Chapter III

And now, my young friends, we have finished the survey of our picture-gallery. We have wandered among these six cities in the old land of promise. I shall repeat their names once more, that you may remember them.

KEDESH, _Holiness._
SHECHEM, _Shoulder._
HEBRON, _Fellowship._
BEZER, _Stronghold._
RAMOTH, _Exaltation._
GOLAN, _Joy._

What a complete Saviour! In Him "all fullness dwells." In the case of some of these Hebrew cities, "not one stone has been left upon another that has not been thrown down." Owls are screaming amid their ruins, and jackals prowling for their prey. But not so with HIM of whom they were types. _Jesus_ ever lives! He never changes. Time and decay cannot crumble the walls of the Gospel Refuge. He is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever."[56]

I want, in this last chapter, to say one or two additional things to you about the Cities of Refuge. Let me ask you to give me your earnest attention.

The _first_ thing I wish you to remember is, _that all the preciousness of that_ NAME _of Jesus, and all the security of the Gospel_ REFUGE, _is derived from the merits of His death for you upon the cross_.

This is the truth of all truths, and one, too, strikingly taught in these olden types. If you read the Bible account, you will find that the manslayer had his liberty restored to him _upon the death of the High Priest_.[57] When the tidings of the decease of this great Head of the Jewish nation reached these refuge towns, I daresay many of their citizens would be heard, with wailing cry, mourning the loss of God's faithful servant. But the intelligence was very different to the captive Hebrew. It brought him joyful news! For that event enabled him to go forth from his banishment, and to terminate years of painful separation from all he loved on earth. The avenger could no longer injure him. He could return, happy and secure, to the comforts of his long-lost home.

So, dear reader, it is the _death_ of _your_ great High Priest that has purchased your release from spiritual captivity. The law can no longer hold you. Justice can no longer threaten you. You can go forth with the glorious liberty of a child of God, saying, "_Who_ is he that condemneth?--_It is Christ that died._"[58]

You can picture to yourselves, on the death of the Jewish High Priest, the Hebrew captive going forth from the city, within whose gloomy walls he had long been enclosed. You can picture him, with merry heart, making the valleys through which he hurried to his native dwelling, echo with songs of joy! And shall not _you_, with happier heart and voice, sing this song as you journey on to your heavenly home, and see it gleaming in the distance, on the other side of Jordan--

"When from the dust of death I rise,
To take my mansion in the skies,
This all my hope--this all my plea,
That _Jesus lived and died for me_!"

The _second_ thing I want to say to you is, that _God has made the gospel City of Refuge easy of access, and has filled it with rich provision._

He made the way as plain as possible to the manslayer of old. The cities themselves were generally on a height, so as to be seen at a far distance. The roads leading to them were carefully kept. They were broader than others in Palestine, (sixteen yards wide.) The Jewish magistrates and judges went once every year to inspect them, and to order repairs. Where streams occurred, there were bridges thrown across. Where there were angles or by-roads, posts with "_Refuge_" on them were set up; and as there were no bridges across Jordan, three of the cities were placed, as I have already mentioned, on one side of the river, and three on the other; so that all might easily get at them, and none might have any excuse for not fleeing. The nearest city could always be reached by the manslayer in half a day. Moreover, we are informed there were ample stores of provisions laid up in them. They were supplied with wells of water, and Levites were placed in turn as porters or gatekeepers, to be ready to welcome every fugitive into these homes of safety.

So God has done everything for _you_, to make the Gospel Refuge accessible. Your parents and ministers--your Bibles and churches and good books--are all, just like these refuge signals, pointing away from the cross-roads and by-roads of human reason, and human error, and self-righteousness, to the Lord Jesus Christ, and saying, "Flee! flee! flee for refuge to lay _hold_ on the hope set before you!" _Jesus_, too, the true Gospel Refuge, is full of rich provision. "Ye are complete in Him." He, as the true Joseph, gives forth out of the storehouses in His "treasure-cities," to all His needy people. What are some of these provisions? There is pardon--peace--justification--adoption--sanctification,--strength for the hour of weakness,--grace for the hour of temptation,--and the good hope of everlasting life for the hour of death. No wonder that he says to every poor sinner seeking admission within these gates, "_I am the bread of life: he that cometh unto me shall never hunger._"[59]

As in the cities of Canaan, so in this glorious Gospel-City of which they were types, there is a Well of living water. What is this? It is the Holy Spirit. He is often in Scripture compared to water. "_If any man thirst_," said Jesus, "_let him come unto me, and drink. This spake he of the Spirit_."[60] This all-glorious well-spring, moreover, is not like those of the Palestine cities, which were sometimes dried up in seasons of drought, but "springing up unto everlasting life." Angels, too, are the porters,--the blessed warders that keep the gates of this Gospel-City. "_Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who are heirs of salvation?_"[61] They love to watch by these gates, and to welcome every wanderer. How gladly they give the word, "_Open ye the gates, that the righteous_ (those made righteous through the righteousness of Jesus) _may enter in_!"[62]

