Amazing Rescues

In church history amazing stories are found. God rescues his servants – sometimes in the nick of time. In his Mystery of Providence John Flavel (c 1627-1691) gives several examples.

• There are the Protestants besieged in Beziers, France, delivered because a drunken drummer went to his quarters at midnight and rang the town alarm-bell, not knowing what he was doing, at just the moment when the Protestants were about to be attacked. 
• There is the spider that weaves its web over the mouth of an oven just after little Pierre Du Moulin (1568-1658) had hidden in there during the 1572 St Bartholomew Day massacre in Paris, creating the impression that no-one had been near that door in a while. 
• Flavel also mentions Pierre Merlin (1503-1633), chaplain to Admiral Coligny, who was sustained for many days at a time by a hen that daily lodged an egg in the place where he had hid himself from his cut-throat pursuers.

We can add these

• A rather offbeat story is that of Bernard Gilpin (1517-1583) who, in the time of Queen Mary, despite his strong Protestant sympathies, was minister of Houghton-le-Spring, in the North East of England. His enemies eventually complained to Bonner the Bishop of London and a royal warrant was secured for his apprehension. He prepared for martyrdon in London, requesting his house-steward to provide him with a long garment suitable for him to wear to the stake. However, on the way to London he fell from his horse and broke his leg. This delayed his journey south and before he got to London, the news came that Mary had died. He at once returned to Houghton-le-Spring, where he continued to labour for years to come.
• The Scottish missionary to the New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, John G Paton (1824-1907) wrote of more than one instance when he was in mortal danger but escaped with his life. Once he woke to find his house surrounded by armed men intent on killing him. He knelt and made his final prayer but went out to reason with them. “At last” he says “some of the Chiefs, who had attended the Worship, rose and said 'Our conduct has been bad; but now we will fight for you, and kill all those who hate you.'" Another time, a man ran at him with an axe but he was defended by a Kaserumini Chief who snatched the spade Paton was working with and defended him. Another time a native called Ian summoned him to his sickbed. As Paton leaned over him, he pulled a dagger and held it to Paton’s heart. Again, he thought his time had come but Ian suddenly wheeled the knife around and thrust it into the sugar cane leaf. “Go, go quickly!” he said. Paton ran for his life the four miles back to the Mission House, “faint, yet praising God for such a deliverance”.
• A more modern example would perhaps be Hassan Dehqani-Tafti (1920-2008) of Iran. In November 1979 two gunmen entered his bedroom. Four shots were fired that narrowly missed him. His wife Margaret preserved the pillowcase with its four bullet holes as a reminder of the deliverance. A fifth shot passed through her hand as she flung herself across her husband's body to protect him.

Persecution and martyrdom

Somewhere near St John's Wood I think it was that some 40 gathered for worship. The meeting was interrupted and 27 were brought before Sir Roger Cholmly. Some women managed to escape but 22 were committed to Newgate and remained there seven weeks. The jail keeper explained to them all they needed to do to be released was to hear mass but this they could not do, so 13 were burnt, seven in Smithfield and six at Brentford (two others died in prison, the other seven survived). The seven who died in Smithfield were called Pond, Estland, Southam, Ricarby, Floyd, Holiday and Roger Holland. They were sent to Newgate, June 16 1558 and executed June 27.

Roger Holland, a merchant-tailor of London, was first an apprentice with one Master Kemption, at the Black Boy in Watling Street, giving himself to dancing, fencing, gaming, banqueting and wanton company. He had received for his master certain money, to the sum of £30 and lost it all at dice. This set him on escaping to the continent.

He shared this with a fellow servant in the house, Elizabeth, a believer. She had recently inherited a legacy and so she gave him £30 to cover the losses on condition that he reformed his way of life and come and hear the gospel preached and read the Bible, calling on God for grace in prayer.

Within six months Holland had become a zealous Christian and was used in the conversion of his father and others when he visited Lancashire. His father gave him £40 to start a business in London. He used this to repay Elizabeth and shortly after the two were married. It was the first year of Queen Mary. He was not martyred until the sixth and final year of her reign. He was among the last to die in Smithfield.

Psalm 129 and Ploughing furrows

In agriculture it is good to get the seed deep into the ground if it is going to flourish and initially people would use hoes to create holes in the ground into which the seed could be scattered. Early on it was realised that a more efficient method is to create a furrow in the ground, an extended hole, a sort of trench. This is done with a plough. Here the psalmist says it is as if the enemies of God's people have been ploughing furrows into the backs of the people. He says that the furrows are long because it has been going on a long time - from the slavery of Egypt to the opposition of the Canannnites and especially the Philistines through to - and we do not know when this psalm was written - the carrying off of the people of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians and then the southern kingdom by the Babylonians.

