THE young castle builders had been having a merry time on the sands. Their sister's friend Edith had often been a willing listener to their simple tales of joy and sorrow, and Albert soon told her how the mound of sand near which they stood had not long before been a fine castle, round which they had dug a moat, and how, after a brave defense by Alice and Maude, it had been stormed and taken by himself, in the character of one of the brave knights of old, of whose deeds of daring the schoolboy was so fond of reading.
But as Alice and Maude were, they said, too hot to play any more, the whole party turned to Edith with the question, "What shall we do next?”
Edith said, with a smile, " You have all been talking so fast that I have not had an opportunity of telling my errand: to march you all to a service for children to be held near the Black Rocks, at eleven o'clock this morning. One of the Lord's servants, Mr. Story, has come all the way from London to work for his Master, the Lord Jesus, among the children who, just like yourselves, are spending their holidays by the seaside.”
“Oh, we shall like that. It will be delightful—better than all our play," said Alice, a gentle thoughtful child of eight. And gathering up their spades and pails, our young friends were soon ready to accompany Edith.
When they reached the Black Rocks, they found about thirty children, sitting in groups on the sands, whose willing hands had raised a small hillock for Mr. Story to stand upon, and dug out some seats for themselves.
It was time for the service to begin, so Mr. Story, after giving out the hymn sheets, took his place in the center. He had a kind pleasant face, and the children felt at once he was a man to be loved and trusted. He asked the young people to sing a hymn from the sheet, and as I am sure you would like to know at least one verse, I am going to copy it for you:—
“The Gospel bells are ringing,
Over land, from sea to sea,
Blessed news of free salvation,
Do they offer you and me;
For God so loved the world
That His only Son He gave,
Whosoe'er believeth in Him
Everlasting life shall have.”
Then in a few simple earnest words of prayer, Mr. Story asked the Lord's blessing on their meeting. He prayed that many young hearts might be so won by hearing of the love of Jesus that they might trust Him for pardon, and find in Him a friend who would lead them every step of the homeward way, and, life's journey done, take them to be with Him in the beautiful house He has prepared for those who trust in Him.
Another hymn was sung, then Mr. Story read a verse from his pocket Bible, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe" (Prov. 18:1010The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)), and said, " Dear boys and girls, as I came along the beach this morning I noticed many of you very busy building castles in the sand, and as I watched you at your play, my mind went back to the olden times when there were many castles in England. Only a few are left now, and they are almost all in ruins. The castles I am telling you about belonged to rich men who were called barons.
“Now, some of these barons were very fond of fighting, and often went to war with each other. Some of their castles had round, others square, towers. Some were built near the sea, others were a long way from it. But in one thing I believe they were all alike—every castle had its ‘keep’ or stronghold.
“Last year, when I was in Kent, I went to visit the ruins of an old castle. Ivy grew on its crumbling walls, and a carpet of soft green grass covered the great hall, where long ago the barons and their friends used to dine. I asked the guide to show me the keep, and he took me up a number of very steep stone steps into a small square room, and told me to notice how very thick and strong the walls were. There were no windows in the keep, only small holes or slits in its walls, just large enough to shoot arrows from. And then the guide told me how, in the time of war, all the women and children in that old castle, and all the jewels the baron and his wife had, were taken into the keep.
“Perhaps some of the little children were afraid when they heard the noise of war outside, but I think their mothers would tell them there was no need for fear, for in that stronghold no one could hurt them. The walls of the castle must be pulled down before danger could come to any who had fled for refuge to its keep.
“But why do you think I have told you so much about the old castle and its keep? Just because the Lord Jesus is a strong tower to those who trust in Him. I have told you how all the weak things and all the precious things in that old castle were placed for safety in the keep, when fighting was going on outside. The verse I read from the Book of Proverbs says, ‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower,' and the very first use I want you to make of the Savior's name is to trust it for your own salvation.
“If you had fallen into the water it would be of no use for me to stand still on the shore and tell you of beautiful things I was going to give you, or kind things I would do for you some day. You know quite well the help you would need would be that I should jump into the water and pull you out. And if you do not know the Lord Jesus as your own Savior, you cannot understand or be glad to hear about His other names, so precious to those who love Him.
“But many of you have come to Him for salvation, and you are saved and you know it. Now, I want you to turn to Christ as your strong tower when you are tempted to do wrong. Look away to Jesus. Lift up your hearts to Him in prayer, and you will learn how blessed it is, day by day, to have the Lord Himself as your keeper, your strong tower.
“‘Jessie, do you love the Lord Jesus?' a friend of mine asked a very little girl one day, “‘Oh, yes!' was the quick glad answer.
“‘How do you know, Jessie?'
“‘Because I feel it in my heart.'
“‘Do you think He knows you love Him?'
“‘Yes, I am sure He does.'
“‘How does the Lord know, Jessie?
“‘He can see right into my heart.'
“‘But I cannot see into your heart. How am I to know that you love Jesus?'
“Jessie slipped a little text card into her friend's hand, and pointed to the verse on it. It was this: ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.' (John 14:1515If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15).)
“And I think Jessie was right, for obedience to Christ is the best proof of our love to Him.”
And once more the children's voices rang out in the words of a favorite hymn, and a few more words of prayer brought the service on the sands to its close.
Our young friends were silent for a short time, and Edith lifted her heart to the Lord in prayer, that the seed sown might fall into the good ground of young hearts, prepared by the Holy Spirit to accept the precious Savior.
As they parted at the end of the street, where the Mays were lodging, Alice whispered as she kissed Edith, good-bye, "Thank you so much for taking us to the children's service. I hope I shall never forget what I heard this morning." And Edith's reply was, "Ask the Lord to help you to remember it, darling.”
EARTH was a lovely garden once.
Where God Himself could walk,
While Adam, full of happiness,
Might with his Maker talk.
The rose then bloom'd without a thorn,
No storm was in the sky
The dove sought not for refuge then
Her rock where she might fly.
The happiness so quickly lost,
Came from the God of love;
But still unchanged by all the sin,
Love flows down from above.
Christ came 'mid all our sin and woe
To bear it all away,
And lead us to a better land,
Where smiles eternal day.