A. L. O. E.

“ An enemy, even Satan, is beside you, who would persuade you that every one who has been baptized is safe, even if his faith (not living faith) work no change in his life. The man who is willing to divide purity from pardon and heaven, will, like Nihál Chand, lose all of the three! He who wilfully throws away the white pearl, has lost the ruby and the diamond! For thus saith the Holy Saviour, He who is Truth, Righteousness, and Love,—Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ”

“ With Fagir pride led to extravagance, extravagance to debt, debt to covetousness, covetousness to malice, meanness, and dishonour. For shameful was the readiness of Fagir, for the sake of money, to betray the confidence reposed in him by his superior, to sacrifice the interests of the public service, and to wrong a deserving man. Fagir felt lowered in his own eyes as he took the bag of rupees, and saw the words on the border of his robe,—He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppression, that shaketh his hand from holding of bribes ”

“ Unworthy as I am even to look upon them, may not I too, possibly, receive the jewels of Pardon, Purity, and Heaven?”
Then Tulsí Rám, as from a sudden impulse, sprang to his feet. “Shall a woman be ready to leave all, and dare all, and suffer all,” he exclaimed; “and shall a man shrink back like a coward! O Juwalí, light of my eyes! thy voice is like the voice of hope to thy husband. I will follow the example of my brave brother; come what may, we will cross the waters of Baptism.” ”

“ Karm Illahi smiled a mocking smile, but he drew forth a bag of money which he carried with him, and counted out the thirty rupees. Bál Mukand heard him muttering to himself as he did so: “This Christian is a fool, for none but a fool would have said that the stone was false, or have asked less for his goods than he might have hoped to get from a stranger.”
Not such was the thought of the more enlightened Bál Mukand. “If all men dealt with such honesty and truth, this would be a happy land,” he said in his heart. “The folly of such men as this Shib Das is better than the wisdom of the worldly.” ”

“ How should a poor wretch clad in loathsome rags dare to appear before Him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; how should he venture into the presence of the terrible King! Fagir felt as if he would rather call on the rocks and the mountains to hide him; and, in his agony, he cried out so loudly, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” that he awoke from his dream. And, behold, he was reclining on cushions, with his hookah beside him, the punkah swinging to and fro, and Kasiti, with her Bible still on her knees, sitting at his feet. ”

“ He therefore had recourse to cunning.
“The ornament is very beautiful,” said the treacherous stranger, bending forward as if to examine it. “Grand is the blood-red ruby, and happy is he to whom free pardon for sin is given.”
Nihál Chand smiled as he made reply,—“Of great value is the ruby; none but its possessor can know real peace. Blessed is he whose sins are forgiven—he who fears not the judgment of God.”
“And splendid is the diamond,” observed Temptation; “Heaven is indeed such a prize as the mightiest might glory in winning.” ”

“ It was clear that debt was not regarded in the same light by the English Christian.
It had often been a matter of regret to Alton Sahib to see how lightly debt weighed on the consciences of many in India. He took a deep interest in the spiritual welfare of Hassan, whom he regarded as a brother in Christ. “Shall I see my brother sin, and not tell him of his error?” thought Alton Sahib. “Debt in this land is as the canker-worm in the grain, or the hidden abscess in the human frame. ”

“ Ignorance is as the treading down of the ox in the field, or as the mould that mars the roll on the shelf. For the soul to be without knowledge is not good. But happy the father who causes to be traced on the mind of his young daughter lessons of purity, wisdom, and truth! Those lessons shall shine forth as in characters of gold; and she who has learned in youth to serve and obey the great King, shall find an honourable place in that heaven which He hath prepared for them that love Him. ”

“ The white blossoms that grow in this garden are the blossoms of Prayer, and Praise, and Perusal of the Holy Scriptures. The fragrance of them is as the fragrance of the Garden of Eden. But the full sweetness of the fruit which follows will be enjoyed in heaven, where the hymn of praise on earth will be changed for the song of the Lord’s redeemed: The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever! ”

“ Behold the strength of your arm and the firmness of your step! You need no health beyond what you already possess. Look again at the jewel, my lord, and say whether you would not prefer the glowing ruby Pardon, and the sparkling diamond Heaven, apart from Purity the white pearl?”
Nihál Chand looked again and again, and every time that he looked he cared less for the pearl, though this, as well as the other jewels, had been offered to him by his Father. ”

“ Very soon the deceiver, who had carried off the priceless treasure, was lost to view.
With bitter shame and grief Nihál Chand now returned on his steps, feeling like a lost and ruined man. Oh that he had had but the wisdom to know that purity of character, the health of the soul, is never to be divided from pardon of sin and the promise of heaven, so freely and lovingly offered by God, the all-merciful Father! Christ came to save us from the power as well as from the punishment of our sins. ”

“ Tulsí Rám smote his breast, for he felt as a criminal who heareth the sentence of death. Then Juwalí who sat at her husband’s feet, lifted up her mild eyes and spake thus:—
“O my lord! surely it is not too late to do now what Nihál Chand has done; it is not too late to arise and go forth to seek the treasure. My lord will take yon staff of Prayer in his hand, and with it beat down some of the briers and thorns. It is far better to have the flesh torn than the heart broken; it is better to suffer for a short space than to be wretched for ever.” ”

“ If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched: where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.
“What is the meaning of those terrible words?” inquired Nihál Chand, who trembled to hear them.
“O brother! the meaning is clear,” cried Tulsí Rám. “Whatever be the anguish which it may cost, by the means of Help from above we must part from and cast from us whatever is tainted by the poison of sin. ”

