Faith courage involves bold trust in God that overcomes fear, hesitation, and worldly threats, empowering believers to act decisively in His service (Joshua 1:9). Illustrations often portray battle, steadfast soldiers, or individuals choosing God’s Word over safety, symbolizing spiritual warfare and the bravery required to follow Christ faithfully (2 Timothy 1:7).
Christian courage trusts God's protection and treasures heaven above earthly threats.
Chrysostom, the ancient Church Father, was a beautiful example of true Christian courage. When he stood before the Roman Emperor, he was threatened with banishment if he still remained a Christian. Chrysostom replied, "You cannot, for the world is my Father's house; you cannot banish me."
"But I will slay you," said the Emperor.
"No, but you cannot," said the noble champion of the faith again, "for my life is hid with Christ in God."
"I will take away thy treasures." "No, but you cannot," was the retort; "in the first place, I have nothing you know anything about. My treasure is in heaven, and my heart is there."
"But I will drive you away from man, and you shall have no friend left." "No, and that you cannot," once more said the faithful witness, "for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you shall not separate me. I defy you; there is nothing you can do to hurt me."
Faithful obedience despite ridicule can inspire others to join in prayer.
A faithful Christian soldier went to his chaplain for advice. "Last night," he said, "when I knelt by my bed and prayed, the fellows began to ridicule me and throw shoes at me. What should I do?" "Well," said the chaplain, "why don't you stop kneeling down? Just lie down in bed and lift your heart to God in silence and He will hear you." After a few days, the chaplain asked the soldier how he was faring with his evening prayers. "I'll tell you, Reverend. I followed your advice for three nights, but my conscience began to bother me because I was betraying my Lord. So I began to kneel down as I did before." "And what happened?" "I was really amazed. Not a single fellow ridiculed me. Now the fifteen men in my tent kneel down with me, and I pray aloud for all of them."
A small army's fearless zeal and refusal to surrender leads to victory over a larger foe.
There's a story told in history in the ninth century, I believe, of a young man that came up with a little handful of men to attack a king who had a great army of three thousand men. The young man had only five hundred, and the king sent a messenger to the young man, saying that he need not fear to surrender, for he would treat him mercifully. The young man called up one of his soldiers and said: "Take this dagger and drive it to your heart;" and the soldier took the dagger and drove it to his heart. And calling up another, he said to him, "Leap into yonder chasm," and the man leaped into the chasm. The young man then said to the messenger, "Go back and tell your King I have got five hundred men like these. We will die, but we will never surrender. And tell your King another thing; that I will have him chained with my dog inside of half an hour." And when the King heard that he did not dare to meet them, and his army fled before them like chaff before the wind, and within twenty-four hours he had that King chained with his dog. That is the kind of zeal we want. "We will die, but we will never surrender." We will work until Jesus comes, and then we will rise with Him.
Bold, decisive activity is greater than mere reaction or hesitation in fulfilling God's work.
It is good policy to strike while the iron is hot: it is still better to adopt Cromwell's procedure, and make the iron hot by striking. The master-spirit who can rule the storm is great, but he is much greater who can both raise and rule it. To attain that grand power, one must possess the brave and indomitable soul of activity which prompted Edmund Burke to exclaim to his constituents in his famous speech at Bristol, "Applaud us when we run; console us when we fall; cheer us when we recover: but let us pass on, — for God's sake, let us pass on."
— E. L. Magoon
Following the standard-bearer courageously led to victory despite initial fear.
It was a disgrace for a legion to lose its standard. When Caesar undertook the conquest of Britain, the appearance of the foe was so formidable as to deter him from landing. At length, the standard-bearer of the tenth legion leaped into the waves, and made for the shore. The troops followed to protect their flag, and thus secured a landing, and effected the final conquest.
A sick soldier chose to face battle courageously rather than die in safety.
It is said when the footsore and wearied regiments of the
Union Army neared Gettysburg, and the sounds of the battle reached their ears, wornout and sick officers and men, inspired with a new strength, grasping their arms, moved forward to the scene of strife. A poor fellow who looked the image of death hobbled out of an ambulance, and, shouldering his musket, was just starting forward, when the surgeon stopped him with, "Where are you going, sir?"
