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ESTABLISHED 1821. ®lxe CChrifttian 3-iulrx Publish**! Every Thursday at 57 South Bros Street, Atlanta. Ga. j. c. McMichael, prorbibtob. Organ of the Baptist Peuomiuatiou iu Georgia. Subscription Pbicb: One copy, one year $ 2.00 One copy, six months 1.00 Obituaries - One hundred words tree of charge. For each extra word, one cent per wortTcasn with copy. To CorbkSrondknts.—Do not use abrevta tious; be extra careful in wriMneproper names; write with ink, on one side of paper; Do not w rite copy intended for the editor, and busi ness items on same sheet. Lear e off personal ities; condense. Business.—Write all names, and post offices distinctly. In ordering a change give the old as well as the new address. The date of label indicates the time your subscription expires. If you do not wish it continued, order it stop ped a week before. We consider each sub scriber permanent, until he orders his paper discontinued. When you order it stopped pay up to date. Remittances by check preferred; or regis ered letter, money order, postal note. The day of Pentecost was marked, among the Jews, by the gift of the law written on tables of stone; but among Christians, by the gift of the Spirit who writes the law on fleshly tables of the heart. How uiuch higher our privilege than theirs! Is our service also higher in like proportion ? When “atonement money’’ was re quired of every person included in the military census of Israel, God testified to the equality of all men in his sight by the enactment: “the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less,” (Ex. 30: 15.) How slight the earthly dif ferences that part us, though one sits on the throne and one lies under the foot stool ! Moses never appears to better advan tage than in the last year of his life. It was then that he conquered Sihon. king of the Amorires, and Og, king of Ba skan, and the five kings of Midian—giv ing two and a half tribes an inheritance east of the Jordan. Perhaps, he leaned too much on Aaron while he lived; but now Aaron was dead, and he leaned only on God. Was it this exclusive divine trust that made him most a hero? Or was God graciously taking thought for his servant, to shorten his pilgrimage and end his warfare? f Rev. Dr. Thos. H, Pritchard, in the (Charlotte, X. C. “Observer,” quoting the (opinion of Dr. John A. Broadus, that the moral character of the child is formed ’.before it is four years of age, pronounces )she Dy. “the wisest man” he has ever 'known. There are many others who Iwill concur with him in the estimate of tour honored Louisville professor. Dr. B. belongs, to the rare class (if there be en /ough of Hi era to form .a class at any one (time) of whom ( Is true that the giving lof a man to the people is largely also the (giving of the people to the man. Rev, Samuel Eliot, a speaker at the re cent Unitarian Anniversaries in Massa chusetts, said: “Unitarian extension finds its best field within a radius of fif teen miles from the Boston State house.” It grows no where else In our country so well as there; and the richest Unitar ian soil in that vicinity is supposed to be Cambridge. Now, seventy-five years ago Cambridge had two Unitarian churches, and it has only two to-day, while within this time there has been planted in Cam bridge eight Baptist churches. So, where Unitarian churches grow their best, Baptist churches are the better growers. They root themselves more in the soil of Scripture and derive the am pler nourishment from its fertility. David, in pious recognition of divine help, laid up spears, bucklers, shields and other weapons of his conquered foes, in the sacred armory, as tokens of God given victory. He little thought that, a century and a half later, they should be brought forth to avenge the murder of his seed by the vile usurper Athaliali, and for her slaughterthat his seed might return to the throne (2 Cor. 23:0.) God pays us back, in ourselves or in our off spring. for whatever we do to honor him. An unrequitted work for him never was and never can be, no matter how much things seem to look that way. The Philadelphia letter of the Chicago “Standard” reports the ordination to the work of the ministry of tho Baptist de nomination of Rev. Robert Harkiuson, formerly a Methodist preacher, and bap tized a year ago at Mantua, by Dr. J. G. Walker. Just why the interval of a year should have been put between the demis sion of the one ministry and the assump tion of the ether we have no hint: per haps, the apostolic warning against the sudden laying on of hands are regarded as calling for something of tho kind. May it not be all incases, a fit and proper thing that some lapse of tim eshould en sue after stepping out of the pulpit of one denomination before stepping into the pulpit of another, Lieut. Winchell of the Salvation Army states that the “War Cry the organ of that body, has a weekly circulation over the world of 1,150,000. A remarkable fact, and made more remarkable by the further