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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
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W, G. E. CUNNYNGHAM, D.D. 
 
THE FOREIGN MISSIONARY 
 AND HIS WORK. 
 
 BY W. G. E. CUNNYNGHAM, 
 
 Nine Tears a Alissiotiary in China. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 WALTER R. LAMBUTH, 
 
 Senior Missionary Secretary, M. E. Churcli, South. 
 
 % 
 
 Nashville, Tenn. : 
 
 Publishing House of the M. E). Church, South. 
 
 Barbee & Smith, Agents. 
 
 1S99. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1899, 
 
 By the Book Agents of the M. E. Church, South, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
TO MY ESTEEMED FRIEND AND BROTHER, THE 
 
 FORTY YEARS MISSIONARY TO THE CHINESE, 
 
 THIS LITTLE VOLUME 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY 
 
 The Author. 
 (3) 
 
PREFATORY. 
 
 The following pages have been prepared with the 
 hope that the suggestions they contain may be help- 
 ful to some Christian j^oung men and young women 
 who are preparing themselves for foreign mission 
 work. The reader will observe that the treatment of 
 the subject is not denominational, but general, em- 
 bracing such matters as are common to all Protes- 
 tant missionary operations. The treatise is elementa- 
 ry and preparatory in character, and intended not 
 so much for those already at work as for those in 
 preparation for the foreign field. The suggestions I 
 have ventured to make are the result of nine j^ears' 
 experience as a missionary in China, and twenty-nine 
 years' connection with a mission board at home. 
 
 Will the Christian reader please ask God's blessing 
 upon this little book? W. G. E. C. 
 
 Nashville, Tenn., May 1, 1899. 
 
 (5) 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 BY KEV. WALTER R. LAMBUTH, 
 Senior Missionary Secretary of the M. E. Church, South. 
 
 The couversiou of the world is a conquest which 
 makes the highest claims upon faith and demands the 
 noblest qualities of leadership. The author of this book 
 was for years a foreign missionary, a superintendent of 
 missionary work, a member of the Board of Missions, 
 and the leader of the great Sunday school movement 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In devo- 
 tion, in faith, in ripe personal experience, and in his 
 unstinted service to the cause of missions he is emi- 
 nently qualified to counsel those who are in prepara- 
 tion for the foreign field. 
 
 In a survey of the religious condition of the world 
 we are confronted by heathenism massed, compacted, 
 intrenched. It is only by sounding its depths that we 
 can fully realize the necessity for the gospel. Among 
 a heathen people we find sin organized, that it prop 
 agates itself, is aggressive, and must be overcome by 
 the truth incarnated in some man or woman. It is 
 not the going of the missionary with the salt of Chris- 
 tianity in his hand or even in his heart, he is himself 
 
 (7) 
 
8 The Foueign Missionary. 
 
 that salt. His life which is hid with Christ in God is 
 the savor of life unto life, as he walks in the midst 
 of moral decomposition and spiritual death. Once 
 realize that the heathen are Christless, and the sense 
 of their utter need is forced upon us. This sense can 
 be exceeded only bj' our obligation to carry the Christ 
 and his evangel to those who are lost. 
 
 In speaking of the heathen world and its ten hun- 
 dred millions of unsaved souls, Bishop Thoburn 
 writes: " It is not that they have never heard of His 
 name, that they have never felt the influence of what 
 we call Christianity, that they have never been 
 brought into contact with Christian institutions or 
 Christian civilization; but that Christ is not jDcrson- 
 ally known to them, is not among them in the sense 
 in which he promised to be with his people for ever- 
 more, and that they are deprived of all the unspeak- 
 able privileges which those who enjoy jDcrsonal fel- 
 lowship with him so freely receive." 
 
 It has been divinely ordered that men and not an- 
 gels should be put in trust with the gospel. If it is 
 man's greatest mission to imi)art a personal knowl- 
 edge of Jesus to others, it is fundamental that he him- 
 self should know Jesus. This lies at the basis of 
 all preparation. Without it there can be neither a 
 sense of personal obligation nor sustained effort. 
 The taproot of conviction is here, and the fruit of 
 discipleshii) grows only out of this knowledge of 
 
The FoitEiGN Missionary. 9 
 
 Christ and onr fellowship with him. Given this con- 
 scious relationship, and the missionary will have the 
 faith that knows no defeat, the hope that "is as bright 
 as the promises of God," and that passion for souls 
 which constrained the great Moravian leader to cry 
 out: "That land shall henceforth be my country 
 which most needs the gospel!" 
 
 Preaching is preeminently the means of propaga- 
 ting the gospel. It stands first and must ahvays be 
 given the right of way, but w^e can no more place 
 arbitrary limitations upon the methods of the Spirit 
 of God than we can upon his power. His methods of 
 operation are as diverse as the individuality of the 
 agents employed. The supreme aim of the mission- 
 ary is to deposit saving truth with the greatest swift- 
 ness and effectiveness in the hearts of the greatest 
 number of people. Pulpit ministrations, especially 
 among an Oriental people, may sometimes be laid 
 aside for personal work, for didactic instruction, or 
 for medical relief. After all, this is preaching as 
 Christ preached, and ministering as the great apos- 
 tle ministered. 
 
 We have reached a point in missionary work where 
 we must revert to apostolic sources of power, if not to 
 ajDOStolic methods. The gospel is a message of love. 
 "It must come to the missionary from a heavenly 
 source, and take hold upon him with the charm of a 
 divine novelty. It must be so fresh, so vivid, so 
 
10 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 original to his own heart that he cannot help want- 
 ing to tell it to the world." Philology has recently 
 united with history in pointing out the solidarity of 
 the human race, and the spirit of altruisna reaffirms 
 the assertion of the apostle Paul, that all nations of 
 men are made of one blood. In a higher spirit than 
 the altruistic--that of the fullness of the gospel — we 
 can declare in Christ the common brotherhood of 
 man, and in terms of a universal atonement commend 
 all men to the love of our Father. 
 
 Given the divine initiative, and missionaries will 
 seek and find the highest qualification for service; 
 the church they organize will not be an ecclesiastical 
 shell, but a living organism; their creation and 
 training of a native agency will be an adaptation to 
 the needs and genius of the people; and the principles 
 and policy of self-support will work out into a self- 
 respecting and self-propagating church which will in 
 turn carry the gospel into fields hitherto unreached. 
 
 The discussion of the subject-matter of this book 
 comes at a time when it is most needed. Hundreds of 
 young men and young women are offering for service 
 in the foreign field. The prayer, ' ' Lord, what wouldst 
 thou have me to do?" is a praj^erfor light. In an age 
 when the opportunity for pressing the work of world- 
 wide evangelization is of God, it is well to remind 
 ourselves of the Master's words: "Abide in me, and 
 I in you ' ' His abiding presence illuminates the work- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 11 
 
 man, while his promise to abide unto the end gives as- 
 surance of a completed work. 
 
 "Ah no, thou life of the heart, 
 Never shalt thou depart! 
 Not till the leaven of God 
 Shall lighten each human clod; 
 Not till the world shall climb 
 To thy height serene, sublime, 
 Shall the Christ Avho enters our door 
 Paf?s to return no more." 
 
 Nashville, Teuu., May, ISOO. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. page 
 
 The Religious Condition of the World •. . . . 15 
 
 Chapter II. 
 The Religious Condition of the World (Continued). 26 
 
 Chapter III. 
 The Foreign Missionary 38 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 The Missionary at Work 51 
 
 Chapter V. 
 Preaching to the Heathen 60 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 Organizing a Native Church 69 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 A Native Ministry 81 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 Self-Sui^port of Native Churches 93 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 Mission Schools .103 
 
 Chapter X. 
 A Native Christian Literature 113 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 Medical Missions 119 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 A Short Argument for Foreign Missions 139 
 
 (13) 
 
The Foreign Missionary and His Work. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Religious Condition of the World. 
 christendom. 
 
 The latest and most reliable statistics show 
 that the present population of the world is about 
 fifteen hundred millions, divided religiously as 
 follows: Christians, 500,000,000; Jews, 8,000,- 
 000; Mohammedans, 180,000,000; pagans and 
 heathens, 812,000,000; or, if we divide the 
 world's population into Christian and non- 
 Christian, the figures stand thus: Christians, 
 500,000,000; non-Christians, 1,000,000,000. This 
 gives Christendom one-third of the human race, 
 leaving two-thirds who have no knowledge of 
 Jesus Christ, or who reject him as the Saviour of 
 the world. ^ 
 
 Among those classed as Christians there are 
 sects and denominations which we do not re- 
 
 1 " Short History of Missions," Edinburgh, 1894. 
 
 (15) 
 
16 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 gard as orthodox in creed or practice. If we 
 eliminate these, it reduces the number of those 
 whom we may regard as sound Bible Christians 
 to comparatively a ** little flock." The Lord of 
 all only knows who and where his people are. 
 We know that they are numerically inferior to 
 their enemies; but in moral power, and in all 
 that distinguishes the higher civilization of the 
 world, they are vastly superior. The gospel 
 has made Christendom what it is: " the light and 
 glory of the world." Sin has made heathen- 
 dom what it is; *'the land of darkness, and the 
 shadow of death." 
 
 The scope of the foreign mission field em- 
 braces all outside of evangelical Christendom, 
 or 1,000,000,000 of the human race. What a 
 vast field is this for Christian enterprise! We 
 cannot believe that the present moral and reli- 
 gious condition of the world is the result of any 
 divine purpose, as if God did not desire the sal- 
 vation of all men. He who gave his only- 
 begotten Son to die for our guilty race ciurinot 
 look with indiiference upon the wretched moral 
 condition of the millions of the heathen world. 
 He loves all men, and has done all that infinite 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 17 
 
 love and wisdom could devise for their salva- 
 tion. When the dying Son of God said upon 
 the cross, "It is finished," his part of the work 
 of redemption was complete; and after he came 
 up from the grave, just before he ascended to 
 his mediatorial throne in the heavens, he sent 
 his heralds into all the world with the gracious 
 invitation: "Come, for all things are now 
 ready. " The Holy Spirit has been given to ^ ' re- 
 prove the world of sin, and of righteousness, 
 and of judgment," and he has performed the 
 functions of his divine office faithfully. Why, 
 then, has the world not been converted to Christ? 
 Who is to blame for the failure? Who but the 
 Church? Has she not acted the part of a " sloth- 
 ful servant? "^ 
 
 If the Church had maintained her apostolic 
 zeal and activity; if the spirit of aggressive en- 
 terprise which characterized her early days had 
 continued to animate her, all the glorious prom- 
 ises and prophesies of God's Word concerning 
 the triumphs of the gospel in the earth would 
 have long ago passed into history, and a year of 
 jubilee celebrating the conversion of the last 
 
 1 See " Great Commission." 
 
18 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 2:)agaii nation would have marked a grand epoch 
 in the world's chronology. We should now 
 read with glowing hearts of the day when Asia 
 was declared a Christian continent, when the 
 last degraded tribe of Africa took its place 
 among the people of God, and when all the 
 kingdoms of the world united in crowning Jesus 
 "Lord of all." ^ 
 
 But alas! "the aggressive enterprise of the 
 Church gave place too soon to local and secular 
 influences." The great command, "Go ye into 
 all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
 creature," was neglected; ambitious alliances 
 with the world, and internal dissensions and 
 strifes, corrupted its piety, and paralyzed its 
 energies; the missionary spirit, which had dom- 
 inated the early Christians, began to decline, 
 and with this decline came a loss of moral 
 power, then decay and spiritual death followed, 
 until the light that was in the Church became 
 darkness; and how great was that darkness, 
 known in history as the "midnight of the 
 world!" 
 
