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FOREWORD.
The Word of God is not bound. The Book of Revelation came from a
prisoner on the Isle of Patmos, and Pilgrims Progress from Bedford Gaol.
There is a Word of a different kind but of the same spirit in this Book.
It is more than a record of what was done in the Name of God in the prison
camps of Malaya. It is evidence written for our learning that faith in
God supports men in all dangers and carries them through all temptations.
It goes forth upon a work of witness.
What was going on in the silence of the Far East ? How many relatives
were asking that, and praying and hoping that all was not tragedy and
despair? This lifts the veil to show the courage and the triumph of the
Cross.
Men who are employed in forced labour and growing weak through
insufficient food do not build Churches and worship in them unless they
are persuaded that there is real value in such toil. This is a record of how
strong that conviction was and how repeatedly they toiled.
The Churches of the Captivity witness to faith in the Companion-
ship of Christ, in the resources of the Unseen Kingdom, in the power of
corporate prayer and worship. The constant repetition of church-
building zeal, as time after time camps were moved, is proof that this
faith was not found vain. At the last Thanksgiving Service men in
thousands thanked God for His Grace and power, and passed through the
gates to Freedom with a true experience of both.
I hope many will think over this booka record of Out of the deep
have I cried unto thee, O Lord and a witness to Gods swift and gracious
answer. As servus servorum Dei Padre Bryan writes this tribute to
brethren and companions in tribulation.
F. Ll. HUGHES,
Chaplain-General. |
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