Gleanings from the Harvest

About the Book

William Haslam was converted while preaching his own sermon in his own church! In this book he uses verses from the Gospel of John to recall challenging conversations he had over many years of his ministry. He meets people with no faith who mock him, and people who think their deep knowledge of Christian doctrine will guarantee them a place in heaven. There are thirty-two short chapters based on verses from the Gospel of John, recalling a mix of people, the majority of whom share one thing ― confusion and misunderstanding in their faith. Some listen and learn, and others go away empty-handed, unwilling to hear the word of God.

Gleanings from the Harvest

William Haslam

(1818-1905)

First Published c1888

This edited and abridged edition ©White Tree Publishing 2019

eBook ISBN: 978-1-912529-26-1

Published by

White Tree Publishing

Bristol

UNITED KINGDOM

More books on www.whitetreepublishing.com

Contact mailto:wtpbristol@gmail.com

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this abridged edition.

Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown's patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Table of Contents

COVER

ABOUT THE BOOK

PUBLISHERS NOTE

INTRODUCTION

1. THE DRY BOOK

2. LIFE AND LIGHT

3. PRESENT SALVATION

4. COME AND SEE!

5. I WISH TO BE SAVED!

6. DARKNESS IN LIGHT

7. CONDEMNED ALREADY!

8. THE SPRINGING WELL

9. COME IN!

10. THE JUDGMENT DAY

11. I WILL NEVER COME AGAIN!

12. THE RAILWAY GUIDE

13. WHAT DO YOU FEED THEM UPON?

14. THE OLD COLONEL

15. THE MAJOR

16. NEVER SEE DEATH!

17. THE GIFT AND THE GIVER

18. NEVER PERISH

19. THE STONE IN THE WAY

20. LOOSE HIM!

21. I WOULD SEE JESUS!

22. CLEANSING

23. THE LORD IS COMING!

24. THE DYING SOLDIER’S PEACE

25. THE FRUITLESS TREE

26. THE COMFORTER

27. ANSWERED PRAYER

28. THE CASKET

29. CROSSING THE LINE

30. WHAT DO YOU SEE?

31. CONTROVERSY

32. ASSURANCE

ABOUT WHITE TREE PUBLISHING

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YOUNGER READERS

Introduction

You may have heard of the clergyman who was converted while preaching his own sermon! Well, this is man ‒ William Haslam. It happened in Cornwall one Sunday in 1851. He later wrote his autobiography in two books: From Death into Life and Yet not I. An abridged edition of these two books is available as an eBook from White Tree Publishing, entitled Haslam’s Journey. This book, Gleanings from the Harvest, is similar in form to another of William Haslam’s books from White Tree Publishing, Leaves from My Notebook, as we again see him share his faith one to one, with dramatic results. Haslam was a man who mixed easily with titled gentry and the poorest of the poor, bringing the message of salvation in a way that people were ready to accept. This book has been lightly edited to make reading easier today by using modern punctuation and avoiding over-long sentences and paragraphs. William Haslam's amazing message is unchanged.

Publisher’s Note

There are 32 chapters in this book. In the second half are advertisements for our other books, so this book may end earlier than expected! The last chapter is marked as such. We aim to make our eBooks free or for a nominal cost, and cannot invest in other forms of advertising. However, word of mouth by satisfied readers will also help get our books more widely known. When the book finishes, please take a look at the other books we publish: Christian non-fiction, Christian fiction, and books for younger readers.

1. The Dry Book

John 1:1

JOHN’S Gospel contains a history of the Lord Jesus Christ, particularly as the Eternal Son of God. While Matthew tells of Him as the King, Mark as the Servant, Luke as the Son of Man, to John has been given the honour of setting the Lord forth in His Divine life-giving character as the Son of God.

In order to do this in the simplicity which belongs to the writer, he is inspired to use the figure of The Word to illustrate his great subject. He calls the Lord Jesus the logos [ὁ λόγος], or The Word. He means to say in all plainness that as a thing is secret and unknown until it is put into words, so the true character of God as the God of Love is unknown until revealed to us by His Son, the personal Word of God.

We by nature, like our father Adam, regard God with dread and fear because we know we are sinners, and that He is a holy God. Therefore we naturally shrink from Him, and try to cover, or hide, or justify ourselves. But Christ is come to assure us that guilty as we are − and far more so in God’s sight than we think or know − still God loves us! He so loves us that He gave His Son; and the Son of God, in confirmation of this love, came to this world willingly to die for our benefit and salvation.

