Home and Foreign Journal, July 1869

THE ЮМЕ AID EODEKjI JOUBNAL “PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE.”-" MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.” Vol. 2'New Series. RICHMOND, VA.', JULY, 1869. No. 3 — Whole No. 15. tho U'ox'eigrL and Domestic H3om*clss of tlio Soxxtliei'ix Baptist Convention. S!,c Iotkp ft Jmigii f mminl TERMS: to on' r<r->n. - - ’ to on» . . "’•’t-i-i •iMn-wJ lo on» potron, . • ю" » onop^non . . sews»1™ ^ 4 2(0 - 3 00 - b 00 10 00 . 15 00 о» .hfe litUe Shfct has Peon loud and omring. It Is n neccreitj ft» *1\ the Bo*rd5, as well as the chnrcJire of tli« Sooth. Bj t- 4”, Wgh«n be able to bring before on г people the ear 11 ret infor- <,вп34Г*‘®"1 лл rrest objects rontemrUted by the Southern Baptist Corv¬ ee Ы*г1з*о° .„L-jncIn.. it into their churche*» will be able thus to make *et^pp^**bmP.|br with the <ahole miohmary enterprise, and aecure more •3 !>* ‘JJSfljbib» UrsMt ro»n-I* list. MM* *be monty cnclti-wL •> да At 1° ro.fi orders, nSMrrrt letters, or checks on По« ап» Гоша* Лпям, Richmond, Y*. RXCHMOKE, VA. гзт. JAS. B. TAYLOR . Cor. Secretary. The General Association of Virginia. Ibis body held its annual session in the city of fto-iimond. commencing on the 3d of June. Per ар? never before has one been more largely attended, more harmoniously and pleasantly conducted, flith perfect freedom of discussion, the brethren етп. in most respects of one heart and one mind, and crr pared to labor together for the faith of the gospel. Vc are glad to announce that the receipts for foreign Missions, from the churches of Virginia, were -ore than double those of the preceding animal mcct- •n;. The Lord be thanked. We were favored with the- presence of Brother A. • Phillips, who added much to the interest of the «'-S'-bn. Kentucky General Association. It was with peculiar pleasure we were permitted to .кеш! the General Association of Kentucky in Louis- ■ilk The brethren of that State are making noble 'mleavors to supply their own destitution. Nor arc ihev forgetting the wide field of heathenism. Tlicir -inrational interests arc in a healthy condition. May n«l continue to bless them and make them a bless- r, 2 . Mississippi Baptist Convention. This body lias recently held its annual session at ‘inton. It was well attended, and a large liberality *i- manifested. About $800 were paid and pledged for Foreign Missions, about §1,300 for Domestic Missions, beside other contributions for education, •State evangelization, and Sunday-schools. This was "uly a good beginning. Hcceipts of Last Fiscal Year. The receipts of tlie year, from April 25, 1SG8, to April 15, 1869, were as indicated below: 'mm Хек York . California . 0 00 UUlr't Colombia 114 90 Maryland . . 2,537 42 Virginia . 1,86G 37 Xorth Carolina... 494 52 Sonlb Carolina... 834 70 WmI Virginia.... 205 80 Georgia . „...2,294 99 Alabama . „1,550 03 Mississippi . . 432 со Louisiana . 294 95 10 00 From Tennessee- . G69 CO Kentucky . 4,720 Б5 Mrs. Ilolmca, for 2Irs. Crawford’s school . 237 80 Indiana.: . 10 00 England . . 975 CO Scotland . 1,17G 25 Florida . 21 50 Arkansas . 15 00 Texas . 8G 23 Missouri . 531 GO also, that every church-member shall have been im-Jdnd skillful i„ training the baptized to the right per- merseii into the name of the Father, and of the Son, < formancc of duty — if they aim to devclopo the po- aud of the Holy Ghost. They arc thus prepared to j cun!atT, intellectual, andmioral capabilities of their plead for a spiritual religion, with its simple and ’ 1,“>'V “«l*1* w!H. bc U“ \nfl,,on«! f°r P00'1,1 siwnifipni*- nnt;™- _ r , 7 ,, „ * i xno number of missionaries will bc multiplied, and gnmomt ordinances against all the forms of a cor-ljhe means of sustaining them will be abundant, rupt Christianity, and of idolatrous worship, whlclf^ “Wherever there has boon negligence of the min- ure iound in the world. ^ is try in this particular, it lias operated ns a great Baptists of the South, let us awake from our loth- : t- V'?. ,,.,isdion,,7 .w°rlc- S.omc. °f ‘J1?1!1 area- mmldnn nn. :..n , . are far behind their people in the zeal with which Jd ™wi - { Г-, Я' .°?ceLco' 1 bul 10 of °."r mcaus»iit » prosecuted. Th have not called attention to 1 cad mightily with God for a blessing on our the spiritual want of the world, or urged its supply, work. God is on our side. If wo arc true to out; The year passes, and no arrangement lias been made selves and to God, he will bless us and make us ai£? coIJcct t,lc free- will offerings of tlicir members. jgtBufathcgBoanlatc satisfied that a new efficiency on _ _ _ '^JB,Au*parr-ofioa3lpa0ors 13 beginning to be developed.” °Ur ^ BnBhteninB- » I ( Work of the Missionary. cc iadeh!