salvation.
"Two others," she adds, "at this date, have been led tostudy the Bibleand have openly professed Christ." What extraordinary events cluster around thisspecial agencyemployed by the Holy Spirit to bring about such a glorious result. It is the enemy's intention to lead persons in distress and misery to commit crime. This is the testimony of all history, but God saves His own in the hour of peril, and not unfrequently by weak instrumentalities. Near Loch Katrine, encircled by lofty mountains and where the scenery which fringes it is of the wildest character; where, as Scott says in his "Lady of the Lake," the briar rose and fell in streamers green,
And creeping shrubs of thousand dyes,Waved in the west wind's summer sighs,Boon nature scattered free and wildEach plant or flower, the mountain's child,Here eglantine embalmed the air,Hawthorn and hazel mingled there.The primrose pale and violet flower,Found in each cliff's narrow bower;Foxglove and nightshade side by side,Emblems of punishment and pride;Gray birch and aspen wept beneath;Aloft the ash and warrior oak,Cast anchor in the rifted rock;And higher yet the pine-tree hung,His shattered trunk, and frequent flungWhere seemed the cliff to meet on high,His boughs athwart the narrow sky,So wondrous wild, the whole might seemThe scenery of a fairy dream.
And creeping shrubs of thousand dyes,Waved in the west wind's summer sighs,Boon nature scattered free and wildEach plant or flower, the mountain's child,Here eglantine embalmed the air,Hawthorn and hazel mingled there.The primrose pale and violet flower,Found in each cliff's narrow bower;Foxglove and nightshade side by side,Emblems of punishment and pride;Gray birch and aspen wept beneath;Aloft the ash and warrior oak,Cast anchor in the rifted rock;And higher yet the pine-tree hung,His shattered trunk, and frequent flungWhere seemed the cliff to meet on high,His boughs athwart the narrow sky,So wondrous wild, the whole might seemThe scenery of a fairy dream.
And creeping shrubs of thousand dyes,
Waved in the west wind's summer sighs,
Boon nature scattered free and wild
Each plant or flower, the mountain's child,
Here eglantine embalmed the air,
Hawthorn and hazel mingled there.
The primrose pale and violet flower,
Found in each cliff's narrow bower;
Foxglove and nightshade side by side,
Emblems of punishment and pride;
Gray birch and aspen wept beneath;
Aloft the ash and warrior oak,
Cast anchor in the rifted rock;
And higher yet the pine-tree hung,
His shattered trunk, and frequent flung
Where seemed the cliff to meet on high,
His boughs athwart the narrow sky,
So wondrous wild, the whole might seem
The scenery of a fairy dream.
Here, in a roughly wooded island, the country people secreted their wives and children, and their most valuable effects from the rapacity of Cromwell's soldiers during their inroad into Scotland. The soldiers resolved to plunder this island; an expert swimmer swam toward it to fetch the boat to his comrades, which had carried the women to their place of refuge. It lay moored in one of the creeks; his companions stood watching on the shore; but just as the soldier reached the nearest point of the island, and was laying hold of a black rock to get on shore, a heroine who stood on the very point where he meant to land, hastily snatching a dagger from below her tartan apron, with one quick, sharp stroke severed his jugular vein, killing him instantly.
The soldiers on the other shore seeing the disaster, relinquished all future hope of revenge or conquest, and made the best of their way out of a perilous position. Thus the women and children and valuables were saved by the bravery of this noble heroine, Ellen Stuart. Such is the way God saves the family to-day, by guiding the feet of our missionary to many a distressed household, instantly relieving their wants, and putting in their hands the Word of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Let this record be an incentive to others to go and do likewise, by pleading for the poor and the fatherless. God grant that her words may be as goads to arouse sleepy professors to a realizing sense of their great obligation to Him who is the God of Israel, our father's God, and we will trust Him.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE POWER OF INFLUENCE.
I cannot do great things for HimWho did so much for me;But I would like to show my love,Lord Jesus, unto Thee;Faithful in very little things,O Saviour! may I be.