It is delightful, moreover, to think, that just as the Jewish cities were easily got at from all parts of Palestine, so from all parts of the world, may people go to the Greater and more Glorious Gospel Refuge. Poor Pagan of the far East! cast away your idols; the gates of the Gospel-City stand ready to welcome _you_. Indian of the far West! cast aside your warrior spear and your offerings of blood, and flee to the portals of mercy and to the blood which cleanseth from all sin. Laplander of the far North, amid your polar snows! Negro of Africa, amid your burning sands! rush to the provided shelter. There is salvation there for _you_. "The same Lord is rich to ALL that call upon Him." Happy prospect!--the time will come when the whole world will be found singing together the same song and uttering the same prayer, "_Open unto us the gates of righteousness, that we may enter into them, and praise the Lord!_"[63]

Will none of my young friends rejoice if they are able, by aiding the cause of missions abroad, to help putting this "new song" into the lips of those who are still "wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way, and have NO CITY to dwell in?"[64]

* * * * *

The _third_ thing I want to say to you is, that _no_ OTHER _Refuge will do but_ JESUS.

I would like you to take as your motto the simple and beautiful words which a Sabbath scholar, I knew well about, lately gone to glory, wrote to his minister. "I am sure I may be very thankful to God for His great mercy toward me.... _I must just keep in mind that there is one Refuge to flee to, and that is Jesus._"

There are many other refuges people try to take shelter in. They think they will be as safe in them as in the ONE of God's providing; but these will never stand in that day which will try every refuge of what sort it is.

I have seen some making their _own goodness_ their refuge-city. They imagined they were not so bad as others. They trusted in the falling Siloam-tower of their own righteousness!

I have seen some making _God's goodness_ their refuge-city. They said to themselves, "God is kind. He surely will not deal hardly with sinners at last. Justice, the avenger, will not surely always pursue with her flaming sword. The love of God will surely get the better of his justice."

Don't let Satan deceive you. There are many of _his_ refuges which _appear_ to be safe enough, but on which God has written "_Refuges of lies_."

There were many other towns in Canaan of old which _appeared_ to be as good and as safe as those I have been speaking of. But no city could afford shelter to the manslayer, excepting one of the six God had specially appointed.

What would have happened if the fugitive of old, in fleeing from the avenger, had said to himself, "What is the use of my going so far away as to Hebron or Golan? I would rather flee to a nearer place. I will go to Jericho, the old city of palm-trees; or to Bethlehem, in the hills of Judah; or, better still, I will go to Jerusalem, the capital of the nation, where the temple of Zion is, and the palace of the King. Surely I shall be safer far within its lofty walls and bulwarks than in one of these little cities of the Levites. Is it not said that '_God is known in all her Palaces for a Refuge?_'"

If he had done so, he would undoubtedly have perished. Neither King nor Priest, nor Golden gate nor Beautiful gate, nor wall nor bulwark, could have saved him from the avenger's sword. The refuge-towns appointed in the olden time may have been "the least amid the cities of Judah." But they were God's selection, God's ordering, and that was enough. In them, and in them only, was the manslayer safe from the avenger of blood.

And so it is with our Gospel Refuge. "_Neither is there salvation in any other._" Rejecting Jesus, we are lost for ever. All other refuges, however good or great or strong they may _appear_ to be, will prove only Babel-towers, that will fall on the poor builders, and crush them in their ruins.

When God told the children of Israel to sprinkle their lintels and door-posts with blood, they might have been foolish enough to say, "No; we shall do better. We shall not be content with doing so trifling a thing; we shall rather build up great walls around our houses, so that the destroying angel may not get in." Do you think, if they had done so, their first-born would have been saved? No; there would have been death in every such household; these high walls would have proved useless. Nothing but the red mark on the doorway of the dwelling would be of any avail in warding off the fell stroke.

So it is with the sinner. All the walls which pride, and self-righteousness, and good works can rear, will do nothing to keep out the sword of avenging Justice. But _the sprinkled blood of covenant mercy will_; for "_the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth_ (and alone cleanseth) _from_ ALL SIN!"[65]

I remember, many years ago, attending the deathbed of a young man in E----. He told me, one day, he had dreamt of being in a shop in ---- Street, which seemed to be hung round with armour and coats of mail. A number of people in the shop were girding these on; while a man was standing with a drawn sword in his hand outside the door, ready to slay them as they passed into the open street. One after another he cut down;--the armour was no protection to them--their bodies were lying dead and wounded on the pavement. In great fear and terror, the young man said, his turn seemed at last to come, when he, too, must try to cover himself with the same armour, and rush out by the fatal door. He knew not what to do. In looking around him, he observed, in the uppermost shelf, something resembling a web of coarse linen, lying apparently neglected. He resolved to take it down, and wrap himself in a portion of it, instead of the unavailing sheaths of iron and steal. Covering his head and body, he darted out, following the footsteps of the others. The sword descended; but it bounded back again. It was unable to pierce the linen covering. He alone was safe in that crowd of dead and dying.

