in through the narrow gate-all had ob- you must be silent, and find no excuse tained the promises "through faith and for your indifference! even now you might patience"-all had "come out of much weep with shame and sorrow at your want tribulation," and "endured a great fight of likeness to those faithful servants, with of afflictions," and had carried their cross whom you vainly hope, in your present and despised the shame. In one word, state, to live with for ever! No wonder they had been striving, and not seeking if there shall be weeping and gnashing of merely and the very sight of those men teeth hereafter, in seeing such men in of God, and the remembrance of all they God's kingdom, if you are thrust out; had been, and had done, while on earth, for this conviction must overwhelm your carries home to the hearts of the vain spirit,-that if they found the gate in the and wicked" seekers," the stern convic morning twilight, you might easily have tion, that their condemnation is just; seen it, and found it, in the noon-day that those holy men had resisted tempta- brightness; that if they carried such tions to which they yielded; and had heavy crosses, and pursued their solitary overcome difficulties by which they were but patient journey, for so many years repelled; and had pushed on in spite of those along the narrow way, you might have obstacles from which they had shrunk; carried your lighter cross, and pursued and, with fewer means and opportunities, your easier and shorter journey, amidst the and, it may be, with greater temptations companionships of the Christian Church, and difficulties, had entered that gate of and the manifold blessings of the latter self-denial which they, in their miserable day-if only, like those men, you had sloth and wickedness, thought so narrow, loved God, and had been in earnest! But that they turned aside from it for the you were slothful, and “workers of inibroad and easy way of fleshy self-indul-quity;" so you must feel that you deserve gence. What worker of iniquity, what slothful and unprofitable servant, in these days of Gospel light and privileges in which we live, dare attempt to excuse himself for his impenitence, when he beholds those servants of the Most High God in His kingdom? Had those patriarchs more light than we now possess? They lived during the dawn; we beneath the meridian splendour of Revelation! Were they called to an easier life than ours? or to the performance of labour which required less faith, less self-sacrifice, less crucifying of the flesh, than those which God has assigned to us now? Was it thus with Abraham, who left his country, and lived a stranger in the land amidst idolaters, and, at God's simple command, offered up his only son, whom he loved? Was it so with Moses, who preferred to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season? Was it so with Daniel, who accepted the lions' den with God, rather than the palace without Him? Was it so with that cloud of witnesses mentioned by Paul in the 11th chapter of the Hebrews? Read the chapter, ye slothful, and even now to perish! Verse 29,-"They shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."-Not in vain has the Gospel been preached by faithful missionaries! In spite of the slothful, who would not enter the gate themselves, and who, consequently, cared not though the whole world should follow their example; in spite of all the arguments and opposition of the enemy, "a multitude greater than any man can number, of all nations, and kindred, and people," shall sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb. The redeemed "from the east," that mighty host which will have been gathered to Christ from the days of "righteous Abel," down to the last convert in Hindostan or China, will all mingle with the multitude who will pass to glory "from the west," throughout succeeding ages, the increasing millions of the vast American continent. "They shall come from the south!"-The south seas have already furnished many guests; and many more from those clustered and far-spread islets and island-continents, will mingle with the African negro, and with the 66 cultivated European, and with the lonely Esquimaux and Greenlander, who will "come from the north :" and the " one family" will sing with one heart the new song of praise to the Redeemer,-" "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood; out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us, unto our God, kings and priests." "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered them out of the lands from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south." And when we read, even now, the history of God's work among the heathen, and see what He hath wrought," and what has been accomplished in them and by them-what battles have been fought, and victories won, over long accumulating ignorance and superstition -what agonizing partings with kindred have been endured-what sacrifices of body and soul have been made in holding fast to duty-what steadfastness, amidst opposition, has been manifested by them: and when we contrast this earnest and laborious striving among those who have been "last" called to the knowledge of Christ, with the sloth and indifference, the carnality, covetousness, prayerlessness, and hardness of heart, among those who have been "first" called; who cry, Lord, Lord,” and “hear Christ teach," and "eat and drink in His presence," yet are, after all, mere seekers, and, in God's sight, "workers of iniquity;"-then do we already understand how those who are accounted last now, will be first then; and how those who vainly think themselves first now, will be last then; and how our Capernaums, where Christ teaches daily, may, because of their unbelief in the midst of their boasted privileges, receive, at