The brave fellow said, trying hard to stand firm, and speak boldly, "To the front, doctor."
— "What! a man in your condition? You can't march half a mile. You haven't strength to carry yourself, let alone your musket and equipments. You have every symptom of the typhoid-fever: a little over-exertion will certainly kill you." — "Well, doctor," said he,
"if I must die, I would rather die in the field than in an ambulance." Rev. E. B. Tuthill.
A young sailor bravely climbs a mast in a storm, trusting in God's protection.
I must tell you of a feat performed by a sailor-boy at the height of the storm. He was literally a boy, and far better fitted for thumbing Webster's Spelling-Book than furling a sail in a storm. But his mother was a widow, and where could the boy earn a living for himself and mother better than at sea? The ship was rolling fearfully. Some of the rigging got foul at the mainmast-head, and it was necessary that some one should go up and rectify it. It was a perilous job. I was standing near the mate, and heard him order that boy to do it. He lifted his cap, and glanced at the swinging mast, the boiling wrathful seas, and at the steady, determined countenance of the mate. He hesitated in silence a moment, then, rushing across the deck, he pitched down into the forecastle. Perhaps he was gone two minutes, when he returned, laid his hands on the rat-lines, and went up with a will. My eyes followed him till my head was dizzy, when I turned, and remonstrated with the mate for sending the boy aloft. He could not come down alive. "Why did you send him?"—"I did it," replied the mate, "to save his life. We've sometimes lost men overboard, but never a boy. See how he holds like a squirrel. He is more careful: he'll come down safe, I hope." Again I looked till tears dimmed my eyes, and I was compelled to turn away, expecting every moment to catch a glimpse of his last fall. In about fifteen or twenty minutes, he came down; and, straightening himself up with the conscious pride of having performed a manly act, he walked aft with a smile on his countenance. In the course of the day, I took occasion to speak to him, and asked him why he hesitated when ordered aloft? "I went, sir," said the boy, "to pray."—"Do you pray?"—"Yes, sir. I thought that I might not come down alive; and I went to commit my soul to God."—"Where did you learn to pray?"—"At home. My mother wanted me to go to the sabbath school, and my teacher urged me to pray to God to keep me; and I do."—"What was that you had in your jacket?"—"My Testament, which my teacher gave me. I thought, if I did perish, I would have the word of God close to my heart."
— Christina Intelligencer
The officer selects the bravest soldiers from those praying, linking courage and faith.
During the war, eleven men and a sergeant were wanted for special perilous service. The officer entered the soldiers' prayer-meeting, and took the number from the praying men occupying the front seat, saying that he must have "the best men in the regiment."
A wounded soldier chooses to die facing the enemy, exemplifying bravery and faith.
At the defeat of Romagnans, Bonivet, wounded, and not able to serve any longer, gave the command of the army up to Bayard, who, as usual, performed prodigies of valor, until he was wounded by a musket-shot, which broke the vertebrae of his back. He then caused himself to be helped off his horse, and to be placed at the foot of a tree, "that, at least," said he, "I may die facing the enemy." Percy.
Martius chooses the Word of God over a military sword, showing faith's priority.
In the early times of the Christian Church, a Christian soldier, named Martius, served in the Roman army.
This was no uncommon circumstance then.
He was young, of a good and wealthy family, and much respected in his profession. The office of centurion becoming vacant, he was chosen as a suitable person to hold it. But another soldier came forward, and declared that Martius, being a Christian, was legally unfit for the post; and that he himself, being next in rank, ought to be preferred. Martius, being questioned, at once confessed his religion;
but the governor, knowing the terrible consequences which must follow if the point were to be seriously taken up, said he might have three hours for consideration, after which the question would be repeated. Theotocenes,
Bishop of Caesarea, heard what was going on.
He came to the tribunal, and, taking the arm of Martius, led him into the nearest church.
Then taking a soldier's sword, he laid it down beside a New Testament. "And now," he said, "choose, my son, between these two."