Beautifully did this youthful dreamer apply his own "vision of the night." It was:--How vain are all the boasted sheathings of the armour of self-righteousness; and how safe and glorious is that "white linen" covering of the righteousness of Jesus! To the eye of reason, the panoply of iron and steel seems the best, and strongest, and securest. Many will not "submit themselves to the righteousness of God," and persist in using the others. But they will be a poor protection against the sword of God's avenging justice. Happy are those who have been led to look _above_ for another righteousness, and who have listened to the Divine injunction, "_Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ!_"[66]

Reader, let me ask, is this your case? Don't think, because you are young, and have committed few sins, that you are safer than those who have committed many, and that you have not the same urgent need to flee to Jesus for refuge. In Canaan of old, the manslayer was in danger of his life, whether he had killed one or several. One single life, like one single sin, exposed him to the fury of the avenger.

Nay, more. The Hebrew fugitive _might elude_ his avenger! He might manage, for days, or weeks, or years, to screen himself from his wrath. He might go, as David did to avoid Saul, to some cave of Adullam; he might hide in the gloomy recesses of some forest;--amid the oaks of Bashan, or the rocky gorges of the Jordan, or amid the cedar-heights of Lebanon;--in the words of Ezekiel, "dwelling safely in the wilderness, and sleeping in the woods."[67] But it is different with the sinner and _his_ Avenger:--"_Vengeance is mine; and I_ WILL _repay, saith the Lord_."[68] Who can escape _His_ glance? Who can hide from _His_ all-seeing eye?

"If I should find some cave unknown,
Where human foot had never trod,
Even there I could not be alone--
On every side there would be GOD.

"He smiles in heaven, He frowns in hell,
He fills the air, the earth, the sea;
I _must_ within His presence dwell,
I cannot from His anger flee."

The _fourth_ thing I want to say to you is:--That _many young and old_ HAVE _fled to Jesus, the Gospel City of Refuge, and have found themselves safe and happy there_.

How delightful it is, year by year, to trace the footsteps of those, whether young or old, rich or poor, who have repaired to that blessed shelter! I shall close this little volume by telling you of _two_ such, now inhabitants of the better _celestial City_. Very different they were in years, in country, in outward position. But they were alike in this,--that they fled in life to the gates of the Gospel Refuge; and to both _the_ NAME _of_ JESUS was specially precious.

The one was C---- T----, a little girl thirteen years old--the age, I daresay, of some whose eyes are falling on these pages. I saw her when she was bright and happy in her adopted home in England--a sweet spot in the county of Kent, on one of those wooded heights or uplands which command an extensive prospect of the Thames, as he winds along, hearing on his lordly bosom the commerce of the world. Little did any then dream, that that little life, so full of promise, was to be early taken--her sun going down before it was "yet day!" So, however, the will of God was; her summons came suddenly, unexpectedly. Her disconsolate parents saw "the desire of their eyes taken away by a stroke." The dear child herself was naturally of a timid, reserved disposition; she felt more than she said. Her kind, unselfish heart delighted in devising plans of usefulness and carrying them out. The entire of her pocket-money was latterly spent in the purchase of little books for the infant-school children--all of whom loved her much--or in publications for loan among the elder Sunday class. She won the affections of old as well as young. "The little lady who used to speak so prettily to us," was the description given, with full eyes, by more than one of the villagers who had known her loving ways, and heard her loving voice. In another neighbourhood still more familiar to her, she used to go to the cottages with her Bible, and offer to read to the inmates who most needed it; always putting her little hands together first, to ask for God's blessing, and then making some simple remarks she thought might be of use. Those whose hearts most sorely mourned her, had the fullest assurance that the grace of God had been early poured into their dear child's heart. But on thinking, too, on the past, they began at times to wonder whether these pleasing traits of character and efforts to do good, were really prompted by love to Jesus, or whether they might be rather the effect of habit and the imitation of others. They anxiously searched among her little books and desk-treasures to see if they could find anything to confirm their fondest thoughts regarding this. I believe it was even made the subject of earnest prayer to God, that some such precious testimony might be found. After all her other books had been examined in vain, imagine what were the feelings of delight and thankfulness, when, as one day she who loved her best was taking the cover off her Bible, the two following letters dropped from it on the ground:--