 There were, however, even in this gloomy 
 
 1" Great Commission." 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 19 
 
 period of Church history, "a few names who 
 had not defiled tlieir garments," and who strove 
 to keep alive at least the name of true religion. 
 Burder says, "the missionaries formed the only 
 glory of these wretched times." *'It is true the 
 name of Christianity was widening its territory; 
 but the Church and, as a consequence, the civ- 
 ilization of the age were rapidly going hack into 
 barbarism. *The night had reached its merid- 
 ian.' Darkness covered the land and gross dark- 
 ness the people." 
 
 But God never forgets nor forsakes the cause 
 of righteousness in the earth. The morning 
 light of the Reformation began to dawn upon 
 the nations of Europe. Luther and his associ- 
 ates appeared at the critical moment, and by 
 tlieir evangelical labors restored the Bible and 
 a lost Christianity to the world. The Reforma- 
 tion did not, however, restore the lost spirit- 
 uality of the Church or its aggressive mission- 
 ary enterprise. It v/as an ecclesiastical and 
 theological reform, rather than an evangelical 
 revival. It did not awaken the sj^irit that 
 prompted the early Christians to go "every- 
 where preaching the word." The masses of the 
 
20 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 heathen world were left to j^erish. It is true a 
 few missionaries were sent out to South Amer- 
 ica, Lapland, Ceylon, and to the American In- 
 dians, but there was no general movement of 
 the Church toward the heathen world for near- 
 ly two centuries after Luther's death. ^ 
 
 The first Protestant missionary society was 
 organized in the beginning of the eighteenth 
 century or near the close of the seventeenth 
 century. This introduced a new era in the his- 
 tory of missions, the era of *' societies,"^ and 
 has done much to cultivate a missionary spirit in 
 the Protestant Churches of Christendom. 
 
 ' ' Weslcyan Methodism, being strictly mission- 
 ary in character, extended its operations to the 
 West Indies in 1786. The Baptist Missionary 
 Society was organized in 1*792; the London 
 Missionary Society, 1795. The American Board 
 of Foreign Missions began operations in 1810. 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church organized a 
 foreign missionary society in 1819. The Amer- 
 ican Presbyterian Board of Missions came into 
 existence in 1831. It is not the purpose of the 
 
 1 Stevens' " History of Methodism." 
 
 2 " Great Commission." 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 21 
 
 writer to follow, in this connection, the histor- 
 ical development of Christian missions, but to 
 give a brief sketch and summary of what has 
 been done through their agency; or, in other 
 words, to present in outline the social, political, 
 moral, and religious condition of that portion of 
 the human race which we call Christian. The 
 limits assigned to this subject forbid anything 
 more than a brief summary of the gross results 
 of what the gospel has done for the world, or 
 that part of the world immediately or indirect- 
 ly under its influence. 
 
 1. Christiaiis ride the world politically .^ Chris- 
 tians rule the world. Geographically they con- 
 trol two-thirds of the land surface of the globe, 
 and all the highways of the seas. More than 
 one-half of the human race is governed by Chris- 
 tian rulers. There are more Mohammedans un- 
 der the scepter of Queen Victoria than under 
 the Sultan of Turkey, and more pagans than 
 under any other ruler except the Emperor of 
 China. Her subjects in India, Ceylon, Hong- 
 kong, Aden, Africa, etc., number 200,000,000. 
 
 1 In this general exhibit all Christians 'Protestants, Catholics, 
 etc.) are classed together. See " Universal Geography;" "Com- 
 mercial Register." 
 
22 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 Add to these the French possessions in Armenia 
 and Africa and Russian possessions in Siberia. 
 These millions added to the 500,000,000 of 
 Christians make more than one-half of mankind. 
 Another fact to be taken into the account is 
 that, while the countries under Mohammedan 
 and pagan rule are nearly filled to their utmost 
 capacity, and their populations decreasing, the 
 territory and population of Christian countries 
 are annually increasing. The United States and 
 Great Britain have one hundred missionary so- 
 cieties in the Protestant Churches, employing 
 about nine thousand foreign missionaries, at an 
 expense of nearly eleven million dollars annual- 
 ly. They are thus constantly increasing the 
 area of their influence as Christian nations. ^ 
 
 2. Christian nations command the great armies 
 and names of the \rorld. They can dictate terms 
 of war or peace to the other nations, if they 
 choose to unite their great military powers. 
 While we do not class war with the evangelical 
 agencies for the conversion of the heathen world, 
 we must admit that it has done much to prepare 
 the way of access to many heathen lands, such 
 
 1 '* Religions of the World." 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 23 
 
 as China, Japan, India, and Africa, which the 
 missionaries could not have entered; or, if by 
 any means they could have entered, they could 
 not have remained without military protection. 
 God has overruled the counsels of kings and sen- 
 ates, and thus " made the wrath of man to praise 
 him." Even cruel war has been made to serve 
 the benevolent purposes of divine Providence. 
 God has placed the military power of the world 
 in the hands of Christian nations for a purpose. 
 
 3. The icealth of the loorld is owned hy Chris- 
 tians. "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness 
 thereof: the world and they that dwell therein." 
 Christians not only conduct the financial affairs 
 of the world, but they own its silver and gold, 
 control its commerce, and regulate its exchange. 
 The great gold-producing districts of the pres- 
 ent are the property of Christian nations. They 
 also own the manufactories and labor-saving 
 machinery of the world. 
 
 4. TJie thinklncj productive intellect of the world 
 is CJiristkm. The great schools and colleges, 
 and general machinery of education, are under 
 the management and ownership of Christians. 
 The poetry, historyj and philosophy worthy of 
 
24: The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 the name are all the product of Christian in- 
 tellect. Geography, mineralogy, natural philos- 
 ophy, chemistry, with all their kindred branches, 
 belong exclusively to Christendom. The men- 
 tal scepter of the world is in Christian hands. 
 The press, the telegraph that bears on its wings 
 of fire the active thought of a busy race, and the 
 steam that drives the machinery and performs 
 the manual labor of the civilized world are the 
 servants of Christian nations. 
 
 5. Christianity is the only true religion in. the 
 viorld and must ultimately triumph over all forms 
 of religious error. Truth is immortal, "the 
 eternal years of God are hers." She cannot 
 therefore perish. It is the only spiritual reli- 
 gion: the only one that deals directly with 
 man's spirit; the only one that has provided an 
 adequate atonement for sin, and that has power 
 to renew our sinful nature, making "us new 
 creatures in Christ Jesus" — "transforming the 
 sinner into the saint; " giving him moral ability 
 to keep God's holy law — to live a pure and use- 
 ful life in a sinful world, and the only religion 
 that can fit man for the " inheritance of thesaiuta 
 in light." All that we enjoy in this life, and all 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 25 
 
 we ho2:)e for in the life to come, we owe to the 
 blessed gospel of the Son of God. If all it has 
 done and is doing for the world were written, 
 *'I suppose that even the world itself could not 
 contain the books that should be written." 
 (Johnxxi. 25.) 
 
 Should Christian missions increase in number 
 and efficiency during the next century, relative- 
 ly, as they have done during the last hundred 
 years, the last pagan nation will have been con- 
 verted, and Jesus '* crowned Lord of all." 
 
 There are at present 13,432 mission stations 
 where the gospel is preached and taught in 
 schools; 7,800 organized native churches in the 
 foreign field; 4,500 ordained native preachers; 
 about 7,000 Sunday schools, with 1,100,768 pu- 
 pils, and a native Church membership of 900, 000. ^ 
 
 1 " Short History of Missions." 
 
CHAPTEH II. 
 
 The Religious Condition of the Would 
 (Continued). 
 
 HEATHENDOM. 
 
 In the preceding chapter I have endeavored 
 to give a summary view of the present condition 
 of the Christian world. It is my purpose in this 
 chapter to present a brief description of the 
 heathen world. The sketch must necessarily 
 be very imperfect, but it may serve to give the 
 reader some idea of the moral, social, and reli- 
 gious condition of the millions embraced in the 
 vast field of missionary cif ort. The first chajDter 
 shows, in outline, what has been done by the 
 gospel for the elevation and salvation of man- 
 kind; this present chapter furnishes a brief 
 view of what remains to be done. 
 
 The moral condition of the heathen is deplor- 
 able beyond conception. Human language is 
 utterly inadequate to portray the abominations 
 
 which characterize their civil, Gociul, and reli- 
 (20) 
 
The FoiiEiGN Missionary. 27 
 
 glous life. They .are *'full of all unrighteous- 
 ness and uneleanness." Social life is poisoned 
 in its very fountains, and sends forth only a 
 stream of iniquity. Paul's portraiture of the 
 heathen in his day is true of the heathen na- 
 tions of to-da}^^ "They changed the truth of 
 God into a lie, and worshiped and served the 
 creature more than the Creator;" and "because 
 that, Avhen they knew God, they glorified him 
 not as God, neither were thankful; but became 
 vain in their imaginations, and their foolish 
 heart Avas darkened. Professing themselves to 
 be wise, they became fools, and changed the 
 glory of the incorruptible God into an image 
 made like to corruptible man, and to birds, 
 and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 
 Wherefore God also gave them up to unclean- 
 ness through the lusts of their own hearts. For 
 this cause he gave them up to vile affections." 
 "And even as they did not like to retain God in 
 their knowledge, God gave them over to a rep- 
 robate mind, to do those things which are not 
 convenient; being filled with all unrighteous- 
 ness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, m.a- 
 
 1 See Romans, chapter i. " Thoughts ou Missions." 
 
28 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 liciougness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, 
 malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of 
 God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of 
 evil things, disobedient to parents, without un- 
 derstanding, covenant breakers, without natural 
 affection, implacable, unmerciful." AYhat a pic- 
 ture of human wickedness! But it does not ex- 
 ceed in a single line, or in vivid coloring, the 
 fearful reality which the inspired penman in- 
 tended to portray.^ Every missionary who has 
 lived and labored among the lower grades of pa- 
 gans will bear testimony to its fidelity. Ages 
 have not improved their moral condition. They 
 are, if possible, worse than they were centuries 
 ago. As a malignant disease grows worse as 
 time advances, unless arrested; as a falling body 
 increases in velocity as it descends, so do wick- 
 ed men and seducers * ' wax worse and worse, de- 
 ceiving and being deceived." Nothing but the 
 blessed gospel can improve the moral and reli- 
 gious condition of the heathen world. 
 