Martius did not hesitate: he laid hold at once of the Word of God. "You have done well, my son," said the faithful pastor. "Hold fast by Him whom you have chosen, and you shall soon enjoy him forever. He will strengthen you for all that remains, and you shall depart in peace." The remaining time was spent in earnest exhortation and solemn prayer. When the three hours were past, he was again summoned to the bar. He boldly confessed his faith in Christ, was condemned and beheaded.
His name will ever be remembered with honor as one of "the noble army of martyrs."
Brave example inspires endurance and dignity amid suffering and pain.
At the capture of the redan, Dunham Massey, a brave young soldier, fell, having his thigh-bone shattered by a musket-ball. The wounded around were groaning, and some even loudly crying out. A voice called out, faintly at first, loudly afterward, "Are you Queen Victoria's soldiers?" Some voices answered, "I am! I am!"—"Then," said the gallant boy, "let us not shame ourselves; let us show those Russians that we can bear pain, as well as fight like men." There was a silence as of death, and more than once he had it renewed by similar appeals. The unquailing spirit of that beardless boy ruled all around him.
Many talents fail to flourish due to lack of courage and fear of men over God.
A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of a little courage. — Sydney Smith. — The coward will call himself a wary man. — Bacon. — The servants of the Lord should be as bold for their Master as the Devil's servants are for theirs. — Countess of Warwick. — We fear men so much, because we fear God so little. — Garnall. — Things out of hope are compassed off with venturing.
A Christian boldly chooses faithfulness to God over life’s threats or imprisonment.
The King of France ordered the Prince De Condé his choice of three things, — first, to go to mass; second, to die; or, third, to be imprisoned for life. The answer was, "With regard to the first, I am fully determined never to go to mass: as to the other two, I am so perfectly indifferent, that I leave the choice to your Majesty."
True courage trusts God and refuses to be deterred by dangers or fear.
It is related of Sir Horace Vere, that, when in the Palatinate, a council of war was called; and, there being a debate whether they would fight or not, some Dutch lord said that the enemy had many pieces of ordnance planted in such a place, and therefore it was dangerous to fight. He replied, "My lords, if you fear the mouth of a cannon, you must never come into the field."
— Spencer
Christian soldiers prayed, sang, and trusted God’s word, leading to victory in battle.
Cromwell's Ironsides were men that had the fear of God before them, and made some conscience of what they did. They were always victorious. They went into battle, praying, and singing psalms. Their watchword was, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." Every soldier had his pocket Bible of select texts for soldiers, and fed his soul upon the word of God.
Cowardly Christians disgrace God's name by fleeing rather than standing boldly for Him.
Oh, how uncomely a sight it is!—a bold sinner and a fearful saint; one resolved to be wicked, and a Christian wavering in his holy course; to see guilt put innocency to flight, and hell keep the field, impudently braving it with displayed banners of open profaneness, and saints to hide their colors for shame, and run from them for fear, who should rather wrap themselves in chains, and die upon the place, than thus betray the glorious name of God, by which they are called, to the scorn of the uncircumcised.
— Gurnall
Suwaroff acts decisively on faith, trusting God's guidance to reclaim lost ground.
When Gen. Suwaroff commanded, under the Prince of Coburg, on the frontiers of Turkey, he had an army of twenty-two thousand men. Coburg himself had thirty-seven thousand, and the Turks only twenty-eight thousand. Prince Coburg's army, which had taken a good position on a rising ground, about nine miles distant from Suwaroff, was attacked, and obliged to fall back. Coburg then wrote to Suwaroff, "I was attacked this morning by the Turks. I have lost my position and artillery. I send you no instructions what to do. Use your own judgment, only let me know what you have done as soon after as you can." Suwaroff immediately sent the following answer, "I shall attack the Turks tomorrow morning, drive them from your position, and retake your cannon." Before three o'clock in the afternoon, Suwaroff kept his word; and Coburg's army had the cannon and their old position before night. Percy.
A determined man acts decisively and overcomes obstacles to achieve his goals.
