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ESTABLISHED 1821.
The Christian Index.
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“The sins of teachers,” says a Welsh
divine, “are the teachers of sin.” We
may say also that the sins of parents are
the parents of sin.
There are some forms of wealth which
we need not covet with any very great
intensity of feeling. As, for example,
the laces possessed by the Vanderbilt
family to the value of a half-million dol
* lars. Rather a poor investment for money
this.
God is not content to forbid the Jews
to eat of the owl; he enters into specifl-
, cation—“the Ittle owl, and the great
owl, and the horned owl,” Dent. 14:10.
His law is “exceeding broad;” where it
condemns a sin—no form of that sin is
excepted from the condemnation—no
inner, hidden heart-form, no outward,
u nabashed deed-form.
Among the wonders of Corea is a cave
from which there issues at all seasons
an ice-cold wind, with such force that
even a strong man is unable to stand
agaiast it. This cave and its wind an
swers, in things ecclesiastical, to that
dignity of formalism on which a church
may plume itself, while its ardor is
chilled and its strength laid prostrate by
it. Alas, how many a church is dying of
• that dignity without knowing it!
A woman in Lousiana, ninety years o'
age, frequently walks five miles to
church. There are many neglecters of
the sancutary, younger in years and of
both sexes, who ought to blush over the
contrast between their own course and
this example of devotion to the house of
the Lord. Manifestly, they love that
house less; is it because they less love
the I ord lijmsulf A question never
to be dismissed lightly.
The Washington Post sees in Grover
Cleveland, President of the United
States and Leo XIII, Pope of Rome,
“the two greatest rulers of the earth."
The two, so far as we know , have only
this’one point of resemblance officially,
that (to use the Post's phrase) they are
t “of the earth," in other words are
earthy (though this is hardly the mean
ing of the Post.) By what standard of
greatness they are ranged together in
the forefront of such rulers, is a matter
that puts our comprehension at fault,
and we turn it over to the reader for
solution if he cares to solve it.
< hie of the literary journals quotes
from the Episcopal Prayer-Book the
, words, “As it was in the beginning, is
i now, and ever shall be," and then cred
its the quotation to the Bible. This, we
presume, is the fruit simply of hurry or
i flurry, and betrays no disposition to
bring the Bible down to the plane of the
Prayer-Book, or to bring the Prayer-
Book up to the plane of the Bible. If
these two really stand to each other in
the relation of mother and daughter, as
devines of the Altitudinarian school de
light in telling us. still there is ample
room for the fulfilment of the predic
tion of “the daughter set at variance
against the mother"— a position which
that journal would hardly trouble it
self to call in question.
The prophet Jeremiah tells us that
“Rachel, weeping for her children, re
fused to be comforted because they
were not,’’ This was a fault in her, a
grievous fault. But not a peculiar one.
It has outlived her, has come down to
our day. has found a place in us. We
sin the sin of .refusing to be comforted’
when visited by affliction. The Lord
who sends the affliction, sends the com
fort also, and we refuse it. To that ex
tent we are our own attiicters; and the
afflction which comes from ourselves is
forthat reason the bitterest, since there
mingles with it the sin of not allowing
the Lord to put the sweetness of his
comforting into it. Onr own hands
hold anti wield the scourge, and it is
we who show no mercy to ourselves.
Rev. Charles Edwards, pastor of the
, Baptist church at Freeport, X. Y,. has
been dismissed from that position by an
• aggrieved ami indignant flock. His of
* fence was the writing of a book which
professes to recount the adventures of a
newspaper reporter in the Gehenna of
lost souls. He offered in apalogy only
the statement that he no more be
lieved in the existence of a material
hell than he believed that any equatic
animal swimming in a geographic sea
ever swallowed Jonah. It is scarcely to
be regretted that, without designing at
the outset, he has lifted the veil from
the sceptical, frivolous and irreverent
f nature which must have breathed
through all his ministrations as preacher
and pastor a harmful because unspirit
ual influence. Better a vacant pulpit
than a pulpit which is rather a world
echo than a witness, on Christ’s spirit,
for Christ’s truth.
