The disciples of the Lord in the first century were noted for their purity of speech. It is said of Peter and John that when their enemies perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, and noted the power and wisdom with which they spoke, they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13. There had been something ennobling and elevating in their association with their Master. The holy dignity, the refinement, the beauty of speech, and the purity of language that characterized his life had taken hold upon their hearts. He had become their ideal. It was their joy to represent him. In the holy truths he expressed, the holy dignity that characterized his life-work, there was no cheapness.
A true view of the Lord Jesus Christ will take cheapness out of his followers to-day. When we see Christ as he is, we shall so greatly desire to be like him that the vision will make upon our lives an indelible impression. We find many professed Christians failing to show in their lives this dignity of character. Their conversation is for the most part of the cheap and commonplace. Precious hours are spent in idle chit-chat and gossip. The contemplation of truly ennobling themes finds no place in their hearts, and no expression in their voices. Idle, silly joking and the employment of slang expressions are frequently heard. Such expressions as "You bet," "Where're you at," "Sit up and take notice," and many other cheap, commonplace sayings form a part of their everyday speech.
Nor is it to the younger members of the family, nor to those who are uneducated, that these vulgar, commonplace expressions are confined. We hear many who know better, even public speakers and ministers of the gospel, frequently using expressions of this character.
Their use by this latter class especially is most reprehensible. The minister who in public discourse uses slang expressions or cracks jokes becomes himself a joke, a shallow imitation of what the minister of the gospel should be, in the minds of many of his observers.
If language of this character appears cheap to men, how must it appear to the Holy Spirit and to the angels of God? Some of us may not be blessed with fluency of speech, and for this we may not be responsible; but we are responsible to the extent of doing the best we know. Let us as ministers and laymen, in the pulpit and out of it, avoid the use of slang.
Baptized Into the Name
By C. M. S.
THERE is significance in the fact that those who surrender to God, become his willing possession, and join his people, are baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. All the divinely given formula of the Christian body means something. The old and new dispensations are alike in this. The sanctuary was typical in its construction and in its rituals. All that was done by the priest in the sanctuary of old had its meaning. It is none the less true that the ordinances of the Lord's house now were given for a well-defined purpose, and have their significance in the Christian life.
What does it mean to be baptized into the name of the Father? It means that we have signified our intention of bearing the character of the Father; for his name stands for his character. But to bear his character, we must be in harmony with his will. As his will is expressed in his law, it means that the principles of the law, the law in its entirety, are to be the actuating principles of our life. Christ declared to his followers that seeing him, they saw the Father. That was true because no will but the will of the Father was actuating him in all his life. So the psalmist writes of him:—
"I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart."
And so he says of himself:—
"I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."
Again he says:—
"Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works." John 14:10.
He "emptied himself" that there might be in him nothing to rise up and assert itself and its way in opposition to the way of the Father and the character and purpose of the Father. To be baptized into his name, and yet be out of harmony with his character and his purpose, is to misrepresent the Father. Having been baptized into the name of the Father, and having been faithful to that baptism, a great company are seen finally standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb, "having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads." Rev. 14:1. And the revelator, in speaking of the overcomer, says: "I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name." Rev. 3:12. This signifies the perfect harmony there is then existing between the Father, the Son, and the overcomer. In place of the rebellion which Satan brought in, there is love, devotion, harmony, loyalty, and all that makes for happiness and peace.
The blessed promise given to the "church in Philadelphia" was given because it had not denied God's name. Yet that denial may be made even while professing his name. Life speaks louder than words.
Thus it is evident that to be baptized into the name of the Father and to be true to that baptism, we must be in harmony with every principle of the law of God. He who calls himself by the name Christian, and is baptized into the name of the Father, and yet repudiates the law of God, which is the expression of the will and character of God, denies by his life what he professes with his lips. He misrepresents God, and can not say with his Saviour, "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." Then may such a one expect to hear the declaration, "He that denieth me in the presence of men shall be denied in the presence of the angels of God." Luke 12:9. How much more blessed to be among those of whom it is said, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus"! It is no light matter to be baptized into the name of the Father.