 All that has been said by hasty travelers and 
 superficial temporary residents in heathen lands 
 about the happy and contented peasantry of those 
 
 1 Romans, chapter i. ; Ephesians v. 11, 12; Jeremiah xiv. 16. 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 29 
 
 lands is mere fiction. They are not happy. 
 They are not contented. Why should they be? 
 It is not in the nature of sin to make men hap- 
 py. The heathen are great sinners. Besides, 
 they suffer all the physical ills that afflict man- 
 kind, and that under circumstances which great- 
 ly enhance their miseries. They are without 
 the consolations of hope, the solace of friend- 
 ship, or the pleasures and joys of a pure and up- 
 right life. They feel the anxieties and cares, 
 the burdens and sorrows, that distress our fallen 
 race in all lands. The awful problems which 
 have in all ages disturbed the mental rest of 
 thoughtful men, "What am I?" -Whither am 
 I going?" ''If a man die, shall he live again?" 
 press with fearful solemnity Tipon the dark and 
 troubled mind of the heathen. -Without God 
 and without hope in the world," they are exceed- 
 ingly unhappy. 
 
 ^ We may verify and illustrate the foregoing 
 observations by facts gathered in heathen lands 
 by Christian missionaries and others. The ma- 
 terial for illustration is abundant and near at 
 hand. We shall, however, select only such facts 
 as bear directly upon the points indicated in 
 
30 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 the above paragraphs, and such as illustrate es- 
 pecially the character of the different systems 
 of heathen religions. 
 
 Ileatlienism in Asia. — This great division of 
 the earth contains not only a majority of the 
 human race, but also the greatest variety of its 
 species. "Its teeming millions are crowded 
 into immense cities, towns, and villages, where 
 every form of human vice and misery festers and 
 2)ropagates with fearful malignity. Every crime 
 in the catalogue of wrongdoing is practiced Avith 
 jjrofessional skill, and pleasing names given to 
 the most disgusting sins. The sanctions of re- 
 ligion are superadded as inducements to lust and 
 violence. Where a warm climate inflames to 
 fever heat the natural appetites and passions, op- 
 pression, v/rong, and injustice are almost heathen 
 virtues."^ The English government has done 
 much to improve the material and social condi- 
 tion of India and other parts of Asia, but the land 
 is still in spiritual darkness, is still heathen. 
 
 "The Hindoos are full of superstition, cruel- 
 ty, deceit, and hate. The lower classes wor- 
 ship mere stocks and stones, their dead rela- 
 
 1 " Religious Condition of the World."— J. T. Gracey in "India." 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 31 
 
 tives, and many objects of grotesque shapes. 
 One of the popular deities of India is Kali, a fe- 
 male Satan, the incarnation of cruelty and li- 
 centiousness. Her eyes are red, her eyebrows 
 bloody, and streams of blood rush from her 
 breast. She is dreaded by the natives because 
 of her furious temper and revengeful spirit. 
 She is worshiped with fear and trembling. 
 The blood of a tiger will, it is believed, appease 
 her for one hundred years; that of a reindeer, a 
 lion, or a man, for one thousand years. She is 
 the patron goddess of that horrible clan of pro- 
 fessional murderers and highway robbers who 
 have infested India for centuries — the Thugs. 
 Their instruments of death are consecrated to 
 her, and her victims immolated in her honor. 
 Immense sums of money are annually exj)ended 
 in her worship. One writer estimates that not 
 less than ^50,000 is every year spent on a single 
 shrine in Calcutta!"^ 
 
 The Golden Temple in Benares is filled with 
 obscene idols. The Monkey Temple in that 
 city contains hundreds of these disgusting crea- 
 tures. " The Temple of Juggernaut is in Piiri, 
 
 1 J. T. Grace y. 
 
32 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 and renders the whole district sacred in the eyes 
 of the natives. They say the gods send down 
 showers of sweet-scented flowers on the city where 
 this temple stands. The very dust is pure gold, 
 and all the surrounding country is holy ground." 
 It is estimated that ten thousand peasants an- 
 nually sacrifice their lives to the worship of this 
 popular idol. Hundreds and thousands of dol- 
 lars are spent by the wealthy at his shrine every 
 year, some giving as much as $25,000 at one 
 time. The festivals dedicated to Juggernaut 
 are attended by the most revolting scenes of li- 
 centiousness and debauchery. One writer says: 
 "It is impossible to conceive of the blasphemy, 
 lying, adultery, filthy talking, and nameless 
 vices that prevail in this city; and the women 
 are worse than the men." 
 
 Woman is degraded in India as she is in all 
 heathen countries. Infanticide of female chil- 
 dren is common. Dr. J. T. Gracey, in his 
 little book "India" (1884), says: "The infanti- 
 cide of female children, as reported by the gov- 
 ernment, reads like a romance 'set on fire of 
 hell. ' " In one village there were 104 boys and but 
 one girl. "Child marriage" is another abomi- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 33 
 
 nation of heathenism in India. " The census of 
 India shows that in 188 J: there were not less than 
 77,365 widows under ten years of age, 281,399 
 under fifteen years of age." "One-sixth of the 
 female population of India, a few years ago, 
 was estimated to be widows." The foregoing 
 facts serve to indicate the condition of social 
 and domestic life in India, and to illustrate the 
 character of Oriental heathenism throughout the 
 East generally. What has been said of India 
 may be said of China, with some modification; 
 also of Japan, Burmah, Siam, and other East- 
 ern countries. 
 
 Ileathemsm in Africa. — Until a comparative- 
 ly recent date little was known of the tribes in 
 the interior of Africa. Baker, Speake, and Liv- 
 ingstone have added much to our knowledge of 
 these wretched ]3eople, and furnished new proofs 
 of the brutalizing effects of heathenism. ' ' What 
 is true of one tribe," says a recent writer, " may, 
 w^ith slight modifications, be asserted of all. 
 The principles of justice, the rules of decency, 
 the instincts of humanity, the ties of kindred, 
 and bonds of friendship are trampled under 
 foot. Theft, fraud, falsehood, deceit, duplicity, 
 
34 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 injustice, and oppression are universal. Intem- 
 perance, licentiousness, gluttony, debauchery, 
 murder, incest are as common as the habits of 
 eating and sleeping. No man tells the truth 
 when it is possible to invent a lie. Christian- 
 ity in any form is utterly unknov/n." "There 
 is no word in any of the barbarous dialects of 
 Africa corresponding to our word ' love.' 
 The nearest approach to it are expressions refer- 
 ring to animal instinct. There is no love, no 
 friendship, no confidence, no intellectual im- 
 provement. Hatred, revenge, lust, and super- 
 stition are universally characteristic of pagan- 
 ism in Africa." These terrible words were 
 written some thirty years ago by a Christian 
 man (not a minister or missionary) who had 
 spent more than three years among the natives 
 in Central Africa. 
 
 Fetichism and devil worship arc still the prin- 
 cipal religions of the masses of African savages. 
 Fetichism is the lowest form of human worship, 
 and sinks into such stupid brutality as to be 
 wholly unintelligible to foreigners, like the nat- 
 ural language of beasts. A fetich may be a piece 
 of Avood, a goat's horn, consecrated by the jug- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 85 
 
 glers or priests, and is worn on the person un- 
 der the delusion that it has the power to protect 
 the wearer from harm and danger. Devil wor- 
 ship is just what the words mean — the worship 
 of devils. 
 
 My space will not permit further details. I 
 have furnished illustrations enough to show 
 what heathenism is in its general character, and 
 its demoralizing and degrading effects upon its 
 devotees. It is the incarnation of all evil. It 
 is one of the " works of the devil " which Christ 
 came to destroy, and which he Aviil most surely 
 drive out of the world. 
 
 All the heathen are not thus brutalized. 
 There are idolaters who are struggling after a 
 better life than the debased masses around them, 
 but they are without God and without hope 
 in the world. Heathenism is all I have depict- 
 ed it — the cruel, wicked enemy of all righteous- 
 ness. Those therefore in heathen lands v/ho are 
 seeking to cultivate goodness and " follow after 
 righteousness," are rare exceptions, to be found 
 now and then, here and there. I remember talk- 
 ing to a man who was under a vow to remain in 
 a cage for nve years. lie had spent three years 
 
36 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 in his narrow prison. His hair and beard had 
 not been cut during the three years, and his 
 finger nails had grown until they looked like 
 bird's claws. I asked him why he thus pun- 
 ished himself. His answer touched me. He 
 seemed sincere, and spoke in a tone of voice that 
 indicated deep feeling. He said : ' ' That I may 
 purge away my sins, and save my soul." I felt 
 the pathos of his answer. Surely the mercy-lov- 
 ing Father of all looks with compassion upon 
 these poor benighted children of sorrow! What 
 Christian can think of them and not feel the 
 depths of his soul moved with pity for them? 
 God is merciful. 
 
 The Chinese are thoroughly heathen, though 
 not as gross in their religious notions as some other 
 heathen jieople. They are atheistic — having no 
 religion — that is, no indigenous system of reli- 
 gious teaching. Buddhism was brought from 
 India into China, and is the most popular reli- 
 gion in the empire. Taoism originated in Cliina, 
 but has been so modified and obscured by amal- 
 gation with Confucianism and Buddhism as to 
 have lost its original form. There are Taoist 
 priests and temples in all the provinces, but they 
 
TuE Foreign Missionary. 37 
 
 rank below the Confiicianists and Buddhists in 
 popular favor. Taoism is metaphysical non- 
 sense. 
 
 The Chinese are very superstitious as a people, 
 and the land is full of idols, but the most influ- 
 ential and universal form of belief in that vast 
 empire is connected with ancestral worship. 
 Confucianists, Buddhists, and Taoists all wor- 
 ship in the "ancestral hall," and at the tombs 
 of their fathers. I believe that if the people of 
 China were required to give up all their religious 
 opinions and superstitions, the last they Avould 
 surrender would be this ancient form of idola- 
 try. They believe the air to be crowded with 
 evil spirits. "They are in bondage all their 
 lives through fear" of these malignant be- 
 ings. They believe in the transmigration of 
 souls. Infanticide is fearfully common among 
 all classes. 
 
 The foregoing is a brief and imperfect outline 
 sketch of heathenism, the great sin of the world. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Foreigx Missionaky. 
 
 HIS QUALIFICATIONS. 
 
 I. A Call to the Work. — There are two ways in 
 which a man may be called to the work of a for- 
 eign missionary: First, by an inward prompting 
 of the Holy Ghost; and secondly, by a provi- 
 dential ordering of circumstances. 
 
