Foreign Mission J ournal
l*iiMi»lic<l tHonllily by tli<- I'orciKii ^Ilssioii Itoarri of lllie Moiillicrn IJnptlsI Convention.
“ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH. GO YE, THEREFORE, AND TEACH ALL NATIONS."
Vol. 10.— New Series. .RICHMOND, VA., NOVEMBER, 1878. No. 8.— Whole No. 104.
FOREIGN MISSION JOURNAL
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copies, to
от-
person . 40 " n copy.
Twenty or
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Fifty- or
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flS'I’lense remit by Draft, Foetal Oriler, or In Hcclstored
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Address, FOKKION MISSION JOURNAL.
RICHMOND, V A
FOREIGN MISSION BOARD
OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION,
I.ocatki) at RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.
Piiksidknt— J. I.. M. OURRY.
VlCK-FitKSIPENT.4.— Hiram Woods, Md.. J. A, Hackett,
Miss.. F. Courtney, bit., .1. H. Jeter, Va.,
И.
11. McCallum,
Fla., W M. Wingate, N. O., .1. b. Hiirrows. Ky„ S. Hen-
derson, Alabama, W. Fopo Yeaman, Mo., J. II. Link, Texas,
II. II. Tucker, Oil., .1. C. Furman, S. O., Matt. Hillsman,
Tenn., J. 11. Room-, Ark.
CniiiiKSroNlil.Nt) Sm itKTAitv— H. A. TUFFER.
Тнкллинки—
J. O. WIbblAMS.
Rkcokiumi Seciiktauv— W. II. GWATHMEY.
AUIUTOU— JOSEPH F. COTTlIKbb.
Нолан
op Manaokhs. — E. W. Warren, J. II. Watkins. II.
K, Kllyeon, W. K. Hatcher, 11. Wortlimn, Henry McDonald,
W. Goddln, 11. H. Harris.
Л.
K. Dickinson..!. W. Jones,
Л.
H.
Olnrke, J. II. Wlnetou, T. .1. Evans,
С.
H. Winston, J. R.
Garllck. _
K33~A II communication# in reference to the business
of this Hoard should be addressed to II.
Л.
Turrmt,
Corresponding Secretary, Richmond, Va.
FORM OF BEQUEST.
“I hereby give itml bequeath unto the Southern
Baptist Convention, formed in Augusta, Georgia,
in the inontli of May, ISIS, and chartered by the
Legislature of the State of Georgia, by an act
passed and approved December 2!)tli,
184Г»,
( here
insert the amount, if in money, or * subject if
other properly, either real or personal,) for Foreign
Missions.”
TELL IT TO JESUS.
IVe beard the other day of a little hoy in whom
we felt much interest. The little fellow hud
learned to read, and had read one or two interest¬
ing books — perhaps Robinson Crusoe, Goldsmith's
Natural History, and Pilgrim’s Progress. lie had
learned enough to wish to learn more, and was
very anxious to go to school. ] [is father was poor,
and wliat was more, did not care to have him
study. lie thought that his son knew enough “to
learn a trade.” That little book “Tell it to .le-
sus” fell into the boy's hands, and ho determined
that lie would tell to Jesus the grejit desire of his
heart; hut thinking that Jesus was not. in the city,
lie wrote hint a letter, and dropped it in the post-
olllce, merely addressed to “lllessod Jesus.” The
little epistle ran somewhat like tills :
My dear Jesus — I want to go to school so much.
My father is too poor to send me. Can’t you help
me?
The post-master, not knowing what to do with
the letter, concluded to open it. His heart was
touched, and lie resolved that he would do some¬
thing for the boy. A few miles from town there
wa3 a lady of wealth who did much good, and lie
took the letter to her. She directed that the boy
should he found ; and the good woman arranged
to send him to school and to college.
The lady who told us the incident had a residence
twelve miles out of the place where the boy lived,
and we have some reason for thinking that she Is
the Very Good Woman who took and educated
the lad, who lmd learned the Important lesson of
telling his troubles to Jesus.
Now notice the state of mind which led the boy
to tell his wish to Jesus. It Is not every body that
we “tell tilings to,” especially the things which
are working in our hearts. Before we do this we
must know the person -and have some confidence ;
and we commonly expect sympathy, or comfort,
or encouragement, or assistance. There is more
of this in young people than In the old. This is the
beauty and power and dignity of childhood and
youth. Age, with its disappointments ami dis¬
coveries, with regard to poor human nature, Is apt
to he over-cautious and suspicious; and this state
of mind, when directed toward God, is known as
skepticism orlnlidelity. Hence, when the proper re¬
lations between God and tliti soul are reformed the
soul must he born again. It becomes “ like a little
child,” and knows its Heavenly Father, and trusts
his Son, who, as the express linage of the Father,
is called the word. And the “partaker of the
divine nature” Is like his elder brother, “The
Word,” in the respect that bis mystic attribute of
speech— more mysterious than telephone or phono¬
graph — Is sunctitlcd, and freely employed as the
medium of a blessed friendship and fellowship, and
communion between the soul and the Saviour.