What is the significance of being baptized into the name of the Son? It means first that we have accepted him as our Saviour, that we are his through the purchasing power of his blood shed on Calvary. But being baptized into his name means that we are taking the same attitude toward the law of God that he took, that we are placing self on the altar, that we are seeking not our own interests, as Satan sought his in heaven, but, like Christ, are laying aside self and putting on the garments of service for others. It means that we shall make his experiences our experiences; that the spirit of sacrifice which he manifested shall be seen in us; that the interests of8others shall be above our own. It means that we shall take the same attitude toward the tempter that Christ took, turning our backs upon temptation, and our faces toward God for the power and grace that will make us victors.
Christ's life was a life of service. If we have been baptized into his name, it means that we have entered a life of service. To live true to that baptism will mean no insignificant struggle, for the predominant spirit of the age is the spirit of self-seeking, self-service, and self-adulation. To receive baptism in the name of the Son, and then go out in the service of self to pattern after the world and imbibe its spirit, is to deny the name and the experience and the character of the Son of God. It means something to be baptized into the name of the Son of God.
What is signified by being baptized into the name of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit was given to be a comforter to an otherwise comfortless world. There is no true comfort to those who are not in the truth. So the office work of the Holy Spirit is to "guide you into all truth." The result of that guiding is the comfort of God, the comfort of the truth. When the Holy Spirit was given in such rich measure on the day of Pentecost, those who received it began at once to bear their testimonies to the truths of the gospel, in the various languages of the earth. They were foreign missionaries at home, enlightening the ends of the earth by enlightening those who had come to Jerusalem from the ends of the earth. The fruit of the Spirit in their lives then, and from then on, was service for others.
We read that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control." Being baptized into the name of the Holy Spirit signifies that we have expressed it as our intention to bear such fruit in our lives. But to be baptized into that name, and bear fruit of a different character, signifies that we have denied the name into which we were baptized, and that our lives are denying what our lips profess.
The result of such a profession coupled with such a life is shown in the lesson of the fig-tree which bore no figs. Being in full foliage, it should have had fruit upon its branches; but it had none. It was professing, but not fulfilling. So it withered and died from the condemnation of our Lord. Just so will it be with each individual who, having been baptized into the name of the Holy Spirit, signifying dedication to a life of service, brings no fruit to the garner of God.
The child of earth might well be discouraged, if, after receiving such baptism, he were left to his own resources and his own strength to do all that is signified by true baptism. But not so. Christ's charge to his followers was: "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:19, 20. Every assistance that man needs to enable him to live up to his baptism is embraced in that promise; and in testing that promise, we shall not find him lacking, nor the needed help wanting. These thoughts concerning the significance of true baptism are not brought out to discourage any; but that, realizing the deep significance of our baptism, we might be more guarded and more earnest in our lives and our activities; and realizing what Heaven expects of us, that we come to realize also our great need of the help which Christ has pledged himself to give.
If, then, being baptized into the name of the Father, we are set before the world as representing his character; and if, being baptized into the name of the Son, we are placed before the world as those whose lives are representing the life of Christ; and if, being baptized into the name of the Holy Spirit, we are set before the world as those specially dedicated to the service of others and to the bearing of fruit for the kingdom,—then what circumspection and what diligence, what carefulness and consecration, we should manifest in all our thoughts and words and actions!
The Hand of God in History
—No. 22—
Notes on Important Eras of Fulfilling Prophecy
The Era of Bible Circulation
THE Word of God is the fount of knowledge; and the era of increase of knowledge has been the time of increasing circulation of the Bible.
Writing in the early years of the nineteenth century, an English student of prophecy said:—
The stupendous endeavors of one gigantic community to convey the Scriptures in every language to every part of the globe may well deserve to be considered as an eminent sign even of these eventful times. Unless I be much mistaken, such endeavors are preparatory to the final grand diffusion of Christianity; which is the theme of so many inspired prophets, and which can not be very far distant in the present day.—G. S. Faber, D. D., "Dissertation on the Prophecies," Vol. II, page 406 (1814).