 (1) The first foreign missionaries sent out by 
 the Christian Church were selected by the Holy 
 Ghost, who said to the authorities of the church 
 at Antioch, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul 
 for the work whereunto I have called them." 
 They were first called by the Holy Ghost; and 
 when this fact was communicated to the mem- 
 bers of the churcli, they ' ' fasted and prayed, and 
 laid their hands on them," thus recognizing and 
 indorsing the call of the Holy Spirit; after which 
 they sent them away. "So they, being sent forth 
 by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and 
 from thence they sailed to Cyprus." (Acts 
 xiii. 1-4.) 
 (38) 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 39 
 
 We have in this brief narrative the manner in 
 which the first foreign missionaries were called 
 and sent forth: (1) They were selected by the 
 Holy Ghost; (2) they were ordained and com- 
 missioned by the Church. After the Church had 
 ordained them by the laying on of hands, the 
 Holy Ghost sent them out on their first great 
 missionary journey. 
 
 St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians (Gal. 
 i. 15-17), says of his commission: "When it 
 pleased God, who separated me from my moth- 
 er's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal 
 his Son in me, that I might preach him among 
 the heathen; immediately I conferred not with 
 flesh and blood." Neither did he go up to Je- 
 rusalem to consult those who were his seniors in 
 the apostolic oftice, but went into Arabia. He 
 was satisfied with the call of the Holy Ghost, 
 and the indorsement of the church at Antioch, 
 and, without seeking further authority, went 
 forth to his great work as a missionary to the 
 heathen. So also his companion, Barnabas. 
 
 (2) It is evident that the Holy Spirit will not 
 call any man to a work for which he is not in 
 some degree qualified. If therefore one claims 
 
40 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 to be called to the work of a foreign missionary, 
 and yet evidently has not fitness for such a 
 work, .his claim must be discredited, and the 
 Church should refuse to commission him. It is 
 more reasonable to suppose that the applicant is 
 mistaken in his claim to be called by the Holy 
 Ghost, than that the Omniscient Spirit should 
 call an utterly incompetent man to such a re- 
 sponsible and difficult Avork. 
 
 In addition, therefore, to the *' inward prompt- 
 ing " of the Sjjirit, by which a man is persuaded 
 that he is called to be a foreign missionary, there 
 must be such evidence of personal fitness for the 
 work as to satisfy the Church, through its repre- 
 sentatives, that he is a proper person to be cm- 
 jjloyed. Until the claim to be called by the 
 Holy Spirit is thus indorsed by the Church, the 
 call is not satisfactory. It is at least not imper- 
 ative. We may be sure that the Holy Spirit 
 will open the Avay to the discharge of any duty to 
 which he calls a person. God never calls a man 
 to do what he is unable to do, or what he ought 
 not to do. If, therefore, a man is physically or 
 mentally unable to discharge the functions of 
 an office to which he imagines himself called, 
 
Tns Foreign Missionary. 41 
 
 he must be mistaken. In judging of the fitness 
 of a candidate for the work of a foreign m^ission- 
 ary, the committee of examination should make 
 a thorou2;h investio-ation of his Qualifications for 
 the work he proposes to undertake. If he is 
 found wanting in any essential point, his claim 
 to be called by the Holy Spirit must be a mis- 
 take. But if his i^ersonal qualifications show 
 him well adapted to the work, then the call of 
 the Holy Spirit is confirmed by the "outward 
 circumstances " of the case, and he may be sent 
 forth into the mission field to work. 
 
 Any young person who thinks of becoming a 
 foreign missionary should make it a subject of 
 earnest prayer and close self-examination. The 
 question of ultimate fitness for the work will, 
 however, be determxined by the measure of his 
 success in the field. Ko one can certainly fore- 
 cast what results will attend his labors. This 
 must be left to time and experience. So much 
 the greater need therefore for divine guidance in 
 the preliminary stages of the inquiry as to the 
 foreign field. 
 
 II. Fersonal Character. — Among the quali- 
 fications which Ave may consider necessary to 
 
42 The Foueigx Missionary. 
 
 success is a sound i^ersonal character. By 
 this I mean the sum of all the qualities which 
 go to make up the man, physically, mentally, 
 morally, and socially. If in any of these he is 
 materially deficient, the harmony of the whole 
 character is more or less marred. If, for in- 
 stance, he has a dull ear, or if he has an imped- 
 iment in his speech, he will never learn to speak 
 a foreign language with accuracy or fluency. 
 
 1. Common sense is a very important qualifica- 
 tion. It is the balance Avheel of all the other 
 faculties — that by which all the mental move- 
 ment is regulated. 
 
 2. A pure moral character is that upon which 
 all the other qualities rest. Wanting this, the 
 man is utterly unfi.t for the ministry, at home or 
 abroad. If he could " speak with the tongues of 
 men and of angels," and though he had the gift 
 of prophecy, and could explain all mysteries, 
 and yet was unsteady in moral character, he 
 would be no better than "a sounding brass or a 
 tinkling cymbal." 
 
 III. The supreme and all essential qualification 
 for missionary toorJc is personal piety. If desti- 
 tute of this, the candidate need claim no other 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 43 
 
 qualification; there is no place for him as a pub- 
 lic teacher. He would be "a blind leader of 
 the blind." 
 
 IV. The foreign missionary should be a pru- 
 dent man. He will find himself ' ' a stranger in 
 a strange land," placed under new and trying 
 circumstances. The people are strange. They 
 speak a strange language. Their customs and 
 manners are strange. They have strange views 
 of life, of duty, of religion, of death and a fu- 
 ture state. The missionary finds it diflicult to 
 adjust himself to his new relations. The ac- 
 quisition of the language perplexes him. He 
 is anxious to be at work among the people, and 
 unless he has judicious advisers he is liable to 
 make many mistakes in his first efforts to in- 
 struct the heathen — mistakes that may seriously 
 embarrass him, and create prejudices that it 
 will require years to overcome. In his inter- 
 course with the unconverted natives the mission- 
 ary should be very careful not to give unneces- 
 sary offense. He may do much harm by a sin- 
 gle injudicious act. The heathen must receive 
 and respect the missionary personally before 
 they will receive his message. 
 
44 The Foiieigx Missionary. 
 
 Again, the relations of missionaries in the 
 same field are very close, and unless they are 
 free from a selfish desire for jjreeminence they 
 will have heartburnings and strifes among them- 
 selves, greatly to the injury of the cause they 
 wish to promote. Sudi things have happened. 
 
 The missionary will also need prudence to 
 guide him in his organization and control of the 
 native converts. The converts will naturally 
 look to him for counsel and advice in temporal as 
 well as in spiritual matters. Much will depend 
 upon the advice he gives. He will have to correct 
 the prejudices of ignorance and the bias of hoary 
 superstitions which have for ages perhaps been 
 held as sacred truths — superstitions inAvoven with 
 the mental, social, and domestic life of the peo- 
 ple. To uproot these requires great prudence 
 and tact, llie converts unconsciously wish to 
 put the new wine of the gospel into e old bot- 
 tles of heathen customs, and see no incongruity 
 in the mixture of truth and error it implies. 
 
 To disturb the social and domestic institutions 
 of heathenism is to destroy the whole fabric of 
 society, to revolutionize public sentiment, and 
 to introduce into the daily life of the people a 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 45 
 
 new system of living. Not only does this im- 
 ply the destruction of the old fabric, but the 
 erection of an entirely new structure. He must 
 be "a master builder " who can wisely superin- 
 tend such a work. 
 
 The opinion once prevailed in the churches 
 at home that any good man who had a sound 
 Christian experience was qualified to be a for- 
 eign missionary. This opinion rested on the 
 belief that all the heathen needed was some one 
 to tell them about the Saviour of the world; 
 that they were simply ignorant of the gospel, 
 and would gladly receive it when brought to 
 them. The real difficulties of the work are now 
 better understood, and the demand is for our 
 most gifted and cultivated young men and women. 
 The missionary has to contend with the most 
 subtle systems of false religion and false philos- 
 ophy, and must be wise if he wins the heathen 
 to Christ. 
 
 V. The foreign inissionary sJiould he a diligent 
 student of the JBihle. Whatever else he may 
 know as a scholar, wanting familiarity with the 
 Word of God, he is radically deficient as a min- 
 ister, especially as a missionary to the heathen. 
 
46 The Foreign Missionary, 
 
 The Bible is his chart, his guide, his standard 
 in all matters of religious and moral teaching. 
 He should therefore be able to support all his 
 teaching by a "Thus saith the Lord." The gos- 
 23el is marvelously adapted to "all sorts and 
 conditions of men," in all countries and through 
 all the ages. It is not so important to tell the 
 people that they are sinners as it is to tell them 
 what provision has been made for their salvation, 
 and what they must do to be saved. They know 
 they are sinners, and have invented many de- 
 vices for getting rid of the consequences of sin. 
 It is the missionary's privilege and duty to show 
 unto them *'a more excellent way" — not a new 
 way only^ but the true way through Jesus 
 Christ; and "not another gospel," but "the 
 gospel of the grace of God," which was 
 preached by Christ and his apostles. The mis- 
 sionary must know the gospel in its letter and 
 spirit if he would preach it in its fullness and 
 power. lie should therefore make it the study 
 of his life. If he can read the Bible in the 
 original languages, so much the better. This is 
 not absolutely necessary, however. "The word 
 of the Lord is not bound," or locked up in any 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 47 
 
 one language. It is divine truth, and therefore 
 capable of expression in any and all the lan- 
 guages spoken by man. 
 
 VI. The foreign missioiuiry should he a man 
 of good education. That is, he should be well 
 informed in all matters connected with his call- 
 ing; practical rather than technical or specula- 
 tive knowledge is what he needs. He cannot 
 have too much learning, if it be of the right 
 kind; but it is not necessary that he be an adept 
 in speculative philosophy in order to teach men 
 the way of salvation. If he labors among a peo- 
 ple who have systems of religion and philosophy, 
 he must make these a careful study, and he may 
 need all the learning he possesses to meet and 
 refute them. "The more excellent way," how- 
 ever, to refute error, is to teach the truth. If 
 the missionary is sent to a barbarous people, he 
 will have use for all his knowledge, theoretical 
 and practical. lie will have to teach everything 
 that belongs to a decent grade of civilization: 
 how to make clothes and how to wear them; 
 how to cook food and how to eat it, how to 
 build houses and how to live in them, etc. 
 
 The translation of the Scriptures and the 
 
48 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 creation of a Christian literature require special 
 qualifications, and a few persons in a mission 
 station usually do this kind of work while the 
 majority act as evangelists, school-teachers, 
 physicians, etc. 
 
 VII. The foreign 'inissionary sliould he a rrwbn 
 of an amiable and ChristUke spirit; a lover of 
 his race, filled with an ardent desire for the sal- 
 vation of the world; of a tender and sympathet- 
 ic disposition, approachable and companionable. 
 He must be able to mix with the jjeople, as a 
 good neighbor and a faithful friend. He must 
 come into close contact with all classes, so far 
 as he can. Like his divine Lord, he should be 
 ''a friend of publicans and sinners;" able to en- 
 ter into the daily life, the sympathies, joys, sor- 
 rows, hopes, and fears of the multitudes around 
 him. 
 
