6 around me as I sat on the bedside, laid her head on my shoulder, and said distinctly, God bless and reward you, give thanks for me to Him, my soul is saved! Christ is everything to me. Sir, we shall meet in heaven, shall we not? Oh yes, yes; then all will be peace, peace, peace.' She sank back on the bed, spoke no more, fetched a deep sigh, smiled, and died. With these thoughts I left the cottage to return home. A few miles from here, and frowning on the heights above the town of Newport, stands the famous Carisbrook Castle, once the prison of Charles I. As I walked along I could but contrast the difference between the monarch and the child whose grave I had just left. How different in their lives! and not less different in their deaths: both have gone "the way of all the earth." The king may be despised on account of his selfishness, and his courtiers entirely forgotten, but Little Jane "though dead, yet speaketh," and shall be had in remembrance from one generation to another. "Grace all the world shall crown, It lays in heaven the topmost stone -88 STUDY THE SCRIPTURES. AH, young men, no histories are comparable to the histories of the Scriptures: first, for antiquity; 2nd, rarity; 3rd, variety; 4th, brevity; 5th, perspicuity; 6th, harmony; 7th, verity. All other books cannot equal God's, either in age or authority, in dignity or excellency, in sufficiency or glory. The word is like the stone garamantites, that hath drops of gold in itself, enriching to the believing soul. This the martyrs found, which made them give a load of hay for a few leaves of the Bible in English. Augustine professeth that the sacred Scriptures were his whole delight. And Jerome tells us of one Nepotianus, who, by long and assiduous meditation on the Holy Scriptures, had made his breast the library of Jesus Christ. Oh, the mysteries, the excellencies, the glories, that are in the word! Ah, no book to this book; none so useful, none so needful, none so delightful; none so necessary to make you happy, and to keep you happy as this. It is said of Cæsar that he had a greater care of his books than of his royal robes; for, swimming through the waters to escape his enemies, he carried his books in his hand above the waters, but lost his robe. Now what are Cæsar's books to God's book? Ah, young men, young men! the word of the Lord is a light to guide you, a counseller to counsel you, a comforter to comfort you, a staff to support you, a sword to defend you, and a physician to cure you. The word is a mine to enrich you, a robe to clothe you, and a crown to crown you. It is bread to strengthen you, and wine to cheer you, and a honeycomb to feast you, and music to delight you, and a paradise to entertain you. Oh, therefore, before all and above all, search the Scripture, study the Scripture, dwell on the Scripture, delight in the Scripture, treasure up the Scripture; no wisdom to Scripture wisdom, no knowledge to Scripture knowledge, no experience to Scripture experience, no comforts to Scripture comforts, no delights to Scripture delights, no convictions to Scripture convictions, nor no conversion to Scripture conversion.-Brooks. THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS. 'Sister spirit come away.' 66 DEAR little gleaners and greater gleaners too -there is a text which says, "The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give;" and while I might give some offence if I compared the little gleaners to " horseleeches," yet the comparison would, in some respects, be just, for as the 66 66 leech cries, "Give, give," so the little gleaners cry, "Write, write;" and I am informed that those who catch leeches for medical men walk into the waters in which they abound with their legs quite bare, and the leeches rush to those legs and fasten upon them, and are thus easily captured. And may the LITTLE GLEANER act in the capacity of a Fisherman," and catch men; as well as excite the horseleeches to cry," Give, give;" and thus may the promise made to Peter, and to all gracious ministers and writers, be fulfilled: Henceforth thou shalt catch men." And as the leech-fisher would meet with no success if he walked into the water upon stilts, so your good Editor feels that it is no use to walk into the waters monthly upon the stilts of error and untruth, but to wade along in sincerity and truth. Nor are his little readers more ready to cry, "Give, give" than he is ready to respond, "Receive, receive." His object is to win; and "he that winneth souls is wise." I was led to this comparison from the fact that the monthly number for October was scarcely free from the press before I was met with the old sentence, "Write something else;" or, like the horseleech's two daughters, "Give, give." And a kind lady at Tunbridge Wells gave me a hint of what the next subject should be, for I find that there are many old Christians who anxiously wait for the pages of the LITTLE GLEANER, as well as little folks; and how often I have heard such say, " Ah, I often get a crumb out of the GLEANER. The present subject, then, as named at the head of this paper, "The Ministry of Angels," is partly exemplified in the death of a little boy, who died a short time ago. As the narrative is but a short one, it will allow me the more time for preface, which I feel anxious to avail myself of; for the incredulous 66 often reject all such accounts, as being fanciful; and the lying legends and idolatry of Papists make even some gracious persons set but little value upon the Bible doctrine of "The Ministry of Angels '-a doctrine clearly taught in the word of truth, and embraced by the Church of God, and replete with comfort, too, to many a tried believer. Yes, Little Gleaners, there is "an innumerable company of angels" (Heb. xii. 22), and each one has his work assigned by his great Creator; sometimes they are employed, too, for the destruction of the ungodly, and sometimes for the defence of the righteous; for we read, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him.” I am fully aware that where we sometimes have the ministry of an angel spoken of, the dear Saviour is intended; for He is the Angel of the covenant. I suppose the word angelos means a "sent one," and Jesus was a sent One indeed; and when the three Hebrew children were cast bound, by a cruel law and by cruel hands, into a burning furnace, how soon a Fourth was seen! This was not a created angel, but the Creator of angels, the Lord of Glory; and the heathen monarch was made to exclaim, in wonder and amazement, “ Lo, I see four men loose [no longer bound when Jesus comes], walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no HURT; and the form of the Fourth is like the Son of God." And in verse 28 of this same chapter (Dan. iii.) the king "spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him." O blessed truth, forced from the lips of Babylon's king! How sweet is that precious word to my soul," Delivered His servants that trusted in Him." And is He still the same? Yes, for He delivereth and He 66 |