“Cast thy burden on the Lord.” says
1 the Psalmist. Young’s Bible Transla
tion and the margin of the Revised Ver
sion render this passage: "Cast on the
Lord that which he hath given thee.”
Our burdens are gifts, then: gifts of di
vine wisdom and divine love. They are
things which God has made ready for us
by appointment or by permission; they
are the Fattier’s heritage to us. “He
' will sustain thee,” continues the Psalm
ist. He gives the burden, then, that he
may bear it for us and with us; that we
may know the riches of his love uphold
ing us under what might overweigh and
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX.
crush if we were left to bear it alone.
And so the Revised Version renders
Psa. 68:19, “Blessed be the Lord who
daily beareth our burden, even the God
who is our salvation.” This is what we
know him by, and by this two we know
our salvation in him; to wit, that we find
him bearing the burden he gives us-
Welcome gift, even daily, for the sake of
this communion in sorrow with him
e very day!
MRS. MARTHA F- CRAWFORD-WORK
AMONG THE CHINESE WOMEN.
W.m. B. McGakity.
Mrs Martha F. Crawford is a daughter
of the late John L. S. Foster, of Tusca
loosa Alabama. For forty-two years she
has been a missionary of the Southern
Baptist Convention to North China. Men
tion was made in last week's Index of
how she was married to Dr. T, I’. Craw
ford. Her work shows the truth of,
“Who so tindeth a wife, iindeth a good
thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord."
Mrs. Crawford was about the first single
lady to apply to our Board for appoint
ment to a foreign field. Iler work has
been principally among the women in
Tung Chow and the surrounding villages,
and in the school room. When she be
gan work in this section in ’til foreigners
were almost unknown, ami it was very
hard to gain access to their homes.
In China there is strict separation of
the sexes. Among the higher classes the
apartment for men and women are kept
separate,and even brothers and sisters do
not mingle after the former are sent to
school. The women of wealth spend
their time at home doing fancy work,
making their toilet, and in chit-chat.
Much time is spent in selecting material
for dresses, which are very simple in
pattern, eight yards of cloth a yard wide
making a complete suit.
If the two hundred million women in
China are reached it will be through fe
male missionaries. Male missionaries
cannot reach them, and even if they could
cannot win them. They need the sym
pathy of Christian mothers and sisters.
Surely their condition should arouse our
sympathy. The height of a Chinese wo
man's ambition is to give birth to a son.
If she has not yet borne sons she often
destroys her female offspring at birth,
hoping that she may the sooner have a
boy. We can easily see a reason for this.
A son supports his parents in their life,
and worships and gives their spirits nec
essary nourishment after death. The
daughters are mairied early ami are en
tirely lost to their parents. The wife
worships the ancestors of her husband.
Just enough girls to assist the mother in
her domestic duties are desired, more
is considered a calamity. Hence many
girl-babies are killed at birth, or in after
years sold as slaves. A missionary tells
of meeting a baby-merchant in South
China who began the day with six ba
bies for sale, but sold only half before
night. He would gladly have cleared
out stock at a dollar a piece. Sometimes
these babies are bought by parents ami
reared for the wives of sons, or for do
mestics.
The lot of the wife is not much better.
She is the slave of her husband and mo
ther-in-law. she “may be divorsed for
sc holding, barreunese, lasciviousness,
leprosy, disobedience to her husbands
parents and thieving.” After giving
birth to a son she is considered of some
importance. As the older members of
the family die, she assumes greater and
greater author ty.
Mrs. Ciwwford began her work among
the women with an honest conviction
that Christ could tearaway these shack
les. In North China the houses have
“dead walls on the street with closed en
trance." It is quite difficult to gain ad
mittance, and when you do you may meet
with only frowns, such was the case
when she began in 1861.
From the first Mrs Crawford became
greatly interested in her school children,
ami has thus brought many to Christ. In
18*0 out of a school of Jfifty-seven. seven
were baptized. But her principal work
has been visiting cities and “villages to
destribute tracts and tell the gospel.”
