Читать книгу The Vintons and the Karens - Calista V Luther - Страница 8

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"Go, labor on, spend and be spent,-- Thy joy to do the Father's will: It is the way the Master went; Should not the servant tread it still?"

Mr. Vinton was a man of strong faith and of remarkable power in prayer. We never heard the term so commonly used now, "gifted in prayer," applied to him; but his petitions were wrestlings with God, and were characterized by all the urgency and earnestness with which a man might plead for his life or that of his dearest friend. A minister, speaking of an occasion when he heard Elder Swan and Mr. Vinton praying together, says, "I never heard any thing like it. They seemed utterly unconscious of time or place. They appeared to be standing face to face with God; and they pleaded with him for lost souls in such a way that I felt convinced that that was prevailing prayer."

Much of the success which attended the labors of these two eminent men of God was doubtless owing to their strong faith that God heard and answered prayer, and to a certain persistence with which they carried out their convictions of duty. Some men called it obstinacy; but many redeemed souls to-day are praising God for that very obstinacy, for the persistence with which they labored and prayed, the one among the heathen in Burmah, the other among the gospel-hardened sinners of our own New England.

Which was the more difficult field, we will not now undertake to say; but what a glorious meeting it will be when these two life-long friends clasp hands on the other shore, and together recount the wonders of redemption, and recall the many hard-fought battles here on earth, and greet the thousands among the redeemed who were led by their words and prayers to Jesus!

As illustrative of Mr. Vinton's determination when he believed himself to be in the way of duty, we give a brief account of his visit to a noted Karen prophet, as taken from his journal:--

"We are now at the prophet's village, but have not yet seen him. On our arrival yesterday, his followers told us he was absent, but would be back at night. Night came, but he was still absent, and continues to be so, if the word of the villagers can be relied upon; but, unfortunately, no two individuals agree in their statements about him. It is probable that he will prevent an interview if possible. He has so far committed himself, that to meet me would be to his disadvantage; for he has asserted that I am his older brother, Jesus Christ, and that there is no difference between his sentiments and mine. "The villagers appear well: they listen attentively, and acknowledge that it is wrong to worship pagodas, and hold nat feasts; and many say they will come and worship with us to-morrow."

The next day the people did not seem so willing to listen. None came to worship; but, on visiting some of the principal men at their homes, they professed to believe the truths of religion, but said they dared not profess it publicly, because, if they did, the Burmans would kill them. They proposed to worship God in secret, and, when questioned, to say that they believed as the Burmans did; but, when told that if they became Jesus Christ's followers they must give up lying and deceiving, they said, "Well, then, we cannot be his disciples." They began to inquire when Mr. Vinton was going to leave; and the answer was, "Not till I have seen your prophet, if I have to stay here two months."

Several days passed, and still the prophet remained absent. All the favorable indications disappeared, and the villagers seemed to have determined that they would have nothing to do with the new religion if they must come out and own Christ before the world. An excursion to some of the neighboring villages, however, resulted in the conversion of a chief and another man, who frequently visited Mr. Vinton at his boat. They were so eager for instruction that they sometimes remained far into the night, talking about God. They said, "We will worship God. If the Burmans persecute us in one place, we will fly to another. If seized and tortured, we will sooner die than deny the Saviour."

Yet still the prophet's followers continued to oppose so strongly, and they showed such an evident desire to get rid of the whole party, that Mr. Vinton's assistants began to urge him to return to Maulmain without seeing the prophet.

To this, however, Mr. Vinton would not listen for a moment. He proposed, instead, a day of fasting and prayer, that God would pour out his Spirit upon the opposers of his truth, and turn their hearts unto himself. To this the assistants cheerfully consented; and he says in his journal,--

"We are spending to-day in looking up to God for his blessing. Shall we look in vain? My heart dies within me at the thought. O Thou who hast never said to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek ye me in vain,' art thou not even now inviting us to seek the Lord till he come and rain righteousness upon us?"

The next day the indications still appeared unfavorable. Mr. Vinton writes:--

"The assistants, to a man, are disheartened, and wish to return. I told them to-day I could not go yet, but they might if they wished. They held a consultation, and all except two resolved to go.* We went up to the village as usual to talk to the people, for no one will come to us; but we could not obtain a hearing from a single person. If we went into their houses, the people would vacate them, and leave us alone.