The reference was to the British and Foreign Bible Society, the pioneer of all the Bible societies.
It was in those pivotal years of the closing eighteenth century, as the time of the end came, that the direct agencies were being moved upon for the founding of the Bible society work. How continually the Lord uses the weak things of this world for the accomplishment of mighty results! Surely it was as the sowing of the grain of mustard-seed, this planting of Bible-distributing organizations that have grown into all the world, and given the Word of God to the millions.
The story begins with a little Welsh girl's question,—
"Why haven't we a Bible of our own, mother?"
"Because Bibles are scarce, child, and we're too poor to pay the price of one."
Two miles from Mary Jones's home lived a farmer who owned a Bible. She secured permission to call, and read its pages now and then. The story of the first visit we must repeat:—
The good farmer's wife went away, leaving Mary alone with a Bible for the first time in her life.
Presently the child raised the napkin, and, folding it neatly, laid it on one side.
Then, with trembling hands, she opened the Book, opened it at the fifth chapter of John, and her eyes caught these words, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
"I will! I will!" she cried, feeling as if the words were spoken directly to her by some divine voice. "I will search and learn all I can. O, if I had but a Bible of my own!" And this wish, this sigh for the rare and coveted treasure, was the key-note to a grand chorus of glorious harmony which, years after, spread in volume, until it rolled in waves of sound over the whole earth. Yes, that yearning in a poor child's heart was destined to be a means of light and knowledge to millions of souls in the future.—"Mary Jones and Her Bible," pages 58, 59.
Now the girl began to work untiringly to gather money to buy a Welsh Bible of her own. It was in the year 1800, after six years of saving, that she made the barefoot journey of over twenty-five miles to the town of Bala, with the price of the book in her pocket. With glowing heart, she told her story and made her request of the minister, Mr. Thomas Charles, who had secured the last copies of the only Welsh edition then to be had. "Really," Mr. Charles explained to the local elder, a friend of Mary's pastor, "I am very sorry that she should have come from such a distance; for I fear, indeed, that I can not spare her a copy." The only copies left had been spoken for.
Poor Mary! When she heard his answer, her disappointment was so great that she burst into tears, and sobbed as if her heart would break. Mr. Charles was deeply moved, and tears filled his eyes, partly in sorrow for his country, where the Word of God was so scarce, and partly in pity for Mary. He could not bear that she should return home in9grief and disappointment. "You shall have a Bible," he said, and he gave her one of the reserved copies. Mary's tears were now tears of joy as she paid for her treasure. "Well, David Edward," said Mr. Charles, turning to the elder, who had been weeping, too, "is not this very sad—that there should be such a scarcity of Bibles in the country, and that this poor child should have walked some twenty-eight or thirty miles to get a copy? If something can be done to alter this state of things, I will not rest till it is accomplished."—W. Canton, in "Little Hands and God's Book," page 22.
Two years later Mr. Charles was in London pleading for a society to supply Welsh Bibles. The secretary of the Religious Tract Society, Joseph Hughes, said: "Surely a society might be formed for the purpose. But if for Wales, why not for the kingdom? Why not for the world?" Thus the idea was out; and in 1804 the first Bible society was formed. A small committee met for the purpose in the counting-room of the Riverside commercial warehouse of Old Swan Stairs, by London Bridge. The secretary of the London Missionary Society, Mr. George Burder, who was present, entered in his diary for that day the prophetic words:—
March 7, 1804.—Memorable day! The British and Foreign Bible Society founded. I and others, belonging to the tract society, had long had it in view; and after much preparation, in which we did not publicly appear, a meeting was called in the London Tavern, and the society began with a very few. . . . Nations unborn will have cause to bless God for the meeting of this day.—"After a Hundred Years," page 2.
