LITTLE AND WISE
Children's Stories by J. C. Ryle
"Four things on earth are little, yet they are extremely wise:
Ants are creatures of little strength - yet they store up their food in the summer;
conies are creatures of little power - yet they make their home in the crags;
locusts have no king - yet they advance together in ranks;
a spider can be caught with the hand - yet it is found in kings' palaces."
Proverbs 30:24-28
Dear Children,
I would like you all to be very wise. Wisdom is far better than money or fine clothes, or grand houses, or horses and carriages. People who are not wise, seldom get on well. They are seldom happy. My best wish for any dear boys and girls that I love - is that they may grow up very wise.
"But how are we to be wise?" some of you will ask. "What are we to do in order to get this wisdom, which you tell us is such a good thing?"
Dear Children, if you would be wise, you must pray to God to make you so. You must ask Him to put His Holy Spirit in your hearts, and give you wisdom. This is one thing.
Besides this, you must read God's holy book, the Bible. There you will find out what true wisdom is. There you will see what kind of things wise people do. This is another thing.
And now let me talk to you about the four verses in the Bible which I have written out for you. They are verses which tell us about wisdom. I hope they will do you much good.
There you see that God tells you to learn a lesson of four little creatures - the ant, the cony, the locust, and the spider. He seems to say that they are all patterns of wisdom. They are all poor little weak things. An ant is a little creeping insect, that everybody knows. A cony is a little creature very like a rabbit. A locust is like a large grasshopper. A spider is a thing that the least child need not be afraid of. But God tells you that the ant, the cony, the locust, and the spider are very wise. Come then, dear children, and listen to me, while I tell you something about them. Some of you are but little now. But here you see it is possible to be little - and yet wise.
I. First of all, what are you to learn of the ANTS? You must learn of the little ants to take thought to prepare for the times to come.
"The ants," says the Bible, "are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer." God has made the ants so wise and thoughtful, that they go about gathering food in the harvest time. They are not idle in the fine long days, when the sun shines. They get all the grains of corn they can find, and store them up in their nests. And so, when frost and snow come, the ants are not starved. They lay snug in their nests, and have plenty to eat.
The butterflies are much prettier to look at than the ants. They have beautiful wings, and make a much finer show. But the butterflies, poor things, are not so wise as the ants. They fly about among the flowers, and enjoy themselves all the summer. They never think of gathering food for the winter. But what happens when the winter comes? The poor butterflies all die, while the ants keep alive.
And now, dear children, I want you each to learn wisdom of the ants. I want you, like them, to think of time to come.
You have each got within you - a soul that will live forever. Your body will die some time. Your soul never will. And your soul needs thought and care as much as your body. It needs to have its sins pardoned. It needs grace to make it please God. It needs power to be good. It needs to have God for its best friend in order to be happy.
And, dear children, the best time for seeking pardon, grace, and the friendship of God - is the time of youth. Youth and childhood are your summer. Now you are strong and well. Now you have plenty of time. Now you have few cares and troubles to distract you. Now is the best time for laying up food for your souls.
Ah, my beloved children, you must remember that winter is before you! Old age is your winter. Your frost, and snow, and rain, and storms - are all yet to come. Sorrow, pain, sickness, death, and judgment - will all come with old age. Happy are those who get ready for it early. Happy are those who, like the ants, take thought for things to come!
Those are wise boys and girls who read their Bibles, and learn many texts by heart. Those are wise boys and girls who pray to God everyday to give them His Holy Spirit. Those are wise who mind what their parents and teachers tell them, and take pains to be good. Those are wise who dislike all bad ways, and bad words, and always tell the truth. Such boys and girls are like the little ants. They are laying up store against time to come.
Dear children, if you have not done so before I hope you will begin to do so now. If you have done so, I hope you will keep on doing so, and do so more and more. Do not be like the foolish butterflies. Be like the ants. Think of time to come - and be wise.
II. But let us now go on and see what you are to learn of the CONIES. You must learn of the little conies to have a place of safety to flee to in time of danger.
"The conies," says the Bible, " make their houses in the rocks." The conies are afraid of foxes, and dogs, and cruel men who hunt and kill them. They are poor weak things, and are not strong enough to fight and take care of themselves. So what do they do? They make their holes among stones and rocks whenever they can. They go where men cannot dig them out. They go where dogs and foxes cannot follow them. And then, when they see men, or dogs, or foxes coming - they run away into those holes, and are safe.
