Conf Pam 12mo #657 
 
No. 26. 
 
 THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 BY THE REV. C. MALAN. ^ 
 
 I was travelling toward Bordeaux, and had just set 
 off from Angouleine, when a handsome, showy-looking 
 young man accosted me politely: "I think, sir, you 
 come from Paris." "I Jeff Paris the day before yester- 
 day," I answered. " And I suppose," he added eagerly, 
 *'you have seen tlie 'Huguenots'" — a theatrical per- 
 formance at that time, 1839, very famous at Paris — " it 
 is a remarkably original composition; every one goes to 
 see it; were you not delighted with it?" "The Hugue- 
 nots," I replied, taking my New Testament from the 
 pocket of the coach, '' I have their treasure with me 
 here." 
 
 "The treasure of the Huguenots," said the young man 
 with surprise; "and pray what is that?" " I offered 
 the sacred volume to him. He read the title and re- 
 turned it immediately, saying, with scorn, "Ah, I think 
 that book only fit for old women and weak minds." 
 
 " I know, sir," I answered seriously, "that it is very 
 good for me, though I am certainly not an old woman. 
 As to a weak mind, 1 will not decide upon that." 
 
 "I beg your pardon, sir, for my foolish expression ; 
 but allow me to say, that I cannot understand how a 
 man of sense and education can approve, and above all, 
 can believe such a production. Voltaire at least did not, 
 and certainly he "was not wanting in discernment, or 
 knowledge, or good sense." Here the pupil of such a 
 teacher repeated, with equal fluency and sharpness, the 
 invectives of the philosoj)lier against the Galilean and 
 his doctrine. The incarnation of the word, the miracles, 
 the prophesies, the death, and above all, the resurrection 
 of the reputed son of Joseph, were passed in review, and 
 the conclusion of the whole argument was a song of tri- 
 umph as to the reason and wisdom of the present age. 
 The young unbeliever was delighted ; he thought me 
 reduced to silence and overcome, for I listened to the 
 whole without saying a word. 
 
 When he had ended, I own I was tempted to oppose 
 sword to sword, and to answer the follower of Voltaire 
 
3 THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 by arguments, as I thought, of better reasoning than his 
 own. But I was impressed by these words of holy writ, 
 "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty 
 through God to the pulling down of strong-liolds" (2 Cor. 
 X, 4); and leaving in its sheath the feeble weapon of my 
 own reason, I seized the sword of the Spirit, and an- 
 swered only in these words: " If our gospel be hid, it is 
 hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world 
 hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest 
 the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the 
 image of God, should shine unio them.'' 2 Cor. iv, 3, 4. 
 
 "Yes, yes," replied the youth, ''so says that book; 
 but on what authority does it speak, that is the ques- 
 tion." 
 
 " If any man will do his will," I continued, still read- 
 ing, " he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of 
 God, or whether I speak of myself." John vii, 17. 
 
 " That is to say," he answered, "that all the learned 
 scholars and philosophers; in short, all men of sense and 
 judgment, in civilized society — all these superior men 
 are wicked and impious, and even atheists and scoun- 
 drels, because they refuse to believe the mysteries, not 
 to say the absurdities, of an obscure book." 
 
 "That your faith," namely, of the Christian, I replied, 
 still reading, " should not stand in the wisdom of men, 
 but in the power of God." 1 Cor. ii, 5. "But God hath 
 chosen the foolish tilings of the world to confound the 
 wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the 
 world to confound the mighty." 1 Cor. i, 27. " He tliat 
 believeth not is condemned already, because he haih 
 not believed in the name of the only begotten son of 
 God." John iii, 18. " He that believeth on the Sen 
 hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son 
 shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him," 
 John iii, 36. 
 
 "Very well, sir; my lot, you think, is settled; and 
 hell, with everlasting flames, is prtipared for me, and for 
 the flower of the whole liuman race. I thank you for 
 your charily." 
 
 "Sir," I answered calmly, "it was not I, but God 
 himself, who said by his apostle, that ' there is none 
 other name under heaven given among men, whereby 
 
THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. 3 
 
 we must be saved,' but that of Jesus. Acts iv, 12. 
 Jesus also says to you, as well as to any other sinner. 
 ' That whosoever beli veth in him should not perish, 
 but have eternal life.' John iii, 15, You hear these 
 words ; they are full of love and mercy." 
 