"During the first fifty years of its existence," says the society's centenary report, "it issued each year, on an average, 559,000 copies of the Scriptures, complete or in parts; during the next fifteen years, the annual average rose to 1,951,000 copies." And now what is the volume of circulation?—About 7,000,000 copies a year by this parent society alone. And the American Bible Society, organized in 1817, is sending out at the rate of over 3,000,000 copies a year. Other societies are also at work, besides the vast circulation by ordinary sale through the various Bible publishing houses. Truly this is the era of Bible circulation.
It is a wonderful manifestation of God's providence that just as the time of the prophecy came, when knowledge was to be increased, there should spring up this movement that has spread the living Word through all lands. And think of the inventions and improvements and added facilities for multiplying production and hastening distribution that have come with the call of the hour.
On the day of Pentecost, at Jerusalem, the gathered multitude heard "the wonderful works of God," each in his own tongue. Sixteen or twenty languages, more or less, were represented there. Now the Word of God, in whole or in part, speaks in about five hundred tongues, and each year a half-dozen or more new tongues utter the wonderful works of God for the first time. The British and Foreign Bible Society report for 1911 says:—
The society's list of versions now includes the names of 432 distinct forms of speech. This means the complete Bible in 107 different languages, the New Testament in 102 more languages, and at least one book of Scripture in 223 other languages. Forty-two new versions have been added to the list during the last six years. W. A. S.
(To be continued)
The Causes of Sunday Observance
By Frederick M. Wilcox
It is a law of physics that every effect has a producing cause; and while this is true in the physical world, it is just as true in the realm of moral ethics.
What conditions working in the Christian church led up to the adoption of the first day of the week as the rest day of the majority of the human family instead of the Sabbath ordained by the Lord? In a general way, the cause can be denominated sin; the conditions leading up to this step are departure from God, love of the world, and popularity. Every student of church history knows that the purity of the apostolic church did not long remain unsullied. Paul states that the mystery of iniquity was at work even in his day; and he predicted that it would soon develop into the man of sin, who would work havoc with the truth of God. 2 Thess. 2:7. And in Paul's parting exhortation to the elders of the church at Ephesus he tells them that of their own number should men arise speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Acts 20.
Even in the end of the first century the Christian church began to depart from the simplicity of the faith, and to cater to the ideas and prejudices of the heathen world around them; and by the end of the second century this departure from original purity was indeed marked. Christianity began to wear the garb of heathenism. The conversion of the heathen became more superficial; and as these men united with the church of God, they brought with them many customs and practises of their former heathen worship. Ministerial parity became a thing of the past. The ministers of the larger churches took to themselves influence and prestige which their larger following gave. The churches at Rome, Alexandria, and at some other places became centers of influence and direction for many smaller congregations within their sphere of influence. Thus it was that the distinctions between the ministers in charge of these various centers and the less prominent churches became more and more marked.
Upon the so-called conversion of Constantine, in the beginning of the fourth century, a new and strange impetus was given to the Christian faith, and the Christian religion became the religion of the empire. Then began the scheming of the various bishops and presbyters for recognition at the court of Constantine. Rome had for centuries been the mistress of the world; and as in the affairs of state her authority had been acknowledged, it seemed but natural that her authority should also be conceded in spiritual matters, especially as the emperor recognized the claims of the church at Rome, and gave to its opinions superior weight and authority.
The popularity of the Christian religion in the empire only served to bring to its standard more subjects of the heathen faith. Scores united with the Christian church more in the hope of temporal gain than of spiritual advantage. And the church itself, having lost its fine sense of the character of Christianity, eagerly held out every inducement to augment its membership from the ranks of its heathen neighbors. Customs, festivals, and practises were modified, given Christian names, and incorporated into the practise of the church. Prominent among these came the Sunday festival. This day was dedicated to the worship of the sun, and upon it were held heathen feasts in honor of that deity. That the Christian church might not appear "causelessly peevish" and deter the conversion of its heathen neighbors, it saw fit to take this day observed by the heathen world and incorporate it into the practise of the church as a Christian institution, not in honor of the natural sun, but of the Sun of Righteousness. And as it happened that this day was the one upon which Christ rose from the dead, it was set apart in honor of his resurrection.
