DAVID STIRS THE STILL WATERS
As David tramped to church the moon was rising. The fir trees stood,
dark and stately, beneath their nodding plumes of feathery snow. The
little village church, with its white roof, and brightly lighted
windows, looked like a Christmas card.
Above its ivy-covered tower, luminous as a lamp in the deep purple sky,
shone out one brilliant star.
David smiled as he raised his eyes. He was thinking of Sarah and the
snakes. "'If I had lived in Genesis three,'" he quoted. "What a
delightful way of putting it; as if Genesis were a terrace, and three
the number. Good old Sarah! Would she have been more successful in
coping with the tempter? Undoubtedly Eve had the artistic temperament,
which is always a snare; also she had a woman's instinctive desire to
set others right, and to explain. Adam would have seen through the
tempter's wilful distortion of the wording of God's command, and would
not have been beguiled into an argument with so crafty and insincere an
opponent. Poor Eve, in her desire to prove him wrong, to air her own
superior knowledge, and to justify her Maker, hurried at once into the
trap, and was speedily undone. Here, at the very outset of our history,
we have in a nutshell the whole difference between the mentality of the
sexes. Where Eve stood arguing and explaining,--laying herself open to a
retort which shook her own belief, and undermined her obedience,--Adam
would have said: "Liar!" and turned on his heel. Yet if Eve lived
nowadays she would be quite sure she could set right all mistakes in our
legislature, if only Adam could be induced to let her have a finger in
every pie. Having lived in Genesis iii., Adam would know better than to
try it!"
* * * * *
As David reached the old lich-gate, two brilliant lights shone down the
road from the opposite direction, and the next moment a motor glided
swiftly to the gate, and stopped.
A footman sprang down from beside the chauffeur, opened the door,
touched a button, and the interior of the car flashed into light.
Seated within, half buried in furs, David saw the calm sweet face of
his Lady of Mystery. He stood on one side, in the shadow of the gate,
and waited.
The footman drew out a white fur rug, and threw it over his left arm;
then held the door wide.
She stepped out, tall and silent. David saw the calm whiteness of her
features in the moonlight. She took no more notice of her men, than if
they had been machines, but passed straight up the churchyard path,
between the yew-tree sentinels, and disappeared into the porch.
The footman bundled in the rug, switched off the lights, banged the
door, took his place beside the chauffeur, and the large roomy motor
glided silently away. Nothing remained save a delicate fragrance of
violets under the lich-gate, beneath which she had passed.
The whole thing had taken twenty seconds. It seemed to David like the
swift happenings of a dream. Nothing was left, to prove its reality, but
the elusive scent of violets, and the marks of the huge tyres in the
snow.
But as David made his way round to the vestry door, he knew his Lady of
Mystery was already in her corner beside the stout whitewashed pillar;
and he also knew that he had been right, in the surmise which placed
her in an environment of luxury and wealth.
* * * * *
Christmas-eve had produced a larger congregation than usual. The service
was as cheerful and noisy as the choir and organist could make it.
David's quiet voice seemed only to be heard at rare intervals, like the
singing of a thrush in the momentary lull of a storm.
The Lady of Mystery looked alternately bored and amused. Her expression
was more calmly critical than ever. She had discarded her large velvet
hat for a soft toque of silver-grey fur, placed lightly upon her wealth
of golden hair. This tended to reveal the classic beauty of her
features, yet made her look older, showing up a hardness of expression
which had been softened by the green velvet brim. David, who had thought
her twenty-five, now began to wonder whether she were not older than
himself. Her expression might have credited her with full thirty years'
experience of the world.
David mounted the pulpit steps to the inspiriting strains of "While
shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground."
Already the inhabitants of Brambledene had had it at their front doors,
sung, in season and out of season, by the school-children, in every
sort of key and tempo. Now the latter returned joyfully to the charge,
sure of arriving at the final verse, without any sudden or violent
exhortations to go away. They beat the choir's already rapid rendering;
ignored the organist, and rushed on without pause, comma, or breathing
space.
In the midst of this erratic description of the peaceful scene on
Bethlehem's hills on that Christmas night so long ago, David's white
earnest face appeared in the pulpit, looking down anxiously upon his
congregation.
The words of his opening collect brought a sense of peace, though the
silence of his long intentional pause after "Let us pray," had at first
accentuated the remembrance of the hubbub which had preceded it. David
felt that the weird chanting of his African savages, echoing among the
trees of their primeval forests, compared favourably, from the point of
view both of reverence and of music, with the singing in this English
village church. His very soul was jarred. His nerves were all on edge.
As he stood silent, while the congregation settled into their seats,
looking down he met the grey eyes of his Lady of Mystery. They said: "I
am waiting. I have come for this."
Instantly the sense of inspiration filled him.
With glad assurance he gave out his text. "The gospel according to St.
Matthew, the second chapter, the tenth and eleventh verses; 'When they
saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.... And when they
had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh.'"
