2001-09-04 - Tid Bits and Gems

Part 6

Psalm 18:30 As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

The following is related by the late Reverend Mr. Swartz, then a Danish Missionary in the East Indies. A certain man, on the Malabar coast, had inquired of various devotees and priests, how he might make atonement for his sins; and at last he was directed to drive iron spikes, sufficiently blunted, through his sandals; and on these spikes he was directed to place his naked feet, and to walk, if I mistake not, about four hundred and eighty miles. If, through loss of blood, or weakness of body, he was obliged to halt, he might wait for healing and strength. He undertook the journey and while he halted under a large shady tree, where the Gospel was sometimes preached, one of the missionaries came, and preached in his hearing, from these words, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." While he was preaching, the man rose up, threw off his torturing sandals, and cried out aloud, "This is what I want!" and he became a lively witness that the blood of Jesus Christ does indeed cleanse from all sin.

Schimmelpenninck says, "The mine of Scripture is inexhaustible; and from the time at which it was first opened, till the time when faith shall be exchanged for sight, not one laborer who works therein, even from the most robust to the most feeble, will remain unrewarded by a participation in its wealth."

Mr. Newton relates an anecdote of a very poor and aged woman, who manifested great submission to the will of God. She was one day attempting to cross the road in White-chapel, when a cart that was passing threw her down, and broke one of her thigh bones. She was carried into a house, and several persons expressed their kind concern on account of the accident; but she replied, "I thank you for your pity, but all is very well, and I hope I have not one bone in my body but is willing to be broken, if such be the Lord's will."

Mr. Ayliff, a Christian missionary, writes from Butterworth, in Caffreland, in December, 1830; -- On September the 19th, Esther Jones, one of our members, was called from this suffering state, to that rest which remaineth for the people of God. Since her Baptism, her conduct has been such as adorned the doctrine of God her Savior. She was particularly marked for tenderness of soul; and generally, when attending the means of grace during prayer, the bench and the ground where she was kneeling would be literally watered with her tears. Her illness was short, and her end was peace.A short time before her death, as Mr. Jenkins, the assistant, went into her hut, she said, "O sir, pray for me: I have need of your prayers." On the day of her death, being asked if she was afraid to die, she replied, "I am not afraid! I am not afraid! Jesus is my friend! Jesus is my friend!" About three minutes before her departure, she said, "O sir, I feel happy! I feel happy!" and, bringing her hand over her breast, she exclaimed, "My heart is very happy! I have a friend, Jesus is my friend! Jesus died for me. I am not worthy! I am not worthy!" She then fell back into the arms of her daughter, and departed to her friend Jesus, whom her soul loved.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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