Home and Foreign Journal, February 1870

кшаиявиздсд “PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE.” — .‘‘MY PEOPLeMre DESTROYED POR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.” Vol. 2 — New Series. RICHMOND, VA., FEBRUARY 1870. - - - - . . - * No. 10— Whole Uoi22. Pablished Monthly Ъу the Foreign and Domestic fin | ста» & Jamfla gmftM. TER3IS: *ai'LlSj57"— «л"1" CD. p«r«m. - *• “» p"’™ 5 00 10 00 IS 00 r.0r"T’ir IIL™, to <m. ponon - — - . - - 1» 00 nr* HnnJrw 1 cop l(> в», pet Ьа* l*e«i load «nd preenlog. It la a nrccmltv ТЬ- *'го?"Л,£,. ьт .И the Boards л* well ** the church ph of the South. By ,Ь1сЬ Ьм ***“ 1 -.'.Kail b« .ble to brin* before oar people the curliest Infor- ita moDihiy 19*09, ojbf\t object* «ontcinpUted by the Southern Baptist Coo- Bt*m b«*n®* jntrodudD? It into their churchee will be able thus to make ^rk,^orleb»mii«ar with the whole miauonary enterprise, and «©cure more n^®l7n.b*fll'^Hte^tthrtbe Urgwt poe*n>Je U?t,an<J the meney encloee-L £mrtbymali»tour ,n <***** registered letter*, or checks on t*ntl’Adire5«.He“ a>u> Г1®110* JevaNAU PJchmond. Yft. lump f§i;ss.i0H fpanl. RICH3I034D, VA. 2^7. JAS. B. TAYLOB, . Cor. Secretary. GIVING. Tba duty of giving money to promote the Lord’s cause is generally admitted. And yet this' duty is vciy imperfectly performed by most professing Chris¬ tians. The qneetion naturally arises to the mind of every thoughtful disciple — How should I orvK? Each one who properly considers the question lrilLdecidc : 1. I ought to give, as 4 God hath prospered?’ — that is, in proportion to the means placed in my hands. The widow, with her two mites, is not relieved from the obligation, ar.d the rich arc called upon to give according to their abundance. . 2. I should give liberally — not in stinted mea- rure. 3. I ought to give cheerfully — not grudgingly. 4. My gifts sh'oald be the result of principle — not of mere whim, or under the influence of exciting ap¬ peals ; I should inform myself in respect to proper objects, and purpose in my heart to give. о. I ought lo give frequently. This is God’s plan: “On the first day of the week let every one of yon lay by him in store as God liath prospered.” Wnr should I QIVB? 1. It is God’s will. Helias commanded it, just аз he Баз commanded - repentance, .ifaith^and bap- -- - u -- — ... — contrived to give so much, replied that it was easily done by Pau\s precept in 1 Cor. xvi, 2, “Upon * 3 ocr day of the week let every one lay by him . soo m store, as God has prospered him.” “I earn,” said he, one day with another, about a dollar a day, anil I can without inconvenience to myself or fami- V i Ja7 by five cents of this sum for charitable pur- I,0*esi ,‘hls. amounts to thirty cents a week. My wile takes in sewing and washing, and earns some- tnmg like two dollars a week, and she lays by ten cents of that My children, each of them, cam a smiling or two, and are glad to contribute their pen- ny , so that, altogether, we lay by us in store, .forty cents a-wcek — and if wc have been unusually prosper¬ ed, , we contribute something more. The weekly amount, is deposited every Sunday morning in a box kept for that purpose, and reserved for future use. Ihus, by these small earnings, wc liavc learned that it ra more blessed to give than to receive. The yearly- amount saved in this way is about twenty-five doi- jars, and X distribute this among the various nenevo- lent societies, according to the best of ray judgment ” The following is a form of a pledge or covenant : “Believing that the Scripture system of benevo¬ lence requires every one statedly ‘to lay by him in store, as God has prospered him,’ I engage on every Sabbath, or at other stated periods, to set apart such portion of what God hath given me, as my judgment aud conscience shall dictate, to be sacredly applied to charitable objects, according to my senso Of their re¬ spective claims.” 2. Because God'is always giving to me. 3. God has attached large promises to giving. I mast not forget this. 4. Giving will be promotive of my own happi¬ ness. •5. The subjects of necessity are numerous. 6. The opportunity of giving will soon pass away. 7. These gifts will be remembered in the judg¬ ment. How unspeakably desirable is Christ’s ap¬ proval. 8. Have I not been remiss in times past? 9. Gratitude for the unspeakable gift of God’s dear Son ought to move me. FEMALES IK HEATHEN LANDS. .■..•-Amisaibnary- -thus writes: “It is difficult for ns, Tcarcd-ae2wo,aro;,wbere_womaq_jceigns.flueen, to .