THE DARK FOREST.
"'What time I am afraid, I will trust.'"
These words were continually in Amer's mind during the next part of his
journey, for he found his way led him into a gloomy forest, and looking
down its long dark avenues, for a moment he hesitated.
It was indeed so dark that he wondered if it could be the way intended
for him to tread; he wondered still more as on entering it fearfully,
he found he could not see any distance before him, but looking down at
his feet he saw that there was no mistake about it. His path lay before
him, though he could only see one step at a time. He buckled his sword
tighter around him and made sure that all his armour was in the right
position, and with a brave heart walked boldly into the still deeper
recesses of the forest.
For a short time he was comforted by the fact that far, far away,
he caught a faint glimmer of light which he knew must come from the
Radiant City; but after a time even this faded, and he felt himself in
total darkness.
A terrible silence pervaded the place. Not even the flutter of a bird
among the trees nor the sound of the faintest breeze. It was as if he
were in a dead world.
The perspiration stood out on his forehead and his hands trembled as he
gripped his sword. So appalled was he at the darkness and silence, that
he dared not even call aloud, on the chance that there might be someone
near who could come to his aid. The sense of utter loneliness amazed
him. He had experienced nothing like it before. Loneliness and darkness
appalled him, fearfulness and trembling came upon him, and horror
overwhelmed him.
Suddenly, as faint with forebodings, he slowly and painfully made his
way, seeing only one step at a time, some words from his Guide Book
flashed across his mind like a sunbeam from the Radiant City.
"'Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His
servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in
the Name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.'"
"'What time I am afraid, I will trust,'" he cried, and the very fact of
breaking the silence by that cry, gave him courage and comfort.
Many a time after this, during that dark journey, he called aloud to
his King, and when he did so, he was conscious of a Presence quite near
to him, of a Companionship that made his heart burn within him, and in
the consciousness of which he was able to face the horrors of darkness
that seemed likely to overwhelm him.
But at times even the sense of the Presence seemed to be hidden from
him, and he had but to find comfort in the fact, that, the King had
promised to be with his servants unto the end, that though unseen and
unfelt, He could not be far off, so he cried out in the words of the
Guide Book, many of which he knew by this time, by heart,
"'Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in
me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, for His Presence is
salvation.'"
At last, as he neared the end of this part of his journey, he became
aware that a glimmering of light could be seen in the distance, and
that with every step he took it became brighter, till at last, through
a vista among the trees, he caught sight again of the Radiant City,
looking brighter and more dazzling than it had ever looked before. At
the sight of this he fell on his knees and worshipped his King Who had
brought him safely through the darkness.
Then he rose and looked around him. Surely now his path was to lead him
on and upwards, higher and higher; surely for him the darkness was past
and over. He looked about eagerly for his pathway, and to his amazement
found it led into the forest again, though by another way.
"Alas!" he cried, "my strength will fail me. I dare not encounter the
horror of darkness again." So depressed was he that he sat him down
under the shadow of a rock, and hiding his face in his hands he groaned
aloud. For a long time he sat there, and as he rested, he fell asleep
and dreamt.
The King stood before him; not as he had often thought of Him, radiant
in power and might, with a beauty unspeakable and dazzling in its
glory: but with a crown of thorns on His head, with pierced and
bleeding hands and feet, with a face marred by suffering and sorrow.
But, notwithstanding His bleeding feet and hands and His pierced
brow, His eyes were directed towards a little wandering lamb who had
strayed beyond the fold, and lay bleating on a thin ledge overhanging
a precipitous cliff; and as He looked He moved towards it, though
the thorns and prickly bushes at His feet opened the wounds afresh.
Although the cliffs were almost impassable and the danger great, the
King never hesitated; leaning over the awful abyss, He reached down
till He grasped with His bleeding hands the little lamb, and lifting it
up, sheltered it in His bosom.
Then Amer awoke.
Had it been a dream or had it been a vision? Whatever it was, it
contained a lesson for him which changed his whole view of his journey.
He was filled no longer with his own dangers and difficulties, but
recognized that he had been saved to serve, and that the very reason of
many of his experiences through which he had passed, was not merely to
make him more fit for the Radiant City, but that he might be able to
sympathize with other travellers and help them on the way.
On learning this he rose. But for him the darkness was lightened by
many a glimpse of the Radiant City, and he found the forest silent no
longer.
As he made his way along his path he constantly met other travellers,
faint with fear or oppressed by the enemy Depression, or Despair, and
he cheered them so that they had the courage to meet their foes in
battle, and to overcome them.
