Foreign Mission Journal, March 1886

FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL. Published МоиШу by tlio Foreign Mission Board ol' tiio Soutbern Baptist Convention. "ALL POWER JS GIVEN UNTO ME IN IIEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE, THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS.” Vol. 17— New Series. RICHMOND, VA.. MARCH, 1886. No. 8.— Whole No. 212. fFntfr*l nt the J4*t-0mifi til Richmond. V*„ ns erco ml -class inatfer.] Foreign Mission Journal. RATES PER ANNUM: I. For |m|M«rs HPjwruh’ly luhlressed, ollher or to UitlVreut |»о*1оПкчч» : Oue ropy- . . . JJ. which we are made, and in which we live, nil opportunity for brethren to bear his bur- many burdens are imposed by our relations j den for him, and so fulfill the law of Christ, to others, and by our comparative weakness. Then far heavier than all this is the daily TOrre copit» Г.Ц1. or . 3.1И ct». n|>l»ce. II. For imcku*ri-i« pent to one person, who shall lie гееропИЫе for their distribution : ГмГог1Г|?,Го?!по|5п7."м геерооИЬ Four copies for «I. or more at . Cf, cts. Tweoty copies forte, orinorout . 20 cts. 0«# Hundred conics for tli.or more nt. . 1Л cts S?*I,Ii*h#o remit by Draft, Postal Order, or I t#r#d Letter, and notify us i-iiomptly of any lo address. Address. FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL, RiCIIMOMO, V. foreign mission board OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION, bocxTUD at Richmond. vmaiNiA. PIIK6IDXXT— II II. llAHIIIb Yic*-F*mid*ht*.— Joshua I.trtrlnc, MU., О W. Torakle». I.u. . J. I.. Harrow». Vn., N. Л. Ilnlloy, Flit., Th~. WIilllUW, N.U., W. H. Fells, Ky.. .1. J. l>. Ren¬ fro», Alabama, It. .S. Itnnc-.n, Mo., II H. Unrroll, T«a», W, I,. Kilpatrick, On.. Chin. Manly, S. J. M. Seiner. Tenn.. .1. II. Searcy, Ark.. Oeorce WbltflPlU. Ml»»., W. K. Aitklsron, \\\ Va OOnmtepOMDINO SkcnKTAiit— H. Л. TtJI’I'EIt. TnaAStmcii— J. (J. WII,I,IAMS. Rkcoiidihii SkcUKTAnY— W. II. (JWATHMEY. ArDITOU— JOSEPH V. COTTRELL. liOAUD oe MAHAuane — II. К Ellv'on, О U win- »lon. Л. It. Clnrke, 1, II. Win» ton. W. E. Hatcher, I W.Jonee, J. Pollard, Jr.. S. O. 'Mnntou. Г. II. lint- ron, W U. Thomn». W W. IjmUrnm. W .1. Ship- man, fleo. Ccoper, It. \V. 1’ower.», О. II. ltylnml. t8f~All communications in reference to the business of this Board should lie addressed lo H. Л. Tuppkk, Corresponding Secretary , Richmond, Va. Dr. Tapper has been away from his office for several weeks — engaged in organizing the work of collections in several States. Some important interests have necessarily suffered on account of his absence, but he has met with excellent success in Baltimore, Washington, Louisville, Nashville, Chatta¬ nooga, and other centres of inlhtence, ai has started forces and plans which, we hope, will greatly help us in the future. All that Southern Baptists need to make their mission work a grand success is hearty co-opera¬ tion. We have the means, if we have the mind to work. 8URDENS. l-ife. though but a vapor, is heavy laden ; though but a hand-breadth, it is crowded witli momentous issues. Even the gayest heart knows its sorrow, and the lightest has its burden. Nor is the Christian exempt. The grace of God, in melting the stony heart, opens a new fountain of perennial peace, but at the same time it gives a heart of llesh, far more sensitive, and lays upon it new pains and new responsibilities. All, there¬ fore, from llie highest to the lowest in station, from the ripest to the most recent in experience, are hearing burdens. What shall we do with them ? The scriptures give us three different instructions. In Galatians vi : s, we read that “ each man shall hear Iris own burden." This is given in close connection with the exhortation of vi : 2 : " Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." The Psalmist (lv: 22,) says : " Cast thy burden upon the l.ORD and he shall sustain thee,” and to the same effect, Peter, in his First Epistle, (v: 7,) "casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you.” It is easy to see that these three, though , are not at all inconsistent. Every lias his own place which he and no can fill, his own woik which he and no can do. In the harvest-field of the world one sowetli and another reapeth ; in Personal character one reaps only what he himself has sown. The law then is inexor- able that each must bear his own burden of But in the social constitution for So the Apostle exhorts : “ Let us not be vain-glorious, provoking one another,” nor be pitiless, " even if a man be overtaken in • any trespass,” but let us succor the tempted, help the weak and " bear one another’s burdens,” even as Christ came not to be ministered unto but to minister. Then again there are anxieties growing out of the restraint within finite limits of a soul with infinite longings. The cares of this world, the past with its hidden lore, the present with its impenetrable mysteries, the future