 He should be a man of great faith and much 
 prayer. He will feel the need of constant com- 
 munion with God, his Heavenly Father, as lie 
 never did while among his people at home. 
 There is a feeling of loneliness, of separation, 
 connected with a residence in a foreign land, 
 which is sometimes very oppressive. The for- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 49 
 
 eign mission field is no place for a gloomy pes- 
 simist. The promises of God's Word are very 
 great, and furnish an unfailing source of comfort 
 and encouragement to those who have grace to 
 claim them. "Lo, I am with you alway, even 
 unto the end of the world," said our Lord to his 
 disciples just before his ascension, and this 
 promise he has verified to his servants, the for- 
 eign missionaries, in a most remarkable man- 
 ner. This personal presence of the divine 
 Master secures success under all circumstances, 
 even the most adverse. It gives courage, pa- 
 tience, hope, and assurance of ultimate success, 
 and thus supports the lonely laborer in his field 
 of toil, wherever it may be. If I have not mate- 
 rially misapprehended the subject, the call and 
 qualifications necessary to fit one for successful 
 labor in a foreign mission field are such as are 
 required for successful labor in the home field, 
 with such modifications as necessarily result from 
 a difference of local circumstances. As a rule, 
 the successful minister at home will make a use- 
 ful and successful missionary if he goes abroad. 
 The work is substantially the same in character 
 and spirit. The successful minister in 'New York 
 
50 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 would be a successful missionary in Calcutta or 
 Peking, other things being equal. Eminent suc- 
 cess results from eminent fitness in the agent. We 
 find in the same field at home ministers who are 
 successful, and by their side, under precisely the 
 same local circumstances, some who are eminent 
 failures. So it is in the foreign mission field. 
 There was but one Paul, and one Peter in the 
 early Church. There have been but few Jud- 
 sons, Livingstones, Carys, and Duffs in modern 
 times; but one Wesley and one Asbury. These 
 were all men who had the genius of adaptation, 
 and who worked with great zeal and energy, 
 with much faith and much believing prayer. 
 
 All who are called to the work of the minis- 
 try, whether at home or abroad, liave not the 
 same gifts. The great Head of the Church, "for 
 the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the 
 ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ," 
 "gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and 
 some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teach- 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Missioxaey at "Wof.k. 
 
 STUDYING THE LANGUAGE. 
 
 The foreign missionary must learn to speak 
 the language of the people among Avhom he pro- 
 poses to labor. If he is sent to China, he must 
 learn the Chinese language; if sent to Japan, he 
 must learn the Japanese; and so of the native 
 languages of all the nations and tribes of men to 
 whom Christian missionaries are sent. An in- 
 terpreter may be used in transacting secular busi- 
 ness with the natives, and in official intercourse 
 with the government, but the missionary must 
 understand and speak the language of the com- 
 mon people. If he were as wise as Solomon, as 
 zealous as St. Paul, and as holy as St. John, he 
 could not work efficiently as a teacher of reli- 
 gious truth among a people whose language he 
 did not understand. ''The gift of tongues" 
 has ' ' ceased. " The modern missionary is a 
 common man, and must obey the common 
 laws that govern other men. If he would 
 
 (51) 
 
52 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 reach the hearts and consciences of the people, 
 he must approach them through their mother 
 tongue — the language they use in daily in- 
 tercourse with one another. Of course I do not 
 forget the aid of the Holy Spirit in this, as in all 
 other matters connected with Christian Avork, 
 but we are not to expect such assistance as 
 the apostles received on the day of Pentecost. 
 * ' The Spirit helpeth our infirmities " so far as is 
 necessary to the full exercise of our natural pow- 
 ers and acquirements, but no farther. Knowl- 
 edge of languages comes through labor and 
 study to the Christian missionary as it does to 
 the secular student. 
 
 The foreign missionary must therefore work, 
 and work hard, if he would acquire a knowledge 
 of a strange heathen tongue, especially if he 
 would learn to speak it with fluency and accu- 
 racy. As a rule, heathen languages have no 
 structural affinities with the languages of the 
 Christian world, and arc so far the more difli- 
 cult to acquire. Besides, a majority of the hea- 
 then tongues are rude and uncultivated, many 
 of them barbarous, without even an alphabet. 
 
 Children learn to speak a foreign language 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 53 
 
 with comparative ease. In this fact lies a sug- 
 gestion for the adult student struggling with the 
 difficulties of a foreign tongue. Children are 
 naturally imitative. Their senses are quick and 
 responsive. Their ear catches readily an un- 
 familiar sound, and the instinct of imitation 
 enables them to reproduce it with accuracy. 
 Their attention is not diverted by an effort to 
 associate the sounds of the new language with 
 any in their own, and thus the memory retains 
 the simple impression made upon the ear. 
 Hence confusion of thought is avoided — one of 
 the chief difficulties which the adult student en- 
 counters. 
 
 A spoken language cannot be successfully ac- 
 quired by the use of books alone. The student 
 must mix with the people, and, like a child, 
 learn to imitate, as nearly as possible, the sounds 
 he hears the natives utter. He must catch the 
 tone and emphasis as well as the pronunciation 
 and idiom of the language. This can be ac- 
 quired only by constant contact and familiar in- 
 tercourse w^ith the common people. 
 
 Where the people have a written language, the 
 missionary will, of course, study that, and also 
 
54 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 the literature it may contain, especially the re- 
 ligious literature of the language. I shall speak 
 of this again. The great diversity of cultivated 
 and uncultivated languages spoken by the non- 
 Christian nations of the v^orld renders it ex- 
 tremely difficult to suggest any specific methods 
 of study applicable to all. The student must 
 follow his own devices in dealing with the pe- 
 culiar difficulties of each. He may profit by the 
 experience and labors of older missionaries in 
 the field, if there be such; and at this day ho 
 will find in almost every mission field "helps" 
 to the study of the native languages, prepared 
 by the pioneer missionaries. He will also find 
 natives who are capable of aiding him in the ac- 
 quisition of the local language. But, with all 
 the "helps" he can secure, he will find it more 
 or less difficult to learn to speak any foreign 
 tongue like a native — indeed, such a command 
 of a heathen language is seldom ever acquired. 
 The most diligent and successful students are 
 handicapped, to some extent, in the use of any 
 foreign tongue. 
 
 These difficulties are not insurmountable, nor 
 is a perfect comniand of a heathen language ab- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 55 
 
 solutely necessary to usefulness as a missionary. 
 He may teach religious truth by example, and 
 with a limited vocabulary tell the story of our 
 redemption. Some godly men and women have 
 so "lived the gospel" among the heathen as to 
 bring them to Christ, aided by the Holy Spirit's 
 influence. One of the most useful missionaries 
 I ever knew spoke the native language very im- 
 perfectly, yet the people seemed to get his 
 meaning. Such cases are not common, but I 
 do not mean to modify what I have said as to 
 the importance of a good command of the na- 
 tive language. Other things being equal, the 
 man who speaks the native language with the 
 greatest clearness and force is best prepared to 
 be a useful missionary. 
 
 One of the greatest difficulties attending the 
 use of a heathen language in teaching religious 
 truth is, that the language is as heathen as the 
 people, and needs conversion as much as they 
 before it can become a reliable vehicle of Chris- 
 tian truth, and therefore an instrument for con- 
 veying advanced religious thought. The peo- 
 ple have not the ideas contained in the gospel, 
 and have not therefore the words in their Ian- 
 
56 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 guage to express these ideas. The Christian 
 missionary must not only learn the meaning of 
 the words as the natives understand them, but 
 he must teach them to attach a new meaning to 
 all words and phrases used by him in teaching 
 the truth he would convey to their minds. He 
 will find no words in any heathen vocabulary 
 that express precisely the Christian ideas of sin, 
 of repentance, atonement, regeneration, or any 
 of the peculiar doctrines of the Christian reli- 
 gion. All the words of a heathen language are 
 associated with the abominations of heathenism, 
 and are consequently polluted and unclean. 
 Like a vessel that has long been used for un- 
 clean puri>08es, they need to be not only emptied 
 of their foul contents, but cleansed and made lit 
 for nobler uses. 
 
 Candidates for foreign mission work should 
 be thoroughly tested, as far as circumstances 
 will permit, concerning their aptitude for learn- 
 ing languages. If they have passed through a 
 regular classical course in college, they will be 
 able to judge, and so will the committee of ex- 
 amination, to some extent, at least, of their 
 probable success in acquiring any form of human 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 57 
 
 speech. With all, however, the supreme test is 
 in the field at work. Men and women have been 
 sent out to foreign mission fields to discover 
 that they could not learn to speak the language. 
 Such persons should not remain in the work 
 after they are satisfied of their inability to 
 acquire the language, but should ask permis- 
 sion to retire; for an infirmity of this kind can- 
 not be cured. To remain would be a waste of 
 time and money, and doom the person to a hu- 
 miliating failure through life. 
 
 As the success of the missionary depends much 
 upon his personal influence with the natives, 
 nothing which facilitates his intercourse with 
 them can be a matter of indifference. A ready 
 and correct use of their native tongue is conse- 
 quently one of the first conditions of success. 
 A minister who mixes well with the people mul- 
 tiplies his influence and greatly enlarges the 
 sphere of his usefulness. It is eminently so with 
 the Christian missionary. He is a living prac- 
 tical exponent of the gospel he preaches, and 
 the heathen will believe the message he brings 
 to them in the measure they believed in him per- 
 sonally. 
 
58 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 Having acquired some knowledge of tlie na- 
 tive language, the missionary will be able in a 
 sim]3le way to begin his work among the peo- 
 ple. As to what he can do, that will depend upon 
 the intellectual and social character of the peo- 
 ple. If his work is among savages, he will need 
 the most elementary methods in acquiring and 
 using their rude speech. If among a semicivil- 
 ized people, who have a written language and 
 literature, he will of course employ them; dis- 
 tribute tracts, Bibles, and other literary aids 
 and helps until he is able to jjreach to the 
 people. 
 
 The preparatory period of a missionary's life in 
 the field is very trying. He needs patience, meek- 
 ness, courage, and j^erseverance. He needs to 
 exercise patience, because for months he must be 
 practically deaf and dumb in the midst of the 
 people for whose spiritual welfare he has left 
 country, kindred, and home. . He will need to 
 exercise meekness, that he may bear ^A'ith cheer- 
 fulness the trial of inferiority. He will hear 
 little children speaking the native language v/itii 
 fluency, while he is unable to ask for a piece of 
 bread. He must have the courage to })ersevere 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 59 
 
 steadily while feeling his way slowly through 
 great difficulties and discouragements. He will 
 often feel like giving up the task as hopeless, 
 but he will learn that God is with his servant as 
 he toils and suffers amid the darkness and dis- 
 couragements of heathenism. 
 
CHAPTER y. 
 Preaching to the Heathen. 
 
 ^'Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
 gospel to every creature." (Mark xvi. 15.) 
 