ШЦ LABOEEBS WANTED. M'e reiterate the call. Who will go for us to heathen lands, to preach the ргеошиз gospel of Christ? Among the thousands of young men who love this gospel, are there none to make it known to those who have never heard of salvation? The curse of sin is upon these lands ; they grope in the dark, feeling after God, if haply they may find Him, ^ ho will go to declare Him unto them ? WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE? This land и called a Christian land. Though all in ‘t arc not Christians, yet Jesus is recognized as a Sa- ™>nr, and thousands rejoice in his name. All the hissings of civilization are ours, but it was not al- so. Our ancestors were a race of bloody idol- atora. The names of our days remind us of the eree and cruel gods they worshipped. Perhaps no ^uthen nation on the face of the earth at present, is кого debased than were the A nglo-Saxon race from which we spriilg. IVhat has made the difference ? Jt is the. gospel. le Christian missionary visited the island of Brit- ■n anij proclaimed a crucified, risen, and almighty viour. The smoking altars on which human vie-: una had bled, were thrown down, and the deluded Worshippers of false deities turncdjthcir wondering tyes to “behold the Lamb of God that taketh away s,n °f the world.” All ‘lan civilization have benefits. the blessings of Chris- followed, arid we enjoy their GOD’S FLAK OF GIVING. P "fr.°m an cxcelknt tract .published by the Baptist u lication Society, wc cull the following : tenf'p1^-™311 'VJ‘° faithfully adopts this divine sys- RlVino-. lt\-P4 я при/ Clhristinn Kfi*. situl P.ntn.ra Ьая к‘>еГЕ0П?1 P‘et7 pud benevolence. The system been briefly expressed in the form of л pledge lovenant,- hereto annexed, rathe adoption of .which . tc -i Boards . -SI of tbo Southern Baptist Convention. substantially great numbers have found a rich mg. A shoemaker being asked how ho bless- AN INCIDENTAL BENEFIT OF MI8SIONS. A certain writer has said : “ Who have been the greatest adventuress to sccnre a knowledge of the nations ?” It is those who have gone to preach the gospel to every creature. As successful explorers of fields covering scarcly Jess than half tho globe, there is no class of men that can take rank with Christian missionaries. Their high motive has urged them on. So for as foreign missions have tended to lift and guide the course of popular thought, to give breadth and value to knowledge, and to add to the treasures of science and letters, they have dcinc a service to man which money cannot repay. that acts Hr om principle? that acts with method, liberality/and energy in this thing? Thousands of our peoplotnevcr pray that the will of God -may be done oAerirth, as it is done in heaven ; or if they pray, theyjncver give and labor for’tliis result. This yjew of the subject is truly humiliating. It may wellhead to the inquiry — Can wo be the followers of the first Great Foreign Missionary ; of Him who left his own homo in heaven and came to this world to save the lost ? Where is our consistency ? where is ourzeal for Christ? where our Belf-denial? where our lovqjfor souls ? But alial 1 we yield to despondency ? No 1 We will cry.aloud and spare not.. Brethren every where in the. Seii tli, help us. Let us aim at .n reformation in tliisllfeig.V. ’ ... ||jf: WHO IS TO BLAME? ; In . another article, reference lias' been, made, to the humiliaUng fact,- that so little is done, in the Foreign Missiorfpvork, by the Baptists of the South. Who is to ijjeroe? It is true that every Bible reader, ’with the commis¬ sion before him, and the love of Jesus in his heart, mayjri*turally be expected -to desire, and labor for thespread of tho Gospel among ignorant and dying But is not the remissness of our churches mg duo in a great measure to want of in- The necessities of tho world — the means 7earcd;as<w^arq;;wfaere^Epman^jgnsjuecn,.tq churches, derstarid the degraded condition of the uneducated' Dear in formation ? of supplying them, and tho obligation to use those measure not properly understood and appreciated byithe'cliurclics. We have rarely seen a church pro- perl^ginstructed , failing to give and pray for the conversion of the world. * Who then are to instruct and train the churches? Otn^ldenommatlonal papers may do much, but the responsibility chiefly lies with tho ministry. It is thof appropriate business of the pastor to teach the bajrtized to' observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded. If every pastor of the South should t * ir* •'a prepare iumseli to present, at appropriate times, the woeS and wants of the heathen, is it not probable that nibe.out of ten would respond, with more or less of But as it is, nine out of ten exhorted to perform their p/jand this is about tho proportion of non-con- . THE WORK IN VIRGINIA. From brother Jones, tho pastor of tho Lexington church, wc have just received thirty dollars; from The church at Warren ton, through brother Wyer, thirty- three dollars, and from J. B. Taylor, Jr., sixty-two dollars and twenty-nine cents, collected of his'cliurch at Culpeper Court House. ’ ; . " , - .jt - — - - — . THE LORD’S DEBT: : -<:-1 Dear Hr other Taylor : ... ; ■ In reading your editorial under the. heading of “New Year,” I was impressed with the -idea of unity " of Christian experience. When you 'reverted to tho many favors we had received of God, I could but respond, “yea they arc more than, I can number,” and then when you asked, who would make a “thank of- ’feririgj” -Fbctlloright mq}f>tijmd>or^mui3?