"Though now ascended up on high,
He bends on earth a brother's eye."
The tender watch care of the God of Israel is the same to-day as it was when Ruth, the Moabitess, said unto Naomi: "Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace." And she said unto her: Go, my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz.... And, behold! Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers: "The Lord be with you." (Ruth ii. 2-4.) In this whole narrative we behold the law of loving kindness of Jehovah strikingly exemplified through His own covenanted people. He reveals, in a marvellous manner, His grace and goodness to thousands of them that love Him and keep His commandments. Hence, the virtue of every benevolent transaction lies in the motive by which we are actuated. As Paul says: "The love of Christ constrains us." Whatever we give, whatever God's children do for the alleviation of the sorrows and sufferings of earth, they do it with an eye single to His glory, they continually hear Christ's voice saying unto them: "This do in remembrance of me."
We see these principles practically illustrated in the wonderful experience of her whose struggles and triumphs for the blessed Christ we are now prayerfully considering. For example, in February, 1874, she writes:
"Through the kindness of those interested in the poor, I have been enabled to supply the wants of many. One kind lady, belonging to the Bible Society, gave me ten dollars, part to assist one family with fuel and groceries, and the rest for another, where the husband had been ill for a long time, and finding it difficult to obtain employment, had been suffering for the common necessaries of life. I also received orders from this lady for coal and groceries, for other poor families, to be obtained through the visitors of the poor.
"In one home where I placed some provisions on the table, a little boy said to his mother, 'Mamma, mustn't you get down and pray, and thank God for these things?' When I enter some of these homes they are full of sadness and gloom, but I am often thankful to feel I leave hope and cheerfulness behind me, when I go away. In the greater number of these families it is want of employment that causes the trouble—they are willing and anxious to work, but it cannot be procured.
"One family, consisting of a husband, wife, and three children, the youngest ten days old, was found very destitute. They had parted with even every article of clothing, except what they had on, and had neither fuel nor food. The poor woman wept as she said, 'She had never before known such destitution.' I gave them some relief, and then engaged in prayer with them. They were both much affected, and said it was the first time a prayer had ever been offered in that house by any one. I sent them some coal, and procured other relief for them, and now they are comfortable, the man having obtained some work.
"Another family, in which there are two children (the father dying of consumption—the mother very delicate), are wholly dependent on charity. The woman is very industrious, and always ready to do what she can, but it is hard to procure employment. I have read and talked with the man, after supplying their temporal wants, and especially impressed upon him the promise, 'Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name it shall be given to you.' He listened—had been thinking of his past life—but he said all seemed dark to him. I have prayed with him, and he thought light broke in upon him. He said, 'He saw more clearly,' and after some days professed to be happy. And now, while the tears rolled down his cheeks, he says, 'I am willing to go and (looking around on the little circle) resign all these into the arms of Jesus.' I prayed with him before I left.
"A friend asked me to go and see a poor sick woman in the same destitute circumstances, the husband being out of work. A sad sight met my eyes; the poor woman lay coughing on the bed, as if she could not last much longer, the children standing by the bed, dirty and uncared for; the floor black, window curtain hanging in rags, while the mother could do nothing. They receive one dollar a week from the Poor Association. I assisted her, and promised to look to the children; talked with her and then read and prayed. She clasped my hand as I arose from my knees and said, 'You are the first person who ever prayed with me; oh! it makes me happy, and I hope God will hear your prayers.' Trial seems to open the hearts of these poor ones to religious impressions.
"A few days since, visiting a little girl (belonging to a Catholic family) who is in our Sewing-school, the mother put her hand in her pocket and took out some change, saying, 'This is all the money I have at present, take it and use it for the poor; I wish it was a great deal more, and,' she added, 'when you find any one hungry and wanting a loaf of bread, come to me, and I will give you some money; my little girl often tells me what you say to her in the Sewing-school, or when you meet her in the street.' Thus I receive encouragement on every side, and am never in want of some aid for those who need it so much. My dear friend, who was removed from me by death last summer, often used to say, 'Never fear, Mrs. Knowles, when the Lord takes away one support, he raises another.' And so I have found it. My Superintendent is always ready to assist, and our Sewing-school, aided by her and other ladies, is very prosperous. Perhaps want may drive many to us, but we trust they will be also benefited by the instruction there received, and carry the lessons home.