The man will not re-examine his conclusions with endless repetition, and he will not be delayed long by consulting other persons after he had ceased to consult himself. He cannot bear to sit still among unexecuted decisions and unattempted projects. We wait to hear of his achievements, and are confident we shall not wait long. The possibility or the means may not be obvious to us; but we know that every thing will be attempted, and that a spirit of such determined will is like a river, which, in whatever manner it may be obstructed, will make its way somewhere. It must have cost Caesar many anxious hours of deliberation before he decided to pass the Rubicon; but it is probable he suffered but few to elapse between the decision and the execution. And any one of his friends who should have been apprised of his determination, and understood his character, would have smiled contemptuously to hear it insinuated, that, though Caesar had resolved, Caesar would not dare; or that though he might cross the Rubicon, whose opposite bank presented to him no hostile legions, he might come to other rivers, which he would not cross; or that either rivers, or any other obstacles, would deter him from prosecuting his determination from this ominous commencement to its very last consequence. J. Fuster.
Frederick the Great demanded courage and duty from officers before battle.
Exhortation to. Previous to the battle of Lutzen, in which eighty thousand Austrians were defeated by an army of thirty-six thousand Prussians, commanded by Frederick the Great, this monarch ordered all his officers to attend him, and thus addressed them: "To-morrow I intend giving the enemy battle; and, as it will decide who are to be the future masters of Silesia, I expect every one of you will in the strictest manner do his duty. If any one of you is a coward, let him step forward before he makes others as cowardly as himself,—let him step forward, I say, and he shall immediately receive his discharge without ceremony or reproach. I see there is none among you who does not possess true heroism, and will not display it in defence of his king, of his country, and of himself. I shall be in the front and in the rear; shall fly from wing to wing; no company will escape my notice; and whoever I then find doing his duty, upon him will I heap honor and favor."
Duty to the public is more precious than life and must be fulfilled despite danger.
The conservation of duty to the public ought to be much more precious than the conservation of life or being, according to that memorable speech of Pouspeius Magnus. When being in commission of purveyance for a famine at Rome, and being dissuaded, with great vehemency and instance by his friends about him, that he should not hazard himself to sea in an extremity of weather, he said only to them, "Necesse est ut eam, non ut viram." Lord Bacon.
Facing death with courage and resolve exemplifies Christian strength.
LORD BYRON.—"Shall I sue for mercy?" After a long pause, he added, "Come, come, no weakness: let's be a man to the last."
Bold faith and refusal to accept impossibility lead to great achievements.
Napoleon explained one of his novel and daring plans to his staff-officers, when one of them said, "It is impossible."—"Impossible! Impossible is the adjective of fools!" It was this spirit that carried vast armies over the Alps, extended his empire, and made crowns his playthings.
Bold leadership and courage inspire others to victory despite great risk.
ENTERPRISE, Illustration of The bridge at Wavre was repeatedly lost and gained before the French were able to make their footing good beyond it. At length, a French colonel snatched the eagle of his regiment, and, rushing forward, crossed the bridge, and struck it into the ground on the other side. His corps followed, with a unanimous shout of "Vive l'Empereur!" and, although the gallant officer who thus led them on was slain on the spot, his followers succeeded in carrying the village.
Enthusiasm can inspire boldness and courage even in fearful situations.
Peter Apple of Oakland, Marion County, Ind., was recruited for the Eleventh Regiment of that State, and took part in the attempt to storm one of the Vicksburg batteries. The rebel fire was so destructive, that the Union forces recoiled. Apple, the "raw recruit," "didn't see" the backward movement, and kept going ahead until he came up to one of the rebel guns, caught a gunner by the collar, and brought him within our lines, saying, "Boys, why didn't you come on? Every fellow might have got one."
Basil boldly stood for truth despite threats of confiscation, banishment, torture, and death.
