EVERY operation in nature is a profound mystery. No human research has yet been able to discover the life power by which the juice of plants distributes their annual clothing of green. The fructifying energy remains a hidden problem. While every one understands that these reproductive endowments really exist, yet all are obliged to admit that every limitation of nature is absolutely established, and that in each case the exact plan of life and mode of operation are not disclosed to human logic.
The reason for this is clearly fixed in the proposition that the gifts of nature are an endowment from beyond the realm of earthly dictation. But because these are not open to human reasoning, no one thinks of denying their actuality or the verity of their procedure. Why, then, should not the question of intellect pulsations be met with the same assent, and its varying moods be considered with a view to learning to what extent these may be swayed by divine direction?
He who accepts the generally received doctrine that Christ, the divine Son of God, had an earthly birth in human flesh, must agree with the apostle that the mystery of godlikeness is indeed great as manifested in the flesh. 1 Tim. 3:16. How such a union could possibly be effected must ever seem beyond the power of material demonstration, simply because it was God's arrangement, and not the result of human effort.
But why the necessity for such a movement? The reason given for such mysterious union is this: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. . . . Wherefore . . . it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God.” Heb. 2:14-17.
In other words, Christ, the only-begotten Son of Jehovah, voluntarily submitted to a union with human flesh in order that He might share the inherited sorrows of a sinful race, while exhibiting the ennobling qualities of heavenly genius. By this human connection He was enabled to sympathize fully with every phase of anguish superinduced by sin. His God-vision gave Him penetrative power beyond all human average, so that He could truly sigh over the deaf-mute, have fullest compassion for the leper, and shed unaffected tears before the tomb. He was wounded to the full for man, not simply in the human flesh which He had assumed, but in His holy, godlike heart. His identification with a sinful race, for each individual member of which He tasted death, laid the penalty of multiplied guilt upon His sacrificing soul, until He feared that the suffering of His immolation would not suffice for man's redemption. Heb. 5:7.
The common inheritance of humanity is easily computed—disappointment, suffering, and sin, all ending in death, to which mankind has never been reconciled. Yet Christ voluntarily took upon Himself all these fleshly impediments, that He might thereby abolish death, and bring life and immortality to light.
As nicely expressed by a popular author, in His earthly career Christ “studied deeply every black-lettered volume in the library of pain,” and all for those who had sunk to the very depths of iniquity. To those even whose carnal hearts made them enemies to grace, His blessedness was unstinted. Yet His life record was searched with microscopic scrutiny for flaws of character. In the face of it all He fearlessly asked, “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” When arraigned at Pilate's bar, the decision was, “I, having examined Him before you, have found no fault in this Man.”
Under the circumstances, one might almost declare that Christ would have been justified in turning upon His accusers. He perhaps would, had He been but human; but His course was the proof of God's indwelling—the manifestation of God through flesh. The silence of Christ before brutal oppressors indicated that while a divine consciousness of the mysterious weight of human guilt rested on Him, He also bore in mind His divine origin, and the promise of the Father that His sacrifice would be the redemption of a lost race.
Men of great minds have borne suffering silently on behalf of another, and that, too, while misunderstood and maligned. All such have been praised when the true situation was fully developed. But to think that Christ endured racking agony speechless, not for a single choice friend, but bore the griefs and carried the sorrows of a world of sinners, who were the very opposite of His friends! How sacredly should the memory of it all be cherished!
But such knowledge is indeed too wonderful for human perception. It is too high for human attainment. Yet the recital of this brief study is but an infinitesimal part of the mysterious revelation of God through Jesus Christ. Its true essence can never be fathomed in this life, but must and will be the theme of contemplation throughout eternal ages, by those fortunate enough to inherit future life in the presence of Christ their Saviour. Eph. 2:7.
J. O. C.
His Coming Personal and Literal
By W. A. S.
THERE is joy and blessedness in the thought of meeting Christ at His coming, because it is really the same Jesus who went away that is coming back again. The angels said to the disciples, as their straining eyes watched Him go:
“Ye men of Galilee, . . . this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11.
“This same Jesus”! It was the loving Friend and Elder Brother, Son of man as well as Son of God, who was passing from their sight. He will come back the “same Jesus,” though in glory undescribable, having “all the holy angels with Him.”