Faith - John Paton's Aniwan definition

John G Paton was a 19th century Scot who went as a missionary to the South Seas, to what was then the New Hebrides but is now called Vanuatu. One of the things he did was to reduce one of the languages (Aniwan) there to writing and translate the Bible into it. One of the things he discovered early on was that there was no word in Aniwan for "faith." It is pretty difficult to translate the Bible without it. One day, the story goes, he went on a hunt with one of the natives. They shot a large deer in the course of the hunt, and tying its legs together and supporting it on a pole, laboriously trekked back down the mountain path to Paton's home near the seashore. As they reached the veranda both men threw the deer down, and the native immediately flopped into one of the deck chairs that stood on the porch exclaiming (in Aniwan), “My, it is good to stretch yourself out here and rest.” Paton immediately jumped to his feet and recorded the phrase. In his final translation of the New Testament this was the word used to convey the idea of trust, faith, and belief - to stretch out and rest. That is what we need to do - to rest on Christ. That is what ministers must preach.

Hubris - Two ancient examples

The ancient Greeks spoke often of hubris, the word they used for pride or self-confidence. They had many stories of how hubris would lead to a character's nemesis, his downfall.

Achilles

Perhaps you know the story of Achilles in Homer's Iliad about the Trojan War. Achilles is Greece's best warrior. He kills many of Troy's greatest warriors. However, as the battle rages ons, at a certain point Achilles stops fighting. Achilles captures a beautiful princess named Briseis and falls in love with her but the Greek leader Agamemnon is angry and takes Briseis from him. Achilles is depressed and refuses to fight.

With Achilles not fighting, the Greeks began to lose the battle. The greatest warrior of Troy was Hector. He confronts Patroculus who everyone thinks Achilles because he has borrowed Achilles' armour. With the help of the god Apollo, Hector kills Patroclus and takes Achilles' armour. Achilles then rejoins the battle in order to avenge his friend's death. He meets Hector on the battlefield and, after a long fight, defeats him. Achilles continues fighting but the Greek god Apollo knows his weakness, his heel. When Paris of Troy shoots an arrow at Achilles, Apollo guide it so that it strikes Achilles on the heel. He dies from the wound. It is his pride that has been his undoing.

This is Peter's problem too. He thinks he is invincible and indispensable but like Achilles he is not.

Icarus

Perhaps you know the story of Icarus the son of Daedelus.

Ancient Crete was ruled over by the Minoans. Daedalus was the man who designed the magnificent Palace of Knossos on the island. It remains have survived to this day.

King Minos and Daedalus had a good relationship at first but they fell out at some point. The Labyrinth was said to be a maze built by Daedalus to trap the mythical monster the Minotaur and to imprison others who would then be killed by the monster. At some point Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his young son Icarus there.

Daedalus soon planned a way for he and his son to escape. He figured that escape on foot or by sea could not work so it had to be by air. He created gigantic wings, using branches from an osier tree kept together with wax. He taught Icarus how to fly but warned him to keep away from the sun because the heat would make the wax melt, destroying the wings.

The two managed to escape the Labyrinth and flew into the sky. However, the young and self-confident Icarus flew too near the sun and despite his father's warnings the wax melted and he plummeted into the Icarian Sea.

Another of Aesop's fables against pride and self-confidence

Another of Aesop's fables tells of a milkmaid who had been out to milk the cows and was returning from the field with the shining milk pail balanced nicely on her head. As she walked along, her pretty head was busy with plans for the days to come. 

"This good, rich milk," she mused, "will give me plenty of cream to churn. The butter I make I'll take to market, and with the money I get for it I'll buy a lot of eggs for hatching. How nice it will be when they are all hatched and the yard is full of fine young chicks. Then when May day comes I'll sell them, and with the money I'll buy a lovely new dress to wear to the fair. All the young men will look at me. They'll come and try to court me - but I'll very quickly send them about their business!" 

As she thought of how she would settle that matter, she tossed her head scornfully, and down fell the pail of milk to the ground. And all the milk flowed out, and with it vanished butter and eggs and chicks and new dress and all the milkmaid's pride.

This is Peter again isn't it? He can picture himself speaking up fearlessly for Jesus and not being at all afraid to testify. He can even imagine dying for Jesus if necessary. In reality his pride is his undoing. The other disciples are no better.

Warnings and ignoring them

I remember how when I was a student they told us that the fall off rate for students who attend Christian Unions is over 50% in five years. I thought "Well, I won't be like that - nor will my friends". However, although I am still a Christian all these years later, as are many of my friends, I would guess that figure is about accurate.

I have often read how common it is for ministers to leave the ministry before they are five years into ministry. You tell yourself - not me, not me. However, such warnings are there to be heeded as are the warnings found in the Bible against falling away.