Valens the emperor, a zealous Arian, went on a kind of visitation-tour through his dominions, for the purpose of bringing his subjects to confess the same faith as himself: so he and his prefect came to Cæsarea. The prefect sent for Basil; and, after a little altercation, he asked him "he was not ashamed to profess a different breed from that of the emperor. Basil intimated, that he thought it better to stand alone by the side of the truth than with all the world on the side of falsehood. The prefect lost his patience, and began to talk of other weapons than those of argument. "Are you not afraid to oppose me?" he said to Basil. "Why should I fear?" said Basil: "what will happen?" The prefect, bloated with rage, and almost choked with passion, gasped out convulsively, "Confiscation, banishment, torture, death!"—"Have you nothing else?" asked the undaunted bishop; "for nothing you have spoken has any effect on me. He that has nothing to lose is not afraid of confiscation. Save these threadbare, tattered garments, and a few books, I have nothing you can take. And as to banishment, you cannot banish me; for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, whose stranger and pilgrim I am. And as to torture, the first stroke would kill me; and to kill me is to send me to glory."—"No man ever spoke to me like that before," said the crest-fallen official. "Perhaps you never met with a Christian bishop before," was the reply. A widow, one of Basil's flock, threw herself under his protection, and he risked his life to insure her safety. The emperor, with a body of soldiers, went to the church, and demanded the sacrament at Basil's hand; and he determined to die rather than dispense the emblems of Christ's death to one who repudiated his divinity. At last, a day of clouds and storms was followed by a calm and tranquil sunset: Basil closed his eyes upon this scene of trouble, to open them upon the unbroken calm that slumbers on the everlasting hills.
— F. J. Sharr
Soldiers at Waterloo stood firm and fought bravely, exemplifying heroic fidelity.
At the critical moment in the battle of Waterloo, when every thing depended on the steadiness of the soldiery, courier after courier kept dashing into the presence of the Duke of Wellington, announcing, that, unless the troops at an important point were immediately relieved or withdrawn, they must soon yield before the impetuous onsets of the French. By all of these the duke sent back the selfsame, spirit-stirring message, "Stand firm!"—"But we shall all perish;" remonstrated the officer. "Stand firm!" again answered the iron-hearted chieftain. "You'll find us there!" rejoined the other as he fiercely galloped away. The result proved the truth of his reply; for every man of that doomed brigade fell bravely fighting at his post. Bih. Treasury.
Christian fortitude is a balanced confidence in God amid difficulty and danger.
Christian fortitude may be defined as that state of mind which arises from truth, and confidence in God; enables us to stand collected and undisturbed in the time of difficulty and danger; and is at an equal distance from rashness on the one hand, and pusillanimity on the other. Buck.
Firm resolution empowers believers to endure suffering and persecution courageously.
It was resolution made Empedocles sacrifice himself to the flames of Ætna. It was resolution made Anaxarchus, when his bones were crushed, make sport with his tormentors, and cry out, "Break, break, the carcass of Anaxarchus; but his mind you shall never break." It was resolution made Regulus fling himself into the merciless arms of his enemies, and suffer himself to be stung and pricked to death. It was resolution made Attalus sit down cheerfully in the fiery chair his persecutors had prepared for him, and say, "It's not we that do eat children, but it's you that devour innocent Christians." It was resolution made Blandina encourage her fellow-Christian, though she was wounded, torn, bruised, racked, and miserably handled. It was resolution made Job bear his losses and ulcers with invincible magnanimity. It was resolution made David run through a troop, and leap over walls. Anthony Horneck.
No retreat forced soldiers to fight courageously and win a crucial battle.
At the battle of Nicuport, in the year 1600, Prince Maurice sent away his ships, that there might be no means of retreat for his troops. In leading them to engage, he said, "My friends, you have Nicuport behind you, which is in possession of the enemy, the sea on your left, a river on the right, and the enemy in front: there is no other way for you to pass, but over the bodies of these men." By this heroic resolution, he gained a battle which saved the republic, and did himself the highest honor.
— Percy
Burning ships eliminated retreat, inspiring desperate valor and victory.
When Cortez set out to make the conquest of Mexico, he caused his ships to be burned in sight of his followers, so that all might feel that there was no hope for them except in victory. Their desperation made them perform prodigies of valor, and secured them the conquest.
A general's bold stand rallied his troops to victory despite initial defeat.
When Sylla beheld his army giving way before that of Archelaus, the general of Mithridates, he alighted from his horse, laid hold of an ensign, and, rushing with it into the midst of his enemies, cried out, "Tis here, Roman soldiers, that I intend to die! But for your parts, when you shall be asked where it was that you left your general, remember to say it was on the field of Orchomemum." The soldiers returned to their ranks, renewed the fight, and became the victors in the field from which they were about to flee.
True valor is fearing God's anger more than earthly dangers and having courage to face hell.
