And so it may be with any of you here; whosoever you may be, however
poor, however humble. Though your opportunities may be small, your
station lowly, your knowledge little; though you may be stupid in
mind, slow of speech, weakly of body, yet if you but make up your
mind to say the thing which is true, and to do the thing which is
right, you may be strong with the strength of God, and glorious with
the glory of Christ.
It is a grand thing, no doubt, to be like Elijah, a stern and bold
prophet, standing up alone against a tyrant king and a sinful
people; but it is even a greater thing to be like that famous martyr
in old time, St. Blandina, who, though she was but a slave, and so
weakly, and mean, and fearful in body, that her mistress and all her
friends feared that she would deny Christ at the very sight of the
torments prepared for her, and save herself by sacrificing to the
idols, yet endured, day after day, tortures too horrible to speak
of, without cry or groan, or any word, save 'I am a Christian;' and,
having outlived all her fellow-martyrs, died at last victorious over
pain and temptation, so that the very heathen who tortured her broke
out in admiration of her courage, and confessed that no woman had
ever endured so many and so grievous torments. So may God's
strength be made perfect in woman's weakness.
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