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292
ill io3tfl na r u department.
[From the Missionary Journal .]
HOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, RICHMOND, VA.
CHINA. — SHANGHAI MISSION.
Journal of brother M. T. Yales. • I
November 12, Sabbath.
After family worship and breakfast, I set about preparing
or reviewing my sermon in Chinese, as it fell to my lot to
conduct the services in Chinese, at the Kang Sue Dong to-;
tiav at 11 o’clcok. At the appointed time, with my hands
lu.il of books, set out for the chapel. Found the native as
sistants collecting the congregation. The order of the ex
ercises was for Cheang Seen Sang, (one of brother Dean’s’
men, who preaches in Mandarin.) to follow mein a sermon,)
and Mun Seen Sang, to close with prayer. The congrega
tion was large, (about 200 when we commenced, and not
less than 300 wheri we closed.) As I was asked, on my ar
rival at the chapel, what kind of business was carried on
mere, 1 commenced my remarks by -stating the object of our
mission to Shanghai; that it is to preach Jesus Christ as the)
Saviour of the world ; gave an account of his life nnd works,;
and the manner of his death, and the object of it; concluded
by some general remarks on sin, and the reason why deatii
entered the world.
Clieang Seen Sang then took his stand in the pulpit, to
follow me, when a well dressed gentleman seated on the
front bench, begged him to recapitulate what 1 had said about
tiie entrance of sin into the woild, and death by sin. The
man appeared to be not only concerned, hut agitated. I
have no idea that the man ever heard before the cause of
(teath, and tiie Chinese are remarkable for their love of long
life. Cheang, with great self-pssscssion complied with bis
request, in giving a full and clear explanation of the subject.
The man gave undivided attention, fora while, and then*
asked the speaker if this doctrine was the sanio as that con-’
mined in one of the Chinese works. lie told him it was not
—tiiatit was the doctrine of Jesus Christ—that it came from!
heaven to earth, and was equally adapted to all people, and ■
that all who behove in it would be saved. The man could re. I
tain bis si at no longer, but arose from it and turning to the :
congregation, which by this time had increased to not less’
than 300, commenced, in a low voice, to explain the same;
subject, as though lie thought no one else understood it but
himself. Clieang begged tiiat lie would desist—that but one
could preach ut a time, and that lie had the stand. He yield,
eii, and remained seated, apparently deeply interested in 1
what, was being said.
Clieang having closed his remarks, asked the congregation
to rise lor prayer. This man wished to know what he was
S‘*“g mdo then. 110 replied that he and the African Seen
yang had been trying to preach the doctrine of Jesus;
h vmg closed, he was now going to make an address directly
to the true God, begging him to bless their remarks lo the
good of his soul and of all present. The man closed his eyes,
ias he suw me do it,) and remained motionless during the I
whole prayer. The übove conversation was listened to with,
tiie closest attention by the whole audience. I asked this )
mail, after leaving the pulpit, if he had heard the doctrine of I
Jesus before? lie said he had not. I asked him to call!
again, and be promised to do so when he came to Shanghai
again. 1 was deeply interested in this man, and gave him i
two books. Indeed tiie whole congregation was orderly and
solemn. May Ihe Lord bless the effort of this day for good.
BOARD OF DOMESTIC MISSIONS, MARION, ALA.
ALABAMA.
Marion Co. — Rev. Win. Philips’ Report.
There is a very good state of religions feeling in the
churches 1 attend. The increase of piety in families is a
matter of gratitude and encouragement.
Recently 1 have been able to get access to another anti
missionary settlement, in which there is a church, reduced
to almost extinction. They have invited me to visit them,
which 1 shall do. From present prospects my visits will not
iparry peace, but a sword.
At one of my stations I expect to organize a church next
Saturday.
The Social Band. —On Hamilton Creek about fifty men
are united together under the above title. The object of
their association is most blasphemous. Few exhibitions of
ouch deep depravity have ever come to my knowledge.—
I'hey meet every Saturday night for mock worship—sing,
I*ray, preach and drink whiskey, and engage in every oth
er form of blasphemy that their wicked hearts are capable of
devising.
