Providential Preservations
Missionary history abounds in marvels oi preservation. God does not promise, even to the most faithful of His servants, absolute immunity from disease and death. It may be best that witness should be sealed in blood as well as seasoned with suffering. The servant is not above his Master, and the first martyr may have done more to save souls by his death than Paul did by his life; but God has often stayed the hand of man, and many an imperilled witness to Christ has heard the same voice that Paul heard at Corinth: “Be not afraid, but speak, and hold thy peace; for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee.”
When Martin Luther was asked at Augsburg:” Now, with Pope and cardinals, priests and kings all against you, what will you do?” he answered, ‘’ Put myself under the shelter of Him who said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee! ’ “Having the same spirit of faith, when Robert Moffat’s life was threatened at Kuruman, he bared his b;reast to his assailants, and calmly replied: “Strike, if you will! but my mind is made up; I stay among you.” The life of John G. Paton, that has recently thrilled all lovers of missions with its story of heroism, records perhaps fifty cases in which his life was threatened, or death by violence overhung him; yet in marvellous ways deliverance came, so that his preservation seemed like a perpetual miracle.
It is now nearly thirty-eight years since on August 19, 1856, Rev. William C. Burns arrived at Chao-chow-fu, in South China, on his sacred mission of evangelization and colportage work. Suddenly arrested, and the same night brought before the district magistrate, it was decided to send him to Canton. The relations of China with foreign countries was disturbed. The Tai-ping rebellion threw China into a state of chaos; and Burns arrived on the eve of a war which, that year, broke out between Britain and China. Had he come to Canton only a little later, when the events connected with Commissioner Yeh were in progress, death would probably have been the result. In the diary of Mrs. Stewart Sandemann, of Perth, Scotland, under date of December 28th, that same year, is this entry: “Mr. Burns was safely kept through his arrest and imprisonment in China. Comparing the dates I find that we were met in prayer for him during his dangerous journey under guard of the Chinese officials!”
For more than one hundred and twenty years, the Moravian missionary ship has sailed between London and Labrador, over those exceptionally stormy waters and amid fields of icebergs, yet with such freedom from accident that Lord Gambia declared the continued preservation of this vessel to be the most remarkable occurrence in maritime history that had ever come to his knowledge. During more than one hundred and sixty years, during which about twenty-five hundred Moravian missionaries have sailed for foreign lands, in only eleven cases has any loss of life come by shipwreck; and, of all the children of missionaries sent home to Europe, not one, says Dr. Storrow, has perished at sea.
Missionaries in Africa, India and the Indian Archipelago, have, in hundreds of cases, had to face perils amid beasts of prey and deadly serpents; is there one instance recorded of death by such means? Livingstone was delivered from destruction three times in one day, and once his arm was crushed and he was shaken into insensibility by a lion. To the first missionaries to the Fijians deliverance often came when murderous foes were surrounding them.
and their only weapon was prayer. Kapaio, a native of the New Hebrides, confessed that he watched to waylay Dr. Geddie, and when, with club in hand, he had him in his power, he became unable to deal the blow at the crisis when the man he hated and had followed in order to kill, was at his mercy. He confessed that a strange, new sensation came over him and convinced him that a higher power held him back.
A little while ago a company of Breecks, a low, fierce tribe of Karens, made a raid on a Christian village, and carried off as captives, two boys and a girl. They said, ‘’ Now we will see; if the Christians’ God delivers these captives out of our hands we will believe in Him, and all become Christians; but if their God cannot deliver them, we will go over and take more captives.”
Just at this juncture Dr. Bunker arrived at the village where all had been praying for help. They quickly told him, and he said: ‘^ Well, this is a case of God versus the Devil,” and he felt strong to say, ‘’*■ God will deliver them; keep on praying.’’ He sent a message demanding the release of the captives, and got word back, ‘’Come on; get them if you can; we have guns.” He sent then what he called his nltiniatuni: ‘’If you do not deliver up those captives we w411 leave you in the hands of our God, who can and will deal with you.” Meanwhile he and the Christians prayed mightily. His messengers met the Breecks on the road bringing back one of the captives. He then selected one of his preachers and fourteen followers to go unarmed for the other two.
