Foreign Mission Journal, July 1888

Foreign Mission Journal. PUKLISIIED MONTHLY BY THE FOREIGN MISSION BOARD OF TIIE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. “ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE, THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS” L Voi.. 19— New Series. RICHMOND, VA„ JULY, 1S8S. No. 12 — Wiioee No. 240 (Entered nt the I’ost-Oflice at Richmond, Va., as second-da*» matter.) Foreign Mission Journal. RATES PER ANNUM: I. For paper* separately addressed, either to same or to different poet oftlce* : One copy . . . . . 35 ct*. Three copies @|1, or . SSKcti. apiece. II. Form _ „ . responsible for their distribution s Four copies for H, or more Twenty-five copies for ffl. or Onellandred copies fortie» Ж^ remit by Draft, Postal Order, or luRegls- tered Letter, and notify us гломгтьу of any change in address. Address, FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL, Richmond, Va. ADVERTISING RATES. SPACE. 1 Month. 3 Monlh. e Months 15 Month. Oae inch ........... Two inches . Three Indies . Quarter column... Half column.... . One column . 1 25 2 -10 3 50 4 75 5 25 18 00 3 45 в 45 9 20 1Я 00 28 23 60 on tf 60 12 80 18 00 25 00 48 00 P2 50 12 00 22 80 32 00 46 00 OO 00 178 00 FOREIGN MISSION BOARD OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTI8T CONVENTION, Located at RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, PBB81DEHT- II, lUmus. Vici*PnK8iDKNT. _ JothiiA I.evcrlnc, Md.,C. W. Tomklr.. I,n.. Л. E Owen. Vn., N. A, Ilatl.Y. Fla,. W. L. WrlKht, N.O.. G.F.Hnghv.Ky., J.J.II.Ren- froe, Alnbnmn, .1. Г. Greene, Mo.. II, II. Carroll, Texan, W. L. Kilpatrick, On , Chan. Manly, S. O., J. M. Renter, Tenn., J. H. Searcy, Ark., George Whltfletd, Miss,, W. F. Attklssou, W. Va. Conn Еб rONDINO SfiCniTARY — II, A. TUPPER. Assistant Sechetabv, T. P. BRLL. ТПКА8Ш11П— J. 0. WILLIAMS. Пхсопшно SfiCBfiTAnY— А. П. CLARKE. AuDiTon-II. O. BURNETT. BoAnD or Managers — H. K. Ellynon, J. B.WIn- nlon, С. II. Wlnsion. W. E. Hatcher, J. Pollard, Jr., S. O. C'opton. .T. II. Hatron, W. D. Thoman, \V. W. Landrum, W. J. Shipman. Geo. Cooper. O.H. Hyland, H. C. Barnett, T. P.Mathewn, R. II. Pllt, R.S. Ilosher. В All communications in reference to the busincssof this Board should be addressedto H. Л. Tupfek, Corresponding Secretary, Richmond. Va. FORM OF BEQUEST. Having suffered some losses from the fact that the “ Foreign Mission Hoard " was not an incorporated body, and ,io could not secure legacies left to it, the Board decided to ask incorporalion at the hands of the Virginia Legislature. As announced in the report of the Hoard to the Convention, the Hoard was incorporated “under the name and style of the Foreign Mission Hoard of the Southern Baptist Convention,” and “may receive, hold, sell, convey and otherwise manage or dispose of all lands, money or other property, real or personal, which may be given to or otherwise aci|uired by said Hoard.” Hut in order that it may receive money or other property bequeathed to it, it is very neces¬ sary that the form of the bequest be cor¬ rect. So the following form has been pre¬ pared, and will be kept standing in the Journal lor use by those desiring to give property to the Board. May many give. FORM OF IIEIJUEST. I hereby give and bequeath to the Foreign Mission Board oj the Southern Baptist Con¬ vention, chartered by the legislature of Vir¬ ginia by an act approved February jj id. /SSS, there insert the amount , iP in money, or description of other property, real or per¬ sona/,) for the purposes contemplated by said Board. DEATH OF REV. J, J. D. RENFROE, 0. D. This useful and honored servant of the Lord fell on sleep in Birmingham, Ala., on the 2d of June. His many excellencies of character, as well as the greatness of his labors in the Lord, have been so clearly and even lovingly set forth by the denomi¬ national press as to need no mention at our hands. He was in all the relations of life faithful, and in none more so than in tlie relation which he sustained to the foreign mission work of our Convention. He was for a number of years the Vice- President of our Board for the State of Alabama, and as such was ever found ready to give lime and labor to the advance¬ ment of the great cause entrusted to its care. We are one with the brethren of Alabama in their sense of loss in his death. May a double portion of bis spirit rest upon bis successor. 4«4444«4444>«44«444>444>4444.44.44444>.