The prophet Habakkuk thus described Christ’s glorious appearing, as it was represented to him in vision:
“His glory covered the heavens,
And the earth was full of His praise.
And His brightness was as the light;
He had rays coming forth from His hand;
And there was the hiding of His power.”
Hab. 3:3, 4. A.R.V.
Surely it is the “same Jesus,” and “the print of the nails in His hands” is the shining badge of His power to save. As the redeemed see it, they will cry: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” Isa. 25:9.
The unready, the unrepentant, will realize too late that it is a glorious King’s real coming that they have been indifferent to, before whose face no sin can endure. “Every eye shall see Him,” the apostle says; and he describes the scene as it will appear to the unprepared:
“And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. 6:14-17.
God forbid that we should read these inspired forewarnings without a prayer in the heart that we may be hidden in Christ now, and in that great day.
All Scripture shows that the coming of Christ the second time will be a personal, literal coming, to gather His loved ones home. W. A. S.
Failures as Stepping-Stones to Success
“FAILURES are with heroic minds the stepping-stones to success.”
Living by Every Word
By L. A. R.
ALL the light of the past, all the light which shines in the present and reaches forth into the future, as revealed in the word of God, is for every soul who will receive it.” This is but to say that the light increases with the advancement of time, and that all the light of God’s truth that has shone in past ages is applicable for the present. We are living in the last days, and the Word plainly declares that all that has happened in the past—all God’s revelation, all the truth from past ages—is applicable to our time, profitable for our study, necessary for our salvation. We read, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come,” 1 Cor. 10:11.
And yet, in antagonism to this statement from the Word, there are whole denominations of professing Christians to-day who say that the Old Testament is out of date, who count it unworthy of study.
No one can understand the New Testament unless he understands the Old, and it is impossible to understand the Old Testament without the revelation contained in the New. The types and shadows, the figures and parables, of the Old Testament are clear when read in the interpretation of the New; and the unfolding of divine truth in the New Testament is often obscure unless we know the figure, the parable, or the picture alluded to, in the Old.
For example, the reason why God gave the promise through Isaac is left unexplained until we come to New Testament times; and there we find it was God’s intention from the first to found His church upon His promise, that it might not be a matter of works, but a matter of grace, that all His children should be children of promise.
In like manner, the reason why God promised that through Abraham all the nations of the earth should be blessed, is not revealed fully until we come to the New Testament days, and then we learn that that blessing pronounced through Abraham was to be realized only through Christ. God foresaw that the gospel would go to the Gentiles; and so, as the Word says, “the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Gal. 3:8.
We might multiply instances to show that God’s light is cumulative—none of it becomes obsolete, or unworthy of consideration. We find many popular preachers to-day choosing certain portions of God’s word, exalting them as the message, and refusing other portions of the Word that would correct some erroneous ideas which they are bringing into their philosophies and doctrines. But we should remember the words Christ quoted from Deuteronomy,—that it is by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God that man is to live—by every word. And if we heed every word of God, we may be perfected in the divine way. We will thus be certain to hear a voice behind us saying, as the Spirit calls the Word to our mind, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Isa. 30:21.
Only a few Sundays ago a prominent minister, speaking to ten thousand people, put forth Christ as a great social reformer, and classed Paul with those who uphold capitalism. Thus these men put one part of the word of God against another part, and become wiser than that which is written.
Let us remember that the time has come when all that is written within the covers of the Book we call the Bible is understandable for him who will come to it with the spirit it enjoins. All the light of the present, all that which has accumulated from the past, and all the marvelous prophecies that disclose the future, are for the one who to-day will receive them. It is by this means that the prayer of the Holy Spirit, recorded in Eph. 3:10, is to be fulfilled,—“to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.”
L. A. R.
Man Made in the Image of God
By G. E. T.
“And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Gen. 1: 26, 27.
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Gen. 2: 7.
How vastly different is this sublime account of the creation of man, from the scientific conjectures of the present time! The Mosaic account of the creation is discounted by the skeptical speculations of science and higher criticism. Men whose names are not worth remembering, oppose their infidel fancies and shallow dicta against the words of the ever-living God which have been revered through millenniums and have plowed their way through centuries of unbelief.
