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RETURNED MISSIONARIES.
Editor Index : My attention has been
directed to an article that appeared in your
columns during the session of the Convention
last May, entitled “Decay of the Foreign
Mission Spirit.”
It seems to be an infirmity of human na'
ture that men not engaged in an enterprise
seem to think that they know more about it
than those who have devoted all their ener
gies to carrying it out. Witness the cries of
newspaper editors, “On to Richmond,” etc.,
and their crude criticisms of the conduct of
the war. Os course the soldiers who were
fighting their country’s battles, for indepen
dence or for union, as the case might be>
went on and did their duty irrespective of
newspaper criticisms. So in daily life,
every oid lady and sympathizing friend
thinks herself better able to treat the patient
than the physician who has the responsibil
ity of the case, and has made the disease
the study of his life. Os course the doctor,
knowing that these remedies are as contrary
to each other as they often are to all medical '
science, must take his own course. It would i
be strange if those who attempt any religious
enterprise were free from such ignorant crit
icism. AH that a man can do is to try to do
his duty to the best of his knowledge, wheth
er his critics are pleased or not. This is the
way in which faithful pastors geneially act
when their sermons are found fault with.
It is impossible to please everybody. Paul
felt that it was a small matter for him to be
judged by any man’s judgment, and that to
his own Master he must stand or fall. So
we missionaries must try to do. We have
no more right than any other men to claim
to be above critici-m, and we have the same
right as any other men to claim exemption
from unfair ami unkind criticism.
The article alluded to contains some
things deserving of notice.
As to the latter, the charges expressed or
implied, that missionaries are glad of a pre
text to return home, and that they go to the
mission field only that they may travel in
foreign countries, for their own gratification,
at the expense of the churches at home—all
that 1 can say is that 1 am sure the brother
who wrote the article must now regret this
slander on the Christian character of his
brother ministers. He surely cannot think
that such serious charges against the young
men who have pressed forward to the front
in the battle against the hosts of evil, are 1
pleasing to the Master, both ours and his.
It would be just as sensible and less unkind I
to charge every country psytor who attends '
alConvention ih a ciry with avarice, and a
hankering after a city church and a large
salary. But let these things go. lam per
suaded the writer’s better nature has al- j
ready chided him for these ungenerous re
marks.
Let us pass to the things more worthy of
notice. 1 fully sympathize with the writer
in his regret that so many missionaries of our
Board are at home, and can well understand
how one whole heart is in the mission work
should be annoyed at such a state of things,
especially when those who wish to excuse
themselves from giving to missions, jump at
it as an excuse for withholding the Lord's
money from his treasury. I sympathize
with him too in the feeling that a missionary
should leave his field of labor only when he
has thoroughly good reasons for doing so.
But some of his remarks proceed from want
of information, and some are very mislead
ing.
I wish to make a few remarks on the arti
cle in question, and on the general subject.
1. A missionary is a man.
Many persons think of him as a cog-wheel-
Men who think of the “Great Iron Wheel”
as a picture of Methodism, and rejoice in
the feeling that, as Baptist ministers, they
belong to a different system, yet think of
missionaries simply as cog-wheels in a great
piece of machinery. Missionaries have
parents, wives and children, and owe them
the same duties as other men do. It often
takes as much consecration in parents to
give up their children to the mission work
as it does in the missionary himself to go.
Our parents have claims tq>on us as well as
the heathen. It was the hard Pharisees who
allowed men to say, “It is Corban.” Our
blessed Master taught otherwise. Whatever
brethren nt home may think, many of us on
the field think we would rather have the
approval of Jesus, and think it our duty to
visit our parents in their declining years,
after we have spent yearsol faithful service
abroad. So far is this from injuring our
influence, among the Chinese, at least, that
it increases our usefulness. One of the ob
jections the heathen frequently urge against
missionaries, is that we are unfilial, and
neglect our parents in their old age, and
spend years from them in distant lands. We
are also fathers. It is one of our trials that
we have to be parted from our children, and
commit their training to others. Is it too
much to ask to be i>ermitted to i)>end a few
months with them, that we may attempt to
mould their characters, and influence them
for good, or to give them an op|>ott unity of
becoming acquainted with us? We are hus
bands. While I think some unmarried
men a useful adjunct to a mission,yet C hris
tian families are needed. The failure of i
Roman Catholic missionaries to build up a
stable, growing community, arises, no doubt,
in a great measure from their being all single
men. Brother Clough, whose labors have
recently been so blessed among the Telegovs, ,
The Christian Index and South-western Baptist: Thursday, October 30, 1879.
testifies that half his usefulness is due to his
wife.
