little
community
for an hour, and he will at least see the force of the
divine injunction.
divine injunction.
Childrens - The Creation
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? LETTER XII.
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the Good Shepherd. The Gospel of John is exceedingly full on this
figure. The Shepherd is there represented as going before the sheep;
leading them out, and providing thein pastures; calling them by
name; knowing them all; protecting them; standing before them
when the wolf comes, and dying rather than they should die, (chap. x.
1--16. ) The sheep are represented as hearing the Shepherd's voice,
--following him,--not listening to the hireling's voice, but fleeing
from it. This is the figure; and how forcibly the Lord himself
applies it:--" I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd,
whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the
sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the
sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not
for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am
known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the
Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep
I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they
shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. "
(Ver. 11--16. )
If you compare this last passage about the other sheep with the
Lord's prayer, in John xvii. 20, with his command to his disciples,
when he manifested himself to them in the Mount of Galilee, (Matt.
xxviii. 19,) with the account of the Holy Spirit's descent at Pentecost,
when it is said that devout men out of every nation under heaven heard
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THE CREATION.
in their own tongues the wonderful works of God, (Acts ii. 5,) with
the vision of the sheet knit at the four corners, that the Lord gave to
Peter, to show him that God had granted to the Gentiles repentance
unto life, (Acts x. 11;) and last of all, with Eph. ii. 14, 22, where
both are said to be one, and the middle wall of partition broken down
that before existed; then, I think, you will understand scripturally
the Lord's promise concerning the other sheep, and the one fold under
the one shepherd.
You will find many children who can repeat the twenty-third
Psalm,--" The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;" and happy
the child that can from the heart repeat it. Many other passages
I might refer to, such as Ezekiel xxxiv. , where the characters of the
true and false shepherds are described. Psalm lxxx. 1, where the
Lord, sitting between the cherubim, is styled the Shepherd of Israel;
and I Pet. v. 4, where he is called the chief Shepherd; and finally, in
Heb. xiii. 20, where he is called the Great Shepherd. But let these
suffice. The shepherd's character is one of the greatest interest;
and sweet is it to know the Good Shepherd's voice, and to follow it.
The Goat. This animal is not so often alluded to as the sheep;
though, on the great day of atonement, it was two kids of the
goats that, as the sin offering, were presented before the Lord, and
the one on whom the Lord's lot fell, died; and the other, with all the
transgressions of Israel, in all their sins confessed over its head by the
high priest, was led away by the hand of a fit man into the wilder-
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? LETTER XII.
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ness. (Lev. xvi. 9. ) The burnt offering also was taken either from
the sheep or the goats. (Lev. i. 10. )
The parable of the sheep and the goats, at the day of the Lord's
appearing, is very striking and awful. (Matt. xxv. 31, 32. ) It is
not sheep and swine, but sheep and goats. The one, that is, the sheep,
were really Christ's fold; the other had only a name. The one showed
the truth of their love; the other were barren. The one he welcomed
to his Father's presence; the other heard, and heard it once for ever,
" Depart from me. " But that day is not yet come. This is the day of
grace; and whoever comes to the Good Shepherd now, shall in no
wise be cast out; for he hath said,--" By me if any man enter in, he
shall be saved; and shall go in and out and find pasture. " (John x. 9. )
The Camel is sometimes, though not frequently, alluded to. In the
60th of Isaiah, the glory of Israel, in the last days, is set forth under
a great variety of emblems; indeed, if you read the chapter atten-
tively, you will find that there is not one day of the seven that has
not lent its imagery to show forth the unutterable happiness of that
time. Thus, when considering the emblems of the fifth day, we saw
Israel hastening to their long desolate and forgotten Jerusalem, with
the rapidity and fondness of the dove flying to its home; and now, on
the sixth, what can be more blessed than the following verses,--" The
multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and
Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and
incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. All the
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THE CREATION.
flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of
Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance
on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. " (Isa. Lx. 6, 7. )
The meaning of our Lord's reproach to the Pharisees, that they
strained at a gnat, and swallowed a camel, is very obvious. They
payed the tithes of anise, mint, and cummin most rigorously; but they
neglected the weightier matters of the law--judgment, mercy, and
faith. (Matt. xxiii. 23, 24. ) So is it now. A person is sometimes
most scrupulous in a number of little things, right in themselves,
but is altogether neglectful of the great things of God's law; and the
fruits of the Spirit are unseen in him,--such as love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
(Gal. v. 22, 23. )
The exceeding danger attendant on great possessions, is also illus-
trated by a proverb that was well known to Israel,--" It is easier,"
said our Lord, " for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. " (Matt. xix. 24. )
But, the things impossible with men, are possible with God. Rich
men are stewards; they must give an account of the talent entrusted
to them. Some rich men love to lay out their riches for the glory
of God; some to lay them out on themselves; and some to hoard
and look at them;--the former is the true use of riches, which the Lord
will not forget; no, nor will he forget the cup of cold water given in the
name of a disciple. The Christian should be noble, full-hearted, and
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? LETTER XII.
