Far, far away o’er the deep blue sea
Lived a man who was kind as kind could be,
He loved the children, and spread every day
A table from which none went empty away.
Poor children came in from alley and street,
With rags on their backs, and no shoes on their feet;
Girls and boys, large and small, some naughty and rude,
But John Falk loved them all and did them all good.
And while they were eating, he often would tell
Of the Lord Jesus Christ, who on earth once did dwell:
How He loved little children—each one of them there
He was watching from heaven with tenderest care—
How happy and blessed would he the child’s part
Who would let that dear Saviour come into his heart.
Each day when the children assembled to eat,
He taught them to offer this prayer with their meat;
“Bless, Jesus, the food Thou hast given today,
And come and sup with us, dear Jesus, we pray.”
But once when the children had finished this prayer,
One poor little fellow stood still by his chair
For a moment, then ran to the closet where stood
The bright cups of tin and the platters of wood.
“Now what is the matter?” said Falk to the child.
The little one looked in his kind face and smiled:
“We asked the Lord Jesus just now in our prayer,
To sup with us here, but we’ve placed Him no chair.
If He should come in, how sad it would be!
But I’ll put Him a stool close here beside me.”
Then the boy quite contented sat down to his food;
He was hungry and tired and his supper was good!
But a few minutes after, he heard at the door
A knock low and timid, one knock and no more,
He started to open it, hoping to meet
The Lord Jesus Christ, come to look for His seat;
But when it was open, no one could he see
But a poor little child, much poorer than he,
His face blue with hunger, his garments so old,
Were dripping with rain, and he shivered with cold.
“Come in!” cried the boy, in a tone of delight,
“The Lord Jesus Christ could not come this dark night
Though we asked Him to come and partake of our bread,
So He just sent you down to us here in His stead.
The supper is good and we’ll each give you some,
And tell the Lord Jesus we’re glad you have come.”
From that time when the children assembled to eat,
There was always one place called, “The Lord Jesus’ seat”.
And the best that they had was placed there each day
For one who was poorer and hungrier than they,
And the Lord Jesus Christ, in reply to their prayer,
Sent always some person to sit in His chair;
And sweet was the food that the Lord did provide
For the stranger He sent them to eat at their side.
Dear friends, who have read this short story, you know,
The words that our Saviour once spoke when below,
If we wish for His presence to hallow our bread,
We must welcome the poor of the flock in His stead.
And when we serve our feasts, this our motto must be—
“As ye do to My poor, ye have done unto Me”.