Christian Heroes: Alfred the Great

            Alfred, King of Wessex, is not a name that is told about very often; yet Alfred was one of the most influential characters in Britain’s history.  After the wars with the Danes that ended in 880AD, Alfred instituted reforms that changed the course of history.  There were no laws at that time that men respected in England, so Alfred felt it was part of his duty as king to change that.  As he studied his Bible, he saw that the Ten Commandments should be the basis for any law code, and he began to make new laws that followed closely to what God taught in the Bible.  It is in his famous Doom-Book that he outlined the Golden Rule: “Do thou unto thy neighbour as thou wouldst have him do unto thyself.”  As these laws were now being implemented into society, men began to change their ways and it was during this time that England was the closest to being a fully Christian nation, in my opinion.  King Alfred also encouraged people to learn to read and write, and set up schools for the children of his kingdom.  In regards to the church at that point in time, Alfred was a Bible believing Christian, and it is reflected in that he presented his English clergy with a book by Pope Gregory, entitled, ‘Pastoral Care’.  This became another effort to lead the English church back to Christ.  In his spare time at home he began to translate the Psalms into the common language and succeeded admirably. In his translation work he had help from a learned Welshman named Asser, who taught him the Latin and English languages.  King Alfred was a very humble man, who loved the LORD - and that is seen in everything he did.  He was England’s only King ever called ‘Alfred, the Great’ and by the grace of God, he deserved it.

Written and Posted by William A Moore

Christian Heroes: The Watchword

        In one of the great rock-galleries of Gibraltar, two British sailors mounted guard; one at each end of the vast tunnel.  One was a believing man whose soul had found rest upon the Rock of Ages; the other was seeking rest but had not found it.  It was midnight, and these soldiers were going their rounds, the one meditating on the blood which had brought peace to his soul, the other darkly brooding over his own disquietudes and doubts.  Suddenly an officer passes, challenges the former and demands the watchword.  “The precious blood of Christ!” called out the startled veteran, forgetting for a moment the password of the night, and uttering unconsciously the thought which at that instant was filling his soul.  Next moment he corrected himself, and the officer, no doubt amazed, passed on.  The words he spoke had rung through the gallery, and entered the ears of his fellow-soldier at the other end, like a message from heaven.  It seemed as if an angel had spoken, or rather as if God himself had proclaimed the good news in that still hour.  “The precious blood of Christ!”  Yes, that was peace!  His troubled soul was now at rest.  That midnight voice had spoken the good news to him, and God had carried home the message, “The precious blood of Christ!”  Strange but blessed watchword!-never to be forgotten.  For many a day and a year, no doubt, it would be the joy and rejoicing of his heart.

This story was taken from a very old book of mine, published in the 1860's.  To read more from it, and to find out more about the book, you can go to my other blog, now finished, here: 

www.christiananecdotes.wordpress.com

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Posted by William Moore

Christian Heroes: The Two Margarets

I found this account of the martyrdom of Margaret Wilson when 

I was doing research on a paper I was writing. Here is that part of the paper.

        The Killing times in the 1600’s in Scotland were one of the fiercest persecutions by the Catholic Government against Protestant Christians in Britain of all time. Many would choose to die rather than give up their Lord. This was a time of great hardship for Scotland, but also a time of great Gospel witness to the faith the Covenanters had in their Lord and Saviour. There are many sad but glorious stories of martyrs in that history, and none probably stand out as much as the martyrdom of Margaret Wilson and Margaret MacLauchlan. Their story should be a tribute to the faith in Christ that these men and women had.

        “On 11 May 1685, Margaret Wilson and Margaret MacLauchlan were drowned in the Solway Firth at Wigtown for attending conventicles and refusing to take the oath against James Renwick’s Apologetical Declaration. Growing up, Margaret Wilson (18), and her brother and sister had often had to hide from government troops because they wouldn’t go to hear the Episcopal ministers. One day, however, Margaret and her sister Agnes (13) were finally caught. Their father managed to get his younger daughter released, but he couldn’t save Margaret. She was to be drowned with an older woman, Margaret MacLauchlan. The soldiers tied them both to wooden stakes in the water. The younger Margaret was tied nearer to the shore so [she] would see the older woman die first and be persuaded to give up her beliefs – so she wouldn’t die as well. As the older woman was drowning, the soldiers asked the younger Margaret what she thought of her now. Margaret Wilson replied “I see Christ wrestling there”. Then, just when she herself was about to drown, the soldiers lifted up her head and asked her to pray for the king. She answered “God save him if he will, for it is his salvation I desire”. However when they asked her take the oath, she said “I will not, I am one of Christ’s children, let me go”. The soldiers then pushed her head down under the water again until she died. Just before she died, Margaret had sung from Psalm 25: “My sins and faults of youth do thou, O Lord, forget: After thy mercy think on me, and for thy goodness great. God good and upright is: the way he'll sinners show. The meek in judgment he will guide, and make his path to know.”(1)  The two Margarets are just two of many, many people who paid the ultimate price because of their love for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Written and Posted by William A Moore

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(1) Reformation History.com, “The Cost of Loving Christ: The Two Margarets”, http://reformationhistory.org/twomargarets.html