The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1884, Page 22

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22 The Lutheran Pioneer.

and fro on its messages of mercy. In 1866 it|no, whoever works a religion for himself out
was necessary to build another, and that work | of bench, air or.self, has a false religion. The
the children again undertook—150,000, among | TRUE religion God has placed in His Word and
whom were three to four thousand Havaiian | Sacraments; and whoever seeks it there will
children, raising in all $24,000. This second | find it, but whoever thinks he has found it
‘“‘Morning Star”? was wrecked after a useful | somewhere else has simply deceived himself. -
career of two years. When the news of this — Church Messenger.
disaster came to the East, the children again ST a
went to work to replace the ship, and the Heathenism in Africa.
pe “Morning Star” sailed from Boston in! Consul Du Verge, at St. Paul de Loando—
1870, on the errand it has been Irs for and not a missionary —writes thus of the terrible
thirteen years. The growth of the poisston has heathen cruelties of the West Coast tribes of
been SD Gree CHET 5 that a larger ship is NOW | Africa. The natives of Dondo, in the Province
required, and Captain Bray, of the “Morning | ¢ Angola, bury their dead other than chiefs,
Seta BC ome this country to Secure, ! anywhere; it may be a few yards from the
through the children, of ead the building | goor of his cabata, or in the road. But sobas,
of OG Seen vessel of about 425 tons, on double or native chiefs are interred with more cere-
the size of his ppresent ship. Though it is but mony. Jor three months the corpse is kept
bY few weeks since the appeal was made, the | shove the ground, sitting in a chair, and daily
children have already subscribed over half the enveloped in new pieces of cloth, which are
$45,000 needed. a : stolen during the night by his former subjects.
The children’s new mission’ steamer will be! ror! this lapse of time he is deposited in his
read y VD sail from Boston by the first of October. grave, two grown-up slaves being decapitated
This ute proof of what en be done Ons by and their bodies being interred with him, as well
Bre children ,bygsmall offerings; us they unite | os a boy and girl, both alive, the former holding
in a good work for the glory of God s Kingdom. the°soba’s pipe, and the latter a vessel with
Olive Leaf. | water. Another ‘barbarism not yet abolished
re E PALA eris is judgment by fetish, which Mr. Du Verge
Getting Religion” —Wherefrom? has witnessed more than fifty times on the west
a M and southeast coast. The accused, to show his
A German Methodist WOE “They (Me- innocence, swallows a certain amount of deadly”
thodists) merely give them (the young) cate- vegetable poison; if he vomits it he is innocent,
chetical instruction, and then, if they want to) but if his stomach retains it he is guilty of the
dora church, they must first get religion.” | prime imputed to him, and dies. When a soba
Now the question arises, where do they get| dies, his successor is not allowed to continue
this religion from? Lutherans get true religion the work which the deceased chief may have
from the instructions of ; the Word of God. begun, or to inhabit his residence. Whatever
They teach and learn this word faithfully 12) unmovable goods, houses, and other property
school, catechetical class and fr om the pulpit, belonged to him are allowed to fall into ruin,
and thus God gives them religion in and while all movable goods are stolen by his sub-
through His holy Word. But here a Metho- jects immediately after death. For a whole
dist confesses, what we have always charged year his spirit is supposed to reign, his successor
ee his people; viz. ip that neys do not get having no power whatever; the whole kingdom
their religion from the Bible, the Word of God. or tribe remains therefore in a state of anarchy.
And yet it is only from the Word of God that ee:
true religion can come. For read what the Afflicti
Bible itself says: “The law of the Lord is re
perfect, converting the soul.’’ ‘‘Is not my| Twopaintersfrescoedachurch. Both worked
Word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like|on a scaffold some fifty feet from the floor.
a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces.” | Now one of the painters was so pleased with a
“He that heareth my Word, and believeth | nice picture which he had just finished, that in
on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life.’’| gazing upon it he stepped to near the edge of
“Tt is the Spirit that quickeneth; the words|the scaffold. His friend noticing the danger
that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they | was terrified. He dared not cry out to his
are life.’ ‘* Now ye are clean through the Word | friend, lest.the same taken by sudden fright
which I have spoken unto you.’’ ‘Peter shall} might tumble; and if he did nothing to warn
tell the words whereby thou and all thy house|him, his fellow-painter was still in greater
shall be saved.’” From this we learn plainly, |danger of being precipitated, so he quickly
the regular course of trading vessels, it was|that the Word of God, correctly taught, con-|hurled his brush at the picture. His friend
very desirable that a missionary vessel should | verts, melts, breaks the heart, gives faith, spirit, | rushed forward to save it from destruction, and
be built to ply between these various islands | life, sanctification (cleansing) and salvation. And | was just beginning to abuse the spoiler, when
and the Sandwich Islands. these constitute true religion. But can these |he was shown the imminent danger and that
The work of raising funds for such a vessel | elements of true religion ever be gotten out of| the spoiling of his nice work had saved him.
‘Was intrusted to the children, and joyfully and|a. mourner’s bench, by belaboring it day and} Then he gave thanks. Thus God often destroys
_ generously they responded to the appeal, andj night; or out of the empty air by screaming | some nice thing for us in this world, to keep us
1856 they raised money to build the first | into it; or out of one’s own corrupt nature by | from falling headlong into the pit of temporal
‘Morning Star,’”? which for ten years sailed to| exciting it into a high fever or a swoon? No, |and eternal ruin.

The Solitary Bible-Man of South America.

George Smith was of German birth, and a
bad boy. What would his discouraged mother
have said had one told her what was to be the
future career of her son? It was ih a prison in
Rio Janeiro, where he was sent for robbery,
that he got hold of a Bible. He studied it
well. The Holy Spirit led him to accept the
Saviour as his, and George became a new man
in Christ Jesus.

After leaving prison he set to work to earn
money for the purchase of Bibles; and with a
box of these strapped upon his broad, strong
shoulders, he started out on the work of all his
future years. He was supposed to have gone
thus through every province in the Empire.
He used often to go with caravans on their
four to six months’ journeys. At night he would
read the Bible to the men till ‘they delighted
to listen.’’ He visited the priests, and tried
to induce them to read the Bible. If they
abused him, he denounced them. He would
accuse and warn them in presence of the crowds
that would gather to hear them till the priests,
in shame and terror, would sneak away, or call
upon the people to ‘‘defend the faith.” But

stoning, imprisonment, and threats of death
were all lost on heroic and faithful-unto-death
George. He held on his chosen way. In the
houses of poverty and sickness he read in
softened tones the Holy Book, and his words
were full of consolation. At long intervals he
appeared at the American Church at Buenos
Ayres, and attended meeting there. Quiet,
happy, contented he seemed, though destitute
of all home-comforting and companionship.

Years passed, and his tall form began to
bend; his giant shoulders began to feel the
burdens. He perhaps pined now for voices of
sympathy. Evil for good, in large measure,
had been given to self-sacrificing George Smith;
and at last—at last his strong heart was break-
ing. They saw this who saw him Jast in the
city; and in answer to questions, he confessed
his loneliness. But once more a strong man
(using all his strength to do it) lifted the heavy
load of books to the bowed shoulders of George,
and for the last time he walked away! .

Now with the Master the lonely man finds
sympathy and Joye and home, and he is
comforted.—

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What the Children can do.

The American Board of Missions has mis-
sionaries stationed on the islands of the Pacific
Ocean. As these islands are situated out of