I cannot do great things for HimWho did so much for me;But I would like to show my love,Lord Jesus, unto Thee;Faithful in very little things,O Saviour! may I be.
I cannot do great things for Him
Who did so much for me;
But I would like to show my love,
Lord Jesus, unto Thee;
Faithful in very little things,
O Saviour! may I be.
In the course of her daily missionary work Mrs. Knowles met with the following interesting case which she herself records:
"Calling on a poor afflicted widow, I found her in great want, much discouraged, and very sad; she said she did not feel muchdesire to live.
"'Can you not trust God?' I said. 'Have you not always been cared for?'
"Her little boy, a child of six years, was sitting by her side scribbling on a slate. He looked up and said:
"'Mamma, do you know what God says?'
"'What?' said she.
"'He that believeth in me hath everlasting life; and God don't want our money. He don't want us to pay the debt with money.'
"'What does He want?' said she.
"'He wants our hearts, and won't you trust Him, mamma?'
"This roused the mother at once.
"'Oh, how wicked I have been!' she exclaimed, 'to murmur against the will of the Almighty. I will trust Him, for He has always cared for me in the past, and I will trust Him for the future.'"
I cannot refrain from making a few comments on this case, and drawing a lesson therefrom.
Trust in the Lord, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.—Ps. xxxvii. 3.
He hath given meat unto them that fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant.—Ps. cxi. 5.
I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread.—Ps. cxxxii. 15.
He filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.—Ps. cxlvii. 14.
The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul.—Proverbs xiii. 25.
Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them: Are ye not much better than they?—Matt. vi. 26.
And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied.—Joel ii. 26.
Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: Behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty.—Isaiah lxv. 13.
Suggestive Observations For Christian Workers.
What a deeply interesting and instructive picture is here presented to our view. Notice the synopsis:
Destitution.—"In great want."—This missionary was sent by God to this house—sent like the raven to Elijah. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. He frequently overrules poverty, and it contributes to the good of His children.
Discouragement.—Confidence in God's promises, the great panacea for all the difficulties of life. "Won't you trust Him?" the child asked.
Despondency.—This widow was "very sad." When there is no bread in the house and the children are clamorous for food, it is enough to produce despondency. But afflicted women should remember that God has promised to be a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless.
Despair.—"No desire to live."—A sad, very sad condition! When God sends affliction it is our dutyto prayand not despair. Amid the gloom of earth's trials, the Holy Spirit alone can cheer; sorrow and despair can be changed, by God's matchless grace, into gratitude and gladness. Newton used to say, when inclined to dark, foreboding feelings:
Begone, unbelief, for my Saviour is near,And for my relief will surely appear;By prayer let me wrestle and he will perform;With Christ in the vessel, I can smile at the storm.
Begone, unbelief, for my Saviour is near,And for my relief will surely appear;By prayer let me wrestle and he will perform;With Christ in the vessel, I can smile at the storm.
Begone, unbelief, for my Saviour is near,
And for my relief will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle and he will perform;
With Christ in the vessel, I can smile at the storm.
Light Amid Darkness.
God's Word assures us that a little child shall lead them.—"Mamma, do you know what God says? He that believeth in me hath everlasting life." To behold Christ the light of the world is everlasting life.
Strong devotion to children will lead us to notice their sayings and doings.—What a beautiful and forcible illustration is this incident recorded by her, the sayings of Christ, "out of the mouth of babes and sucklings he hath perfected praise." God is always doing wonders. He confounds the mighty.
Children are Christ's best representatives.—To teach the disciples humility he set the child in their midst and said, "Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." The day spring from on high visited this family.
Love Remembered begets Confidence in God.
I will trust Him for He has always cared for me in the past.—How beautifully appropriate in this connection is the twenty-third Psalm, that we used to sing among the purple heather in the sunny days of childhood with those who have gone home to yonder land of light and love.