 The word "gospel" means "glad tidings," 
 and it is the name given to the histoiy of the 
 life, labors, sufferings, death, resurrection, and 
 ascension to heaven of our Lord, as recorded by 
 the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 
 John. " Preaching " is the public proclamation 
 of this inspired history. To preach the gospel 
 is therefore publicly to teach its history, doc- 
 trines, commandments, and to enforce its pre- 
 cepts and duties. In its widest sense it includes 
 all legitimate methods of religious instruction. 
 Thus, Matthew says (R. V.), " Go ye therefore, 
 and make disciples of all the nations," etc.; 
 Mark says, (R. V.), " Go ye into all the world, 
 and preach the gospel to the whole creation;" 
 Luke says, (xxiv.47.) " That repentance and re- 
 mission of sins should be preached in his name 
 
 unto all the nations." 
 (60) 
 
Tpie Foreign Missionary. 61 
 
 Preaching the gospel to the heathen includes 
 all the means and agencies employed in their re- 
 ligious instruction, teaching by precept and ex- 
 ample. Personal example is one of the first and 
 most influential means of teaching. * 'Actions 
 speak louder than words," and are more easily 
 understood by the untutored savage, or ordina- 
 ry heathen, than any form of oral instruction. 
 A good life illustrates and enforces the Chris- 
 tian virtues as no other form of teaching can. 
 The heathen are, as a rule, as ignorant of good 
 morals as they are of religious truth, and must 
 be taught, as children are taught, first the ele- 
 mentary truths of the gospel, such as the exist- 
 ence and unity of God. His attributes of wis- 
 dom, power, and goodness; his works of crea- 
 tion, providence, and grace, and the moral law 
 as revealed in the Word of God; the creation of 
 man in the image and likeness of God; Adam's 
 fall, and the effects of his sin ; man's redemption 
 by Christ, and the conditions of final salvation. 
 These are the great themes of the gospel. 
 They are elementary and essential in all sound 
 religious teaching. There is but one system of 
 divine truth, but "one Lord, one faith, one 
 
62 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 baptism." The foreign missionary must preach 
 *'the old, old story." He has no authority to 
 abridge or modify it in any respect that affects 
 its true significance. The last seal on the word 
 of God forbids the addition or subtraction of 
 a single word. (Rev. xxii. 18, 19.) "The sub- 
 ject of preaching is one of unchangeable truth, 
 historical fact, gracious revelation, contained in 
 the i^erson of Christ as God." The methods 
 through which these facts and truths are com- 
 municated to men are as varied as the needs, the 
 circumstances, the culture of the nations among 
 whom the missionaries labor, but the subject- 
 matter remains the same, "Christ crucified," 
 "Jesus and the resurrection." 
 
 There is a place for every Christian in this 
 great work. Those who cannot go to heathen 
 lands themselves are called upon to send substi- 
 tutes for the service. Money is not all that is 
 needed — consecrated men and women (our sons 
 and daughters) are the richest gifts we can be- 
 stow. As a matter of order and adaptation to 
 the conditions of non-Christian peoples, some 
 missionaries are trained and ordained to preach 
 the gospel formally, but not all, for teaching is 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 63 
 
 preaching, and many laymen and women are 
 doing a great work as teachers of the youth in 
 heathen lands. Training and ordination are 
 necessary for those who have the oversight and 
 government of the Church, but any intelligent 
 person who has a sound Christian experience 
 may do much good as a teacher in mission 
 schools and in private life. ' ' Ye are my wit- 
 nesses," says Christ to his disciples just before 
 his ascension. All who know him as a personal 
 Saviour can be witnesses for him, and thus, in a 
 modified sense, *' preach the gospel of the Son 
 of God." 
 
 The public preaching of the missionary should 
 be as simple and clear as possible, not a harangue 
 about the mystery of life and death, but the 
 plain, simple story of the life, ministry, suffer- 
 ings, and death of Jesus Christ; of his resurrec- 
 tion from the dead, and his ascension to heaven, 
 where he is now interceding for men. 
 
 The necessity for the gospel plan of salvation 
 may be shown by a review of the actual moral 
 condition of mankind, of the depravity and cor- 
 ruption of the human heart and life, ample evi- 
 dence of which is near at hand, and to be seen 
 
64 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 on every side. The explanation of this deplor- 
 able state of things is found, so far as it can be 
 explained, in the Bible. We have there an ac- 
 count of man's creation in the "image and like- 
 ness of God;" his innocence and happiness in the 
 garden of Eden; his temptation and fall, and con- 
 sequent sinful and unhappy state; also of God's 
 love for him, and the gift of his only-begotten 
 Son Jesus Christ, who became a man that he 
 might teach all men what to believe and how to 
 live. lie also suffered and died that he might 
 purchase eternal salvation for all who will be- 
 lieve on him and obey his holy and righteous 
 commands. 
 
 One of the most successful missionaries I ever 
 knew gives the following account of his method 
 in teaching the Chinese. lie says: "I find the 
 familiar conversational style carried on in the 
 midst of the congregation far better than the usual 
 manner of making jjroclamation from the j^ulpit 
 or platform. In this way I find out what the 
 people know and what they do not know. The 
 same questions are put again and again until a 
 few truths are fairly lodged in the minds of some 
 at least. When satisfied on this point, I proceed 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 65 
 
 to enforce these truths with all the power I can 
 command. This preliminary part usually occu- 
 pies most of the time, for it appears to me now, 
 after many years of experience, how useless it 
 is to harangue a miscellaneous crowd of ignorant 
 persons who are totally unable to understand 
 either my theme or the language I use. I might 
 as well address them in Greek or Choctaw." 
 
 As to manner, every missionary has a manner 
 of his own, if he has any individuality and any 
 force as a preacher. Clearness of utterance, as 
 far as he can command it, is essential to any de- 
 gree of success either in conversation or public 
 speaking. By clearness of utterance in this 
 place I mean, not mere verbal clearness of 
 speech, but distinct and intelligent arrangement 
 of thought, stated in plain words, and illus- 
 trated by simple analogies drawn from nature 
 and human experience. The illustrations, to be 
 useful, must refer to familiar objects, and will 
 therefore vary with the local circumstances of 
 the people and their grade of intelligence. Our 
 Lord's parables furnish a safe and helpful guide 
 in the use of illustrations. " Nature speaks a va- 
 rious language to him who has an ear to hear." 
 5 
 
66 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 I would further remark, in regard to the man- 
 ner of preaching to the heathen, that tlie mis- 
 sionary should manifest the loving, earnest spir- 
 it of the Master. He should be patient, chari- 
 table, and sympathetic. In dealing with the su- 
 perstitions of heathenism he should remember 
 that the present generation have inherited these 
 crude and cruel systems of fali?e religion from 
 their ancestors, and that they know no better. 
 They have been taught to worship and fear their 
 gods as the great powers that preside over and 
 govern all forms and movements of nature. It 
 is not wise to ridicule their acts of worship, or 
 to denounce the worshiper as stupid and sense- 
 less because he "worshijjs he knows not what." 
 No one has taught him better. We have neg- 
 lected him, left him to perish in his blindness 
 and unbelief, and should not now insult him by 
 sneering at his ignorance. 
 
 The missionary should appeal to his own ex- 
 perience as a Christian. He is "a witness for 
 Christ," and as such is competent to testify what 
 he has personally experienced. He may thus 
 render more intelligible the doctrines of repent- 
 ance, regeneration, faith, hope, love, and all the 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 67 
 
 blessed fruits of the Spirit. In order to do tiiis 
 he must realize the power of the gospel in his 
 own heart. Such testimony adds a personal ele- 
 ment to his preaching, and draws the hearer to 
 him in sympathy. This is a delicate subject, 
 and must be handled with care, lest the hearer 
 misunderstand the preacher, and supposes that, 
 in order to be a Christian, he must think and feel 
 in all respects like the speaker; whereas he should 
 be taught that the Bible is the only infallible 
 standard of Christian character, and that the 
 missionary's experience, in order to be genuine, 
 must conform to this standard, and it is in this 
 conformity that he realizes the truth of the gos- 
 pel. This enables him to bear witness to the 
 truth of Christ's teaching. 
 
 The missionary should preach a ,fuil salvation 
 — that is, a salvation provided for all men, and 
 that all men may be saved; that Christ will in 
 no wise cast out, or reject any who come unto 
 him. This great fact can gave the worst of sin- 
 ners from despair. The heathen need such as- 
 surance, for they are great sinners, and, being 
 ignorant of any scheme of pardon, when deeply 
 convicted of sin they naturally fall into despair. 
 
68 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 A missionary in China says: "A man came to 
 me in great distress of mind on account of his 
 sins. He declared that he had been guilty of 
 every sin which a man can commit, and pro- 
 ceeded to name a long list, and then said: * Can 
 Jesus Christ save me? ' I answered: ' Yes, Christ 
 can save you. He is ready and willing to save you 
 now, if you will trust him.' He went away re- 
 joicing, and has been a faithful and useful Chris- 
 tian up to this day. Several persons have been 
 brought into the Church through his instrumen- 
 tality." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Organizing a Native Church. 
 
 In the preceding chapter I have spoken of the 
 qualifications and work of a foreign mission- 
 ary as an evangelist, pioneering his way 
 in a new field, I shall now discuss the best meth- 
 ods of conserving the fruits of his labors. So 
 soon as "tAVO or three" converts are <' gathered 
 together " in the name of Christ, there is the nu- 
 cleus of a church, and they should be baptized 
 in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost, and thus brought into the vis- 
 ible fellowship of the whole body of believers. 
 
 The <* converts" may be "seekers of salva- 
 tion," and not mature Christians, or even con- 
 verted persons, but "catechumens," under in- 
 struction preparatory to admission into full 
 Church fellowship. They should be most care- 
 fully instructed in the first principles of the 
 Christian religion. The mere repetition of an 
 orthodox creed is not enough; there must be a 
 change of heart and life. This great change is 
 
 (69) 
 
70 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 the work of the Holy Spirit, and is essential to sal- 
 vation. Our Lord says most emphatically: "Ex- 
 cept a man be born again, he cannot see the king- 
 dom of God." (John iii. 3.) The subject is too pro- 
 found and subtle for analysis. ' ' The wind blow- 
 eth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound 
 thereof, but canst not tell v/hence it cometh, 
 and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born 
 of the Spirit." (John iii. 8.) By this new birth 
 we are made children of God, "and if children, 
 then heirs . . . and joint-heirs with Christ." " The 
 Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that 
 we are the children of God." (Rom. viii. 16, 17.) 
 
 The missionary cannot be too careful in lay- 
 ing the foundations of the Church among the 
 newly converted heathen. They are necessari- 
 ly but imperfectly acquainted with the great 
 scheme of redemption as revealed in the Scrip- 
 tures, and need to be taught " the first princi- 
 ples of the oracles of God," as children are 
 taught the letters of the alphabet. 
 