Herein is God’s love manifested by Christ, and all this is made known to us by the written Word as inspired by the Holy Ghost. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. [Romans 10:17.] It is by hearing the written Word that we are brought to believe in Christ, the personal Word, and believing in Him, we have eternal life.

One day, in the midst of many engagements, I received an invitation to stay at a large house to meet a distinguished young gentleman. He was one who was unconcerned about eternal things, and lived as if he had nothing to do with them, or they with him. Though sociable and most polite, he was far off when religious matters were introduced, and did not join in the conversation.

One morning he came and took his seat by the fire while I was looking over a chapter of the Bible. This fact in itself encouraged me to believe that the prayers, which were being offered for him, were had in remembrance before God. Thus thinking, I inwardly prayed, If this be so, Lord, let him speak to me first.

Soon he remarked, That is a dry old book, isn’t it?

No, indeed, I replied, it is not dry to me, for I am deeply interested in the subject of it.

As he made no answer, I went on to say, When a man is taken up with a particular study, a book that treats exhaustively of it cannot fail to be interesting to him.

Yes, he said dryly, I suppose it is so.

Last evening, I continued, I saw you poring over one of those yellow railway novels.

So I was, he said in an animated way, interrupting me. I had been reading it in the train, and was so much absorbed in the story that I did not know we had arrived at the terminus. I was obliged to break off in a most delightful part, so I took the first opportunity of reading it again.

What was it about? I asked. Was it history or fiction?

Oh, that does not matter. If the tale is well told, some histories are romantic, too.

This is what I mean. That particular book was interesting to you because you liked the subject. For the same reason, this book, the Bible, is deeply interesting to me. For instance, I delight in the thought of God’s love for man. Even though man is sinful, God loves him! It is like the love a mother has towards a sick child. Her love is manifested all the more because the child is ill, however much she hates the disease which has taken hold. So God loves the sinner, though He hates his sins.

This may be so, he said, in your case. I have tried to read the Bible over and over again. It is awfully dry. I do not believe the Bible, or its inspiration either.

That may be, I replied, but your unbelief does not alter the fact of inspiration.

I think they are proper dry old sticks who write arguments about inspiration.

That may or may not be, for I do not know what writers you refer to. I am quite sure, however, that if you knew God, you would not require arguments to prove inspiration.

But how in the world is a man to know the Bible is God’s Word, except by arguments?

There are many external evidences, I said, "and these are being added to every day by the researches of scholars and travellers; though, for my own part, I rely far more upon internal evidence. For instance, this morning at prayers we read in the fourth chapter of the Acts these words; ‘This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.’

"Now would you imagine that the figure or symbol of a stone is, from one end of the Word of God to the other, used to represent Christ? There are many books in the Bible, written by different people, who had not read the writings of the others, and yet they all make use of the same figure to represent Christ. What is more wonderful still, very few, if any of them, knew as distinctly as we do now, the Person to whom they referred in their writings. Does not this fact prove beyond doubt that there is a superintending Spirit who by dictation or inspiration put the truth, and this figure of the stone, into the minds of those who were employed to write about it?

"In Genesis 49:24 we read that Christ is called ‘the stone of Israel.’ This is a figure you will find constantly used in the Old Testament to represent Christ; and in the New Testament this same figure of a stone is taken up by the Lord as applying to Himself. In the Book of Genesis we read that the Babel builders were erecting a tower whose top should reach unto heaven. They had brick instead of stone [see Genesis 11:3-4]. This implies that they should have used stone to build with, but they substituted man-made bricks for stone of God’s creation. They were defeated in their efforts and scattered.

Now look here, I said, this is not only history, but a parable. Men try by human efforts to make their own way to heaven because they have not, and do not care to have, Christ for their righteousness. God has provided Christ to be the foundation stone on which to build, and Christ in His finished work as the stone to build with. But they prefer having brick for stone. That is, human religiousness instead of Divine operation.

I do not think much of that, he remarked impatiently.

Well, I said, "look here again. The Psalmist hundreds of years afterwards says, ‘The stone which the builders refused is become the head-stone of the corner’ [Psalm 18:22]. The Lord Jesus refers to this passage to show the Jews that they were building upon their own human traditions, instead of upon God and His inspired Word [see Matthew 21:42]. Appropriating this passage to Himself, He says, ‘Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner; and whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder?’