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generous, a follower of Him who maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good; and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. "
His motto is, " Do good unto all men, especially unto those who are
of the household of faith. "
The Horse. You have read that wonderful description in Job xxxix.
19--24, of the war horse; now see how the Lord uses this figure
in Prov. xxi. 31,--"The horse is prepared against the day of battle:
but safety is of the Lord. " If you look at the former description of
the horse, victory seems certain. Not so, says God:--safety is of me.
How forcible the instruction to the Christian! He is never, in his
conflicts with the great adversary, to consider himself independent; he
is to fight on his knees. The watchman wakes in vain, the builder
builds in vain, if the Lord be not acknowledged. (Psalm cxxvii. 1. )
In Zechariah, under the vision of horses, red, speckled, and white,
is represented the Lord's minute observance of what is passing on the
earth. In Rev. vi. as the first four seals of the seven-sealed book are
opened, horses are the emblems:--the white horse, of victory; the
black horse, of famine; the pale horse, of death: and in the nineteenth
of Revelation the innumerable host of the redeemed are seen on
white horses. I do not, my beloved children, attempt to explain
these figures to you; but I am anxious to put before you the scrip-
tures, and would earnestly seek of God, that by his Holy Spirit he
would enlighten your minds on them; for we must ever remember
that " all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
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THE CREATION.
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all
good works. " (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. )
The Ass knoweth his master's crib, Isa. i. 3. He knows where to
go for food. With this fact the Lord reproves his people, as I have
before remarked; therefore, even the sight of this lowly animal should
bring the question, Do I look to my God for food, for my daily bread,
yea, for every thing--aa this poor dumb animal looks to its owner ?
Other thoughts, also, should arise on seeing the ass. I should re-
member Him who was meek and lowly in heart--Zion's King,--who
rode into Jerusalem on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass.
(Zech. ix. 9; Matt. xxi. 5. )
The Coney, exceeding wise, builds his house in the rock. I will
speak to you of this emblem when coming to the ant.
The Dog and Swine are awfully introduced in illustration, in
2 Pet. ii. 22. In each case they represent a man who for a time
ran well, but went back afterwards to the world; and whose last
state was worse than his first.
Having thus briefly looked at the scriptural illustrations drawn
from the quadruped family, we will now consider those derived
from the reptile and serpent tribes.
As the lion is used as an emblem of Satan's power, so the serpent
is of his subtlety and deceit; and, excepting the passage where the
Lord exhorts his disciples to be wise as serpents and harmless as
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doves, I am not aware that this illustration is ever used other-
wise than to set forth cruelty, cunning, and deceit. Satan is
called " that old serpent"--" the crooked serpent"--" the great
dragon"--" the wicked one;" and his children are called " the seed"
of the serpent: that is, they have the ways of the serpent, and
lurk like that wicked spirit (whose servants they are) privily to
shoot out their tongue at the innocent. The most awful words the
Lord Jesus ever used on earth were taken from this similitude,
" Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers," said he to the Pharisees,
" how can ye escape the damnation of hell ? " (Matt. xxiii. 33. )
It was a fiery serpent that bit the Israelites in the wilderness;
and one like it, at God's command, was lifted up; and it came to
pass, that whosoever looked upon it lived. Our Lord, alluding to
this wonderful history, says,--" As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. " The bite
might have been dreadful, and certain death its result; but one look
at the brazen serpent, and there was life. So the poor sinner, whoso-
ever he be, that looks by faith to the cross of Jesus, shall never, no
never, perish; for he came to seek and to save that which was lost.
(Luke ix. 56 ; John iii. 14, 15. )
The Insect world also are not overlooked, in the way of illustration.
In Prov. vi. 6, the sluggard is sent to the ant for wisdom: and
let any indolent person take a chair and watch the progress of this
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THE CREATION.
little community for an hour, and he will at least see the force of the
divine injunction.
In Prov. xxx. 24--28, there is another most striking passage:--
" There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are
exceeding wise. The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare
their meat in the summer. The conies are but a feeble folk, yet
make they their houses in the rocks. The locusts have no king, yet
go they forth all of them by bands. The spider taketh hold with her
hands, and is in kings' palaces. " This is, doubtless, given to us for
instruction, as well as the previous passage.
