Psalm 10:16
"The LORD is king forever and
ever; the nations perish from his land."
2 Chronicles 20:6
"O Lord, God of our fathers, are
you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations
In C. S. Lewis's novel The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe, of The Chronicles of Narnia series, four children, Peter,
Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, pass through the wardrobe's portal to find the kingdom
of Narnia imprisoned under the spell of the White Witch. Aslan the lion, who is
the king of Narnia, is nowhere to be found. Although rumor has it "He is
on the move," he appears to have abandoned his kingdom to the White Witch,
who spends her leisure time turning the inhabitants into lawn statuary.
The four children set out to explore this strange and
somewhat frightening new country that is locked under evil's spell. They come
upon Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, a husband and wife still faithful to Aslan. The
Beavers assure the children that Aslan is about to return to set things right
and that prophecy suggests that they have a very important, even central part
to play in the drama about to unfold. Indeed, they learn they are to actually
rule with Aslan from Cair Paravel itself, Aslan's royal city.
Faced with all this fearful yet exciting news, Lucy and
Susan's thoughts go to what Aslan is actually like. If he is a king who is
safe, they reason, that will certainly be of great comfort in light of the
battle being all but lost.
"Is—is he a man?" asked Lucy.
"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly.
"Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the
great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan
is a lion—the lion, the great Lion."
"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd thought he was a
man. Is he—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said
Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their
knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear
what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't
safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
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