2. The term of service.
Our brother is mistaken in thinking that
the Presbyterian Board accepts no man who
docs not “solemnly engage to remain on the
field at least fifteen years.” The Northern
Presbyterian Board, in common with our
own and most others, expect a man to remain
on the field for ten years for the first time.
I do not know what rule the Southern Pres
byterians have, but I know that their mis
sionaries have not usually spent fifteen years
in China without returning borne. The
English Presbyterians, who have one of the
finest set of workers of any Board, expect
and desire their missionaries to return home ,
once in eeven years. The China Inland
Mission, one of the most efficient bodies in
China, desire their young men (unmarr.ed,)
who engage in pioneering work, to return at
the end of four years, and their married
missionaries to remain longer. The mem
beis of the English Consular service, and !
also of the Ch nese Customs service, are en
titled to a furlough at the end of seven years.
But no hard and fast line can be drawn, i
Mission fields are in various countries—some .
where lhe climate is very much as that at
home, and others where it is much more
trying. No one would require a man to stay ■
in Africa and in Italy for the same length of I
; time without a change. As to'China, a
' physician of much experience, told me that j
he thought missionary societies should re
I quire men to return after ten years service,
as his experience showed him that men al- |
most always lost their stamina by that time,
j and the years beyond ten had to be spent in
nursing their strength, and not in any real,
j efficient work. My own observation con- !
i firms the remark. I myself was away from !
ho-i.e fourteen years, but was in bad health
for the last few years. It is often a more ,
unwise waste of money to keep a man in
broken-down health,or otherwise inefficient,
on the field, than to pay bis passage home.
The only difference is that the fact that he is
I unable to work is concealed from the
i churches in one case, and not in the other.
It would be as reasonable for a government
to keep a soldier at the front for the term
of his enlistment, when wounded or disabled
1 by typhoid, as for a Board to insist on a
missionary remaining on the field for a fixed
term of years. The fact is, we cannot over
rule lhe providence of God by our legisla
tion. Does a man at home ever make an
1 engagement to serve a church as pastor for
fifteen years, whether his health and the
health of his family breaks down or not,
and whether he preaches well or not ? It
I would be much more reasonable to do so I
j than for a missionary to be bound by asimi- j
j lar promise. The latter has to go to an tin
tried, and often an uncongenial climate; he
has to undertake to learn a language that he
j may never be able to master, and to deJi
with a people whom he may never succeed
in conciliating.
Our Boards have to send out untried men,
for no o hers oiler themselves. No human
i foresight can guard against infirmity of
health or instability of purpose. If our Pauls
and Barnabasrs —men who have been six or
eight years in the ministry at home, who
had proved themselves men of energy, pur
j pose and ability, robust in health, and suc
cessful in winning souls—were to oiler them
selves, our Boards might send out picked
■ men. If six or eight men offered themselves,
when one or two were needed, our Boards
might have some choice. But we must ac
knowledge the painful fact that the piety of
our churches is deficient ; that (lie spirit of
consecration which marks the Moravian
min stry, does not characterize ours. Dis
guise it as you may, our leaders are not filled
with the spirit of Paul. The evil lies here,
and will never bo removed by blaming mis
sionaries and Boards.
8. “Dying on the field."
This phrase, like “dying in the last ditch,”
is oftener in the mouths of those who slay at
home than of those who bear the brunt of the
fight. Many missionaries havedied on their
fields, and many more are ready to do so,
but this does not prove that it is right to
commit suicide. I have been hustled about
by a Chinese mob, and have had clods and
stones and brickbats thrown at me. I have
had a loaded pistol presented to my breast,
a sword drawn on me, and have been attack
ed by a furious man armed with a butcher’s
knife. If my work demands it, I trust that
that God who has hitherto supported me
will give me grace to die for His cause. But
I do not wish to give my life to save half a
million Baptists from spending a paltry
S4OO, when 1 have spent my life in trying to
supply their lack of service in giving the
Gospel to the heathen. I feel that this would
lie committing suicide. It would beoflering
myself a sacrifice not to Christ, but to the
penuriousuesa of my brethren.
