MANY people think it is. They say we must have religious laws to protect certain religious institutions from desecration by the lawless. Let us see if this conclusion is well taken.
Jesus says: "If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not." John 12:47. "If any man hear My sayings, and keep them not, I judge him not." A. R. V. As therefore Christ did not judge the unbeliever or the one who kept not His sayings, what right has any man or tribunal of men to judge him religiously or for being irreligious? A man's religious convictions are the most sacred heritage of heaven. To intimate even that a man might be wrong religiously, is to some very irritating, and much more to prove them such. This, however, ought not so to be, for the "reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Prov. 6:23.
Again Christ said: "He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My sayings, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day." John 12:48. Thus it is made plain that all religious matters are to be judged before Christ in the last day, and not before any earthly court.
To state the matter more definitely: The Father said, He, "sent not His Son into the world to judge the world" (John 3:17, A. R. V.); and Jesus said: "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Now They did not say this by accident, but because no man or tribunal of men have any right to judge another religiously. And why?—Because religion is a "man's personal relation of faith and obedience to God." This he is to render to God alone, for himself, through himself, irrespective of any other human soul; and this because religion is "the recognition of God as an object of worship, love, and obedience." The moment that a government begins to legislate, or judge a man, religiously, that moment it begins to set itself up as God, and then begins the work of seeking to dethrone God. Such a step can not be but harmful both to the government and to the people, as the history of Rome and Russia both testify.
Why should men of any class want religious legislation for others, when they themselves would not wish to be judged religiously? Rather, why should not all men want religious freedom for all alike, that all might share equally of heaven's gift? Said Christ: "All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye unto them; for this is the law and the prophets." Matt. 7:12. Religious legislation is the result of religious intolerance in the heart. It is contrary to the principles of a free government, and repugnant to the conscience and sensibilities of a free people.
Who Was Melchizedek?
By G. W. Reaser
WHO WAS MELCHIZEDEK? NO. 3.
BY G. W. REASER.
SOME one will ask, Why did Abraham pay tithes to this distinguished visitor from another world?—I answer, What better and wiser provision could have been made for his material entertainment than by affording this privilege to the most prominent, heaven-approved man of our race of that day? And again, What other opportunity was there for "the father of the faithful" to set the example of tithe-paying, and receive the blessing which will surely follow true conformity to Jehovah's system of supporting the priesthood and the ministry?
Anticipating another seeming objection which may arise in meditative minds to the line of thought, it may be well to state that the idea of the priesthood does not necessarily refer to those who act as intercessors. Certainly in an unfallen world there could be no intercession for pardon for sin. The interpretation of the name of Melchizedek suggests no thought of intercession for sin, and his God-given name implies exactly what he is. In the ancient Jewish economy there were "teaching priests." A "priest of the Most High God" in an unfallen world would fill the exalted offices of leader and representative of his people in worship, and of "king of righteousness" and "king of peace," unto Him who "hath prepared His throne in the heavens" and whose "kingdom ruleth over all." Our High Priest once offered the supreme sacrifice of Himself, and now pleads His blood in behalf of His people; but, when the necessity passes, He will cease to act as our intercessor. Still He will be our Priest-King; our Melchizedek.
An inspired statement which still further fortifies the position that Christ becomes a "priest after the order of Melchizedek," who was both priest and king, by succeeding Adam in the rulership of this world, is found in Zech. 6: 13. Here he is styled a priest at the time when He is established upon the throne of His kingdom. He entered upon His priesthood immediately after His ascension, but does not take possession of His kingdom until after His return to this world. When this prophecy meets with its complete fulfilment, "the kingdoms of this world" will have become "the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever" (Rev. 11: 15). Thus, logically, the rulers of worlds are priest-kings, and their "order" is clearly specified.
In our world the inhabitants who feel the necessity of a Saviour from sin, associate the idea of the office of priest with intercession. The Saviour of men, beholding our fatherless condition, volunteered to become our "everlasting Father," our Intercessor. He gives us the assurance that if we ask in His name, He "will pray the Father for" us, and it is10written again that "if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father." We have, then, a "great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God." In all things, under God, He must have the pre-eminence.
In the book of Hebrews, and in the idea of the Melchizedek order of priesthood, how is our Great High Priest exalted, magnified, beautified, glorified? By what attributes of character, what work expressive of supreme love, will He ever be entitled to, and gladly accorded the "pre-eminence" "in all things" above all the Melchizedeks in the universe?
