- Title
- The Commission, February 1849
-
-
- Date
- February 1849
-
-
- Volume
- 1
-
-
- Issue
- 2
-
-
- Editor
- ["Reynolds, J. L. (James Lawrence), 1814-1877","Taylor, James B. (James Barnett), 1804-1871","Kingsford, Edward, 1788-1859"]
-
- Creator
- ["Southern Baptist Convention. Foreign Mission Board"]
-
The Commission, February 1849
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-■ • -
- Ч; '•
VOLUME
.1,
NUMBER.
9,
*цГ ^
“Go
уо
into allllie worid:and'Proac|tiic gospel to every creature.’
• RICHMOND, FEB. 15, 1849.'
Sonlljcm Baptist "(Sonocntion. .
Correspondence of the Foreign Board.
Communications relating to the general busi¬
ness' of tlio Fmeign Mission Board, may be ad¬
dressed, post paid, to
James B, Taylor; Cor. Sec.
*• Richmond, Fa.
' *>i' . i V
Communications enclosing donations, or. relat-
Sto Uva financial department, may bo address-
;0 AnCIllBALD TllOMAS, Tpcas..
Richmond, Va.
How to Fulfil the Last Command.;'’
v
/
s '*■,
Does any Christian doubt what to do in fulfill¬
ing Christ's last injunction! Ho may aidj'in
preaching the gospel to erery creature by pccuni-
ary - gift
щ
Ilavo you great possessions! You
may lay them down at tho Saviour's feet. Or
tho widow’s mite! You may cast in all that
you have, even all your living. You may aid
in tho work, by prayer; aid, liko hhn of Peniel,
have power with God, and prevail. You may
aid by personal labor. . By a holy and blameless
life; by offices of kindness and. charity to the
afflicted and necessitous; by tbo inculcation of
divine truth in private, conversation man with
man, or in Sabbath schools and Bible classes; by
the distribution of religious tracts; by the circu¬
lation of tho Bible; by tho preaching of the
‘Word from house to house and in the sanctuary;
in one, or in all of these ways, you mayaid in
making known tho gloiiuus gospel of tho. bless-'
ed God. Freely you have received, frecly-'you
may give.
Ate you a Christian, and doubt what you may
do for Christ! Do with, your might what your
..JVpstAno.timfl.ia idlospecu-
""lotions 6r vain imaginings. Work while it is
called to-day. Do what the present hour per¬
mits: do it well, and do it for Christ. A vast
majority of tho servants of Christ must build up
tho walls of Zion as the priests in tho days of
Nehcmiah, “ every ono over against his house."
Perhaps, liko Paul, you pant to preach the
gospel, not where Christ has been named, lest
you build on another man's foundation; but as it
is written, To whom ho was not spoken of, they
shall see; and they that have not heard shall un-
deistand. Perhaps you hear the appeal so long
and so loudly rung through all the hosts of the
Lord, “ Whom shall wo send, and who will go
for us!" Your cheek is mantled with shame,
that so few and faint voices answer. Yet be not
impatient. Jesus Christ knowelh tho hearts of
all men. He sees what is passing in your
bosom, and at the fitting moment will mako
known his good pleasure. If you uso tho ap¬
pointed means to ascertain it, if you study, his
word, mark the events of his providence, consult
• the good and wise, estimate candidly your ability
to do and to endure, and your means of opera¬
tion, at the samo time guarding against all un¬
authorized partialities; above all, if you pray
fervently, Ho who said of Saul of Tarsus,
“Behold, he prayeth,” will cause it to bo told
you what you must do and suffer for his sake.
Meanwhile, neglect not your present appiopriata
work. Give no occasion to tha angels to say,
"Why stand ye hero gazing up into heaven!”
You may never preach the g03pcl to tho heathen.
What then! You may bo diligent in the- work
that Christ giveth you to do. You may be fer¬
vent in spirit, setving the Lord, lias Christ
told you what you must do? Commenco the
work. Though the designation has been unex¬
pected, delay not: though it involve great toil
and suffering, move right on. Be tho prescribed
course tough or smooth, safe or hazardous,— let
it admit rapid and pleasurable accomplishments,
or task tho moat determined resolution, and the
■atiost enduring fortitude,— confer not with flesh
and blood. Itc«\uiring no explanation, and etipu-
-lating no exemption, scizo. every opportunity fur
. fction, put- forth the most sffenuous effort, and
uccute the commission.' Emulate the apostle
Paul. He was not' disobedient to tWlieavenly
vision from tho hour.wh'en if was tuld!him.what
•j • ' rr ' Jr 4 --,*>* <»jr
he must do, till he was ready to. be.offercd up.