"B. PARSONAGE, _August._

"MY DEAREST PAPA AND MAMMA,--I am going to write this in
case I should go to that _happy_ land where sorrow is not
known, suddenly; and that you may have _no_ fears about my
soul. I know my state, and that my _precious_ Saviour has
called me, and I humbly accept this _glorious_ invitation
as a poor WRETCHED sinner. I _strive_ not to expect
redemption by my own poor merits. I have no comparative
fear of death, but as a passage from a wicked world to a
happy, happy home. Though I am by nature very wicked, it
is all washed away by my Saviour's blood. The Holy Spirit
has taught me what to pray for, and how to pray. I hope all
my dear friends will forgive me if I have been angry when
they have spoken to me about my faults. I should like,
dearest parents, whatever little money and things I have,
to be given to the Church Missionary Society and the Bible
Society. My dear Saviour has forgiven me all my INNUMERABLE
sins, and so, dear parents, you need not fear about my
soul. I believe my Saviour will _not_ forsake me if I trust
in Him, and I know that all my righteousness is as filthy
rags.--I remain, dearest parents," &c., &c., &c.,

"C. M. T."

The other paper that was found, was probably intended for her brothers and sisters. It is as follows:--

"When you are in trouble, go to God and tell Him all about it. The Saviour who called little children to come to Him will listen to you, no matter what the subjects be, if you be but in earnest and need His help. If you have a difficult lesson to learn, a hasty spirit to subdue, an unkind word to bear, a proud spirit to humble--whatever your difficulty, take it to God in the name of Jesus, and He _will_ help you. If even we, who see so little beneath the surface, are not pleased with outward appearances without good qualities within, how much less is the great God who searches the inmost recesses of the heart? 'The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.' What we require is a new heart cleansed by the Holy Spirit, full of all the graces mentioned in St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, (chap. v. 22.) Oh! go then to JESUS and ask of Him in earnest prayer to pardon your sins, and to confer upon you the blessed gift of a new heart."

My young friends, have _you_ fled like C---- T---- to an all-gracious Saviour? Is the "_name_ of Jesus," so sweet to _her_, equally precious to you? Does it "soothe your sorrows," "heal your wounds," and drive your tears and fears all away? Can you say, in the spirit of her beautiful and comforting letter,--

"Till then I shall His love proclaim
With every fleeting breath;
And may the music of His _NAME_
Refresh my soul in death."

Having told you of one recently "fallen asleep in Jesus," who had early repaired to the shelter of the Gospel Refuge, I shall now tell you of an aged servant of Jesus who has, more recently still, entered on her glorious rest.

She was a former parishioner of mine. Her home was a lowly cottage in one of the loveliest villages of Scotland. Poor in this world, and an almost constant sufferer, she was rich in faith,--one of "Christ's jewels;"--her life was "hid with Christ in God." If I could venture to name two peculiarities in her spiritual being which distinguished her more than others, it would be these: Love for _the_ NAME _of_ JESUS, and a _Life of_ PRAYER. "His _name_," to her, was "like ointment poured forth."[69] Often have I delighted to sit with her in her cottage, with her Bible on her knee, and hear her speak of "the _name_ which is above every name;" walking about these six Refuge-Cities, "telling all the towers, marking the bulwarks, and considering the palaces." She had herself long before, in early life, fled to the Gospel stronghold. I think her favourite city would have been GOLAN, "Joy." Her heart seemed ever to be filled with "peace and _joy_ in believing."

Doubtless much of this calm serenity and joy she derived from her life of _prayer_. It is no small matter for the writer of these pages to know, that there was not a day for upwards of sixteen years in which he was not personally and specially remembered by this lowly saint at a throne of grace.

One forenoon during this past year, she had entered her cottage, carrying a pitcher of water down from the well in her garden. It was the last time she crossed her threshold. When her door was opened, she was _found alone on her knees_; BUT _her spirit had fled_! PRAYER, as it had been her ever fond delight in life, had been her solace and comfort in death. Her last act was drawing water out of the better "_wells of salvation_." She began with _prayer_, but ended in _praise_! She began her prayer on earth, and "finished it with the angels!"

Reader! when you come to die, could _you_ be equally happy, equally safe? Would you be able thus to rejoice and triumph in the _name of Jesus_? Could you declare, with either of these two glorified spirits, before God "took" them, "_We_ HAVE _a strong city; salvation hath God appointed for walls and for bulwarks_?"[70] Has the Holy Spirit taught you, as it taught them, that you are sinners by nature, and in a state of condemnation? Have you heard God's voice behind you, declaring that "He can by no means clear the guilty?"[71] And are you able now joyfully to say, "I heard Thy voice, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and _I hid myself_?"

