The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1895, Page 35

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

But, after all, the harpooning is the main thing.
If the whaleman fails in that, his whole voyage
and venture are a failure, and I can’t help
thinking that it is so in preaching.’’

Jack was an old-fashioned tar. He did not
appreciate the modern improvements.

Selected.
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Wayside Sowing.

I met an old man of seventy-five years,
breaking stones on the road, says a mis-

sionary. Offered him a little book; he took
it with ‘‘Thankee, sir.’’ ‘‘Can you read it?”’
LIasked. ‘‘No, sir; can’t read; but I’ve got

a little maid, my son’s child, who can read
a bit.”” I said it was time he gave up such
work as this-hard work for one of his years.
“T must do a bit as I can; the parish only
allow me two shillings a week, and they be
talking of putting us in the house; but it
won’t be long we shall have to bear the
troubles. I have had my share of ’em. ’Tis
hard; master, ’tis, I’m sure.’? And the old
man drew his sleeve across his eyes, to wipe
off a tear which had come in the remembrance
of past troubles, and perhaps future ones also.
Tasked him if his troubles would all be over
in this life. ‘‘I hope so, sir, I hope so; ’tis
bad enough to have a life of trouble here;
don’t want them in the next world.’’ I re-
plied,-‘‘I read of a country where the in-
habitants were never. sick, and where-God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow
Nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more; neither shall the sun smite
them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is
in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall lead them to living fountains of
water. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. And there shall be no more
curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb
shall be in it, and His servants shall serye
Him, and they shall see His face, and His
name shall be in their foreheads. And there
shall be no night here. And they need no
candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord
God giveth them light. And they shall reign
for ever and ever.’’

The old man listened with great interest,
and said, as I finished those words, ‘‘That
must be a fine country, sir; I-s’pose that is
heayen.”’ ‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘it is. Are you
going there?’”’ ‘I’m feared not,’? was the
Teply. ‘‘I beant fit for sich a place as that.”
“No,’’ Treplied, ‘none of us are fit in our-
Selves; but God makes fit all who go there.
They are all sinners, but all are forgiven their
Sins. They all came up from this evil world;
they all had plenty of trouble while here; but
they washed their robes, and made them white
inthe blood of the Lamb, Therefore are they
before the throne of God, because the Saviour
died for them, and bore their sins away. And
When the good news of God’s mercy was told

»

them, they believed it, and were saved, and
lived in this world seeking to please Him who
died for them, and who is now living for them,
to care for them, and to bring them home to
His home in this beautiful country. They were
just like you and me; they were sinners; but
when they were offered forgiveness, they ac-
cepted it. And this is the way you may be
made fit— by your receiving the same message
of mercy.’’ ‘‘What do you say, sir?’’ said
the old man, with surprise; ‘‘that I may be
forgiven all my past sins at once?’’ ‘‘Yes,’’
I replied; ‘‘I can show it to you from this
book which God has caused to be written for
this purpose, that men may see His love to
them, and, in believing His love, may have
life through His name.’’ I then read Acts
10, 43. 18, 38. 39. Eph. 1, 7, and several
other Scriptures. The old man exclaimed:
‘‘“Never heard it afore; never thought that
such was to be had in this here world. Won-
derful, wonderful! And is it for anybody ?’’
‘Yes, whosoever heareth the Word, and be-
lieyeth on Him who sent the Word, may have
everlasting life.’’ ‘‘Well, bless my heart,
that’s fine.’? ‘‘Do you understand?’’ I asked.
“Yes, I think, some of it.”” And I had to re-
peat it again as to the way of salvation; and
I do trust that old man was able to take the
message of mercy, and to look forward to the
land where all the sorrew shall be over.

The Lord Will Provide.

A minister in charge of a small congregation
in a mountain region where the people could
not well support him, was often sorely pressed
to make ends meet. He and his good wife
denied themselves many comforts, and tried
to feed and clothe themselves and children on
as little as possible. One day his wife needed
something for the house, and he gave her
a dollar, saying: ‘‘It is our last dollar, my
dear. But the Lord will provide.’’ ‘‘You’ve
always been saying that, husband,’”’ said the
wife, as she burst into tears. ‘‘Why do we
stay here, since we can’t get bread for our
children.’”? The husband told her that the
Lord had called him to preach to these people,
and he did not think it would be right for him
to leave. He also added: ‘‘Let us trust in the
Lord, dear Mary. Surely He will take care
of us. David said, ‘I have been young, and
now am old, yet have I never seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.’ That
promise has never failed yet, and I don’t be-
lieve it will fail now.”’

Just as he ceased speaking there was a
knock at the door. .A violent storm had come
up while the husband and wife were talking,
and a trayeler, wet through with rain, stood
at the door asking for shelter. They invited
him in. The pastor told him he must take
him to the kitchen, as they did not have fire
in any other part of the house. While the
stranger was warming and drying himself he
and the minister had a pleasant conversation.

The stranger was an educated and also a
wealthy gentleman.

At last the storm was over and the stranger,
heartily thanking the good man and his wife,
took his departure. The minister brought out
the gentleman’s horse, helped him to mount,
bade him good-bye, and watched him till he
was out of sight. On entering the house his
wife said, ‘‘See here, I found this on the table
where the stranger sat.’’ It was a fifty dollar
note, wrapped hastily in a bit of paper. On
the paper there had been hastily written the
verse that the minister had repeated just be-
fore they heard the knock at the door: ‘‘I have
been young, and now am old, yet have I never
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
begging bread.”” The stranger had evidently
overheard the conversation of the minister and
his wife, and thought it is duty to help them
in this way. The pastor held the note and
paper in his hand and exclaimed, ‘‘He means
this for us. Thanks be to the Lord!’’ The
wife burst into tears and cried, ‘‘God forgive
me for doubting. Surely, He will provide.”’

The stranger’s kindness did not stop here.
About a month afterwards the minister re-
ceived a call to become pastor of the con-
gregation of which this kind gentleman was
a member, and the matter was urged upon
him until, with the consent of his little flock,
he accepted.—Luth. Child’s Paper.

——_s +e o> oo

Do Missions Pay?

A seaman on returning home to Scotland
after a cruise in the Pacific, was asked: ‘*Do
you think the missionaries have done any good
in the South Sea Islands?’’ ‘‘I will tell you
a fact which speaks for itself,’’ said the sailor.
‘‘Last year I was wrecked on one of those
islands, where I knew that eight years before
a ship was wrecked and the crew murdered;
and you may judge how I felt at the prospect
before me, if not dashed to pieces on the rocks,
to survive for only a more cruel death. When
day broke, we saw a number of canoes pull-
ing for our poor ship, and we prepared for
the worst. Think of our joy and wonder when -
we saw the natives in English dress, and heard
some of them speak the English language. On
that very island the next Sunday we heard the
Gospel preached. I do not know what you
think of missions, but I know what I do.””

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The Happy Christian.

An aged Christian, who had served the Lord
for sixty years, was asked, when near his de-
parture, if he had any doubts. ‘‘Doubts!’’ he
responded. ‘‘How can I haye doubts? Z have
the eternal promise.”’

«‘Ffave you any darkness ?’?”

‘*How can I have darkness? J dwell in the
sunshine of His glorious countenance.’””

‘tAre you afraid to die?’”

“Afraid to die? No! death will be my
birthday in the palace of glory.’?—Selected.