fact that it is a rule never to give a copy of the paper away, on the ground that people are most apt to read what has, with their own consent, cost them something. We admire the intelligent zeal of the Army on the question of the religious press. Theirs so far ns we know is the most widely circulated Christian paper on the face of the earth ;and this, too though they themselves “are but of yes terday.” All the denominational jour nals of the Baptists in every country put together fall very far short of the "War Cry” In the matter of weekly cir culation; and we are ashamed that this is true, Shall every body get ahead of us? Shall any body keep ahead’ of us? In the City of Mexico, strawberries may be had every day in the year; and yet its death-rate exceeds that of auy city in the world except Constantinople. So strangely lights and shadows mingle iu the sphere of earthly things, Bo wonderfully what allures may shine where, if wo seek it, what repels may wrap its mists about us. Promises and threat* join hand in hand; and hopes and fears; and pleasures ami pains:—it is a chief part of our wisdom to see how they come to us together; how in grasp ing the one we may grasp the other; how often we must have both or nei ther; nay, how it may even be that only what chills and darkens and was at first unnoted enters into an experience which proffered sunrise but brought • THE OHRISTLVN INDEX. storm instead. Let us trust the promise of delights wlifcirrmiy ■ disappoint, and not to disregard the threat of sorrows which may overtake and overwhelm us. AN EXPOSIfION _ OF _ THE WORDS, EPHESIANS VI; 2, “WHICH IS THE EIRBT COMMANDMENT WITH PROMISE-” BY F. C. JOHNSON. Tha meaning of the promise, “that thy days may be long and that it may be well with thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,” will be understood when you consider that this promise is not addressed to an individual, but to a nation. It is the days of the nation that are to be prolonged in possession of the God given land. It is the National pros perity, not the prosperity of auy sin gle person that is promised. The meaning is, that the nation of Israel shall possess the land in perpetuity and prosper in it, so long as they keep this precept. We are led into error by rendering in 3d verse of this 6th chapter, “on the earth,” in stead of “in the land.” The Greek ‘ge’ (pronounce gay,) means either earth, the whole planet, or some par ticular part of it, as the land of Canaan—the land which Jehovah gave the sons of Israel. This is cer tain by looking at the original in Deut. o:16. “Honor thy father and thy mother, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.” The promise is not that any individ ual, whether Jew or Gentile, shall live long, if he honor his father and mother; but the promise is that the Jewish nation shall possess that land, and occupy it as their national home in prosperity, free from subjection to any foreign people, shall prolong this occupancy and this prosperity for ever, if they keep this precept. And this is the way in which Hebrew Rabbis of note understand it. Ibn Ezra, says “So long as Israel keeps this precept, they shall never be ban ished from the land which God gave them.” St Paul, in Ephs. 6: 2, quoting this commandment, adds, “which is the first commandment with prom ise”—as we very erroneously render. His words properly rendered are, “which commandment is first or preeminent in respect of the prom ise?” (annexed,) ,Now what is the anrl'Tnfl promi«« tb»t gives snob, pre eminence to this commandment? “That thy days be prolonged and that it be well with thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.” That which gives the sth com mandment its preeminence, that the prolonged prosperous occupancy of the promised land is conditioned up on obedience to this precept. Let us examine this promise and see how obedience to this precept is its true condition. In Genesis 15th chapter, is the record of the covenant which Jehovah made with Abram. No where else is there any account of a covenant duly ratified between Je hovah and Abram. The very words are, “On that day Jehovah made (Hebrew cut) a covenant with Abram, etc.” To make a covenant is literally in Hebrew, to cut a cut ting into pieces. Because in making a solemn covenant, certain animals were cut in parts and these parts placed in rows over against each other, leaving an open space between them, —through this space the con tracting parties walked, imprecating upon themselves the fate of these animals if they were not faithful to their covenanted engagements. Now Jehovah’s promise, or cove nant engagement on this occasion is given in these words: “Unto thy seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt unto the great river the river Euphrates, the Kenites, the Kenizites and the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizites and the lieph aim, and the Amorites and the Ca naanites, and the Girgashites and the Jebasites.” This is the covenant promise, to give