THE

HE MAGAZINE has frequently mentioned the fact that many of the late current books on Eastern problems will be of great help in the work of study classes, and also suggested to classes that they arrange with the town or city library committees for their cooperation. Many books that would be of special and seasonable interest to the classes would be also of general value to the public.

The Brooklyn Public Library is willing to loan any church or Sunday school a missionary library for the exclusive use of the members of the organization, for a term of weeks. One of the churches of the city has already found the scheme a very helpful one. A town library in New Hampshire, also, has ordered for its shelves new books which will be of special interest to

missionary classes. Carefully selected missionary books make one of the most appropriate and useful gifts that any friend of missions or of the community could make to the local public library.

Ο

The Sunday School that Does Its Part UR Sunday schools are falling in line in the study of missions. It will be well when we can think of each school as a missionary society; of each class as a mission circle, each teacher

being a leader, each pupil, a member. It will not do, however, to forget that membership implies giving for missions as well as studying about missions. What a wonderful opportunity those following even the international series of lessons have this year for a connected study of the life of Jesus Christ. Let us re-devote ourselves to the service of Christ in his work for the world's salvation; let us use the pictures and truths that we find in his life and words, made clearer by the pictures, facts and principles which we find in his Kingdom today. Will not that mean an offering from every school? Our boys and girls and young people will find the study of missions fascinating and delightful. The happiness will be doubled, when, from the youngest to the oldest, the members of our Sunday schools and churches are working personally for missions, earning, saving and giving money for the salvation of the boys and girls and men and women, who are still in heathen darkness. Let each school do its part; each member of each school give his share. We have many plans of study and giving to propose and shall be glad to correspond with any about them.

I. EARLY EUROPEAN MISSIONS. Acts 16:9-15.

II. THE MAP STUDY OF THE RELIGIOUS GEOG

RAPHY.

III. HELP OF THE UNION IN THE WORK. P. 48. IV. VARIED VIEWS OF THE WORK

1. Snap Shots by a Professor. Pp. 48-49. 2. Features of the German Work. P. 49.

3. The Noble Dresden Brethren. P. 51.
4. Work in France, pp. 50, 51; Sweden and
Norway, 54; Russia, 52, 65. (Add items from
Annual Report.)

5. The Call from Spain. P. 53..
Special sketches as of "Today in Russia," or
Dresden Art," would add interest.

MARCH TOPIC: Industrial Missions.

And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he taught the people out of the ship. Vs. 1-3.

IN

N the campaign for the triumph of the gospel of Christ in all the world, we who bear the standard in this generation ought to be able, like our great Leader, to seize great opportunities as well as to endure great trials and determined opposition. In many mission fields today it is true that the people are pressing upon the messengers to hear the word of God. If our churches are indifferent to the cause of missions, it must be because they do not know these things. But our missionaries know them. The missionaries of one of our fields came together for their conference not long ago, and in one of the devotional meetings the members were invited to mention special requests for prayer. It became evident at once that a spirit of deep earnestness was in the meeting, and the requests came so fast that it was necessary to appoint a committee to receive and present them.

One result of this was the statement that this field alone needs twenty-seven new missionaries within a short time, to meet the growing calls of the field. Shall they be sent? Shall the call from the Philippines be heeded, for new men to proclaim the gospel to the multitudes that throng, now, to hear it? Shall missionaries be sent to the aid of those who are trying to tell the story of Christ to the Muhsos in Burma? Are we moved at all by the news that comes from France, that in many cities the people are now thronging to the places where the gospel is preached, and that Pastor Saillens, of our French Mission, writes of preaching to thousands in theaters in Algeria? Our faith may be tested again by a day of dearth; but this is a day of opportunity. God help us to use it and to use it now.

MARK 1:21-34.

FEB. 18

A Day of Miracles in Capernaum

Astonishing Doctrine

And they were astonished at his doctrine. Vs. 22.

EVERY missionary has passed through

the experience of discovering that the great and precious truths of the gospel of Christ appear as strange doctrines to the followers of other religions. The gospel point of view is so different from that of heathenism that the truths and

promises which have strengthened and comforted us from childhood seem impossible to the nations without God.

Take, for instance, the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God. That idea is utterly unknown to Buddhism. Buddhism knows no God, does not claim to have a God. Gautama himself, whom all these images represent, never claimed to have any power to save others, or even to save himself. One reason why the idea of the Fatherhood of God has failed to attract Buddhists is that it involves personal responsibility and service. Hinduism, with its thirty-three millions of deities, has no room for the thought of one God and Father of all, manifested in Jesus Christ the only Saviour of men. The same thing is true of the various forms of animism, spirit worship and fetishism. If there is any dim idea of some great first cause back of all their worship, it is lost sight of in the ever-present dread of the powers of evil, every one of which is an enemy to humanity. How can minds without one ray of this blessed light comprehend the meaning of the first petition of the Lord's Prayer, “ Our Father which art in heaven"? When Captain Bickel was last in America, I remember hearing him say, " When I look in the faces of these people my first thought is: How much, oh, how much must be taken out of their minds before they can understand what I mean by the gospel.'" And yet, by the "foolishness of preaching" these same people come to understand the loving Fatherhood of God.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Vs. 5.

