Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-16
0coNvERs1oN OF SAUL"


| u 500 man with hate In his heart
murder in his soul and with sn'lle OF
/ fendsh JOY on his face, as he stahns
watching the clothes of british men
who have just stripped off their garments
and thrown them in heap at his teeI
while with cries OF fury they take up
great stones and rush upon stephen
who. a moment later lies crushed bleed
ing and dead.
Later on ] see the same man receiving
his letters Of authority from the high
priests granting him permission to I'M
prison and kill men and women and chill
dren. and The only crime with which they
have been charged is that they loved and
served the only perfect being the world
has ever known, Jesus Christ, the son
OF God.
~ see the same man, with stony
heart, galloping here and there, tearing
men from their families, women from
their children, and dragging them before
the authorities. who land them in prison
to rot and to die for the faith they have
prolessed in the Son OF God | see women
with dlsheveled hair, faces full OF agony
stretching their hands forth and implor-
ing to their mothors' skirts. Such sight
should melt tho heart OF any man, such
a sight ought 20 have melted a piece OF
steel vet this man showed no mercy. this
man WHO Is dreaded on every hand whose
name is whispered in awe. this name
which makes strong men turn pale when
II Is uttered in their presence-this name
which makes tho women clutch their ba-
blcs 10 their hearts In terror, because they
t,,, a has uili he
torn from their breast by this human
hend No man who honors the name OF
Jesus darcs to walk the streets Of Jcru-
salem openly People by the thousand
have been driven from the Holy City.
Bitter persecution has been waEed by
Saul of Tarsus. and the people have seat
tered over the land to hide from his iron
hand, lest they bc put TO death.
STARTS FOR DAMASCUS.
But he still pursues them, even into
strange cities spies them out and drags
them bound back to Jerusalem.
at last he goes to Damascus on his
mad mission of cruelty and hate, and as
he nears the city, where he hopes to
glut his vengeance, see him as he is
suddenly struck to the ground, at mid
day, by a binding light far beyond the
brightness of the sun, and as il falls
from the sky a voice calls to him, say
i"". saul Saul why persecutest thou
Me?'
And Saul. the murderer: Saul the
prosecutor persecutcs none Of the saints,
from that day to this in Philadelphia.
Some years ago some Of the wild ami
mails in Central Park broke loo,c. They
made the night hdeOus with their shricks
and screams. People were tcrror-str elk II,
when suddenly they ceased and stood
trembling. What was the cause? \ man
on a building turned a strong sCarchight
upon them and they qualed with fear
before It's power. AS we all know, ami
mails will not 20 near a light, and travel
ers in the forests build fires for pro-
lection.
"Gn an infinitely greater way Saul was
changed by the bright light as it streamed
down from heaven. Before the light
came he was like n panther. ready to
strike down any one who believed in
Jesus. You may expect n child to rlay
with a buzz-saw without harm, but you
may expect no mercy from one whose
heart Is filed with religious hatred Saul
was that sort when about TO enter Da-
mascus. Woe unto the follower of Jesus
who was unfortunate enough to fall INTO
his clutches. l guess Christians must
have had a sky-gram' telling of Saul's
coming but they all had backbone larger
than twine string, and not one of them
thought of running away when the battle
got harder
THE early church seems to have had
some ideas along practical lines which
are obsolete in our day. The saints i'm
those days seemed to rejoice whenever
they had an out-and-out chance to suffer
because of their belief in Jesus. II is
hard to realize that there ever was a
time when a mans religion made him
so uncompromlsinE that he was more
ready to be thrown into the lions den
than some people today are to turn their
faces toward church.
Some people are so thin-skinned that
they 80 up in the air whenever the name
of Jesus Christ is mentioned.
PRAYED EOR DELIVERANCE.
"There can hardly be any doubt about
the effect that the news of Saul's COM
ing had on the Damascus saints. | have
no doubt but they called an all-night
prayer meeting, and that they held more
prayer meetings, that they held them
more often after this news reached them
than they did before. And you can rest
assured that some brand-new prayers
We're made. They didn't pray the old
stereotyped prayers which can be heard
in the average prayer meeting up and
down the land today. They prayed that
they might be delivered from this enemy
and I have no doubt they quoted such
promises as the 46th Psalm-'God is our
refuge and strength, a very present help
in time of trouble or they might have
quoted Joshua /. 9-'Have not | COM
manded thee? Be strong and of good
courage-be not afraid-neither be thou
dismayed, but the Lord thy God is with
thee, withersoever thou goest.'
In the thlckest of the conflict
He will be thy strength and shield;
GuGr ng thee from every weapon
SaIans crafty arm can WELD.
"And yet, although they haid faith and
fun assurance, lie who said Lo, | am
with YOU always was there and would
give deliveraEce. Not even Ananas who
was undoubtedly leader of the little Chris
tian band. seems To have had faith to
pray for the conversion of Saul, | would
not say that no praying had been done
for the conversion of saul; In fact l he
lIeve there was, and that it prevailed with
God l believe that somebody must have
sent up a prayer which was winged with
such faith that 1t brought Jesus Himself
down TO answer II, and the angels took
up their harps and got ready TO sing the
music they never use except a sinner re-
pents, l don't know who made this