The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1889, Page 15

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The Lutheran’ Pioneer: :

15

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Joy in Obedience. his religion—one who is put to death because
he will not do something he knows to be a sin
against God, and which a king or some person
with authority and power commands him to do.
There were men once who could not bear to
hear even the name of Jesus, and who hated
all who loved Jesus, and these men knew a man
named Stephen, who loved Jesus with his
whole heart, and delighted to speak about Him.
So they were exceedingly angry against Ste-
phen, and because he did not give up his love
they took up stones, rushed on him, and dashed
the stones at him till they killed him. So Ste-
phen is called a martyr, the first martyr for
Christ.

Now let us follow the procession along the
shore. Whilst we have been talking the sol-
diers have set up two posts in the wet sand—
one is away yonder, down close where the sea
waves are breaking. To that they make the
aged woman stand, and, having bound her to
it with ropes, they ask her what to her means,
“Will she deny God and honor the king?’
Her life hangs upon the answer. But to her
the sweetness of pleasing God is far better than
the sweetness of living; so, very naturally she
answers, she cannot. Then they leave her
there, and retire to the second post, which is
farther from the sea, and near to the town.
Then they order the girl to stand up to that;
she obeys and they bind her to it with ropes,
and then ask her what to her means, ‘* Will
she deny God and honor the king?’’ The girl’s
life depends upon her answer. But she has no
hesitancy. For the bare idea of disobedience
to God is simply unutterable wretchedness to
her. She turns sick at the thought, and firmly
and calmly replies, she cannot. Then they
point her to the stake near the sea. The tide
is coming in. Already the waves are rising
round it; slowly, wave by wave, they reach its
top, and the aged woman is no more: the wa-
ters have covered her; she is drowned. Again
the young girl is asked to save her life. She
may do so, or be drowned like her companion.
But she tells them her joy is to obey God; a
life without His favor were a life not worth
living. To obey Him is better than life. Then
they fasten the ropes round her tighter, and
make her sob with pain. They have no need
to do this. She does not try to get away, but
they are angry with her, they do not under-
stand her; a young girl like she is, throwing
away her life! She seems to them to be ob-
stinate and foolish. Perhaps they mean to be
kind by their anger; they are sorry for her to
throw away, as they think, her fair young life.
They have made her watch the waves rise, inch
by inch, around her companion till she was
drowned, in the hope of frightening her into
submission. But though she had turned deadly
pale, and her lips had quivered with prayer for
strength, the sight had failed. And now they
think the pinch of ropes round her limbs will
persuade her to yield; butitdoes not. So their
anger, becomes cruel, and they sneer and jest,
while the sea rolls in its cold waves, wave chas-

“‘ Thy loving kindness is better.than life.?’ Ps, 62, 3.

Go with me toa town in Scotland which is
-on the sea-coast. ‘There are houses along the
:shore, and there is a long stretch of sand coy-

‘-ered with shallow pools of water left by the

outgone tide; and past these pools of shore is
the wild, billowy sea, on which are rocking at
:anchor the boats of the fishermen who live in
the town. The place is all alive with excite-
‘ment. Long lines of people are wending their
‘way down the narrow streets. What has hap-
‘pened? They look like streams of people com-
sing from church; for their manner seems un-
‘usually serious, and most of them are talking
-about religion, and in a subdued tone. Still,
‘they are not coming from church, for there is
no service there to-day. It is a week-day, and
‘business may be done as usual; yet there is no
business doing, and the shop-keepers are turn-
ing the keys in their doors and joining the
‘crowd in the streets. Where are they going?
They are not going home, for all their faces are
in one direction; they are making for the shore.
Why do they go there? ‘There are rich and
poor, old and young. What are they going to
see? You cannot guess what the sight is to be.
But watch awhile. Yonder comes something
to which all eyes are turned. As it comes
nearer we see that it is a little group of priests
and soldiers, and two women. One of the
women is old and feeble, and her hands are
bound together with strong iron rings, and a
rope is round her waist. One of the soldiers
has hold of the rope, and is dragging her along,
though there is no need to drag her; she is
willing to go quietly enough. » Behind her is a
girl, and she, too, is bound—her hands with
iron and her waist with a rope—and another
soldier is dragging her along. What a strange
procession! It reaches the shore, and the crowds
make way, and the busy hum of talk is hushed.
Some pity the old woman, but all pity the fair
young girl. They have just come from prison,
and now they are being led out to die. But
what have they done to be imprisoned and put
to death? They are full of joy in obeying God,
and cannot obey man. That is all. ~ And for
that they have been sent to prison, with foul,
damp walls, filthy, slimy floors, all cold and
dark. They did not like these things: they
were very painful to them; and doubtless they
had some good cries over their miseries there.
Yet they might have come out again and gone
to their homes in peace if they would only have
done what the king told them to do; but they
could not, for they knew that it was a wrong
thing and would grieve God; and the miseries
of a horrible prison were not so miserable as
the mere thinking about grieving God. So,
while they respected the king of Scotland, they
obeyed the King of Glory, and for that obe-
dience they are to die.

It is to see these two martyrs I have asked

you ‘to come with me to this shore of the Scot-

tish town. A martyr is a person who dies for

ing wave, till at length. the sea surrounds her,
and the soldiers withdraw. At last the work is
done, and from the grey, wild sea her glad
spirit goes to God.

Such was the girl’s joy in obedience to God;
pain and death could not change it.

————> +o

“Coals of Fire.”

Avslave in one of the islands in the West In-
dies, who had originally come from Africa, hay-
ing been brought under the influence of religi-
ous instruction, became singularly valuable to
his owner on account of -his integrity and gen-
eral conduct, so much so that his master raised
him to a situation of some consequence in the
management of his estate. His owner, on one
occasion wishing to purchase twenty additional
slaves, employed him to make the selection,
giving him instructions to choose those who
were strong and likely to make good workmen.

The man went to the slave-market and com-
menced his scrutiny. He had not long sur-
veyed the multitude offered for sale before he
fixed his eye intently upon an old and decrepit
slave, and told his master that he must be one.
The master appeared greatly surprised at his
choice, and remonstrated against it. The poor
fellow begged that he might be indulged; when
the dealer remarked that, if they were about
to buy twenty, he would give them the old
man to the bargain. The purchase was ac-
cordingly made, and the slaves were conducted
to the plantation of their new master, but upon
none did the selecter bestow half the attention
and care that he did upon the poor old decrepit
African. He took him to his own habitation
and laid him upon his bed; he fed him at his
own table and gave him drink out of his own
cup; when he was cold he carried him into the
sunshine, and when he was hot he placed him
under the shade of the cocoanut trees. Aston-
ished at the attention this confidential slave
bestowed upon a poor fellow-slave, his master
interrogated him upon the subject. He said,
“You could not take so intense an interest in
the old man but for some special reason; he is
a relation of yours—perhaps your father?”

‘‘No, massa,” answered the poor fellow, ‘he
no my fader.” -

“He is then an elder brother?”

“No, massa; he no my broder.’?

‘Then he is an uncle, or some other rela-
tion??? Ss

“No, massa; he no be of my kindred at all
—not even a friend.”

‘Then,’ asked the master, ‘ton what ac-
count does he excite your interest?”’

‘‘He my enemy, massa,’” replied the slave;
‘the sold me to the slave-dealer; and my Bible
tell me, when my enemy hunger, feed him;
and when he thirst, give him drink.””

——s ~<o o —o

A uirtte girl, about eleven years of age,
said to a relative who complained of poverty,
“A man muy go to heaven/without a penn :
his pocket, but not without grace in his heart.”