When they got to the village they did not say a word to any of the tribe, but planted themselves in the road. The preacher took out his hymn-book and read a hymn, which they sang; then he read a portion of Scripture and preached, then prayed, and by that time the villagers brought the other captives to them and said: ‘’Now take them, and be gone.” This, of course, made a great stir among the Christians, and led them to expect a great ingathering from the Breecks. The captives told them that a brother of the chief who stole the captives, himself an awfully wicked man, talked strongly about the wickedness of the deed, and the wife of the chief begged her husband to make peace while he could, — showing how God was working to bring about answers to prayer.
Let Mr. J. Hudson Taylor tell for himself the story of his first voyage to China.
He says: ‘’The voyage was a very tedious one. We lost a good deal of time on the equator from calms; and when we finally reached the Eastern Archipelago, were again detained from the same cause. Usually a breeze would spring up soon after sunset, and last until about dawn. The utmost use was made of it, but during the day we lay still, with flapping sails, often drifting back and losing a good deal of the advantage we had gained during the night.
“This happened notably on one occasion, when we were in dangerous proximity to the north of New Guinea. Saturday night had brought us to a point some thirty miles off the land; but during the Sunday morning service, which was held on deck, I could not fail to notice that the captain looked troubled, and frequently went over to the side of the ship. When the service was ended, I learned from him the cause — a four-knot current was carrying us rapidly towards some sunken reefs, and we were already so near that it seemed improbable that we should get through the afternoon in safety. After dinner the long boat was put out, and all hands endeavoured, without success, to turn the ship’s head from the shore. As we drifted nearer we could plainly see the natives rushing about the sands and lighting fires every here and there. The captain’s hornbook informed him that these people were cannibals, so that our position was not a little alarming.
” After standing together on the deck for some time in silence, the captain said to me, ‘Well, we have done everything that can be done; we can only await the result.’ A thought occurred to me, and I replied, ‘No, there is one thing we have not done yet.’ ‘What is it?’ he queried. ‘Four of us on board are Christians,’ I answered (the Swedish carpenter and our coloured steward, with the captain and myself); ’ let us each retire to his own cabin, and in agreed prayer ask the Lord to give us immediately a breeze. He can as easily send it now as at sunset.’
‘’ The captain complied with this proposal. I went and spoke to the other two men, and after prayer with the carpenter we all four retired to wait upon God. I had a good but very brief season in prayer, and then felt so satisfied that our request was granted that I could not continue asking, and very soon went up again on deck. The first officer, a godless man, was in charge. I went over and asked him to let down the clews or corners of the mainsail, which had been drawn up in order to lessen the useless flapping of the sail against the rigging. He answered, ‘What would be the good of that? ‘I told him we had been asking a wind from God, that it was coming immediately, and we were so near the reef by this time that there was not a minute to lose. With a look of incredulity and contempt, he said with an oath that he would rather see a wind than hear of it! But while he was speaking I watched his eye, and followed it up to the royal (the topmost sail), and there, sure enough, the corner of the sail was beginning to tremble in the coming breeze. ‘Don’t you see the wind is coming? Look at the royall’ I exclaimed. ‘No, it is only a cat’s-paw,’ he rejoined (a mere puff of wind). * Cat’s-paw or not,’ I cried, ‘pray let down the mainsail, and let us have the benefit!” ‘This he was not slow to do. In another minute the heavy tread of the men on the deck brought up the captain from his cabin to see what was the matter, and saw that the breeze had indeed come. In a few minutes we were ploughing our way at six or seven knots an hour through the water, and the multitude of naked savages whom we had seen on the beach had no wreckage that night. We were soon out of danger; and, though the wind was sometimes unsteady, we did not altogether lose it until after passing the Pelew Islands.
“Thus God encouraged me, before landing on China’s shores, to bring every variety of need to Him in prayer, and to expect that He zvotild honour the Name of the Lord Jesus, and give the help which each emergency required.”