this land bounded on the extreme west by what is called the Torrent of Egypt, and on the east by the Euphrates —still fur ther and more definitely declared by naming the peoples then inhabiting the land, by this covenant deeded to Abram’s seed. Now at the time of this covenant Abram was a wanderer on the earth, landless and homeless. He did not own one square inch on the surface of this planet. He never had a piece of real estate on this earth which he could have mortgaged to secure the loan ot five dollars; until the death of his wife Sarah, when within the limits of the land, which Jehovah had covenanted to give to his seed, he bought of Ephron, a Heathen and Hittite, a field wherein was a natural cave, which he wanted as a burial place, to bury Sarah in. A graveyard was the only landed property ever owned by Abraham on this earth, and this is all the landed estate ho loft to Isaac, and which Isaac transmitted to Jacob. Jacob increased this by a purchase later on of a small tract near Sama ria, as a place to herd cattle on. Now I say this promise to Abra ham and hi* seed after him of a home a settled home, was made to him ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. JULY 6,1893. -owes was ft homeless wanderer on tmw cm Ji. Os all earthly blessings the greatest is a homo. Os all con ditions the most wretched is that of the tramp—ever changing from place to place, homeless, unresting, the tramp will never improve. So now in a temporal point ot view, the promise, that the migratory life should one day cease, and his de eendants have a home, a fixed resi dence on this earth, was the promise of the greatest blessing. A nomadic people is in a great measure, a law less people, uncivilized, incapable of any high moral and intellectual im provement. Was the great nation that Jehovah promised to make of Abraham’s seed, ever to be so blessed that all nations in wishing for their own prosperity, should say: “May we be prosperous like Abraham’s seed ? ” Was a succession of kings like David and Solomon, prophets like Moses and Samuel, men who could promote the highest interests of humanity, ever to spring from Abraham, than the first requsite was that these descendants should cease the migratory life of shepherds and become settled as land owners, land tillers, producers of wealth by well directed labors. They must become builders, masons, miners, artificers, merchants, students, etc., accustomed to submit to law. There must be settled homes, division of labor, dis tinction of ranks, law’s, schools, so cial rules and in a word, all that makes the difference between civi lized society and savage tribes. To tho family the greatest blessing is to have a home, peaceful and prosper ous. This sentiment has given birth to a song world-famous, “Home, Sweet Home.” Now in this earthly point of view, how is it that the prolonged and prosperous possession of a National home comes to be conditioned upon this command rather than upon any other. To the continued well-being of civil society virtue is the only sure ground. This sure foundation of National prosperity, can be laid only in the season of youth. The one school of virtue, the sole basis of the lasting prosperity of any nation—is home, not tho Sunday-school, nor the week day school. Home is the place, where the child is to learn the habit of obedience to just authority, the habit of preferring the public good to one’s private interest, the habit of respecting the rights, and consult ing the feelings of others—the habit of f>olf-ros‘rtMnty oourtcsj jaiticc, economy and industry. The great fountain of National long-life, and national prosperity, life in fact which will last as long as the frame of earth lasts, and prosperity advanced to the highest degree, that God can confer and man enjoy, is the habit of loving thy neighbor as thyself and the training school for the form ing of this habit is tho home, where dwells the family, consisting of father and mother, brothers and sisters. Father and mother, these are the rulers, the magistrates, the teachers brothers and sisters, are the citizens, subjects, pupils. The parents, the magistrates, legislative, judicial and executive, are not elected by the children, but appointed by God. They are qualified for their official station, by love, wisdom and power. Love sets the end aimed at in this divinely constituted government— that end is the highest good of the children, moral, intellectual, physical virtue, wisdom and health of the children. Parental wi«dom devises the means, and parental power em ploys these means to secure the virtue, wisdom and health of the children. The children are the subjects and pupils. Obedience is the one word that sums up the whole of child duty, “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for thi* is just.” For rendering this obedience God has qualified the subject children, by making them dependent upon their parents. The child is weak, the parent is strong. The child is ig norant, the parent has knowledge. The