The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1886, Page 27

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

24

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The Carpenter's Confidence.

Divine promises are as much facts as any
real thing is that we see or know; and it is no
presumption to trust them; and be certain of
them.

One of the workmen in a Glasgow ship-yard
was quietly taking his ‘“‘nooning’’ on the deck
of a nearly finished vessel, when the foreman,
or masterbuilder, of the ship, came along and
stopped to talk with him.

quarters. God loved the world so well that
He gave His Son, ‘that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but have everlast-
ing life.’ That is what it says. So I just took
God at His word. I believed, and now I
know.’—TZ. W. :

—. - <>

Maori Children.

In no country have the triumphs of missions

The two held a long conversation, and both} been more marked than in New Zealand. The
being serious men, it was natural that their] people are by nature very fierce and warlike,

theme should be a serious one. The
foreman had a question to ask, and in
the course of their talk he stated it as
follows:

“David, is it true, as they say of
you, that you are swre you are a child
of God, and certain of going to heaven?”’

«Tt is true,” sald David. ‘‘I am as
certain of these things as I am of any-
thing in the world.”’

“Well,” said the foreman, ‘that
seems to me to be pretty bold. How

any man while he is here on earth can
be sure of heaven, is more than I can
understand. I never could feel it, much

the prince's visit, that he would set free any
one of these men that the prince might choose.
So the prince went to one prisoner and said:
“My poor fellow, I am sorry to see you in this
plight; how came you here?” ‘Ah, sire,” he
answered, “‘false witnesses gave evidence against
me; I am suffering wrongfully.’’ ‘Indeed!??
said the prince, and passed on to the next man.
‘‘My poor fellow, I am sorry to see you here;
how did it happen?’’ ‘‘Sire, I certainly did
wrong, but not to any great extent. I ought!
not to be here.’’ ‘‘Indeed!”’ said the prince, and
he went on to others who told him similar tales,

At last he came to one prisoner who
said: ‘Sire, I am often thankful that
Iam here; for Iam sorry to own that
if I had received my due I should have
been executed. I am certainly guilty
of all that was laid to my charge, and
my severest punishment is just.’’ The
prince replied wittily to him: ‘It isa
pity that such a guilty wretch as you
are should be chained among these in-
nocent men, and therefore I will set
you free.”’

less dare to say it. I never took an
active part as a Christian because I
couldn’t be certain that I was one.
How you can is something I would like
to find out. It will be worth something
to be told, for I’ve begun to mistrust
others as well as myself, and even to
doubt whether there is any ‘eternal
life,’ or any reality in religion at all.’’

‘‘You may cease to doubt, and be as
sure as I am, sir,’’ said David. ‘‘One
goes from death to life as soon as he
believes in Christ with 2 humble heart.
Then it is more than believing. It is
knowing. I know I have passed from
death to life.”

‘Tell me how you know?”’

The two men stood leaning against
the ship’s side, .as they talked, close to
one of the scuppers. The carpenter looked
about him a moment, considering his ‘answer.

‘‘What is the breadth of this waterway?”
he asked presently, pointing down to the tim-
ber through which the scupper-hole had been
channelled out.

‘© Why fourteen inches, of course,’”” said the
foreman, surprised, and thinking he was sud-
denly changing the subject.

‘Are you certain it’s fourteen inches?’’ said
David. = te

“Perfectly certain.”

¢¢What makes you certain?”’

‘Why, I go by the book,’”’ (taking out of
his pocket his memorandum of the plan. and
measurements of the ship). ‘‘Here it is right
from headquarters, and all marked down.”

«Just so,” said David, ‘“‘and there’s where
I get my. assurance. I go by the Book, the
holy Bible, and the Book is right from head-

You smile, and well you may. How
will you smile if Jesus does the same
for you! Assuredly, this is the manner
of Him; He passes by those who think
highly of themselves, and looks upon
those who are self-condemned and plead
guilty before God. He came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to re-
pentance.

The Thief Betraying Himself.

‘“A man broke into a small church
in Scotland, with the sacrilegious in-
tention of stealing the communion plate.
Hearing steps outside the building, and
expecting that he should be discovered,
he hurried to the end of the church,
where, seeing a long rope depending to
the ground, he laid hold of it for the
purpose of climbing out of sight. But

but under the influence of the Gospel many of | it proved to be the bell rope, and his weight

them have been converted into Christian com-
munities. The picture shows the way in which
the children amuse themselves. They fasten
long cords, twisted from the fibres of a native
plant, to the top of a tall and elastic pole, and
swing to their hearts’ delight, just like Ameri-
can school-children on a merry-go-round. The
zebralike dresses of the old folk, in the fore-
ground, are made of native grasses, dyed in
different colors.

——_—> oo

- Prince and Prisoners.

A prince on one occasion went to visit 2
famous King of Spain. The prince was taken
down to the galleys to see the men who were
chained to the oar and doomed to be slaves for
life. The King of Spain promised, in honor of

rang the bell, which attracted his pursuers im-
mediately to the spot. The man, of course, was
caught; and thus wittily addressed the uncon-
scious cause of his detection: ‘If it had not been
for thy long tongue and empty head, I should
not have been in my present predi¢ament.’”’
This is the story as we get it from Mr. Gat-
ty’s book upon ‘‘the Bell;”” but it has its les-
son. ‘Those who sin are pretty sure, sooner or
later, to turn king’s evidence against them-
selves. There is a voice in wrongdoing; its —

long tongue will not always be quiet. All un-
aware, the offender puts out his hand and pulls
the bell which tells against himself and sum-
mons vengeance to overtake him. Let no man
dream that he can secure secrecy for his wicked-
ness. What will be his dismay when he stands _
selfconvicted before the assembled universe!
C. HS.