An officer of distinction and tried valor refused to accept a challenge sent by a young officer, but returned the following answer: "I fear not your sword, but the sword of my God's anger. I dare venture my life in a good cause, but cannot hazard my soul in a bad one. I will charge up to the cannon's mouth for the good of my country; but I want courage to storm hell." Whitecross.
Those given to pleasure lack bravery and fail in times of crisis and danger.
I had often heard Mentor say, that the effeminate and voluptuous are never brave, and I now found by experience that it was true; for the Cyprians, whose jollity had been so extravagant and tumultuous, now sunk under a sense of their danger, and wept like women. I heard nothing but the screams of terror and the wailings of hopeless distress: some lamented the loss of pleasures that were never to return, and some made idle vows of sacrifice to the gods, if they reached their port in safety; but none had presence of mind either to undertake or direct the navigation of the vessel.
— Fenelon
Faithful work continues undaunted despite external threats or distractions.
Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden, whilst besieged in Stralsund, was one day dictating a letter to his secretary, when a bombshell from the enemy's works fell upon the house in which he was, broke through the roof, and burst close to the apartment. The adjoining floor was shivered to pieces; but his own room was uninjured. The report of the shell, however, which seemed to crush the whole house to pieces, alarmed the secretary; and his pen fell from his hand. "What's the matter?" said the king to him with a composed countenance. "Why do you not continue writing?"—"Most gracious sire," replied the latter, "the bombshell!"—"Well," said the king, "what has the bombshell to do with the letter? Go on with the writing."
Young soldiers showed courage and perseverance despite inexperience and danger.
YOUNG SOLDIERS, Enthusiasm of When Paris was attacked in 1814 by the allied armies, the Parisian artillery placed on the heights of Montmarte was served by the pupils of the Polytechnic School, who were principally from twelve to fifteen years old. They, of course, were inexperienced in war; yet they rivalled in ardor the veterans with whom they associated; and their well-directed fire filled the approaches to the positions with the dead bodies of the enemy. Thus transformed into disciples of war, they served the batteries with all the enthusiasm of valor, and never shrunk from their post whilst it could be retained. Several hundred of these youths fell in the dreadful conflict. Percy.
A young officer refused wine with Washington, showing courage in his convictions.
Towards the close of the revolutionary war, says Dr. Cox, an officer in the army had occasion to transact some business with General Washington, and repaired to Philadelphia for that purpose. Before leaving, he received an invitation to dine with the General, which was accepted, and upon entering the room he found himself in the company of a large number of ladies and gentlemen. As they were mostly strangers to him, and he was of a naturally modest and unassuming disposition, he took a seat near the foot of the table, and refrained from taking an active part in the conversation. Just before the dinner was concluded, General Washington called him by name and requested him to drink a glass of wine with him.
"You will have the goodness to excuse me, General," was the reply, "as I have made it a rule not to take wine."
All eyes were instantly turned upon the young officer, and a murmur of surprise and horror ran around the room. That a person should be so unsocial and so mean as to never drink wine, was really too bad; but that he should abstain from it on an occasion like that, and even when offered to him by Washington himself, was perfectly intolerable! Washington saw at once the feelings of his guests, and promptly addressed them:—"Gentlemen," said he, "Mr. — is right. I do not wish any of my guests to partake of any thing against their inclination, and I certainly do not wish them to violate any established principle in their social intercourse with me. I honor Mr. — for his frankness, for his consistency in thus adhering to an established rule which can never do him harm, and for the adoption of which, I have no doubt, he has good and sufficient reasons."
Faithful courage trusts God's sovereignty over all trials and threats of persecution.
"When driven from the city, I cared nothing for it. But I said to myself, if the empress wishes to banish me, the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. If she would saw me in sunder, let her saw me in sunder; I have
Isaiah for a pattern. If she would plunge me in the sea; I remember
Jonah. If she would thrust me into the fiery furnace; I see the three children enduring that. If she would cast me to wild beasts; I call to mind
Daniel in the den of lions. If she would stone me, let her stone me; I have before me Stephen the protomartyr. If she would take my head from me, let her take it; I have John the Baptist.