[Footnote: * One of these was Ko-chet-thaing, the first Karen Mr. Vinton ever saw, and from whom he learned the language.]

"If we visited them at their work, they would either leave it, or remain silent as dumb men. After sunset the gongs and drums began to beat; and the cry was raised, 'Away! away to the pagoda to worship!' We went back to the boat; but soon a messenger came, saying that the prophet had returned, and would meet us at the pagoda.

"When introduced to him, his whole manner indicated, what I had previously suspected, that he was afraid of me. I attacked him on all sides, but he was very evasive. He consented to all that I urged, save to give up his heathen practices, and, with his followers, to become openly the servant of the living God. To this he said he did not dare do so, for the Burmans would in that case put them all to death. He is a cunning, artful fellow, and has undoubtedly consented to see me, merely to get rid of us. When I told him it was the command of Christ to preach the gospel to every creature, he adroitly replied, 'The people here have heard. Now go and preach to those who have not heard.'

"Our interview closed with the most pressing invitation to leave the place."

One would think that by this time Mr. Vinton had done all that any one could, and that he would have shaken the dust of that village from off his feet, and gone his way; especially as the assistants came, and told him that the rice was exhausted, and not a kernel could be purchased in the prophet's village. But to their urgent entreaties Mr. Vinton answered, "If we return now, nothing will be effected; and God has not brought us here for nothing."

After a season of prayer, the assistants consented to remain one day longer.

And now mark the providence of God. Not only was Mr. Vinton's presence secretly undermining the prophet's influence, as will appear in the close of this narrative, but in the villages in the immediate neighborhood of the prophet's home the Spirit of God was preparing a work, the magnitude of which at the time was not even suspected.

We have mentioned on page 42 the conversion of a chief and one follower. In the afternoon of the "one day longer" he came to Mr. Vinton, bringing three others with him, to hear more of the new religion. Mr. Vinton went with them across the plain, the little distance which separated the boat from their village, and they called all the inhabitants together.

During the rest of the afternoon and evening they listened to the preaching of the word; and the entire company resolved at once to embrace the truth, and serve Christ.

The chief said, "There are villages all around us in the mountains, which have never heard the word of God. And now will you not go on, and tell them the 'good news,' so that they, too, may believe and be saved?"

Mr. Vinton had not come prepared to stay over night, having brought no bedding, and having even left his coat in the boat. The nights at that season in the year were as chilly, among the mountains, as they are here in October. However, the people pressed him so earnestly to remain with them that night, and go to the other villages on the morrow, that he consented. Let us give the account of the night in his own words:--

"I am here without shelter; still I am comfortably provided for. The Karens have built a rousing fire, which they will keep burning all night, by the side of which I shall in a few moments lay me down upon a fine new mat, and cover me with a piece of new cloth direct from the loom. The inquiry was made a moment ago, 'Has the teacher a pillow?'

"On finding me destitute, I was presented with a nice bamboo (six or seven inches in diameter), which, but for the quality of hardness, would answer as good a purpose as I could desire. Still I hope to enjoy a comfortable night's rest."

The night, however, was not to pass without interruption. At midnight the chief and a number of villagers came over to the place where they were sleeping, and woke them up, desiring to be told more about God and heaven. They preached to them for two hours, and then they left the tired missionary for a while. Before light, however, the chief came back, and staid with them till they left. So much eagerness was shown to hear the gospel, that Mr. Vinton promised to send a young man to become their teacher. They, on their part, agreed to build a chapel, and take all the care possible of the teacher who should be sent.

Urged by the chief, Mr. Vinton consented to visit some of the neighboring villages. At the very next village, the head-man and all the principal men said, "This is the long-lost law of our God. This is the true religion. We will embrace it; and, if the teacher is willing, we will be baptized on the spot." Three powerful chiefs in the same region promised to build, each of them, a chapel, and support a teacher if Mr. Vinton would send one.

Wherever he went, crowds followed, eager to hear the truth; and hundreds were converted. Mr. Vinton says,--

"We have been brought in safety to this village. We had a most fatiguing time, sometimes for hours being obliged to drag ourselves up the steep ascent by laying hold of the bamboos which grew beside our path. We were much exhausted on our arrival; but the villagers came together at once, and after listening to us for a few hours they said, 'We will believe in Jesus, and embrace him as our Saviour.' They then entered into the most minute inquiries to learn how they, as the disciples of Christ, should conduct themselves. These inquiries continued until a late hour. They desired particularly to know how they should spend the Lord's Day, and how they should pray.

