THE well-known evangelist, Dr. E. P. Hammond, tells the following story; and even though you may have heard it or read it before, you will be glad of the privilege of reading it again.
COME with me, young friends, and look at these two pictures — one of a wild gipsy girl, and another of the Lord Jesus, who “gave Himself for us.” The gipsy girl lived the wild life of her tribe, and had been called in by a German painter, that he might paint her pretty face. She had never been in an artist’s studio before, and did not fail to notice on the other side of the room an unfinished painting of the crucifixion of our Lord.
One day she asked, “Master, who is that hanging there?”
“That is Jesus Christ,” replied the painter, carelessly.
“But was He a bad man, that they treated Him so cruelly?”
“O, no; He was the best man that ever lived.”
“Tell me more about Him.” And so he did, though half unwilling to do so.
Day by day, as this young gipsy girl came into the studio to have her picture painted, her face was fixed upon this painting of Christ. As the last sitting was over, and as she was turning to leave the room, she whispered: “Master, how can you help loving Him who, you say, has died for you? If anybody had loved me like that, O, I’d like to die for him!” And then, with a sad heart, she went back to her people.
And the painter? He was struck as with an arrow. God’s Spirit sent the words home to his heart. He sought out a mission preacher who could tell him of Jesus, and in the little mission room he fell on his knees, and covering his face with his hands, confessed before God’s blessed Son how for many years he had neglected Him and sinned against Him; and looking to God for pardon, he gave his life to Him.
His life was filled with a new joy, and he then became a worker for Christ. He put aside the half-finished picture, in which he had only thought of depicting the sufferings of Christ, and began a fresh one, with his heart full of fresh love toward the Saviour who had died for him. He felt that the Lord helped him as never before.
When the painting was finished, it was placed in the gallery at Dusseldorf. Crowds came to gaze upon it. To one heart at least that story went home, for beneath the picture the painter had placed the words:
“I did all this for thee.
What hast thou done for Me?”
Count Zinzendorf tells us that he felt he would not be able to answer very much, and prayed to the Saviour to draw him into the communion of His sufferings. Though I believe Zinzendorf became a Christian when he was a child, yet the sight of this painting led him to live for the Lord as he had not done before. As the father of the United Brethren in Moravia, we know how well he kept his promise.
The gipsy girl came to see the picture, too; and the artist, happening to be there, found her weeping before it.
“O, master!” she cried, “He died for you, I know; but did He die for me — a poor gipsy girl?”
And now this painter, knowing by experience something about the love of Jesus, could, out of a full heart, and with a deep interest in that dying Saviour, tell her, as he could not have done before, the story of His sufferings and death in our stead; and pointing to the picture, he said: “Yes, He died for you. I love Him now. Won’t you?”
With tears in her eyes, she asked: “Did He really die for a poor gipsy girl? Then I will love Him, too.”
Some time after, a stranger came to him with a message from a gipsy girl, who was dying, to ask him to come to her, as she wished at once to see him. He went, following the guide to the forest; and there, in a poor hut, lay the gipsy girl. It was his old friend, no longer in her dark beauty, but pale and wan and dying. Her eyes were closed; but when she heard his voice, she opened them, and, with a smile, she slowly said: “O master — I know now! He — died — for — me. I — love — Him — and — I — am — going — to — live — with — Him.” And thus she died.
We do not need any picture of the crucifixion. The simple Bible story of Christ’s death for us is enough to melt our hearts. Only let us, each one, be sure that we can say of the Lord Jesus, “He loved me, and gave Himself for me, and now I love Him.” If we do, the next thing will be that we shall47hear Him saying to us, as He did to Count Zinzendorf:
“I did all this for thee.
What hast thou done for Me?”
Thus, if we are Christians, will our love for Christ grow stronger day by day, and we shall find something to do for Him who has done so much for us.
But what shall I say to those of you who have never loved Jesus? You see, this gipsy girl had never heard of Christ; but you have heard of Him all your life, and yet have turned away from Him many times. She could not believe that He really loved her, and had taken the punishment she deserved on account of her sins.
But when she stood weeping before the crucifixion of Christ in that picture-gallery, and the artist explained to her how it was that, because He was wounded for our transgressions (Isa. 53:4-6), God could forgive our sins, then it seems that she trusted in Christ and found peace by believing in Him.
Will not you, young friend, do the same? Then you will be fitted to live the life of a happy Christian, and you, too, can say: “I know He died for me. I love Him, and I hope by and by to live with Him in His kingdom.”
May I repeat to you the question of this gipsy girl to the German painter: “How can you help loving Him who died for you?”