If she would deprive me of my worldly goods, let her do it; naked came I from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. An apostle has told me 'God respecteth no man's person,' and if I yet pleased men, I should not be a servant of Christ." Even Gibbon cannot refrain from remarking, that these epistles "show a firmness of mind much superior to that of Cicero in his exile."
Luther boldly trusts God's truth over human councils despite threats of persecution.
Vergerio, the Papal nuncio, came to
Wirtemberg on the evening of November 6, 1535, with a splendid retinue, and was conducted to the castle with all due honor by the principal governor.
The next morning, Luther being introduced, conversed with the nuncio;
among other things, on the subject of the council. He said it was not seriously proposed; the pope did but play with them; and, if it were held, it would busy itself only about trifles, such as tonsures and vestments, and not upon faith, and justification, and bringing
Christians to the unity of the Spirit and of doctrine; for this would not suit their purpose. He added, that he and his friends felt such an assurance of what they believed, as not to need the determination of a council, though others might do it, who groaned under the oppression of men who did not themselves know what they believed. "But,"
said he, "call your council; God willing, I will attend it, though I should be burned by it." Vergerio asked where he would have it held. "Where you please," he replied, "at Mantua, at
Padua, at Florence, or any where else."
Vergerio asked, "Are you willing it should be at Bologna?" He inquired to whom that city then belonged; and on being told, "To the pope," he exclaimed, "Has the pope seized that place too? Well, I will go even thither." The nuncio, in a courtierlike manner, said something of the pope's visiting Wirtemberg. "Let him come," said Luther; "we shall be glad to see him." "But," said Vergerio, "would you have him come with an army, or unattended?" "As he pleases," replied Luther; "we shall be ready for him either way." The nuncio then inquired whether the ministers in Saxony were consecrated. Luther replied, "Certainly: as the pope will not consecrate them for us, here sits a bishop," (pointing to Pomeranus,)
"whom we have consecrated." Much more conversation, says the author of the narrative, passed between them, in which Luther fully explained his views, with the utmost freedom, and even, where the case required, with sharpness of remark. On taking leave, Vergerio said, "See that you be ready for the council." "I will come," replied Luther, "with my life in my hand."
On another occasion, Luther, when making his way into the presence of Cardinal Cajetan, who had summoned him to answer for his heretical opinions at Augsburg, was asked by one of the cardinal's minions, where he should find a shelter if his patron, the elector of Saxony, should desert him? "Under the shield of Heaven!" was his reply. The silenced minion turned round, and went his way.
Luther courageously confronts danger, confident God is on his side against opposition.
When Luther was summoned to attend the diet at Worms, his friends, notwithstanding the safe-conduct granted to him by the emperor Charles V., apprehending danger to his person, would have dissuaded him from going thither. Luther replied, "I am determined to enter the city in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, though as many devils should oppose me as there are tiles upon all the houses at Worms." He was accompanied from Wirtemberg by some divines, and one hundred horse; but he took only eight horsemen into Worms. When he stepped out of the carriage, he said, in the presence of a great number of persons, "God shall be on my side."
Latimer willingly faces trial to give account of his faith, trusting God's enabling grace.
In the beginning of the reign of Queen Mary of England, a pursuivant was sent to bring Bishop Latimer to London, of which he had notice six hours before he arrived. But instead of fleeing, he prepared for his journey to London; and, when the pursuivant was come, he said to him, "My friend, you are welcome. I go as willingly to London, to give an account of my faith, as ever I went to any place in the world. And I doubt not, but as the Lord made me worthy formerly to preach the word before two excellent princes, he will now enable me to bear witness to the truth before the third, either to her eternal comfort or discomfort." As he rode on this occasion through Smithfield, he said, "That Smithfield had groaned for him a long time."
Prayer for courage to never deny Christ results in steadfast faith under persecution.
