202 THE GENEROUS TREE. life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My hand? This man is numbering his flock; and thinkest thou that God does not also count and care for His believing children and elect, especially as His beloved Son has averred that the very hairs of our head are all numbered?? During the day, I may perhaps have gone astray, and heedlessly followed my own devices; still, at the ap proach of evening, when the faithful Shepherd counts His lambs, He will mark my absence, and graciously seek and bring me back. Lord Jesus! I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek Thy servant; for I do not forget Thy commandments.3 CXXV. The Generous Tree. BEAUTIFUL tree was so laden with fruit, that it bent its branches to the ground, and, as it were, offered it to men in handfuls. Gotthold beheld it with pleasure, praised God for the blessing, and, the apples being in season, approached to take one. The force, however, which he used, shook the slender bough, and the con 1 John x. 28. 2 Matt. x. 30. 3 Psalm cxix. 176. THE GENEROUS TREE. 3 203 sequence was, that several dropped at his feet. Fair tree, he exclaimed, how generous thou art! Thou givest me more than I desire; reminding me thereby of the incomprehensible and unmerited goodness of God, which presents its blessings as it were upon loaded branches; says to us, Behold me, behold me;' and does exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. Hannah, the afflicted woman, prays for a child, and obtains six. Solomon asks for wisdom to enable him rightly to govern his subjects, and obtains not wisdom only, but riches and honor, such as scarce any other monarch ever possessed. We often ask for daily bread; but as the ripe apples drop in numbers into my hand, so dost Thou, my God, exceed our asking when this is good for us, and conducive to our salvation. What has a child to do with unripe fruit? And just as little would it profit me to receive that which is hurtful to the soul, even though I asked for it. And we, too, should resemble this tree; presenting the fruits of faith to all who ask them, extending our loaded branches, and distributing with a liberal hand to the needy. As this is seldom done, we have reason to fear that in the garden of God not a few of the trees are unfruitful, mere cumberers of the ground, and which have therefore nothing to expect but the axe and the fire. My God! make me fruitful, and ever ready to minister to my neighbor, as all Thy creatures do to me. CXXVI. The Mill. ASSING a mill one day, Gotthold recollected the wise observation of a certain prince: Man's heart is like a millstone; pour in corn, and round it goes, bruising and grinding, and converting it into flour; whereas, give it no corn, and the stone indeed turns round, but only grinds itself away, and becomes ever thinner, and smaller, and narrower. Even so the heart of man requires to have always something to do; and happy he who continually occupies it with good and holy thoughts, otherwise it may soon consume and waste itself by useless anxieties, or wicked and carnal suggestions. When the millstones are not nicely adjusted, grain may indeed be poured in, but comes away only half ground, or not ground at all. The same often happens with our heart, when our devotion is not sufficiently resolute. On such occasions, we read the finest texts without knowing what we have read, and pray without hearing our own prayers. The eye flits over the sacred THE DAMAGED BELL. 205 page, the mouth pours forth the words, and clappers like a mill, but the heart meanwhile turns from one strange thought to another; and such reading, and such prayer, are more a useless form than a devotion acceptable to God. My God! I too have often, in conversing with Thee, been like one asleep and unconscious of what he says. Mercifully forgive me for this, and associate henceforth Thy Spirit with my heart, that my prayer may be as devout as Thy majesty and my own necessities require. CXXVII. The Damaged Bell. BELL in the neighborhood had been rent, and when being rung, clearly evinced by its tone the damage it had sustained. Gotthold, happening to hear it, mused as follows: In the same way, it is scarcely possible that the faults of those who occupy lofty stations in the world can remain concealed. The more highly they are exalted, the further off do men hear their good or defective tone. In persons of low degree, even great faults are little thought of; and the humbler they are, the more speedily and effectually will their evil report be swal lowed up by the humbleness of their condition. Among the lofty, however, the smallest blemishes are reckoned great, and, by their exalted station, spread to a greater distance. Keep me, my God, from casting a stumbling-block before any. I will rather be humble, unknown, and good, than great, renowned, and ungodly. CXXVIII. Ingratitude. PERSON was lamenting that, though he had done good to numbers of his fellow-men, he had been rewarded with gratitude by few, and with ingratitude by many; and he averred that, for this reason, he was resolved henceforward to limit and restrain his liberality. Gotthold replied: Friend, did you ever see the horses taken to water? They rush into some beautiful stream or tranquil lake, and drink of it to their heart's content; after which they turn their backs upon it, or with their feet until the water is polluted. stamp in it This is the price they pay for their refreshing draught. But what then does the noble river? It immediately floats away the mud, and continues after, as it was before, full, and free of access for the same or other thirsty creatures. |