Female Scripture Biography, Volume ICox, F. A. (Francis Augustus)
Religion
Female Scripture Biography, Volume I
Cox, F. A. (Francis Augustus)
Bible -- Biography; Women -- Religious life; Women in the Bible
It may appear mysterious, that when her parents pleaded only for a few
days, when modesty would even seem to have dictated a little delay; and
when filial tenderness must have powerfully resisted so sudden and
immediate a departure, that she should express so prompt a compliance,
without even stipulating for a single day. Something perhaps may be justly
imputed to the times, but far more to the religious state of her own mind;
a sense of duty overwhelmed a feeling of reluctance, together with every
inferior consideration. She was doubtless in the habit of daily
intercourse with God, and in fervent prayer had sought divine direction:
she saw an overruling providence--God was in the affair--his finger,
visible to the eye of faith, pointed out the way in which she should go,
and with unhesitating obedience she confessed her readiness to part with
all the felicities of home to seek a distant alliance, at the voice of
that sovereign Power to whom she committed her future destiny. Flattering
as the scene before her must have appeared to a mere worldly eye, the
sacrifices she made at this moment of compliance were certainly most
considerable. What could have led to such an answer, when standing between
the tears, the tenderness, the entreaties of parental and fraternal
affection, and the urgency of a mere stranger, the _servant_ too of her
future house--but a faith which overcame the world, and dictated her holy
resolution? _Heaven_ appointed her journey, and _nature_ pleaded in vain.
To every reader we recommend the noble principle which actuated this young
heroine. Let inclination bow to a sense of duty--let God be obeyed rather
than man--let not only authority be resisted, but even the fondest
endearments sacrificed to the divine requirements. Apply this principle to
a higher occasion, and remember that the Son of God has declared, "If any
man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple; and whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me,
cannot be my disciple."
How tender, how affectionate is the parting scene! How the heart speaks in
every word! The whole group seems placed before our eyes; and we witness
the tears that flow, the sighs that heave each bosom; we seem to hear the
faltering yet fond accent, in which the dear forsaken family pronounce
the last benediction, "Thou art our sister; be thou the mother of
thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which
hate them."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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