child ha* a constitutional ten dency to love the parent who is nt once author, guide and support of his life. Ho while the rule of the parent is the rule of love, the obedi ence of the child, is the obedience of love—children do naturally rec ognize tho authority of parents, be lieve without doubting their word, and trust to the guidance of parental wisdom and the protection of pa rental power. The child does not at first come in contact with the state, but with it* parent*. In this contact it acquires the habit ot chee ful obedience to just authority—this is the first requisite of National well being. It is at home under the government of father and mother, that this supreme civic virtue is ac quired, becomes habit, i. e. second nature. The rightly educated child easily and naturally transfers this obedience to the State. The brothers and sisters are the subjects of this domestic government equally loved and cared for by the sovereign power in thi* homely state. They learn from their earliest years to love one another, so as to prefer one another’s gratification to self-indulgence —to ■hare what ever they have with one another, to respect one ahothar’" rights, consultone another’s feelings and love one another as they love, themselves. The good of the family requires industry, economy, thrift, self-re straint, personal sacrifice—mutual love makes all these possible, and more than possible, easy and more than easy—it makes it impossible, not to acquire all these virtues— necessary to two things, Ist. abun dance of accumulated wealth, and 2nd—equally indispensable to Na tional well being, equitable distri bution of this wealth Human be ings thus educated, i. e. having form ed these habits, and life is nothing but habits—l say children so edu cated, ex necessitate rei, become law-abiding and patriotic citizens, obliging neighbors, courteous com panions, faithful friends, in a word good citizens, and useful members of society. Now all these virtues grow out of obedience to this com mand “Honor thy father and thy mother,” and these virtues are the infallible securities of personal lib erty, and National prosperity and social happiness. I say a nation composed of suah citizens, will never suffer subjugation, expatriation, slavery, destitution, while Jehovah continues “to occupy his throne in the heavens and while his reign continues over this Earth, which his hands made, his goodness enriches, and his power preserves. There remains yet to show another side to this promise. If a home on earth be indispensable to earthly well-being, it is no less necessary, that when we leave our bodies to return to that dust from which they originally were raised, and our true selves have gone away, that then we be not wanderers in the boundless universe of God. I say it is as im portant that we hereafter have a home, as that we have one here. It was no more necessary that Abraham’s migratory-nomadic des cendants have the land of Canaam than that man’s immortal soul have in the world to come, a land of prom ise.—a God-given land, which realizes all that Hebrew prophets fondly dreamed of Canaan, calling it “that good land,” “the pleasant land,” “the glory of all lands,” “the land over which Jehovah’s eyes kept ceaseless watch." Now, “the land of Prom ise,” Canaan, woe a type of a heav enly lapd, and *o understood by the Promisees Abraham, Isaac, and Ja cob. Thi* it mo»t plain lij Li ugh tin the Fnj»Ue to. th?. IW"» ' ! > There the writer, calling to our re membrance, the fact, that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, used to speak of themselves as strangers, and travel ers stopping temporarily in this very Canaan, did by this mode of speech, declare that they were not at home in this Canaan, but were on their way to their father-land. Now it is plain, they did not consider Ur of the Chaldees, that father-land, for though able to return there, they never thought of such a thing. Hence they showed by their conduct, that the father-land, they were in quest of, is nothing less than a heavenly land—-which they expected to reach under the guidance of God, “by pa tient continuance in well-doing.” Now in this point of view, how is the promise of heavenly bliss condi tioned upon this command. The child does not come at once Into conscious contact with God—lt knows nothing of God, -nothing of its relations to God, and the duties con sequent upon those relations. But the child does know mother and fa ther, loves and obeys them. Now this Commandment lie* as it were midway between tho two tables of the law, and is equally the sure foundation of earthly and heavenly life. Now Father and Mother are the divine revelation to the infant, of God’s love, wisdom and power. The child gets insensibly the habit of loving Father and Mother, of be lieving their word, of obeying their commands. By and by this child’s soul, obeying the law of its creation progressing without end, and expansion without limit, comes to learn of a love and wisdom and power, beyond