"When the old men returned to the village, the young men remained to sleep with us in the zayat. I could not sleep. My thoughts of God and heaven were too sweet to admit of interruption. The zayat had no roof; so I lay and gazed upon the stars, and thought of the wonderful majesty of God, and the more wonderful grace which could stoop to save rebellious man. The more I mused upon it, the more was I lost in contemplation of the amazing theme. I could only repeat, 'God so loved the world;' but why, and how much, I could not tell. A little before light these sweet thoughts were interrupted. The Karens had awakened from their slumber; and each began saying to his companion, 'Pray to God;' when the other would respond 'Pray;' and then was heard, in every part of the zayat, the voice of prayer from those who were making their first petitions to the living God."

But it is time to speak of the effect of Mr. Vinton's stay at the prophet's village, and of this evangelistic work in the vicinity. It was soon seen that the prophet's influence was being sensibly weakened. When Mr. Vinton was on his return, he appointed a meeting at the foot of the mountain, within sight of the prophet's village. Hither came great numbers, many of whom were the converts of the night preaching of that "one day longer" to which the assistants consented. They had remained faithful; and their resolutions to serve God had gained strength, although they were bitterly opposed by the prophet and his adherents. The day was spent in the most interesting religious services, Ko-chet-thaing being one of the preachers.

BAMBOO.

At the close of the day the chief said, "Well, the prophet has proved himself a false prophet for once; for this morning he told us that last night his Kala [spirit] had gone and visited the white teacher, and that he [the teacher] had gone to Maulmain."

Said Mr. Vinton, "As to his spirit visiting me, I know nothing about it. As to my going to Maulmain, you can judge as well as I." At this instant one of the prophet's principal adherents came up, when the chief attacked him, to know what he thought of such a leader as the prophet.

"If," said the chief, "he did not know, why did he say such a thing? If he did know, why did he lie so?" The poor man had not one word to offer in vindication of the prophet, and the effect upon the by-standers was great.

Mr. Vinton's journal continues:--

"On reaching the boat, I found a noted chief from Siam awaiting me. There was more of princely dignity and style about his person and attendants than I ever saw before in a Karen; but he listened with great interest to the story of the cross; and when I ceased speaking said, 'I have never heard any thing about this religion before. Now, will you not come to my country, and spend a long time, and teach me and the thousands of my people, so that we may be saved?'

"I answered with a full heart, 'Yes! if my life is spared, I will come.' I promised to send them a native teacher; and the chief, on his part, promised to support him."

From this interesting interview, Mr. Vinton left the prophet's village, and went to the central village of the territory, occupied by the celebrated Lakee, one of the most powerful chiefs among the Karens, and a most interesting character.

Mr. Vinton says of him,--

"He is the leading character among the Karens, and the only one who is much respected by the Burmans. His influence is daily extending, and he bids fair to be a kind of prince among them.

"He is a man of more mind than any Karen I have yet seen; boasts no royal ancestry, but has risen to his present eminence upon his own merits. The Karens from all parts of Burmah are flocking into this region to put themselves under his jurisdiction; so that this may yet be the very heart of the Karen world, and Lakee become a king.

"When I inquired of him what he thought of the Christian religion, he answered, 'Your account of it is very good; but I have never seen any of the foreign teachers before, and do not, therefore, know what credit to give your statements. The prophet and other teachers have their pretended revelations from God; but we have to take their word for it, for no one can read or understand the revelation but themselves.'

"I then proposed to send him a man who should teach his people to read the word of God for themselves. 'Yes, yes!' said he, interrupting me. 'That is it! Now the teacher's words hit my heart. Just send me a man that shall teach the people to read; and, if what you say about the law of God is true, we will embrace this religion at once, and all be baptized together.'

"Had this expedition accomplished nothing but the arrangement for placing these native assistants, I should feel that our labor had not been in vain in the Lord; but hundreds have for the first time listened to the preaching of the gospel, and the seed has been sown, which, with God's blessing, will produce an abundant harvest."