This is an extensive settlement, and they have had noth
ing but futulism preached to them for many years—the fruits
ofit are abundant. The above is only a cluster.
The Lord is now opening the way for the introduction of
the gospel among them. I have had two appointments there.
I trust the Lord gave efficacy to his own word. Some came
forward and requested prayers to be offered for them. Some
3>id me “go home”—others invited me to stay. The Lord
says “go on,” and 1 shall go.
•Hitherto, the very best settlements in this region ofcoun |
try have been rendered inaccessible to gospel influence.
Now the Lord bus opened the door to three of them. Even I
■circuit 1 make, some new and strange development is made]
in this land of darkness.
There is a greut work to be done here. Time, toil, pa
lirnce and prayer are requisite in a large measure. Tin |
members are making efforts to provide” suitable houses of
worship. *■
The subject of missions is givning the ascendancy over
the prejudices ot the ignorant, it would seem that as the I
.evil spirit leaves one it enters another; for the rage of those
Stye
I who are opposfcd, increases as their number diminishes. —;
Every species of falsehood is fabricated and circulated
i against me and the Board. I am denominated the “gospel)
jipedlar,” “mdhey hunter,” “soul saver.” and such like. —;
Aet they caniot stay the gospel. Truth is quick and power
jf'ul; and its affects are manifest; and the Lord be praised.)
I!
REDEEMING THE TIME.
The report of the French Bible Society, held in Paris,
contains the following anecdote :
! “A colporteur on asking admission tn a house in Paris, the
servant inquired what was his business. ‘To sell Bibles,’
replied the colporteur. ‘You need not come in here then,’,
said the servant, ‘forrny master does not believe in the exi.s-’
. tence of either a God or a devil.’ After arguing the mat-i
ter for some time, the colporteur was ndmitied into the pre-i
sence of an old man seventy two years of After listen
ing to the business of the colporteur. said. ‘Well, lam
,glau to see you. lam now an old n; Ifel 1 must soon’
die, and ( want to hear something about the world to come.’;
After some conversation, in which lie made the colporteur
; relate his Christian experience, In’ said, ‘Yes. I will buy your
i Bible ; and what is more, 1 will give for every year in which
I I have done nothing for Ihe cause of Christ (and that is all
any life) jCL into the treasury of your valuable Society.—
Here are £72. And call again soon, I pray you, to tell me
more of the way of salvation.’ ”
j Zaccheus said, on receiving tiie truth, “the half of my
goods 1 give to the poor.” The aie il infidel, alluded to
above, when he heard the plan of salvation, as exhibited in’
the gospel, said, “I will give for every year in w hich l have
done nothing for the cause of Christ £\ into the treasury of,
your valuable Society.” This is redeeming the lime. “I
I feel that I must soon die.” Reader, you must soon die. Ifo :
;you feel it ? Do you feel like redeeming the past time—like!
paying into the treasury o! the Lord for those years in which’
!>’ou did nothing for the cause of Jesus Christ ! Some of;
you are already old; and you must all soon die. Redeem
the time.
£U in i 5 t tr ’ s D rpa r t m c n t.
[From the Christian Chronicle. |
MINISTERS.—SHALL THEY BE EDUCATED? j
We say, yes; because God bestows his gifts in such a
way as that they may bo improved by culture. Even the
‘fruits of the earth are given to man iu such a state as to be
Isusueptible ot great improvement by being cultivated. No i
man can make them; they are the product of Divine power: I
hut God has not given lo them that perfection of which they!)
are Tins he has left to man. By leaving it thusjj
He has furnished exercise for man's physical, mental” snip
moral powers. We admire the plan. We do not sav of the
fruits llms improved by human industry and skill, that they
are man made fruits, we still regard them as the gift of God
Tiie same law is seen iu the intellectual endowments which
|)he has given to man.
j I l ,e mathematician, the machinist, the musician, the
painter, the poet, received each his gift, in such a degree
that he had to cultivate it by an education best adapted tode
velope it, ill order to bring it to perfection. God made New.