 As the number of believers increases they 
 should be thus carefully trained and brought 
 into the fellowship of the Church, after a pub- 
 lic profession of their faith in Jesus Christ, and 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 71 
 
 a solemn promise to obey all the commandments 
 of God's word. As to the form of Church gov- 
 ernment according to which the native converts 
 are to be organized, that should be in harmony 
 with the views of the Church or society under 
 whose immediate control and support the foreign' 
 missionary labors. 
 
 The following brief history of the rise and de- 
 velopment of the Christian Church is taken from 
 Dr. W. Smith's "Dictionary of the Bible," and 
 sets forth Avith sufficient clearness and fullness, 
 for our present purpose, the origin and growth 
 of the Church as described in the Gospels and 
 Epistles, and furnishes therefore a scriptural 
 guide to the foreign missionary in his work of 
 organizing and training the native Church 
 among the heathen: 
 
 ' ' The word ' church ' occurs only twice in the 
 Gospels, each time in Matthew (Matt. xvi. 18, 
 
 * On this rock I will build my church;' xviii. 17, 
 
 * Tell it unto the church.') In every other case it 
 is spoken of as the kingdom of heaven, and as 
 the kingdom of God by St. Mark and St. Luke. 
 St. John never uses the expression, * kingdom of 
 heaven,' and only once the ' kingdom of God.' In 
 
72 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 the one Gospel of Matthew the Church is sj^oken 
 of no less than thirty-six times as ' the kingdom.' 
 From the Gospels we learn little in the way of 
 detail as to the kingdom which was to be estab- 
 lished. It was in the great forty days between 
 the resurrection and the ascension that our Lord 
 explained specifically to his apostles * the things 
 pertaining to the kingdom of God' (Acts i. 3) 
 — that is, his future Church. 
 
 ^'The removal of Christ from the earth left 
 his followers a shattered company, with no bond 
 of external or internal cohesion, except the mem- 
 ory of the Master whom they had lost, and the 
 recollection of his injunctions to unity and love, 
 together with occasional glimpses of his pres- 
 ence which were vouchsafed them. They con- 
 tinued together, meeting for prayer and suppli- 
 cation, and waiting for Christ's promise of the 
 Holy Ghost. They numbered in all some one 
 hundred and forty persons — namely, the eleven, 
 the faithful women, the Lord's mother, his 
 brethren, and one hundred and twenty disciples. 
 They had faith to believe that there was a work 
 before them which they were about to be called 
 to perform; and that they might be ready to do 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 73 
 
 it they filled up the number of the twelve by the 
 appointment of Matthias 'to be a true witness,' 
 Y/ith the eleven, ' of the resurrection.' The clay 
 of Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian 
 Church." 
 
 At this point the history of the Church 
 as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles be- 
 gins, and from that day to the present time 
 the Church has been in the world, growling and 
 spreading among the nations. (Acts ii.) It is 
 now the greatest moral power in the world, and 
 is destined to subdue all nations to "the obe- 
 dience of Christ." 
 
 As to forms of Church government and sys- 
 tems of polemical theology, we have noth- 
 ing to say, except to repeat what we have al- 
 ready said in regard to forms of Church gov- 
 ernment — namely, that the native Church sliould 
 be organized in harmony Avith the sentiments 
 and polity of the Church or society under 
 whose immediate control and support the mis- 
 sionary labors. It need not be in all cases an 
 exact copy of the home Church. Local circum- 
 stances may require some modification of the 
 Church })olity to adapt it to the peculiar charac- 
 
74 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 tcr and habits of the native convert. As no 
 specific form of Church government is laid down 
 in the Nev/ Testament, such modifications may 
 be made, provided they do not violate any prin- 
 ciple inculcated in the teachings of Christ and 
 his apostles, and are authorized by the home 
 Churches or Boards having control of the mis- 
 sionaries in the field. As long as a Church or 
 Board furnishes the funds for carrying on the 
 work, so long the said Church or Board should 
 have entire supervision of the work and con- 
 trol of the agents in the field. When a na- 
 tive church becomes self-supporting, and is suf- 
 ficiently educated, it may then take full charge of 
 its own affairs; but so long as it depends upon 
 the home Church for support, so long it should 
 submit to be governed by it. ^ 
 
 As the number of converts continues to in- 
 crease, the missionary becomes apasto^^, and the 
 functions of that sacred ofiice must be discharged 
 by him with all diligence and godly care. He 
 should see that the native Christians become fa- 
 miliar Avith the teachings of God's Word. Let 
 it be the "sincere milk of the word, that they 
 may grow thereby." In order that they may 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 75 
 
 grow and develop into mature and useful Chris- 
 tians, it is necessary that "the word of God 
 dwell in them richly in all wisdom;" that they 
 hear it preached, expounded in Bible classes, ex- 
 jjlained in pastoral visitations, and be taught to 
 use it as their daily guide and companion. 
 There is no substitute for the Word of God in 
 the religious education of the young, and espe- 
 cially for the religious training of the converts 
 from heathenism to Christianity. 
 
 The whole of Christianity is comprehended 
 under two heads — viz., Doctrine and DiscipluiQ 
 — or (1) what we are to believe; and (2) what 
 we are to do. The first is called doctrine; the 
 second is called practice. The Word of God is 
 the rule and standard of both doctrine and dis- 
 cij^line; " so that whatsoever is not read therein, 
 nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required 
 of any man, that it should be believed as an ar- 
 ticle of the faith, or be thought requisite or nec- 
 essary to salvation." 
 
 The principal articles of faith, as revealed to us 
 in holy Scripture, regard the nature of the Di- 
 vine existence, and the person of Jesus Christ. 
 For the original faith of the Christian Church 
 
76 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 the scriptures of the Kew Testament are certain- 
 ly the only competent authority; and every suc- 
 ceeding testimony acquires weight and impor- 
 tance only in proportion as it harmonizes with 
 them. 
 
 *'The Christians of the primitive Church be- 
 lieved Vv^ith their ancestors, the Jews, in the 
 eternal unity of the Supreme Godhead, from 
 whom, and dependent on whom, are all things 
 that exist. They considered Christ Jesus as the 
 image of the invisible God, as the firstborn of 
 every creature, by whom are all things; by 
 whose ministry the world with all it contains 
 was created, and by whom the redemption and 
 salvation of mankind were effected." (Dr. 
 Gregory.) 
 
 *'The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Fa- 
 ther and the Son," was believed to be *'of one 
 substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father 
 and the Son, very and eternal God." This unity 
 and coequality of the three persons in the God- 
 head was afterwards expressed by the word 
 "Trinity." 
 
 The history of the divine mission of Jesus 
 Christ as recorded in the Gospels — his incarna- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 77 
 
 tion, death, and resurrection— was of necessity 
 regarded as an essential article of the faith of 
 the primitive Church. The history of Christ's 
 earthly life, his ministry, miracles, and all that 
 the Holy Spirit has seen proper to record for our 
 instruction and edification, were topics of apos- 
 tolic preaching, as they are of all sound gospel 
 preaching to-day: ^'Repentance toward God 
 and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," "Jesus 
 and the resurrection," were the staple themes of 
 the early Christian teachers. All these great 
 doctrines of the Christian faith should be fully 
 expounded by the missionary. They are essen- 
 tial to a correct apprehension of Christ and his 
 work, and form the basis of the common faith of 
 Christendom— the great essentials upon which 
 all evangelical Christians agree. To these pri- 
 mary doctrines were added the belief in a gen- 
 eral resurrection of the whole human race, and 
 the distribution of eternal rewards and punish- 
 ments, according to the respective deserts of each 
 individual. "Upon these teachings of God's 
 Word rests the whole moral obligation of the 
 Christian system. " The peculiar views of Chris- 
 tian doctrine and discipline which characterize 
 
78 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 the various denominations of Christendom will 
 be, of course, inculcated hj the missionary ac- 
 cording as they are held by the denomination 
 which he represents. 
 
 As to the administration of discipline in the 
 Church we have no specific instructions, or but 
 incidental examples, from which we infer that the 
 morals of the gospel furnish the only authority 
 and guide we have in such matters. Some dis- 
 cipline is absolutely necessary, *'that all things 
 may done decently and in order," but the "rules 
 and regulations " governing Church membership 
 must be fixed by each denomination or Church 
 for itself. These rules and regulations may be 
 arranged under three general heads, and should 
 be conformed to the moral teachings of the X ew 
 Testament in matter and spirit: 
 
 I. Such as Forhid the Doing of Evil. — "Ab- 
 stain from all appearance of evil." (1 Thess. v. 
 22.) "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that 
 which is good." (Rom. xii. 9.) 
 
 II. Those Wliich Enjoin the Doincj of Good. — 
 "As we have opportunity, let us do good unto all 
 men, especially unto them who are of the house- 
 hold of faith." (Gal. vi. 10.) "Be kindly af- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 79 
 
 fectioned one to another with brotherly love; 
 in honor preferring one another; . . . distrib- 
 uting to the necessity of saints; given to hospi- 
 tality." (Rom. xii. 10-13.) 
 
 III. Those Wiich Enjoin the Use of the 3Teans 
 of Grace. — (1) Remember the sabbath day to keep 
 it holy," etc. (Ex. xx. 8-11.) (2) " Search the 
 Scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal 
 life: and they are they which testify of me." (John 
 V. 39.) "All Scripture is given by inspiration 
 of God, and is profitable for doctrine," etc. (2 
 Tim. iii. 16.) (3) Prayer, public and private— 
 our Saviour prayed much in secret. He says: 
 "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and 
 when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
 which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth 
 in secret shall reward thee openly." (Matt. vi. 
 6.) "Be careful for nothing; but in everything 
 by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let 
 you requests be made known unto God." (Phil, 
 iv. G.) Family prayer: "As for me and my 
 house, w^e will serve the Lord." (Josh. xxiv. 15.) 
 (4) The Lord's Supper: "And he took bread, 
 and gave thanks, and break it and gave unto 
 them, saying, "This is my body which is given 
 
80 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 for you, this do in remembrance of me," etc. 
 (Luke xxii. 19, 20.) (5) Attending upon the 
 ministry of the word: "Not forsaking the as- 
 sembling of yourselves together, as the manner 
 of some is." (Heb. x. 25.) 
 
 The foregoing passages of Holy Scripture en- 
 join the observance of the principal duties of 
 the Christian life. These duties should be dis- 
 charged in love and charity. Love for those 
 who are our brethren in the Lord, and charity 
 for all men. The example of our Lord, his lov- 
 ing, meek, and patient spirit, furnishes a guide 
 to all who would be his followers. Love is the 
 law of the Christian life. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 A Native Ministry. 
 
 The great work of the Christian missionary 
 is to plant and establish the Church of Jesus 
 Christ in all heathen lands. The first care of our 
 Lord was to select men whom he trained to he 
 the future preachers of the gospel. 
 