The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.He makes me down to lieIn pasture's green; he leadeth meThe quiet waters by.My soul he doth restore againAnd me to walk doth makeWithin the paths of righteousnessEv'n for his own name's sake.Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,Yet will I fear none ill,For thou art with me; and thy rodAnd staff me comfort still.My table thou hast furnishedIn presence of my foes;My head thou dost with oil anoint,And my cup overflows.Goodness and mercy all my lifeShall surely follow me;And in God's house for evermoreMy dwelling place shall be.
The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.He makes me down to lieIn pasture's green; he leadeth meThe quiet waters by.My soul he doth restore againAnd me to walk doth makeWithin the paths of righteousnessEv'n for his own name's sake.Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,Yet will I fear none ill,For thou art with me; and thy rodAnd staff me comfort still.My table thou hast furnishedIn presence of my foes;My head thou dost with oil anoint,And my cup overflows.Goodness and mercy all my lifeShall surely follow me;And in God's house for evermoreMy dwelling place shall be.
The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.
He makes me down to lie
In pasture's green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
My soul he doth restore again
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness
Ev'n for his own name's sake.
Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear none ill,
For thou art with me; and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.
My table thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.
Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God's house for evermore
My dwelling place shall be.
Said an old Christian (a member of my church) seventy-eight years of age, whose dear partner of his joys and sorrows whom I called to see in her deep affliction (for she had fallen and broken a limb), as I read the above psalm to them before engaging in prayer, "I remember when a boy at home of hearing my dear kind mother rocking the children to sleep singing that good old psalm of the Hebrew bard."
I received a telegram recently to call and see a wealthy manufacturer's mother from Ayrshire, who was stricken with paralysis. As I entered the room and took her hand, I said:
"I suppose you feel now in your sickness that the Lord is your shepherd."
"Yes," said she, "and He leadeth me beside the still waters." Shortly afterward she peacefully fell asleep in Jesus.
CHAPTER XV.
MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS FROM HER DIARY.
Have you heard of that wonderful city,Whose walls are of jasper and gold?Whose inhabitants ever are happy,And never grow weary or old?Have you heard of those emblems of vict'ry,That all of the glorified bear?Of the star-bedecked crowns of rejoicingWhich all of the ransomed shall wear?
Have you heard of that wonderful city,Whose walls are of jasper and gold?Whose inhabitants ever are happy,And never grow weary or old?
Have you heard of that wonderful city,
Whose walls are of jasper and gold?
Whose inhabitants ever are happy,
And never grow weary or old?
Have you heard of those emblems of vict'ry,That all of the glorified bear?Of the star-bedecked crowns of rejoicingWhich all of the ransomed shall wear?
Have you heard of those emblems of vict'ry,
That all of the glorified bear?
Of the star-bedecked crowns of rejoicing
Which all of the ransomed shall wear?
Her Gratitude to the New York Flower Mission.—In the middle of a busy summer she writes: "The Flower Mission has enabled me to bring some brightness and pleasure to the sufferers on sick beds, for which I am very grateful."
Her ardent love of "sweet, sweet nature" is fully exemplified by frequent visits to the New York Flower Mission Society's Rooms.
How refreshing to the sight of the sufferer are those gifts of earth's adornment. And how pleasing are the words of the poet Burns:
"The snowdrop and primrose the woodlands adornAnd the violets they bathe in the weet of the morn."
"The snowdrop and primrose the woodlands adornAnd the violets they bathe in the weet of the morn."
"The snowdrop and primrose the woodlands adorn
And the violets they bathe in the weet of the morn."
The Young Jewess.—Writing under this head, she says: "Some time since I became acquainted with a young Jewess, who was very sick. I visited her from time to time, carrying her some little comforts and a bouquet of flowers. I also read and prayed with her, which displeased her mother. But ere long her daughter became a Christian, and when I asked her one day if she fully believed in Jesus as her Messiah, she replied, 'Oh, yes.' She always came to church, but being an invalid and dependent on her mother, she could not come out boldly and confess Christ. I have learned since that she has married a Christian man, is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is a happy woman."