How much work she has done, we can
not estimate, but we can imagine when
we consider her parish of over eight hun
dred towns ami villages,, and her heart,
almost consumed with love for her coun
try women. While Dr. Crawford was in
America (79-80) she held prayer-meeting
for the women, had general oversight of
the churchs (the native pastor did the
preaching) ami visited in the Fall two
hundred and twenty villages. Foryears
it has been her custom to make long
journeys into the country, accompanied
by the younger ladies of the mission, or
by native helpers. In 1880 one thousand
visits to villages are reported by Mrs.
Holmes, Miss Lottie Moon ami Mrs.
Crawford. She modestly says in her re
port, 188", “To the best of my ability in
season ami out of season I have .joyfully
embraced all opportunities for making
known the excelling riches of the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ.” By constant
kindness she has won the confidence of
the people and now has comparitively
free access to their homes. The more i
thoughtful people thank them for bring -
ing the gospel to their doors.
Such labors for so long a time ought to ■
bring about greater results, so we think. |
But consider that China has existed un
der present customs and ideas for twen- i
ty-five hundred years. There must be !
much seed sowing, and little reaping at
present, God’s promises stand as an as
surance of the future harvest. These
have been the constant stay of Mrs.
Crawford. She is a woman of great will
power, of unusual energy, ami thorough
consecration. Her letters to the Foreign
Mission Journal are long and always
cheerful, The work may not be what
she has hoped and prayed for, but the
future is always bright. vete
ran ami entitled to rest, she continues her
labor. In the report of 1892 we find
"Mrs. Crawford has oversight of eight
or ten villages, where spending four to
ten days at each visit she tells the story
of Christ, which is repeated among the
villagers.”
In 1883 Rev. Win. F. Beeinbridge, of
Providence, R. 1., made a two years tour
of Christian misssons. He speaks thus
of North China and our workers, "Far
to the North is Shautung. We felt us if it
was the lovliest spot in the world. The
Missionaries cannot expect more than
one or two calls per year outside the na
tive population. Mrs. Crawford is con
fessedly one of the most competent mis
sionary women in all the foreign tield.
1 am glad that the little Christian circle
far oil in dense heathenism has the added
companionship of the Presbyterian mis
sion. It was a privilege to preach to
them all together: but oh. they preach
ed far more to me by the evident conse
cration of their lives to Christ, in a work
in itself so lonesome, so repulsive, so
wearing to the body and so harrowing to
the spirit."
This is the opinion of an outsider, and
yet some Baptists say that our mission-
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 14, 1593.
aries are lazy and selfish. God help ou r
denomination to be worthy of sue h noble
men and women.
THE WOMAN AND HER LOST COIN-
BY REV. F. C. JOHNSON.
In this parable the Christ who
was “anointed with the spirit
of Jehovah to—publish good news to
the afflicted, (in Isaiah 6i : i and 2)
continues his most meek defense
against the accusing Pharisees.
This is the parable, A poor woman
had lost one drachm out of ten,
which she had saved. A drachm
is about 18 cent* of our money.
Her whole stock then was about
81. So. Now this was what her
industry had enabled her to earn
above her necessary expenditure,
and which her economy had stored
up for some future need. This
sum, painfully earned and fru
gally preserved is precious to
her. One piece is lost, she does
not think the loss trifling. Ah ! to
day the poor do not feel the loss of
nickles and dimes to be trifling.
She is distressed at the loss, and
nothing but finding the lost coin
can comfort her. She lights a lamp.
The houses of the poor having gen
erally no opening but the door,
were too dark even in day-time to
find a small thing like this coin.
She takes a broom and carefully
sweeps, every crack and crevice, -
is examined, into every nook i
and corner peers the poor
woman, until at last to her
great joy she finds the lost coin.
Who blames her for this careful
searching for the lost money. Do
her friends and neighbors? No!
they sympathize with her and re
joice too.
