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February 24, 1909. THE PRESBv^xn?!t very significant statement: "If any man willeth to do my will, lie shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether 1 speak of myself." It will be well at this point to get a very definite and clear conception of what is meant by "the Trnth in this connection. What is it the eunuch must find, if he is to have in all reality "the Truth"? It is Christ himself. The Master aid not, in his teaching, say "I have come to proclaim the truth to you," but he said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Idfe, no man cometh unto the Father but by me." The central truth of the* Gospel is not a dogma, nor a creedal statement, nor a doctrine, but a person. Doctrines, creeds and dogmas nave their place and effectiveness, but they must never USIll'l) that heloneine tn Christ Thp mnrp this fnr>t is ronlWo,! in our preaching and teaching the more effective will they become. III. Finding the Truth, 29-34.?The Divine guidance of Philip continues. He is directed to join himself to the man in the chariot. Running up he finds that the eunuch is reading the prophecy of Isaiah. It is probable that, while in Jerusalem, the worshipper from Ethiopia had heard of the new doctrine that was being taught and of the Messiah. Desiring to know the truth he has obtained a roll containing the great Messianic prophecy and on the way home is giving diligent study to it. It is not all clear to him, however, and this becomes Philip's chance. Philip said to him, "Understamlest thou what thou readest?" And he said, "How can I. except some one shall guide me?*' (Those which have Dr. Howard Agnew Johnston's little boos, "The Famine and the Bread,'" will do well at this point to turn to page 31 and read the story of the Siamese Governor.) Philip is invited into the chariot and finds that the eunuch is reading the well-known passage in what we know as Isaiah 53. The seeker after the truth is to find it. Beginning at this Scripture Philip "preached unto him Jesus" and preached him unto Jesus. Philip had, in the passage from Isaiah, a wonderful text. There is a question of a personal nature that is sure to obtrude at this point and it is worth considering carefully. This is it: "Could you tell a man who was ready to learn, exactly what it is to become a Christian?" What is a Christian, any way? The writer would say: Being a Christian is being personally related to Jesus Christ. Let us get a clear conception in our own hearts and minds to the end that we may impart it to others. IV. Obeyina the Truth. 36-40.?To hear the truth is not snffi cient. It must be obeyed. Philip had carefully and fully preached the word and the Spirit applies it to the heart of the Ethiopian treasurer. He asks for baptism and it is administered and Philip, having accomplished the work he was sent to do, is "caught away" and the convert goes on his way reloij'n*?. Note that three times in t~e account of this incident the Divine guidance is mentioed. First, in verse 26, the angel directs Philip, when he sees the eunuch, verse 29, "the Spirit" tells him to join himself to the man and in verse 39. we are told that the Spirit caught Philip away. Even the details of "the campaign of Testimony"' inaugurated by the Savior are oeing divinely directed. We believe this in a general way, but it is well to have these plain statemehts to base our belief. The fdllowlng words of a distinguished Church of England scholar are worthy of consideration in this connection: "This incident represents* to us the power and strength gained for ) the cause of Christ by intellectual training and by wider culture. It is a lesson needed much in the great mission field. It has hitherto been too much the fashion to think that, while the highest culture and trninlnir are rnnniro.l fnv tho > at home, any halt-educated teacher, provided he be in earnest, will suffice for the work of preaching to the heathen. This is a terrible mistake, and one which has seriously Injured the progress of religion." Geo. D. Booth. 1 \N OF THE SOUTH. 17 Prayer Meeting THE PRAYER MEETING. For the Week Beginning February 28. Home and Foreign Missions. ProbaDly some extracts from current missionary literature will render the best service in guiding our thoughts and helping us to earnest application. What was meant when Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their dead?" He looked with the eye of prophet and Ixird On the near at home and the far abroad; Looked o'er all the world and said, '"Let the dead bury their dead." But love was meant. God's love was meant. When to the world His Son was sent. What was meant when Jesu3 wept By the grave where Lazarus slept? He saw the world before him lie In that lone grave when he did cry. Through his great love for you and me "Come forth!" God's peace be unto thee. 1'he Divine God our love to win. The Savior sent to cleanse of sin. What was meant when by the sea Jesus said, "Come, follow me?' To save the world in His Dear Name, And to all peoples Him proclaim, To do it not were burning shame; And shows in the grave you still are lying. While loudly to you the Lord is crying, "Come forth!" Hath Jesus neeft of thee io tell or His great Charity? The Savior Go<l to set us free Endured the Cross on Calvary; And he is free who frees another, He saves himself who saves his brother. ?Christian Intelligencer. In "The Missionary Review," Rev. Walter Phillips, of the Presbyterian Mission in Manchuria, writes: "The whole Manchurian Church seems stirred to its depths. The leading men are transfigured, and their ideals of sin and prayer have moved as from pole to pole; the members are one and all filled with a new zeal to go forth and tell their friends and neighbors. The very schoolboys are in the streets, preaching and selling books. The girls, under charge of 'some matron, spend their half-holidav in tranms tn nntivtnc viiioorM where they gather the women together and preach and pray half the night. In hospitals and public institutions old jealousies and frictions are swept away, and the workers meet daily to pray for their own weak hearts and the coming of the kingdom. Enemies have been reconciled; old feuds healed up; gamblers have been restored; opium-smokers reclaimed, and men made new." Since the beginning of the Laymen's Missionary Movement, there has been a marked increase in the development of missionary enterprise in this country and in Europe, according to the "Missionary Review of the World." Protestant churches in America, it is said, have increased the number of their foreign missionaries in five years by fifteen ner cent, or nonriv twice the ratio of the increase in their own membership. British churches, meantime, have increased their foreign missionary force by thirty per cent, and Protestant churches in continental Europe by twenty-five. According to the "Review's" calculation, the American force in the foreign mission field is now over 6,500; that of Great Britain over 8,000, and of the continent over 3,000. <: