T[ In ancient heroic story there is one figure of which I often think. It is the figure of the old pilot who was sailing his boat in the crisis of a storm on the great tempestuous ^gsean Sea, and in his extremity he was seen to stand erect and cry, in his old pagan way, " Father Neptune, you may sink me if you will, or you may save me if you will, but whatever happens I will keep my rudder true." Everyone can say that. It is not for us to decide our own destinies. It is not for us to say we shall not be over- whelmed by certain storms ; it is not for us to say we shall never go under. We do not know how hard the trial is yet to be. But this we can say : " Sink me if you will, or save me if you will, but whatever happens I will never drift, I will steer straight, I will keep my rudder true." By God's grace everyone can do that.i
^ While abhorring war, M. Coillard always had the strongest sympathy with the military profession. His mind seemed to move in its imagery. Christianity, as he conceived it, was the march of an ever- victorious army ; to him it meant a loyalty, not
* C. Silvester Home.
REVELATION ii. lo 89
a philosophy, still less a ceremonial system. He had no other ambition than to be " a good soldier of Jesus Christ." " A French general," he once wrote, " told his aide-de-camp that the politeness of a soldier was obedience ; and I myself hold that in all circum- stances our duty to our Master is fidelity." ^
^ She was now in Armenia. The roads were beset by Kurds, who twice attacked her caravan. In one of the wretched hamlets through which she passed, a young Armenian, with whom she spoke about the faith, said to her, " We don't know much, but we love the Lord Jesus well enough to die for Him." Here, amongst the Armenians, she realized again what the horrors of this infamous persecution meant for a timid, defenceless people, less manly than the Nestorian Eayahs, in many ways less lovable, but like them, " faithful unto death." ^
Be faithful unto death. Christ proffers thee
Crown of a life that draws immortal breath :
To thee He saith, yea, and He saith to me, "Be faithful unto death."
To every living soul that same He saith, "Be faithful:" — whatsoever else we be, Let us be faithful challenging His faith.
Tho' trouble storm around us like the sea,
Tho' hell surge up to scare us and to scathe,
Tho' heaven and earth betake themselves to flee, "Be faithful unto death." 3
IL
The Reward of Fidelity.
"I will give thee the crown of life."
For this faithfulness what reward is promised ? An inherit- ance incorruptible and undefiled, "the crown of life"; not the material rewards so commonly and so coarsely promised, not a life of earthly happiness, but the life which is in God and of God ; im- mortal union with Justice, Purity, and Truth ; the transformation
^ C. W. Mackintosh, Coillard of the Zambesi, 106, * A. M. Stoddart, The Life of Isabella Bird, 239. ' Christina G. Kossetti, Poetical Works, 277.
90 FIDELITY AND ITS REWARD
of all selfishness into love, so full, so great, so undying, that never for one moment, through all eternity, they would think of them- selves again.
^ Some superfine individuals have called the religion of Christ vulgar because it cannot trust to its own intrinsic excellence, but must encourage its supporters by the promise of rewards. But in answer to this objection on the part of exquisitely and delicately made natures, let me say, in the language of one of my old teachers, there is no fear of becoming vulgar in the company of Christ, who not only promised rewards to His followers, but Him- self worked and suffered under the spur of reward ; for do we not read, " who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now set down in the majesty of the heavens " ? ^
1. The promise is very full and very rich. This crown that He promises is the crown of royalty. It is more. It is the crown of royalty victorious. It is still more. It is the chaplet that adorns the brow of the victor who comes laden with spoils, the crown of royalty, the crown of victory, the crown of added wealth. It is the crown of life, life which reigns because it has won, and reigns moreover in possession of spoils obtained through conflict. The life is the crown. What wondrous light this flings back upon the process ! This pressure of tribulation is not accidental and capricious. Out of the tribulation we shall have our triumph. Out of the darkness we shall come to light. That is the whole philosophy of suffering. When presently all the tribulation is passed, and the painful processes of the little while are over, and the last grim pressure ceases, then we shall be crowned with life, then we shall know the meaning of life.
^ 0 that thou wouldest understand the great good of Tribu- lation ! This it is which blots out sins, cleanses the soul, and produces Patience: this in Prayer inflames it, enlarges it, and causes it to exercise the most sublime act of Charity ; this rejoices the Soul, brings it near to God, causes it to be called, and to enter, into Heaven. This it is which tries the true Servants of God, and renders them wise, valiant, and constant. This it is which makes God hear them with speed. ... It is this which Annihilates, Kefines, and Perfects them: and finally, it is this which of earthly, makes Heavenly Souls, and of human, Divine ;