“ After his father’s departure Sheo Deo lay still on his mat, from which he could not move, and often he gazed up at the idol, and turned over in his mind the strange words which his father had heard.
Presently there came on a terrible storm. The thunder roared above like the noise of a thousand cannon, and fierce lightnings flashed from the darkened sky; the whole earth seemed to tremble with the fury of the great tempest.
“Was it in a storm like this,” thought Sheo Deo, “that the awful voice was heard from the mountain, Thou shalt make no graven image?” ”

“ She drew the frightened Buté close to her, held her little trembling hand in one of her own, and with the other pointed to the dead scorpion which lay on the floor.
“O my child!” she cried, “see in that poisonous reptile a type of your own sin of untruth. That scorpion could only hurt the body; but falsehood poisons the soul. Who but a fool would play with a scorpion and say, ‘It is but a little one,’ instead of crushing it at once! Who but a fool would amuse himself with fire-flies when poisonous reptiles were lurking near! ”

“ Ask them whether in another world, nay, even one year hence, the remembrance that a foolish dastur was given up for conscience’ sake will not be sweeter than the recollection of the grandest display at a wedding? The praise of man is as the gay paper-lamps at an illumination, that last but for a night; the praise of God is as the stars in the sky, that shone ere the day of our birth, and which will shine long after our bodies have been laid in the tomb. ”

“ Ganesh Das still trembled, but he was thankful that his day of grace was not yet past, that it was not yet too late to escape the soul-destroyer. He fell on his knees, repeating words which he had learned from the Bible: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon (Isa. lv. 7) . For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. vi. 23) . ”

“ It is only through the power of His Holy Spirit that I am enabled so much as to think one good thought.”
“Having been saved, the Christian loves; and having loved, he obeys; and in obeying he glorifies God,” said Bál Mukand. “Shib Das, your example has done for me what all your words cannot do: it has convinced me that the religion which produces such effects must be the true one; it has made me resolve to become a Christian also.” ”

“ It is thou who didst build that church.”
“I laid but one brick,” said Isa Das.
“But as from the seed springs the tree, so from that one brick laid in faith and prayer that goodly building hath risen,” said Gunga Ram. “O my brother, I have learned a great lesson whilst lying wounded and in sore trouble,—a lesson which is worth more to me than the nine rupees which the robbers carried away. Our money is as seed-corn which the Lord, the great Land-owner, commits to His servants that they may sow and reap a hundredfold. ”

“ The rich flower of joy grows on the prickly shrub of self-denial; the flower blooms even in this world, but the fruit will be gathered in the next. As Isa Das passed along the dusty road which led to his hut, everything on which he looked seemed to add to his joy. ”

“ In happy England, the difficulty of crossing the river of Baptism to many converts in India can hardly be appreciated. To do so is to pass the Rubicon, to cut the tie which connects the believer with all that was dear upon earth, to cast away honour, friendship, enjoyment; it is indeed to take up the Cross! One of our noblest Punjaubi Christians lingered five years before he was given courage to cross the river. One youth was brought into court to declare whether it was his deliberate choice to become a Christian. ”

“ But beware of sin; for every sin shall be as a stain on thy robe. Keep it white for but one day, and all the joys of Paradise shall be thine eternal reward.”
As the angel spake, he cast round the form of Fagir a radiant robe, white as the snow on the mountains. Then the angel touched the broad border of the robe, and on the border appeared in letters [12] of gold, Fear God, and keep his commandments (Eccles. xii. 13) . Fagir gazed in wonder on the inscription; but even as he gazed it faded away. He turned to look on the angel, but behold! the bright messenger had vanished. ”

“ Had her lie got any one into trouble, had she slandered a companion, she would have seen that sin had been committed; “But what did it signify,” thought she, “whether I said truly that the chaddar had been given to me by my father; or untruly, that it had been given to me by the Mem Sahiba?” As Buté turned weeping to go to her room, the Miss Sahiba heard her murmur between her sobs, “Why does she make such a fuss? What harm could the lie do? it was such a little one!”
The feast of fruit began; plenty of nice kélas (plantains) were spread on the floor. ”

“ If we use that name without reverence, our very prayer becomes a mockery, and we are convicted of sin before God. Solemn was the warning given by our Lord: Every idle word that a man shall speak, he shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
“Who then can stand in the day of judgment?” asked Hakim Alí with a troubled countenance, as with his foot he hastily erased the marks on the sand.
“None can stand but those who can plead not their own righteousness, but the righteousness of another,” replied Yuhanna, looking upwards. “Like the prophet Isaiah I have often cried: Woe is me! ”

“ It is very dangerous to listen to Pride and Self-will, the black serpents that speak now as the serpent spake to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Ghuldasta began to think in her heart, “Can I not contrive to break down or pull up a little bit of the fence, just enough to let me squeeze myself through the opening?” Evil thinking soon leads to evil doing. ”

“ And yet, do you lack courage to take the decisive step which may cause your soul to be wounded by persecution, the step which will perhaps divide you for ever from all that on earth you hold most dear? Do you think that you can keep back from Christian baptism, and yet secure the Christian’s blessing? ”

“ Nihál Chand was indeed a very different man from any of his three brothers. He had more wisdom than Mulá Mal, and his acute mind saw at once the folly of bowing down to idols of wood and stone. Nihál Chand was not, like Biharí Lal, inclined to waste precious time in delay, and to give up his whole soul to the cares of this perishing [103] world. And Nihál Chand, unlike Tulsí Rám, had a firm and fearless spirit, and a will as strong as iron. No thorns of Persecution could stay the resolute man ”