The Scarlet Line in the Window

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THE SCARLET LIE I THE WIDOW
BY LOUIS ALBERT BAKS. D.D.
And she bound the scarlet line in the window.— Joshua
li, 21.
Here is a story full of human interest. Two
soldiers are spying out the land which is to be cap-
tured by their army. They are hunted, and in
their emergency, when their lives hang on a thread,
a woman comes to their rescue. She had been a
bad woman, and her sins had not been covered up,
but were known to all her little world. But she
was a bright woman, and had come, in some way,
to have more information about this army of
Israel than most of the people of her city. She
had heard enough about them and their history
to believe in their God, and to have faith that he
had power to give them success in taking possession
of the land in which she lived. So when she saw
these two spies hunted and in danger of death, she
gladly risked her own life to befriend them, hoping
thereby not only to do a kind deed to them, but to
obtain protection for herself and for her family
THE SCARLET LIE I THE WIDOW 207
when the city should be taken by the enemy. She
hid the men on the top of her house as long as she
dared, and then tied a scarlet cord about them, one
at a time, and let them down over the wall of the
city. What a picture it is ! I suppose that one of
the spies helped her lower the first man to the
ground, but when the next man's turn came Rahab
alone was left to support his weight, and I can see
her as she braces herself and with all her strength
grips the cord in her hands until it cuts into her
fingers as she lowers the spy in safety to the earth.
The men were grateful for her kindness and
were glad to pledge to her protection for the future,
and so they said in answer to her appeal, "When
we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of
scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let
us down by : and thou shalt bring thy father, and
thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's
household, home unto thee. . . . And who-
soever shall be with thee in the house, his blood
shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him."
And we are assured by the eleventh chapter of
Hebrews, that wonderful roll-call of the heroes
of the faith, that the army of Israel respected
the pledge that had been given by these two spies,
and that Eahab was saved when the city was cap-
tured.
208 THE GREAT SIERS OF THE BIBLE
We have suggested in this story a fact which is
apparent often, that the people who seem to be the
w^orst are sometimes the first to perceive their dan-
ger and turn away from their sins. Christ said
that the publicans and sinners had a better chance
of salvation in his day than the scribes and the
Pharisees, and the same fact is often witnessed in
our own time. 'o one of us will be acquitted at
last by what we have done, for we have all come
short of our privileges and have sins to answer for
before God. If we are saved it will be because we
have been forgiven of our sins through Jesus
Christ. It is not justice which we want, but a
pardon. "By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be
justified." The law of God can never forgive us.
Only through the pardon of God, given us because
we have taken Jesus Christ as our Saviour and
tied the scarlet thread of his dying blood in our
window, can we ever be saved from the penalty ol
the law.
A Confederate soldier belonging to the army of
northern Virginia was on trial before a military
court for desertion. His name was Edward
Cooper, and when he rose to plead he answered,
"ot guilty." The judge advocate asked, "Who
is your counsel ?" He replied, "I have no coun-
sel." Supposing that it was Cooper's purpose to
THE SCARLET LIITE I THE WIDOW 209
represent himself before tlie court, the judge ad-
vocate was instructed to proceed. Every charge
and specification against the prisoner was sus-
tained. The prisoner was then told to introduce
his witnesses. He said, "I have none." Aston-
ished at the calmness with which he seemed to be
submitting to what he regarded as inevitable fate,
the judge advocate said to him, "Have you no de-
fense? Is it possible that you abandoned your
comrades and deserted your colors in the presence
of the enemy without any reason ?"
He answered, "There was a reason, but it will
not avail me before a military court."
The judge then said, "Perhaps you are mis-
taken; you are charged with the highest crime
known to military law, and it is your duty to make
known the causes that influenced your actions."
For the first time Cooper's manly form trembled
and his eyes swam in tears. Approaching the presi-
dent of the court he presented a letter, saying as he
did so, "There, general, is what did it."
General Battle opened the letter, and in a mo-
ment his eyes filled with tears. It was passed from
one to another of the court until all had seen it,
and those stern warriors, who had passed with
Stonewall Jackson through a score of battles, wept
like children. As soon as the president sufficiently
210 THE GREAT SIITERS OF THE BIBLE
recovered his self-possession he read the letter as
the defense of the prisoner. It was in these words :
"Dear Edward: I have always been proud of
you; since your connection with the Confederate
army I have been prouder of you than ever before.
I would not have you do anything wrong for the
world; but, before God, Edward, unless you come
home we must die ! Last night I was aroused by
little Eddie's crying, ^O mamma, I'm so hungry !'
And Lucy, Edward, your darling Lucy, never
complains, but grows thinner and thinner every
day. And, before God, Edward, unless you come
home we must die. Your Mary."
Turning to the prisoner, General Battle asked,
"What did you do when you received this letter ?"
He replied, "I made application for a furlough,
and it was rejected; I made another applica-
tion, and it was rejected ; a third time I made ap-
plication, and it was rejected; and that night, as I
wandered backward and forward in the camp
thinking of my home, the wild eyes of Lucy looking
up to me, the burning words of Mary sinking in
my brain, I was no longer the Confederate soldier ;
I was the father of Lucy and the husband of Mary,
and I would have passed those lines if every gun
in the battery had been fired upon me.
"When I arrived home Mary ran out to meet
me, and embraced me and whispered, ^O Edward,
I am so happy; I am so glad you got your fur-
lough.' She must have felt me shudder, for she
turned as pale as death and, catching her breath
with every word, she said, ^Have you come without
your furlough ? O Edward, go back ! Go back !
