The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1884, Page 3

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‘The Lutheran Pioneer. 3

Psalm 37, 5.

Commit thou all thy gricfs
And ways into His hands,
To His sure truth and tender care,
Who earth and heaven commands;
Who points the clouds their course,
Whom winds and seas obey,
He shall direct thy wandering feet,
He shall prepare thy way.
Thou on the Lord rely,
So safe shalt thou go on;
Fix on His work thy steadfast eye,
So shall thy work be done.
No profit canst thou gain
By self-consuming care;
To Him commend thy cause; His ear
Attends the softest prayer.

—Paul Gerhardt.
—<_er-—-

Who Lit the Lamps?

Upon the rocky coast of Cornwall, there
‘stood some years ago, and may be standing yet,
an old fashioned light-house. It was placed
amid some dangerous rocks, and was found a
great blessing to mariners, in directing them in
dark and stormy nights.

You would have thought that everybody
would have been glad that the light-house stood
upon those rocks, and rejoiced in the good it
did. But they did not.

There was a set of wicked men who looked
upon that light-house with very angry eyes,
and often wished some storm would come and
sweep it away. They longed to see the vessels
wrecked, that they might gather some of the
spoil that came from their destruction. These
wicked men were called ‘‘wreckers’’; and when
stormy nights came on, they might be seen
looking out for their prey, and even kindling
large lights upon the shore to deceive the ships,
lead them out of the way, and get them dashed
to pieces on the rocks.

Still the light-house stood, watched over and
kept by the merciful eye and arm of a kind
protecting God.

It was inhabited, at the time Iam writing
about, by a kind man and his little girl; and
it is about this little girl my story must be told.
She had a very pious mother, who as she died,
had given her holy counsels, and left her a
large favorite Bible as her property. You may
be sure the Jast words of her dear mother were
not soon forgotten; while the Bible she had
left was looked upon with no little reverence
and love.

The light-house was so placed upon the rocks
that, at low water, when the tide was out, you
could walk from it to the shore; but at high
water nobody could get to it, as no boat could
ride in safety among the breakers and the rocks.
All the food the inmates needed, and all other
things they used, were thus brought to them,
or fetched by them at low water, and the man
of the light-house had often to go on shore for
them.—One day he had gone as usual, leaving
his little girl alone in the light-house, when
some of the ‘‘wreckers’’ seized him, and deter-

mined to prevent his going back to light his
lamps, in the hope that some ship would thus
be wrecked. The poor man was in great dis-
tress when he found he was the prisoner of
these wicked men, and he begged hard to be
allowed to return. But in vain; there they
kept him till Jong after the tide came in, and
the dark night had gathered, and it became
impossible for him to return. At last they let
him go, and he stood upon the shore in great
distress. The night was gradually become a
very stormy one. The wild winds roared furi-
ously. The rain fell in torrents. The light-
ning flashed. ‘The thunder rolled terrifically.
The sea dashed furiously around the light-
house, sometimes covering it entirely with its
waves. What was he todo? The lantern at
the top of his house was yet all dark. He
could see some ships in the distance, and he

trembled lest they should be wrecked for want

of his lamps being lighted. He knew his little

girl was all alone, and too little to do anything

to help the difficulty; so there he stood in deep

distress, while around him stood the savage
wreckers, glorying in the success of their wicked

scheme, when, all of a sudden, the lantern of

the light-house was lighted up, and its bright
and glowing rays shot far across the dark and
The wreckers were filled with
The sailors, far off
in the ships, were delighted as they caught its
beams; and the kind man himself was over-
come with surprise and joy, while he exclaimed,

troubled sea.
anger when they saw it.

“Who has lit the lamp!’’

*

Very distressed indeed was the little girl
when she found her father did not return as
she had expected. She watched the tide come
rolling up and covering the rocks, so cutting
She heard the wind
get up, and trembled as she felt it rock the
light-house. She noticed the dark night setting
in, and saw the storm beginning to rise. She
looked out, and there she caught a glimpse of
the ships in the distance, and knew if the lamps
were not lighted they would probably be
wrecked, and in her distress she began to think
what could she do. At last a text of Scripture,
ane of her mother’s last words, came into her
mind: ‘‘Call upon me in the day of trouble,
So down she knelt,
and prayed earnestly to God to help her in her
trouble, and, rising walked up to the lantern
at the top of the tower to see if she could light
the lamps herself. She saw the long stick with
which her father lit them, but she was far too
little to reach them. Down stairs accordingly
she went, and, with great labor, dragged up a
table, and climbed on to it, and tried again,
but still she could not reach the lamps. Down
again she went to seek for something more to
stand on, when her eye fell on her mother’s
large Bible, which she carried up with great
labor into the lantern, and Jaid it on the table.
Then, climbing up, she stood tip-toe on the
book, and to her joy found she could just reach
In a minute all the lamps were

off all the way to shore.

and I will deliver thee.’’

the lamps.

lighted, and the lantern blazed out, to the joy
of the sailors in the ships, the surprise and
gladness of her father, and the shame and dis-
appointment of the wicked wreckers on the
shore.

Such is my little story, It is quite true;
and as I have told it to you, I have been think-
ing of other mariners and wreckers than those
on the coasts of Cornwall. I have been think-
ing of a world of people all in danger of missing
their way, and being forever ruined by the re-
sults of folly and of sin. I have thought of
wreckers in the shape of wicked men and
youths, who would fain blight and destroy those
by whom they are surrounded, and I have
thought of the Church of God, with the light
of truth, and the means of presenting the way
of peace and safety in her possession, as a light-
house for the world, in which also you, my
dear reader, may help to kindle the lamps,
and save some poor voyager for eternity from
destruction and woe.—JZ. DL.

1 +0-<me

A Blind Girl and Her Bible.

Would you know the value of the Bible?
Let me introduce you to a scene of deep and
thrilling interest as related by a minister, an
eye witness. A young woman, completely
blind and deaf, was brought before a number
of eminent surgeons to see if anything could be
done for her. Her sad condition had been
produced by a violent pain in the head. The
only method of communicating with her was by
tapping her hand, which signified no, and by
squeezing it, which signified yes. The surgeons
concluded that her case was incurable, and, in
reply to her earnest inquiries, she received the
unwelcome tap. She immediately burst into
tears and wept aloud in all the bitterness of
anguish. ‘What,’ she said, ‘‘shall I never
see the light of day, or hear a human ‘voice?
Must I remain shut up in darkness and silence
as.long as I live?’” A friend who was present
took up the Bible and placed it to her breast.
It was a touching and beautiful act. She placed
her hands on it, and asked, ‘‘Is this the Bible?”
Her hand was squeezed in reply. She imme-
diately clasped it and exclaimed, “This is the
only comfort I have left; I shall never more
be able to look upon its blessed pages, but I
can think of the blessed promises I have learned
from it;’’ and then began to repeat some of
its promises, ‘‘Cast thy burden on the Lord
and He will sustain thee’’; ‘‘Call upon me in
the day of trouble and I will deliver thee’’;
“My grace is sufficient for thee,” etc. She
dried her tears, became submissive to the will
of God, and was happy.

ee oo

Many a Christian trusts Christ to carry him
through the valley of the shadow of death,
who does not rely upon Him to take him
through the dread to-morrow. If you are
Christ’s you have no right to worry. He is a
safe pilot. You can trust him in the shallow,
quiet river, as well as in the sea beyond. ;