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,--