A Testimony of Our Inexhaustible Treasure

It would make the story too long if I were to tell all that happened to me after I found Christ. I was greatly helped in my spiritual life by attending several mission services conducted by Dr. Pentecost, Mr. Haslam, Mr. Wilder, Mr. Reeve, and other missionaries. I received another spiritual uplift by attending religious services conducted by Rev. Gelson Gregson in 1895 at the Lanouli Camp Meeting.

I found it a great blessing to realise the personal presence of the Holy Spirit in me, and to be guided and taught by Him. I have experienced the sweet pleasure promised by the Lord in Psalm 32. 8: "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye. "

The Holy Spirit taught me how to appropriate every promise of God in the right way and to obey His voice. I am sorry to say that I have failed to obey Him many a time, but He tenderly rebukes and shows me my faults. Many a time He finds it most necessary to punish me in various ways. His promise is: "I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished" (Jer. 30. 11). I have many failures, and am corrected as the Lord sees fit. It is always helpful to be shown that His hand is in everything that happens. Then no room is left for murmuring. Whenever I heed and obey the Lord's voice with all my heart I am very happy, and everything goes right. Even the tests of faith, and difficulties, and afflictions become great blessings.

Since the year 1891 I have tried to witness for

Christ in my weakness, and I have always found that it is the greatest joy of Christian life to tell people of Christ and of His great love for sinners.

About twelve years ago I read the inspiring books, "The Story of the China Inland Mission," "The Lord's Dealings with George MuUer,'* and "The Life of John G. Pat on, founder of the New Hebrides Mission." I was greatly impressed with the experiences of these three great men, Mr. Hudson Taylor, Mr. Muller, and Mr. Paton, all of whom have gone to be with the Lord. I wondered, after reading their lives, if it were not possible to trust the Lord in India as in other countries. I wished very much that there were some missions founded in this country which would be a testimony to th^ Lord's faithfulness to His people and the truthfulness of what the Bible says in a practical way.

I questioned in my mind over and over again why some missionaries did not come forward to found Faith Missions in this country. Then the Lord said to me, "Why don't you begin to do this yourself, instead of wishing for others to do it? How easy it is for any one to wish that some one else would do a difficult thing instead of doing it himself. " I was greatly rebuked by the "still, small voice" which spoke to me. I did not know then that there were some Faith Missions in India. Since then I have come to know that there are a few; and I thank God for setting them up here and there as great beacon lights.

At the end of 1896, when the great famine came on this country, I was led by the Lord to step forward and start new work, trusting Him for both temporal and spiritual blessings. I can testify with all my heart that I have always found the Lord faithful. "Faithful is He that calleth you" (1 Thess. 5. 24).

This golden text has been written with the life-blood of Christ on my heart. The Lord has done countless great things for me. I do not deserve His lovingkindness; I can testify to the truth of Psalm 103. 10: "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."

Here are some of the things which the Lord has been teaching me since He brought this Mukti Mission into existence:

1. "Men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him" (Isa. 64. 4). \ 2. "All the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us " (2 Cor. 1. 20).

3. "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Rom.

4. My unbelief shall not "make the faith of God without effect"

5. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant" (Psa. 25. 14).

6. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1.7).

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Tim. 1. 15).

In short, the Lord has been teaching me His Word by His Spirit, and unfolding the wonders of His works day by day. I have come to believe the Word of God implicitly, and I have found out by experience that IT IS TRUE. I praise God and thank Him for His mercies to me and mine. Hallelujah!

I feel very happy since the Lord called me to step out in faith, and I obeyed. To depend upon Him for everything, for spiritual life, for bodily health, for advice, for food, water, clothing, and all other necessities of life — in short, to realise by experiment that the promises of God in Philippians 4. 6, 19, and in other parts of the Holy Scriptures, are true is most blessed.

'*Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4.6).

"I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it" (Psa.81. 10).

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes" (Psa. 118. 8, 9).

I am spared all trouble and care, casting my burden upon the Lord. There are over 1500 people living here; we are not rich, nor great, but we are happy, getting our daily bread directly from the loving hands of our Heavenly Father, having not a pice over and above our daily necessities, having no banking account anywhere, no endowment or income from any earthly source, but depending altogether on our Father God; we have nothing to fear from anybody, nothing to lose, and nothing to regret. The Lord is our inexhaustible treasure.

"The Eternal God is thy Refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33. 27). We are confidently resting in His arms, and He is loving and faithful in all His dealings with us. How can I express in words the gratitude I feel toward such a Father, and the joy that fills my heart because of His goodness?

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psa. 103. 1-5).

Nineteen years ago I started from the city of Philadelphia and went to San Francisco in response to the kind invitation sent by some good friends who took a deep interest in the well-being of the women of India. I lived in the latter city for more than four months, and sailed from the "Golden Gate" for Bombay, via Japan and China.

God, in His great goodness, gave me faithful and true friends in America, who promised to help me in my work. That work, in the beginning, was a purely educational one, and religious liberty was to be given to the inmates of my school, and all plans were made to start the Home for Widows as soon as I should land in Bombay.

The day for sailing from San Francisco arrived.

I felt as if I were going to a strange country and to a strange people. Everything seemed quite dark before me. I fell on my knees, committed myself to the care of our loving Heavenly Father, and sailed.

/- When starting from San Francisco, and on landing

I in Bombay, I had resolved in my mind that although

\ no direct religious instruction was to be given to the

\ inmates of my Hom.e, j^et I would daily read the Bible

^loud and pray to the only true God in the Name of

Christ; that my countrywomen, seeing and hearing

/what was going on, might be led to inquire about the

[ true religion and the way of salvation. There were i only two day pupils in my school when it was started.