with all that it enfolds— all these burdens, which we can neither bear ourselves, nor shift to other human shoulders, it is our sweet privilege to cast upon the Lord. Some such explanation is suggested, if not required, by the terms used in the original. In the passage first above quoted, the Greek word for burden is fhortion, svliat one has to carry, his load. Tile same is found in Mat¬ thew xi : 30, where Jesus says : ” My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Faith does not exempt from service, it only makes ser¬ vice easy and pleasant. In the second pas¬ sage above, the original for burden is baros, a weight, something external and a hindrance to effective work. It is used in Acts xv : 2S, of certain proposed ordinances, charac¬ terized as “ a yoke which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear,” and in Matthew xx ; 22, by the tired laborers who had "home the burden of the day.” For the third passage, in the Septuagint version of the Psalm, as also in Peter's quotation, we find still a different word, merimua, used by Paul to name that which pressed upon him daily, “anxiety for all the churches,” and in its cognate verb form several times in Matthew vi : 25-32 ; it is specially an anxiety about what we cannot control or prevent. I.ct us see some practical illustrations. The editor of the Journal lias to prune his correspondence, select from a mass of mat¬ ter, write some paragraphs, run over papers and books, and find something for each and all of thousands of readers. This is his load— not very heavy, yet a burden some¬ times, which, however, some one man must take. But he is also charged with circulating the information thus prepared. The paper does no good unless it is read, and cannot be printed unless it lias a large number of anxiety about tile selection and support of missionaries, the strengthening of old stations, and opening of new ones, the de¬ velopment of the Christian world, and the extension of the kingdom of Christ — this would crush him, he must roll it on Jehovah Once more. Dr. Yates, at Shanghai, has to guide the mission work, prosecute his scripture translation, prepare for his numer¬ ous public services, and attend to the multi¬ tude of matters, which his long experience fits him to manage. This is his work, his load — a heavy one, truly, yet only he can bear it. But in many tilings he needs counsel and sympathy, his bodily wants must be supplied, he is weak in havingmade himself for his work’s sake entirely depen¬ dent on others. This burden it is our privilege to carry for him by sending out strong and earnest helpers, by contributing to a liberal support for him and them in their work and by constant prayer in his be¬ half, Than comes heaviest of all, not only the care of all the churches in ids province, but of the millions upon millions of immor¬ tal souls dying without a knowledge of Jesus — for this, neither he nor any other man is sufficient— let him cast it on the I-ord. THE CATECHISM. We give up a large portion of our space this month to a Sunday-school lesson for March 2S1I1, and a missionary catechism, which will prove valuable and interesting if properly used. For the idea of preparing such a catechism, and for valuable sugges¬ tions, we are indebted to cur esteemed friend and brother, Rev. R. R. Acree, of Lynchburg, Va. He prepared three for his infant class some years ago, one on Foreign, one on Home, and one on State Missions, and by the aid of large wall-maps and a good store of fresh information about the different fields, made them exceedingly in¬ teresting. It is but fair to add that while to him belongs the credit of the suggestion, lie is not responsible for the execution of the work ns now presented— his was specially prepared for a special class, and but little of It has been incorporated into the present at¬ tempt at something designed for wider use. The main objection we apprehend will be paying subscribers. Who will help him with diat t|JC answers are too full, and to any who this burden? How light and happy would be made if a hundred pastors every month would only present the matter to their churches. Then come corroding anxieties in reference to the effect of pub¬ lishing tin's or excluding that, and vain re¬ grets over the maimer in which he iias done his work— these he must humbly commit to God. Again, the Corresponding Secretary of the Foreign Mission Board sits at his desk like the clerk in a central telephone office— his business is to make connections between the givers at home and the workers abroad. With nerves run out through mail and wire to every church here and every station there, he must be alert to detect any break in tile circuit, and prompt to apply the need¬ ful corrective. Witli ceaseless patience and tireless ingenuity lie must seektosliape and guide the subtle forces, so that they may best do their appointed work of publishing the