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December 22, 1909. THE PRESBYTERI
lectual, masculine in its logic, unafraid in its conclusions,
positive in its demands and its applications;
HOt tllf* cpnftmnntol !%? ? 1 1 a ? ' *
? ? uvuuuiviiiai me eniuiiuiuii uniy. nna tins
is the preacher and the preaching which brings men
to the churches, and affects their lives, and with God's
help, persuades and enables them to embrace Jesus
Christ freely offered to them in the gospel. It is
not wanting in other denominations. But this is the
ministry which the Presbyterian Church is especially
called to give to the men of the world around us.
EVERY CHRISTIAN A MISSIONARY.
A missionary is one who is sent. Something is committed
to him. to be delivered. He ic "nn o miccinn "
The distinctions "foreign," "home," and the like, do
not affect the underlying fact. Sometimes, indeed,
they obscure it somewhat, by introducing human elements.
Every one whom God has called through Jesus
Christ is thereby also called to be a missionary.
Notice, first, some of the statements and injunctions.
"Let him that heareth say, Come." "Ye are witnesses."
"Ye are our epistle, known and read of all men." "I
sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me
from all my fears. O, taste and see that the Lord is
good!" "Freely ye have received; freely give."
Then observe some of the examples. When Moses
was departing from the borders of Midian to Cannaan.
he besought Hobab to go with him. When Andrew
found Christ, he went at once to bring his brother
Simon, and Philip to bring his friend Nathanael. When
the demoniac was healed, Jesus commanded him to
return at once to his own house and tell there the
wonderful things that had been done unto him. As
soon as raurs sight was restored, token of the opening
of his spiritual eyes, he felt impelled to begin telling
to others the love of Christ.
The motive is sufficient, if properly felt and realized,
to lead every believing soul to active effort to bring
others to the Saviour. "The love of Christ constraineth
us." Not to urge others to come to Christ argues
either that the gift of grace is not worth much or that
it is its nature to make men selfish. The world will
judge of it by the manner in which we seem to appreciate
it; and it will judge of our appreciation to
large extent by the earnestness with which we strive to
make it known to others.
The appointed way of God seems to be that of individual
effort. He uses means to accomplish all his
ends, even in grace, and his believing people are the
agents or means for saving the world. Hence it is
that he says that not only the Spirit and the Bride, the
Church, nuist sound tllf? invito ?T u:? aI- -'
r - ?v. a a a ? *tu klV/ll} Mill IjCI mill lliai
heareth say, Come." The Bride of Christ, the Church,
is to be the formal representative of her Lord, while
the Divine Spirit is the efficient agent, but she is to
reach individuals through individuals. No other way
seems practicable.
And what an honor it is that is put upon believers!
As if it were not enough to give us new life, and
beauty, and happiness, and glory, God calls us to the
supreme honor and dignity of being co-workers with
himself. "Let him know, that he which converteth
4- * ~V V
*
AN OF THE SOUTH 3
the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul
from death, and -shall hide a multitude of sins." And
wimi a rcwarci: in proportion as one gives himself
with zeal and consecration to the work, will Christ
reveal to him the depths of his love. "Inasmuch as
ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me!" The reward will not be
measured by the greatness or extent or success of the
work, but by the effort and the spirit that is in it.
"She hath done what she could."
"MY MORSEL ALONE."
The patriarch Job, in his extended self-justification
against his three friends, uses one suggestive expression.
He is reciting his possible sins, the evils he may
have committed. He gives a standing catalogue of
them, as found in the thirty-first chapter. Lust, vanitv.
dprcit ininctii'f ' * r
v, , ---j ?uiouuntai^, wciiKiicss Deiore
temptations, oppression, illiberality, covetousness, and
idolatry are among the specific sins, for any or all of
which he confesses that he would justly deserve the
very extremity of punishment. Right in the midst of
them he names one that is at first sight startling by its
peculiarity, but which, the more one reflects upon it,
the more it will be seen to be justly catalogued with
the rest, "If I have eaten my morsel alone!"
Whether one have little or much it is a dutv to share
it. The enjoyment of blessings of any kind without inviting
others to enjoy them with us is an offense before
God to be classed with evils apparently more pronounced.
"There is that withholdeth more than is
meet, but it tendeth to poverty." Whatever one has he
holds as a trust, and for it must give account. It may
be but "a morsel," but it must not be eaten by "oneself
alone." It must be shared. God will take care that the
liberal soul shall not suffer. He did this in the case
of the widow who gave her last handful of meal to
the prophet.
'PhP orfPUf rvrinr?inl<i '?
? - Q-j,. .?vipiv "iiiv. 11 aiiuuui i cguidic i^nrisuan
beneficience is that which the Saviour gave to his disciples
when he sent them out upon one of their tours.
After mentioning all the other matters needing to be
known, as, for instance, their trusting to God to provide
for them, their treatment of hosts, their attitude towards
inhospitable places, their diligence in the business
on which they were going, He added, "Freely ye
have rprpivpfl froolir rrivo I"
. ..vvV 6""
The apostle Paul recognized the same obligation
when he so vigorously pursued his ministry among
men. He felt that he was, as it were, almost driven to
his duty, by a great sense of responsibility. "I am
debtor," said he, "both to the Greeks and to the barbarians."
He must needs go to them and carry the
news of redemption through the blood of the Lamb, in
the effort to discharge a great debt that lay upon him.
Moses* invitation to Hobab, Andrew's finding his
brother Simon, Philip's seeking his friend Nathanael,
the injunction, "Let him that heareth say, Come," all
emphasize the same principle. We mav not sit at snir
. " "I
itual meat without calling others to feast with us.
Whether it be a morsel or a feast that we enjoy, whether
we he advanced Christians or just beginners, makes
no difference. It is sin, "If I have eaten my morsel
myself alone 1"