should be so, and thank my faithful God, who, after my much weeping and bitter sorrow, never fails to apply some solace to my burdened heart. My God! vouchsafe to me also this grace of tears. They mitigate grief, break and soften the heart; nor wilt Thou behold them flow without fatherly compassion. B CXXI. The Ants. Y chance Gotthold happened to come upon an ant-hill, and entertained himself for a while with observing the assiduous labors of these little insects. He recollected the words of Solomon: Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat, and gathereth her food in the harvest.1 As he further mused, he said: My God, no doubt there are many who equal these little creatures in their pains and care to collect and provide temporal supplies. But how comes it to pass that we are so slothful in laying up a store for the wants of our souls? Ants often rather drag than carry splinters and straws larger than themselves; and so do the children of men frequently burden them 1 Proverbs vi. 6-8. 198 THE STRANGE BARGAIN. selves with a load of care greatly beyond their strength, and, if well considered, quite as worthless as a straw. It is to this the prophet alludes when he says: Surely they are disquieted in vain. He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. They think little of eternal things, and devote scarce a fragment of their time to meditation upon that time when time shall be no more. Knowing, as I well do, that a winter will one day overtake me, in which Thou wilt either appoint for me sore trials, or summon death to approach, it shall now be my incessant employment to collect and store in my heart the precious grains of Scripture texts, in order that, when all else is consumed, my soul may never lack a supply of consolation. CXXII. The Strange Bargain. ON a well-known city there lived two merchants— one of them a skilful arithmetician, and generally an able man; the other, inexperienced in figures, and by no means a match for the former in talent. They made the following bargain: The first sold a horse to the second; but, instead of fixing a defi 1 Psalm xxxix. 6. THE STRANGE BARGAIN. 199 nite sum of money as the price, they agreed that it should be regulated by the thirty-two nails with which the four shoes were fastened to the animal's hoofs, and should be paid in millet-one grain being given for the first nail, two for the second, four for the third, eight for the fourth, and so on; that is, doubling the number at every nail. The buyer was at first delighted at purchasing a fine charger for what he fancied a very moderate price; but, when the account came to be settled, he found that the quantity of grain which, by the terms of the agreement, he was required to pay, was enormous. In fact, he would have been reduced to beggary, if some sensible friends had not interposed, and procured a dissolution of the bargain. Gotthold, who heard the story, observed: Well does it exemplify the wiles of Satan. By promising merry hours and temporal gain, he persuades and seduces man at first into what he calls venial faults, and labors to keep him in these until they have grown into a habit. he advances by geometrical progression. from sin, and one transgression follows another, the new being always the double of the old; and so the increase proceeds, until at last the base pleasure which has been bought, can be paid for only with that which is above all price, namely, the immortal soul; unless, indeed, God mercifully interpose in time, with His Holy Spirit opening the sinner's eyes, convincing him of the deception, and inducing him to revoke the bargain, and im Afterwards 200 THE CHILDREN'S CUP. plore help and deliverance from his Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is therefore best to keep one's self aloof, in every way, from Satan and his concerns, and to regard no sin as venial and small. How can it be that, when it is committed in opposition to the holy will of the Most High God? My God! teach me to reckon every sin great, so long as I live; but oh, let me look upon the very greatest sins as little, when I die! CXXIII. The Children's Cup. SAGACIOUS father had purchased for his children a little cup, out of which they were to drink, and little plates, from which to eat their food, and made it a rule that when these were once emptied, they received no more. Gotthold saw and approved this strict domestic discipline, but at the same time said: Friend, how comes it to pass that what we find beneficial for our children, we are unwilling to approve when done by an all-wise God to ourselves? We fix and measure out for them a convenient portion of meat and drink, and yet we are seldom satisfied with that which the Most High, in His good pleasure, ordains for ourselves. Do we suppose that we men, in our folly, understand what is good for our children's health better than God what is good for our salvation? O my God! had I my will in temporal things, I would use them in the most senseless way, and, as children do with meat and drink, would bring upon my poor soul sorrow and distress by my excesses. Heavenly Father! allot to me a cup either large or small, and pour into it much or little, as Thou wilt; but give me always a few drops of Thy blessing and grace, and with these I shall be satisfied. CXXIV. The Sheep. OTTHOLD one day saw a farmer carefully counting his sheep as they came from the field. Happening at the time to be in an anxious and sorrowful mood, he gave vent to his feelings, and said: Why art thou cast down, my soul? and why disquieted with anxious thoughts? Surely thou must be as dear to the Most High as his lambs to this farmer. Art thou not better than many sheep? Is not Christ Jesus thy Shepherd? Has not He risked His blood and life for thee? Hast thou no interest in His words: I give unto My sheep eternal |