| 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!”