Life is what? ne, whose fall doth circles make, An the smooth surface of the lake, Which spread till one and all forsake the spot. And such is Man 'Midst friends he revels for a span, And sinks-forgot. Life is what? It is a bubble on the main, Whose air destroys the fabric it hath wrought. Swell'd into being for a span, And broke-forgot. Life is what? A shadow on the mountain's side, Driv'n by the Northern gale, with tempests fraught. He hangs on greatness for a span, Life is what? It is the sound of cannon near, He frights and blusters for a span, And is forgot. Life is what? It is the swallow's sojournment, Who, ere green Summer's robe is rent, He rents his dwelling for a span, And flits-forgot. Life is what? 'Tis what I have not time to tell, A hundred shapes more transient still- While reck'ning o'er Life's little span, And is this-life? Oh, no! 'tis only life's first shoot; He lives thro' an ETERNAL span, And yet this shoot This speck-this point—this bubble of the sea, Thoughtless he wastes this transient span, O, happy thought! That he who feels his guilty state by sin, Who here through faith in Jesus' blood made clean, Has with the saints of God his favoured lot. This is the Man Who by his God, though life's a span, EDITOR'S ADDRESS TO HIS YOUNG FRIENDS. DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,-Corn-covered hills and dales, busy reapers, loaded wains, rising stacks, and industrious gleaners-these are part of the stirring scenes that surround us in this bright and beautiful harvest month; and amidst such scenes as these, our old friend THE GLEANER still trudges tour door and asks admission for his bundle, d tells all his dear young friends they are heartily welcome to every ear it contains. Your old friend is still picking and choosing as he travels over the stubble. The ears that most please him, because he thinks they are most likely to profit you, are of the following kind. First, warning ears. This is a world so thickly strewn with nets and traps for youthful feet that it is always desirable to put into your hands such ears as caution you against drinking, smoking, bad company, public houses, amusements of an idle, wasteful, and immoral tendency, infidelity, Ritualism, Popery, and every form of false religion. Second, instructive ears. He wants ever to pick up for you such ears of corn as will make you the wiser for rubbing them in your mental hands, and eating them with your understanding. A book should not only excite but instruct. It is well you should get instruction in the things of this life, but it is far more important you should get instruction into those truths that relate to the life to come. There are four great points THE GLEANER ever wishes to make prominent. First, the holy and righteous character of God; second, the fallen, ruined, and condemned condition of man; third, the only way of salvation by the finished work of the Lord Jesus; and, fourth, the vast importance of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Dear reader, you must soon stand before a holy God. You are, through your sinful condition and transgressions, utterly unfit to meet God. Jesus and His precious blood and obedience can alone fit you to meet God. "Ye must be born again." We might go on to show you how we delight in picking up ears of Gospel invitations to weary, heavyladen, thirsty sinners to come to Jesus, of Gospel promises to coming souls, and Gospel directions to believers on the Lord Jesus Christ; but we must remember that we cannot squeeze our Own thoughts and words into our bundle without squeezing out some of the full ears it should contain. We must be excused saying, before we proceed further, that we are writing this address in the very room where we lay a little more than a year since with life and death trembling in the balance. Wilford, long dear to us as the dwelling-place of kind friends, and by the remembrances of many helps in preaching the gospel, has another claim to our grateful remembrances, containing, as it does, this scene of suffering, and of merciful support and deliverance in answer to prayer. That season of suffering followed the opening of Pisgah Cottages, the fruit of the bounty of our readers; and now we doubt not that our dear young friends, especially those who have contributed to their erection, will sympathize with our joy in the completion of the Gleaner and Sower Widows' Homes. On the fourth of July we had the happiness of meeting to tea, beneath the roof of these Homes for the Lord's widowed people, upwards of twenty Christian friends, who gathered to unite their praises to the Judge of the widows for this instance of His provident mercy to His dear needy people. Before tea we sang together Newton's sweet hymn, "For mercies countess as the sands." After tea_we sang together he hymn from Clifton Hymn Book beginning "Crown the King of Glory, crown Him, Crown Him, crown Him, Crown the Saviour heaven's King;" at the close of which we sought to unite in expressions at the throne of grace of our gratitude and our desires with regard to the Homes, the completion of which we had met to celebrate. We then sang together, "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;" after which we read a portion of Psalm ciii., seeking to hold communion together over verses I to 5. At the close of our reading a dear friend gave thanks and prayed. We then sang the last three verses of the hymn in Clifton Hymn Book beginning-"Come, let us join," &c. The meeting was then brought to a close by the reading of 1 Chron. xxix. 10-18, a short prayer, and the announcement that, although the bills were not all in, it was hoped there was enough in hand to pay for the cottages within about a little over ten pounds, which sum we trusted the hearts of our benevolent friends, especially those who had grace to love the needy members of Christ, would be moved soon to supply. If the fervent prayers that were offered that evening for the security of the property to its object, for the future inhabitants, for all who had contributed, especially for the young, should be answered, there will be for many days to come abundant reason to be thankful that we were led thus to meet to praise the Lord for the completion of the Widows' Homes, and to pour out our supplications to God for all concerned in them. If the LITTLE GLEANER and SOWER had only been instrumental in thus benefiting temporally from generation to generation the ransomed objects of God's love, we should have reason to be thankful for their publication, especially as this temporal benefit is conferred in a way that will bring, in their latter days, some of the Lord's dear people near to the means that the Lord owns, from time to time, for blessing to their souls. |