|ton a mathematician, VYutt a machinist, Handel a musician,
Raphael a painter, and Milton a poet. But it these men had
not educated each his gift, Newton would never have given
|io the world the discovery that attraction and gravitation are
; Hie great laws of the material universe; Wait would n ver
I have produced the steam engine; Handel would never have
;composed his Messiah; Milton had never written the Paradise
Lost; Raphael had never adornedthe Vatican with the paint
ingof the 1 ransfiguration. May we not suppose that tiie
greatest gift bestowed on man, namely, the talent to preach
the gospel, is conferred according to the same law, nnd that
; God requires those who possess that gift to cultivate it by an
jeducation ? That this is the law, is proved bv the experi
ence of every minister of Christ. Who does not see lhai he
jrnust cultivate the gift which is within him, if he would let
,his profiting or advancement in Divine knowledge appear to
The kind of education best adapted to the development of
this gift, we have not yet noticed. This will be done in a fu
ture number. CXur purpose now is, merely to show that,
j ‘ v hde God bestows the gift to preach, or calls men to the work,
that it is their business to educate or cultivate, that gift. If
they leave all the work to Gu£, they can no more expect to <
secure a rich harvest on his part.
should men he educate!!, as well as called of God, in order 1
to be successful ministers ? VVe say yes; because they will )j
find in the mental ard moral constitution of their hearers,’
I that which Will demand it. Man is made for progress. God
does not allow him to stand still; he is required constantly to
be increasing in a knowledge of God, and it is the duty of
the minister to teach him this knowledge. Whatever ad- [
varices the P'ople make, the teacher or preacher should be in.t:
advance of them, that he may still teach them knowledge.
jßut how car, he, unless he has acquired it? And how can :
he acquire it without study ? Does the talent to preach the ;
j gospel induce a knowledge of everything necessary to explain,)
jillustrate, and enforce that gospel; or does it not rather mean ?
;a peculiar turn of mind that enables us, more readily than to ji
do anything else, to acquire a knowledge of the truths of the)
; B'ble, and to use all other knowledge for elucidating its *
;• ruths; a ta-etit that gives us the power of turning every))’
branch of knowledge to the gospel’s account ? If so, then, H
does it not devolve upon them to whom God, bv hisSpiiit. has i
jshown that they possess this talent, and are’called to use it;!’
jfor Christ, a> acquire such knowledge as will enable them 1 ’
dies* to understand and teach the revelation that God has j
| made of himself to man ? j|
There is, in every intellectual being, Nn insatiable desire
for something new. Man is never satisfied with his present
knowledge. God has planted in his mind a curiosity to pry
into the unknown. He has done this tostimulate him to pro--
gress. This is wrought into the very constitution of man,
and it must be met. The preacher, under Christ, is the great
teacher of his race, ami as such, he must he prepared to
j-bring something new, as well as old. out of the treasury,of
the Lord. However important the truth, or beautiful anil
clear the presentation of it, cn any given occasion, a frequent
repetition of the same truth, clothed in the same garb, would
not answer. The people, howevt r, much delighted with the
first or second exhibition, will, after a while, tire and demand
’ ‘something new. This they cannot h-dp; it is in their verv na
ture. But how is it to be met ? Since the great truths of
; the Bible are few in number, and the minister must always
preach these, how can he do this and secure variety in his ser
.motis ? He must do as the Bible does; present the same
‘truth in a variety of forms; avail himself ot every source of
knowledge for illustrations; lav history, biography, science.
;philosophy and language under contribution for explaining
and amplifying his discourses. But does God teach him
[jlanguage, or history, or seif, nee, or even tiie contents of the
liitdo, by a miracle? Ibis lie not to acquire these by bis
own study, either with or without the aid of a living instructor?