Let me and the children go down to the grave to-
gether; but for heaven's sake save the honor of
your name !'
"And here I am, gentlemen ; not brought here by
military power, but in obedience to the command
of Mary, to abide the sentence of your court."
Every officer of that court-martial felt the force
of the prisoner's words. Before them stood in
beatific vision the eloquent pleader for a husband's
and a father's wrong ; but they had been trained by
the great leader, Eobert E. Lee, to tread the path
of duty though the lightning-flash scorched the
ground beneath their feet, and each in his turn
pronounced the verdict, "Guilty."
Fortunately for humanity, the proceedings of
the court were reviewed by the commanding gen-
eral, and upon the record was written :
"The finding of the court approved. The pris-
oner is pardoned and will report to his company.
"E. E. Lee, General"
212 THE GREAT SIERS OF THE BIBLE
This story illustrates with great clearness how
that, in strict justice, the guilty never can escape.
1^0 one here could have so good a plea to excuse
his sin against God as this man had to excuse his
desertion. But there was no chance for his acquit-
tal by a just court. His only chance was the par-
don of the commanding general, and our only hope,
as sinners against God, is the pardon of the Great
Commander. But Jesus Christ has shed his own
blood on the cross as a propitiation for our sins,
and wherever that scarlet thread appears above the
window of the heart, God will guarantee to us for-
giveness and protection.
I would like to lay emphasis on the part of a
sinner in his own salvation. Kahab with her own
hands let the spies down over the wall, and with
those same hands she bound the scarlet cord in the
window. There is a sense in which our salvation
is wrought out for us, and there is another sense,
equally as important, in which we may be said to
"work out our own salvation." Our salvation
does not hinge on the will of God, but upon our own
will. God is willing to save us, and is seeking to
persuade us to accept salvation. We must take
hold upon it with our own hands. The Christian
life is not passive or negative, but a positive seiz-
ing hold of eternal life.
THE SCARLET LI^E I THE WIDOW 213
In asking you to accept Christ I am not inviting
yon to a monotonous existence, but I am urging
you to take hold on a triumphant and joyous career.
I am asking you also to join hands with the very
best people who live on the earth, and this not only
in living a good life yourself, but in seeking to lift
all men up to a better life. Julia Thayer sings :
"The hands of the world— can't you see them to-day?
The useless white hands, kept so shapely and fair;
The hands of God's worker, one lifted to pray,
And one reaching down for the burdens of care;
The hardened brown hands, fo deformed and unsightly,
Yet beautiful still with the pathos of toil;
And the great hands of power, used wrongly or rightly;
The hands stained with sinning, from which you recoil;
The cultured, deft hands that are busy adorning
The unfinished temples of learning and art;
The hands in dark places that grope for the morning.
And the poor, stricken hands that appeal to the heart;
All these, if they'd clasp one another to-day,
Could reach 'round the world in a wonderful way.
"o one would be lonely, no lot wholly dreary,
The thrill of our love would, magnetlike, give
A strength to the faint and a joy to the weary,
A lightness of being and courage to live.
Then come, clasp these hands — Oh, how selfish to tarry
When all the world needs you this moment so much!
Rise with the will and a purpose to carry
The help of your presence, the warmth of your touch.
214 THE OEfiAT SII^EES OF THE BIBLE
They want yours, the hands that drop low in their weak-
ness,
Those heavy with burdens or empty with loss;
They pray you to point with the spirit of meekness
To Love's Burden-bearer who died on the cross.
We all so much need one another to-day
To girdle the globe with our hands in this way."
I appeal to the very best that is in you that you
cease your ungrateful course in refusing Christ
your love and your service, and that you give him,
from this hour, the use of your hand and your
voice, and the love of your heart, and receive from
him in turn not only the forgiveness of your sins,
but the uplifting of his divine fellowship. As
another has said, there are two courses open to the
sinner. He may stifle or destroy for the time the
thoughts and the feelings which mar his peace, or
else a yearning, a longing, almost a demand, for
relief shapes itself within him. Such a demand is
the cry of the conscience, "What must I do to be
saved r
"Thou who hast borne all burdens, bear our load!
Bear thou our load, whatever load it be;
Our guilt, our shame, our helpless misery.
Bear thou who only canst, O God, my God;
Seek us and find us, for we cannot thee."
If there be any soul here that has sympathy with
that cry, hear the message of the Gospel, "Believe
THE SGAELET LIITE I THE WIDOW 215
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
"The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and
with his stripes we are healed." Or yet again,
"He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we
might become the righteousness of God in him."
Sidney Watson, a converted London waif, now
a popular author of Christian books in England,
relates that while a prisoner in the East Indies he
had as fellow-prisoner an old Scotch soldier who,
after traveling over half the globe, was there dying.
From a period of unconsciousness he opened his
eyes and glanced around as if surprised at his sur-
roundings, murmuring brokenly, "I thought me in
my mither's cot in Perthshire." After a pause,
with a quiet, fixed, peaceful look heavenward he
gasped, "ITae ither name — one Mediator — Jesus
Christ — ^he is faithful — ^just — forgive sin." His
mind wandered again for a moment, but his soldier
training came back to him and he tried to raise his
head as he said, short and sharp, with a dying en-
ergy, "Password ? Yes ! Blood of Christ — Christ
cleanseth from all sin." A thrill passed through
his frame, and the watchers knew that he had
passed the guard into the presence of the King.
There is only one password into eternal glory,
and that is the "Blood of Christ." Bind the scarlet
thread in the window of your heart and be at peace.
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