The ant in summer is exceeding wise, and prepares for winter.
What is the lesson ? Surely a most important one:--it links the
present and the future together. The Christian, like the ant, has his
store provided ; and at that hour, when all would be otherwise dark
and cheerless around, he is happy,--" exceeding wise," taught of
God's Spirit. He is safe in Christ, and provided for, when the
bread of life could not be had, if neglected till then.
The Conies; a feeble folk--no power of burrowing as the rabbit,
they seek, as their natural history tells us, crevices of rocks, and find
a building that God has made for them. " Exceeding wise" are they
in their plans. So is it with the Christian. He cannot build himself
a dwelling; but in the Rock Christ he finds a house that no power
can take from him.
The Locusts. Unlike the bee, the locusts have no visible head ; and
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yet they go forth in bands, with one determinate purpose, and
nothing can resist them. So the Christian family, held together
by an invisible bond of union, are of one heart and of one
mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel; and though
assailed on every side, the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
(Matt. xvi. 18. )
The Spider. In outward appearance this insect is unattractive, yet
it is exceeding wise and persevering. Again and again it will
throw its web until it has reached its point; and it aims to
have a home even in the palace of the king. So the Christian. He
is of the household of God; and never is content until he has reached
the dwelling-place of God.
The Bees. This persevering little family are not, in the way of
illustration, often alluded to in Scripture, but when they are the
figures are very striking; see especially Ps. cxviii. 12. The allusion is
evidently to the great power of the enemy surrounding the Lord Jesus,
and the signal character of his defeat. " They compassed me about,
yea, they compassed me about; but in the name of the Lord I will
destroy them. They compassed me about like bees: they are
quenched as the fire of thorns; for in the name of the Lord I will de-
stroy them. " (Ps. cxviii. 11, 12. ) This is the only true way of resisting
the enemy ; thus only the giant Goliath falls before the stripling David.
How striking the address of the son of Jesse to this man of Gath!
--" Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a
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THE CREATION.
shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the
Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take
thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the
Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of
the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword
and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our
hands. " (1 Sam. xvii. 45-- 47.
The Fly. " Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send
forth a stinking savour; so doth a little folly him that is in reputation
for wisdom and honour. " (Eccles. x. 1. ) It is the exceeding insigni-
ficance of a dead fly that gives force to this image; but thus it is,
that at times the most trifling thing, coming by surprise on a very
correct person, causes him to commit himself; and the precious
ointment which should be all fragrant, (that is, his profession of
the name of Christ, whose "name is as ointment poured forth,"
Cant. i. 3,) is defiled by this neglect of watchfulness and dependance
on God.
The Leech. When you see this little insect, most valuable in
its place, crying, "Give, give," I think the lesson to be learnt
is not imitation, but the reverse. A craving after gifts is
most undesirable, whether in grown up people or children.
(Prov. xxx. 15. )
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The Grasshopper. This light and fragile insect abounds in all its
varieties in the east, and is frequently alluded to in the Scriptures in
the way of illustration. When the spies were sent hy Moses to search
the land of promise, two only of the twelve were faithful, the others
were unbelieving; for forty days they searched "the pleasant land,"
and then returned to the camp and gave the most glowing account of
the country; that it was a land flowing with milk and honey; and two
of their number (in all probability the faithful Caleb and Joshua)
bore upon their shoulders, as the earnest of the land, a bunch of the
grapes of Eschol, and pomegranates, and figs,--but the ten, forgetful
of the deliverance from Pharaoh, and the passage of the Red Sea, had
all their thoughts on the fenced cities of Amalek, and the mighty
men thereof, and of their own weakness; and this was their language:
" We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger
than we. . . . The land through which we have gone to search it, is a
land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and all the people that we
saw in it are men of a great stature: and there we saw the giants, the
sons of Anak, which come of the giants; and we were in our own sight
as grasshoppers, and so were we in their sight. " But Caleb and Joshua,
the faithful ones, had their eye to God, and this was their reply: " The
land through which we passed is an exceeding good land. If the
Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us,
a land which flows with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the
Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for
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THE CREATION.
us, their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us; fear
them not. " (Numb. xiii. and xiv. ) Yes, my beloved children, before
our enemies we may be indeed weak as the grasshopper--but let our
eye be to the Lord, and the whole power of the Prince of Darkness
shall be as nothing. The Lord is with us, is the watch-word of the
Calebs and Joshuas of God's camp: but read the whole narrative--
it is full of interest.