Missionaries do die on the field, and alas!
sometimes ofteuer than the home churches
fill up the gape. In our Canton Baptist
Mission, if my memory is not at fault, six
have died on the field, eight have returned
home after various terms of service, four are
cow at home with some hope of returning Io
' the field, and three remain on the field. In
a recent statement with regard to theNingpo
missionaries, it is reported that in the last
eleven years, ten have died theie and six
teen have returned home. The same ques
tion may arise with missionaries that arise*
with ministers at home during a yellow fe
verepidemic, must a man stay and die, or is
it his duty to try to save his life and his fam
ily? We must allow the same of,
i judgment in both cases, though the balance i
is in favor of the missionary, for the preacher
at home that remains in th* infected district
does so with the ho]>e that be may be useful
to those around him when their souls are in
, unusual danger, and lhe missionary leaves
because his usefulness is at an end through
inability to aid those around him. I refer
of course to cases where a return home is
demanded by the state of his health.
The common sense rule is to keep as large
a body of efficient men as possible on the
field. The same rule applies to missiona
ries as to the army and navy and diplomatic
services.
4.' Precedents.
The instances reterred to in the article
are quite misleading as the basis of an ar
gument. Carey, Boardman and Judson
were no doubt bright examples of missiona
ry consecration, but the truth compels us to
state more than is there stated. Carey was
a Government official, had a large salary,
could afford to have a fine botanical garden,
and surrounded himself with many allevia
tions which missionaries, who live on the
small salaries paid them cannot do. It is
twenty-five years since I have read the lives
of Boardman and Judson, and I do not have
them here to refer to, but my impression is
that Boardman died before he had been on
tjie field for an extended length of service,
and that Judson made several voyages for
his health, though he did not re urn to
America. The fact is the world moves. A
few years ago the Southern Baptist Conven
tion was held at Jeffersonville, Texas. I be
lieve there were some dehgates from Balti
more and Richmond there. If a man should
argue that because fifty orseventy five years
ago such a journey would have involved a
large expenditure of rm ney and the neglect
ot his Hock for many months in a pastor,
therefore it is wrong for a minister to take
that journey now, what would be thought of
his logic? Yet this is just as reasonable as
to apply this test t<> missionaries. The fact
is a missionary can now return home with as
short an absence from his field of labor and
at about as little proportional expense as the
older missionaries could take shorter trij>s.
Experience proves that a man’s health is
more firmly re esiablishrd by an occasional
thorough change to his native hind than by
more frequent short tri[« to neighboring
countries. Is there any special merit in
keeping away from America? The allu
sion to Paul is peculiarly unfortunate in its
connection. Os course the writer could not
say that Paul did not go home every three
or four years, and so he -kilfully avoids flie
point, and speaks simply of Paul’s willing
ness to lay down his life for Christ The
fact is Paul seemed to consider bim-elf as
much a missionary to the home churches as
the heathen. He was a whole souled Chris
tian man, and took an interest in the con
troversies which disturbed the churches at
home, as well as in the souls of the heatheu
abroad. Anything that touches the cause of
Christ claimed tris attention. After travel
ing for three years among the heathen he re
turned to Antioch and rde a long
time with the dWcipleST TronA thence he
“pa-sed through Phenice and Samaria, de
claring the conversion of he Gentiles," and
“caused great joy unto all the brethren.”
The great Apostle to the Gentiles, whom the
writer aptly calls, “the greatest of all mis
sionaries” was absent from his field of labor
much longer than would Ire tolerated in any
modern missionary. And this notwithstand
ing the fact that he was unmarried, and as
fares we know had no duty to parents or
family to call him away. If the brethren at
Antioch had been like some of our mod
ern Christians, they wou'd have met Paul at
the wharf of Seleucia and said, "The Holy
Ghost sent you as ao Apostle to the Gen
tiles, and here you are back again after three
years. Why don't you die at your post?” I
do not know whether any of the brethren
gave him such a greeting or no', but if so,
hedid not mind it, for we find him return
ing to his hcmechurch again after another
three years’absence.
