Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

2 - 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.