Bible Truths Illustrated by J. C. Ferdinand Pittman

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BIBLE TRUTHS ILLUSTRATED
633. To illustrate the doctrine of God's special care of His
children, C. H. Spurgeon tells the story of John Knox, who, one
evening, refused to sit in his usual seat, though he did not know
any particular reason for so acting. No one was allowed to
occupy that chair, and during the evening a shot came in
through the window, and struck a candlestick that stood immediately
opposite where John Knox would have been sitting if
he had taken his accustomed place.
634. "Methinks they are casting roses before me," said one
of the Scottish martyrs as they were piling up the fagots to
burn him. Peloubet.
635. A godly minister, escaping from his persecutors, went
into a hay-loft, and hid himself in the hay. The soldiers went
into the place, pricking and thrusting with their swords and
bayonets, and the good man even felt the cold steel touch the
sole of his foot, and the scratch which was made remained for
years ;
yet his enemies did not discover him. Afterwards, a
hen came and laid an egg every day hard by the place where
he was hidden, and so he was sustained as well as preserved
until it was safe for him to leave his hiding-place. C. H.
Spurgeon.
PERSEVERANCE
636. It is said that a leopard does not chase its prey as other
animals, but pursues it by leaping; if with three or four jumps
it cannot capture its prey, it gives up the chase in indignation.
There are many who, at the start of the Christian life, go forth
with leaps and bounds, but if they fail to vanquish the enemy
in a little while, they give up the chase in despair.
Such as these start too quickly to hold out. They are like
the seed of the parable in stony ground, which sprang up too
rapidly, and withered away as quickly as it grew. They resemble
a comet that blazes out in the heavens for a moment, and then
smoulders down into complete invisibility. They are like the
severely spurred horse, free and fiery at first, but after awhile
jaded and exhausted.
Christ says that "he that endureth to the end, the same shall
be saved" (Matt. 10:22). The lamp of grace is useless unless
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