Now our Lord leaves the appli
cation to his hearers. He himself!
is the woman who has lost the 1
coin. The coin is sinful men.
But observe here, the object of the
parable is not to set forth man’s !
sin, or his stupidity or anything of
that sort. The object is to justify I
himself, for receiving to his com
pany and eating w ith pjiblicans and !
sinners. The parable shows how j
he regards man, i. e. how God our !
maker rtgards us, even the lowest j
of us and the meanest of us, whom
our fellow men expel from their [
society,and regard only as tilth to be ■
guarded against.
N'ow what a striking end •r>-v>t •
apt description of man is this, call
ing him a coin ! What is a coin?
A coin is some precious metal
which only the sovereign power in
the State can make. The coin
current in Christs day was stamp
ed with Cesar's image and had a j
legend showing its value. Man is
a coin from heaven's mint, issued
bv the sovereign of the Universe.
This coin, man, is stamped with
Jehovah's image and superscription.
So we read on the first page of the
Divine Book. “And God said let
us make man in our own image
after our likeness, etc,” and again,
“so God created man in his own
image.” This is celebrated by Is
rael’s sweet singer in the Sth 1
Psalm.
“What is man that thou should’st j
be mindful of him? Or the son of i
man that thou should’t visit him? j
Thou hast made him a little lower :
than the angels. With glory ami j
honor hast thou crowned him, and
thou hast set him over the works of
thy hand. All things hast thou put
under his feet.”
Everywhere throughout the ,
Scripture, this is what distinguish
es man from all other thing* to us ,
visible, whether in Heaven above, 1
or on earth beneath. It is, that ■
man is God’s image. The Sun is
not God’s image. Neither is the
moon. Nothing save man bath
stamped upon its make, the image
and likeness of God the maker,
and it is this fact, that man is God's
image, which constitutes the sin of
murder.
When God, as I may say, reor
ganized society in the family of .
Noah—observe at that time there j
were no Jews and Gentiles, no var- ,
ieties of race, no national distinc- |
tions, and territorial divisions. The |
population of this globe, was one 1
family, related as husband and wife, |
parent and child, brothers and si*- |
ters. This was society, the whole 1
race of man, from whom all the '
varieties of race, that now inhabit
all the continents and islands have
sprung. Now, I say God, in thus ■
anew, starting of human society, j
laid it down as the fundamental
law of society, that the murderer
should be put to death. In this
God armed society with the sword, |
and the highest authority, the au
thority to take the life God had
given. And God did also cause I
mankind to know that the murder- I
er could not by any means escape
detection and punishment. For
his eyes, which with sleepless vigil
ance police the earth,will make in
quisition for human blood, and his
hand will inflict the merited penal
ty, even though his deputy, the
State neglect its duty. But what
is the guilt of the homicide? It is :
this, that the brother he slew was !
God’s image.
The world has become filled with ,
murders, and earth is soaked with ;
the blood of man, made in the I
imaged of God. Not only what
we call robbers and assasins, are
murderers. The duelist is a mur
derer, great war like heroes, and
whole nations have even for cen
turies at a time been murderers.
Every war save a defensive war,en
tered upon only after all just means
of averting it have been exhausted
in vain. Every such war is pure
and simple murder by the whole
sale. All the f le so acquired is
shame, and Mae dis the murder
! er hath no pai in the Kingdom of
God and Christ.
In point of ‘ tit is the very
j object of Ch, mission on earth,
J to restore the sense of brotherhood
between man and man, to make all
I men on the face of the earth, to
recognize the fact that they are
brothers ; no matter how far apart
the places of th r birth, how diff
erent so even the climes they
inhabit, however varied their cos
tumes and colors, however unlike
the languages in which they utter
the thoughts of their hearts. How,
now, should this great Healer of
mankind, bring it to pass that these
so dissimilar and discordant varie
ties of men, more widely separated
i by murderous hatred, than bv in
tervening oceans and mountains,
how, I say, should He bring it to
pass, that they in this seeming di
versity, recognize their unity, in
place of hating each other as ene
mies, love each other as brothers?
how? By teaching them that they
are all, no matter by what names
calley, or by what colors distin
guished, they are ail the sons of
the same father God, who made
them all of one blood to dwell on
the face of all this earth. All man’s
disparities disappear in God. The
unity of the race is in God.