I have no doubt that it would be a good
thing for both churches and missionaries it
they could see more of each other. The
churches need information and should make
the acquaintance ot their missionaries. The
missionaries, too, would be benefitted bv
knowing those who have been praying for
them and giving for their support for so
many years. A missionary may need a visit
home on other grounds, too, beside those of
physical health. A country pastor at home,
who would never attend an Associate n or
Convention, but confine himself to his own
neighborhood and the little circle of his own
church, would soon grow out of sympathy
with the denomination and all the great
movements of the day. Do not the brethren
feel that their minds are quickened by in
tercourse with their brethren, that their
views are enlarged by an interchange of
thoughts, that their hearts are warmed up by
Christian fellowship? If men at home need
these things, how much more are they need
ed by missionaries who are surrounded by
all the chilling influences of heathenism,
it will be remembered that Dr. Judson be
came quite morbid at one time, and instances
arc not unknown where other missionaries,
have grown morbid and lost their minds
through the strain of being by themselves in
lonely country stations. Do not begrudge a
faithful worker an occasional visit home.
Having said so much in reply to the arti
cle, let me say that 1 agree with it to a certain
extent. It is very desirable that missiona
ries should remain on the field as long as it
is compatible with efficient service. They
should not leave their posts except for ur
gent reasons. It is especially to be deplored
that men who are in good health and in the
midst of their usefulness should be taken
home by the ill health of their wives. Ido
not think that a missionary's wife should
expect more than the wife ot a man in the
military or diplomatic service. The wives
of officers in the army and navy serving
abroad have constantly to go home alone,
and to take their children home. So often
with merchants. It is true they have means
to go home often when they begin to suc
cumb to the climate; missionaries’ wives
generally have to wait until they are almost
completely broken down. Still I think we
have a right to expect more consecra
tion to the Savior, and more self-sacrifice in
missionary women. Other men have to send
their wives home at their own expense, and
I am not sure but that it would be well to
exjiect men to pay their own passage home
when they go simply to care for an invalid
wife—the Board bearing the expenses of the
invalid only. [We differ with the writer on
this point.—Ed.lndex.J Os course there
might be some exceptions, as in the case of
mental derangement,or of a familyof helpless
children. Some of my missionary brethren
may not agree with me here, but I honestly
think that we have no right to claim any
exemption from the trials that our fellow
countrymen who go abroad have to endure.
It seems to me that the rules which expe
rience and common sense have taught gov
ernments, might justly be applied to the
mission service, viz: furloughs sufficiently
frequent to secure the utmost efficiency, and
the requirements of the service to override
family considerations.
I would earnestly request the writer of the
article to consider my remarks, and trust he
may be led to change his expressed views
which I am sure are the expression of a tern
porary irritation, other than of a matured
judgment. Let any who cannot conscien
ciously give their money to those who return
homein a few tears, give their benefactions
asspecifically intended for those who have
been on the field ten or fifteen years. No
doubt our Treasurer will set them apart for
this purpose, and we will then see how
large a proportion of the subscriptions are
from those who would have men remain
longer on the field.
Hoping that this discussion will be of ben
efit to the cause which we all love, I now
draw it to a close.
R. H. Graves.
Canton, China.
OUTLINES OF A SERMON.
Acts 6:8 4
The interests of men, in the last an
alysis, are identical. This is certainly
true, whatever views may be held to
the contrary, and I think it capable of
being proved.
Divisions and strifes among the hu
man family have a bad origin, and
when we calmly survey the ground, we
may well say : “An enemy hath done
this.”
Had man remained steadfast in his
relations to God, his relations to his
surroundings would never have been
disturbed, and we should have wit
nessed the spectacle of an entire race
dwelling together in isnity.
But as sin entered and destroyed the
bond of union between man and m:y),
so it is the design of religion to restore
that which was lost, and, by binding
man back to God, unite him to his fel
lows by indissoluble ties.