To Amer's great surprise he met the last person whom he would have
expected to meet in such a place.
He came upon a man lying prone upon the grass. At his first look at him
he thought there was no life in him, but on coming closer he discovered
that it was Chisleu, faint and weary. His face had lost its energy, and
he had no words even with which to greet Amer. He looked at him with
sad and dreary eyes, so unlike his former self, that the lad almost
doubted if it could be he.
"Chisleu," he exclaimed, "is it you?"
But Chisleu did not answer, he still looked wearily up at Amer without
a word. Then, noticing compassion written large across his friend's
face, he groaned.
"Friend," said Amer, "are you in pain?"
"Aye, aye," answered Chisleu, "I'm in pain of body and mind. I'm in the
dark, friend, in the dark."
"And not only in the dark," said Amer, glancing about him, "but in the
hands of Despondency, Depression, and Despair."
"What, what," cried Chisleu, excitedly, awakened out of his torpor, and
aroused to action, "do you mean to say it is the work of the enemy?"
"Surely, what else could it be?"
"I thought," said Chisleu, "the King had forgotten me."
"It is not the King who has forgotten you, but the enemy who has
thought of you. The King never forgets His own. Had you been looking
around you instead of giving up as if all were lost, you would have
recognized it as the work of the three enemies which I now see hidden
among the trees."
"Ah!" sighed Chisleu, "you do not know the terrors of this forest, I am
overwhelmed by them."
"Friend, I know even too well," answered Amer, "I have been in it a
long time."
"It is a place of horror and the darkness of death," said Chisleu.
"And I should be in the same state as you at this present moment," said
Amer, "had it not been for the help of my King."
"And yet," said Chisleu, raising his head to look more earnestly at
him, "you look as if you were upheld. Have you really experienced such
horror as I have?"
"Such darkness that even now I scarcely dare to think of it. But since
then I have seen a vision of the King which has turned my darkness into
light. I think I can even thank Him now for the lessons He taught me
in the darkness. But come! I will help you to rise, and if the enemies
attack you again, I will add my sword to yours. I do not wonder that
they met you by the way, Chisleu, and were so determined to overcome
you. It was only natural that such a good brave soldier, who is always
on the look-out for those who are in sorrow or need, should be attacked
by the enemy. You have done too much good for him to forget you, or to
leave you alone. As for me, I have only just learnt that I am saved to
serve."
"Ah, friend, you little know me," sighed Chisleu, "the mistakes I have
made! and the way I have judged far better people than myself, and have
tried to set them right according to my own judgment! Nay, I felt sunk
so low and that I was of so little good on the road, that I feared my
King had forgotten me, when I found myself in such a dark place. But,"
he added, rising, "if you are right, and this misery comes from the
enemy, and is not that I am forgotten in the Radiant City on account of
my sins, I will take courage."
"I understand now," said Amer, "why my way led me again into the
forest. The King was thinking of you, friend, and sent me to help one
who in the past has helped me."
"Helped you!" exclaimed Chisleu, astonished, "nay, lad, I remember
nothing of the kind. I am a good-for-nothing fellow who meddles with
every one I come across, thinking to do them good. I am the fool who
steps in where angels fear to tread."
"Had it not been for you," persisted Amer, "I might still be in the
City of Achshaph. You were the one who first tried to arouse my
conscience and to make me see my danger. But come, we must not linger."
So these two brave soldiers buckled their swords closer and set out
side by side, as long as their path lay together, to fight the enemy
and to help the wounded. And many a one had to thank their King
for them, and called them both by the name of Ahiezer—Brothers of
Assistance.
At last the forest came to an end, and their ways parted.
Once again in the broad sunshine Amer breathed in the fresh air with
delight and gratitude. His way led through fields full of brightly
coloured flowers. The air was laden with their scent, and vibrated
with the song of birds. Having so lately emerged from such a dark and
dreary passage, the sunshine, the sounds, and the scents, filled him
with delight, and that which rejoiced him still more was the fact that
his path lay up the side of a hill, and every step he took found him
higher, in fresher air, with a clearer view of the Radiant City. He had
the joy also of meeting his old friends Belthiah and Iddo, who, after
welcoming him, looked earnestly in his face.
"Amer," they said, "you have grown into a man since last we saw you.
There are marks of victory and strength on your face. You have passed
through some great experience."
"I have been in the dark forest," he answered gravely, for even now the
remembrance was painful to him, "and I found light in the darkness."