last, a more dreadful condemnation; and though now "exalted to heaven, be then thrust down to hell!" When we hear, for instance, of the Sandwich Islanders already supporting all their missionaries and schools, without aid from the Home Church: or read of others who, a few years ago, were fierce savages, now forming themselves into prayer meetings and missionary societies, and sending to Britain several hundred pounds as their contributions to the cause of missions,— may not many professing Christians in our land already hear, in all this, the echo of righteous condemnation upon their worldliness and sloth. the converted heathen being judges? Let us learn, then, from this passage, to be in earnest, if we would possess true religion, or any good! Let all mere formality, empty talk, outside profession, and pretence, be banished from us, as a lie; for whatever else shall stand at judgment, all that is false must surely perish; and whatever else commands a blessing, certain it is, that no blessing can possibly rest upon insincerity and want of earnestness. Let us never forget that we are, truly, just what God knows us to be; and that having a name to live will not save us, (though it may deceive us,) if the heart-searching God, who cannot be mocked, sees that we are cold formalists-empty pretenders slothful hypocrites-dead! May God quicken us more and more through the Spirit of Life which was in His Son! May He breathe on those dry bones, that they may live! May He deepen on our souls a sense of our responsibility-increase our faith in the reality of things unseen-awaken in us a more abiding conviction of the necessity of solemn earnestness, in making our calling and election sure; that, in His sight, we may all, not only seek, but "strive" to enter in at the strait gate, and to walk along the narrow path which leadeth into life! A PSALM OF LIFE. Tell me not in mournful numbers, Life is real! life is earnest ! Is our estimate too low, if we suppose that there is only one in ten professing Protestants, who sincerely desire that Christ's kingdom should come, and who labour to advance it? But if we could indulge the hope, that there are seven millions in the world who know and love the Gospel, even this would afford about one labourer only for every hundred heathens, Mohammedans, or Jews! But are there seven millions, or one million, really alive to the importance of the great work of converting the world to Christ? The whole Protestant Church now • Die Biene aus die Missions felde. July, 1849. supports about 37 Missionary Societies for the conversion of the heathen. Bible, Tract, and Prayer-book Societies, are not included in this estimate; nor are societies for the conversion of the Jews, or for educating native females in heathendom. The 37 Missionary Societies are thus divided: Germany, 8 England, 9 America, 7 2 Continent, 15 1 Britain, 15 It is difficult to ascertain from the Reports of those societies, the number of labourers in the mission field. Some Reports omit to mention the native assistants, or female teachers; others, again, + Tabellarische uebersicht uber die Protestantischen Missionare, 1846. include agents of every kind, as such, printers, translators, &c. It is calculated, that about 5000 persons are employed abroad in this work of missions ;-2440 of whom have been sent forth from Europe and America. The others are native agents. The number converted from heathenism, who are now in communion with the Church of Christ, is about 147,000. There have been baptized, about 400,000. M. Gosner of Berlin, calculates, that supposing all the ordained Protestant Missionaries to be equally divided among the heathen, there would be one missionary only to every 428,571 of the heathen. This would be in the ratio of one missionary to a heathen population almost equal to that of both Edinburgh and Glasgow ! The sum given by all the Protestant Church for missions to the heathen, is, in round numbers, about £500,000; of which Great Britain contributes about £350,000. It has been asserted, that the offerings presented, in one year, to the temple of the goddess Kali, in Calcutta, equalled the revenues of the whole Protestant Church for missions. Mr. Medhurst states, in his "China and the Chinese," that "the cost of gold and silver paper burnt" (in honour of idols) "in China, in a year, exceeds a hundred times all the money collected in the Christian world annually for Bible, Tract, and Missionary Societies!" It has been stated, that Scotland consumes, each year, about £5,000,000 in intoxicating drinks; and Glasgow alone, £1,300,000. Yet we everywhere hear complaints of the want of means to aid the cause of missions! The present age may be designated as the age of missions. Let us glance at their recent and rapid increase. The Society for the Propagating of the Gospel in Foreign parts, instituted in 1701, was the first, Protestant Missionary Association ever formed. The next 85 years gave birth to four only, - viz., Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, (1701;) Society of Halle, (1705;) the Moravian Mission, (1732;) the Wesleyan Mission, (1786.) During the next 14 years, (from 1786 till 1800,) five societies were established, -The Baptist, (1792;) London, (1795;) Edinburgh, (1796;) Netherlands, (1797 ;) Church Missionary, (1799.) Thus, during the whole of the 18th century, ten societies only, formed the whole missionary staff of the Protestant Church; the one-half of these growing up within the last 14 years of the century. During the first ten years of the present century, one society only (Berlin, which sent forth Rhenius and Gutslaff,) was added to the number. America entered the field in 1810. Between this and 1820, five great missionary societies were established in the United States. The