As a proof of this, we see men ap
proaching one another as they draw
nigh to God, and loving each other, as
their affections take hold upon their
Maker. Upon this principle is formed
the church of the living God, which is
the pillar and ground of the truth.”
In the discussion notice the princi
ple of success in Christian and church
work ; division of labor, with unity of
design.
There is a work for all Christians.
This they can do by personal effort, or,
in some cases, by intrusting the duties
of a larger number to a smaller com
mittee, chosen by themselves. This is
the method indicated in the text, where
a work which belonged properly to the
whole church, was proposed to be done
through a select number, for the sake
of convenience to all.
In describing the character of the
men, the apostles recognized their fit
ness for the work to be done. As they
were to be intrusted with the manage
ment of trust funds, it was requisite
that they should be men of honest re
port, both for the protection of the
trust and of those for whose benefit it
was intended.
They were to receive and disburse a
relief fund, with which they were to be
supplied from time to time by the
church, but their work, probably, in
time, took a wider range and obtained
a greater responsibility; hence they
were called deacons, or servants of the
church.
The object of the church in their
appointment was to take out of the
hands of preachersail responsibility for
the temporal or material affairs of the
church, so as to relieve them of all
suspicion of unfaithfulness to the high
er and greater trust of caring for souls.
That a church of the living God is
able to perform every duty which God
requires of its members in their indi
vidual and corporate capacity, is un
questionable ; and hence the conclusion
is inevitable that if they fail in dis
charging their obligations, it is to be
set down to the want of will, or un
faithfulness to the Master, whom they
propose to serve.
It would certainly be an absurdity to
suppose duties imposed by the Savior
upon his people entirely beyond their
ability to do them. He is a reasonable
Being, and the service which he re
quires is also a rational one, so that
whoever fails in his duty, is guilty of
willful infidelity to the Lord that bought
him.
Failure, therefore, can never be
charged to unfaithfulness of Christ to
his promises, but comes back with
crushing weight upon the delinquent
church, and it may be upon the un
faithful minister, who from any con
sideration has neglected his duty to
his charge. Whatever Jesus requires
us to do, he gives us the ability to per
form ; and it is his usual method to
fulfill his purroses of grace to the
world through the instrumentality of
his people.
While success in church work is his
gift, it is usually conferred upon those
who labor for him, and withheld from
those who refuse to enter the vineyard
according to his command.
H. C. H.
FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY.
[Copied by special request from The Baptist
Banner of August 27th, 1879 ]
Brother Moderator and Breth
ren : Not long since it came to my
knowledge that I was appointed by
your last meeting to write an essay, up
on any subject appertaining to the
church militant here below. I must
say to you frankly, my brethren, that
no subject presented itself to my mind
until two Sabbaths past. It was then
that my Sabbath school (for I am its
humble Superintendent), read the
13th chapter of First Corinthians. In
that chapter I find the whole duty of
man embraced in three short, but
beautiful words, viz : Faith, Hope and
Charity ; Faith in God, Hope in im
mortality and Charity to all mankind.
My brethren, if we have these three
graces deeply seated and rooted in our
hearts, no power on earth or in hell
can separate us from the love of God.
The first of these jewels that we will
notice is Faith. Faith teaches that
God is a Spirit and seeks such to
worship Him. Lofty, dignified, trans
cendently glorious are its teachings,
and equally so are its moral influences.
It is a faculty of the human soul too
much neglected. Life will smile in
gladness, and eternity rejoice in glory,
if we are but faithful to the end.
Brethren, we do not exercise as
much faith toward God as we should.
Let us see to it, that we improve in
this great virtue.
The next is Hope. It is tliat angel
within, which whispers and says, „Do
your duty and all will be well.”
It is the friend of virtue, the proph
et of a “good time coming.” Its proph
ecy is “good tidings of great joy, which
shall be unto all people” Its religion
is full of glorious anticipation. It be
lieves in full redemption. Hope whis
pers health to the sick, friends to the
forsaken, peace to the troubled heart,
bread to the hungry, rest to the weary,
and life eternal to the dying. Then
let its inspiring influence be in the
heart of every Brother, for it whll give
strength and courage to us all.