Again, Christ is represented in the Prophet Daniel by the ‘stone cut without hands,’ which breaks in pieces the great image of iron, brass, clay, silver, and gold. This stone which smites the image becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth [see Daniel 2]. You understand this dream of Nebuchadnezzar refers to the four great monarchies of the world: the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman, which are all in due time to be succeeded by the great monarchy, or kingdom, of Christ.

My friend had lately been reading about Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, which I did not know. This is awfully interesting, he said, looking intently at me as if he wished to hear more about it.

Where, I asked, do you think these various writers got the figure of the stone, if not from God? To me it proves beyond all contradiction that the men who wrote the Bible were inspired. If God did not inspire them, then some other omniscient spirit did. Do you think the devil inspired the Bible?

No, certainly not, he replied with firmness.

You may depend upon it, I said. "God’s Word is not such a poor insipid or dry thing as you think it. If you only knew the Lord, and how much He loves you, you would be charmed with what He reveals about Himself, and astonished at what He reveals about you.

God foreknew you before the foundation of the world, and so loved you that He gave His Son, that, if you believed in Him, you should not perish but have everlasting life. The Son of God who came to save you is the same Divine Person who is spoken of as the Word in the first verse of the first chapter of John’s Gospel, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’

Ah! said my friend, that is a deep and metaphysical subject. Many volumes have been written about that.

Yes, I replied, "that is true. But for all that, John the Evangelist was only a simple-minded man, and intended to use a simple, not an obscure expression. He meant to say that as words reveal thoughts, so Christ is come to reveal God and His love. The written Word of God is like a wonderful mirror which reflects to us the true likeness of God.

Besides this, it tells us of the past, the present, and the future. Could human writers do that? Indeed, it is perfectly absurd to deny or doubt the inspiration of Scripture! It is not a mark of cleverness, but of sheer ignorance.

My friend remained silent, so I continued. No man who knows God can possibly doubt the Bible, and what is the use of believing people who do not know God? Their words are like those of the serpent to Eve, ‘Yea, hath God said?’ Eve was deceived, and fell. Surely we ought to take warning from her. But unhappily, such is the power of Satan, and such the deceitfulness of our own hearts, that the serpent goes on still, even in these enlightened days, to say, ‘Yea, hath God said?’ It is evident he has been at you with his old trick of deception!

Well, he said, at Eton, and at Oxford too, I was taught more mythology than theology.

There you are, I said, you child of Adam, justifying yourself and blaming your teachers, as Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. See your own face in the glass of God’s Word.

I should like above all things, he said, to hunt up these subjects for myself. I did not think the Bible was such a book as it seems to be.

I said, I do not wish by any means to discourage you in this. I hope you will read the Bible, and pray over it, too; but there is something else to be done before you do that.

What do you refer to? he asked.

I mean, that the first thing for you to do is to come to God to receive forgiveness of your sins. You should go to the God of the Word, before you go to the Word of God. The jailor at Philippi, when he was awakened, was told to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He did so, and he was saved in that midnight hour. Afterwards, we read, ‘they spake unto him the Word of the Lord’ [Acts 16:32].

How is this? he inquired. I have been told to read and believe the Word, and that the Word of God is the best guide to heaven.

Perhaps, I answered, you misunderstood the friends who advised you. You may be sure that the Bible is not given to replace Christ, but rather to tell you about Him. All the Scriptures can do is to make you wise unto salvation − to show you what salvation is. But salvation itself can only be had by direct personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Timothy was not converted by knowing the Scriptures, but by believing the Gospel.

The end of our conversation was that my friend determined to go to God to receive forgiveness of his sins. He went just as he was, without any plea but that the blood of Jesus had been shed for him. The Lord awakened him by the operation of the Spirit, convicted him of sin, and converted him. He was brought to know the Saviour, and his own personal interest in Him as the Eternal Word of God.

Thus the scoffing, thoughtless man was changed into a rejoicing believer − one who from that time delighted in the Word and the ordinances of God. He began to study the Word as one who searches a will to see the extent and amount of his inheritance. He found that, besides pardon of sins, there was cleansing from unrighteousness in the ‘will’ or testament; and still more than that, an inheritance here upon earth amongst those who are sanctified by faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Reading, he runs to tell others the good news of salvation.

2. Life and Light

John 1:4

HAVING shown us the Eternal Son of God,