«l- I ‘s 'vcfr fur us to know how a missionary spends Iiis time. One of our brethren thus writes: blessing. ness which was left at the close of the war, and to proceed in a new line of aggressive measures against the powers of darkness in heathen lands. ЛУс feel greatly encouraged. The chief ground of hope is found in the manifest increase of scriptural liberality in the churches. Let every church take hold of the work, with becoming trust in the promises of a cove¬ nant-keeping God, and no adequate conception can be formed of the extent of influence for truth and right¬ eousness in the earth which may be put forth. The ends of the world arc brought near to us. “The morning light is breaking, The darkces3 disappears, The sons of earth are waking To penitential tears.” Shall we not be encouraged? Worthy of Imitation! Two of our best pastors send us, every moutli, a contribution from tlicir churches, taken up at their concert prayer-meetings. The amount each month, perhaps, equals that which would be received if only one collection were made during the year. Who will commence the concert of prayer, giving an opportu¬ nity for any who may desire to send up his alms with his prayers as a memorial before God, to present his voluntaiy offering? I “ I have determined to give my whole time for a month to the training of the native assistants. I have a_ class of eight or ten every day, composed of the as¬ sistants, colporteurs and several young men who desire to learn more of the Bible. From ten to eleven is occupied with explaining the Old Testament (Deut¬ eronomy), from eleven to twelve with the New Tes¬ tament (1 Corinthians), from one to two with geogra¬ phy, one singing on alternate days, and from two to three with Pastoral duties, &c. Thus four hours a day arc given to teaching. After spending a month or six weeks iii this way, I propose to spend a season in itinerating, and then give another course of Instruc¬ tion during the extreme heat of summer. By such a division of my time I hope to accomplish the most good.” Call for Laborers. The condition of the Board is such as to make it proper to call urgently for an increase of laborers. At two of our missions especially, is the necessity of increased force imperious. The Providence of God is loudly demanding attention to this necessity. Who will go for us? Have wo no men who, inspired with love to Jesus and the souls of men, arc ready to say, “here arc we, send us!” ' Wc wait for an answer. A Thank Offering in Baptism. The Journal. We ask the readers of the Journal to make dili¬ gent endeavors to circulate it among the churches. Each may thus do something for the cause of mis¬ sions. Every subscriber will find his interest in the spread of the Gospel increased. _ _ ь. Brother Graves, of Canton, referring to the baptism otlmfi of Ii IS Dcsr meiuiiers eunen uic ivuvwiug Is it too much to ask that each State shall double it* contributions for the present year? We shall Чип place all our mission stations in such a condition a* "ill promise the largest success, with the promised M«=mg of God. Then, too, wc may increase the number of workers in the foreign field. These re- 'llb are “dispensable to the continued existence of Inr missions. The Comparison. We learn from an exchange “it is estimated upon good authority that the sale of rum costs the Ameri¬ can people $1,400,000,000 yearly. This amount, in Spanish dollars, would make 87,500,000 pounds. Load this into wagons, a ton to each, place them on a road, allowing forty feet to each wagon, drawn by two horses, and you would have a train 331 miles long, composed of 43,750 wagons, drawn by 87,500 horses.” Fourteen hundred millions of dollars expended to gratify a vile and destructive appetite ! The entire sum appropriated to extend the empire of Jesus, in heathen lands, by all his professed followers in this country, hut little exceeds a'million of dollars. Alas 1 alas ! The Promise of Jesus. Ь ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” 11 *% entered into the heart of the Lord's pco- lo comprehend the import of these words? How pensive ! They relate to any and every ob- 1 consists with the will and glory of the Mho privilege of the pleader to come ,* r U.?werv'nS trust, and to ask for whatever may J/ needed to promote the kingdom of truth ^Ыеоцзпей in the world. t 0 gives such promises of an answer ю Jlf ^ 'v'10 spoaks, is the exalted Redeemer, His 0ГП1 l)owcr ,n heaven and earth is given pmm- “ tr«c and faithful. He will fulfil his promise. * y°n not plead with the Lord of the ® lo fend laborers into his harvest? „ Work for Baptists. jg* chnrelies have a solemn responsibility dc- (**1 iSttnP°n ^Cm' They hold that the' word of 13 '° оп1У authoritative rule of faith and prac- Lm j lCPcntance towards God, and faith in our of . Klls Christ, arc in tlieir esteem the conditions rantc into a Christian church! They Г require, i Rev. A. D. Phillips. It will he interesting to many to learn the follow¬ ing