David Straiton, one of the Scottish martyrs, was brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the instrumentality of John Erskine of Dun. One day, having retired with the young laird of Laurieston, to a quiet and solitary place in the fields, to have the New Testament read to him, it so happened, that in the course of reading, these words of our Savior occurred, "He that denieth me before men, in the midst of this wicked generation, him will I deny in the presence of my Father and his angels." On hearing them, he became of a sudden, as one enraptured or inspired. He threw himself on his knees, extended his hands, and, after looking for some time earnestly towards heaven, he burst forth in these words, "O Lord, I have been wicked, and justly mayest thou withdraw thy grace from me; but, Lord, for thy mercy's sake, let me never deny thee nor thy truth, for fear of death and corporal pains." The issue proved that his prayer was not in vain. For at his trial and death, he displayed much firmness and constancy in the defence of the truth, and gave great encouragement to another gentleman, Norman Gourlay, who suffered along with him.
### 131. DEPENDENCE
Bernard de Palissy boldly refused to renounce his faith despite royal threats.
Bernard de Palissy, a native of Agen, in France, was a maker of earthenware, at Saintes, and distinguished himself by his knowledge and talents. He was a Calvinist, and the French king, Henry III, said to him one day, that he should be compelled to give him up to his enemies, unless he changed his religion. "You have often said to me, sire," was the undaunted reply of De Palissy, "that you pitied me; but as for me, I pity you, who have given utterance to such words as, 'I shall be compelled.' These are unkindly words; and I say to you in royal phrase, that neither the Guises, nor all your people, nor yourself, are able to compel an humble manufacturer of earthenware to bend his knee before statues." Bernard was a man of humor, as well as of courage; and he would sometimes say, alluding to his trade, and his trust in Providence, "My only property is heaven and earth."
Calvin resisted papal pressure and offers, standing firm in his Protestant faith.
Eckius being sent by the Pope, legate into France, upon his return took Geneva in his way, on purpose to see Calvin; and if occasion presented, to attempt reducing him to the Romish church. Eckius went privately to Calvin's house and introduced himself as a stranger who had heard much of his fame, and was come to wait upon him. Calvin invited him to come in, and he entered the house with him; where, discoursing of many things concerning religion, Eckius perceived Calvin to be an ingenuous and learned man, and desired to know if he had not a garden to walk in. To which Calvin replying he had, they both went into it; and there Eckius began to inquire of him, why he left the Roman church, and offered some arguments to persuade him to return; but Calvin could by no means be inclined to think of it. At last Eckius told him that he would put his life in his hands; and then said, he was Eckius the Pope's legate. At this discovery Calvin was not a little surprised, and begged his pardon that he had not treated him with that respect which was due to his quality. Eckius returned the compliment, and told him if he would come back to the Roman church, he would certainly procure for him a Cardinal's cap. But Calvin was not to be moved by such an offer. Eckius then asked him what revenue he had. He told the Cardinal he had that house and garden, and fifty livres per annum, besides an annual present of some wine and corn; on which he lived very contentedly. Eckius told him, that a man of his parts deserved a greater revenue; and then renewed his invitation to come over to the Romish church, promising him a better stipend if he would. But Calvin, giving him thanks, assured him he was well satisfied with his condition.
Eckius accepted Calvin's invitation to dine with him; and after dinner, at the request of Eckius, they visited the church which anciently was the cathedral. On their way Eckius pressed upon
# 174. FLA
Non-resistance and faith disarm robbers, showing courage and trust in God's protection.
Robert Barclay, the celebrated apologist of the Quakers, and Leonard Fell, a member of the same Society, were severally attacked by highwaymen in England, at different
* By the use of this word we do not mean to have it understood that we take the ground of those technically called "Non-resistants" in our time. On the extent of Christ's precept, "Resist not evil," there is much difference of opinion. But on that precept all will find the following facts an interesting comment. Alas that our Master's precept is so little regarded!
times. Both faithfully adhered to their non-resistance principles, and both signally triumphed. The pistol was leveled at Barclay, and a determined demand made for his purse. Calm and self-possessed, he looked the robber in the face, with a firm but meek benignity, assured him he was his and every man's friend, that he was willing and ready to relieve his wants, that he was free from the fear of death through a divine hope in immortality, and therefore was not to be intimidated by a deadly weapon; and then appealed to him, whether he could have the heart to shed the blood of one who had no other feeling or purpose but to do him good. The robber was confounded; his eye melted; his brawny arm trembled; his pistol fell to his side; and he fled from the presence of the non-resistant hero whom he could no longer confront.