Man with the image and super
scription of Jehovah stamped
upon his upright form and
face divine—Man is the lost coin.
Now the coin didn’t know any
image and superscription was on it.
knew not its worth, its mistress, or
her toil to acquire, or her economy
in saving it, nor her sorrow for its
loss. The coin did not know that
the mistress was Joking for it,
didn’t know it was lost. The coin
did not help the mistress to find it,
it lay senseless in the house corner
whereto it had rolled, without mo
tion ami without an concern about
it* being lost,
Man without revelation is ignor
ant of his origin, nature, worth
and destiny. We have no little of
ancient literature, from 2000 to
4000 years old, Chinese, Indian,
Egyptian, Greek and Roman.
Where in all this have we a hint
that God the maker of heaven and I
earth is the common father of all ;
men, ami that all men are therefore
brothers? Christ is the great
teacher of this greatest moral so
cial and. political truth, and Christ
as yet has been the only human be
ing, that has throughout his whole
life conducted himself, as if this 1
wa* tile truth. We are still simply
incapable of it. I have long been of
the opinion that earth has yet seen
but one statesman, and his name is
Jesus of Nazareth, who) is called I
the Christ. There is no question I
before that muddled and befuddled I
assembly in Washington, D. C„ :
called the Congress of the United
States, that could’nt lie settled in j
five minutes, if the world was |
Christian, in fact the difficulties i
could’nt arise in a world where
Christ’s spirit ruled the conduct of
men.
Man has great worth, great in
strinsic, inherent, natural worth.
The drachm was a silver coin, a
precious metal in itself, and made
more valuable by this image and
superscription of the Imperator,
which made it a measure of values,
and a median of exchange to all
the nations who dwell around the
Mi<lland sea.
So thou, oh, man, whosoever '
thou art, thou art something of
more worth than suns and moons
and stars, that shine from Heaven 1
upon thee. Thou art worth more ;
than gold and silver and all preci- i
otts stones, more than the entire i
planet with all its treasurers. The
fact is, this earth and all in it is put ;
under thy feet. To speak about
high birth, and honorable descent, |
and blue blood and aristocracy, |
who can be more nobly descended j
than him, who may with truth call
God the King of kings and Lord of
lords, his father? Thou, my broth
er, thou art the image and likeness
of God, of Heaven the heir, of I
earth the Lord. Surely thou art 1
something noble, and if ever the |
famous phrase “nobles oblige,” j
was proper in the mouth of a Nor- j
man Knight of high renown, it is 1
proper in thy mouth. The noble
man held that his nobility obliged ,
him to do all things, no matter how
dangerous or toilsome or distasteful, |
that were honorable and becoming
a noble born. He did not count
money, or ease, or life, worth any
thing without what he esteemed
honor. And thou child of God, j
well may'st thou think, my noble I
birth, the greatness of my father,
the character of my family, my I
own self respect, oblige me to do I
all duty, to speak the truth i
from the heart, to love my'
God supremely, to love my
neighbor as myself, to do all
the good as 1 have opportunity, to
do no evil, nay not to think evil,
or speak it. All virture is my
birthright and my duty. It is not
necessary that 1 live, but it is neces
sary that I perform all duty.
In fact, my brother, you consider
ing that God recognize you as his
child, and has called you unto his
Heavenly Kingdom and glory, by
his son Jesus Christ, you will not
miss it if you regard all truth, all
wisdom and all goodness, and
everything that is called good and
noble proper to you ; and on the
other hand all meaness, baseness,
lying, stealing, stinginess, profli
gacy and such like, as utterly unbe
coming to you.
In this parable,the great Teacher,
He that spake as never man spoke,
in this parable he makes it plain
that God prizes man most highly,
and hath no pleasure in his death.