God Always Hears the Pleadings of the Sincere Heart
By C. L. Taylor
HIS father and mother were dead, and for years he had found his only home in an almshouse.
He was still only a boy, a mere child. He had been educated — to count from one to ten.
Once a “good man” came to his home, the poorhouse, and told the story of Jesus, who longed to help all who were in trouble, especially children.
One day the little fellow was sent in search of a lost animal. His search proved futile, and by and by, tired and discouraged, he sat down to cry.
Then it was that he thought of Jesus, who wanted to help children; and remembering that he needed only to pray, he began to pour out his child heart to his Friend.
A gentleman was passing, and hearing a child’s voice, a voice that spoke of trouble, he went to one side, peeped through the hedge, and listened.
He saw a child, with clasped hands and face turned upward. He heard him say, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.” Then the count was repeated.
“My little man, what are you doing?” he asked kindly.
“O, sir, I am praying to Jesus to help me find the horse.” And his little face began to beam with the confidence which he had in Jesus.
Do you think, dear reader, that the Saviour heard that “counting” prayer? Could He hear the heart plea of a tired, ignorant, poorhouse boy? Was He able to find sense in words that of themselves meant nothing?
The horse was presently found. Sense or no sense, the boy’s faith reached the great prayer central of the universe, and angels that excel in strength were sent to help.
It is not the beautifully worded prayer which alone brings the answer of peace. Our dear Lord Jesus, who is touched with the feelings of all our infirmities, understands the throbbings of the heart, regardless of the language the faltering tongue may utter.
Let me tell you this beautiful secret: Jesus sits at our Father’s right hand as our Advocate, and He makes it His one chief duty to present to God, in acceptable form, the petitions of every son and daughter who makes the effort to find succor.
Never mind, then, the fact that you can not pray well. Just pray. The ear of your divine Friend is always open. He will answer the unspoken thought. If, in the hour of your trouble and distress, you can do no more than breathe His name — the name Jesus — you will find Him “a present help.”
“Lord, teach us to pray.” “Men ought always to pray.”
God always hears the prayers of sincere and needy hearts. C. L. TAYLOR.
Salvation
By Mrs. M. A. Batey
I WOULD not be an angel.
They can not sympathize
With man in his temptations,
His doubts, and fears, and sighs.
But Christ, my "elder Brother,"
My nature did assume,
And perfect made through suffering,
My Saviour did become.
I'd rather have the prefix,
"A sinner saved by grace,"
Than be the tallest angel
That soars through endless space.
Near Calvary I'd linger,
And while the cross I see,
Say, with adoring wonder,
"He gave Himself for me."
How sweet the theme salvation!
My soul, prolong the strain,
Till men of every nation
Have heard of Jesus' name —
Till in our home in glory,
With all the ransomed throng,
We sing the old, old story,
The Lamb's redemption song.
Mrs. M. A. Batey.
The Slanderer — The Worst of Wretches
AGAINST slander there is no defense. It starts with a word — with a nod — with a shrug — with a look — with a smile. It is pestilence walking in darkness, spreading contagion far and wide which the most wary traveler can not avoid. It is the heart-searching dagger of the dark assassin. It is the poisoned arrow whose wounds are incurable. It is the moral sting of the deadly adder, murder its employment, innocence its prey, and ruin its sport.
The man who breaks into my dwelling or meets me on the public road and robs me of my property does me an injury. He stops me on the way to wealth, strips me of my hard-earned savings, involves me in difficulty, and brings my family to penury and want. But he does me an injury that can be repaired. Industry and economy may again bring me into ease and affluence.
The man who, coming at the midnight hour, fires my dwelling, does me an injury. He burns my roof, my pillow, my raiment, my very shelter from the storm and tempest. But he does me an injury that can be repaired. The storm may indeed beat upon me, and chilling blasts assail me. But charity will receive me into her dwelling; will give me food to eat and raiment to put on; will timely assist me, raising a new roof over the ashes of the old, and I shall again sit by my fireside, and taste the fruits of friendship and of home.
But the man who circulates reports concerning my character; who exposes every act of my life which may be represented to my disadvantage; who goes first to this and then to that individual, tells them he is very tender of my reputation, enjoins upon them the strictest secrecy, and then fills their ears with hearsay and rumors, and, what is worse, leaves them to dwell upon the hints and suggestions of his own busy imagination — the man who thus "filches from me my good name" does me an injury which neither industry nor charity nor time itself can repair.
— Exchange.
Every Tear of Penitence Becomes a Pearl
"EVERY tear of penitence becomes a pearl."