«.444»444«4>44»4>4**4*4444444«4«4444 MRS, JANE W. GRAVES, Daughter of George W. Norris, of Baltimore. In 1S72 mar¬ ried Rev. R. H. Graves, and went to China. She was a woman of lofty character and lovely spirit. A Chinese con¬ vert said of her: “Jesus Christ lived on earth a long time ago, and now lie is far off in heaven, but when I see how Mrs. Graves lives and loves, I can understand just what Jesus was like when he was on earth.” Mrs. Graves died in San Fran¬ cisco, Cal., on 2o!h April, iSSS. 4 4444 444444444» 44 *444« 444444- >4444444444444444444 ARE OUR MISSIONS FAILURES? We have heard, time and again, state¬ ments made and questions asked about our mission work, which seemed to intimate that the missions of our Hoard had not been as successful as those of other mis¬ sionary bodies. It has even been stated publicly that certain of our missions had resulted in failure. The minds of some of our people have been greatly disturbed in consequence of such questions and state¬ ments. We have never shared in this un¬ favorable view of our missionary affairs, but have always felt that God lias bestowed very abundant blessings upon us, consider¬ ing the amount of work we have done for him. Perhaps the best way to bring out the fact implied in this statement is to compare the results of our work, so far as statistics . can afford us a true comparison, with that of some other missionary body, which is doing about the same amount of work we nre and the circumstances of whose mem¬ bers are about the same as ours. Such a body we find in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the foreign mission work of which is acknowledged to be a success. The an¬ nual gifts of this noble body of Christians are about the same as ours, the number of their missionaries a little greater, and some of their fields of labor the same. We have the statistics of the two bodies before us, as presented to general meetings held in May, and from these we will make some comparison — not in any spirit of boastful¬ ness, (God forbid!), but that our hearts may be encouraged and croakers silenced. In Brazil, the Presbyterians began work in 1S69. They have Г9 missionaries in the field, including several Brazilian ministers, and report 10 stations and jo out-stations, with sr 1 communicants. We entered the field in iSSt, have (actually) in the field 13 missionaries, including natives, and , report 6 churches and stations, with, at a low estimate, 210 members. In China, our Presbyterian brethren have been at work since 1867. They have 21 American missionaries, and report 7 sta¬ tions and out-stations, with 82 communi¬ cants. We began work there in 1S46, have 17 American missionaries, and can report 2S churches and stations, with 727 mem- bers. In Mexico, the Presbyterian Board began work in 1874. It now has 7 American mis¬ sionaries, 8 stations and 30 out-stations, 1 with 364 (probably too small) communi- j cants. Our Board entered in 18S0, but our first missionary was killed tlie same year, and Bro. Powell was sent out in 1S81. We have 9 American missionaries, 27 churches and stations, with over 500 members. In the matter of contributions by native churches, we find as follows : I’ resbyterian native churches in Brazil gave $1,550. With us, tlie Rio church, numbering 31 members, gave $200, while the Bahia church members gave, on an average, #8 per member, f 70 was given by native Presbyterian churches in China, while the native churches in our South China Mission alone gave $446.58. (No re¬ port from the others.) Presbyterian native churches in Mexico gave $640 (probably too small), while Bap¬ tists gave $S25. These are the only fields in which we are working side by side, their work in Italy being limited to school work in one local¬ ity. They have a very successful work going on in Japan — where we ought to be at work also. As we said before, this comparison is made, not in any spirit of boasting, but in humble thankfulness to God that he has given us these fruits of our labors in the regions beyond. If there were as many members in the Southern Presbyterian churches as there in are the Southern Bap¬ tist, we would shrink from n comparison of amounts given. We do. anyhow. God bless our Presbyterian brethren in their work for him. God bless us in ours. WILLS OR TESTAMENTS. Many years ago, a young boy, alone in the world, found himself in one of our Southern cities, penniless. He did not bemoan his fate, but being a lad of energy and courage, lie set about making a living for himself. From enterprise to enterprise he