According to the science of evolution, creation began with a “speck of protoplasm,” or some atom of “transparent jelly,” or “monad,” somewhere away down under the tenanted sea, in the mud, so small that it would be barely visible under the microscope. By a process of evolution through numberless ages of a past eternity, this “organism without organs,” this “structureless structure,” evolved itself into mollusks, oysters, tadpoles, fishes, frogs, monkeys, etc., and finally man appeared on the stage of being. Man thus came from the simian stem direct. Those who believe this, must expect to find their ancestors in the zoological gardens; but the writer is not looking for his ancestry in the cages of monkeys and apes. The awful and sublime “Scripture of truth” declares that man was formed from dust by the plastic hand of God, made in the very image of his Creator. There was no evolving. God spoke, “and it was.”
How degrading to both God and man are the infidel teachings of science and higher criticism! How much better to believe the noble, dignified account of man’s Creator as given in Holy Writ! “It introduces man upon the earth in the character of the king of the world, made immediately by God’s hand in God’s image.”
But the claim is put forth that as the Creator breathed into the nostrils of Adam the breath of life, he thus becoming a “living soul,” this conveyed to him the attribute of immortality. But notice the language: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” That which was formed from the ground was not the house in which the man was to tabernacle, but was the real man himself. Those who believe in the immortal soul theory claim that the soul is the real man; but the real man was formed from the dust, and life was given him by the breath of the Almighty.
To claim, as some do, that the words “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” prove the immortality of the soul, leads to a necessary but most shocking conclusion. Of the time of the Flood we read:
“And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.” Gen. 7: 21, 22.
The psalmist declares, “Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled: Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.” Ps. 104: 29.
If the term “breath of life” means that man has an immortal, deathless spirit, it would mean the same when applied to the animal kingdom, and all creatures would thus be made immortal. That which proves too much, and leads to such a horrible and disgusting conclusion, must be abandoned as untenable.
We have the benefit of a special comment by the apostle Paul concerning the meaning of the phrase “living soul”:
“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. . . . The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.” 1 Cor. 15: 44, 45, 47.
“The apostle’s argument is lost in the misleading English version. The English reader must understand that the word translated ‘natural’ in verse 46, is an adjective formed from the noun psuche, translated ‘soul’ in the phrase ‘living soul,’ of the Greek version of Genesis. It is as if our word ‘soul’ stood for ‘animal,’ and we had such an adjective as ‘soulical’ formed from it. The comment of the apostle then becomes clear. ‘There is a soulical or animal body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul, or animal [a phrase distinctly applied in the Scripture to the brutes]; the last Adam was made a life-giving spirit. The first man was of the earth, a man of dust: the second Man is the Lord from heaven.’—‘Life of Christ,’ page 91.”
The term “living soul” is not a term equivalent to “immortal soul”! It simply means a living being, or man. The fish of the sea are spoken of as “living souls,” but we are not to conclude that they are immortal, or deathless, for we are told that under the pouring out of the second plague they all die.
That man was not clothed with the attributes of immortality, and therefore with an endless life, is clear from the fact that the Lord, in order that sin might not be perpetuated through all eternity, cut off man’s access to the tree of life as soon as he sinned.
“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubim73and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Gen. 3: 22-24.
Man was not therefore immortal. In order to live forever, he must be permitted to eat of the tree of life. Not one of the human family has ever passed this “flaming sword,” so there is not an immortal sinner on the earth to-day.
Our hope of life, therefore, is through Christ, who came that we might have life, and “have it more abundantly.” John 10: 10.
We finish Colossians this week, and include in our readings the epistle of Paul to Titus, and 1 John, together with Psalms 116 to 119: 80.
Titus was a fellow laborer with Paul, and the epistle was written to give Titus information regarding conditions in Crete, admonishing him concerning the instruction which that church should receive.
The first epistle of St. John is a general epistle, and was by early Christians attributed to the apostle. It closely resembles the fourth Gospel, but whether written before or after can not be determined. The date is not earlier than 90 A.D., though it may have been written later. We have within it warnings against false philosophy and against the teachings of antichrist. The epistle clearly shows that “sin is the transgression of the law,” and that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ leads to obedience to God’s commandments.