In the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, which is addressed more especially
to the young, there is also a most striking allusion to this little insect,
whose form is so light, that the most delicate blade of grass on which
it rests bends not beneath its weight. The scene is the bed of
death. " The silver cord "--" the golden bowl"--" the pitcher at the
fountain "--" the wheel at the cistern," are in an instant snapt and
broken--such is death: this moment, the soul a tenant in its earthly
tabernacle; the next moment, fled--gone to God who gave it. But ere
this change takes place, the whole frame is shaken. The right-hand
of strength, that but a little since would have swept all before it, is
now in trembling weakness. The legs, the pillars on which the body
stood with such manliness and power, bow themselves. The appetite
fails, and the grinders cease because they are few. The eyes, once
brilliant and sparkling, now are glazed and dim. The lips, that but a
few days past were opened with language the most touching, now are
closed; and the voice, so flexible and melodious, is now hushed into
silence. The nervous system, once the medium of all pleasing sensa-
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? LETTER XII.
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tions, is now weakened and shaken, and the dying man starts at the
least sound; and finally, the grasshopper, whose weight could not
bend the most fragile flower, is now a burden to him, who once
triumphed in his power. Yes, my dear children, such is the end of
man: he is cut down like a flower. (Job xiv. 1,2. ) In both the
righteous and the wicked the whole nature is prostrated in utter
weakness: but oh, how different is the next scene! Angels carrying the
spirit of the just to the paradise of God,--for they depart and are with
Christ; and wicked spirits hurrying the lost soul to the outer dark-
ness ; who there learns, but learns too late to profit by the lesson, that
God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he
reap. (Gal. vi. 7. )
There is yet one more allusion that I will advert to: you will find
it in Isaiah xl. 22. The prophet is describing the exceeding majesty
of God, and the weakness of the creature: various are the emblems
used. " It is he," saith the prophet, " that sitteth on the circle of the
earth, and the inhabitants thereof are but as grasshoppers; that
stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out
as a tent to dwell in. " How awfully sublime is this language!
and yet, my beloved children, amid the innumerable multitude that
the eye of the Lord gazes on, let your soul flee to Him, resting
on Jesus, the son of his love, and you shall be as much the
Father Almighty's care, as if there was not another in the whole
earth.
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THE CREATION.
The Earth Worm. * This is the lowest insect in the scale of creation;
and yet, Job, in the deepest humility, thus speaks of himself,--" I have
said to corruption, Thou art my father; and to the worm, Thou art my
mother, and my sister. " (Job xvii. 15. ) But Job had hopes beyond
this relationship,--" Dust he was, and to dust he would return. " But
how glorious his hope! " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my
skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom
I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;
though my reins be consumed within me. " (Job xix. 25--27. ) Blessed,
indeed, was the hope of Job; and happy, and only happy that man
who has the same hope: he can look beyond the sorrows of the grave,
and rejoice in the thought, that even over the bodies of the saints
alive at the Lord's appearing, death shall have no power. How
beautiful the language of St. Paul,--" Behold I show you a mystery;
we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. " This will be the triumph of the Lord and His church ;
and then will death be swallowed up in victory:--" O death, where is
? Our blessed Lord, in Psalm xxii. says of himself, " I am a worm, and no man:"
this was in the deepest hour of his sorrow: but in the very same Psalm, in the
fulness of his anticipated joy, the word is, " My praise shall be of thee in the
great congregation," ver. 25.
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? LETTER XII.
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thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin;
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. " (1 Cor. xv. 55, 57. )
And now, my beloved children, I must bring my long series to a
close. Very happy have I been in thus endeavouring to search out,
both through the fields of nature, and especially in God's blessed word,
instruction for you. Imperfectly I feel it is done; but still, I trust,
the Lord will own it. May you, and our dear arsent one, be
indeed found children of God, and adopted into his happy, holy
family; and know in your own souls the power of this word,--
" Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without
sin, unto salvation. " (Heb. ix. 28. ) How sweet the invocation of our
poet Cowper! --
" Come, then, and added to thy many crowns,
Receive yet one,-- the crown of all the earth,--
Thou who alone art worthy! It was thine
By ancient covenant, ere Nature's birth,
And thou hast made it thine by purchase since,
And overpaid its value with thy blood.
Thy saints proclaim thee King; and in their hearts,
Thy title is engraven, with a pen,
Dipp'd in the fountain of eternal love.