went on, success attending his efforts, until lie amassed a considerable fortune. By the exercise of a prudence and fore¬ sight not common in those times, he saved the larger part of his fortune amid the almost universal wreck of fortunes which attended the late war. He was a good man, kind, liberal, generous. No cry of distress, that he could relieve, was ever made in vain. He was ever ready to aid in good works of every kind. As the years grew on him, and the gray hairs in the head, and the wrinkles in the flesh told of the oncoming end of life, he made his will. He had made money, now lie wanted to dispose of it to good purpose. The will was solemnly executed ; trusted, and as he thought, faithful executors were appointed— men bound to him by ties of love and gratitude — and the instrument was sealed. He died. His will or testa¬ ment was brought into the court and pro¬ bated ; the executors named in the will were qualified by taking a solemn oath to faithfully and legally administer the estate according to tlie will and deliver it to those entitled thereto as heirs at law or distributees under the will. They received their commission from the court, and cer¬ tain fees were allowed them for their labor. Bound by gratitude, love, honor, every¬ thing men hold sacred, were these men to deliver this estate to those for whom it had been built up by the deceased and to whom he had willed it. We suppose one of these executors to prove faithless in tlie discharge of his sacred trust. Society condemns him as a wretcli ; tlie law denies him his commis¬ sions— his pay; his name is a reproach among men ; lie has upon him the curse of God and man; a wretch abhorred. No reproach is too severe for him. He has wronged the dead and defrauded the living. All men agree in condemning him, All understand his exceeding baseness. So is it with tlie last will and testament of a man. Turn to the God-man, Christ Jesus. Though he was rich, yet for our sakes lie became poor, that in his poverty he might amass a fortune to enriched men. He worked for it— toiling as never man toiled, enduring what never man endured. Pa¬ tiently, painfully, he toiled to build up an estate. Never was a man more energetic, more devoted to his work, to the building up of a fortune. And lie succeeded. A fortune which moth and rust cannot cor¬ rupt, into the store-houses of which thieves cannot break and which they cannot steal, he built up. He wrought out in pain and sorrow an eternal inheritance of life, which it is his to bequeath to men. His sufferings were as much greater than any man’s in amassing his fortune as his riches are more lasting than man’s. All the time he was amassing this fortune he was writing his will and teaching and qualifying for their responsible duties a portion of his executors, that they in turn might instruct the others how to perform their duty. Who are his executors? All his brethren. To them he lias committed all his estate — even the words of eternal life— and to them he issued his commission or letters testamentary, as he said, “ Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature;” in other words, deliver my for¬ tune to those for whom it was made and to whom it is bequeathed. If this commis¬ sion, delivered first to the apostles, does not apply to all believers neither can these latter claim tlie promises made to the former. Nor is this testament unsealed, but with seal such as human will never bore, even with his own heart’s blood. Every executor of that will— and every believer is such— is bound to carry out tlie commission. Bound to it by every con¬ sideration that is sacred among men— love, gratitude, honor, obedience of subject to king, humanity. Everything that is true, and high, and noble in a Christian man, urges him to fulfil bis duty. Every man, and woman and child, who believes in Jesus Christ, and accepts from Jesus Christ a share in that eternal life which he wrought out for men, becomes, in that very accept¬ ance, bound to extend its blessings to others. So Paul felt himself a debtor to all men to preach the gospel to them. He was one of Christ’s executors, and holding in his hand the estate of Christ, he was debtor to every man for whom Christ died, until he conveyed to him the portion that was his. To keep it was to be a thief- defrauding Christ and those for whom Christ wrought.