God must from the very necessity
of the Divine paternal love, do ail |
that God can do to recover lost I
men.
1. God’s view and estimate of j
man. This is set forth in the wo- I
man’s estimate of her lost coin. 1
The man may think himself worth- |
less. Not so, God his maker. God |
estimates man’s value, to be some- I
thing very great. Yea, if the man
be set in one scale and this planet
in the other, then man will out
weigh the planet. God prizes man
above all else that he has created.
This, to my mind, is very plain
from the very words, in which the
work of creation is related. Os
light, of the expanse, of the lumi
naries, ’tis said let them be. Os
the vegetable kingdom, “Let earth
sprout grass, etc.” Os fish, “Let
the waters teem with shoals, or
swarms of animate life.” Os fowls,
“Let fowls tly in the expanse of
heaven.” Os land animals, “Let
earth bring forth, etc.” But when
it comes to the creation of man, it
is said, “Let :.s make man in our 1
image, after our likeness.” Now first ;
of all make. This is something, air,
earth, or ocean cannot originate of
themselves. This is no evolution
out of shell fish, or out of apes.
Let us make God’s power immedi
ately, or not mediately through air,
earth, or water is required. Now
man, when he makes anything, !
uses his hands, he takes the thing i
.1 i... will witfa bis.- 1 _nais 1
shapes, so as to answer an end pre- j
conceived and settled in his mind,
fits part to part, handles the thing
he is making.
Now 1 don't mean to be under
stood, that God has hands like we
have. But I do mean, that this
word, let us make, intimates a
direct, personal work of God,
something quite different from
what God did. With grass, fish
and land animals. He could bid
the earth or the sea breed or pro
duce them. But all the powers of
sin, air, earth or water cannot make
man. God must call on God to make
man.
As to the human body earth or
dust, is the raw material. But
it is the hand ol God that manipu
lates this dust. When the dust is
fashioned into the body as we see
it now, head, trunk and extremities,
skin, bones, muscles, nerves fila
ments, tissues, conduits, etc., it is
still likeness. Now comes a some
thing beside the hand of God. I
figure to myself God raising this
likeness frame to its feet, and plac
ing his mouth in contact with the
nostrils, breathing the animating
breath from the mouth of God
through the nostrils into the body,
and inflating the lungs with air
from the atmosphere around the
throne of Him that liveth forever.
In that inspiration is the immortal,
the inherently everlasting soul, in
troduced into its “house of clay.”
This immortal essence which the
waters did not breed, which the
earth did not bring forth, whose ori
gin is from heaven, and is the breath
of Jehovah—past all human think
ing—Ulis heavenly and divine es
sence looketh through the eyes,
which are the windows of its clayey
house, forth upon the Universe, and
in the finite, sees and clearly pep
ceives, what no mere animal soul
brought forth from and by the word
quickened earth can see—sees the
Infinite—in the things made seis the
Maker. It listens at its telephone
the ear, and hears the voice of the
maker—with the tips of its fingers
it feels after and lays hold on the
Omnipresent. It tastes and smells in
all savorsand scents, him who is the
author of all sweetness, and all fra
grance.
“Let us make.” Here seems to
be deliberation, taking counsel
as of something that is difficult—an
exhortation and encouraging to at
tempt something greater than has
yet been done, add as though there
might be considerations not wholly
without weight against this making.
Ceratinly I read in 6th Genesis.
“And it repented Jehovah (or in our
common English) Jehovah was sor
ry, that he had made this same man,
or this human race on the earth, and
it grieved him (or it cut him to his
heart) at his heart.”
But again let us—Who are meant
by this us? Isaiah asks the question
“With whom took he counsel ? Was
it with the angels—l read in Job
“he imputes folly to his angels—and
I read again some where in the
Psalms, “He maketh his angels
winds.”
The terrific wind a few days ago,
that swept along the coast of Geor
gia and South Carolina—that wind
was an angel of Jehovah. But Ino
where read that he makes counsel
lors out of his angels. But again
“with whom did Elohim take coun
sel, when he said let us make man.