^_E^c^i "a poor people with only a noriiinal salary. I hav’c'ioj give much attention to secular affaire, and yet Illiavcl been abundantly fed, and the Lord has established my goings and numbere have been added . to my church. ■ • - But the “old man” saidT’was m'debt, I.could’nt give. I must bo just before I was' gencrotisi 'This seemed a poser, and I knew my poor flock had been caught-by this guile, and it was useless to talk lb.them. But tho “new man” said I was in debt to God first, and even if I was a bankrupt I should deal justly^ with God and let him have a share with my other’ credi¬ tors, so without waiting to hear what the “old man” would -say to this, I hastily enclosed this §5 . hill, and would consult 4with no one but you and God about . it. So take it as God’s Almoner and Treasurer, and* appropriate it to the cause of foreign missions, with my humble prayer for grace, mercy and. peace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. . A Poor Past6r. liberality- to the claim. an>?not instructed, and unhonored female of India. * She is despised from her very infancy. Her birth is looked upon as a misfortune. The Hindoo delights not in his female offspring ; while the boy is fondled and caressed, the girl is treated with indifference. Tho former is edu¬ cated; the latter 13 reared in ignorance and in the inidst of domestic brawls. Never ’do you see a fe¬ male in a Hindoo school, save that one who, as soon as she arrives at age, is, as their saying is, to be mar¬ ried to the god’; become the dancing girl of the tem¬ ple, and lead a life of shame andjnfamy. Accord¬ ing to Hindoo law and custom, nofemale is allowed to learn the art of reading and writing, and hence when yon sec one with a book in her hands, you at once know her vocation and destiny.”. SUITABLE PRAYERS. A dear brother in Mississippi, who sends us ten dollars, thus.prays : “May the Lord bless you, and prosper his own cause in your hands, and may every lover of Jesus, for his sake, return to his cause a por¬ tion of the temporal things received from His merciful hands.” A sister, with her contribution, prays, “ May the Lord of the harvest put it into the hearts of his chosen ones during the year 1870, to supply the means for sending orit an ariny of laborera into the harvest.” ’ THE CONCERT OF PRAYER. Brother Heriot, of the Citadel Square church, Charleston, S. C., writes: “Jean observe a grad n- ally- Increasing interest in the cause of missions, man¬ ifested by many of our members. The monthly con¬ cert Of prayer is regularly observed with us, and our church has determined to give tho systematic plan 'of benevolence a fair trial during the present year. I hope it will succeed, and that the awakened interest on the subject of missions will 'continue to gather strength until something like an adequate sense of our responsibility shall be realized by us.' THE .BAPTISTS OF THE SOUTH. What- are wc doing for the extension of the gospel ? Almost next to nothing. Here and there an associ¬ ation is making some spasmodic endeavor to sustain a missionary within its own limits. A few cbnrchcs are giving to send the word of life to the heathen, but alas! these churches arc few and far between. . . . Hundreds of the congregations of the saints are foil- on a co£""S’ H,V.eS, * new Christian life, and enters ; lo 60und out tLe TYord of the Lord ; and of those . course in winch he will wax stronger and strong- who take action, bow scantily do they. give — how lit¬ tle are they_ concerned for the spread of thcir;Re- dcemcr’s'klrigdom ln tho world.' "Where is the church - <•<? s\ -ri- SK-? ; --7»..- -1 - - brethren of theTriinistry, to you wq appeal. We cannot succeed in our blessed enterprise without yon ; the heathen are perishing by thousands every day. The Gospel is the power of God unto salva¬ tion. If they believe in Jesus, they will be saved. “But how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they' preach except they be sent.” Will you not help. us?