The next and brightest of all, is
Charity. For “faith may be lost in
sight; Hope ends in fruition, but
Charity extends beyond the grave,
through the boundless realms of eter
nity”. It is that moral link that binds
man most closely with his God, w’here
the creature walks in sweet compan
ionship with his Maker. It is the ba
sis of religion, and is opposed to all
evil.
Its will is the will of God. It loves
obedience, and delights in the thought
that God is love. Charity lifts itself
in prayer, and bows itself in worship.
It loves holiness and purity ; loves de
votedness to truth and right. It loves
all things upon which God smiles.
It seeks not only our own good but
the good of others. It is the good Sa
maritan of the heart.
Charity is that which “thinketh no
evil, and is kind; which hopeth all
things, believeth all things, endureth
all things.” It is the angel of mercy
which forgives seventy and seven
times and is still rich in mercy. It
visits the sick, smooths the pillow of
the dying, drops a tear with the mourn
er, buries the dead, and educates the
orphan. It instructs the ignorant, and
preaches the Gospel to the poor; its
words are more precious than rubies ;
its hand is softer than down; its step
as gentle as love; it is nothing but
love; love to God and love to man.
But I cannot speak its praise. It
needs no encomium; it is its own
praise ; its works are its own plaudits.
Then, whoever would be respected,
whoever would be useful, would be re
membored with pleasure when life is
over, must cherish this glorious feeling.
My brethren, Charity is a glorious
affection, because of the number and
extent of its objects. It is wide as the
world of suffering, deep as the heart of
sorrow, and extensive as the wants of
creation.
Brethren, we, as a church, claiming
ourselves Christians, have too little of
this great virtue ; it has been neglected.
We should commence now (for now is
the accepted time) to cultivate this
beautiful jewel. We should cultivate
it much, and long, and well. The
peace, the happiness, the prosperity of
the world depend greatly upon it.
Countries need it; families need it;
individuals need it. It is needed ev
erywhere.
And now, brother Moderator, in
conclusion, will you permit me to say
that during the past year there were
added to this church by experience
and baptism 23 in number; 14 of
whom were members of my Sabbath
school and quite young, and I thank
the great God of Heaven that two of
this number were my own little Lilly
and dear Emma. Shall 1 thank Him
for the two only? nay, I thank Him
from the very depths of my poor heart
for all these converts; and my breth
ren, I desire to say to them, that noth
ing on earth gives a sweeter charm to
the young Christian than an active
charity, a disposition kind to all.
Would you possess these graces, my
young friends? Then cultivate the be
nevolent dispositions of your natures.
Fail not to do this. Let a glorious
activity of universal love mark all
your actions and feelings. Be kind,
be good, be noble, be generous always.
Let your words, your looks, your acts,
: breathe the spirit of love.
And, now, my dear brethren, may
1 the Father of all mercy bless and save
j us all for Jesus’ sake!
A. C. Mclntosh.
The Sunday-School.
International Sunday-School Lessons,
Lesson Vll—November 16, 1879.
THE LOVE OF THE FATHER.
1 John iv. 7-16.
outline.
I. Love to the brethren—v. 7-11.
11. Fellowship with God—v. 12-16.
EXPOSITION.
I. Love to the brethren.
V. 7. “Beloved.” The affectionate address
with which he calls their attention. “Let us
! love one another." One of God's command
ments. See Ch. 3 : 23. “For love is of God.”
This is the reason assigned for obeying the
commandment. Love is to be taken here in
! its widest sense.and has its fountain in God.
I "Every one that loveth.” Every one who
exercises such love as God manifests. "Is
born of God." Is the child of God. As the
new life is from God it will be like God.
! ‘ Knoweth Gcd." Becomes acquainted with
the character and purposes of God, as the
l child knows the character and purposes of
' bis father when he catches his spirit.
V. 8. "He that loveth not.” A contrast
, with verse 7. He who has never exercised
such love as God manifests. "Knoweth not
God.” It is impossible that he should. "God
is love.” Not simply God loves or is loving,
but God is love. It is the very essence of his
being and exists entirely independent of
man. If no human being had been created,
| God had still been love.
