The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1906, Page 12

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12

Faithful unto Death.

In a time of great darkness, when people did not
enjoy liberty of conscience, a party of soldiers, under
a very cruel leader, were one day riding along a
road in Scotland, when they met a lad carrying a
book. When asked what book he had, the boy re-
plied with a fearless upward glance, “The Bible.”

“Throw it into the ditch!” shouted the fierce
commander.

“No,” said the boy, “it is God’s Word.”

A second order to throw away the book only
made the boy to grasp his treasure more firmly.

Simeon and the Child Jesus, Luke 2, 25—32.

Then followed the cruel command: “Pull your
cap over your eyes, lad! Soldiers, prepare to fire!”

For a moment the soldiers hesitated, but their
leader’s face was stern. The boy never flinched.
He was not afraid to face death, or taste its bitter-
ness, because he knew he would pass through death
into the joyful presence of the Savior who loved him
and who redeemed him with His holy, precious
blood and with His innocent suffering and death.
He thought of His Savior’s words: “Be thou faith-
ful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

“J will not cover my eyes,” the boy said, firmly.
“J will look you in the face as you must look me in
the face at the great judgment day.”

Another moment, and he Jay shot through the
heart, but his spirit was with the Lord who gave it.

The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Parson’s Reply.

In 1864, a regiment of Confederates from South
Carolina was marching north to join Lee. While
in North Carolina, they camped one day on two
opposite hills, between which a road ran. An old
country parson lived in that neighborhood. arly
the next morning the preacher mounted his mule
and trotted down the road which ran through the
camp. He was a very old man, with a stern face
and long, white beard, which, taken with his white
hair, gave him an appearance decidedly patriarchal.
The soldiers secing him on his mule coming down
the road decided to have some fun
with the parson.

“Hullo, fellows,
Father Abraham !”
them to a comrade, as the old man
rode between them.

“No, he isn’t,” shouted back the
other; “he’s Father Jacob !”

* ‘The old parson stopped and
shook his finger at the laughing
soldiers. “I am neither Father
Abraham nor Father Jacob!” he
cried. A knot of soldiers gathered
about him.

“Well, who are you then ?” cried
his tormentor. “It is no use for
you to deny that you are out of the
Old Testament somewhere.”

The old preacher rose in his
stirrups, and waving his hand to-
ward the soldiers he roared: “Yes,
I am out of the Old Testament sure
enough. I’m Saul, the son of Kish,
looking for his father’s asses, and
I’ve found them.”

The mocking soldiers were silenced by the strik-
ing reply and never again molested the old parson.
We were told that some of them even listened at-
tentively to his preaching in the evening.

here comes

called one of

A Corean’s Bible Knowledge.

Robert E. Speer, in one of his Bible addresses,
told of a meeting which he had had with some
Corean Christians, who had known the Gospel but -
a few years. Among them was a blind man
who manifested great familiarity with the Bible.
Mr. Speer said to these Corean Christians:

“Now, you know that not everybody in America
believes in this Gospel. The majority of the people
in our country are not followers of Jesus, and as