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Socialism and the World’s Discontent
A WELL-KNOWN gentleman, in addressing the men's club of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, said of a certain high school in Brooklyn, New York, that it is "saturated with Socialism," and that "this socialistic propaganda is deterrent to patriotism and productive of atheists." The spread of Socialism is one of the most significant signs of this time. It shows the deep-seated unrest among the people, and the determination to compel a change.
Thousands of men denounce the Socialists, and of course such men are entitled to their opinion on that subject.
But have you considered what Socialism really means?
Have you looked into the fact to observe that it is a symptom of a wide-spread social disease?
What will be the result of the world of discontent as voiced by Socialism, is a far greater problem before us now than either the right or the wrong of the theories that Socialists and kindred organizations are advancing.
They hope to save the world through what they believe to be a humane doctrine of brotherly kindness. But we should be able to see that the world is beyond the reach of human expedients or a human savior.
Is the Race Degenerating?
By Editor
DR. JACOB RIIS, of New York, told the "Race Betterment Conference" at Battle Creek, Michigan, a few days ago, that they were mistaken in affirming that "the race is degenerating." He says mankind is progressing and becoming stronger. Among other reasons, he states that fifty years ago the death-rate was thirty to the one thousand population, while to-day it is only thirteen. Then he spoke of the many free kindergartens, public playgrounds, and the social settlement workers, as evidences of the great moral and physical progress.
We may become so enthusiastic in some of our social work that we fail to recognize all of the facts that enter into a problem. While the death-rate is being lowered, nevertheless vice, with its degrading effects, is greatly on the increase. So also is insanity, along with many of the crimes that darken the times in which we are living. The physician, by his improved skill, is able to prolong the lives of men. Diseases that fifty years ago were considered practically incurable, at the present time seldom result in a death if the patient is in the hands of a competent physician. In this way the feeble, the degenerate, and the imbecile have their lives prolonged to reproduce their kind, and the average death-rate, of course, is in consequence lowered, and apparently the race is becoming stronger.
But the evidences of increasing insanity, vices, and revolting crimes should be placed in the other side of the balances, when we are considering the statistics on the average death-rate.
If conditions were not intensely abnormal in the home and in society in general, there would not be the necessity for so many thousands of free kindergartens, social settlement workers, and other charities of that kind. The more necessity there is for increasing numbers of charitable organizations, the more it shows the aggravated conditions that exist, and the evidences that Mr. Riis presents prove the exact opposite of his conclusions.
Approximating Civil War in Michigan
By Editor
CURRENT news items from the neighborhood of Calumet, Michigan, would, according to the Grand Rapids Herald, indicate to most people a civil war in the effort to settle the strike that has been reigning there for the last six months. Among the headings are such as these:
"Moyer shot, slugged, and deported from Calumet district," "Miners forced to surrender after an eight-hour battle," "A pitched rifle battle between deputy sheriffs and the Citizens' Alliance on one side and striking copper-miners on the other raged all day on South Range," "Deputies and citizens take many prisoners," "Three young men miners killed by a rifle attack on a boarding-house during the night."
The Herald further remarks that one would hardly believe "that these descriptions are not from Mexico, instead of Michigan." Mr. Charles H. Moyer, president of the Western Federation of Miners, is under a physician's care for injuries received as indicated in the foregoing headings. He says that he intends, as soon as he is recovered, to return to the scene of battle and continue the conflict.
Men are blinded to all of the lessons of history if they do not see the seriousness of the worldwide and determined struggle that is now on between the masses on the one hand and the classes on the other. We may not take sides in the conflict, but we ought to sense its meaning and its seriousness.
California Statewide Prohibition Campaign
By Editor
THE question of state-wide prohibition for California is one of the big issues in the field of moral reform for the year 1914. A prohibition law has been initiated, and the voters of the state will have the opportunity to express themselves upon this important subject. In view of this, we may be assured that those who are interested in the liquor business will do their utmost to get every man and woman on their side to vote. Temperance people should be more intense and active in their work, and all should know that in order to vote in any election this year it will be necessary to register after January 1, 1914, and at least thirty days before the election. Our temperance people should register early so as to be able to make themselves felt on this great moral issue.
Igniting Explosives by the "F"-Ray
PROF. ERNESTO ULIVI'S experiments with the so-called "F"-rays of electricity have reached the place where they are attracting the attention of journalists, not only in Europe, but also in America. The claim is made that these "F"-rays have the power to cause electric sparks upon all metallic objects with which they make a contact. These "F"-rays, if turned upon a battle-ship, would cause electric sparks to flash out everywhere in the interior as well as on the exterior of the vessel, and it goes without saying that the ammunition magazines would be instantly exploded. In one of his experiments, the professor projected the "F"-rays against his gas-meter. The meter blew up, and his laboratory was destroyed as a result, the professor himself escaping as if by a miracle. In some of his other experiments, he has projected the rays against mines off ports, and blown them up. Wireless telegraphy and the Roentgen, or X-rays, which are now successfully in operation, would seem to be prophetic of the final success of the "F"-ray.