Another reason which prompted this change was that odium, then as now, attached to the Jewish nation. And the so-called Christian church, that it might in no sense be classed with the Jews, the more readily embraced this change. In the Western church the Sunday sabbath was held as a joyous festival in contradistinction to the Lord's Sabbath, which was appointed as a fast-day. And in the love men have for feasting instead of fasting, this distinction between the two days was not without its effect in disposing them to this innovation.
But this change was not accomplished in a moment. The entrance of sin is always insidious, and error creeps gradually into the church of God. Thus it was with the change in the practise of10the early church in regard to the Sabbath. The seventh-day Sabbath, says the historian, was observed for several centuries after Christ; and, indeed, after first-day observance was inaugurated, the observance of the two days ran parallel for some time. But the popularity of the church and the prejudices of its unconverted members from heathenism gradually gave to the first day the prominence, and seventh-day observance sank almost out of sight.
In proof of these statements we have not cited specific historical references. These might be quoted by the score. But every intelligent student of church history will willingly admit the correctness of the above statements.
Thus we see that the Sunday sabbath was wholly a product of the union of professed Christianity and heathenism. It has no foundation in the Word of God. The Sabbath was changed by the authority of the church, and that, too, at a time when the church was far separated from the Lord, and was not directed by his Spirit, nor was it walking in the light. To an institution originating in this way, should we give honor to-day? How does its sacred character compare with the day the Lord blessed and set apart for the use of his children in all ages? Bible or tradition — which is the authority for the Christian? Will you, dear reader, obey the ordinance of the Lord, or the commandment of men?
Note and Comment
By Editor
Attracting the Public to Religious Services
REGARDING the means which should be employed in drawing the public to the house of God, the editor of the Rochester Post-Express, in a recent editorial entitled “Going to Church,” very sensibly remarks: —
We go to church to worship, and if that purpose is lost sight of, all the social betterment ideas and lectures aiming at the improvement of the mind are beside the point. It would be interesting to compare the attendance at churches in which the idea of making the service border on the character of entertainment has been followed with what it used to be in the days when worship, and worship only, was the thing which drew people to the sanctuary. It is all very well to make the service attractive; but if the service element tends to disappear, then the change is likely to do more harm than good. It is not social enjoyment that people ought to seek in church; the ideal of the minister should not merely be that of getting people away from the temptation of the streets. Recitations from the poets and beautiful music will be of little avail if they do not form part of a direct and unmistakable preaching of the gospel. It is not by alluring people with the bait of enjoyment that their souls are to be won; it is by appealing to their sense of duty. To inveigle people into church under specious pretexts is not likely to win them to prayer; and unless they pray, they might just as well stay at home. Indeed, a man of character may very reasonably resent the trick — for such he is likely to esteem it — of getting him into church with a promise of some entertainment. But the minister with a high ideal of his responsibility, who bids him to come and hear the Word of God, will command respect, and stand a better chance of winning the man for a churchgoer. We have had too much of the meretricious and the ad captandum in our churches; why not try the sound and substantial fare which won the hearts and minds of a generation ago? The Bible, explained by a minister in solemn earnest, is infinitely more interesting than talk about magic-lantern slides. If we want men to come to church for their souls’ good, why not appeal to conscience?
