Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-07-11
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!. THE BIBLE ON THE =
!. BATTLEFIELD. =
Copied from the Golden Age and Pub
liShed by RequeSt.)
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lished by Request.)
Fifteen millions Of copies of the
Scriptures, chiefly Testaments and
Gospels, and in some cases smaller
portions of the Word of God, seems
to be an almost incredible quantity,
and yet 1t approximates the number
OF copies which have been circulated
by the Scripture Gift Mission since
the European war began.
What they have meant to the SOL
diers and sailors eternity alone will
reveal, but there is no doubt that
thousands and thousands of men will
pc IN glory as direct result of perus-
ing the Word af God, and without
human aid, which has made them
wise unto salvation. 1t is, in fact,
the only bright spot in the war, and
IN order to prove this, and to seek to
create prayerful interest in the
work Of the Mission, this article is
written.
The Mission is not a new organiza-
tion, but was founded thirty years
ago with the aim Of placing the Word
OF God in an attractively illustrated
form in the hands of men Of all ma
tions. The illustrations used are all
pictures Of Palestine life, and no re-
presentations Of our blessed Lord
They are now issued in 90 different
languages, and the method adopted
by the society is to make free grants
to missions Of all denominations, so
that they have gratuitously the Bread
of Life for the hungry multitudes
which they give to those who desire
them.
Since the war broke out, the So
ciety has largely confined it's efforts
to the belligerent nations, and won
fru1n Il
ed to the society; in fact, we believe
such as have never been presented to
any society before, and there Is re-
ceptiveness shown by the soldiers and
sailors, not only the British, bu+ also
all the other nations, that the Society
feels that the opportunity should be
grasped while the doors are still open.
ls this not also responsibility con-
nected with the opening of the doors;.
and we who know and love the sacred
page-are we not bound to give them
to eat? One day bo4h sower and
reaper will rejoice together.
DO the men desire the Scriptures,
and do they read them? A lad in
Gallipoli mad a Testament given to
him ny the Scripture Gift Mission on
leaving for the front. It was the
only copy in his trench, and he was
constantly being asked for the loan.
OF his book, SO much so that it was
rarely in his possession. He asked
his comrades whether they really
wanted to read Gods Word, because
If SO he would cut the book up in
pieces, so that they could exchange
the pages among themselves. This
was done, and the soldier writing
home Of the incident asked for suf-
ficient Testaments so that he might
supply all his comrades with a copy
This was done, and it shows how
much the men who are facing death
momentarily feel their need of the
only Book which can show them how
to be prepared for the life to come.
How impossible it would be to send
enough Christian workers out to the
front, yet the Word itself does the
work. See yonder officer going his
round amongst the trenches; he
comes across young soldier reading
Gospel Of John. The officer said
You don't believe in that Book, do
you?' "Yes," replied the soldier,
81 do believe in that Book, firstly be-
cause 1t has been the means Of say
ing my soul: secondly because it has
taken away all fear Of death; and
thirdly, sir, when read this blessed
BOOK. the Lord graciously encour-
ages me and feeds my soul with the
Heavenly mamma found in it." The
officer had no reply sc make, and
passed on. Hardly had he taken two
steps when a shell burst near, and
turning around he saw the young SOL
dier's head roll off. 1t was such
shock 10 him that he went over to
where the quivering body lay, picked
up the Gospel and took 1t into his
"dugout' and began reading it. He
was through 1t so convinced of his
need Of Saviour that he there and
then yielded himself to Christ. He
wrote home to his wife, told her Of
his conversion in simple language
and through Gods grace she. too,
was saved and their three grown-up
daughters as we'll. '"My word shall
not return unto me void"
Another case showing the power Of
the Word will be Of interest. A young
lady anxious to get parcel off to her
sweetheart at the front went to
shop in the north of London, Eng
land, to buy some comforts The
grocer suggested that he might be
able to pack the parcel better than
She could. She consented to his do
ing so, and he slipped inside a little
portion Of Scripture entitled "The
Soldiers and Sailors Armour in
Peace and War" 1t is booklet Of
some sc pages entirely in the words
of Holy Scripture with about a dozen
hymns at the end. The parcel safely
reached it's destination. The soldier
writing to his fiancee, thanked her
for 1t, making special mention Of the
little booklet enclosed. The young
lady, rather indignant, went to the
n MD Ntr& t1,0t H. 1.n<