I can answer that question out of
the Hebrew scriptures. In Prov
erbs Sth chap., I read not exactly as
King James’ version: “Jehovah be
got me. the beginning of his way.”
The verb here, is the same word as
Eve uses about the birth of Cane.
He does not say in the beginning,
but the beginning. His way means
the work of creation, before the
work began. This one was begot
ten and appointed to his office. He
goes on “before his works of old.
From everlasting, I was anointed,
1 from the beginning—before the first
elements of the earth. Right here
Paul found what he says Colossians
1:15.
“Not the first born of every crea
ture,” but “begotten before the whole
creation.” And John his “In the
beginning was the Logos.’’ Further
in the above quoted chapter of Prov
erbs, the speaker says, “When he
prepared the heavens, 1 was there :
when he set a compass upon the
face of the deep, when he established
the cloud above etc., “Then was I at
his side, the architect.” Now a man
desiring some great building takes
counsel with his architect. Here
now is one of that august counsel,
to which reference is made when it
is said “Let us make.” I say then,
the very word in which the creation
of man is related—show his pre
eminent dignity, his rank in creation’s
scale, and the Creators estimate of
his worth. With this I think well
agrees the Christ’s Word. “God so
loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten son, that whosoever
believeth on him shall not perish
but have eternal life.” Here oh
man is thy worth as God views thee.
Next what is Christ doing in the
company of the publicans and sin
ners? He is seeking to save them.
He was sent to seek out and save
God’s lost coins. To let poor fall
en, sinful, miserable man, kn.Gy that
his heavenly ’ ther !■»’ed hipj) q"«t-T
in his fallen, miserable C'jViition.
“God conimendeth his love to »i 2. in
that while we were vet sinners Christ !
j died for us.”
I Every one of us know so well if
1 he have lost money how glad we
I are to find it. God regards me as
! money lost, he does not long to see
me damned, does not rejoice in my
death. Did you not hear, when he
| spake unto Ezekiel aying, “Say
I unto them, “As I live,” saith the
Lord Jehovah, “I have no pleasure
' in the death of the wicked; butthat
the wicked turn from his way and
i live ; turn ye, turn yt from your evil
ways and live; for why will ye die,
: oh house of Israel.” So then the
I sinner has no reason to despair
God desires his salvation, as he him
self desire* to find a lost piece of
| property. If he is not saved it is
not God’s fault. This is expressed
jin Isaiah. “What more could have
i been done to my vineyard, that 1
have not done in it.” It gladdens
I God, when the sinner turns from
his evil ways. It is with him. God
cannot force him to turn out of “the
way that leadeth to destruction.”
He can only exhort him to do so,
reason with him and point out the
folly of persisting in that way. As
soon as the sinner wills to turn from
his evil way—the coin is found and
there is joy in heaven.
CHINESE FAMILY LIFE.
I
BV REV. C. W. PRUITT.
Chinese never become of age, but
are children in the house of their
father until the father’s death. Thus
we always have three or four gener
ations living under one roof.
In such circumstances one would
expect misunderstandings. And
here your expectation is not disap
pointed. Yesterday I had scarcely
gotten in from church when I was
told that there was a stranger
at the door desiring to speak with
me. 1 found that he was in search
of a runaway “boy" of forty. This
“boy” had left home because of a
; fit of anger on the part of his father,
and had declared that he was com-
I ing to my house. The old man had
! repented and was in such a state of
longing for him that he couldn’t eat.
I was sorry to have to tell*< the
j messengers that I had neither seen
I nor heard of the runaway. For the
family is a nice one and upon the
i whole unusually orderly. It is sad
to have the father away from
his children under such circum
j stances who are themselves almost
; grown. I hope he will turn up
soon.
Another case is that of a man of
my acquaintance who holds the fam
ily together by the fact that Iris fa
ther still lives though he himself
has assumed the management there
of on account of the father’s ineffi
ciency. Naturally the younger broth-
VOL. 70—NO. 36.
s er resents many things that he does,
> and threatens to leave which would
I be very embarrassing all round.
