The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1890, Page 7

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The Lutheran Pioneer. q

(For the ‘‘Lutheran Pioneer.’’)

The Bible in India.

astonishment, read of His glorious ascension
into heaven, and then turned over and read
the same story again, though in less words
Can the Bible be understood by every one, | from the Gospel of Mark. Again he read the
high or low, learned or unlearned? Is it suf-|same story — that story which can never grow
ficiently clear, that even the Hindoos, hope-|old — from the Gospel of Luke, who describes
lessly degraded as they seem to be, can under-| the life and acts of Jesus so vividly. Then he
stand and be influenced by it in their manners | came to the fourth Gospel in which John speaks
and life? Truly, important questions these, |of the eternal Godhead of Jesus of Nazareth,
which may find a satisfactory answer in the|of that Word that was made flesh and dwelt
following incident, which occurred ina small|among men. He read also the history of the
town about 150 miles northeast of Mudnapilly. | founding of the Church; he read the epistles,
About 15 years ago there lived in this town | and was firmly convinced that in the name of
a Hindoo, sunk in all the vices and crimes of | this Jesus he also could have the forgiveness of
his people, who had, however, so much educa- | all his sins and eternal salvation.
tion that he could read and write. His many| Ah, whata glorious and precious book this
and great sins troubled bim very much, and he | was to the poor Hindoo! It satisfied him per-
earnestly desired to escape their punishment, | fectly, he meditated on it day and night, he
and therefore willingly obeyed all the directions | learned that the people who first believed in
of the priests, but could find no peace of con-| Jesus of Nazareth met every first day of the
science. So the case stood when the time ar- | week to hear and read the word, and so he, too,
rived in which the great idol Juggernout was | gathered his neighbors every first day of their
annually paraded through the streets of a city | week (which, strangely enough, is the same
about 30 miles distant, and as the poor Hindoo | day as our Sunday) that they, too, might learn
was told that he would certainly be cleansed of |to know Him from the wonderful book. He
sin, if he took a part in this celebration and|even taught his wife to read, which was very
helped to draw the cart, thither he went. strange for a Hindoo, that she too could read
The first and also the second day of the feast |in this Book of books. He read in the Book:
was almost gone, the fast approaching night | ‘When ye pray, ye shall say: Our Father,
was to be the end of the festival, yet he had | who art in heaven,’’ and so whenever they met
found no peace. He noticed 2 man in the}on Sunday, they always repeated the Lord’s
crowd, who held a book under his garments. | prayer after the reading of the Word. Thus
“Stranger,” he asked, ‘‘what kind of a book | several years passed by.
is that -you have there?”’ “That,” was the} At last’ death cut his Jabors short, the Lord,
reply,” is called Kotta Nibandanac’’ (the New | whom he had so strangely learned to know and
Testament). ‘‘What’s that?” ‘‘Well, it is|so faithfully loved, called him home. When
claimed to be the Sattya Veda’’ (the True} dying, he requested his wife not to have his
Veda, as the Bible is called in India to distin-| body burnt, as is the custom of the Hindoos,
guish it from the false Vedas). ‘‘Have you | but to have it buried, because Christ had been
read it??? ‘*No!’? ‘What does the book speak | buried; nor to perform heathen rites upon his
about?’? “Well, I was told that it shows how|grave, but to read from ‘‘the Book,’ and to
to get rid of sins.’’ ‘‘Is that so! will you sell | speak “the prayer,” and to let him rest in
it??? “Yes.” “For how much?” "Give me | peace, and as Christ rose from the dead, so
a rupee”’ (25 cents). He gave the money, re- would he rise from the dead and live with
cieved the book, and went on. Arrived at| Christ forever.
home he opened it and read the first chapter} His wife continued to read in the Book for
of Matthew, but only with great difficulty could | the people on Sunday. Again several years
he master the long catalogue of hard names| pass by, when missionaries one day came to a
there given in the genealogy of Christ. He neighboring town, preaching Christ and salva-
had almost concluded that what he was so|tion in his name, thinking, no doubt, this was
anxiously looking for could not be found in this| the first time these people had heard of it.
book, when his interest was once more aroused | But two men stepped forth, saying: “Good
by the account of the wonderful birth of the friends, what you have just now told us is the
Child Jesus. same that the man with the Book read to us.”
This he could read and understand much bet-| On questioning them, the missionaries learned
ter; he continued therefore and read the story | the whole story. ‘They accompanied them to
of His childhood, His wondrous life, His many | their native town ‘and there actually found a
miracles, His kind and gracious words, and as | little church of Christ, truly, a rose in the wil-
he had gradually become convinced of the joy- derness. Thus did this Book prove that it can
ful fact that this Person was the One to redeem | be understood by all, and that it is, indeed, a
men, he came to the sad story of his bitter) power of God unto salvation to every one that
sufferings and cruel death upon the cross. His believeth.—From the German.