Are you, like them, really "hid" _within_ the gates? The manslayer of old required to be _within_ the refuge-city. Even if he were but one footstep without, the avenger of blood could cut him down. It did not matter _how_ near he was, if he was not _inside_ the portals!

And so it will avail you nothing to know about Christ, and hear about Christ;--to survey the strength of the city's walls, the glory of its battlements, and the beauty of its palaces. It is "_the righteous who_ RUNNETH _into it_," who alone is "_safe_."

What more, in closing, have I to say, but to repeat the solemn word, "_Haste thee, flee for thy life_!" Every hour you put off, the time is shorter; the avenger is nearer; the chances of escape are fewer. There is no time for delay. I say this to the very youngest. I say more. As young feet can run fastest, so it is with young souls. You will never go to Jesus so easily as now. Let nothing keep you back. It is said that on digging up the ruins of Herculaneum, (the city that was buried under the lava of Mount Vesuvius,) the body of a man was found in an upright posture, in the act of running out of the door of his house to escape destruction. He had a bag of gold in his hand. Others had escaped in safety. But this miser loved his gold more than his life. He had returned to fetch it, thinking he would have time enough to escape the terrible doom; but the burning stream overtook him. He was encased in a living sepulchre.

It was one, too, of the saddest incidents connected with these Cities of Refuge of old, when some poor, breathless, panting fugitive--just when he was in sight of the city--when he had almost reached the gate, sank exhausted. Or perhaps the case of some other who had lain down weary to sleep, but who had been startled by the avenger at his side, and the drawn sword gleaming before his eyes;--years after, the pile of stones marking the spot where his blood had been shed.

But, oh, sadder, sadder far, for any, young or old, to perish within sight of Christ! To suffer the love of sin, or the love of pleasure, or the love of the world, to make them "too late!" To be _almost_, but not _altogether_ saved! To be cut down by the sword of wrath, or overtaken by the fiery stream, with heaven in view!

God grant that this may not be the case with any one of _you_!

I shall conclude with a happier picture:--The citizens in these Refuge-cities of old, were sometimes seen clustered on the top of the walls, watching the approach of the manslayer, and cheering him on when faint and exhausted. So, think of the happy citizens of the New Jerusalem: Patriarchs, prophets, saints, departed friends, who are now safe within its gates, watching you from these glorious heights, beckoning to you not to tarry, but to be "followers of them who, through faith and patience, are inheriting the promises." "Verily I say unto you, There is joy in heaven among the angels of God over every sinner that repenteth."

We have been speaking of the "_name_ of JESUS."

Read the motto over the gateway of all these six cities. Read the motto over the door of the Gospel Refuge:--"_Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other_ NAME given under heaven among men by which the sinner can be saved, but _the_ NAME of JESUS."

_Jesus, my Refuge_! look on me:
When weak and weary, worn, opprest:
I cast my every care on Thee--
Thou art my _Rest_.

_Jesus my Refuge_! guide my way,
Dispel the gloomy shades of night,
Oh, shine Thou forth with cheering ray!--
Thou art my _Light_.

_Jesus, my Refuge_! storms may rise,
Affliction sweep with tempest-shock,
My spirit to Thy shelter flies,
Thou art my _Rock_.

_Jesus my Refuge_! legion-foes
May seek to drive me from the field,
But in Thy strength I shell repose--
Thou art my _Shield_.

_Jesus, my Refuge_! Thou in store
Hast happiness without alloy,
Pleasures unmingled, evermore--
Thou art my _Joy_.

_Jesus, my Refuge_! on the brink
Of Jordan, in my latest strife,
Thou wilt not suffer me to sink--
Thou art my _Life_.

_Jesus, my Refuge_! oh, supply
My every want, whate'er befall;
Through life, in death, eternally,
Thou art my _ALL_!

ANON.

THE ROCK OF CASTELLO.

The Rock of Castello.

As I was walking on a bright summer evening, among the Italian Alps, I came to one of the lovely valleys of the Waldenses. These, perhaps I should tell my young readers, are a pious race of Christians, who have, age after age, boldly "contended for the faith once delivered to the saints," and kept the lamp of truth brightly burning, when all around was darkness.

This beautiful spot is surrounded by very lofty mountains, whose tops are almost lost in the clouds, while the little stream that murmurs below has its banks covered with vines and mulberry trees, rich corn fields, and happy villages. When I first entered it by the Alpine pass of La Croix, the whole valley was shrouded in a dense fog, with the exception of one bold and very remarkable Rock, which towered in solitary grandeur above the sea of mist, and seemed from its height like an island suspended in mid-air!