the love, wisdom, and power of father and mother, of a word greater, of author ity higher. Then just as a vine trained to grow upon a stake, when it has outtopped that stake must have something higher to cling to, or else trail on the ground, so the child, with tho proper home training, having come to that stage of progress, when it needs something higher than the earthly parent to cling to, is easily and naturally trained to fix its eternal faith in God—the everlasting God, to root its love in tho Father, its faith in the Word, and its hope iu the Spirit. The state and what we call the church, is nothing but the extension of tho family, and tho Family i* the nursery of both State and church, Tho church is called the family Ephesian* iii. 14,15. “For this cause I bow my knees unto the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom tho whole Family in heaven and earth is named." The German Baptists of the United State* are credited with giving 12,000,000 for mission pur pose* during the past your. JESUS AND MONEY, KEV. O. P. EACHES. When we think of Jesus we in stinctively think of purity, heavenly mindedness, forgivness, salvation, heaven. We do not naturally asso ciate him with eating, sleeping, the daily care of life, the purchase of daily food. But Jesus did have a use for money, he was dependent upon it for support, he knew how to care for money, he knew how to save it. In his carpenter days at Naza reth he worked for money. He re ceived his pay for services rendered. He bought clothing, perhaps paid house rent, cared doubtless for bis mother and the household. He knew how to live economically. In the days of his Messianship, when he had fed the five thousand, he gather ed up the fragments. There was no waste in the life of Jesus. In the days of his public ministry there was a constant need of money. This was supplied, largely, by the gift of friends. We have the names of some of these large hearted con tributors. Luke viii; 3. There was a treasurer for the enmmon fund. When provisions were needed, they were purchased out of this common fund. John iv; 8. There was noth ing of the beggar spirit about the Apostolic group. All through his ministry we find Jesus coming in contact with money, its use, its dan gers to the soul, the means of trans forming money into a blessing for the life that now is and the life that is to be. Jesus walked through a life on the earth with his eyes open. 1. Jesus sat by the treasury in the Temple. He saw people casting their money into the treasury. A poor widow attracted his attention. Perhaps he knew her. Her clothing may have been one of poverty. He noticed how much she cast in and the spirit with which she hallowed her offering. Many rich men cast in of their abundance. The by standers praised them for their liber ality. Jesus sat on his throne of judgment, giving praise to the widow for her liberality, giving condemna tion to the wealthy for their narrow ness of heart. Jesus still sits by the treasury. He knows how much each professing Christian gives, he knows the attitude of the heart, knows whether it is a gift in propor tion to one’s means. It may be that large Cenntenialo fferings will shrivel into nothingness under the ease of 4,is holy Cyes ain’t Ills starcEihg jud ment. Jesus knew what ought to he done with money, how much each one ought to give. Luke xxi; 1-4. 2. Jesus heard the disciples heap ing words of reproach upon the tender heart of Mary. They blamed her for throwing her money away. They said she ought to have been more prudent. All that was left of her thirty or fifty dollars was the perfume that filled the room. But Jesus had a wider outlook than they. There was a delightful feeling in his heart. There was a satisfied feeling in the heart of Mary. There was a something in the devoted act, so tin selfish, that it would move thousand of hearts in the after ages. Jesus taught that nothing can be really wasted that is done out of sincere love for him. It seemed like a sentimental thing, there was nothing tangible that could be seen a few hours afterwards, but its prompting spirit was so beautiful, that it won from Jesus words of the highest praise. She hath done what she could. Mary was prudent and far sighted in her seeming waste of money. Mark xiv 1-10. 3. Jesus taught that money may be used for enlarging our heayen. Money connot save, that is reserved for Jesus Christ alone. But money and property and the substance of this life may be so used that they will make heaven richer and larger. Jesus exhorts mon to make friends out of their money and possessions. Riches wrongfully pursued will drown the soul in perdition. Money rightly used may, under the guiding hand of God, be changed into a friend that will grant a welcome into the upper life. Money is a blessing if rightly used. Money is to be used in all faithfulness. It is as much a trust as are large mental endowments and largo opportunities in life. Whether a man has a hun dred dollars or a million, he must listen to tho words of Jesus in Luke xvi; 9. 