Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

healing in his beams: then he goes forth, and seems to grow up as a calf of the stall, Mal. iv. 2. But, the very moment the rays are withdrawn, he is gone again, like the shadow when it declineth; and he is tossed up and down like the locust, Psalm cix. 23.

Shepherd. I wonder he never makes a mistake in his hasty flights, and takes shelter in the cleft of the rock, instead of the sand bank. But,

I

suppose, he thinks of the rock, as Lot did of the mountain, that it is too far off; he cannot fly there, lest some evil take him, and he die; but the sand bank, like Zoar, is near to flee into, Gen. xix, 20.

Steward. In his own apprehensions, he is often far from the rock, though the rock is never far from him: nor is there any likelihood of his mistaking the rock for the sand; for none will embrace the Rock, for want of a shelter, till they are led by the invisible hand of him who is stronger than they. But all this is owing to his having been suffered to play with the bondchildren. Hagar's boys and he used to be perpetually at hide and seek in the dark cells of the Hagarene castle, which debases the mind below the common level of mortals; insomuch that he becomes more like a subterranean inhabitant of the gloomy recesses of fiends than a child of light. When Little Faith first came to the palace royal, he could hardly bear the rays of a candle: he peeped out of obscurity, and out of darkness, like one abashed

[blocks in formation]

and confounded; and muttered a wild gibberish, neither Hebrew nor Ashdod, so that we could hardly understand the child.

Shepherd. I know that all the Hagarenes wear veils from their infancy; and their very residence is in blackness and darkness, Heb. xii. 18. So that poor Little Faith, when he came home to his Father's house, must have appeared as if he had been in a new world.

Steward. He did: and, when he came to see the appearance that the other children made, to hear the language of the court, and perceived the wisdom and the felicity of the family, he seemed dejected, appeared like an alien among them, and could not believe that he was one of the seed royal.

Shepherd. How poor children may be injured by bad nurses, rude playfellows, and ill designing tutors, even till not only their principles and manners are corrupted, but their very faculties are bemeaned and beggared, and the brilliant likeness of the family apparently eclipsed and defaced. And, pray, sir, how does he live now?

Steward. His life is truly exemplary: he walks with watchfulness, tenderness, and fear, and makes conscience of every thing. His fear is much compounded of a servile or slavish spirit: at times, however, those bonds seem to burst: but, soon after, they regender again; which is often the case, till a child sees its own way, feels

the use of its own limbs, enjoys the smiles of its royal Father, and wholly depends on his love, his wisdom, and his power. Besides, Little Faith has got a whole code of laws and rules of his own making; and others, which he has imbibed by perusing numberless volumes of human commandments; neither of which have any footing or foundation in the records of Zion. Some of these are weighty points with him; and those who see and know him, let him eat his herbs unmolested, and take care not to stagger him by eating meat in an idol's temple; knowing that, when he becomes a man, he will put away childish things. As for "Touch not, taste not, handle not," we know that they are all "to perish with the using, after the commandments and doctrines of men,' Col. ii. 21.

Shepherd. It is surprising that he should remain so weak, after so much wholesome counsel and instruction, having been an eye and an ear witness so long of the long forbearance and unparalleled clemency of the King; and after so many groundless expectations of wrath, imprisonment, and banishment, being repeatedly cut off and brought to nothing; by which his enemy has been perpetually proved a liar, and his unbelief as often confounded.

Steward. It is not to be wondered at, when all things are properly considered. His own mother, when she was pregnant with him, was very little better; for, as soon as she heard a voice

from the throne, saying, "Sing, O heavens! and be joyful, O earth! and break forth into singing, O mountains! for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted,” infidelity returned this answer by her mouth: "Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me," Isa. xlix. 13, 14. Her faith gave her unbelief, and her mouth, too, the lie, when she uttered it. She calls him, 'My Lord;' whereas, if he had forsaken her, and forgotten her, it could not be thought that he was any Lord of hers; but old dotish women, when they get into a peevish fit, will say any thing but the truth; and, if she could mutter such a selfcontradictory speech against the best of husbands, who hates putting away, it is no wonder if the children do the same by the best of fathers: Every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against her, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter." That she did tell lies, is clear from the answer given her by the King; and, if she lies, she ought to be told of it. "Can a wo

66

man forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget; yet will I not forget thee," saith the King, Isa. xlix. 15. Let the King be true, but every woman a liar.

Shepherd. I suppose that, if all the stewards and faithful servants of his Majesty's household were to combine together, in order to set Little Faith upon his feet, and make him stand by

the confidence of his Father's immutable love, they would not be able to get him entirely clear of the sand bank, or to lay his infidelity in the dust.

Steward. And if the same combination were to use their united efforts in order to prove that Little Faith is illegitimate, base born, or only a pretender, and that he is not of the seed royal; consequently, no heir of his Majesty's favour, property, throne, or glory; you might bring the staggers upon him, and extort a deep sigh, or a heavy groan, from his heart; but he would stand just where he does. Little Faith is not to be hurried; nor can he be greatly, much less finally, moved. They that trust, whether weak or strong, are like mount Zion, that cannot be moved. Little Faith's confession is already gone out of the mouth of the King; and, when the King bids him speak it, it will soon be known what strength this little one has got: "Let the weak say, I am strong." The King strengtheneth the spoiled against the mighty, Amos v. 9. And he will not be slack concerning his promise, though Little Faith be slow of heart to believe it.

Shepherd. Little Faith is a singular mystery; for, according to your account, he is seldom, if ever, upon the mount, and yet stands as the everlasting hills. One of old said, when he gained the summit of a certain hill, "I shall never be moved; thou, Lord, of thy goodness, hast made my hill so strong!" But, for one to stand so fast

« VorigeDoorgaan »