The World's Great Need
THE great need of the world is practical Christianity. Religion in the minds of many consists too much in form and ceremony and ritualism. The earnest, humble, devoted life is too little in evidence among many who make high profession; but it is such lives, representing the Christian spirit, that will tell more for God than eloquent preaching, fine edifices, and imposing ceremonies. Of this Gen. William Booth, of the Salvation Army, is reported as saying: —
Everywhere I find the complaint that the crowd is turning away from the churches. One of the most striking symptoms of the age is indifference to religion as religion, especially when that religion takes an organized form, and finds its expression in ritual, ceremonies, and formal worship alone. I am not now blaming the churches. I am not a judge of ecclesiastical systems or their methods. But I have an impression that the mass of the people are discovering that there is a great gulf fixed between the profession of love — love which is the core of religion — and the practise in daily life of those activities and self-sacrifices which will ever spring out of love where it exists. Religion has too widely become a matter of form instead of a living, breathing, active principle, — a withered husk, a dead shell; and the man in the street has thrown it away.
“Am I a pessimist?” you ask. Well, the outlook is not promising; I might even say it is melancholy. When I think of it all, I am distressed. The one hope for the future of the world is a people whose religion has become their very life’s blood, and their one constraining force. The world needs salvation, — salvation in high places and in low ones, in our aristocracy, in our politics, in our secular newspapers, as well as in the blackest, ugliest, and most devilish sections of the community.
Increase of American Naval Armament
Of the increase in the way of naval armament which has been made by this country during the last few years, the Nation of Aug. 22, 1912, says: —
Few people know how rapidly the navy is being increased in other directions besides battle-ships. Into the Naval Appropriations Bill of this year there has been slipped a provision for 4,000 additional seamen, which will bring the total enlisted force up to 42,000 men. The last large increase was in 1908, and was obtained from Congress largely through the excitement attending the around-the-world cruise of the battle-ships. That increase was 6,000. Prior to the war with Spain the strength of the navy was not 10,000 men. To-day we are withdrawing more than four times that number from productive employments, in addition to the 75,000 taken by the army. This is a more serious drawing off of able-bodied men from industrial life than most people realize.
The Union Romanism Seeks
By Editor
THE desire of Roman Catholics to unite their efforts in behalf of religious reform with their Protestant brethren is indicated in the words of Bishop McFaul, who addressed a mass-meeting at Louisville, Ky., at the gathering of the annual Federation of Catholic Societies. According to the Washington Post of Aug. 19, 1912, he said: "Let me say that we Catholics are anxious to hold out the right hand of friendship to all Christian denominations combating the civil and religious evils of the day." But we may be assured that this hand of friendship will be extended to an extent no further than will serve and advance Catholic interests.
We would not ascribe ulterior motives to every kind utterance of Catholic workers. We believe that in her fellowship are Christian men and women. Doubtless there are among her clergymen those who in the fear of God are doing the best they know; but we may be assured that that church will permit none of its prelates to carry the influence of the denomination any further in the support of religious reforms than she sees will redound in the end to her own glory and prestige.
It is not so much the individual priests and prelates that are at fault, but the system under which they labor and the principles which they hold. If followed, this system and these principles would do for Protestants and for the best of men what they have done for the adherents of Rome. The only union of effort which the Roman Church will seek is a union which recognizes the primacy of her claims, and accords to her the supremacy which she demands.
God’s Overflowing Love
By Phillips Brooks
THERE is such a thing as putting ourselves in the way of God’s overflowing love, and letting it break upon us till the response of love to him comes not by struggle, not even by deliberation, but by necessity, as the echo comes when the sound strikes the rock.— Phillips Brooks.
Have You the Password?
By Nellie May Ackerman
HAVE you the password, brother?
Have you the Master's sword?
Are you pressing heavenward daily?
Are you trusting in the Word?
In your forehead is there written
That which gives you entrance there?
Know you not that entering heaven
Means a life of trust and prayer?
Faith in Christ and God's commandments
In our lives as on we plod,
Will insure our home of safety
In the blessed land of God.
In this time of strong delusions,
Error sweeps with maddening race;
Buckle on the armor, brother;
Look to God, he'll give you grace.
To guide right, take heaven's compass
In the storms on life's wild sea;
Grasp the cross and keep the password;
Soon our haven we shall see.
Blessed they who keep the password;
Entrance through the city's gate
Will be granted them forever;
Do not question, do not wait.
