We are led
to the great metropolis of |
Amongst
the military troops at |
On a
certain day a corporal was walking on the square by the military hospital,
where the sick soldiers were cared for. Being a zealous Roman Catholic, he
was entirely ignorant of the truth and did not know about the mission work
that was being carried on quietly and carefully among the soldiers. As he
walked on, he suddenly felt something hard fall on his shoulder, which then
bounced off and fell upon the ground. It was a little book, and the corporal
immediately picked it up, not realizing that it was a New Testament. Where
did this little book come from? Well, inside the hospital one of the Roman
Catholic nurses had quietly taken it away from under the pillow of a sleeping
soldier. On several occasions the nurse had noticed that this soldier, who
was confined to the hospital for a few days because of illness, was reading
in a ‘forbidden book’ whenever he thought he could do so without the danger
of being seen. The nurse had spied on him, and now, when she got the chance,
she carefully took the little book away from the sleeping soldier and threw
it out of the window. She did this without suspecting that, while she had
thought to do evil, God had meant it unto good, yea, unto the salvation of a
poor, ignorant sinner. O Truly, |
|
God moves
in a mysterious way, |
His
wonders to perform. |
O God,
most holy are Thy ways, |
And who
like Thee deserves my praise? |
|
The
corporal picked up the book, took it along and began to read it diligently. And
in reading it, his heart was deeply affected. On the inside of the cover
there was a notation stating the place and the time that the evangelist would
speak for the soldiers to instruct them how the Lord Jesus Christ and His
sacrifice on the cross is the only sufficient ground unto salvation. Our
corporal was drawn to go there. |
In a small
room some soldiers were seated who were listening very intently to the
instruction that was being given by the evangelist. The corporal was one of those
present, and it pleased the Lord to open his blind eyes. He had the same
experience as |
He also
testified of the truth among his companions and succeeded in convincing some
of them to go with him to the little gathering of Christians under the
leadership of the evangelist. It pleased the Lord to open the eyes of some of
them for the false Roman Catholic doctrines. The plain instruction of the
evangelist became a great blessing for them. |
Our
corporal also took his pen in hand, and with great prudence, but yet in
faithfulness and in an endearing way, he wrote about these things to his
father. He sent to his father and some other relatives various parts of the
Bible and other trustworthy writings which he could obtain. The Lord blessed
these efforts also and used them to bring some of the members of his family to
the true knowledge of the only Name given under heaven by which we must be
saved. |
To all
this the Roman Catholic nurse had given occasion. In enmity she had robbed a
soldier of his precious jewel and had thrown the forbidden book out of the
window. It struck the corporal first upon his shoulder and then in his heart
and did bear the fruit for many unto life eternal. The Lord has spoken and
fulfilled also in this narrative: ‘My word shall not return unto Me void, but
it shall accomplish that which I please’. No enmity can prevent this. The
Lord taketh the opposers in their own craftiness, so that against their
intentions they must yet cooperate in spreading the blessed truth of the
Bible. The Lord is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. |
|
From: Van
Zweden, J. The Wonderful Providence of Almighty God Seen in the Lives of
Young and Old: Series No 10. |