It is quite possible for this young Jewess in her sickness to have been led to the holy cross of Jesus through the missionary's thoughtfulness in bringing sunshine into this sick room by those beautiful and fragrant flowers.
The Forsaken German Woman.—Of this case she states: "A poor woman who had come from Germany not long ago, felt herself forsaken by all, and longed for her old home. Telling her of the love of Christ, she seemed to receive God's word with gratitude, and was very thankful for the little temporal aid I could give her."
The great charm in her life was her almost universal benevolence to all in deep distress. Consider this German woman forsaken and far from her native home. She sighed for
Her dear sweet fatherland, and gazed across the sea,But could not get a blink o' her ain countrie.
Her dear sweet fatherland, and gazed across the sea,But could not get a blink o' her ain countrie.
Her dear sweet fatherland, and gazed across the sea,
But could not get a blink o' her ain countrie.
Oh! how blessed! truly blessed are those who are thus like minded. Oh! the rich and inestimable value of such a life. Who can really estimate the power of such human affection? It is emphatically real, true, solid, and substantial. How influential! How full of Christ-like generosity! Where can we find one so full of the spirit of her dear master? Her life was spent for the temporal as well as the spiritual welfare of those with whom she was providentially brought in contact.
See how tenderly shenoticedthe change wrought among her parishioners, after her return from a short respite from her incessant labors. Some were dead, others were sick. To minister to these was her continuous occupation. She felt her days were short, and as she remarked on her own death-bed, "I must finish my work." Hence, short were her intervals of repose. She says:
"The prospects of the poor are beginning to brighten. Some, who have been out of work for some time, have now found employment. In the month of February, of the two hundred families I visited, forty on whom their families were depending for support were without any employment. I have gathered several into the church and the Sabbath-school, as well as the prayer-meeting, which is well attended. God help the poor!"
And again, after a somewhat short respite from her labors, she writes:
"On my return from my vacation, I found many sick, and some had been called away from this life. Mrs. L., whom I had long visited, had fallen asleep in Jesus. Another poor woman who had lost her husband and a darling child was greatly afflicted. She was willing and glad to hear of the Saviour who knows all our sorrows, and has promised to comfort the afflicted with His own presence."
Yes, this is emphatically true. For what sayeth God through the Prophet Isaiah:
"Oh! Israel, fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Sebia for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life."
A Storm of Starvation, Sickness, and Death.—The Widow's Lament.—A Father and Three Children Rescued.—The Stranger in the City.—"During the last month I have met with a great deal of destitution, many persons out of employment, several families without fire or food, and the most of them had never known want before, but knew not where to apply for aid.
"One poor woman, whose husband was in the Island Hospital, I called to see on the Wednesday before the last great storm. She had just sent her little boy to see his father, and was, with her five children, without fire or food. The day before she had divided her last five cent loaf among them. I immediately went to the Visitor of the district, who gave her groceries and coal, but before she received the aid word came that her husband was dead. She is a Protestant, but has been living in careless neglect of her duty to God. She now became very penitent, and lamented her past life, believing, as she herself affirmed, that God had been afflicting her for her sins. I think I shall be able to get her aid from the Widows' Society.
"Some time ago, visiting in a tenement house, I inquired at one of the doors if there were any children there who did not go to Sabbath-school, and was answered by a boy that he did not go. I then asked him to go to our school. He consented, and on the following Sabbath three of the children came, and since then have induced their father to attend church, and he appears to be one of the most attentive hearers there.
"A few days since I visited the family, and found his wife to be a very interesting woman. As I entered the room, the children told their mother I was from the church. She seemed glad to see me, and told me of the many trials she had met with. She was a stranger in the city, having recently come in from the country, where they had lived in comfort, but since then have been greatly reduced. She wept sore, as she told me that her husband had no employment at present. He looks over the papers every day, but as yet can find no situation. I begged her not to be discouraged, but put her trust in the Lord, and He would not forsake her. She said she felt much encouraged from the interest her husband had taken in matters of religion, and regretted she had never made a profession herself. Before I left I prayed with her, and when I bade her good-by, she put her arms around my neck and wept, saying it was the Lord who sent me to her, and asked me to come soon and often.
