“Brave and noble hero, the fame of your courage hath spread far and wide,
and has reached the ears of your servant. I have beheld from afar with
what resolution you passed through the thorns of Persecution as if they
had been soft grass. Worthy are you of the priceless jewels which will
so soon be in your grasp. How different are you from your superstitious
and worldly brothers, and how superior to the weak and cowardly Tulsí
Rám! Allow me to be your companion, that, though I never myself can
possess them, I may at least have a sight of the ruby, the pearl, and the
diamond, that are to the soul Pardon, Purity, and Heavenly Glory!”
Nihál Chand had at first suspected the stranger to be a thief in
disguise, and had stood on his guard against him; but the honey of
flattering words is sweet. The ears of Nihál Chand were so charmed by the
praise that flowed from the lips of Temptation, that he now suffered him
to walk by his side as if he had been a familiar friend.
Thus journeying together, the two men reached the foot of the Cross.
Nihál Chand had not forgotten to take with him a spade for digging, and
now with energy he set to the task of removing the earth. Temptation
stood by watching him, and praising his vigour now, as he before had
praised his courage.
Before Nihál Chand had laboured long, his spade struck against something
hard. He stooped and lifted up from the earth a little casket of purest
gold. Opening this, he beheld within the priceless jewels,—the ruby, the
pearl, and the diamond,—joined together in one setting of gold.
Nihál Chand closely examined the prize. Round the ruby, in characters
of surpassing fineness, were engraved the words,—_Thy sins be
forgiven thee_ (Matt. ix. 2). Round the pearl, Purity, appeared the
inscription,—_Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord_ (Heb.
xii. 14). And in delicate letters appeared round the diamond,—_It is your
Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom_ (Luke xii. 32).
Temptation looked with envy and desire on the precious jewels in the
hands of Nihál Chand, though not yet worn over his heart. Much did
Temptation wish to rob of them the brave man who had come through such
difficulties to obtain them; but Nihál Chand was courageous and strong,
and Temptation knew that he had not a chance of getting the jewels by
force. 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.”
“Yes,” replied the exulting Nihál Chand,—who, when he passed the waters
of Baptism, had assumed the new name of Christian; “it is a glorious
thing to be made an inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven!”
“But, to my mind,” observed crafty Temptation, “this pale pearl set
between the ruby and the diamond rather mars the beauty of the whole
ornament. The gift would be better without it.”
“Yet it adds to its value,” observed Nihál Chand; “is not the health of
the soul a thing to be prized?”
“Your health is most perfect,” said the crafty deceiver; “he who carouses
at a banquet cares not to put medicine into his cup. 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.
Temptation now drew from his bosom a paper; he opened it, and displayed
to view a yellow stone, which to the eyes of Nihál Chand looked very
beautiful, though, in truth, it was but a worthless bit of coloured glass.
“My heart is so drawn towards your honour,” said crafty Temptation,
“that I am willing to do for you what I would do for no other man. I am
willing to exchange this precious yellow stone, of which the name is
Pleasure, for your dull, pale pearl, Purity. I am of great experience
in the art of setting stones; give but your consent, O my lord, and the
exchange at once shall be made.”
Nihál Chand doubted and hesitated. In his secret heart he preferred
Pleasure to Purity; yet something within him whispered that it would be
both foolish and wrong to part with any portion of the gift of his Father.
When Temptation saw that the Christian Nihál Chand hesitated, he knew
that his own object was half gained already. Temptation turned the false
stone, Pleasure, in every direction, so that the light should sparkle
upon it. Again, in terms of contempt, he spoke of Purity, the pearl, as
being only fit for women to wear.
At last Nihál Chand was persuaded to change the pearl for the bit of
coloured glass. “Be careful,” said he, “in removing the pearl, not to
injure my ruby or my diamond. I care not much for Purity of heart; but
Pardon for the past and Heaven for the future are possessions with which
I never will part.”
O foolish boast! O worse than foolish deed! Scarcely had Nihál Chand
trusted his treasure into the hands of Temptation, ere the treachery of
the thief was made clear. The deceiver suddenly darted down the hill,
at such speed that the weary Nihál Chand, startled and surprised, had
no power to follow. 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.
* * * * *
O reader, have you understood the meaning of my parable, the lesson which
is to the story even what the kernel is to the nutshell?
Ask your own heart whether you yourself resemble any one of the four men
whose story you now have heard. Have you, like Mulá Mal, refused even to
listen to the messenger who would bring you good tidings of pardon and
peace through Christ, who came to seek and to save the lost? Will you
not even read the Scriptures, to see for yourselves whether the message
be true? Do you stop your ears and harden your heart when God’s servant
comes to tell you of pardon, purity, and heaven, freely offered to man?
Or are you, like Biharí Lal, almost persuaded that the good tidings are
indeed true; and yet, are you inclined to leave the matters that concern
the soul to a more convenient season? Are you setting your heart on your
merchandise or any worldly gains, when Death, the black camel that kneels
at every man’s door, may even now, with noiseless tread, be approaching
yours? Alas! remember the Saviour’s solemn warning,—_What shall it profit
a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a
man give in exchange for his soul?_
Or are you, like Tulsí Rám, a sincere believer in the gift of God, and
one who heartily desires to obtain pardon for sin, purity of heart,
and heavenly bliss when this short life shall be over? 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? O weak and trembling believer, forget not the words of Christ
the Lord,—_Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of
man also confess before the angels of God. Blessed are they that are
persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven._
But you may be, O reader, one who has bravely passed through the waters
of Baptism—you may be one who is now called by the name of Christian.
At the foot of the Cross you may have found the treasure which is more
precious than all besides. You may have the knowledge of the way to
eternal life, you may believe in the Son of God, and you may be resting
your hopes of heaven upon His finished work. But even now, oh, stand on
your guard, for Temptation is near! 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_.
O reader, may God give to you grace to take the Holy Scriptures in
your right hand, and the staff of Prayer in your left. May He so guide
you by His Holy Spirit, which is promised in answer to prayer, that you
may fearlessly and faithfully go on your way, treading under foot the
thorns that lie in your path! And may He enable you not only to find,
but to hold fast to the end, and wear in your heart, the priceless
treasures—even free pardon for every past sin, the promise of a heavenly
crown, and that purity of life by which every true Christian must seek to
glorify God!