American Board of Commissioners, (1810;) the Baptist Union, and Baptist General Convention, (1814;) the Presbyterian, (1816;) the Methodist Episcopal, (1819;) the Protestant Episcopal, (1820.) The Basle Society was formed in 1816. From 1820 till the present year, 15 missionary societies have been added to the number,-viz., Berlin, (1823;) Paris, (1824;) Barmen, (1828;) the Church of Scotland, (1829;) Hamburg, (1835;) Dresden, (1836;) Laussanne, (1837;) Glasgow, (1838;) Wales, (1840;) Ulster, (1840;) Gosners in Berlin, (1842;) Norway, (1842;) Free Church, (1843;) American Lutheran, (1843;) Scotch Secession, (1844.) It thus appears, that, for 156 years after Luther's death, there was not one Protestant Missionary Society; and that all such societies now in existence, with four exceptions, have sprung up during the last fifty years. The last thirty-eight years have given birth to 20 of those; the last ten years, to 7. At one of the missionary meetings held last year in New York, a very old man, Deacon Harvey, addressed the meeting. This man could have said, "When I was sixty-two, there was but one missionary society in all Great Britain; now there are 15. When I was upwards of sixtyfour, there was not one missionary society in all the United States of America ; there are now 7. When I was eighty, there were but 2 missionary societies in the Continent of Europe; there are now 15! When I was an old man, above three score years and ten, the whole Continent of India, China, and the Islands of the Pacific, were shut against the Gospel. Those countries are now all opened up to Christian Missions, and tens of thousands, who then worshipped idols, have since been turned to the worship of the living and true God!" All this could have been said by that old man, for he was 111 years of age; and we have supposed him thus addressing the assembly in which he spoke, that our readers may realize what has been accomplished during even the old age of a living man! PARISH MISSIONARY ASSOCIATIONS. OUR General Assembly has, more than once, earnestly recommended the formation of Missionary Associations in every parish. And ought not every Christian congregation to recognize itself as a missionary society? Is this not involved in its very name? Must not its Christian character, and missionary character, stand and fall together? Is not a Christian congregation, a congregation of Christians? And can such exist without loving Christ, and desiring, consequently, that all should know Him, and love Him; and that His kingdom should come into the heart of the whole world, and His holy and loving will be done on earth as it is done in heaven? Such arrangements as we propose in this paper cannot, obviously, though adopted, give any life to a congregation; but where the life of Christian love exists, they will tend, by God's blessing, to nourish it, and they will also afford an opportunity for its expression in "works and labours of love." With the view, then, of assisting those ministers who are anxious to adopt efficient measures, in order not only to interest their flocks in the great cause of missions generally, but also to increase their interest in, and their contributions to, the Missions of our own Church, we beg to make the following suggestions to aid them in forming a Parochial Missionary Association : *1. Let the names of all the male and female communicants be arranged in lists, according to their several localities, each • In some parishes, a simple and efficient method is adopted at each communion, to ascertain, with accuracy, the name and residence of each member. The Sabbath previous to the communion, cards are issued, having printed upon them "Name," "Designation," Residence." The intending communicant fills up those cards at home, and, on the Fast-day, they are exchanged for tokens. These cards enable the Session-clerk to keep an accurate communion list containing the names of such a number of persons as can be conveniently called upon, monthly, by one collector. In towns, from 10 to 20 families are found to be as many as can be visited regularly. It is found better to assign to collectors, names, rather than districts. Demands are thus made upon fellow-worshippers, and communicants only, who must be presumed, from their very profession, to have an interest in such work, and to be willing to aid it. The minister has also an opportunity of addressing such from the pulpit, and of explaining the objects of the visits made to them by the collectors, answering their objections, &c. This, however, does not exclude district collecting. 2. Let the annual subscription be a fixed sum, say 1d. a-month, for one, or more of the Schemes, as the subscriber may select. According to this system, no subscriber can give more than 58. per annum; while any small sum (even a halfpenny a-year) should be cheerfully received from the poorest member. The reason for this suggestion is, that it enables the rich and poor to meet together, and prevents the latter from refusing the pence, because ashamed to see them stand beside the pounds. All sums, over and above the annual subscription, should be received as donations at the end of the year. 3. It is of importance, that the subscriptions should be called for, if possible, monthly. There are very many people who have no objection to give considerable sums in copper, who cannot, however, in roll, and supply the collectors with the names of the members of the church. In some parishes. the female communicants have an association of their own, in support of Female Education in India. In such a case, when it is of importance to have a separate list of the female communicants, the plan has been adopted of printing their cards with red letters, and giving them out on a different day, or at a different hour. |