Come, then, and added to thy many crowns,
Receive yet one, as radiant as the rest,
Due to thy last and most effectual work,--
Thy word fulfilled--the conquest of a world! "
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? LETTER XII.
369
the Good Shepherd. The Gospel of John is exceedingly full on this
figure. The Shepherd is there represented as going before the sheep;
leading them out, and providing thein pastures; calling them by
name; knowing them all; protecting them; standing before them
when the wolf comes, and dying rather than they should die, (chap. x.
1--16. ) The sheep are represented as hearing the Shepherd's voice,
--following him,--not listening to the hireling's voice, but fleeing
from it. This is the figure; and how forcibly the Lord himself
applies it:--" I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd,
whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the
sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the
sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not
for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am
known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the
Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep
I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they
shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. "
(Ver. 11--16. )
If you compare this last passage about the other sheep with the
Lord's prayer, in John xvii. 20, with his command to his disciples,
when he manifested himself to them in the Mount of Galilee, (Matt.
xxviii. 19,) with the account of the Holy Spirit's descent at Pentecost,
when it is said that devout men out of every nation under heaven heard
r3
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THE CREATION.
in their own tongues the wonderful works of God, (Acts ii. 5,) with
the vision of the sheet knit at the four corners, that the Lord gave to
Peter, to show him that God had granted to the Gentiles repentance
unto life, (Acts x. 11;) and last of all, with Eph. ii. 14, 22, where
both are said to be one, and the middle wall of partition broken down
that before existed; then, I think, you will understand scripturally
the Lord's promise concerning the other sheep, and the one fold under
the one shepherd.
You will find many children who can repeat the twenty-third
Psalm,--" The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;" and happy
the child that can from the heart repeat it. Many other passages
I might refer to, such as Ezekiel xxxiv. , where the characters of the
true and false shepherds are described. Psalm lxxx. 1, where the
Lord, sitting between the cherubim, is styled the Shepherd of Israel;
and I Pet. v. 4, where he is called the chief Shepherd; and finally, in
Heb. xiii. 20, where he is called the Great Shepherd. But let these
suffice. The shepherd's character is one of the greatest interest;
and sweet is it to know the Good Shepherd's voice, and to follow it.
The Goat. This animal is not so often alluded to as the sheep;
though, on the great day of atonement, it was two kids of the
goats that, as the sin offering, were presented before the Lord, and
the one on whom the Lord's lot fell, died; and the other, with all the
transgressions of Israel, in all their sins confessed over its head by the
high priest, was led away by the hand of a fit man into the wilder-
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ness. (Lev. xvi. 9. ) The burnt offering also was taken either from
the sheep or the goats. (Lev. i. 10. )
The parable of the sheep and the goats, at the day of the Lord's
appearing, is very striking and awful. (Matt. xxv. 31, 32. ) It is
not sheep and swine, but sheep and goats. The one, that is, the sheep,
were really Christ's fold; the other had only a name. The one showed
the truth of their love; the other were barren. The one he welcomed
to his Father's presence; the other heard, and heard it once for ever,
" Depart from me. " But that day is not yet come. This is the day of
grace; and whoever comes to the Good Shepherd now, shall in no
wise be cast out; for he hath said,--" By me if any man enter in, he
shall be saved; and shall go in and out and find pasture. " (John x. 9. )
The Camel is sometimes, though not frequently, alluded to. In the
60th of Isaiah, the glory of Israel, in the last days, is set forth under
a great variety of emblems; indeed, if you read the chapter atten-
tively, you will find that there is not one day of the seven that has
not lent its imagery to show forth the unutterable happiness of that
time. Thus, when considering the emblems of the fifth day, we saw
Israel hastening to their long desolate and forgotten Jerusalem, with
the rapidity and fondness of the dove flying to its home; and now, on
the sixth, what can be more blessed than the following verses,--" The
multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and
Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and
incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. All the
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THE CREATION.
flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of
Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance
on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. " (Isa. Lx. 6, 7. )
The meaning of our Lord's reproach to the Pharisees, that they
strained at a gnat, and swallowed a camel, is very obvious. They
payed the tithes of anise, mint, and cummin most rigorously; but they
neglected the weightier matters of the law--judgment, mercy, and
faith. (Matt. xxiii. 23, 24. ) So is it now. A person is sometimes
most scrupulous in a number of little things, right in themselves,
but is altogether neglectful of the great things of God's law; and the
fruits of the Spirit are unseen in him,--such as love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
(Gal. v. 22, 23. )
The exceeding danger attendant on great possessions, is also illus-
trated by a proverb that was well known to Israel,--" It is easier,"
said our Lord, " for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. " (Matt. xix. 24. )
But, the things impossible with men, are possible with God. Rich
men are stewards; they must give an account of the talent entrusted
to them. Some rich men love to lay out their riches for the glory
of God; some to lay them out on themselves; and some to hoard
and look at them;--the former is the true use of riches, which the Lord
will not forget; no, nor will he forget the cup of cold water given in the
name of a disciple. The Christian should be noble, full-hearted, and
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generous, a follower of Him who maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good; and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. "
His motto is, " Do good unto all men, especially unto those who are
of the household of faith. "
The Horse. You have read that wonderful description in Job xxxix.