As soon as the text of a sermon was given out, Mr. Churchwarden Jones in
his corner, and Mr. Churchwarden Smith in his, verified it in their
Bibles, made sure it was really there, and had been read correctly. Then
they closed their Bibles and placed them on the ledges in front of them;
took off their glasses, put them noisily into spectacle-cases, stowed
these in inner pockets, leant well back, and proceeded to go very
unmistakably and emphatically to sleep.
David had got into the way of reading his text twice over, slowly, while
this performance took place.
Now, when he looked up from his Bible, the two churchwardens were in
position. Their gold watch-chains, looped upon their ample waistcoats,
produced much the same effect as the wreathing with which well-meaning
decorators had accentuated the stoutness of the whitewashed pillars.
The attention of the congregation was already wandering. David made a
desperate effort to hold it.
"My friends," he said, "although it is Christmas-eve, I speak to you
to-night on the Epiphany subject, because, when the great Feast of
Epiphany comes, I shall no longer have the privilege of addressing you.
I expect to be on the ocean, on my way to carry the Christmas message of
'Peace on earth, good will toward men,' to the savage tribes of Central
Africa."
No one looked responsive. No one seemed to care in the least where David
Rivers would be on the great Feast of Epiphany. He tried another tack.
"Our text deals with the experience of those Wise Men of the East, who,
guided by the star, journeyed over the desert in quest of the new-born
King. Now, if I were to ask this congregation to tell me how many Wise
Men there were, I wonder which of you would answer 'three.'"
No one looked in the least interested. What a silly question! What a
senseless cause for wonder! Of course they would _all_ answer "three."
The youngest infant in the Sunday-school knew that there were three Wise
Men.
"But why should you say 'three'?" continued David. "We are not told in
the Bible how many Wise Men there were. Look and see."
The Smith and Jones families made no move. They knew perfectly well that
_their_ Bibles said "three." If this young man's Bible omitted to
mention the orthodox number, it was only another of many omissions in
his new-fangled Bible and unsound preaching. It would be one thing more
to report to the Rector, on his return.
But his Lady of Mystery leaned forward, took up a Bible which chanced to
be beside her, turned rapidly to Matthew ii., bent over it for a moment,
then smiled, and laid it down. David knew she had made sure of finding
"three," and had not found it. He took courage. She was interested.
He launched into his subject. In vivid words, more full of poetry and
beauty than he knew, he rapidly painted the scene; the long journey
through the eastern desert, with eyes upon the star; the anxious days,
when it could not be seen, and the route might so easily be missed; the
glad nights when it shone again, luminous, serene, still moving on
before. The arrival at Jerusalem, the onward quest to Bethlehem, the
finding of the King.
Then, the actual story fully dealt with, David turned to application.
"My friends," he said, "this earthly life of ours is the desert. Your
pilgrimage lies across its ofttimes dreary wastes. But if your journey
is to be to any purpose, if life is to be a success and not a failure,
its main object must be the finding of the King. His guiding Spirit
moves before you as the star. His word is also the heavenly lamp which
lights your way. But I want, to-night, to give you a third meaning for
the Epiphany star. The star stands for your highest Ideal. Pause a
moment, and think.... Have you in your life to-night a heaven-sent
Ideal, to which you are always true; which you follow faithfully, and
which, as you follow it, leads to the King?"
David paused. Mrs. Jones rustled, and Mrs. Smith tinkled, but David
heard them not. The Lady of Mystery had lifted her eyes to his, and
those beautiful sad eyes said: "I _had_."
"They lost sight of the star," said David. "Their hearts were sad,
thinking they had lost it forever. But they found it again at
Jerusalem--place of God's holy temple and worship. Here--is your
Jerusalem. Lift your eyes to-night, higher than the mere church roof,
and find again your lost star; see where shines your Ideal--your faith,
your hope, your love, your belief in things eternal. 'And when they saw
the star they rejoiced.'"
David paused.
Long lashes veiled the grey eyes. Her hands were folded in her lap, and
her eyes were not lifted from them.
"When these desert-travellers found the King," continued David, "they
opened their treasures and presented unto Him gifts,--gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh. I know this is usually taken in relation to
Himself, and as being, in a threefold way, typical of His mission: Gold
for the King; frankincense for the great High Priest; myrrh for the
suffering, dying Saviour, who was to give His life for the redemption of
the world.
"But I want to take it to-night in another sense. Let these three kinds
of gifts emphasise the three kinds of things you have in your life
to-day, which you may offer to the King, if your guiding star has led
you to His feet. They opened _their_ treasures. I want you to open
_your_ treasures, to-night. What are your treasures? Why yourself, and
all you possess.
"First let us consider the gold."
The Lady of Mystery lifted her golden head and looked him full in the
face. There was challenge in her eyes.