\^o one was urged to become a Christian, nor compelled to study the Bible. But the Book was placed in the library along with other religious books. The daily testimony to the goodness of the true God awakened new thoughts in many a heart.

After the first ten years of our existence as a school our constitution was changed slightly. Since then every pupil admitted in the school has been receiving religious instruction, retaining perfect liberty of conscience.

Many hundreds of the girls and young women who have come to my Home ever since its doors were opened for them have found Christ as I have. They are capable of thinking for themselves. They have had their eyes opened by reading the Word of God, and many of them have been truly converted and saved to the praise and glory of God. I thank God for letting me see several hundreds of my sisters, the children of my love and prayer, gloriously saved. All this was done by God in answer to the prayers of faith of thousands of His faithful servants in all lands, who are constantly praying for us all. U I was led by the Lord to start a special prayer circle at the beginning of 1905. There were about seventy of us who met together each morning and prayed for the true conversion of all the Indian Christians, including ourselves, and for a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all Christians of every land. In six months from the time we began to pray in this manner the Lord graciously sent a glorious Holy Ghost revival among us, and also in many schools and churches in this country. The results of this have been most satisfactory. Many hundreds of our girls and some of our boys have been gloriously saved, and many of them are serving God witnessing for Christ at home and in other places.

I have responded to the Lord's challenge, "Prove

Me now" (Mai. 3. 10), and have found Him faithful and true. I know He is a prayer-hearing and prayeranswering God. His promise, "My people shall never be ashamed" (Joel 2. 16), and all the thousands of His promises are true. I entreat you, my readers, to prove the Lord as I have proved Him.

"O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing" (Psa.34.8-10).

"O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy: and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Psa. 107. 1-9).

This has been literally fulfilled in me and mine. I praise the Lord who has done great things for us. Hallelujah, Amen.

The most precious truth which I have learnt smce my conversion is the second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I firmly believe, as taught in the Bible, that the Lord Jesus Christ is Coming soon. He will most certainly come, and will not tarry.

The signs of the times in the last decade have taught me to be waiting for Him. I was totally ignorant of this particular subject. It is not generally taught in this country. The missionaries connected with some denominations do not believe in it at all. They believe that Christ will come to judge the quick and the dead at the time of the last judgment, but they do not think He will come for His servants before the time of the resurrection of the dead and before the final judgment.

Shortly after my conversion I began to read many books on the subject: the works of Mr. Middleton, Mr. Newberry, Dr. Grattan Guinness, and others. I have studied and continue to study the Book of Revelation with greatest interest and spiritual profit. There is nothing like the Word of God, which teaches everything clearly There is nothing so helpful as to study the Bible itself, aided by a good Concordance.

The hope of the appearing of our Saviour to take His redeemed ones to be with Him has been a great help to me in my Christian life. I praise the Lord for the great promise of His Coming and His counsel to watch and pray (Matt. 24. 42, and Mark 13. 33).

One day, as 1 was getting ready for my afternoon work, one of my fellow-workers came to the door of the office, followed by the Collector of Poona. Both told me that His Excellency the Governor of Bombay had come to visit Mukti. I was taken by surprise, for I never thought that the Governor would ever n come to such an out-of-the-way place and visit an ( unpretending institution which had not earned popularity by great achievements, or by courting the favour of the great men of the country. In a few moments my surprise vanished, giving way to perfect pleasure at finding the Governor so simple and natural in his manner, though he was very dignified and grand.

It was delightful to see the greatest man of this Presidency taking kindly notice of every one who happened to come in his way, inquiring with interest of every little detail concerning the work. He seemed to be well acquainted with what was going on here. After inspecting all parts of the Mission, he bade us good-bye and went away. It was a very pleasant surprise, and we shall never forget his visit and kindness to us all.

As we did not know about his visit we had not made any preparations to receive him, so he saw us as we were; some walking about, some idly sitting where they were, some doing their work properly, some sweeping the ground and doing other housework, some dressed well and tidily, others in rags with unkempt hair, some giving themselves to their lessons and industry with diligence, and some just looking into the air, doing nothing and thinking about nothing particular.

It does one good to be taken by surprise in this way. The one great thought that filled my heart while the Governor was here, and after he went away, leaving a very pleasant impression on our mind, was that our Lord Jesus Christ is Coming some day just in this manner, and those of us who are prepared to meet Him will have the joy of being caught up in the air to be with Him. How blessed it will be not to have anything to be afraid of, or anything that belongs to the enemy, to be able to say with our blessed Saviour, "The Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. "

"The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly.

righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2. 11-14).

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21. 34-36).

If I were to write all that the Lord has done for me, even as much as it lies in my power to do so, the book would be too large for a person to read, so I have made the account of my spiritual experience as short as possible. I am very glad and very thankful to the Lord for making it possible for me to give this testimony of the Lord's goodness to me. My readers will scarcely realise the great spiritual needs of all my countrywomen, and of my countrymen, too. The people of this land are steeped in sin, and are sitting in a terrible darkness. May the Father of lights send them light and life by His chosen ones! We need witnesses for Christ and His great salvation, freely offered to all men.

Dear brother and sister, whoever may happen to read this testimony, may you realise your responsibility to give the Gospel of Jesus Christ to my people in this land, and pray for them that they may each and all be cleansed from their filthiness and from all their idols, that they may find the true way of salvation.

My prayer for those readers who have not yet been saved is that they may seek and find Christ Jesus, our blessed Redeemer, for the salvation of their souls.

"Our citizenship is in Heaven; from whence also we wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3. 20).

"Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood; and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (Rev. 1. 5, 6). Ramabai.