19--24, of the war horse; now see how the Lord uses this figure
in Prov. xxi. 31,--"The horse is prepared against the day of battle:
but safety is of the Lord. " If you look at the former description of
the horse, victory seems certain. Not so, says God:--safety is of me.
How forcible the instruction to the Christian! He is never, in his
conflicts with the great adversary, to consider himself independent; he
is to fight on his knees. The watchman wakes in vain, the builder
builds in vain, if the Lord be not acknowledged. (Psalm cxxvii. 1. )
In Zechariah, under the vision of horses, red, speckled, and white,
is represented the Lord's minute observance of what is passing on the
earth. In Rev. vi. as the first four seals of the seven-sealed book are
opened, horses are the emblems:--the white horse, of victory; the
black horse, of famine; the pale horse, of death: and in the nineteenth
of Revelation the innumerable host of the redeemed are seen on
white horses. I do not, my beloved children, attempt to explain
these figures to you; but I am anxious to put before you the scrip-
tures, and would earnestly seek of God, that by his Holy Spirit he
would enlighten your minds on them; for we must ever remember
that " all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
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THE CREATION.
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all
good works. " (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. )
The Ass knoweth his master's crib, Isa. i. 3. He knows where to
go for food. With this fact the Lord reproves his people, as I have
before remarked; therefore, even the sight of this lowly animal should
bring the question, Do I look to my God for food, for my daily bread,
yea, for every thing--aa this poor dumb animal looks to its owner ?
Other thoughts, also, should arise on seeing the ass. I should re-
member Him who was meek and lowly in heart--Zion's King,--who
rode into Jerusalem on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass.
(Zech. ix. 9; Matt. xxi. 5. )
The Coney, exceeding wise, builds his house in the rock. I will
speak to you of this emblem when coming to the ant.
The Dog and Swine are awfully introduced in illustration, in
2 Pet. ii. 22. In each case they represent a man who for a time
ran well, but went back afterwards to the world; and whose last
state was worse than his first.
Having thus briefly looked at the scriptural illustrations drawn
from the quadruped family, we will now consider those derived
from the reptile and serpent tribes.
As the lion is used as an emblem of Satan's power, so the serpent
is of his subtlety and deceit; and, excepting the passage where the
Lord exhorts his disciples to be wise as serpents and harmless as
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doves, I am not aware that this illustration is ever used other-
wise than to set forth cruelty, cunning, and deceit. Satan is
called " that old serpent"--" the crooked serpent"--" the great
dragon"--" the wicked one;" and his children are called " the seed"
of the serpent: that is, they have the ways of the serpent, and
lurk like that wicked spirit (whose servants they are) privily to
shoot out their tongue at the innocent. The most awful words the
Lord Jesus ever used on earth were taken from this similitude,
" Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers," said he to the Pharisees,
" how can ye escape the damnation of hell ? " (Matt. xxiii. 33. )
It was a fiery serpent that bit the Israelites in the wilderness;
and one like it, at God's command, was lifted up; and it came to
pass, that whosoever looked upon it lived. Our Lord, alluding to
this wonderful history, says,--" As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. " The bite
might have been dreadful, and certain death its result; but one look
at the brazen serpent, and there was life. So the poor sinner, whoso-
ever he be, that looks by faith to the cross of Jesus, shall never, no
never, perish; for he came to seek and to save that which was lost.
(Luke ix. 56 ; John iii. 14, 15. )
The Insect world also are not overlooked, in the way of illustration.
In Prov. vi. 6, the sluggard is sent to the ant for wisdom: and
let any indolent person take a chair and watch the progress of this
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THE CREATION.
little community for an hour, and he will at least see the force of the
divine injunction.
In Prov. xxx. 24--28, there is another most striking passage:--
" There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are
exceeding wise. The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare
their meat in the summer. The conies are but a feeble folk, yet
make they their houses in the rocks. The locusts have no king, yet
go they forth all of them by bands. The spider taketh hold with her
hands, and is in kings' palaces. " This is, doubtless, given to us for
instruction, as well as the previous passage.