At Bamascus,
i, straightway, he preached” Christ
in tho synagogues, that he
?з
the Sonof,Gc.d;
at Jerusalem ho wa’a’with’ the apostles, coming
in and going out, s pif spake boldly in, tils1
паше
of tho Lotd Jesus: at Corinth, he determined to
know nothing among men, save Jesus Christ and
him crucified; at1 Ephesus, he taught' publicly
and from house to' house, ceasing not to warn
everyone night; and day will? tears. -Every
place alike, witnessed 'his fidelity; the 'synagogue
arid' the schcbl, the prison and tho palace, the
river side arid Mars’ hilff3 In laiSors abundant, in
stripes aGove measure; iri‘ prisons frequent, in
deaths oft;1 In’ weariness and pairifulriess, in hun¬
ger and thirst, in. cold. 'and nalredness, ship¬
wrecked, beaten, stoned; — none of these things
moved him. lie even rejoiced in his sufferings;
filling up that which remained of the afflictions
of Christ in his. flesh; ho.took pleasure mjnfirm
ities, and reproaches, and necessities, and peise?
cutiops, for Christ’s sake; and. counted not his
life dear unto himself, so, that he. might fiajsh bis
course with' joy,, and the ^ministry which he had
received of the Lord Jesus. • -,i,
Imitate Him who left us 'an example, that - we
should fnllojr him. Think "of his comparision,
seeking that which was; lost; his disinterested¬
ness, 'though rich, becoming,poor; 'tiis. persever¬
ance, .finishing his work. Remember^ his< lowli¬
ness^, washing- tho disciples’' feet; his .meekness,
though reviled, not reviling again; his iqititudc,
enduring tho cross; his magnanimity, praying for
his murderers.- Consider him that endured such
contradiction of sinners 'against himself, and te-
joico that you-mjy
Ье-Шсо*
him" •\boJyiori,Iabbf
in obscurity? Christ took upon him the form of
a servant. In poverty! The Son of Man had
not where to lay his head. Do you incur re
proach? Christ was rejected of men. Shall
you submit to scoff! Ho hid not his face from
shame and spitting, Shall you endure violence*
lie gavo his back to the «miters, and his cheek
to them that plucked off his hair. Shall you
hazard death! He poured out his 60ul unto
death, and with the wicked made, his grave.
If any man
Ьате
not tiia spirit of Christ, he is
none of his.
Condition of Females in China.
To give any adequato idea of tho Tarious and
complicated miseries existing in China, would
fill a volume. Female infanticide, we have rea¬
son to believe, is very common. It is thought
by some of tho best Chinese scholars, to be great¬
ly increased, if it wero not produced, by their
philosophical notions respecting the origin and
continuance of all things. There are two pow¬
ers of nature, according to their
Ьоокз,
on the
regular action of which the harmony, of the
universo, both physical and moral, depends.
Excess, or defect in either ppwer, deranges the
system of nature, and introduces disorder in the
affairs of mankind. The one of them they con¬
sider to bo of the masculino gender, the other of
tho feminine, and tho difference between tho two
they supi-oso as great as between tho “ vis mo¬
bile” and the “ vis inertia" of tho old philoso¬
phers.
To what extent the Inhuman practice of infan¬
ticide prevails in China, we have no means of
deteiminiog. In tho imperial city, after allowing
more than one half for natural deaths, the num¬
ber of exposed infants is, .«ding to Barrow,
ibout four thousand a year.
Some of the
ьсспез
ho witnessed while at
Pekin were almost incredible. Before tho carts
go around in the mornings to pick up the bodies
of infants thrown in tiro streets— amounting to
about four-and-twenty every night— dogs and
swine are let loose upon them. The bodies of
tlioso found are carried to a common pit without
the city walls, in whfch’lhe living and the dead
aid thrown together. This, however,
и
a small
pfpportion compared with other places.
in some, provinces, 'not one out of three is
suffered to live, and in others, as the write: has
been informed by the Chinese from those places,
the difference between the male and the female
population is as ono to ten. We believe the last
fact is .limited to the poorest parts of the empire.
" The most prevalent mode cf effecting this
crinjq is by suffocation, which is done by means
qffta piece of paper, dipped in vinegar, laid over
the face of the child po as to prevent it from
breathing, cither by means of its mouth or nos¬
trils. It is said to
к
frequently done to the aged
anti afflicted, to cut the brittle thread of life."
infanticide is almost exclusively limited to the
female sex ; and the condition of that
с!азз
of
thejeommunity, when spared, is an evidence as
wall one cause of the real barbarity .and
misery of the nation.
A Chinese writer, after quoting a largo pot-
tionjof one of their moral works on the inferiori:
■ty .and. treatment of females, makes the following
remarks: "The very dependent and degraded
state of females in China, may bo partly seen
frorij this extract. They ‘are, moreover, not al¬
lowed the confidence of their husbands, nor Is
sit aj the table with them, nor to have a voice in
domestic concerns, nor to visit the temples where
thefprayers bf tha unforlunato are supposed to
fmd^access. Religion is denied them. Little
attention seems to be paid to the peculiar circum¬
stances in which, as wives and mothers, they
may^bo- placed, ‘Rise; run; work; eat little;
speml little ; bo silent ; keep out of sight ; obey ;
bear; and rather bleed, starve, and die, than
darejto complain,’ is the genuine language of the
'hbofV'extract; Though' fortunately for them,
humanity, common sense, and interest in many
cases plead in their favor, and procure a relaxa¬
tion of the rigor of ethical and legislative re¬
strictions, yet where such restrictions have the
sanction both of public opinion and of supreme
authority, how is it possible to prevent their
hurtful operation on this tender half of human
nature.’’— AM.
