Morning Bells.

by Frances Ridley Havergal.

Most of the readers of this little book will have already read _Little Pillows_. Those were given you to go to sleep upon night after night; sweet, soothing texts, that little hearts might rest upon.

But in the morning we want something to arouse us, and to help us to go brightly and bravely through the day. So here are "Morning Bells" to waken up the little hearts, and to remind them that we must not only rest in Jesus, but walk in Him. If the motto of "Little Pillows" might be "Come to Jesus," the motto of "Morning Bells" might be "Follow Jesus."

May He who loves the little ones bless this tiny effort to help them to follow Him day by day.

1. First Day.

Christ's Childhood.

"Thy holy child Jesus."--Acts iv. 30.

If I asked, "How old are you?" you would give an exact answer. "Eight and a half;" "Just turned ten;" "Eleven next month." Now you have thought of G.o.d's "holy child Jesus" as a little baby, and as twelve years old in the temple, but did you ever think of Him as being _exactly_ your own age?

that He was once really just as old as you are this very day? He knows what it is to be eight, and nine, and ten years old, or whatever you may be. G.o.d's word has only told us this one thing about those years, that He was a _holy_ child.

What is "holy"? It is everything that is perfectly beautiful and good and lovable, without anything to spoil it. This is just what He was when He was your age. He was gentle and brave, and considerate and unselfish, n.o.ble and truthful, obedient and loving, kind and forgiving,--everything you can think of that you ever admired or loved in any one else was all found together in Him, and all this not only outside, but inside, for He was "holy."

Why did He live all these holy child-years on earth instead of staying in heaven till it was time to come and die for you? One reason was, that He might leave you a beautiful example, so that you might wish to be like Him, and ask for the Holy Spirit to make you like Him. But the other was even more gracious and wonderful, it was "that we might be made the righteousness of G.o.d in Him." That is, that all this goodness and holiness might be reckoned to you, because you had not any of your own, and that G.o.d might smile on you _for His sake_, just as if _you_ had been perfectly obedient, and truthful, and unselfish, and good, and give you Jesus Christ's reward, which you never deserved at all, but which He deserved for you.

He took your sins and gives you His righteousness; He took your punishment and gives you His reward; it is just changed over, if you will only accept the exchange!

"I'm glad my blessed Saviour Was once a child like me, To show how pure and holy His little ones might be.

And if I try to follow His footsteps here below, He never will forget me, Because He loves me so."

2. Second Day.

Our Great Example

"Even Christ pleased not Himself."--Rom. xv. 3.

Do you really wish to follow the footsteps of the Holy Child Jesus? Have you asked G.o.d to make you more like Him? Are you ready to begin to-day?

Then here is a motto for to-day, "Even Christ pleased not Himself." Will you take it, and try to imitate Him? You are sure to have plenty of opportunities of acting upon it, and thus proving not only to others, but to your dear Saviour Himself, that you mean what you say, and mean what you pray.

Perhaps it seems a rather melancholy "morning bell" to you, tolling instead of chiming! But if you really wish to be like Christ, you will soon find that its music is as sweet as any, and that its quiet chime will come to you again and again with a wonderful sweetness and power, helping you over all sorts of difficulties, and saving you from all sorts of sins and troubles.

You can not tell, till you have fairly tried, how happy a little girl can feel, who has cheerfully given up to another, for Jesus' sake, something which she would have liked for herself; nor how happy a boy can be when of his own free will, and by G.o.d's grace, he has chosen to do what his conscience tells him would please the Lord Jesus instead of what would have pleased himself.

If you have never tried it yet, begin to-day, and you will find it is quite a new happiness.

Ah, what would have become of us if Christ had only "pleased Himself,"

and had stayed in His own glorious home instead of coming down to save us!

Think of that when you are tempted to please yourself instead of pleasing Him, and the remembrance that even He pleased not Himself because He so loved you, will help you to try and please Him, and to please others for His sake.

"If washed in Jesus' blood, Then bear His likeness too!

And as you onward press, Ask, 'What would Jesus do?'

"Give with a full, free hand; G.o.d freely gives to you!

And check each selfish thought With, 'What would Jesus do?'"

3. Third Day.

Upholding.

"Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe."--Ps. cxix. 117.

The path is not easy. There are rough stones over which we may stumble, if we are not walking very carefully. There are places which look quite smooth, but they are more dangerous than the rough ones, for they are slippery. There are little holes hidden under flowers, which may catch our feet and give us a bad fall. There are muddy ditches, into which we may slip and get sadly wet and dirty.

How are we to walk safely along such a path? We want a strong, kind hand to hold us up, and to hold us always; a hand that will hold ours so tightly and lovingly, that it will be as the old Scotchwoman said, "Not my grip of Christ, but Christ's grip of me!" Yes, Christ's loving hand is "able to keep you from falling;" only "let your hand be restfully in the hand of Jesus," and "then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble." But do not spoil the chime of this morning's bells by ringing only half a peal! Do not say, "Hold Thou me up," and stop there, or add, "But, all the same, I shall stumble and fall!" Finish the peal with G.o.d's own music, the bright words of faith that He puts into your mouth, "Hold Thou me up, _and I shall be safe_!" So you will if you do not distrust Him, if you will but _trust_ Him to do just what you ask, and let Him hold you up.

It would be hard to find a prayer in the Bible without a promise to match it; so David says, "Uphold me, according to Thy word."

What has He said about it? More than there is room for on this page. "I the Lord thy G.o.d will hold thy right hand." "Yea, I will uphold thee." "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved." "When thou runnest thou shalt not stumble." "Yea, he shall be holden up." "He shall keep thy foot from being taken." "He will keep the feet of His saints." Seven promises in answer to your one little prayer!

"I the Lord am with thee, Be thou not afraid!

I will help and strengthen, Be thou not dismayed!

Yea, I will uphold thee With my own right hand; Thou art called and chosen In my sight to stand!"

4. Fourth Day.

What can I do?

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."--Gal. vi. 2.

Perhaps you never thought that any one around you had any! Then if you want to fulfill this law of Christ, the first thing will be to find out who has any burdens, and which of them you could bear instead. You will not have to watch long! There are very few without any. Little backs can not bear great burdens, but sometimes those who have great burdens have little ones too, and it makes such a difference if some loving little hand will take one or two of these. If your mother was carrying a great heavy parcel, would it not help her if you took two or three little ones out of her hand and carried them for her? So perhaps she has troubles that you do not even know about, and you see she looks tired and anxious. And it tires her a little more, because a little brother or sister wants to be nursed or amused. Now if you put your own affairs by, and call the little ones away, and amuse them quietly so that mamma may not be disturbed, this is bearing one of her burdens. Never mind if it is really a little burden to you too; is it not worth it, when it is fulfilling the law of Christ? If for a moment a burden that you have taken up does seem rather hard, and you are tempted to drop it again, think of what the Lord Jesus bore for you! Think how He took up the heaviest burden of all for you, when He "His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree!" He did not drop that burden, but bore it till He died under it. Think of that, and it will be easy then to bear something for His sake.

Now be on the watch all to-day for little burdens to bear for others. See how many you can find out, and pick up, and carry away! Depend upon it, you will not only make it a brighter day for others, but for yourself too!