The ant in summer is exceeding wise, and prepares for winter.
What is the lesson ? Surely a most important one:--it links the
present and the future together. The Christian, like the ant, has his
store provided ; and at that hour, when all would be otherwise dark
and cheerless around, he is happy,--" exceeding wise," taught of
God's Spirit. He is safe in Christ, and provided for, when the
bread of life could not be had, if neglected till then.
The Conies; a feeble folk--no power of burrowing as the rabbit,
they seek, as their natural history tells us, crevices of rocks, and find
a building that God has made for them. " Exceeding wise" are they
in their plans. So is it with the Christian. He cannot build himself
a dwelling; but in the Rock Christ he finds a house that no power
can take from him.
The Locusts. Unlike the bee, the locusts have no visible head ; and
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yet they go forth in bands, with one determinate purpose, and
nothing can resist them. So the Christian family, held together
by an invisible bond of union, are of one heart and of one
mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel; and though
assailed on every side, the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
(Matt. xvi. 18. )
The Spider. In outward appearance this insect is unattractive, yet
it is exceeding wise and persevering. Again and again it will
throw its web until it has reached its point; and it aims to
have a home even in the palace of the king. So the Christian. He
is of the household of God; and never is content until he has reached
the dwelling-place of God.
The Bees. This persevering little family are not, in the way of
illustration, often alluded to in Scripture, but when they are the
figures are very striking; see especially Ps. cxviii. 12. The allusion is
evidently to the great power of the enemy surrounding the Lord Jesus,
and the signal character of his defeat. " They compassed me about,
yea, they compassed me about; but in the name of the Lord I will
destroy them. They compassed me about like bees: they are
quenched as the fire of thorns; for in the name of the Lord I will de-
stroy them. " (Ps. cxviii. 11, 12. ) This is the only true way of resisting
the enemy ; thus only the giant Goliath falls before the stripling David.
How striking the address of the son of Jesse to this man of Gath!
--" Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a
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THE CREATION.
shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the
Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take
thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the
Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of
the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword
and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our
hands. " (1 Sam. xvii. 45-- 47.
The Fly. " Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send
forth a stinking savour; so doth a little folly him that is in reputation
for wisdom and honour. " (Eccles. x. 1. ) It is the exceeding insigni-
ficance of a dead fly that gives force to this image; but thus it is,
that at times the most trifling thing, coming by surprise on a very
correct person, causes him to commit himself; and the precious
ointment which should be all fragrant, (that is, his profession of
the name of Christ, whose "name is as ointment poured forth,"
Cant. i. 3,) is defiled by this neglect of watchfulness and dependance
on God.
The Leech. When you see this little insect, most valuable in
its place, crying, "Give, give," I think the lesson to be learnt
is not imitation, but the reverse. A craving after gifts is
most undesirable, whether in grown up people or children.
(Prov. xxx. 15. )
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The Grasshopper. This light and fragile insect abounds in all its
varieties in the east, and is frequently alluded to in the Scriptures in
the way of illustration. When the spies were sent hy Moses to search
the land of promise, two only of the twelve were faithful, the others
were unbelieving; for forty days they searched "the pleasant land,"
and then returned to the camp and gave the most glowing account of
the country; that it was a land flowing with milk and honey; and two
of their number (in all probability the faithful Caleb and Joshua)
bore upon their shoulders, as the earnest of the land, a bunch of the
grapes of Eschol, and pomegranates, and figs,--but the ten, forgetful
of the deliverance from Pharaoh, and the passage of the Red Sea, had
all their thoughts on the fenced cities of Amalek, and the mighty
men thereof, and of their own weakness; and this was their language:
" We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger
than we. . . . The land through which we have gone to search it, is a
land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and all the people that we
saw in it are men of a great stature: and there we saw the giants, the
sons of Anak, which come of the giants; and we were in our own sight
as grasshoppers, and so were we in their sight. " But Caleb and Joshua,
the faithful ones, had their eye to God, and this was their reply: " The
land through which we passed is an exceeding good land. If the
Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it us,
a land which flows with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the
Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for
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THE CREATION.
us, their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us; fear
them not. " (Numb. xiii. and xiv. ) Yes, my beloved children, before
our enemies we may be indeed weak as the grasshopper--but let our
eye be to the Lord, and the whole power of the Prince of Darkness
shall be as nothing. The Lord is with us, is the watch-word of the
Calebs and Joshuas of God's camp: but read the whole narrative--
it is full of interest.