"WONDERFUL words of life!" And

of all the wonderful words none are more blessed and glorious than these of Jesus to the sick man, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." The gospel only has this message; no other religion declares it. Christless nations are hopeless. There is no such thing as removing the stain and penalty of sin; its punishment must be endured, in this world, in the world to come, or both. This is why the fakirs of India torture themselves by cutting themselves, swinging on a hook thrust through their flesh, and in many other ways.

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Although Buddhism has no God," says Mr. Cochrane, "it has a very vivid conception of hell, yes-eight of them, surrounded by over 40,000 lesser hells. No man can escape; a man's own words and deeds pursue him relentlessly. So say their scriptures, and so every Buddhist believes." Mr. Dobbins describes the "Temple of Horrors," giving the Chinese idea of hell. The first cell shows the hall of judgment; in the next, demons are terribly beating a man; in the third a victim is being sawn asunder and so on, in a catalogue of horrors too dreadful to mention. These are the religions which are

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick. Vs. 15.

BUT men do put bushels on the Church

which Jesus calls the "light of the world." What are some of the bushels which prevent this light from shining with the "light of the glorious gospel of Christ," as Paul calls it, into the remotest corners of the earth?

One bushel is ignorance, lack of information. The story of the need, the work, the triumph of missions is uplifting and thrilling; but there are many who light the fire in their stoves, instead of in their hearts, with the literature of missions. The way to take off that bushel is to read what our missionaries are doing in all lands, until we are ashamed that we have lived so long in ignorance of this wonderful

story.

Another bushel is indifference. Dr. Mabie, our genial Home Secretary, is far from being a pessimist; but it seemed as if there was a slight note of dejection in his voice when he said not long ago, "Only a minority of our church members are yet interested in the work of missions." Off with that bushel! Change "minority" to "majority," and then make it unanimous.

One more bushel is disproportionate giving for mission work. In many cases it runs down to zero;

in others, everything else comes first, and the stray pennies go to missions. The way to get rid of this bushel is, first, to have a firm faith in the purpose of Jesus to have his gospel preached in all the world, and then to look upon the multitudes with the compassion that Jesus felt. There will be no trouble then about giving when we see with the eyes of Christ and feel with the heart of Christ. We will then be glad and eager to do all we can to help save

men.

PROFESSOR E. W. CLEMENT of Tokyo, Japan, is serving for a time as interpreter at the United States Legation, a position he has filled acceptably once before.

S REV. F. W. STAIT reports the best year they have ever had in the history of the work at Udayagiri, South India. Every department has been crowned with blessing. Mr. and Mrs. Stait will soon be leaving on furlough.

S REV. AND MRS. A. L. FRASER and Miss Covert reached Ningpo, China, November 10, and are now at work upon the language. The missionaries at this station are looking earnestly to the coming of a doctor to relieve Dr. Grant of some of the heavy cares he has borne in connection with the foreign settlement and his own enlarged hospital work. It is an inviting field to some physician of experience.

S WANTED - THREE PHYSICIANS: Among the many requests for new missionaries to be sent out during the coming year, the Missionary Union recognizes the special need of three physicians. The positions to be filled require men of thorough preparation, preferably with a college education and some experience in medical practice, if possible. Rev. F. P. Haggard, Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Union, Box 41, Boston, Mass., would be glad to correspond with any who are willing to consider a call to the fields in question.

S THE Executive Committee have authorized Dr. Barbour to request the conference in South India to take action looking to the constitution of a commission to study the problems of church organization and Christian development, with a view to uniformity, cooperation and general improvement of methods.

S THE fifth international convention of the Student Volunteer Movement will be held in Nashville, Tenn., February 28 to March 4. In years past these conventions have been occasions of great inspiration and spiritual power. We hope and pray that the coming one may in no way fall behind those of previous years. The last convention was held in Toronto, in 1902.

THE celebration of the tenth anniversary of the founding of Duncan Academy was an interesting occasion, drawing together about 125 friends of the school, including several graduates and former teachers. A suitable program was carried out, followed by refreshments and out-of-door sports. The anniversary hymn, as well as the history, was written by Rev. H. Watanabe, a graduate of the first class and now teacher of Christian ethics and pastor of the Yotsuya Church, Tokyo. The students appeared for the first time in a new uniform which has been recently adopted.

Special Notice

OWING to a recent fire in our mailing department, which completely destroyed the type used for the subscription list, we shall not be able to credit the receipt of subscriptions upon our list for a few weeks. Due acknowledgment will be otherwise made.