Hutchinson, Kans.
A Visit to the Malamulo Mission
By R. C. Porter
(Concluded)
R. C. PORTER
THIS station is planning to raise sixty acres of mealies, four acres of peanuts, five acres of beans, two of sweet potatoes, two of Irish potatoes, two of wheat, three of lucerne, three of fodder, four of garden-truck and fruit, five of cotton, and fifteen acres of rubber-trees during 1913. This will make ample provision for its 105 boarding-students and 104 day-students.
Mantandane has twelve out-schools, with an attendance of 317 students. The total number of out-schools for Malamulo is thirty-five, with an average attendance of forty-four in each. For 1911 the total was 2,003, and for 1912 1,744. This decrease in attendance is due to a scarcity of food, caused by the drought. Students came and wanted to stay, but no more could be taken. There were thirty baptized in 1911, and thirty-nine in the first half of the year 1912. Forty others offered themselves for baptism, but were asked to wait until they had completed a two years' course in Bible study.
This part of Africa is eager for an education. The country is thickly populated; and if we should baptize all applicants on request, hundreds would be added to the church each year. By requiring them to take a two years' course in Bible study before baptism, the unstable are sifted out.
Brethren C. Robinson and S. M. Konigmacher made a trip into Portuguese Angoniland in search of a mission station in this new territory the last of March. The trip was made on donkeys, which is much less expensive than machilla traveling. After prospecting a few weeks, a good site was selected about one hundred miles from the Mantandane station, and two hundred miles from Malamulo. They hope to be able to start work there in 1913. Until recently this territory has been closed to Protestant missions, being providentially opened since the Portuguese revolution; so we have moved as the "pillar of cloud" has lifted.
While our mission brethren were on this trip, the lions would often roar around their camping-place, and it was necessary to keep a close watch of their donkeys, as the lions are very fond of donkey meat. They camped one night at the Dutch Reformed Mission in charge of Mr. Andrew Murray. The night before several head of stock had been killed by the lions, so a trap was set, and the bait used was poisoned. The next morning two large male lions were lying near the cattle kraal dead, victims of the poison placed for them.
At one time when Brother Robinson was traveling in northwest Rhodesia, he turned aside into a clump of tall grass to drink from a spring. A lion followed in after him. The native carriers having lazily fallen behind, Brother Robinson was without protection, as they had the guns. The natives, seeing the lion go in after Brother Robinson, nimbly climbed up into trees for safety. Brother Robinson was singing as he went in, and after he had quenched his thirst at the spring, he came back as he went, singing a song of praise. He met the lion squarely in his path, but the singing seemed to frighten it, and it turned out of the path, allowing Brother Robinson—still singing—to pass the place in safety. The natives were very much impressed with their mfundisi's (teacher's) composure and deliverance. Brother Robinson believes that God sent an angel for his protection, and also inspired the singing which frightened the lion away. Amid all the dangers from wild beasts confronting our workers in the interior of Africa, in not a single instance has one of them been harmed.
But why mention lions when giving a mission report?—For the same reason that they are mentioned in the Bible account of the Lord's work. They enter into the experiences of mission life, and show God's protection to-day as in past ages. The Lord sends the angels and shuts the mouths of lions in Africa, when his work and workers are in danger, as verily as he did for his servant Daniel in the earlier history of his work. It greatly encouraged his servants then, and so it does to-day.
I returned to the Cape, stopping en route at the Tsungwesi Mission to meet Brother and Sister C. L. Bowen, who had come to the station during my absence. I also made a short call at Gwelo, where Brother T. J. Gibson met me for some further counsel. At Bulawayo I was greeted at the station by Brother and Sister W. C. Walston, who had come in to give me a welcome back to civilization again. I returned in fully as good health as when I left, in spite of an attack of the fever. I praise God for his love and care for me during these fourteen weeks' travel in the interior, where traveling is very wearisome. I expect to remain at the Cape until the middle of August, when I shall leave for a visit to Natal.