particulars, which we take from the Biblical Re¬ corder : Rev. A. D. Phillips was horn in Moore county, North Carolina. . . . , In early life his father moved to Mississippi, where he joined the Baptist church and was baptized the day lie was eighteen years old, by Rev. W. C. Thomas. He lived with his father sometime after¬ ward, then taught- school for a year or two, went to some of the high schools, and then went to Mercer University, Georgia. While there he was engaged by the Columbus Association of Georgia, to go out as their missionary. That led to a correspondence with the Foreign Mission Board at Richmond, \ a. In 1854 he was appointed by that Board a missionary to Africa. He was then kept travelling for the Board nearly twelve months, and sailed from New York in October, 1855. Just before he sailed lie was married to a lady in Georgia, who accompanied him to Africa, but who died soon after their arrival at the station in Ijaye.. Since then he has been 9 and accompanies it with an appropriate remark. He says: On the Sunday of his baptism he subscribed $5 as a thank oflering to God for His grace in changing his heart. I wish many older Christians had as clear and correct ideas as he has on the subject of benefi¬ cence. I was afraid he would hardly be able to give so much, but he said I have thought over the matter; what God has entrusted to me, I should use For His service. Men of the world save their money for tlicir children, hut my mind is made up; if my son grows up to be a good man, God will give him all he needs as J Ге lias given me ; if he should turn out bad, the less money he has the better it will be for him.” 1 said, “Happy are you, that the Holy Spirit has taught you this truth. I have seen many older Christians who had less clear views.” Will the Heathen bo Saved Without the Gospel ? The following from Rev. M. J. Knowlton, of Ningpo, China, one of the missionaries of the Baptist Board in Boston, is worthy of serious consideration : “I have heard that the idea is very prevalent among Christians at home, that the heathen are ignorant, harmless unfortunates, to whom it is a question whether the Gospel would he of much advantage. An old friend and classmate in America informs me of the same views prevailing among many of our people. “It would not require a long stay in a heathen land, I apprehend, to dispel all such notions from the minds of those Christians who entertain them. They would be convinced that Paul’s description of the character-ami condition of the heathen, as contained in the 1st, 2d and 3d chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, is true to the fetter. How any Christian can read these three chapters and doubt that the heathen arc great sinners, and will surely be lost for¬ ever without the Gospel, I cannot imagine. In these chapters the Apostle shows in the clearest manner (chap. 1 : 18—27) that the heathen ignore God, wor¬ ship idols, anil become exceedingly ignorant, wicked, and corrupt, because they reject the light of nature, which shows clearly the existence of God, and ‘His eternal power and Godhead;’ they refuse to thank and glorify G°d and choose to render homage to idols made with their own hands ; licncc God gives them up to blindness of mind, and corruption and wicked¬ ness of heart and conduct. In chap. 1 : 26-32, 3 : 9-18, the apostles narrates sins of which the heathen c,‘ arc guilty — a picture so faithful, so true to the life. mostly alone; sometimes he had the company ot j that heathen iii every land acknowledge its correct^ other missionaries. In 1864 the last missionary ness as applied to them ; and there have been instan- thc country; and then he was alone until just bciorc j ceg w]ierc (|lc heathen have charged the missionaries he left last year. * i with writing these passages from the living examples _ _ _ _ _ _ > j present before them. It would be impossible to find Pastoral Influence. 1 1?nSuaSe mor$ exact and appropriate to describe the , 7 4i„,a -оГогч to tills ! s,ns 11,с Chinese, as I have become acquainted with The last report of the Board thus refers to t s them by a long residence among them, than that used subject: by the apostle. And I believe the same statement “It will be easily seen, if all our pastors are faith- would he made by every missionary in every heathen ful to their. commission, ‘teaching their membemhip 1ап«- . . to observe all things commanded.’— if they are prompt And the heathen know they arc sinners, and that too, against a higher power than man or gods, — a su¬ pernatural, all-controlling power, called in China, aud I believe in most heathen lands, ‘Heaven,’ and ‘Su¬ preme Ruler,’ or some other term signifying the highest authority In heaven and earth. The law of God is ‘written in their hearts,’ as the apostle in Rom. 2 i 14, 15, says: ‘When the Gentiles who have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto tlicmT solves ; who show the work of the law- written in their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and tlicir thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. . “How then arc the heathen lo be saved without the Gospel? They arc ‘all under sin,’ arc ‘guilty before God.’ ‘By the deeds of tliodaw there shall no flesh be justified’ in God’s sight. Where then is there any (hope for. the heathen in their presentstate? None, absolutely none. They are all in the ‘broad ,, road that Icadcth lo destruction.’ ITcll is tlicir pop-- tion ; and no one that is intimately acquainted with the character and conduct of the heathen, but will declare that tlicir damnation is most richly deserved. “No, wc do not come to preach the Gospel to poor innocents, over whom a fate is impending which they do not deserve. But it is because they arc deserving, and are exposed to everlasting perdition, that wo preach Christ to them, the only hope of salvation. God owes no debt to the heathen ; hut Christians, with all their light and advantages, are great debtors to them. Rom. 1 : 14. “Here then is the responsibility of Christians. All these vast multitudes arc going to hell ; and having intrusted to Christians the Gospel, Christ commands them, ‘ Go yc into all the world, and preach the Gos¬ pel to every creature; he that believeth and is bap¬ tized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” For the Homo auJ Forci^u Journal. Paul in Debt. What was the nature of his debt? . What the amount of it? To whom was it due? On what ground? What efforts did lie make to liquidate it?. ЛУс all know the terrible uneasiness that every hon¬ est man feels when conscious of being deeply in debt, and this unrest is increased ten-fold when he knows that his creditors are actually in need, and suffering for that which is due them. During the trying times that followed the war, doubtless many Southern Baptists felt, the pressure of debt, amt now nave, irom personal experience, a icci- ing realization of its oppressiveness. Only a.-, they were conscientiously exerting themselves to their ut¬ most to liquidate their debts were their minds at rest. I think it was with feelings akin to these that Paul wrote to tlio Romans, “ I am a debtor.” What lie owed was the preaching of the gospel — the making known, by any and all legitimate means, of the soul¬ saving doctrines of the Cross. He felt that he owed personal consecration to the work. It was no matter of charity or self-sacrifice with him that he preached to the heathen. He regarded it as a debt, and felt and acted accordingly. Ho owed it as something justly due — that personally aud by proxy, directly and indirectly, he should see that the gospel -was pro¬ claimed abroad. The amount of his debt was the full extent of his ability, or ns lie expresses it, “as much as in me lies.” Not until lie had diligently performed all in his power, and performed it to the end of life, could lie feci that his debt was paid. Ho says lie was in debt “ to the Greeks and to tlie barbarians, to the wise and to .the unwise,” i. e., to all classes among all people. He does not mention his own people, the Jews, but doubtless he felt his indebtedness to them also, as, wherever lie went he always labored first in tlie syna¬ gogues of the Jews. Had lie lived in the present- time, and where. our Southern brethren now do; lie would probably liave expressed bimself as debtor to Americans and Frcnclimcn, to Chinese and Africans, to Indians and Jews. The ground of lus indebted¬ ness to them was not value received from them, but. value received in trust for them from Jesus Christ. To him had been committed a knowledge of the xcay of salvation, with a command from Him who gave it to make it known. He had been constituted a stew¬ ard of the mysteries of God, oven of the mysteiy of eternal life through Jesus Christ. The debt lie felt no less than if Christ had placed in his hands a thou¬ sand pounds, to be paid to a certain Greek or a cer¬ tain barbarian. Until lie had paid it, or was doing all he could to pay it, lie would have felt himself guilty of willful fraud. Sec with what earnestness and honesty of effort lie strove to pay Iiis debt. He felt that his creditors were suffering every day for lack of what he owed them, and like an honest man he labored early and late, by day and by night, on land and at sea, often liimsclf in suffering and want, lo pay his debt. Everywhere and at all times he was set for tlie defence and the proclamation of the gos¬ pel. He gave his personal labors, he exhorted and stirred up others, wrote letters of encouragement anil advice to young missionaries, urged the churches to liberal contributions, and, in short, did all he could to secure a wide and general knowledge of Christian