The answer is not difficult to the redeemed individual who has seen Him as "the One altogether lovely," "the chiefest among ten thousand." No other Melchizedek is creator. None other saw his world lost by transgression, and doomed to destruction unless the most heroic and self-sacrificing measures were adopted for its redemption. None else endured the agony of the garden-of-heart-breaking-sorrow; the cruel, heartless forsaking of his own chosen friends. No other prince of peace ever wore a crown of thorns, submitted to the mocking, the reviling, the smiting, the spitting from vile lips into a guileless face, without murmur. No other king of righteousness, "for the joy that was set before him, endured" the shameful uplifting on a cruel cross, and, in anguish of soul, felt the nails driven through his flesh, experienced the withdrawal of his Father's presence, the chill of death creeping over him, the pouring out of his life-blood,—all for a race of rebels. No other Melchizedek ever passed through the gates of the tomb, and thus triumphed gloriously over sin, death, and the originator of both. None other will ever wrest his family from the grave, and destroy death and its author.
In very truth, all other Melchizedeks, with their myriad children, are dependent for original life and continued existence, upon our Melchizedek. Surely, in the galaxy of inhabited worlds in space, each created and upheld by Him, each having its "everlasting father," its king of righteousness; that "child" who "unto us" was born, that "Son" who was given to our human family, will, in all things, have the pre-eminence; will be transcendent in glory above them all; and by His sacrifice, by the winning power of His love, all, angels and men of all worlds, will be bound in love and loyalty to the King of Heaven; and our world, now overshadowed by the gloom of sin and death, will be the most brilliant planet in the universe; for even the sun shall be ashamed of his brightness, when "the Son of righteousness" "shall reign in Mount Zion . . . and before His ancients gloriously."
"Now in the things which we are saying the chief point is this: We have such a High Priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens."
"Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee;
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity."
(Concluded next week.)
ABRAHAM AND THE SABBATH.
By T. B. Snow
BY T. B. SNOW.
THE Sabbath was given as a sign between God and Israel, “that ye [Israel] may know that I am the Lord.” Ex. 31:13. Those who keep the Sabbath according to the commandment, for the purpose of keeping in memory the creation and the Creator, will “know” Him. Had the true Sabbath been properly kept from the beginning, there would have been neither atheists nor infidels, for all would have known Him.
The Sabbath being the “sign” given to keep the people in memory of the true God, it follows that when the observance of the “sign” was neglected, they ceased to “know” Him.
The heathen who know not God, do not keep the Sabbath. No one can possibly keep the Sabbath if he does not know God; for true Sabbath-keeping is the sign that they do know Him. God calls the Sabbath His “holy day.” Isa. 58:13. Jesus says that He “is Lord . . . of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:28. Jesus “is Lord . . . of the Sabbath,” and it is His “holy day,” because it was He who made the Sabbath for man by resting on that day from all His works (Gen. 2:1-3), and commanding man to follow His example (Ex. 20:8-11).
The Jews kept the right day—the seventh day of the week—but they did not keep it in the right way. In consequence of their rejecting God as their King, and choosing a man instead, they soon lost sight of the Sabbath, forgot the true God, and went after false gods. To them the Sabbath soon lost its true significance, and was buried beneath the rubbish of formalism and unscriptural ideas.
They would not allow proper attention to be given to the sick on the Sabbath, and accused the disciples of doing that which was not lawful, because they shelled the grain from the heads to eat on that day. They even sought to slay Jesus because He had healed a man on the Sabbath day, who had been afflicted for many years. John 5:5-16.
In John 7:22, 23, the same subject is under consideration, and Jesus defends His position in regard to healing on the Sabbath. There were some present who knew about the Sabbath discussion recorded in the fifth chapter of John. See, also, John 7:25. Jesus declared that they knew Him, and whence He came, referring, of course, to their human knowledge of Him as a man among them. But referring to their knowledge of God, in verse 28, He said they did not know Him.
In John 8:1, we learn that He was still at, or near, Jerusalem. He was still talking to the same people as in the scriptures above referred to. He again tells them (John 8:19) that they neither know Him nor His Father; and, in verse 39, He even denies their being Abraham’s children, giving, as the reason, that they did not do the works of Abraham. Abraham kept God’s commandments. Gen. 26:5.
Then in John 8:55, He says, “Ye have not known Him; but I know Him; . . . but I know Him, and keep His saying.” What saying of God was it that tells us how we may know Him?—The Sabbath is a sign that ye may know Him. Hence the fourth commandment is the “saying” He referred to.
Abraham did not hide his eyes from the Sabbath. He kept it. God Himself says of Abraham: “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Gen. 26:5. All who keep the commandments of God as Abraham kept them, will know God as Abraham knew Him, and share in the blessing which God pronounced upon him. “Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.” Isa. 56:2.
