The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1901, Page 3

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‘The Lutheran Pioneer. 3

Massa, You No Understand It.

There once lived in one of our large cities
a poor colored woman, named Betty, who had
been confined by sickness for nearly twenty
years. By the few friends that knew her she
was familiarly called poor Betty. Betty had
seen comfortable days. She had long been
blind, and was said to be 105 years old.

Mr. B. was a man of wealth and business in
the same city. His signature was better than
silver on the exchange, because it was more
easily transferred. His sails whitened the
ocean, his charity gladdened many hearts, and
his family gave impulse to many benevolent
operations. Notwithstanding the pressure of
business, Mr. B. often found time to drop in
and see what became of poor Betty. His
yoice, and even his step had become familiar
to her, and always lighted up a smile on her!
dark, wrinkled face. He would often say
some pleasant things to cheer this lonely
pilgrim on her way to Zion.

One day Mr. B. took a friend from the
country to see Betty. As he stopped and
entered the cottage door, he said, ‘‘Ah,
Betty, you are alive yet.’’ ‘‘Yes, thank
God,” said Betty. ‘‘Betty,’’ said he,
“why do you suppose God keeps you so
long in this world poor, and sick, and
blind, when you might go to heaven and
enjoy so much?’’

While Mr. B.’s tone and manner were
half sportive, he yet uttered a serious
thought which had more than once come
over his mind. Now comes the sermon.

Betty assumed her most serious and
animated tone and replied, ‘‘Ah, massa,
you no understand it. Dare be two great
things to do for de church, one be to pray
for it, toder be to work for it. Now,
massa, God keep me alive to pray for de
church; and He keep you alive to act for it.
Your great gifts no do much good, massa,
without poor Betty’s prayers.”

For a few moments Mr. B. and his friend
stood silent, thrilled, and astonished. They
felt the knowledge, the dignity of this short
sermon. It seemed to draw aside the veil a
little, and let them into heaven’s mysteries.
“Yes, Betty,’’ replied Mr. B., in the most
serious and subdued tones, ‘‘your prayers are
of more importance to the church than my}
alms.’’ This short sermon preached by poor
Betty, was never forgotten by Mr. B. or his
friend. It made them more prayerful, more
submissive in afllictions.

——s +o or or _

“God Gave the Increase.”

Writing on these words of St. Paul, Dr. Lu-
ther tells the following story: ‘‘Were it left

and, therefore, he asked God to allow him to
govern the weather for awhile after his own
pleasure. The Lord complied with his wish,
and the peasant ruled.
he wanted rain; the clouds dispersed and the
sun shone at his bidding; the weather was
pleasant continually; his grain sprang up and
grew very rapidly, so that he counted on an
exceptionally good crop. But when harvest
came he found that he had nothing but straw

and empty ears. It then dawned upon him that}
This shows that,

he had forgotten the wind.
even if given the power, we could not govern
right. Neither would our ruling avail any-
thing, although God would give rain and all
at the right time.
be blessed by God in order that it may thrive,

It rained whenever |

For the growth must also |

ing anxiously at the door. ‘My poor, dear
George,’”’ she said; ‘the is still so young and
is to die. I have often told him to seek his
soul’s salvation; but now I fear it is too late.’’

I entered a half-darkened room, in which I
found the young man breathing heavily. His
eyes were half closed and he seemed to be
unconscious. Suddenly he opened his eyes
and whispered, **Where am I?’’

“You are at home with your mother, dear
George,’’ answered his mother.

‘And am I very sick ?””

‘Yes, my boy, you are very sick,’’ was the
reply. Then he looked at his mother with
eyes filled with fear and said, ‘‘Mother, I
shall not die, shall I? Ican not die.’’ His
head sank into the pillow and he again be-

as St. Paul says of the spiritual husbandry, | came unconscious.

1 Cor. 3,6: ‘‘I have planted; another watered;
but God gave the increase.”

On Life’s Sea.

“T am sailing
Over life’s sea.
Jesus, keep me
Very near Thee.

“When Peter cried,
‘I perish, save!’
Thou didst lift
Him from the wave.

“As Thou didst walk
On Galilee,
Oh, walk Thou still,
Dear Lord, by me.

‘When dangers come
On my life’s sea,
Lift me, Saviour,
Nearer to Thee.”

—— 0 a

“Only One More Chance.”

A pastor relates the following sad story:

to our wisdom to rule and govern as we think| One evening a young man came to me and
hest, but very little would be accomplished. | said, ‘My brother George is dying, and he is
We would fare no better than a certain peasant, |afraid to die. Please come immediately, for
who thought himself wiser than our Lord. He} the doctor says he cannot live till morning.”’
was continually displeased with the weather,| I went with him and found the mother wait-

When he recovered somewhat, his mother
said, ‘‘The pastor is here.”

He looked anxiously at me, saying,
‘Oh, pray God that He will give me one
more chance.’’ Then he fainted away.

We knelt at his bed and prayed God
for the salvation of his soul; we prayed
Him to give him one more chance. And
whilst we were praying the poor young
man murmured with a broken voice: ‘‘I
cannot die—one chance—only one more
chance.’’

George did not die. Days passed by
in which I often spoke with him about
the way of salvation. The crisis came
and George soon fully recovered. There
was great joy in the family. God had
heard our prayers and had restored him
to health.

But, alas, with the return of health
those earnest thoughts which occupied
his mind during his sickness passed away.
He had feared to die without the Saviour,
but he did not fear to live without the Saviour.
He was thankful for all that was done for him
during his sickness, but he did not like to
hear of that solemn hour when he, standing
on the threshold of eternity, begged God for
one more chance.

He soon again entered upon his wicked life
and at last resolved to go to sea against
the wish of his mother. I again spoke with
him very earnestly about his soul’s salvation.
‘tAnd now,’’ I said, ‘tyou want to go to sea
without the consent of your mother? Be-
ware, God is not mocked.”

“Oh,” he replied, ‘I have not given up
becoming a Christian; but now I want to go
to sea and epjoy life. When I return we can
talk over the matter.’’ Before I could reply
he turned and left me.

A few days later his mother received a let-
ter from the-captain of the vessel in which
George had sailed. During a storm George
had been washed overboard and could not be
saved. He had intended to become a Chris-
tian at some future time, but where was le
now ?

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked.”’

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