4. Jesus said that it is more bless ed to give than receive. This is the only recorded saying of Jesus found outside of the four gospels. Paul is making an appeal for help to the faint-hearted and weak and struggling. He enforce* the joy and duty of this spirit of helpfulness by appealling to the life of Jesus. It is natural to enjoy the getting and keeping of money and the things of this life. It is C'hristlike to enjoy giving them away. The man who really enjoys giving hi* money away to the cause of righteousness, moved by a spirit of helpfulness, is living in the land of Beulah. He Is rapidly ripening for heaven. The very essence of Jesus was his delight in giving, giving himself, hi* counsel, hi* love, hi* life. The Christian life need* three things rightly mixed up into life, the duty of getting, the duty of keeping, the duty and luxury of giving. Industry the Savings | Bank, the hand of help, all are Chris tian privileges. If Acts xx; 35 were written on the hearts of the millions of baptized believers tho treasuries of our Societies would bo full to overflowing. Jesus loved to give money more than to get money. Are you a relation to Jesus? ’5. Jesus was never a rich man. He never was so onesidedly spiritual fn his ministry as to look upon mon ey as worthless or wicked. He was a poor man, but there were those who were poorer than he was. It is pleasant and instructive to know that Jesus was a benevolent man. He not only preached the duty of help fulness, his life was a constant prac tice of benevolence. The little inci dent in John xiii: 29; shows that it was the practice of Jesus and the Twelve to give to the poor. No worthy man or cause ever appealed to Jesus in vain. We may know that in the days of his life in Naza reth and in the days of his ministry he never shut his eyes or ears or heart or hand to any cause that would help men or glorify the Father. It is as easy to think of the multipli cation table going astray as to think of Jesus being insensible to any need that appealed for help. Many poor men and homes were made blessed by the personal ministry of Jesus in the gift of money, of help, of sym pathy and love. 6. Jesus gave money for the sup port of the Temple worship. He attended tfip worship, be also helped to support it. He protested that, rightly understood, he was under no obligation to support the Temple worship. Matt, xvii: 24-27, He paid the annual dues for himself and Peter. When at Nazareth he, with out doubt, helped regularly in the support of the worship. He gave his regular attendance, his devout worship, his helpfulness in all ways. The Synagogue in Nazareth had no more efficient helper than this pious carpenter, Jesus the Son of Joseph. The rulers could always depend on him. If any church member feels like shirking his duties in the church, in attendance, in worship, in giving, let him think of Jesus as a church member. If a man goes to church empty handed, it is because, as a rule he is empty hearted. No member can really love the church unless he helps the church. It may be said, in all truthfulness, that no duties came upon any member of the Nazareth Synagogue that were not cheerfully ; and abumlauviy uu-t by xJesurf the carpenter. When we think of Jesus we are to think of him as one of our race whose hand was accustomed to the handling of money. H e earned money, he spent money, he knew the use of it, he knew how to give it for holy uses, he knew how to help the poor. He saw the perils of it. He saw its power to crowd spiritual things out of the soul. He saw the peril of riches, how it makes the soul poor by keeping it out of heaven. We are to endeavor to get money, to use money, in such away as we think that Jesus would do if he were living in the centre of our lives. Os some things we are sure, no filthy lucre would overcome into his hands, it would all be holy money. .Mate rial things would never outweigh the spiritual, money would never crowd out manhood. It is a difficult problem that stands before each Christian, but one that ought to be solved, the getting and using of mon ey in away that will commend itself to the mind of Christ. Hightstown, N. J. ARE MODERN MISSIONS AS TAUGHT AND PRACTICED BY BAPTISTS SCRIPTURAL OR BIBLE MISSIONS? BY B. Ci. TUTT D. D. These scriptures seem to me to reveal no definite plan of missionary operations, It is, I think, clearly the purpose of our Lord to evangelize tho world through the instrumentality of His people—this is the meaning of the great commission. In plain and simple language it lays upon them this exalted privi lege—this world-wide duty of giv ing the gospel to the entire human race. Tho details of this commission and the minutia of its execution seem to be left by our Lord, as were many other matters pertaining to tho establishment of His kingdom to the judgment and common sense of His people who were henceforth to bo under the guidance of the Holy spirit. The one condition of the commis sion seems to be