The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1907, Page 77

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

A Noble Confession.

In the year 1552, Dionysius Peloquin was put
into prison by the papists on account of his faith.
When asked what he would call the Holy Scrip-
tures, he answered:

“They are the infallible, certain, and perfect
truth of God in the Old and New ‘Testaments, to
which no man shall add to, nor take away from;
for nothing is omitted that is necessary to our sal-
vation. Therefore I hold them to be the only rule
of the Christian religion.” The pope’s agent grew
very angry and asked, “Who told you they were the
Holy Scriptures, and how can you know it if the
Church has not assured you of it?” Peloquin knew
very well that he meant the Romish church, and he
replied: “No church need assure me of this; the
Holy Spirit, through the Word, assures me of it,
and bears witness to my heart’ and conscience that
the Scriptures are the eternal truth, to which I am
obedient, and by which I desire to live and die.
The Scriptures do not need the testimony of your
church; but the true Church is founded on the
doctrine of the prophets and apostles of our Lord
Jesus Christ, as St. Paul testifies in his letter to
the Ephesians.” (Eph. 2, 20.)

As Peloquin continued in this noble confession
in spite of all the tortures and threatenings of the
pope’s people, he was burned alive September 4,
1553. ‘To his last breath, the noble martyr did not
cease to implore God’s mercy for himself and for
his enemies.

Hiding God’s Word.

Once a Bible was baked in a loaf of bread. That

was in faraway Austria. Some wicked papists came
into the house to find the Bible and burn it, but the
woman who owned it was just going to bake bread;
so she rolled up her Bible in a big loaf and put it
in the oven. When the men went away, she took
out the loaf, and the Bible was not hurt a bit. That
was a good place to hide a Bible, wasn’t it? But
T’ll tell you astill better way. David knew of the
place when he said: “Thy Word have I hid in mine
heart.” {

In that way the Protestant Christians in the
southeast of France hid God’s Word from its ene-
mies during the terrible persecutions which they
had to suffer at the hands of the Romish people in
the first half of the eighteenth century. They could
meet for religious services only with the greatest

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secrecy in some secluded spot among the mountains,
and that at great risk of being surprised by their
persecutors. There came a time when so few Bibles
were left to them that there were not enough to
supply one to each group of families accustomed to
worship together. ‘To remedy this, and to guard
against the entire loss of the Word of God, should
all the remaining copies be seized, societies were
formed among the young people for the purpose of
learning it by heart, each member committing to
memory a certain portion. This was done with the
greatest precision, and whenever a congregation
gathered for worship the members of the society
stood beside the pastor and recited to the listening
people whatever portion of Scripture he might call
for. They dearly loved God’s Word and could say
with the psalmist: “Thy Word have I hid in my
heart.”

—.— 29 ———$—____—__

Comfort in Time of Trouble.

At a time of great trouble, Luther, Melanch-
thon, and other friends were considering what
measures they should take for the welfare of the
Church. After they had spent some time in united
prayer, Melanchthon was suddenly called from the
room, and went out much depressed in spirits. Dur-
ing his absence he had an interview with several
elders of the Evangelical churches, who were ac-
companied by a few of their parishioners and their
families. Some of the older children were engaged
in prayer, while some were present who were still
at the breast. Reminded by this fact of the
prophet’s words: “Out of the mouths of babes and
sucklings hast Thou ordained strength, because of
Thine enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy
and the avenger,” Melanchthon returned to the
room of conference with a joyful mind and a cheer-
ful face.

Astonished at this sudden change in his friend,
Luther said, “What now? What has happened to
you, Philip, that you are become so cheerful?”

“Qh, sirs,’ replied Melanchthon, “let us not be
discouraged, for I have seen our noble protectors,
and such as I will venture to say will prove in-
vincible against every foe. They are the wives of
our parishioners, and their little children, whose
prayers I have just witnessed — prayers which I am
satisfied our God will hear; for as our heavenly
Father and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has
never despised or rejected our supplications, we
have reason to trust that He will not do so in the
present alarming crisis.”