In the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, which is addressed more especially
to the young, there is also a most striking allusion to this little insect,
whose form is so light, that the most delicate blade of grass on which
it rests bends not beneath its weight. The scene is the bed of
death. " The silver cord "--" the golden bowl"--" the pitcher at the
fountain "--" the wheel at the cistern," are in an instant snapt and
broken--such is death: this moment, the soul a tenant in its earthly
tabernacle; the next moment, fled--gone to God who gave it. But ere
this change takes place, the whole frame is shaken. The right-hand
of strength, that but a little since would have swept all before it, is
now in trembling weakness. The legs, the pillars on which the body
stood with such manliness and power, bow themselves. The appetite
fails, and the grinders cease because they are few. The eyes, once
brilliant and sparkling, now are glazed and dim. The lips, that but a
few days past were opened with language the most touching, now are
closed; and the voice, so flexible and melodious, is now hushed into
silence. The nervous system, once the medium of all pleasing sensa-
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? LETTER XII.
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tions, is now weakened and shaken, and the dying man starts at the
least sound; and finally, the grasshopper, whose weight could not
bend the most fragile flower, is now a burden to him, who once
triumphed in his power. Yes, my dear children, such is the end of
man: he is cut down like a flower. (Job xiv. 1,2. ) In both the
righteous and the wicked the whole nature is prostrated in utter
weakness: but oh, how different is the next scene! Angels carrying the
spirit of the just to the paradise of God,--for they depart and are with
Christ; and wicked spirits hurrying the lost soul to the outer dark-
ness ; who there learns, but learns too late to profit by the lesson, that
God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he
reap. (Gal. vi. 7. )
There is yet one more allusion that I will advert to: you will find
it in Isaiah xl. 22. The prophet is describing the exceeding majesty
of God, and the weakness of the creature: various are the emblems
used. " It is he," saith the prophet, " that sitteth on the circle of the
earth, and the inhabitants thereof are but as grasshoppers; that
stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out
as a tent to dwell in. " How awfully sublime is this language!
and yet, my beloved children, amid the innumerable multitude that
the eye of the Lord gazes on, let your soul flee to Him, resting
on Jesus, the son of his love, and you shall be as much the
Father Almighty's care, as if there was not another in the whole
earth.
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THE CREATION.
The Earth Worm. * This is the lowest insect in the scale of creation;
and yet, Job, in the deepest humility, thus speaks of himself,--" I have
said to corruption, Thou art my father; and to the worm, Thou art my
mother, and my sister. " (Job xvii. 15. ) But Job had hopes beyond
this relationship,--" Dust he was, and to dust he would return. " But
how glorious his hope! " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my
skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom
I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;
though my reins be consumed within me. " (Job xix. 25--27. ) Blessed,
indeed, was the hope of Job; and happy, and only happy that man
who has the same hope: he can look beyond the sorrows of the grave,
and rejoice in the thought, that even over the bodies of the saints
alive at the Lord's appearing, death shall have no power. How
beautiful the language of St. Paul,--" Behold I show you a mystery;
we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. " This will be the triumph of the Lord and His church ;
and then will death be swallowed up in victory:--" O death, where is
? Our blessed Lord, in Psalm xxii. says of himself, " I am a worm, and no man:"
this was in the deepest hour of his sorrow: but in the very same Psalm, in the
fulness of his anticipated joy, the word is, " My praise shall be of thee in the
great congregation," ver. 25.
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? LETTER XII.
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thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin;
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. " (1 Cor. xv. 55, 57. )
And now, my beloved children, I must bring my long series to a
close. Very happy have I been in thus endeavouring to search out,
both through the fields of nature, and especially in God's blessed word,
instruction for you. Imperfectly I feel it is done; but still, I trust,
the Lord will own it. May you, and our dear arsent one, be
indeed found children of God, and adopted into his happy, holy
family; and know in your own souls the power of this word,--
" Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without
sin, unto salvation. " (Heb. ix. 28. ) How sweet the invocation of our
poet Cowper! --
" Come, then, and added to thy many crowns,
Receive yet one,-- the crown of all the earth,--
Thou who alone art worthy! It was thine
By ancient covenant, ere Nature's birth,
And thou hast made it thine by purchase since,
And overpaid its value with thy blood.
Thy saints proclaim thee King; and in their hearts,
Thy title is engraven, with a pen,
Dipp'd in the fountain of eternal love.
Come, then, and added to thy many crowns,
Receive yet one, as radiant as the rest,
Due to thy last and most effectual work,--
Thy word fulfilled--the conquest of a world! "
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