The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1887, Page 35

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

3D

St. Barbara.

Away over the blue sea, about the year 303

| the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and the Three
{are One.”
Filled with unutterable rage,

with a bitter |

The Trinity.

‘Little girls,’ said Miss Bell to her school-

after our blessed Lord’s birth, we are told} curse this kind father's love turned to hatred. | class, ‘‘ What do you understand by the Trinity?”

there lived in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis,

. . |
Heaping upon her terrible reproaches, after |

‘‘Three persons in one God; the Father,

a.beautiful little heathen maiden by the name |attempting to take her life, he shut her up| the Son, and the Holy Ghost,” answered the

of Barbara.
Her father, Dioscorus, was a noble and of

great possessions, but far above his wealth was | were vain, denounced her as a Christian to the | persons in one God, and all equal

| Miss Bell.

his exceeding love for his only daughter. Very
beautiful was this little girl, and fearful that
some evil might befall her, her father shut her
up in a high tower, and kept her secluded from
the eyes of men.

But this child not feeling discontented with
her solitude, 1s many might have done, gave
‘herself up to study and quiet meditation.
Many a night from the summit of her
lofty tower, as the stars crept out into the
soft blue sky, she thought upon their won-
drous meaning. By degrees vague doubts
began to find a resting-place within her
mind. Her old belief in the idols of wood
and stone her parents worshipped, passed
away. They, with their stony, fast-shut
fingers, could not -have created the mar-

_ velous facts she pondered upon by night
and day. So, as the sweet old Jegend hath
it, ‘‘she contemned in her heart these false
gods; but as yet she knew nof; the true
faith.’

Although shut out from the world in
her lonely tower, Barbara learned in some
manner of the fame of a certain man
named Origen, who lived in the city of
Alexandria, and boldly taught a new and
holy religion. Longing to know more of
this man and his doctrine, she wrote to
him secretly. Her letter, sent by the hand
of a trusty messenger, found the preacher
in Alexandria occupied in teaching Gospel
truths. Origen was overjoyed on reading
this letter, and immediately dispatched to
Barbara one of his own disciples disguised
asa physician, and in a very short time the
love of God shone into her heart, and she re-
ceived baptism.

Then, indeed, commenced sweet Barbara’s
troubles!

Her father hated intensely the followers of
the loving Jesus. He was absent when his
daughter enrolled herself amongitheir number,
but just before his departure he had sent to the
tower skillful architects to construct a bath-

’ chamber of surpassing beauty. ‘The work pro-
ceeded, and two windows had been reared in
the room, when Barbara, to the surprise and
wonder of the builders, ordered another to be
added. Tearing her father’s displeasure they
hesitated to obey, but at length yielded to her
earnest entreaties. When her father returned
he was much annoyed, and said:

_ ‘Why hast thou done this thing, and in-
serted three windows instead of two?’” and she
answered : :

“Know, my father, that through three win-

dows doth the soul receive light—the Father,

|

all endeavors to induce her to change her faith |

| cruel Proconsul of the city.

The account of her heroic martyrdom is very
pitiful.

The Proconsul, after talking with her and
| striving to persuade her to sacrifice to his false

| scourge.

CRUEL TORTURING IN CHINA.

fainting spirit, Barbara turned her thoughts to
One who never fails to help and comfort those
in sore distress.

Vain were the fearful torments, powerless
the dreadful scourging; Barbara only prayed
the more, and rejoiced to be counted worthy to
suffer for Christ’s sake. But at length, on De-
cember 4th, the weary days came to an end,
and with them steadfast Barbara’s life. Seeing
no indications of her yielding to his wishes, her
father is said to have carried her to a certain
mountain, and with his own hand to have dealt
the fatal blow which freed her faithful soul.

May we be enabled to join that glorious
throng of whom it has been said: ‘These are
they which came out of great tribulation.””—

———>+

Ir you had strength in youreelf to lay hold
on Him by faith, Christ would never be pre-
sented to you as the author of faith, as well as
the object of it.

| within a loathsome dungeon, and finding that | children.

“Do you understand how there can be three
2?” asked

**No, ma’am.”’

**Do you think any one does?”

‘*T suppose you do, ma’am,"’ said Sophie.
‘*No,”’ said Miss Bell, ‘‘I do not understand

| gods, condemned her to the torture and the how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
With no earthly friend to cheer her | are one.

“© You do not underst:nd how the flowers
grow; or how one kind of seed always pro-
duces one kind of flower. You know the
sun and the rain make the grain grow, but
how, you cannot tell.

“An old Iady in one of our quiet vil-
lages saw the telegraph posts, and the
wires passing through the village. And
she said, ‘They tell me that thing carries
a message from New York to Boston in no
time at all; but I don’t believe it, and I
never will believe it. It is not possible.’

“One day a letter came to the old lady,
and on opening it she found it was a mes-
sage hy telegraph, saying, ‘Your son Robert
is very ill; come immediately.’ She asked
& great many questions as to how the mes-
sage came: und when she heard that the
‘wires’ brought it, and when she saw the
date only an hour befvure the time that she
was reading it, she said, ‘It isa hoax. It
isn’t possible a message could come to me
that way.’

‘So she stayed at home. The following
day she got a letter, saying, ‘Robert has
just breathed his last. Oh, how he longed
to see his mother! We telegraphed to you
to come, and if you received, and had
started immediately, you might have seen him
before he died.’

“‘Sorely she reproached herself! After that,
she did not refuse to believe a thing which she
could not understand. "

‘Now, we have the Word of God telling us
of many things which our poor, weak minds
can no more understand than the old lady
could the telegraph, or the little fly which
crawls on my book can- understand the words
printed there; but we know that they are true,
because the God of all truth tells us they are.
We have only to believe, and we must be con-
tented not to understand, saying with the
Psalmist, ‘Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me; I cannot attain unto it.””

. Young Reaper. —

‘“‘T wisn,’’ says Luther, ‘‘the people to be
well taught in the Catechism. I found myself
upon it in all my sermons, and I preach as
simply as possible. I want the common people,

and children, and servants, to understand me.’”