1 The old man would have no home,
i the flourishing business would be
destroyed and the younger brother
, would go to the bad for he has not
the moral stamina for standing alone.
I Still another case is that of a fa
-1 ther and a son who are in the same
employ. The son undertook to dic
tate to the father whereupon ensued
a quarrel and much talk of separa
, ration.
' Our way of having a clear cut
understanding and a voluntary,
• legal separation when the boy is
twenty one is much the best. I am
sure there is much less friction, and
much more manliness -
This involved family life is an un
told hinderance to Christianity. A
man is scarcely ever free here to act
as he pleases. Becoming a Christian
in almost all cases involves even fi
nancially many others who may be
full of hatred for the way. The
man who accepts the Saviour has
many a difficult and delicate ques
tion to adjust.
Hwanghien, July 24, 1893.
“I AM NOT MAD.”
BY JNO. G. MCCALL.
Last Sunday morning class No. 1
of the Quitman Baptist church was
reciting Acts 26: 19-32, Internation
al Lessons, when we reached this
statement: “I am not mad.” Then
the inquiry arose, Which was the
emphatic word in this short sentence?
Some members of the class said
“not,” some said “mad,” others said
“Ilet the reader conclude in his
own mind—and why—before pro
ceeding to read further. It is al
ways wise to ascertain upon what
word in a sentence the emphasis
rests, in order to appreciate fully the
meaning and force of what the writer
or speaker is seeking to inforce. In
this instance the majority of the class
favored the word “I” as most em
phatic. If this is true, then some
one present was mad, but not the
Apostle.
The charge was much learning had
made the Apostle
j each—tiie cover
being candid
cape from the'%) - ee
exclaimed emWt^Pe|tus” — '
tiie king a
writings” of M. A d
ets ’
am o yV .•
Hie views expres^Tl Ays’rijstjwuse
of a mad-man, but ar<risfy) qjprdi^’ 0 *
truth ami soberness.
trary, for a man or .>
that they are tiie words *
mind shows madness, JbSuij? 5
not in tiie speaker. “I”
some one else may be. Xr
\\ ho are these sitting in tlie o 48
torium of Festus? King ,
was the son of Austobuius, v
son of Herod the Great, neph^vj,of
Herod Antepas, and brother of
dias—a family of blood and <
ery; and it would be fair to
that he had been trained to despiae,y> !
the followers of Jesus, and to mur-\J
der them was a virtue. The char
acter of those Royal judges may also
be fairly understood by the promi
nence given the woman Bernice,
who was tiie sister of Herod Agrippa
and Drusilla, and wife of her own
uncle, afterwards became an in ceste;
then to cover her disgrace, married
Poleino, king of Cilicia. She then
abandoned this husband and associ
ated herselt with Vespasian, such a
cliaiacter sitting prominently among
tiie persons who made the court to
hear Paul in his defence, a man of
magnificent intellect, profound learn
ing, splendid character, whose heart
and mind had been renewed’by the
Spirit of God, whose hands were not
only not stained, but whose consci
ence was void of offense toward
God and man, by reason of a life of
fairhful service in behalf of Agrippa
and his nation, for ho was a Jew.
This court was intoxicated with
sin of the deepest die ; with hearts
lost to the first principles of common
humanity; consciences all clouded
over and callous by crime ; minds
lost to the power of discrimination
between right and wrong, looking
only for bribes and personal aggran
disement : it is not at all surprising
that Paul’s learning and logic shall
seem to be madness and frenzy to
them. lam not, but you are mad.
I have seen men who were drunk,
but who regarded themselves sober
and every other man drunk. They
honestly thought so, and if you
would question the fact, they would
not only declare it, but under
take to prove it.
There is another fearful fact de
monstrable in the depravity of the
human heart and mind—that some
characters have treated right and
wrong, truth and error, with such
indifference that they lose the power
Continued on the B'h page.