- Will you not induce the disciples whom you serve in the ministry, to take hold of this .work, and 6011 nd out the word of the Lord in regions beyond. * ENCOURAGING. Brother Warren, of Macon, Ga., sends as apart of the annual contribution of his church the sum of fifty dollars. “Like priest, like people.” THE CHILDREN AT WORK. The children of the Dayton church, Ky, sends us twenty-one dollars and ten cents, to aid brother Phil¬ lips in his African mission. Will not other children do likewise? CONCERT COLLECTIONS. The Waco church, Texas, are regularly observing the concert prayer meeting, and their pastor has jnst sent us more than fifty dollars collected on these oc¬ casions. GOOD NEWS. Professor Royall, of Wako Forest College, N. C., sending seventy dollars, writes: “I wish we could help yon more in your labor of love. Wc must make greater sacrifices on this, behalf. There is among us, I think, an .unusual interest in tills direction, arid it is hoped that will be the case in the whole southern country.” THE NEED IS GREAT. A friend of onr cause sends us ten dollars, and saye : “The Home Missions are in great need, but'T think those abroad are in still greater need.” A GOOD EXAMPLE. Brother Thompson, of Caskie church, N. C., In¬ forms us : “A part of our church have agreed to con¬ tribute one cent a week each to Foreign Missions, and by that plan, fifteen dollars have already been raised, and are hereby sent.” WHO WILL DO LIKEWISE P Brother McDowell, of the Murfreesboro Female College, has resolutely persevered in making the con¬ cert prayer meeting interesting, . by bringing before the church facts bearing on the cause, and in taking a collection. , "He has made-scveral-remittances, and now sends eighteen dollars more.^. - OUR MISSIONS. CANTON, CHINA. LETTER ГГ.О.М BROTHER GRAVES. ' ‘ Last month I wrote you from Swnton, where I spent a few weeks with -my friend Mr. Ashmore. While there I gained strength, but my diarrlicea only ceased after my return to Canton, about ten' days ago. I am now well again, and expect to leave to-morrow for my out station at Shin Hing. I have, of course, been very anxious about leaving, my churches without tho oversight of a foreign mis¬ sionary, but of lato have be<n».given_ilic faith jto com¬ mit- them to God and the Word of His grace.’ This' has cost me much thought, and I have made it the subject of frequent prayer. I am now satisfied that Christ, the great Head of the Church, will take care, of His own. I have advised the Canton brethren to set apart a day of fasting and prayer, and choose a pastor from among themselves, whom I may ordain to ‘watch over them. The first Lord’s day in De¬ cember is tho day chosen. Though I sec no man without some faults, which may hinder his usefulness, I believe God will, in an¬ swer to prayer, help one to overcome his foufts. j I go to Shin Hing to consult with the brethren there about that church. Pray earnestly for jtheso infant churches. May God grant that no wolves may scatter the flock. Mr. Piercy, Superintendent of tile English, -mis¬ sion, and one of my most intimate and attached friends here, has kindly promised to attend to money matterefor me. Anything sent after January first, should he made payable to him. -J am in want of funds now, and do hope I shallnotliave to leave herewith the mission in debt. It is -enough fora friend to take all the trouble to pay the assistants monthly, and reallytoo bad to ask him to get in debt 'to4lo it. I do trust the mission will be saved from this_dis- honor. I am very glad to sec the indications of increased prayer for the heathen, and of systematic contribu¬ tions for the spread of the gospel. - 1 Last Sabbath 1 baptized a young woman twenty- three. years of age, the adopted -daughter of Wong Mui, one of my assistants. There are one’"orr two others who I hope will come out soon. •- . •; The Chinese emigration to America is fraughtnvilh important influences on the future of this empire. The paragraph you enclosed from the “Evangel” looks as' if I had expressed a. wish to Ycniain permanently in California, which is not thq case. X purpose (D. V.) to spend tivo or three mohih's in bearing friy testimony to the Chinese in California. Ask the brethren to make it a subject of especial hope by January . srf* SHANGHAI, CHINA. LETTER FROM BROTHER YATES. M j last letter, per French mall, written only a day or two af¬ ter my, rptum to Shanghai, will, iri sdme degree,* prepare yon • for what I am called upon to communicate. 1 hare, entirely lost my voice у Ъате not for weeks, spoken aboven low wliisper^ This is-truly a sore trial to me, coming, -as It does, лтЬёп I am in the enjoyment of perfect health.- I- hare been thoroughly examined by two physicians,. both of whom pronounce me. perfectly sound. One doctor Said that not one щап in a hundred, ere n at home, could show a sounder chest than ГЪаге. They’ say I an* suffer¬ ing from a complete prostration of the -rocal organs, frpm long >nd o ver use, and that I must absolutely abstain from, xpeoking for aiVeatt one year; that it is not mfedicine that Г want, as I am in perfect hea’lh, but rest— rest that I cannot possibly obtain in Shanghai. They advise a trip to California. On my objecting to leave my field.pf- labor witbonV first com¬ municating with my Mission. Board* my physician advises^by all means a trip to Mongolia orManch'uriaJ fortbe'mnter, ana tuen to California in the pprlng.c*0 g.-r - ' ‘s . “I ' *