gospel. This is his load— a very heavy one, yet unity is requisite, and one man must do it all. But the position is no bed of roses. Office in church, as in State, exposes to criticism, and the less the critic knows, the ruder are the shafts he hurls. To do what this, that, and the other good brother would say he certainly ought to do. is simply impossible. Here is his weakness. Here is make this criticism we can only reply that we know it, but we omitted more than half of what we wanted to put in. The lesson and catechism will be printed in a little 12р. tract and these will be sent by mail to any one who will write us word how many he can use with advantage, and will further promise to take a collection in his school or class for Foreign Missions and forward the money promptly, l’lcase write not to the Journal, hut to Dr. H. A. Tupper, Richmond, Va. Shall we not have a grand Foreign Mission day on the 28th day of March ? What say the Vice-Presidents of the Board ? What say pastors, superintendents and teachers ? It is not necessary to ask what the scholars wouldsay. Their moreardentsouls runout on every opportunity to embrace a world, they love to hear of the triumphs of the cross in distant lands, they arc ready to give of their little lo send the gospel to the heathen. Give them a chance. It will do them good. And do not despise the day of small things. If every one of our Sun¬ day-schools should raise a penny apiece from the children, and ten cents apiece from the larger scholars, and twenty-five cents apiece from officers and teachers, it would make a larger sum than Southern Baptists ever gave before in a single day. THE NEW MISSIONARIES. Tins three parties which sailed recently, all seem to have had prosperous voyages, so far as heard from. We print in another column notes from brother Bryan, then at Yokohama, and from brother David at Liverpool, and from brother Daniel at Bahia. Miss Everett, in a private letter from Rio, January Sill, mentions a period of so great danger that the captain thought it prudent to throw overboard #50,000 worth of his cargo, but there was no loss of life. She finds work enough to engage all her ener¬ gies in that great city, full of "priestcraft, paganism, spiritualism and infidelity,” and wishes that all Baptists might be " aroused to feel the need of having the pure gospel reach every clime." SOME CORRECTIONS. Our attention has been called to three statements in the last Journal. 1. Dr. Tupper kindly points out that we were not'quite correct in saying that " several District Associations, as well as the General Convention 0Г Florida, had indicated a pur¬ pose to enter Cuba under our Board, if pos¬ sible, if not, on their own responsibility." The indications referred to were not predi¬ cated on any formal expression of sucli a purpose, until the meeting of the Florida Convention as heretofore reported. г. Brother R. S. Duncan, of Missouri, pleasantly takes us to task for putting down Miss Morris as " frem Louisville, Ky.” He claims her for his State, as may be seen from the note elsewhere printed, for which he has our sincere thanks. 3. Dr. H. L. Morehouse objects to the averment that "the Hoard of our Northern brethren has no stations in Mexico,” but the paragrapli clearly and expressly referred to the Foreign Board, located at “Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass.” We assure the good Doctor that we were not retaliating, and have no disposition to depreciate the Mexican work of the Home Mission Society, though we do believe that they ought not to have begun it, and ought now to turn it over to a Board of Foreign Missions. In the home field, proper, there is room enough for all the means and energies оГ even his great society. Brother Powell reports February 71I1 the baptism of three heads of families at Saltillo, and four days later two conversions at Patos. He expected on the 13th to assist in consti¬ tuting a church at Salinas, one of the stations occupied by the Home Mission So¬ ciety, and then to make a tour through the northern part of Coahuila. Since last Octo¬ ber he lias held some religious service every night except twelve. Ill Mndero Institute tiiere were 70 pupils, and in the school at ■ Palos, 40. Since Dr. Carey went to India under the Baptist Missionary Society, thirty other so¬ cieties have entered the same field. The number of ordained missionaries there of our denomination is only one seventh of the whole, the number of converts is one half of the whole. At the recent Burma Baptist Convention three different languages had to be used in transacting the business of the meeting. “Many are the tongues of mortals, the im¬ mortals have but one.” Signor Colombo, of Bologna, applies 'for appointment as n missionary to his fellow- countrymen who have emigrated to Monte Video, Soutli America. The Tclugus send 70 rupees to help pay off the debt of the Missionary Unk