The following incident is related of a Chinese convert,* who had for many years been a vegetarian, to gain merit and be saved. “He came to the chapel,” says the writer,” heard and believed the gospel, and for years has lived a consistent Christian life. Some time ago the people collected a large sum of money to be expended in idolatrous work, in order that their houses might be saved from fire, and asked this man to contribute to that fund. He declined, on the ground that he trusted in the living God, and that the idols were not able to save them from fire. No sooner was the idolatrous ceremony over than an extensive fire broke out in the very street in which this man’s house was situated; one hundred and twenty houses were burnt down, and when the flames were coming nearer and nearer to his house, the people said, * Now you see what you have got.’ And they wanted to persuade him to take out all his furniture into the street that he might save something. He knew that if he brought the things out into the street, even though they would be safe from
* “China’s Millions,” Sept., 1882. “Progress in China,” by Rev. A. Foster,
p. 52.
fire, they would probably be stolen. But he believed that God was going to preserve him from suffering loss, and he told the people so. While they were hurrying to and fro in all their excitement, he, in the presence of them all, prayed God that He would show that He was the living and true God. And then he watched the fire as it came nearer and nearer, until there was only one house standing between his own and the flames. But just then there was a sudden change in the wind: God had said, ‘Thus far shalt thou come and no farther,’ and his house was saved.”
David Livingstone, returning from Central Africa, told of a great inland sea — Lake Nyassa. The Scottish churches and the Universities’ Mission took possession for Christ — money and life were freely spent to evangelize Nyassaland. After several years the envy of Portugal is aroused: she sends Major Serpa Pinto to seize the country, and Cardinal Lavigerie is ready with his priests to station them in all the places where the missionaries have laboured, where the graves of Englishmen and Englishwomen are ‘’ the title deeds to Nyassaland.” Is all this work for Christ to be overthrown? A spirit of prayer comes upon British Christians, and the Portuguese encroachments are defeated, not by the statesmanship of Lord Salisbury, but by the prayers of those who sent out the missionaries, and who, day by day, cease not to pray on their behalf. Truly, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” *
In 1574, God, at the siege of Leyden, used the forces of Nature to compel the retreat of the Spanish armies. The Spaniards had derisively shouted to the citizens, “As well might the Prince of Orange pluck the stars from the sky as bring the ocean to the walls of Leyden for your relief;” but, on the night of the first and second of October, a violent gale from
* Missionary’ Review of the World. Vol. iv. p. 26.
the northwest and southwest piled up the waters of the North Sea in vast masses on the coast, and drove them furiously landward, till the ocean swept with unrestrained fury across the ruined dykes, and the relieving fleet sailed up almost to the walls of the city! No wonder, as Motley says, that the enemies of Holland were struck with terror when they saw the hand of God send the ocean and tempest to the deliverance of the besieged city. It was the prayers of saints offered up in those times of great peril that preserved Holland from Spanish fury, as Britain was preserved from the Spanish and French Armadas.
The missionary life of that ‘Weteran of Aniwa “is one almost continuous example of striking answers to believing prayer. When the armed savages approached Nowar’s village and the people were panic-stricken, such prayer rose to Jehovah as can be offered only by those who stand consciously on the brink of eternity. The savages were only about three hundred yards off when Nowar touched Rev. J. G. Paton’s knee, saying,” Missy, Jehovah is here. See, they all stand still! “” We gazed shore wards,” says Mr. Paton, ‘’and sure enough they were all standing still. They actually began to turn and enter the remote bush at the end of the harbour.” Why they turned back no man can tell. God was interfering to save imperilled lives. At another time when the savages surrounded the mission-house, and set fire to the church and the fence connecting the church and the dwelling, Mr. Paton ran out and tore up the burning fence, while savages raised their clubs and shouted, ‘’ Kill him!” At this moment occurred an incident which his readers may explain as they like, but which he traced directly to the interposition of my God. A rushing and roaring sound came from the south, like the noise of a mighty engine or of muttering thunder. Every head was instinctively turned in that direction, and they knew from previous hard experience that it was one of their awful tornadoes. Now mark, the wind bore the flames away from the house, but had it come in the opposite direction no power on earth could have saved them all from being consumed. It made the work of destroying the church only that of a few minutes; but it brought with it a heavy and murky cloud which poured out a perfect torrent of tropical rain. Now mark again: the flames of the burning church were thereby cut off from extending to and seizing upon the reeds and the bush, and, besides, it had become almost impossible now to set fire to the house. A panic seized the savages, and throwing down their torches they fled. Returning to the house Mr. Paton was met by Mr. Mathieson, who exclaimed, ‘’If ever, in time of need, God sent help and protection to his servants, in answer to prayer. He has done so to-night. Blessed be His holy name!”
The reader of the two volumes of the ‘’ Life of John G. Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides,” will not need to be told that the whole narrative evinces the interposition of God. No biography has done more in modern days to revive faith in Providential Preservations.