The 119th psalm is a marvel. Every verse of it, almost, refers, by some term or other, to the law of God. There is a question as to its author. In a general way it has been spoken of as David’s, but there is nothing to indicate that it was David’s. The internal evidence points very strongly to the prophet Daniel and his experience.
Question Corner
We can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question. It is well always to enclose stamp for reply.
4225—The Time of Beginning the Sabbath
Matt. 28:1 states that “in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene,” etc. The text seems to infer that the Sabbath did not end until it began to “dawn” toward the first day of the week. Mark, Luke, and John refer to the same thing. How can it be said that the Sabbath begins at sunset, when these women went out “in the end of the Sabbath,” while it was dawning toward the first day of the week? R. E. B.
There is no question whatever, among Biblical scholars, in regard to the understanding of the Jews that their day began with sunset and ended at sunset on the following day. The idea of beginning the day at midnight and ending it at midnight was an arrangement of human devising. The sun is God’s great clock that marks off the day, and is absolutely accurate because of the accuracy of the revolution of our earth upon its axis.
The difficulty of our inquirer seems to be in the statement that these women came to the sepulcher “in the end of the Sabbath.” Upon this expression Dr. Adam Clarke, in his original comments as they were first published, translates this expression, “After the end of the week,” in the place of “In the end of the Sabbath.” He quotes numerous authorities in favor of this translation. That is evidently the meaning of the text, as will be seen by a study of Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; and John 20:1, where the same incident is spoken of. Mark says that it was “when the Sabbath was past” that Mary Magdalene and the others came to the sepulcher. And both Luke and John say that the occurrence was on the first day of the week, but that it was very early in the morning.
The Bible is explicit in saying, “From even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath” (Lev. 23: 32), and the meaning of the expression “evening” is stated in this text: “And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.” “Even” was the time when the sun set. It was against the law of the Jews to heal on the Sabbath day, so they waited till “even, when the sun did set,” after the Sabbath was past, to bring their diseased to Christ for healing.
4226—Were Never in Bondage
How could the Jews say, as in John 8: 35, that they were never in bondage to any man, when even at that time they were under Rome, and looking for the Messiah to deliver them? They had also been in bondage before, as under Babylon, etc. L. H.
The Jews could not have made such an assertion truthfully. The men who were talking to Christ at that time had actually rejected the Messiah, who was the great Author of truth, and were seeking to find excuses to put Him out of the way. They were under the influence of the great “father of lies,” and it is not at all strange that they should speak falsely. In recording conversations of that character, the Bible, in order to tell the truth, must recite things just as they were spoken. The text is authority for the fact that the Jews said that particular thing, but the text does not say that the Jews were telling the truth when they said it.
4227—“Jew” and “Jewess”
I greatly desire to know where in the Bible the name “Jew” or “Jewess” was first mentioned. Also why were they called Jews? O. C. G.
According to Young’s “Analytical Concordance,” the word “Jew” occurs in the Bible first in Esther 2: 5, and either in the singular or the plural it occurs a large number of times, in both the Old and the New Testament. “Jewess” occurs but twice,—Acts 16: 1; 24: 24. This same concordance is one among the many authorities for the statement that the Jew is “a descendant of Judah.” In later times the Jew was also called an Israelite. All such questions as this can be readily learned by any individual in his home, by consulting any good concordance or Bible dictionary. Every home should if possible have such valuable books. They are very essential in Bible study.
4228—Healing the Sick
How is it that a certain class of people go around holding meetings, claiming they can heal the sick, and cure all diseases? A. S.
A great many people claim to heal the sick in answer to prayer, when in reality they do no such thing. But even though they did perform miracles of this kind, that is not conclusive evidence that they are performing these miracles through the power of God. Christ has forewarned us that false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matt. 24: 24. When we are in the presence of any one who is claiming to perform a miracle, we need to be on our guard, for the Bible plainly shows that the arch-deceiver has power to perform miracles, and all of his miracles carry with them the specious arts of deception that will plunge the individual into utter destruction.
4229—Inmates of the “Underworld”
Do you believe that the inmates of the “underworld” are brought there from their own sinful nature, or from economic causes? E. T.