Upon inquiring what this Rock was, I was informed it is a place famous in the history of the Valley. When the poor peasants were persecuted by their foes, their cottages and hamlets plundered, their loved sanctuaries burnt with fire, and "all their pleasant things laid waste," they would retire with their wives and little ones up to this rocky citadel, which the God of nature seemed to have reared as a shelter for His defenceless people.

Within this Rock that same God had wonderfully provided for their safety and comfort. It contains a large cavern, capable of holding many at a time; and in the very centre of this cave is a fountain of water, which yields a never-failing supply. When driven thither by the storms of persecution, the exiles provided themselves with food, from the plentiful wild fruits of the adjoining mountain, so that the Bible promise was made good to them, "Their bread shall be given them, and their water shall be sure!" Swords and cannon and other means of defense they had none, but a single man, stationed at the mouth of the cave, was enough to defy hundreds of armed soldiers. He had only to hurl fragments of loose stones (which were supplied from the sides of the cavern) down upon the foe, and they were instantly beaten back, thus fulfilling God's words to Israel, "Five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight."

Often, often, then, when the wintry tempests and Alpine storms, and drifting snows, were raging fiercely around, adding to the terrors of the enemy, did these peasant warriors find in the Rock of Castello a secure shelter and retreat. With their fountain and blazing fire, their Bibles and their God, they would make the rocky cavern ring with praise. They "feared the Lord," and had no other fear. He had "given his angels charge over them;" and they could boldly make the challenge, "God is for us, who can be against us?"

* * * * *

When I heard about this Rock, which the "God of _Nature_" had upreared as a citadel for his oppressed people, it reminded me of a better ROCK, which "the God of _Grace_" has provided for perishing sinners!

Dear Children!--You are all, by nature, like these poor Christians of the Alps, the inhabitants of a Valley. It is called "_The Valley of Tears!_" Like theirs, too, it is a lovely valley, far too lovely for sinful man; but though lovely, its name tells you it is a _Valley of Weeping_. Sin has made it so. And more than this, it is a _Valley of Danger_, a _Valley of Death_!

It is full of _Enemies_. I can not tell you them all, "their name is Legion, for they are many." There are:

THE WORLD. Ungodly men, bad companions,
tempting you to sin,
and trying to keep you
back from fleeing to Jesus!

YOUR OWN The enemy within, the worst HEARTS. of all, because the most deceitful of all!

SATAN. The great enemy, who goeth
about seeking whom he
may devour.

DEATH. The last enemy, a sudden
enemy, but oh! remember,
a _sure_ enemy; other enemies
_may_ come, He _must_
come, and the time of his
coming is generally "at
_midnight_," when you least
look for him!

Methinks I hear my young readers exclaiming, If my enemies are so many, if my danger is so great, is there no place I can flee to? "What must I do to be saved" from those enemies in this _Valley of Tears_? Oh! whither shall I flee from the "wrath to come?"

Hear the voice of God:--He is pointing to a Rock rising from the midst of the Valley, and is calling aloud to you, "Flee to this Stronghold, ye prisoners of Hope!"

Do you ask--When shall I flee? He answers, "_Now_ is the day of salvation!"

Do you ask--May I not _wait_ a few years? I am yet a young inhabitant of the Valley. Death, if he be the _surest_ enemy, is the _last_ enemy; have I not yet time enough? God answers--TO-DAY! while it is called to-day! "Verily, there may be but a step between thee and Death!" "Haste thee; flee for thy life."

Do you ask--But must I leave all the pleasures of sin, and so much that I love in this valley of tears? God answers, "What is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Do you ask--But is there no _other_ refuge than this, no other means of safety but, amid storm and tempest, to climb to this Rock? God answers, "Neither is there salvation in any other! For there is none other name given under heaven, by which a sinner can be saved, but the name of Jesus."

Dear children, let this be _your_ prayer: "Lord, lead me unto this ROCK, that is higher than I!"

Oh! with what delight does that Great God look upon children, such as you, when they "flee for refuge to lay hold on this hope set before them;" and when they join their hearts and their voices together, saying, "Oh! come, let us sing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise unto the ROCK OF OUR SALVATION!"

But I would like to tell my Young Readers something more about this Great "Refuge from the storm"--this Great "Covert from the tempest." Let us seat ourselves for a little in the Alpine valley, under the brow of the Rock of Castello; it may help us to some thoughts of the better "Rock of Ages!" I dare say many a poor Waldensian, when taking shelter in this earthly refuge, would be often reminded by it of the ROCK that can never be shaken!

_First_, The Rock of Castello _is very High_. So is _Jesus_; so High, that He is called _the Son of the Highest_--"The Ancient of Days!"--"God over all." "The heaven of heavens can not contain Him!"