"I do not necessarily mean your money," said David, "though how much
more you might all do with that, for the King and for His service, than
you are already doing. Ah, if people could realise how greatly gold is
needed for His work, they would soon open their treasures and pour it
forth! I have told you of my vast parish, out in the unexplored forests,
swamps, and jungles of Central Africa. Do you know what I want for my
people, there? Think of all you have here--of all you have had, ever
since you can remember. Then listen: I want a church; I want schools; I
want books; I want a translation of the Bible, and a printing-press to
print it with." David's eyes glowed, and he threw grammar to the winds!
"I want a comrade to help me, and a steam-launch with which to navigate
great lakes and rivers. I want all these things, and I want them for my
Master, and for His work. I can give my own life, but it is all I have
to give. I have been taking your Rector's place here for six weeks in
order to earn twelve guineas, which will enable me to take out a good
medicine-chest with which to doctor my people, and to complete my
necessary outfit."
Mr. Churchwarden Jones was awake by now, and fidgeted uncomfortably.
This young man should not have mentioned his stipend, from the pulpit.
It was decidedly unsuitable.
"Your Rector," continued David, "knowing why I need it, is generously
doubling that payment. May God bless him for it, when he takes up again
his ministry among you."
They were all listening now. David's eyes glowed like hot coals in his
thin face. His voice rang through the church.
"Ah, friends," he said, "those who have all they need for their
comfortable spiritual life, cannot realise the awful, desperate want, in
those wild places of the earth. We enjoy quoting what we call a 'gospel
text': 'Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
But too often we pause there, in self-appropriating complacency,
forgetting that the whole point of the passage lies in what follows:
'How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how
shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? And how shall
they hear, without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be
sent?' You must answer all these questions, when you open your treasures
at the feet of the King.
"But forgive me for intruding my own interests. This is not a missionary
sermon."--Here Mrs. Smith nodded, energetically. That was exactly what
she had already whispered to Mr. Smith.--"Also 'gold' stands for much
besides money. Think of all the golden things in life. The joys, the
brightness, the glory of success; all beauty, all gaiety, all golden
mirth and laughter. Let all these golden things be so consecrated that,
opening your treasures, you can at any moment bring them as offerings to
your King.
"But the second gift was frankincense." David paused, giving each
listener--and at last there were many--time to wonder what in his or her
life stood for frankincense.
"Frankincense," said David, "is, first of all, your worship. And by
worship, I do not necessarily mean public worship in church, important
though that be. I mean the constant worship of an adoring heart. 'O
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.' Unless your daily life from
Monday to Saturday is a life of worship, there will not be much reality
in your public worship on Sunday. And then, frankincense stands for all
that appertains to the spirit part of you--your ideals, your noblest
loves, your finest aspirations. Open your treasures, friends, and bring
these to your King.
"And, lastly, myrrh." David paused, and a look so calm, so holy, so
sublime, passed into his face, that to one who watched him then, and who
chanced to know the meaning of that look, his face was as the face of an
angel.
"The myrrh," he said, "stands for death. Some of us may be called upon
definitely to face death, for the King's sake. But _all_ who have lived
unto Him in life, can glorify Him in death. 'Precious in the sight of
the Lord is the death of His saints.' We can all at last bring to Him
this gift--a gift which, in the bringing, will indeed bring us into His
very presence. But, meanwhile, your present offering of myrrh is the
death of self; the daily crucifying of the self-life. 'For the love of
Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all,
then were all dead; and that He died for all, that they which live
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him, Who died for
them, and rose again.' Your response to that constraining love, your
acceptance of that atoning death, your acquiesence in that crucifixion
of self, constitute your offering of myrrh.
"But myrrh, in the Bible, stands for other things besides death. We must
not pause to do so now, but sometime, at your leisure, look out each
mention of myrrh. You will find it stands for love--love of the
sweetest, tenderest kind; love so complete, that it must bring with it
self-abnegation, and a mingling of pain with its bliss.
"And you will find it stands for sorrow; not bitterness of woe; but
sorrow accepted as the Father's will, and therefore touched with
reverent joy. Ah, bring your sorrows as gifts to your King. 'Surely He
hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.' Bring even these, and
lay them at His feet."
David closed his Bible, placing it on the cushion, folded his hands upon
it, and leaned down from the high pulpit.
"My friends," he said,--and those who looked up responsive never forgot
the light in his eyes--"I am leaving this dear home land of ours on the
day when we shall be keeping the Feast of the Star. My star leads me to
a place from which I do not ever expect to return. My offering of myrrh
to my King, is a grave in an African forest, and I offer it gladly.
"But, may I now say to you, whose faces--after to-morrow--I never expect
to see again: Do not lose sight of your star, as you travel across
life's desert. Look up, look on; ever, in earnest faith, move forward.
Then I can leave with each one in this congregation, as a farewell
promise"--he looked at all present; but his eyes met the grey eyes, now
swimming in tears, of his Lady of Mystery; met, and held them, with
searching solemn gaze, as he uttered his final words--
"Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty; they shall behold the Land
that is very far off."