The Rocky Island Part 4

F. Who are such?

C. All who are born. For we were "by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath."

F. Who is the kind Lord of the castle who takes pity on them?

C. Jesus Christ our Lord.

F. What is meant by His taking them to His castle?

C. His receiving us when children into His Church.

F. When was this done?

C. At our baptism. For "being by nature children of wrath, we were hereby made the children of grace."

F. What is meant by the clean raiment and the new name He gave them?

C. The "forgiveness of all our sins" (see Collect in Confirmation-Service), and the giving us our Christian name.

F. Why is it called your Christian name?

C. To mark its difference from our natural, or parents' name.

F. Why was it given you at that time?

C. Because then I was taken into G.o.d's family, and "made a member of Christ, child of G.o.d, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven."

F. What was the food with which they were fed?

C. All the means of grace of the Church of Christ.

F. What was the desert, and who those who dwelt in it who were enemies to the Lord?

C. The ways of sin, and the devil and his angels.

F. What were the bright flowers and the bird?

C. The baits and temptations of sin.

F. Why did Kuhn, or "bold," cross the border more easily the second time?

C. Because one sin makes another easier.

F. Why did Zart, or "tender," follow him?

C. Because bold sinners lead weaker sinners after them.

F. What were the dry sands into which Kuhn and Zart were carried?

C. The evil ways of sin.

F. Who came to Zart's rescue when he prayed?

C. The gracious Lord who had at first received him into His Church by baptism.

F. Why was he still sad and ashamed after he was brought back?

C. Because he had wandered.

F. Did he then doubt whether he was forgiven?

C. No: but he "remembered and was confounded, and never opened his mouth any more, when the Lord was pacified toward him for all his iniquity."

F. What was the end of Kuhn, or the "bold?"

C. We know not; but they who "draw back unto perdition" are punished above all others.

F. What are we to learn from the whole?

C. The blessedness of being taken into the Church in our infancy; and our need of prayer and watching, lest we turn it into a curse.

The King and his Servants.

A great king once called his servants to him, and said to them,--"You have all often professed to love me, and to wish to serve me; and I have never yet made trial of you. But now I am about to try you all, that it may be known who does in truth desire to serve me, and who is a servant only in name. To morrow your trial will begin; so meet me here in the morning, and be ready to set out upon a journey on which I shall send you."

When the king had so spoken, he left them; and there was a great deal of bustle and talking amongst these servants. Not that they were all alike.

Some were very busy, and said a great deal of the services they should render; and that they hoped it would be some really hard trial on which the king would set them. Others were quiet and thoughtful, saying little or nothing, but, as it seemed, thinking silently of the words the king had spoken, as if they feared lest they should fail in their trial. For they loved that king greatly; he had been as a father to them all. Once they had been slaves, and cruelly treated by a wicked tyrant who had taken them prisoners, and cast some of them into dungeons, and made others work in dark mines, and dealt evil with them all. But the king had triumphed over this their enemy, and rescued them from his hands. His own son had sought them in the dungeons and dark pits into which they had been cast, and had brought them out; and now he had given them places in his service, and fed them from his own kingly table; and he promised to such as were faithful, that he would raise them yet higher; that he would even set them upon thrones, and put crowns upon their heads; and that they should remain always in his presence, and rule and dwell with him.

Now, when the time of their trial was come, these faithful servants were grave and thoughtful, fearing lest they should fail, and be led to forget him their kind and gracious king. But one thought held them up. He had said unto them all, "As your day, so shall your strength be." They knew, therefore, that he would put on them no task beyond their strength. They remembered his kindness and his love in taking them out of the dungeons of the enemy. They desired greatly to serve him; and so they rejoiced that their trial was come, even while they feared it; and they trusted in him to help them, even whilst they trembled for themselves.

These servants spent much of the night in preparing for their journey; in thinking over all the directions the king had ever given them; for many times had he spoken to them of this coming trial; and even written down plain rules for them, which should teach them always how he would have them act. All these they gathered together, lest in the hurry of setting out, they should forget any one of them; and so they went into the court of the palace to meet the king.

Then he came forth from his palace-door, and gave them all their charge.

From the great treasure-chambers of that palace he brought out many different gifts, and laid them before these his servants. One had gold and silver, and another had precious stuffs; but all had something good and costly: and as he gave them these gifts, he told them that this was to be their trial. He was about to send them with these gifts into an exceeding great and rich city, which lay afar off from his palace; and in that city they were all to trade for him. They were to take his gifts and use them wisely, so that each one of them might bring something back to him. He gave them also very close and particular instructions. He told them that there were many in that city who would try to rob them of these his gifts; and he told them how to keep them safely. He told them that many would seek to make them waste what he had given to them on pleasing themselves. But that they must remember always, that what they had belonged to him; that they would have to give him an account of their way of using all his gifts; and that of his mere mercy he, who had redeemed them from the dungeon and made them able to serve him, would graciously reward hereafter all their efforts to use his gifts for him.

He told them also to set about trading for him as early as they could; for that all the merchants' goods were freshest in the morning; that then the precious stones were the finest and the truest; but that those who waited till the evening would find all the best goods sold; and that, perhaps, before they had any thing ready, the trumpet would sound which was to call them all out of the city, and then they would have to come back to him empty-handed and disgraced.

When he had given them these charges, he sent them from his presence to begin their journey to the great city. All that day they travelled with horses and camels over plains and hills, and fruitful fields and deserts, until, just as the sun went down, they came to the walls of a great city; and they knew that it was here they were to traffic for their king upon the morrow.

Then the thoughtful servants began carefully to unpack their goods; they looked into their bales of precious stuffs to see that they had got no injury from the dust and sand of the desert; they counted over their bags of money to see that all was right; and began to lay them all in order, that they might enter the town as soon as the gates were open, and trade for their king in the morning hours, which he had told them were the best.

{The King and His Servants: p115.jpg}

But some of the other servants laughed at them for taking all this care and trouble. "Surely it will be time enough," they said, "to get every thing ready when the markets are open to-morrow. We have had a long, hot, weary journey, and we must rest and refresh ourselves before we think of trading." So they spread the tables, and began to feast in a riotous way, quite forgetting the king's service, and putting the morrow out of their thoughts.

Now as soon as the sun was up, in the morning, there was a great stir amongst the servants. Those who had been careful and watchful in the evening were ready with all their bales; and as soon as ever the city- gates were open, they marched in through them with their goods. It was a great wide city into which they entered, and must hold, they thought, a vast mult.i.tude of men. Houses and streets of all sizes met their eyes here and there; but they pa.s.sed easily along, because it was still so early in the morning, that few persons were in the streets, and those few were all bent upon business, as they were themselves. So they pa.s.sed on to the great market where the merchants bought and sold, and here they set out all their goods; and the merchants came round them to look over their wares, and to shew them what they had to sell in return. Now they found it true as the king had foretold them. For they had the first choice of all that the merchants could offer. One of them opened his stores, and shewed them rubies, and diamonds, and pearls, such as they had never seen before for size and beauty. So they chose a pearl of great price, and they bought it for their prince, and they trafficked in their other wares, and gained for him more than as many bags of treasure as he had given them at first. Thus they traded according to their skill, and every one had now secured something for his lord. The pearl of great price was stored by some; others had rich dresses adorned with gold and precious stones; others had bags of the most refined gold; others had the spices of Arabia and the frankincense of the islands of the East.