— Rom. i; 14-17. Shall a man be faithful to a human tes¬ tator, and with an estate which perishes with the using, and prove unfaithful to the Christ and with his estate, which brings to all who will accept an inheritance "incor¬ ruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away ? ” If the man who proves un¬ faithful in the conveying to the heirs of an earthly estate their share thereof is ac¬ cursed, if all men condemn him, what shall be said of him who withholds from a human soul its portion of Christ’s estate- even eternal life? The question appals. And it appals all the more when the awful fact is borne in mind that hundreds, nay, hundreds of thousands of professed Chris¬ tians are thus unfaithful. They have re¬ ceived to give, and they have not given — bread to the hungry, drink to the life to the dying. These things hat committed to them in trust for the | ing, by their dying Lord, and they give them noj. To the faithful there is reward ; peace, joy, approving conscience, gladness in the Lord in this world, and in the world to come a crown of rejoicing, studded with ns many gems as is the number of heirs of Christ, whom they, as faithful executors have helped to come into possession of their fortune of eternal life. Reader, are you a believer in Christ? Then are you an executor of Christ, en¬ trusted with his gifts of life for your fellow- men ? Are you faithful ? You must come into judgment.— Mt. xxv: 31-46. INCREASE OF MISSIONARY FORCE. Never before in the history of the For¬ eign Mission Board has there been witnessed such a scene as was presented on the evening of Monday, June 4th. Nine young men, all of them from the Seminary, came before the Board, asking appointment to foreign fields. Two of them were full graduates of the Seminal^, several had been there two years, and some only one. In response to the earnest appeals of the Board for men to supply the places of those who have fallen on the field and to reinforce those who all alone are facing the great odds against them, these young men have come, some of them giving up the long cherished desires of their hearts to take a complete course at the Seminary. But their hopes, with them¬ selves, they have laid upon God’s altar, saying, as some did, “ Г want to go back to the Seminary, but more than that-I want to do the will of God.” "If none better prepared are willing to go, I will,” &c. Sec. In answer to earnest, repeated prayer for men, the Board feels that God has sent these, and after careful examination into their physical, mental and spiritual fitness it has accepted them for the work. The list is ns follows ; A. B. Rudd, of Va., field of labor not fully determined on. T. C. Britton, of N. C., to China, J. A. Brunson, of S. C., to China. L. N. Chappell, of N. C., to China. T. J. League, of S. C., to Mexico. W. T. Lumbley, of Miss., to Africa. E. F. Tatum, of N. C., toCliina, A. C. Watkins, of Mississippi, field not determined. J. G. Chastain, of Miss., to Mexico. Besides these, the following young ladies were appointed for Mexico : Misses Lillian Wright, ofN. C., and L. C. Caba- niss.of Va.,as teachers in Madero Institute ; and Miss Fannie E. Russell, of Va., to Guadalajara, It will be remembered (hat at the meet¬ ing of the Board in February, brethren H. R. Moseley, of S. C., anil J. A. Barker, of Va., were appointed, the former to Mexico, and the latter to Brazil. So that the Board has now under appointment eleven men and three ladies. If each of these young men should marry — as some have already done and all ought to— our missionary force will be increased by twenty-five workers this year. Probably still other appointments will be made. God has given us open fields and men and women to enter them. Now is it for ns to show the sincerity of our prayers for these in the past, by at once providing.thc means for sending the laborers into' the fields. Each and every Christian should lend a helping hand in the work. t. ‘‘ Conversion has three stages— of the head, of the heart, and of the pocket. And of these tlie last is the rarest, and the being in it is a strong presumptive evidence of a one’s having passed through the other two stages, especially with peo¬ ple of moderate means. But the other morning a lady plucked me n bunch of pansies, fresh with the dews of night; and she said, as I took them, "I am glad to give them to you, for I know whenever I pick one pansy two will grow in its place.” So it Is with all the blessings God gives to his people— shared wtih others they double themselves. So a greater blessing comes to the giver than to the -receiver; - Oh, the poverty of the stingy 1 ' 4"