"That same evening her husband attended our prayer-meeting, and it was remarked by several present how very attentive and interested he appeared."
Fidelity in the performance of duty is always rewarded by getting assistance from kind Christian friends. The last five cent loaf is divided among the children. It is a terrible picture to study. A storm without, starvation within, and a father sick in the hospital. Can you imagine a more heartrending scene than the one so graphically portrayed by this missionary woman? Picture the moral heroism displayed in her tender appeals for help to this death-stricken household.
Bible illustrations are always the best:
"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over."—Ps. xxiii. 5.
"There is no want to them that fear Him. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."—Ps. xxxiv. 9-10.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."—Matt. vi. 33.
"My God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."—Phil. iv. 19.
"Godliness with contentment is great gain. Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy."—1 Tim. vi. 6, 17.
"I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on: is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."—Matt. vi. 25, 30-32.
Discouragement and Encouragement.
She begged this woman not to be discouraged, but to put her trust in the Lord. How comforting is the word in this connection, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust."
1. Consider the happiness of those who put their trust in the Lord. Everyone who neglects to do this may reasonably expect that God will hide his face from them.
2. See the benefits that flow from the reciprocal influence of religion. She felt encouraged because her husband was interested in religion.
3. Trials ought to be spiritually discerned. We form a very wrong estimate of religion if we think that God's gifts of grace are invariably conferred upon the prosperous. Many have the smiles of His providence who are not basking in the sunshine of His reconciling countenance.
If we Forsake God, He will also Forsake us.
She had not discharged her duty to God, etc.—How quickly she recognized the vital importance of discharging duty to God as infinitely superior to all others. Penitence for sin omitted and committed against a holy Being who has purer eyes than to behold iniquity. This thought is put in the foreground; sin brings affliction. Repentance was the first subject selected by John, and Christ himself, to proclaim to the people of Palestine, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." Why does it imply simply a change of mind?
Laments her past life.—Living in the careless neglect of her duty to God, she censures herself, evidently experiencing that Godly sorrow for sin which needeth not to be repented of. How many, alas! sadly neglect to confess and forsake their sin until the setting of life's sun.
He consented, etc.—The old story-telling with gentle, winning words, at the door of the tenement-house, accompanied with the loving invitation to come to Jesus, are deeply impregnated with never-ceasing influence. Three children and a father persuaded to attend the means of grace on the Sabbath, in God's sanctuary. What a striking reflection of the character of Him who sat weary and way-worn on Jacob's well. Surely a truly devoted missionary of the holy cross of Jesus is an angel on this sin-blighted earth, where, through penury and sorrow, hearts are almost crushed with despair. She is Christ's ambassador.
Seemed glad to see me, etc.—Why, dear Christian reader? Because she brought rays of heavenly sunshine of God's peace and gratitude and gladness into many a benighted heart; thus inspiring, encouraging, and arousing within the soul blessed remembrances of a covenant-keeping God, even toward His poor, wayward, backsliding children.
What an unspeakable privilege to unbosom one's trials and difficulties into the ear of a faithful servant of God. But ought we not to thank the Father of Light that the throne of grace has been erected, and we are kindly invited to come boldly into His immediate presence, through the rent veil of our Redeemer's flesh, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in every time of need?
Consider the change from comfort in the country to circumstances of cheerlessness in the city. Many make a sad mistake in leaving their country home to come to the city to be crowded in a tenement-house. Drawn thither, perhaps, by the glare and din and bustle, to mingle in the sin and sorrow. She described the woman as weeping sorely. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." What an inexpressible comfort to those who feel their loneliness in the city, then Jesus wept and said that he was friendless and homeless. "He hath trodden the wine-press alone, of the people there was none with him."
Poverty and hunger is a great temptation to a woman in the city. How comforting to know that Christ was tempted in this respect. For we read in God's divinely inspired word:
"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he Had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. And the tempter came and said unto him: If thou art the son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said: It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written,