indicated in the words, “beginning at Jerusalem” and was afterwards amplified in the last interview which our Lord had with Hi* disciples—when ho said, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part* of the earth.” They began to discharge their duties under thi* commission on the day of Pentecost by declaring what they had seen and heard by preach ing the gospel, by witnessing for Je sus as Ho had commanded them. For some time Peter and John seem to have been the most promi nent leaders in tho now movement— VOL. 70—NO. 27. | the great body of the disciples con firming their testimony and giving them their moral and no doubt their pecuniary support. In a little while Stephen, like a blazing star appears upon the scene of missionary labors and his fiery zeal leads him at onco through a martyrs death to a martyrs crown. Then we catch a glimpse of Philip —the lone missionary, as he goes down between Jerusalem and Gaza to plant the seeds of the gospel in the heart of the Ethiopian Eunuch. Now comes the dispersion of tho disciples on account of the stoning of Stephen and the gospel takes wings and flies as far as Phoenice and Cypress and Antioch embedding itself jn heathen soil and establishing for itself headquarters for future missionary efforts. Now we see for the first time what seems to be organization in tho work of missions—or perhaps I should say a clearer revelation of the fact that all of Gods people were to bo inlisted in the work of giving the gospel to the world. The time bad now coma when the churches were to become recognized factors in the world’s evangeliza tion. The two greatest of missionary preachers, Barnabas and Saul were called by the spirit and set apart by the church at Antioch, and from henceforth the duty of the churches seems to be plain and well defined—■ namely—to give to those whom the spirit thus called—their prayerful sympathy—their cordial co-opera tion and their cheerful and hearty financial support. The subsequent epistles of Paul are very clear in the enforcement of this duty. It is true wo have intimation that his heroic spirit chafing under the shameful neglect of some of the churches voiced itself in an express ed determination to be “chargablo to none of them.” He says to tho Corinthians, “I robbed other churches, taking wages of them to do your service, and when I was present with you and wanted I was chargablo to no man ; for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Mac edonia supplied, and in all things I have kept myself from being bur densome to you, and so will I keep myself” 2 Cor. 11 8-9. .In the next chapter of this same epistle he seems to repent of, his ■ hasty for he says “for what is it wherein ye were in ferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burden some to you? Forgive me this wrong.” That Antioch was tho headquar ters of Apostolic missionary effort and that the other churches when organized became the helpers and supporters of the great enterprise seems clear to me from the Script ures. Paul especially commends the churches of Macidonia for their zeal and helpfulness in the great work. That the organization was more simple then than now is no doubt true. There was less machinery then, but that may be due to the fact that the churches were fewer, that they covered a smaller territory, and that their resources were more limited. One thing seems to have been true then as now—namely, that special messengers or agents were necessary to stir up the churches to a sense of their duty in the matter of benevolence. Paul tells the Corinthians of the noble liberality of the churches of Macedonia ami says- “We desired Titus that as he had begun, so ho would finish in you the same grace (or gift) also. For indeed he ac cepted the exhortation and being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, and not that only, but who was chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord and declaration of your ready mind." 2 Cor. 17-19. Under the active ministry of Bar nabas and Saul the wod of God ran and was glorified. In the face of the persecutions of their foes and the listlessness and in differnce of their friends from the market places and synagogues of the cities—from private houses— from the river side—-from prisons, and from the palaces of kings they preached the good news to all classes and conditions of men. Cyprus, Antioch in Pisidia, Icon him, Lystra, Durbe Cilicia, Lycao nia, Galatia, Troos, Philippi, Thes salonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Macedonia and Rome heard the word of the Lord and to a greater or less extent felt it* power. The Scripture* do not show that the whole church was engaged il> personal missionary work—that is, that every member was engaged in tho work as were Barnabas and Saul and others who were specially called to active, personal participation in it, but they do teach that every mem ber of the churches was expected to bear hi* part in the labor and re sponsibility of propagating the truth