German Influence in the Turkish Army
The Ottoman government has hired forty-two German generals and other officers to take charge of the Constantinople troops and to reorganize the Turkish army. The papers in Russia are declaiming against this very vehemently. They say that it really means to hand over the entire Turkish military force to the German kaiser. They say that they do not understand why the European diplomats will make such a great fuss over some of the little things that are proposed, and yet stand by with apparent approval while Germany thus extends her power to the Bosporus and the Mediterranean Sea. Territorial expansion and military advantages for the purpose of extending trade and increasing power are as much a ruling ambition in this age as at any time in the history of the race. While all true-hearted men and women should stand strongly in favor of the divine principles of peace, yet each day the press brings us some fresh material to incite the war lords to greater activity. It has been but a few days since the despatches were telling us of the millions that were to be invested in railroads in China, under the direction of German engineers, and every dollar of it was to come from German banks. Such news items may seem to demand only a passing glance, but without much question the world will have occasion to hear more about them later.
Charity and the Depravity of Poverty
Owing to the extreme cold in France, and to the suffering occasioned thereby among the poor, the prefect of the city of Paris is placing large fires in the streets, for the homeless, and is also distributing food and fuel. Many people point to such charities as this, as one of the great signs that our generation is advancing most marvelously; but if we were advanced to the place that some people would have us think we are, charities of this kind would be considered an extreme disgrace to our civilization. Many of the charities to which men point as evidences of great philanthropies and of wonderful moral advancement, show the depravity, produced by poverty, that the world is reaching, instead of its elevated place of blessedness. Superficial thinking and misguided sentiments are very likely to mislead us.
Indian Revolt in South Africa
MINE operators in the Transvaal and Natal districts in Africa encouraged large numbers of people from India to come there to assist them in their work. To these Indians were promised proper treatment, and good wages that would result in permanent homes, if they would come. Sufficient numbers of them have in this way been brought into that territory so that the white residents have come to regard them as a menace, and legislation, which includes a poll-tax of $15 a head, has been enacted that is very offensive to them. In consequence they are in alarming revolt. Among the scenes that are pictured are immense crowds addressed by women as well as male speakers. The agitation has spread to India proper, and England is struggling with the problem in both countries.
Ford Profits and Unemployed Crowds
The Ford automobile factory at Detroit, Michigan, has been advertised widely during recent days because of its announcement to distribute ten millions of its profits among its employees in 1914. This announcement has brought a crowd estimated at ten thousand to seek employment from this company; and after standing in the freezing cold for several hours, when they were told that work could not be given them, rioting was started. It would seem that a company that is disposed to be so liberal with its employees deserves a better fate than this.
Greece Seeks Help Against Turkey
GREECE is asking the powers for their assistance to prevent another war between themselves and Turkey. The premier of Greece declares that he considers such a calamity very probable because of the aggressions and general actions of Emir Bey as Turkish minister of war.
Martial Law in South Africa
MARTIAL law is reigning throughout the Transvaal and the Orange Free State in South Africa. The shooting of dynamiters at sight is one of the orders issued by the military authorities.
Portuguese Railroad Strike
A STRIKE among the railroad employees of Portugal has practically suspended the entire transportation service of that nation.
One-Hundred-Pound Bombs from an Aeroplane
LIEUTENANT RILEY E. SCOTT, formerly of the United States army, invented a device that was capable of throwing from an aeroplane, bombs weighing from 5 to 100 pounds, charged with the highest explosives known. He did not receive any encouragement from this government when his device was first presented, hence resigned his position and went abroad. While in France alone he received over $15,000 as prizes for successful bomb throwing. France, Russia, England, and Italy have purchased the rights to his invention for each of their countries. He is now preparing, under the direction of the War Department, to make extensive trials with his aerial bombs near San Diego, California. At altitudes varying from a half-mile to a mile in the air, he has made an average, out of fifteen shots, of placing twelve of the projectiles, thrown, within a circle twenty yards in circumference. Modern battle-ships, as well as modern fortifications, would not be very effective in the presence of such formidably equipped fighting ships of the air. One-hundred-pound bombs of nitroglycerin, or similar high explosives, discharged in forts, in cities, and on the decks of ships, would carry with them rapid and frightful destruction.