And It is a test of regeneration, and one of the
simplest and subliinest acts of which a human
spirit is capable in regard to anything oj- every¬
thing, to tell it to Jesus.
Notice again in this incident that the boy suc¬
ceeded in doing wliat lie wished by telling it to
Jesus. We presume that Jesus saw the note, and
sent the post-master to that good woman, and
that Jesus put it into the heart of the good woman
to educate the boy. And this is the main lesson
to be learned, that telling nil to Jesus is the great
law of successful life. Suppose that a young man
should desire to get a situation on a railroad, and
lie was in intimate and confidential relations with,
for instance, the railroad king, Thomas Scott,
would not the very tiling for him to do be to tell it
to Mr. Scott? Suppose a young lady wished a
place in one of our public schools, and she was
much esteemed by the Superintendent of Educa-
| tiou, would it not give the best hope of success to
tell it to the Superintendent? Now who is Jesus?
View the government of the world into its depart¬
ments of Nature and .Providence, and the Heav¬
enly Kingdom, and who is at the head of each and
all of them ? Jesus is the Lord of the Heavens
and the earth ; and his hand controls the events of
life, and lie is emphatically the God of Grace.
There is no gift, therefore, that he cannot bestow,
no ditllculty that lie cannot relieve, no desire that
lie cannot satisfy ; and the best that the longing or
tried soul can do is to tell it to Jesus.
So important is this law that we do not know
but that man is organized with the ability and dis¬
position for such communication primarily to en¬
able him to tell everything to Jesus. Wo say
to tell to Jesus. The little boy made a com¬
mon mistake when lie wrote instead of talking.
The popular idea is, that Jesus is far from us.
IIow often do we bear Christians pray that Jesus
would come and visit his people. We cannot And
anything like that In the writings of the Apostles.
Since the day of Pentecost. Jesus in his spirit, has
been perpetually with bin churches, and shall never
he absent from them. lie is here, at this moment,
just as truly as he was on a certain day in the House
of Mary and Martha ; in the synagogue at Capcr-
nluui ; or in the temple at Jerusalem. And so he
is in the closet ; and in the place of business; and
In the walk or the social gathering. Hence, Jesus
Is not to be loudly called to in prayer, as the
Priests bawled at their God, nor written to. as the
little hoy did ; but lie is to he talked with, as we
converse with a friend. Indeed, he Is In the soul
ol the Child of God, and we can talk with him in
thought and in spiritual affection. This is the ex¬
cellence of the relation, it is present, it is incessant.
He Is a very present help in every time of need.
And what a help? This talking with Jesus, which
is the life of faith, lays bold upon the omnipotent
arm and stirs the inllnlto heart of Ood, and noth¬
ing is impossible to it. More than mountains
of granite may be removed, and more than rivers
of joy may be enjoyed.
A young woman longs to go to the heathen. We
have at least twenty letters from her by our side.
As the heart pants for the water brooks, so pants
her soul after this work. The Board have not the
money to send her. Sundry methods to get aid
has she employed. She oilers to sell her little
personal property. She writes to many ministers
find missionary societies. She has applied to some
wealthy members of the church. One of the re¬
plies she sends to us. ller soul was chilled by the
words: “I have nothing for you. Charity begins
at home.” The day has been, when we would say
personally, go to thy chosen work, and God speed
thee, thou earnest child of the Most High. But
now we say better things : Young friend, perhaps
you have looked too much to frail mortals like your¬
self. Goil would have all the Glory. Take en¬
couragement from the incident on which wo have
commented. Test the regeneration of your heart;
remember the God-like power of sanctified speech;
be not overwhelmed by your disappointments; be
assured you will succeed, tell it to Jesus.
"HOLD, ENOUGH.”
We indulge rarely in anecdotes. It is said, how¬
ever, that a Methodist preacher was requested to
pray for rain, and the prayer was followed by a
freshet. Acliurcit-of-Eugland gentleman remarked,
“That is tlie way with the Methodists, they always
overdo everything.” We are disposed to apply
tlie Engl is! i gentleman’s remark to our South Car¬
olina brethren. We beg them to send money,
but no more money for tlie “Rome Chapel.”
But we beg all tlie other States, except Vir¬
ginia, to pray on, and pay on for tlie chapel,
and see if they too cannot “overdo” tlie mat¬
ter. Wo like tlie Methodist spirit in missionary
matters, as well as in many other respects; and
promise tlie other States, that so soon as their con¬
tributions begin to threaten a freshet in our treas¬
ury, wo shall cry to them also, “ Hold, enough.”
Please Renew.— Let us urge our readers to
renew their subscriptions. It is very important
that tlie Journal shall lie self-supporting.