ea —— oo a
yee area alt tears, and alas, thought he, Praver.—As a shoemaker makes shoes, and
that ends all hope. a tailor coats, so should a Christian pray

Yet he read on about His burial and glo- Prayer is the Christian’s business. Let us pray

A sweet Surprise.

It is related that Dr. Adoniram Judson,
while laboring as a missionary to the heathen,
felt a strong desire to do something for the sal-
vation of the children of Abraham according
to the flesh. But it seemed that his desire was
not to be gratified. During a long course of
years, even to the closing fortnight of his life,
in his last sickness, Dr. Judson lamented that
all his efforts in behalf of the Jews had been a
failure. He was departing from the world
saddened with that thought. Thep, at last,
there camea gleam of light that thrilled his heart
with grateful joy. Mrs. Judson was sitting by
his side while he was in a state of great Jan-
guor, with a copy of the Watchman and Re-
flector in her hand. She read to her husband
one of D. Hague’s letters from Constantinople.
That letter contained some items of information
that filled him with wonder. Ata meeting of
missionaries at Constantinople, Mr. Schauffler
stated that a little book had been published in
Germany giving an account of Dr. Judson’s
life and labors; that it had fallen into the
hands of some Jews, and had been the means
of their conversion; that a Jew had translated
it for a community of Jews on the borders of
the Euxine, and that a message had arrived in
Constantinople asking that a teacher might be
sent to show them the way of life. When
Dr. Judson heard this his eyes filled with tears,
a look of almost unearthly solemnity came over
him, and clinging fast to his wife’s hand as if
to assure himself of being really in the world,
he said, ‘‘Love, this frightens me, I do not
know what to make of it.’ ‘To make of
what?’ said Mrs. Judson. ‘Why, what you
have just been reading, I never was deeply in-
terested in any object; I never prayed sin-
cerely and earnestly for anything, but it came,
at some time — no matter how distant the day
— somehow, in some shape, probably the last
I should have devised, it came!’? What a
testimony was that! It lingered on the lips of
the dying Judson; it was embalmed with grate-
ful tears, and is worthy to be transmitted as a
legacy to the coming generation. The desire
of the righteous shall be granted. Pray and
wait. The answer to all true prayer will come.
In Judson’s case the news of the answer came
before he died, but it was answered long be-
fore. So we may know of the results of pray-
ers and toils even while we sojourn here; but
if not, what sweet surprises shall await us in
the great beyond!

Free forgiveness through faith in Christ.
This is the doctrine which is the true strength
of any church on the earth at thisday. It is
not orders or endowments, or liturgies, or
learning, or grand cathedrals that will keep a
church alive. Let free forgiveness through
Christ be faithfully proclaimed in her pulpits,

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
rious resurrection and His appearance to His) and strive; for the word of faith and the prayer

her. Let it be buried or kept back, and her
disciples, read all this with ever increasing | of the just are the mightiest weapons.—Laither. candlestick shall beltaken away.