When God calls men to be missionaries, have they not some
thing else to do than to go at once and preach ? Is it not
necessary that they acquire the language of the people to
whom they go? So, also, has the minister to acquire that
: knowledge which will enable him to adapt the truths of the
) gospel to the wants of his hearers; and this can he done only
bv educating or cultivating his gift. This fact must be
■ clearly seen before we shall greatly increase the number of
: able ministers. T. F C
\T
AN AFFECTING ILLUSTRATION.
The Rev. Thomas A. T .tier, of Kettering, England, the
coteinporury and friend of the celebrated Andrew Fuller,of
the same place, was on? of the most effective preachers of
his day. “Often,” says Robert Hull, “have I seen a whole
1 congregation melted under him like wax before the sun ; mv
jjown feelings, on more than one occasion, have approached
to nn overpowering agitation.” His power of illustrating a
! subject was his dis: inguish mg faculty. His illustrations
l were drawn from the most familiar scenes of life ; and, af
) ler lie became a father, not unfrequently from the incidents
which attach to that relation. The following, reported bv a
friend who heard the discourse, is given as an example. Uis
jtext was Isaiah xxvii: 5. “Let him take bold of my strength
that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace
with Ine. “f think, said he, “I can convey the. meaning
Los tills passage so that every i>ne may understand it) by what
tl'CliaW.m mv oiwn f.A fr/j...’
of my little children had committed a fault ..for w hid) I
thought it my duty to chastise him. I called him to me. e\-
plained to him the evil of what he imd ilone, and told him how
grieved I was, that I must punish him for it; he heard me in
silence, and then tuslitd into my arms, and burst into tears.
1 could sooner huve cut off my arm than have then struck
him for his fault; he had taken hold of m strength and he
Imd made peace with me.” What could more v
exhibit the case, as between the true penitent and his offend,
ed Maker? God, as if with reluctance and grief, has de
clared hi.s determination to punish ; but sincere sorrow for
sin, wrought in the heart by the revelation of his mercy iu
Christ, takes hold of his strength; disarms him, as it were,
of his power to strike the blow ; inclines him to forgive; and
thus brings about, between him and the sinner, a sNate of re
conciliation and peace.— Presbyterian.
“DON’T FORGET TQ PRAY.”
Dr. Payson, in writing to a kinsman, in an important cri
sis of religious experience, remarks :
“In your present situation, and for sometime to come,
your greatest difficulty will be to maintain the dailv perform,
ance of closet duties. On your maintaining that part, the
fate of the whole battle will turn. This your great adver
sary well knows, lie knows that if he can beat you out of
ithe closet, he shall have you in his power. You will be in I
|the situation of an army cut off from supplies and reinforce- J
imuts; and be obliged either to capitulate, or to surrender
at discretion. Ife will, therefore, leave no means untried to
■drive or draw you from the closet. And it will be bard to
:maintain your post against him and your heart. Sometimes
■he wild probably assaff you with more violence when you at
tempt to read and pray than at anv other time; and thus
try to persuade you that prayer is rather injurious than bene
ficial. At other times lie will withdraw, and lie quiet, lest
jif he should distress you with his temptation, you might lie”
‘driven to the throne of grace for help. If he can prevail on
jus to be careless and stupid, lie will rarely distress us. He
will not disturb a false peace, because it is a peace of which
he is tfie author. Lut it he cannot succeed in lullin'* us to
sleep, he will do all in his power to distress us. And whey
he is permitted to do this, anJ the Holy Spirit withdraws hf
sensible aid and consolations, when, though we erv and
shout, God seems to shut out your prayers it is by no
means easy to be constant m secret duties’. Indeed, it is al
ways most difficult to attend to them when they are most
necessary. But never mind, your Lord and Master is look
ing oi. lie notices, lie accepts, and he will reward every
struggle. Besides, in the Christian warfare, to maintain the
conflict is to gam the victory. The* promise is made to him
tiiat enduies to the end. Ihe object of our principal adver
sary, then, is to prevent us from enduring to the end. If
thiy fail of effecting this object, they are defeated. Every
day in which you are preserved from going back, they sus
tain a defeat. And if, by praying yesterday, you gained
strength enough to pray to-day, and it by praying to-day
[September