Economic causes may furnish an excuse for fallen women, but at the root of the whole matter is sin, not sin merely in the women, but in the men who either drive or beguile them into such an evil course.
Medical Journals and the Sabbath Question
ONE hardly expects to find in medical journals editorials on the question of which day of the week is the Sabbath; but in the November issue of the Pacific Medical Journal we find an article, at the head of which stands the caption, “The Sabbath Day.” The first utterances in the article are brief, and read:
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Ex. 20: 8.
“Which is the Sabbath day?—The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” Deut. 5: 14.
These statements from the Scripture answer plainly the question as to which is the Sabbath day. Then following these plain Scripture statements, the editor of the journal gives us the heathen name of each day of the week, telling the name of the heathen god that was worshiped on each of these particular days. The burden of the editor seems to be to try to show that each one of the days of the week has been observed as a sabbath day by various heathen nations; and when he comes to Sunday, he calls it “the sun’s day, the Lord’s day, the day of the resurrection of Christ,—our present Sunday. The first day is also worshiped as the sabbath day by the orthodox Christians, just as the ancients worshiped the sun itself.”
And then at the close, the editor asks, “Which is the Sabbath day?”
If a person actually desires to be muddled in his thinking, it is a very easy matter for him to enter into a line of reasoning that will completely befog him. It is perfectly true that different heathen nations of high intellectual attainment have devoted the different days of the week to the worship of some of their peculiar deities. And why should not his satanic majesty seek to place the true Sabbath on a common, secular plane by introducing all sorts and kinds of false sabbaths? The true Sabbath of Jehovah is to be observed in memory of the power of the great Jehovah Himself to create. And if we wish to let the Bible, and the Bible alone, speak upon the subject, there is no difficulty whatever.
The Bible plainly enjoins the observance of the Sabbath. It plainly tells us which day is the Sabbath. Language could not be clearer, nor, at the same time, more simple, than the divine statement, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”
That statement in the law of Jehovah is what the people of this earth will have to answer to in the Judgment. The apostle says, “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2: 12. And when men come to stand before the bar of the great Judge Himself, they will not be able to plead ignorance.
Peace and Gladness
By L. D. Santee
By L. D. Santee
MINE be the peace that abides like a river.
Floating along on time's turbulent stream,
Worshiping Him who of life is the giver,
Till, in the sunset, the jasper walls gleam;
Kneeling alone in a loving devotion,
Bowing before Him who “ruleth on high,”
Tender my heart with a holy emotion,
While the bright crimson dies out of the sky.
O, the great world, with its wonderful splendor—
It has naught with my sweet hopes to compare,
Nothing to give like the ecstasy tender
Born in the soul by the spirit of prayer!
On the rapt soul are no traces of sorrow.
Glory is gilding the isles of the blest,
No gloomy fears of disaster to-morrow.
In His loved presence, we safely can rest.
Feet that are wayworn will soon rest in glory.
Long they have journeyed on time's weary way.
Soon in life's meadows we'll tell the glad story.
Jesus has died, and redeemed us for ay.
Holding Power of Conviction in Heathen Hearts
By H. Kunya
RECENTLY an old lady about sixty years of age became interested in the message, and attended our meetings regularly. However, her husband and son opposed her, and she finally quit coming. A few days ago, she called one of our young workers, and related her experience. “For some time,” she said, “I was troubled greatly because my family opposed my attending your meetings. I thought it not good to disturb the peace of the home with my new religion, so decided to study and pray alone; but one night I was shown that I should attend the meetings. I heard a voice say, ‘If you stop going to church, your soul will die.’ Still I had not the courage to go. Very soon I was taken sick, and suffered for several days. I prayed the Lord to heal me, but the answer was, ‘No.’ I was perplexed and disappointed, but last night I saw the sin of neglecting to heed the warning of the messenger, and repented, and prayed to the Lord to heal me. Now the fever has left me, and I have promised to attend the meetings, and also to tell my friends and relatives of this truth.”
Elder R. C. Porter, superintendent of the Asiatic Division of our work, and his recruits for China, taken on the porch of our publishing house, on their arrival, September 9, 1915. Elder Porter is the fourth from the right in the upper row, and his wife is the first at the right in the front row.
