ANY true and sweet stories we have given of dear little children, who have heard and believed in the precious name of Jesus. I will now tell my readers of my little granddaughter.
The dear child was only two years and eleven months old. She had a Christian father and mother, and nothing gave her more joy than for them to sing together in the evening, while she sat on her dada’s knee, as she called her father. This little child fell very ill last February—she was taken with a distressing cough, and during this time of suffering her father would often propose to sing after her cough was over, which greatly pleased her, and then her voice would rise louder than those of the others! During her illness, there was only one hymn that was most precious to her—
Jesus loves me! this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong—
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
For the Bible tells me so.
This verse was on her tongue so long as she could get breath to utter it. “Yes, Jesus loves me! yes, Jesus loves me!” she never tired to sing.
The last day of her little life, her father felt sure his darling was soon going to be with Jesus, and as he watched her short breathing, she looked up, and said, “Sing, dada, sing.”
“Shall dada get the fiddle and sing, dearie?” said he,
“No, dada, no; sing ‘Jesus loves me,’” she answered.
He then said, “Shall dada play the piano, and sing, dearie?”
“No, dada, no,” she answered again; “sing ‘Jesus loves me, this I know.’”
And as her father sang the verse, her dear sweet voice surprised them, so loud and strong it was, and she sang the verse through with her father.
The little eyes were fixed upward for a long time; a stranger who was looking at her, asked what the child could see, and what her fixed gaze meant. “She was looking at Jesus,” replied the mother. Dear children who read this story, when you read your Bible and sing your hymns in your Sunday school, remember this dear child, and learn to know them in your hearts. Ask the Lord Jesus to teach you His love to you. We are strangers, but I pray for all who read this story, for the Lord Jesus loves little children.
F. T.