August 1926
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
458
said that once when he was much de pressed in spirit, *and felt that he would not be released, but that the end of his ministry had come, he remembered the words of encourage ment given him on the occasion of his ordination as Pastor; “ Be strong and of good courage! . . . . Only be strong and very courageous!............. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage, be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed!” __ the w o r d s of Moses to Joshua (Joshua l : t , 7, # ). This lifted him up again, and gave new faith and hope. At this time Pastor Wong said, “ Well, it is good that we were not de livered as soon as we wished to be. If we had been let loose from this bondage in three days, or seven days, or ten days, or forty days, we would have come out of our bondage empty handed. Now, please God, we will have received some treasure, some spiritual gift from the Lord before we depart.” He reminded his fellow-cap tives of the Chinese saying to the ef fect that it is a pity to have entered a “ Treasure Mountain" and come forth empty handed. They all agreed that they did not want to count to seventy days, for this was the period of the captivity of Israel, 70 years, when they were sent for their sins to Babylon. They did not feel that their imprisonment was sent them as a punishment for their sins. They knew that their sins had been cancelled by His blood on the cross. But how strange are His ways, past finding out! They were held in bondage for more than twice seventy days! No Pity Before telling about the wonderful way in which they were finally deliv ered, there are a few more things con cerning their bondage that have made an impression on the writer’s heart, to which he would like to refer— They continually witnessed the Gos pel to their fellow-prisoners, and also to the robbers. One of the prisoners was converted, and some impression was made on the hearts of the bandits. They treated our brethren better than the average captive. In fact, the other prisoners often asked the Christians to make request for favors, as they said, “ They will do more for you 'Jesus men’ than for any one else.” But these robbers were completely hardened, it would seem. One of them said to Mr. Lei, “ Why talk to me about conscience^ If I were to con sult my consonice, there would be
Dreams They thought again. Ah! perhaps it was fifty days, this was the Pente costal term. After fifty days the Holy Spirit came. Only ten days more, and they would rejoice in the blessings of Pentecost. But, alas! the fiftieth day did not bring their release. Yes, they were to stay in their bondage for more than three times 60 days. They had dreams— sometimes wonderful dreams — of their deliverance. Mr. Lei said that in his dreams he was sometimes so happy that he was home again, that he jumped for very Joy. But, when in his dream he Jumped— alas, he was awakened by the clanking of his chains! It was all a dream! After fifty days had gone, and there was no sign whatever of deliverance, they sometimes were tempted to be discouraged and fear that they would die in their chains. They were ready to grasp at a straw. Signs There was but one small skylight in their room— no window. They got all their light through this one win dow in the roof. Pastor Wong said that they seemed to pray up through that. skylight. One day a leaf of a tree blew over the skylight. They were looking for a sign of their deliv erance. Mr. Wong knows a little English. He said, “ This leaf is our sign! This is the day we leaf.*’ “ For,” he explained to those who did . not know as much English as he, “ in English it is the same word for a leaf of the tree and to leave. So this is the day we “ leaf!” When the day passed and they did not “ leaf” but were still captives, their hopes sank. Surely “ Hope deferred makes the h e a r t sick.” They saw that they were just hoping against hope and that the sup posed signs were all false. They had even counted the number of rows of bricks in the wall of their prison house, and worked it out at the rate of a day for a brick, and reckoned when they would be released. “ Be Strong” They were now settling down to learn the lessons the Lord had to teach them. The Lord spoke wonder ful things to their souls. Pastor Chao
the flesh. Closer than national bonds, closer than family ties, are the chains that bind together the blood-bought children of God. Let us not try to break the chains! “ Let brotherly love continue!” “ How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” After the return of our brethren to Wuchow, in a two week committee meeting of seven foreign missionaries and seven Chinese work ers, after the strong anti-foreign agi tation, there was ample opportunity for us all to apply, in the many deli cate questions that arose, the lesson of the chains. “ Brethren, remember the chains!” Hope These four brethren, from the first day of their captivity, longed to be- delivered, and prayed confidently that it would come soon. They, them selves, laughed after it was all over, at the way they counted the days and grasped, as it were, at a straw of hope. They felt, at first, that at most they would be held only for three days. Was not Jesus held prisoner by death for three days and three nights? But the third passed, and there was no release from their bonds. Then they thought, "Well, it may be seven days, tor that is the perfect number of Scripture.” They confidently waited for the seventh day as the day of their deliverance. They knew that many were praying for them. The seventh day came and went, and nothing hap pened. They were still in their chains. Their next though^ went to tern days. The disciples waited in the upper room for the coming of the Spirit for ten days. But the tenth day passed and no change came with it. What now? It seemed a long time to wait, but perhaps thq Lord wanted them to stay out the full forty days of trial before releasing them. They remembered that the Lord Jesus Was forty days in the wilderness tempted of the devil; that Moses was forty years in Midian, and Israel was tried forty years in the wilderness, etc. The days dragged on, but they felt in their sufferings that it was not in vain. They were having much time, by day and by night, for prayer and the study of the Word of God, for they had one copy of the New Testament among them. They were allowed to have regular times of prayer and praiBe, but the forty days were fulfilled and still the miracle of their deliverance was withheld. What could it mean?
A ministerial brother in Flor ida encourages ns thus: “ I do enjoy The King’s Busi ness very much and would not like to do without it.”
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