Marshfield, Wis.
DELIVERANCE.
By A. H. Darrow
BY A. H. DARROW. *
IN the twenty-second chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, we read that, “If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor’s wife; so thou shalt put away evil from among you. But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die; but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death; for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter, for he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.” Verses 23-27.11It is the same way with the virgin daughter of Zion, betrothed to the Prince of Peace who is soon to become the de facto King of Israel. When she is assaulted by an emissary of Satan who would seduce her from her allegiance to her rightful Lord and Master, she has but to remember that “the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Prov. 18:10.
Then, with her heart full of this divine consolation, she will cry out and say: “I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Ps. 18:1, 2.
There is no danger that the Lord will not be nigh to His betrothed, that the “Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys” will not be near to His “sister,” His “spouse,” His “dove,” and His “undefiled” (Cant. 2:1; 5:1, 2), whether she be in the city or in the country; because He said to her before He went away, “I will not leave you comfortless,” and, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” John 14:18; Matt. 28:20.
What is true in this respect of the church as a whole, is also true of every individual Christian. “All are but parts of one stupendous whole,” composing the church or body of Christ; “and since no man ever yet hated his own flesh,” it is certain that the Lord “nourisheth and cherisheth” every part of His own body, or every individual member of that body, which is the church, spouse, or betrothed bride of Christ. Eph. 5:29.
The Saviour Himself says of wives and husbands that “He which made them at the beginning, made them male and female,” and “for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they [which before were two separate persons] twain shall be one flesh.” Matt. 19:3, 5. “He that loveth his wife loveth himself,” says the apostle (Eph. 5:28), which shows that a husband and wife are considered as one person.
Now, if men ought “to love their wives as their own bodies,” and if every real Christian is a member “of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (verse 30), then how is it possible that He will not hear our cry, when we call unto Him for help? If any part of your body itches or hurts, do you not feel it? If any portion of your skin or flesh or nerves is in distress, are you insensible of the fact? If not, how can you doubt the plain fact, that “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry?” Ps. 34:15.
Every converted person can truly say: “This poor man [or woman] cried, and the Lord heard him [or her], and saved him [or her] out of all his [or her] troubles.” Ps. 34:6. Then, if He did that at first, when we were immersed and soaked and saturated in sin, why not believe that, even now, “the righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles?” Is it because we are not very anxious to be delivered? Is it because our souls pant after sinful pleasures, instead of panting after God? Ps. 42:1. Since God “hath shewed us light,” let us “bind the sacrifice with cords, unto the horns of the altar,” and receive the blessing. Ps. 118:27.
Prescott, Ariz.
Blessings Delayed and Doubled
"God never delays His blessings except that He may double them."
The Divine Element in Friendship
“HUMAN friendship has in it an element that partakes of the divine.”
PRAYER AND POWER.
THE worldling may succeed in life by carefulness, by skill, by intelligence, and by force; but in the work of God no man can succeed without prayer. No human power can effect the changes and accomplish the work required in the service of God. There is a superhuman work to be done, and a superhuman energy is required for its accomplishment. To be prayerless is to be powerless. No matter what qualifications men may have for the work, unless they have the power of God they will never succeed in accomplishing the service of God.
Multitudes of men and ministers may trace their failure to their prayerlessness. They are eloquent, but they do not pray. They are enterprising, but they do not frequent the mercy-seat. They belong to secret societies and clans, but they do not know the secret of the Lord which is with them that fear Him. They may have education and all that learning can give them, but without prayer they will be like a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. They may be abundant in labor, fervid in speech, and zealous in good works, but all this will not avail unless they have the power and that presence which comes only in answer to prayer.
Let Christians learn the lesson, and as they desire to be useful and to do effective work for God, let them see to it that they watch and pray, that they continue instant in prayer, and thus draw from heaven that power and help without which they can do nothing, and without which all that they undertake to do will amount to nothing in the end.—The Christian.
NATURE OF MAN.
By E. R. Palmer
A BIBLE READING BY E. R. PALMER.
I. Man Is Mortal.
Man was created out of the dust of the ground, and made in the image of God.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Gen. 1:26. “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Gen. 1:27. See Gen. 2:17; 3:19, 23; Eccl. 12:7.
But this likeness is no proof that man is immortal by nature; for—
1. God alone is immortal.
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.” 1 Tim. 1:17.
“Which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.” 1 Tim. 6:15, 16.
2. Man is mortal.
“Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his Maker?” Job 4:17.
“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. . . . Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15:53, 54.
3. Man is taught to seek for immortality.
“To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality.” Rom. 2:7.
4. Eternal life and immortality are obtained only through faith in Christ.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.” John 3:36.
“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” 2 Tim. 1:10.
II. The Dead Are Unconscious.
1. Man consists of body, soul, and spirit.
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:23.
2. But it is a fact that the spirit, soul, and body are unconscious in sound sleep, and hence we may conclude that man is likewise unconscious in death; and, therefore, the dead are said to be asleep.
“He saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death; but they thought that He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” John 11:11-14.
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Dan. 12:2.
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [go before] them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4:14-18.
3. The Bible teaches definitely that man becomes totally unconscious at death.
“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146:4.
“For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” Eccl. 9:5, 6.
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Eccl. 9:10.
“For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?” Ps. 6:5.
4. The Gospel truth of the resurrection of the dead is the basis of the Christian’s hope for immortality—eternal life.
“Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is not Christ risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. . . . Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Cor. 15:18; 12:14.
Faithfulness in Your Place
“Fill the place where God has placed you. Show your fitness for it and your contentment in it. You might prefer a change, but God keeps you in it for some wise purpose, and, if you make the best of it, He will be glorified and you will be blessed.”
Greatness and Industry
By John Ruskin
Tho you may have known clever men who were indolent, you never knew a great man who was so.—Ruskin.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO A PERSONAL GOD.
[Elsie, in New Zealand Joyful News.]
DANIEL WEBSTER, the great orator and statesman, was once sitting along with others at a crowded dinner-table. In the course of conversation the subject was raised, "What is my greatest thought?" And each of the guests was asked to supply a personal answer. When it came to Webster's turn he looked around upon the company and asked, "Who are here?" And the reply was made, "Only your friends." "Then," said Webster, "the greatest thought that ever entered my mind was that of my personal responsibility to a personal God." He dwelt upon the idea in conversation for ten minutes, and then quietly rose and left the table. Men stood or sat in the hushed room, saying to each other, "Did you ever hear anything like that?"
His greatest thought was that of personal responsibility to a personal God. Surely all the emphasis in the phrase would be placed upon the word "personal." It is the men who conceive of God as a personal Presence—almighty, awful, and yet intimate—who are filled with unspeakable boldness and power. The man who does everything as in the companionship of the personal God will fear nothing except disloyalty and imperfect devotion. What tremendous power there is in any statesman who acknowledges responsibility only to a personal God! It was in moments when John Bright gave utterance to his august relationship that great audiences used to be subdued into reverent and most fruitful silence. The mentioning of the name of God by John Bright in the Birmingham Town Hall used to bring round about that secular meeting-house the atmosphere of the sanctuary. What it was in the great statesman it is also in common life. The man who lives and moves and has his being in the fellowship of a personal God is characterized by a force and directness which command the respect of all his fellows.
I would commend to my readers the wise exercise of cultivating this sense of the personal presence. If our God be only an abstraction, our loyalty will be apt to become very thin. It is the man who feels that the personal God is near who is ready for any duty. His loins are girt, the sandals are upon his feet, the staff is in his hand, and when God says "Go!" without a halting moment he obeys. It was said of Dante as he passed along the street, "There goes the man who has looked into hell." There is something far more controlling and moulding than this. Let it be said of every one of my readers, "There goes a man," or, "There goes a woman, who looks every moment into the face of Christ."
RESULTS OF MISSION WORK IN HUNAN, CHINA.
By Harlan P. Beach
[Harlan P. Beach, in Missionary Review of the World.]
IMAGINE yourself in the cleanest and one of the best-built cities in China, whose inhabitants look westward up the mountain-side to a rude stone structure sheltering one of the oldest inscriptions in the empire, the Tablet of the Great Yü, reputed to have reigned more than two hundred years before the traditional date of Abraham, and who won his throne in consequence of having been a Chinese Noah, the saviour of the people from an awful inundation of that early time. While Yü doubtless did not perform his herculean labors in that part of the empire, the ancient tadpole characters of the inscription give that impression, and the people in general possess something akin to the pride of the American elite. At the foot of this mountain is one of the oldest and most famous of Confucian colleges, antedating the great universities of England. Heirs of such an antiquity, and with the reputation of having supplied China with far more than their proportion of officials and famous scholars, it is not surprising that the Hunanese refused to admit trade and the Gospel into the province until within four years, tho beginnings had been made before 1900.
