The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1905, Page 76

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76

The Lutheran Pioneer.

All Things Work Together for Good.

Mary, the Catholic queen of England, known in
history as ‘‘Bloody Mary,’’ tried every means to
suppress the Evangelical faith in her country. Dur-
ing her reign fire and sword were used to root out
the Bible doctrine. Many faithful witnesses of the
Gospel chose death rather than the favor of the
queen.

One day the pious Evangelical preacher Ber-
nard Gilpin was informed that he was accused of
heresy before the Bishop of London. Knowing full
well what that meant, he answered, ‘‘May God for-
give them their wickedness and grant me strength
to endure the trial!”’

When the officers came to get him, he received
them with the words of the Apostle Paul: ‘‘All
things work together for good to them that love
God,’’ Rom. 8, 28.

On his way to London he was treated very
roughly, so that he broke one of his legs. This
gave one of the officers an occasion to ask him
mockingly, ‘‘Does this also work for your good?”

‘*Why should I doubt it?’’ replied Gilpin.

And he was right. The sick man could not ap-
pear in court, and the enemies of the Gospel could
not put him to death without a trial, if they would
preserve the appearance of justice. He was, there-
fore, brought to an inn. While he was confined
there, Queen Mary died, and one of the first official
acts of the Protestant Queen Elizabeth, the succes-
sor to the throne, was to set free all those who had
been imprisoned on account of their faith.

An Unexpected Reply.

A Romish priest, watching the children coming
from a Protestant mission school, at last discovered
a boy from his parish. Calling the boy to him, he
asked where he had been.

“*To the Sunday school,’’ was the prompt reply.

‘Sunday school?” said the priest. ‘‘What is
that?”

‘A place where they teach the Gospel,’ was
the boy’s quick explanation.

“‘Oh!?? muttered the priest, ‘‘but do you know
what Christ said to Peter?’’

The priest most probably expected, as a reply,
a reference to what Christ said to Peter about build-
ing His Church on the Rock. But the boy’s quick
and unexpected reply was: ‘‘Yes, He said, ‘Get
thee behind me, Satan.’”’

The priest at once departed.

‘

He Knew His Bible.

The Elector John Frederick of Saxony was a
warm friend of Dr. Luther and the Reformation.
His love of the Gospel made him a diligent student
of the Bible. Thus he gained a good knowledge of
God’s Word, which even theologians admired.

At one time some Romish priests argued with
him concerning the Lord’s Supper, maintaining
that the bread only should be given to the laymen,
and that the wine is for the priest only. The
Elector declared that to be false doctrine and re-
ferred to the words of the institution: ‘‘Drink ye
all of it.’? The priests, however, said the word
“fall”? did not mean the common people, but only
the priests. ‘‘I cannot see,’’ said the Elector, ‘‘how
the word ‘all’ can mean the priests only.”? And as
the priests insisted upon their interpretation, he
drew from his pocket his New Testament and
opened it at John 18, 10, where Christ says: ‘‘Ye
are clean, but not all.’? To these words he pointed
the priests, saying, ‘‘According to your explanation
these words would mean: ‘Ye laymen are clean
and pious, but not the priests.’’’? His: opponents
soon left him, not willing to argue with one who
knew his Bible so well.

—___~---—____

“Not Barabbas, but Jesus.”’

A Christian lady visited an old Jew in Boston,
who lay on his dying bed. He listened attentively -
as she spoke of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel. Then
she asked a Christian friend to visit the Jew. He
did visit the dying man, and read to him from the
Bible many passages proving that Jesus is the Christ,
the Messiah of Israel. At last, by God’s grace,
light broke into the darkened soul of that Jew, and
he accepted Jesus of Nazareth. As the old man
was dying he raised his palsied hand, and in falter-
ing accents cried with his dying voice, ‘‘Oh, my
God, nof Barabbas, but this man; not Barabbas,
but Jesus, I take to my heart.’’

te

A Rich God.

Luther did not desire earthly riches. In this
world’s goods he was always poor. But he trusted
in a rich God. Once, when one of his children
came to him to say good night, he bade his darling
good night, and then added: ‘‘Go, bea good child;
I shall not leave you any money, but I shall leave
you a rich God.”’