THIS refreshing story, “told in the letters of the Rev. J. D. Hepburn,” we commend heartily to our readers. It is delightful to hear of such work of God, and no one can do so without profit. We give a few extracts.
Writing in 1880, Mr. Hepburn says: “The Bible is a newfound treasure to the Batauana. They are digging in it, and finding something more precious than African diamonds. . . . It is a tedious process to teach them; but they labor for hours over their books ... There is a steady, slow, onward, upward movement, and it is from heathenism to God.”
During a severe drought (1875), when the people were perishing, Mr. Hepburn thus speaks of his anxiety and exercise: ― “Should I call for a week of prayer or wait God’s time? At last I decided ... We commenced our week of prayer together on Sunday morning. At this meeting it was announced that the week was to be spent in prayer to God for rain ... The clouds had come up on the Sunday morning, but they all went away, and the sun blazed in all its South African glory.
“‘Why, they have driven the clouds away,’ said the Makalala rainmaker.” The cave god was angry, for Khama would not acknowledge him. While this was being told to him, the missionary listened to the wind.
Then he got up and said, “So the god of the mountains has determined to give us no more rain, and his rainmaker is here to tell us so. He says we have driven away by our prayers the clouds which he had brought.” ... “That night it rained a beautiful, heavy, ground-soaking rain ... The clouds came up and covered us over, and poured out rain for twenty-seven days! If that was not answering prayer, then I don’t know how God is to answer prayer ...
“This defeat completely ruined the cause of the Makalala god and the rainmakers.”
Let our readers get the book, and rejoice through it in a prayer-answering God.