In one of my recent reports, I mentioned a young man who began canvassing in the vicinity of his home. One day his uncle wrote him, inviting him to come to his house. He went, and the uncle asked him to work in his bank, promising to pay him fifteen dollars a month. This is a pretty good wage for a young man, but he did not accept. “I do not want money, neither do I want position, but eternal life,” was his reply when his uncle tried to convince him that money is the only thing to help one in this day. The next morning, which was Sabbath, the boy’s mother came, bringing money with her, and tried to persuade him to leave us. She said: “Come home, or buy new clothes with this money, and go to your uncle’s bank. Did he not say he would pay you fifteen dollars a month if you would accept? Are you not happy, my son, to get such a position?” The boy listened to his mother, but said: “This is not the place to come to talk about such things. This is Sabbath, and soon the service will begin.” In about a week the boy’s brother-in-law took him to his home, and tried to persuade him to work in the bank. Failing in his purpose, he asked the boy why he refused to see his father, and urged him to go home. He said he would go home if his parents would allow him to follow his convictions in religious matters, and believe in Jesus Christ; also if they would throw all the idols that were in the house into the fire and burn them, and attend the meetings with him every Sabbath. At this the brother-in-law and other members of his family became angry, but the boy was not at all frightened. He told them that the gods which the Japanese worship are all false gods, and that they have no power to save from sin. “I love Christ more than money,” he said. “He is the true, eternal God; but gods of wood and stone will perish.” The boy came back to us, and is doing well in selling our literature.
H. KUNYA.
Judson’s Conversion
By James Hamilton
ADONIRAM JUDSON, the illustrious American missionary, was a minister’s son. He was very able and very ambitious. He was early sent to college. In the class above was a young man of the name of E., brilliant, witty, and popular, but a determined deist. Between him and the minister’s son there sprang up a close intimacy, which ended in the latter’s gradually renouncing all his early beliefs, and becoming as great a skeptic as his friend. He was only twenty years of age, and you may be sure it was a terrible distress and consternation which filled the home circle, when, during the recess, he announced that he was no longer a believer in Christianity. More than a match for his father’s arguments, he steeled himself against all softer influences.
With his mind made up to enjoy life and see the world, he first joined a company of players at New York, and then set out on a solitary tour. One night he stopped at a country inn. Lighting him to his room, the landlord mentioned that he had been obliged to place him next door to a young man who was exceedingly ill, in all probability dying, but he hoped that it would occasion him no uneasiness. Judson assured him that, beyond pity for the poor sick man, he should have no feeling whatever. Still the night proved a restless one. Sounds came from the sick chamber—sometimes the movements of the watchers, sometimes the groans of the sufferer; and the young traveler could not sleep. “So close at hand, with but a thin partition between us,” he thought, “there is an immortal spirit about to pass into eternity; and is he prepared?” And then he thought, “For shame of my shallow philosophy! What would E., so clear-headed and intellectual, think of this boyish weakness?” And then he tried to sleep, but still the picture of the dying man rose up to his imagination. He was a “young man,” and the young student felt compelled to place himself on his neighbor’s dying bed, and he could not help fancying what, in such circumstances, would be his thoughts.733
But the morning dawned, and in the welcome daylight his “superstitious illusions fled away.” When he came down-stairs, he inquired of the landlord how his fellow lodger had passed the night. “He is dead,” was the answer. “Dead!” “Yes; he is gone, poor fellow; the doctor said he would probably not survive the night.” “Do you know who he was?” “O, yes; it was a young man from Providence College, a very fine fellow: his name was E.” Judson was completely stunned. Hours passed before he could quit the house; but when he did resume his journey, the words “Dead! Lost! Lost!” were continually ringing in his ears. There was no need for argument. God had spoken, and from the presence of the living God the chimeras of unbelief and the pleasures of sin alike fled away. The religion of the Bible he knew to be true; and turning his horse’s head toward Plymouth, he rode slowly homeward, his plans of enjoyment all shattered, and ready to commence that rough and uninviting path which conducted him finally to the grave at Maulmain.— Dr. James Hamilton.
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