Dr. Frank Keller, the founder of this mission, after being persecuted almost to death at a city to the southeast of Changsha, entered the provincial capital in 1901, being the first foreigner to gain permanent foothold within the walls. Providentially he rendered medical assistance to influential officials, one of whom immediately secured for him temporary premises, and their endorsement and the grip that medicine and Christian love gained upon the people soon made it possible for him to secure permanent buildings, which he and his colleagues have made into a most complete plant for the varied activities of the mission.
Let the reader again imagine himself near the south gate of Changsha, on College Street, about fifteen minutes' walk from the steamer landing. Many of the residences on this street belong to well-to-do families, and the mission compound is simply an adaptation to church uses of one of these courts, with its ranges of buildings running parallel to the street. On the right of the great central gateway is a chapel capable of accommodating as many as three hundred who hear the Gospel preached by missionaries or earnest native helpers. On the opposite side of the great gate is a book-room, supplied with an abundance of tracts, Bibles, and Scripture portions, as well as with scientific works and other productions of the presses of Shanghai, and presided over by a scholarly Chinese, who is a local encyclopedia concerning matters Christian and Occidental, and who regards it all as a bait to catch those who incline to literature. Farther back and adjoining the book-room is a day-school for boys and girls, in which western learning, and even English, are taught to as wide-awake a company of boys and girls as you can find in China. An addition to the usual China guest-hall is a neat case containing Christian books, concerning which visitors naturally inquire, thus making it easy for the missionaries to turn conversation into Christian channels. Corresponding to the guest-hall at the western end of this range is the prayer-hall, where each morning, except Sunday, some fifty men, women, and children gather for prayers—not formal prayers with which we are familiar, but a most helpful three-quarters of an hour spent in joint study of a carefully-prepared passage of Scripture, in prayer, and in singing. So highly is this service enjoyed that not a few who are employed in shops arrange for absence an hour each morning, working later at night in compensation.
A Temple of Christian Worship in the Land of Confucius.
The Sunday morning service is a marvelous adaptation of the Gospel to the two classes of hearers represented—some of them well acquainted with Christian truth, and others hearing the teachings for the first time. Older Christians of dignified bearing see to it that raw heathen make no disturbance, and so it happens that the audience lacks the riotous character of many such gatherings in newly-opened fields. The afternoon church service has mainly in view the instruction of those who are ignorant of the Gospel, and is generally conducted by a former well-known "wind-and-water doctor," or geomancer, now one of their earnest preachers. His wide reputation and prominence in conservative reform circles attract large audiences, who are delighted with his learning as well as with the fascinating way in which he presents the new truths of Christianity.
So contagious is the example of their foreign leaders that of their own accord the Chinese Christians have established a chapel in the south suburb and hold services there of great power. They have also established prayer-meetings in heathen homes, which thus early have been the means of bringing some into the church membership.
Some of the results that have come from less than three years' work in a most hostile and antiforeign city are worth noting.
Officials and persons of rank and importance have become exceedingly friendly, and not a few of them come in their chairs to classes and services at the compound. Even the son and daughter of Chou Han, a man who for years was the most pronounced leader of the antiforeign faction and the instigator of riots not a few, and who is now imprisoned because of his crimes, are visitors at the mission. A prominent woman has started a school for ladies of rank, in which Western learning is taught, as is the use of the sewing-machine, and even English, to teach which latter branch she desires to secure one of the missionary ladies. A Manchu lady of rank is an habitual attendant, and has so far overcome the tyranny of custom that one day while we were there she refused to wait for her sedan chair, but boldly walked through the streets to a prayer-meeting held in the south suburb—a most unusual proceeding, which proved the revolution that the new life had brought to her.
Never has the writer seen such a thorough acquaintance with the letter and the power of the Scripture in converts and inquirers of from three years' standing to those of a few months'. Almost every adult, and many of the children, bring copies of the Bible, or of the portion of it most used, to church, to morning prayers, and to the various meetings. The numerous Scriptures are looked up and read, often by one of the audience, and the expositions are so clear and logical that they could hardly fail to find lodgment in the heart.
The missionaries give themselves to the people with a Christ-like abandon at all hours of the day, and the "church in the house" is made like a large Christian family, where all are welcome, reminding the visitor of the halcyon days of the early Apostolic Church.
One notes that the contribution-box is not passed, and wonders if the obligation of giving is omitted from the church life. Inquiry reveals the fact that the members and regular attendants are contributing quietly more than a tenth of their income on the average, and that the reason why contributions are not taken in the large meetings is that it might create the impression that money was the object desired, and that the contributions were expected, much as is the price of admission to a lecture at home.
