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12 THE PRESBYTEFT*
Devotional and Selections
I
ONR HOPE.
By Ernest Neal Lyon.
One hope supports me in the storm,
When flesh and spirit quail
My .Father holds me with His arm,
His promise cannot fail!
The ocean of His grace transcends
My small horizon's rim,
And where my feeble vision ends
My heart can r^st in Him!
In confidence I bide the tryst,
His promise is for aye,
He guides me still, through cloud and mist
Unto the perfect day !
KNEW LITTLE OF THE BIBLE.
The Literary Digest, some time ago, gave an interesting
account of an experiment by which Dr. George
A. Coe, professor of philosophy in Northwestern University,
tested the Scriptural knowledge of certain college
students. To a company of one hundred students
he gave the following questions, requesting answers, in
writing:
What is the Pentateuch?
What is the higher criticism of the Scriptures?
. Does the Book of J tide belong to the New Testament or
to the Old?
Name one of the patriarchs of the Old Testament.
Name three of the kings of Israel.
Name three prophets.
Give one of the Beatitudes.
' Quote a verse from the letter to the Romans.
The answers received were all signed by the writers
and Professor Coe expressed his belief that they were
"without exception, sincere." In marking the answers
as correct or incorrect Professor Coe put in the for~1
** **11 4-U~X 1 ~ A'.~ 4.~~4. 1- X -
inti liaaa an mai snuvvcu cvcii a uimam dppiUdCll lO
definite knowledge, whether technical or only popular.
He said, in an article in the Christian Advocate, that
ninety-six papers were returned, of which eight answered
the nine questions correctly; thirteen papers answered
eight questions correctly, eleven answered seven,
five answered six, nine answered five, twelve answered
four, eleven answered three, thirteen answered two,
eleven answered one, and three answered none. The
number giving a correct answer to the first question
was sixty, to the second, sixteen; to the fifth, forty-five;
to the sixth, forty-seven; to the seventh, fifty-two; to
the eighth, seventy-six; to the ninth, thirty-one.
Ninety-six papers, with nine answers on each, give
us a total of eight hundred and sixty-four answers.
The total number of correct answers was four hundred
and forty-four, a little over one-half.
Nearly two-thirds of them knew what the Pentateuch
is, but only one-sixth of them knew what the "higher
criticism" is; aikl only one-third could quote a single
verse, from the Epistle to the Romans.
kN OF THE SOUTH. March 24, 1909.
THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES.
Delectable indeed are the meadow, and the garden,
but far more delectable the study of the divine writings.
For there indeed are flowers that fade, but here
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cut iiitFugms which aoicie in mil Dioom; mere is the
breeze of the zephyr, but here the breath of the Spirit;
there is the hedge of thorns, but here is the guarding
providence of God ; there is the song of cicadas, but
here the melody of the prophets; there is the pleasure
which comes from sight, but here the profit
which comes from study. The garden is confined to
one place, but the Scriptures are in all parts of the
world ; the garden is subject to the necessities of the
seasons, but the Scriptures are rich in foliage, and laden
with fruit alike in winter and in summer. Let us then
give diligent heed to the study of the Scriptures: for if
thou doest this the Scripture will expel thy despondency,
and engender pleasure, extirpate vice, and make
virtue take root, and in the tumult of life it will save
thee from suffering like those who are tossed by troubled
waves. The sea rages, but thou sailest on with
calm weather; for thou hast the Scriptures for thy
iUL - - - ti _ - i*i * 1 - ? * ?
, iui wis is mi; caoic wnicn xne trials 01 me ao not
break asunder.?Chrysostom.
THE STORY OF JUDSON'S BIBLE.
Twenty years after Adoniram Judson reached Burma
the New Testament was translated into the Burmese
tongue. In 1824, when war was waged between England
and Burma, Mr. Judson was thrown into prison,
and Mrs. Judson buried the precious manuscript, just
ready for the printer, in the earth beneath their house.
But as mold was gathering upon it, on account of the
dampness caused by heavy rains, with a woman's
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ivauj wH) one scwcu me ircasure insiae a roil oi cotton,
put on a cover, and took it to the jail to be used
by Mr. Judson as a pillow.
In nine months he was transferred to the inner
prison, where five pairs of fetters were put upon his
ankles, and it was anounced that he, with a hundred
others, fastened to a bamboo pole, were to be killed
before morning-. During this terrible night, much
prayer ascended for the precious pillow. It had fallen
to the share of the keeper of the prison, but Mrs. Judson,
producing a better one, induced him to exchange.
Mr. Judson was not killed, but hurried away to another
place, and again the pillow was his companion.
But one of the jailors untied the mat that served as its
cover and threw the roll of cotton into the yard as
worthless. Here a native Christian, ignorant of its
value, found and preserved it as a relic of his beloved
master, and with him months afterward its contents
were discovered intact. After the close of the war this
New Testament was printed, and in 1834 the whole
Bible was translated into the Burmese language?a language
peculiarly difficult on account of its construction
and curious combinatiohs.?Stories of Bible Translation.
One has well said that "personal consecration," to be
genuine, should be written "pure-and-all consecration."