_Second_, The Rock of Castello _rises from the Valley_: so Jesus rose from poor parents in this valley of tears. He "humbled Himself," to take upon Him our nature; so that "although he be HIGH, He might have respect unto the _lowly_!"

_Third_, The Rock of Castello _was quite close at hand_; though lofty, it was always near for fleeing to: so is Jesus, the "Rock of Ages." We have not to say, "Who shall ascend into Heaven to bring Christ down?" "He is not far from any one of us." Indeed, He is so very near, and so very accessible, that the only wonder is that there should be any found who do not "flee to Him for refuge!"

_Fourth_, The Rock of Castello _was wont to shelter many children and helpless infants_; many poor mothers, driven from their homes, carried their babes thither in their arms. Jesus, the living Rock, does the same. He delighted, when on earth, to fold children to his bosom, and say, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not!" It was neither His nor His "Father's will" that so much as "one of these little ones should perish." He was so HIGH that angels adored Him; so meek and lowly, that infants smiled in his arms!

_Fifth_, The Rock of Castello _has a large cleft or opening in it, which admits into the cavern_. Jesus is a _rent_ and _smitten_ Rock! You can enter by faith _into_ Him only through His opened side. Oh! what a smiting that was, by the rod of God's justice! and yet, had there been no such smiting, you and I, Dear Children, must have _perished_!

_Sixth_, The Rock of Castello _was a Secure Hiding Place_. No other spot in all the valley could have afforded shelter but this. On any of the surrounding mountains there would have been certain destruction to the exiles, from the Alpine snows, and fierce hurricanes and storms. But here, in their cavern, nothing could touch them, and if the storm raged, it spent its fury on the Rock!

Jesus is, indeed, a _safe Shelter_, while every other refuge will prove "a refuge of lies!" The tempest of God's wrath, and the curses of God's law, are still raging fiercely all around. But what matters it? They can not touch _You_, my Young Friends, _if sheltered in the Rock_! Upon that ROCK, eighteen hundred years ago, they exhausted all their fury. Jesus shelters and delivers you from that fearful storm of Law-curses, by himself being "made a curse for you!" The tempest may smite _Jesus the Rock_, but it can not touch those who have "won Him, and are FOUND IN HIM."

_Seventh_, The Rock of Castello _has a Fountain in it_. Jesus, the Living Rock, has opened a Fountain not only "for Sin," but "for Uncleanness." He does not wish only to _justify_ you, by sheltering you from the Storms of the Law,--but He wishes also to _sanctify_ you, and fit you for glory. He does not only wish to make you _Safe_, but to make you _Holy_. The HOLY SPIRIT is this _Fountain_ in the Rock. Oh! Dear Children, bless God for this "Well of Water, springing up unto everlasting life." It washes, and cleanses, and refreshes you. Without it, your naturally _unholy_ hearts could never be fitted for the holy, happy heaven, of a Holy, Happy God.

_Eighth_, The Rock of Castello _remains as it was to this hour_, while all its brave inmates of past generations are no more. Jesus is an _Everlasting_ Rock, unchanged and unchangeable. This is still "His name, and still His memorial," "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever!" For six thousand years, sinners have been crowding in, and "still there is room!"

_Ninth_, The Rock of Castello _was only a safe retreat so long as those who fled for refuge remained within its cave_. The enemy were continually on the watch, and to venture out, would be to _perish_! Jesus, the "Rock of Ages," thus speaks to you, "Abide in me!" "Out of me, ye can do nothing." It is only "the Righteous who runneth _into_ Him that is _safe_! To _abide_ in Jesus is to be secure from every danger, to _leave_ Him is _destruction_!"

_Tenth_, The Rock of Castello _had to be fled to in the first moment of danger_. The only safety of the persecuted was in _instant flight_. On the first tidings of the enemy, houses, and lands, and vineyards, and all they possessed, had to be left, and, "forgetting the things that were behind, they pressed forward" to their Rock! Jesus tells _you_, dear children, your only safety consists in _immediate_ flight to Himself, the Rock of Ages! Delay may be fatal! The storm-blast is gathering, the sky is darkening, there is the distant muttering of the thunder. The enemy is on the march--Satan is watching--Death is approaching. Already he may have strung his arrow. "Flee to the stronghold, ye prisoners of Hope,--

TO-DAY."

Oh! forbid that this should be _your_ history now, and your history through eternity (How awful are the words!)--

"They lightly esteemed the _Rock of their Salvation_!"

* * * * *

Reader!--Have _you_ fled to this Living "Rock of Ages?"--Have you made it your prayer,

"Jesus! Refuge of my Soul!
Let me to Thy bosom fly?"

And in _that_ bosom, and _that_ refuge, are you hiding yourself until all Earth's "calamities be overpast?" The deeper you hide yourself in the clefts of the smitten Rock, the safer you are. Oh! do you ever pause and think that there is a day coming, when this Valley of Tears "and all the works that are therein, shall be burned up?" When "God shall arise in the glory of His Majesty, to shake terribly the Earth." When every mountain peak shall be black with tempest--and the whole valley shall be a sheet of living fire! Then (as I saw on the evening I entered this Alpine valley), there shall be but ONE ROCK seen rising far above the mist, and thunderings, and lightnings, and tempest! JESUS CHRIST, the Rock of Ages! the Sinner's Refuge! and the Sinner's Friend! Many voices shall be heard beneath in the valley, calling upon _other Rocks_, but it will be to hide them from the "_wrath of the Lamb_!" The loose fragments of stone thrown down from the Rock of Castello crushed hundreds: "On whomsoever THIS STONE shall fall, it will _grind them to powder_!"

Oh, when the voice of the Great Judge shall resound through the dens and caves of the Earth with the Question,--"_Sinner, where are thou?_"--How blessed if you shall be able, from your safe shelter, to reply, "Here am I, Lord! I heard Thy voice, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself!" Hid yourself! where? Hid myself in

"THE ROCK OF AGES."

JESUS, MY ROCK.

When the storm and the tempest are raging around me,
Oh! where shall I flee to be safe from their shock?
There are walls which no mortal hands built to surround me,
A Refuge Eternal,--'Tis JESUS MY ROCK!

When my heart is all sorrow, and trials aggrieve me,
To whom can I safely my secrets unlock?
No bosom (save one) has the power to relieve me,
The bosom which bled for me, JESUS MY ROCK!

When Life's gloomy curtain, at last, shall close o'er me,
And the chill hand of death unexpectedly knock,
I will look up to HIM who hath felt it before me,
And cleave all the closer to JESUS MY ROCK!

Companions may smile, and the world may deride me,
And with the cold finger of ridicule mock;
But no trial, nor coldness, nor death shall divide me,
From the Shelter of Ages!--from JESUS MY ROCK!

O Thou! who on earth, in the days of thy sorrow,
Didst fold to thy bosom the Lambs of thy Flock,
Prevent me (though young) putting off till to-morrow,
In fleeing for refuge to--JESUS MY ROCK!

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Job. ii. 4.

[2] Psalm ix. 6.

[3] Ezek. xviii. 4.

[4] Prov. xi. 21.

[5] Rom. iii. 23.

[6] Gen xix. 17.

[7] Rom. viii. 35.

[8] Rev. iii. 7.

[9] Matt. xix. 14.

[10] Psalm viii. 2.

[11] Psalm xxxi. 21.

[12] Isa. vi. 3.

[13] Mark i. 24.

[14] Ex. xii. 5.

[15] Jer. xxiii. 5.

[16] Heb. vii. 26.

[17] John viii. 46.

[18] Rev. iii. 7.

[19] Acts iv. 27.

[20] Luke ii. 52.

[21] "The Land and the Book."

[22] Gen. xii. 8.

[23] John iv. 14.

[24] Isa. liii. 4.

[25] Heb. vii. 25.

[26] Isa. xxviii. 16.

[27] Isa. ix. 6.

[28] Deut. i. 31.

[29] Psalm xl. 17.

[30] Luke xv. 5.

[31] Psalm iv. 8.

[32] John x. 28.

[33] Mark i. 7.

[34] Col. i. 20.

[35] Eph. ii. 6.

[36] Eph. ii. 13.

[37] Rom. viii. 83.

[38] Luke xi. 21.

[39] Psalm xviii. 2.

[40] Prov. xviii. 10.

[41] Psalm ix. 9, 10.

[42] 1 Cor. xv. 55.

[43] Isa. xxxii. 2.

[44] Zech. xiii. 7.

[45] Nahum i. 7.

[46] Rom. viii. 1.

[47] Luke xi. 22.

[48] Isa. xxvi. 4.

[49] Psalm xxii. 12, 13.

[50] Phil. ii. 9.

[51] 1 Pet. iv. 12, 13.

[52] 1 Pet. i. 8.

[53] Matt. xxv. 21.

[54] Acts viii. 8.

[55] John xv. 11.

[56] Heb. xiii. 8.

[57] Num. xxxv. 25.

[58] Rom. viii. 34.

[59] John vi. 35.

[60] John vii. 37.

[61] Heb. i. 14.

[62] Isaiah xxvi. 2.

[63] Psalm cxviii. 19.

[64] Psalm cvii. 4.

[65] 1 John i. 7.

[66] Rom. xiii. 14.

[67] Ezek. xxxiv. 25.

[68] Rom. xii. 19.

[69] Sol. Song i. 3.

[70] Isaiah xxvi. 1.

[71] Exod. xxxiv. 7.