A New Chart of the Earth.
I should like to see a new chart of tho earth
adjusted to a double scale of measurement, one
shewing the comparative surface, and the other
the comparative population, of the different sec¬
tions of the earth— all presenting a black ground,
except those spots where the gospel is preached.
And on a slip of white ground, I would have a
note of reference to Mark xvi : 15, 16 ; and this
I would have bound up in every Bible, so as to
face the same divine charge of Christ to his dis¬
ciples, It might be recommended to all church
members, deacons, pastors, and teachero of the¬
ology, to add to the note on their map, Romans
x: II, 15, and Isaiah vi : 8, to the last clause.;
which latter clause 1 would havo every student
in theology, and every young believer of good
talents and education, print on hiachaitin grand
capitals; preceded by, Lord what wilt thou
hare me to do!
Aa wo must habitually set the Lord Jcsu3 be¬
fore us, or not expect his lovo will habitually
constrain us ; so must we habitually conternplye
a fallen world, lying in the arms of the wicked
one, or not expect that our hearts will bo ex¬
ercised with any proper sympathies for tho per¬
ishing,— Gordon Hall.
Foreign Evangelical Society.
Tho society is still continuing its operations in
Franco, and not without good results. Its agents
aro much needed to resuscitate defunct Protes¬
tant congregations, as well as to. convert Papists,
Aa agent recently found in ono departpient of
the nation sixty vacant parishes. They said
they were formerly Protestants; now'llroy^liad
no religion. Of one hundred and fifty, domestic
Protestant missionaries, one-half had formerly
been Roman Catholics. Ten years ago, colpot,-
ienrs could only be obtained from Switzerland ;
now they are furnished in Fiance. Of one hun¬
dred and twenty colporteurs,, ono hundred and
tea were once Roman Catholics, and : one-half ,
the Board of tho Evangelical. Society 'wero for¬
merly Roman Catholics.
I Ml I’ll»
nii.-psfernf: '
Walks About Simnghai.144
From the Chinese Repository, published at
Canton, an extract in reference to Shanghais,
selected.
ЙОТ
. December 27 !h.— Just as tho sun was, setting,
I emerged from the central and densely popula- !
ted streets of the city, and found inyself among
gardens and orchards approaching the western
walls, to which Isoon found my way, and con¬
tinued my walk upon the ramparts. At this
hour of the day, and in this season of the year,
tho prospect from this point is really picturesque.
On -the one side, beyond the walls, westward,
the rich plains stretch away much farther than
the eye can reach ; on the other, you have fiist
gardens and orchards, and country seats and tern:
pies, and then the dense city and suburbs, arid_
next theforests of masts marking the course of-»
the river, and also away in the distance rnyth- •
ward yob have a glimpse bf some of the foreign
residences. Nearly one third part of the weal-
»
ern side of Shanghai city is without houses, ek-
cepting isolated buildings scattered here and
there. Numerous patches of grounj, all along
this part cf the city, ate coveted with mementos
of those whose remains now lie there moulder-.
, .i--. -
•*.-..•*’•4»*.
- * -ai— -T.'iiniiB:! ■
iog back to dust.
December 2Slk,—\ contrast, Oh, what a con¬
trast! The European houses and factories, of
Shanghai, together with the new church, which
have just sprung up on “ the consular-grounds,1' -■
aro fair specimens of what; in their kind, is
everywhere to be seen in Christendom. From
these residences my walk, this afternoon, carried .
me up close along the western bank of the river,
through tho whole eastern suburb, neatly every
foot of which is covered with shops and ware:
houses and other buildings. What a' contrast
between all theso and those I had just left
Г
No
descriptions of tho pen or pencil could possibly
.draw out all the
Ипез
of contrast. They must
be seen as they are, in order to be understood.
The buildings are so ill coosttucted, dark and
uncleanly, the streets so narrow and so filled
with riffraff, rubbish, gamblers, beggars, etc.,
that a jaunt on foot or in a sedan, through these
streets,
1з
usually anything but agreeable, except
one desires to witness the miseries and the deg¬
radation of his species— here also, how fallen!
4**
'm
'f.dh
We cull tho following from a correspondent of
tho'Banner. Who will follow his example?
I frequently hear members of tho church conv
plaining that there are to many calls for benevo¬
lent purposes, and ono brother gavo mo this
reason, recently, for discontinuing tho Banner;
because there wero so many calls in it. I rc-
maiked that I thought if wo all would give more
for such purposes the Lord would blesa us more
in store in this world, and in the world to come .
life everlasting, .(that is if we give cheerfully,
expecting nothing.) And as a proof of my faith
on this subject I will give you my experience for
the past year. I was induced to try from an ar¬
ticle I saw in the Banner. I promised the Lord
in the beginning of last year :o givo 5 per cent,
of my income. Let' mo say hero I had faith,
and endeavored to show my faith by my work.
I have to report that my income has exceeded
any previous year, when prices of produce (l am ._
a farmer).'haye been lower this than for «everal
past yeats.
I
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