V. 9. "Was manifested,” that which ex
j isted before. “Toward us." Literally “in
i us” that is, in regard to us. Omit the word
"because.” "Sent.” Implying that he ex
isted before. “His only begotten Son.” Son,
as no other can be. "Into the world” of
sinlulmen. "That we,” who we.e dead,
might "live,” be made alive,"through him.”
Tins was possible only through Christ. This
sending of his bon, the eternal and supreme
object of the Father's love, was the great
manifestation of the Father's essential char
acter of love.
V. 10. “Herein is love.” That God sent his
Son to give life to men was a glorious mani
festation of his love, but that he sent him to
those who loved him not, and who were sin
ners, is the marvelous proo f that God is love.
This is love unequaled by any other. “The
propitiation." Propitiation means the act of
conciliating the favorofan offended person,
of making .him propitious. Christ assumed
the legal responsibilities of those he came to
save, and by his sufferings and death satis
fied the claims of the law, and thus recon
ciled God to sinful man. As our substitute
he paid the penalty, suffering for us. On the
cross he made it possible for God to be just
and yet be justified. This is the great pre
diction of the Old Testament, and the great
fact of the New.
V. .1. "If’ as all admit. “So.” This is
the emphatic word, and refers not so much
to the degree as to the manner of exhibiting
the love. It God showed his love in this
way. "We ought.” The obligation arises
not only from the example of.God in this act
of love, but also from the fact that having be
come children of God we love as he loves.
"One another.” A child of God is bound to
■ love another child of God. just because God
loves him.
11. Fellowship with God.
V. 12. "No man has seen God at any time.”
A reason why we should love the brethren
who are the visible children of God. “If we
love one another, God dwelleth in us.” Lov
ing one another proves that we have fellow
ship with God, for that alone can produce
real love to the brethren. “His love is per
fected in us.” Attains its maturity, "His
love,” here is "the love of him.”
V. 13. "Hereby know we.” "We are fully
persuaded. “We dwell in him, and he in
us.” That there is a fellowship existing be
tween ns and God, or that we possess his
Spirit. “Because he hath given us his Spirit.”
The clearest evidence of being the children
! ofGod. God gives to his people of nis Spirit
in such measure as he sees proper. In Je
sus alone the Spirit dwells without measure.
Q. 14. "We-’’Apostles. "Have seen.” This
is the ground of their testimony ; they were
eye-witnesses. Omit “to be.” "The Savior
ot the world.” The character of the Son,the
meaning of his name, the purpose of bis
coming, the solicitude of his life, and the re
; suit of his death.
V. 15. "Whosoever shall confess" from
the heart, accepting this great truth and
feeling its power. “That Jesus is the Son of
God.” Christis the center of every Chris
tian confession, a Christ who has come, suf
fered and died, a Christ, who thought the
man Jesus, was the Son of God. “God dwell
j in him, etc.” Such a man has intimate fel
lowship with God. Such fellowship had
Enoch, who “walked with God,” and such
have all they who seek it.
V. 16. "We.” John and his readers. Now
we say all Christians. “Have known and be
lieved.” Knowledge, and then faith. In the
religious life, knowledge never becomes a
power without faith. "God is love." The
summing ,up of what precedes. “He that
dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God
in him. "There is a blessed oneness be
tween God and us. He dwells in this love,
for heislove;and we now dwell in the is love
also. It becomes our ns ture,as it is his,to love.
Therefore this love is the bond of union be
tween him and us ; the meeting-place, the
habitation, the home, in which we dwell to
gether ; he in us and we in him. This love,
this holy love, is that which God and we
may have in common. Candlish.
REMARKS.
What must our sins be to require such a
manifesting of love. Some are not saved
though Christ came as the Savior of the
world. Love is the sum of the law and of the
gospel. God loved us when we had no love
tor him. It is the cross that shows the love
of God. All pure love is of God.
A Christian should look upon him
self as sacred and devoted. For that
which involves but an ordinary degree
of criminality in others, in him par
takes the nature of sacrilege; what is a
breach of trust in others, is in him the
profanation of the temple.
In Texas there are 30,000 white
children over eight years of age who
cannot read.