 The youth was silent, and knit his brow. His coun- 
 tenance was gloomy, and for a long while he remained 
 still. Night came on. My neighbor was still dumb, and 
 I thought his ill humor would last until he fell asleep, 
 when, suddenly turning toward me, he said, with much 
 appearance of feeling, " Where, sir, can I obtain the 
 book you have there ? for I must tell you, I begin to 
 think that perhaps I may be wrong, and that you are in 
 the right path. I am even concerned, sir, for the thought- 
 less words that" I interrupted him. "Pray, sir, do 
 
 not think of any apology; but as you seem already to 
 feel that the word of God is superior to that of a philoso- 
 pher, do not let us part without your having this book, 
 which you will allow me to offer to you when we reach 
 Bordeaux." 
 
 From that happy moment our conversation was easy 
 and unrestrained ; and it was not till after we had 
 spoken of all the vital doctrines of Christianity, that we 
 both yielded to slumber. 
 
 The next day my young companion was calm, cordial 
 and perfectly open ; and when I left him, he took my 
 hand, saying, '* Do you remember the promise that you 
 kindly made me ? There is my address." ** In a few 
 moments," I answered, " the most precious of books 
 shall be in your hands;" and I hastened to the house of 
 a friend, a Christian brother, to whom I related the 
 above-mentioned facts, and who immediately went to the 
 house of the young traveller, to whom he gave the book 
 of God, accompanying it with words of peace. He also 
 informed him that, on the same day, and other days 
 following, I should explain some portions of the Holy 
 Scriptures, at meetings to which he would be welcome. 
 
 This invitation was not given in vain. The S'dwe 
 evening the young man, with hi.*? book under his arm, 
 came to take his place among the serious hearers whom 
 the gospel drew together. 
 
 The next day he returned again at the same hour, and 
 
4 THE SWORB OF THK BFlRl'f 
 
 after service came up to me and said, with earnestness, 
 *' Sir, you never can know all the grood w^hich tliis book 
 has already done me, and all the pleasure 1 have felt in 
 hearing you, both yesterday and to-day. Henceforth 
 this book shall be my study — my sole sludy." 
 
 "And what will you do to-morrow?" I asked him. 
 ^' It is the king's birthday; there will be a great ball, 
 and much bustle, and no doubt you will be invited." ''I 
 have refused," answered the young man, with firmness, 
 "I shall not be there. In the morning I shall go and 
 hear you, as you preach in public; and in the evening, 
 if it please God, I shall come and hear you again." 
 
 He came; and, for the first time, this fashionable 
 young man, who had hitherto made plays and balls his 
 chief pleasure, considered it his highest privilege to wor- 
 ship God in his temple, and in the evening to join some 
 disciples of that Saviour whom he had once learned to 
 scorn. 
 
 On the same evening I took leave of this youthful 
 seeker after truth. He again expressed his gratitude 
 and earnest desire for the accomplishment of the prayers 
 I offered for him, and he declared, before many wit- 
 nesses, that he believed the Bible, that he worshipped 
 the Lord Jesus, and desired to live and die a Christian. 
 
 Here may be seen how the word alone res^isted the 
 attacks of an infidel, and subdued, at the feet of Jesus, 
 the follower of vanity, even one who had long scoffed at 
 the Son of God and his gracious offers. Let this word, 
 then, be in your mouth, when you attempt to answer the 
 wisdom of this world, or the treacherous arguments of 
 infidels, for this only can reduce them to silence. 
 
 If you are not a believer, but are resting on y.our own 
 reason, and the Bible is in your eyes only a book for 
 narrow and weak minds, learn that this very word will 
 judge you at the last day; and it were better for your 
 soul that you had never been born, than that, despising 
 Him who speaks to you from heaven, you count as an 
 unholy thing the blood of Jesus shed upon the cross, 
 which alone can cleanse you from all sin. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE SOUTH CAROLINA TRACT SOCIETY. 
 
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