 The apostles followed the example of the Mas- 
 ter so far as circum^stances permitted. Paul 
 selected such men as Timothy and Titus, and 
 trained them for the work of the ministry. 
 The growth and success of the native church 
 will depend chiefly upon the character of its 
 membership. The missionary under whose la- 
 bors the first converts are made will naturally 
 have the selection of the early native helpers, 
 and he should be extremely careful as to the 
 men he selects. Their example will determine 
 very materially the character of the future 
 Church. 
 
 If we would have a holy and aggressive 
 Church membership, we must have a devout and 
 C (81) 
 
82 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 earnest ministry. And tlie same is true of the 
 ministry. If we would have a pure and devout 
 ministry, we must have a spiritual and active 
 Church membership. " Like people, like priest." 
 
 The Christian ministry is the gift of Christ 
 to his Church, and through the Church to the 
 world. "When he ascended up on high, he led 
 captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." 
 (Eph. iv. 8.) "And he gave some, apostles; 
 and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; 
 and some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfect- 
 ing of the saints, for the work of the minis- 
 try, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till 
 we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the 
 knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect 
 man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
 fullness of Christ." (Eph. iv. 11-13.) 
 
 "The gifts" bestowed consisted not of the 
 offices, but of the officers, the men upon whom 
 they were conferred — that is, endowed leaders 
 and guides, under whose ministry and services 
 the Church is edified and established, 
 
 "The evangelical ministry is essentially a 
 ministry of the word; all other ministrations 
 are subordinated to this; they are so many 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 83 
 
 modes of speaking, of declaring the word of 
 God. Christianity is a word, a thought of God, 
 destined to become the thought of man." (Yi- 
 net.) The object of the Christian ministry is to 
 proclaim this word to all mankind — to ' ' preach 
 the gospel to every creature." 
 
 Vr^herever the gospel is faithfully preached in 
 any place, at home or in heathen lands, believ- 
 ers are raised up, and a native ministry called 
 and commissioned to carry on the work. The 
 history of the Church shows that this is the di- 
 vine order: first the missionary, then the native 
 church, and then a native Christian ministry. 
 
 In modern times, and according to modern 
 methods of missionary w^ork, the foreign mis- 
 sionary selects the native converts whom he re- 
 gards as best qualified to be lay helpers, and 
 trains them as prospective candidates for the 
 ministry. In this way a native ministry is raised 
 up in the native church. 
 
 The first question to be answered in regard to 
 'a native who desires to become a preacher is: 
 Has he been truly regenerated? is he a sincere 
 and earnest Christian? If this cannot be an- 
 swered affirmatively, no further questions need 
 
84 The Foreign MissionaPwY. 
 
 be asked. If satisfied as to his Christian char- 
 acter, then we may seek to ascertain whether he 
 is called of God to the work of the ministry. 
 There are those in almost every mission field 
 who would join themselves to the priesthood 
 for a piece of bread. They see that the mis- 
 sionary is supported by the Church at home, and 
 the more ignorant naturally infer that the min- 
 istry is merely an occupation — a job for which 
 the preacher receives a money compensation. 
 They want the compensation. That is all. 
 
 If the missionary is satisfied as to the Chris- 
 tian character of the candidate, he then looks to 
 his fitness as a religious teacher. He inquires 
 into his motives, and applies the usual tests by 
 which the question of a special divine call to 
 the ministry is determined.^ Of course such an 
 investigation should be adapted to the personal 
 character, grade of intelligence, natural gifts, 
 and the demands of the special field in which 
 the candidate proposes to work. 
 
 Having passed a satisfactory examination as 
 to his general aptitude for the work of an evan- 
 gelist, the candidate is placed under special 
 
 1 See Chapter III. 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 85 
 
 training. His training must be conducted in 
 such manner as to fit him to labor among his 
 own people, and if he has special gifts which 
 may be utilized in his field of labor, these should 
 not be overlooked or neglected, but cultivated. 
 Some persons excel in one department of Chris- 
 tian work and some in other de^^artments. 
 
 As to the general training, we can only sug- 
 gest an outline. The heathen present a great 
 variety of character and condition intellectually, 
 morally, socially, from the coarse savage and 
 rude barbarian to the cultivated and polished 
 Chinese and Hindoo. The native preacher, like 
 the foreign missionary, should be able to adapt 
 himself to the peculiar circumstances and char- 
 acter of the people among whom his lot is cast. 
 A great diversity in the training of men suited 
 to the different fields of missionary labor is 
 therefore not only expedient but necessary. 
 
 1. The Churches of Christendom cannot send 
 out men enough to occupy all the destitute 
 places in the vast heathen world, and even if 
 they could do so, and plant a missionary in every 
 hamlet and village, the object of the Churches 
 — to evangelize the heathen — would not, could 
 
86 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 not, be accomplislied by such agency. A native 
 ministry must do the work. The foreigner can- 
 not enter into the sympathies of the people as a 
 native. The fact that he is a foreigner remains to 
 his prejudice, and effectually excludes him from 
 the inner sanctuary of social and domestic life. 
 A few converts may be made by the foreign 
 teacher, but no general movement of the masses 
 can take place until these native converts appro- 
 priate the gospel to themselves arid feel its di- 
 vine i^ower in their own lives. Then they will 
 become active in working for the salvation of 
 their countrymen. As long as they regard 
 Christianity as the foreigners' religion and not 
 their own, so long the gospel v/ill have but little 
 influence with the people generally, but when 
 natives who have felt its power recommend 
 it to their countrymen, and when their changed 
 lives bear witness to its saving efficacy, then 
 Christianity takes root in the native soil and be- 
 comes a living force. It is thus the Church is 
 planted among the heathen. 
 
 2. If a native ministry is a necessity, we may 
 ask: How is such a ministry to be obtained? 
 That it is an essential factor in effective mission- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 87 
 
 aiy operations is generally, if not universally, ad- 
 mitted by experienced workers in foreign fields. 
 Some difLerence of opinion exists as to the char- 
 acter and amount of training which the native 
 ministry ought to receive. Ought they to pass 
 through a systematic course of training? or, 
 ought they to be simply such of the converts as 
 show themselves best qualified for the work, 
 with the elementary training they have received? 
 Some converts who have received no special 
 training for evangelistic work have nevertheless 
 rendered valuable service in their sphere as ear- 
 nest, active Christians. Some native evangelists, 
 especially in the early days of modern mission- 
 ary effort, have been eloquent and successful 
 preachers, who had no special educational ad- 
 vantages or professional training. But this does 
 not prove that they would not have been more 
 useful if well educated, and there, as here, some 
 special training should be given the evangelist 
 whenever practicable. The true policy is to 
 use all available agencies in . missionary work. 
 All the converts should be encouraged to do 
 Tv^hat they can to bring in their heathen rela- 
 tives and friends. 
 
88 Tht3 Foreign Missionary. 
 
 In rude and barbarous fields the missionary 
 will adapt his methods to the intellectual and 
 moral condition of the people. Among the 
 more civilized tribes and nations he will follow 
 the same rule — adapt his methods to the charac- 
 ter and condition of the people for whom and 
 with whom he labors. So in regard to the na- 
 tive ministry. The preparation of the agents 
 who are employed as preachers of the gospel 
 should fit them for their special work. The 
 adaptation of means to the ends to be accom- 
 plished is a general rule to be observed through- 
 out the whole scheme of missionary oj^erations. 
 Leaving the application of this general rule to 
 the discretion and judgment of those who have 
 the training of native candidates for the minis- 
 try, we pass on to notice other questions connect- 
 ed with this subject. 
 
 1. In any system of training for the ministry, 
 the Bible should be first and last, not only as a 
 text-book, but as the supreme authority in all 
 matters of faith ,and practice. The student 
 should be taught to reverence it as divine — the 
 infallible word of the living God — inspired by 
 the Holy Ghost. ''Holy men of God spake as 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 89 
 
 they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Pet. 
 i. 21.) "All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
 God." (2 Tim. iii. 16.) In this blessed book 
 God speaks to us, and we should listen to its 
 teachings as if we heard his voice from heaven. 
 It is not superstition which teaches us to rever- 
 ence the Bible as divine, but the dictate of sound 
 reason. The student should study it systemat- 
 ically, and read it devotionally. It should be 
 his daily companion. 
 
 2. The students under training for the minis- 
 try should be instructed in the laws of interpre- 
 tation, and also of translation; so that they may 
 be able to "search the Scriptures" systematical- 
 ly and intelligently. They should be taught the 
 use of commentaries and practical exjjository 
 works, such especially as show the unity and 
 harmony of the different parts of Holy Scrip- 
 ture. Jesus Christ is the center of the whole 
 Christian system. In him all prophecy and 
 promise meet, and he is the alpha and omega of 
 divine revelation. 
 
 3. Instruction in Church history should form 
 a part of any curriculum intended as a course of 
 theoloarical or ecclesiastical training for the min- 
 
90 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 istiy. The history of the Church is not only 
 interesting and instructive as a part of the his- 
 tory of mankind, but it is specially important 
 as showing how God, in his divine providence, 
 has taken care of his Church, and how it has 
 grown and developed under the most adverse 
 circumstances. The world, the flesh, and the 
 devil, the confederate forces of all evil, have 
 persecuted the people of God in all ages, but in 
 vain. Like the burning bush in Horeb, they 
 have been in the midst of the fire, yet not con- 
 sumed. 
 
 4. Instruction in the composition and delivery 
 of sermons should not be overlooked. Texts 
 may be given out, and the students required to 
 prejiare sermons upon them. The student ought 
 also to be instructed in the preparation of 
 tracts — a most efficient agency in the propaga- 
 tion of religious truth. All this, of course, 
 will he more or less modified by the intelligence 
 and culture of the people, or the want of it. 
 The preacher sliould be, however, better edu- 
 cated than the people. He should be able to 
 read and write, though they may be able to do 
 neither. As a teacher and leader, he ouo;ht to 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 91 
 
 be much in advance of liis people. If he is not, 
 his usefulness will be extremely limited. 
 
 5. Hymnology and vocal music ought to bo 
 carefully taught in all attempts to educate men 
 for the ministry. "The songs of Zion" are 
 not only an important part of religious wor- 
 ship, but they are a most efficient vehicle for the 
 transmission of religious knowledge. The com- 
 mon people get their theology from the hymns 
 they sing as much as from the sermons they 
 hear. 
 
 6. Our Lord taught his disciples how to pray, 
 and gave them that beautiful and comprehen- 
 sive model of all prayers, which we know as 
 the "Lord's Prayer." He warned his disciples 
 against the false ideas the heathen have of 
 prayer. They use "vain repetitions," thinking 
 they "shall be heard for their much speaking." 
 He also warned his disciples against the manner 
 of the hypocrites, Avho "love to pray standing 
 in the synagogues, and in the corners of the 
 streets, that they may be seen of men." The 
 native converts should be taught to repeat the 
 Lord's Prayer as often as they pray, and to fol- 
 low our Lord's advice concerning the manner, of 
 
92 The Foreign Mis^jionary, 
 
 prayer, recorded by Matthew and Luke. (Matt, 
 vi. 9; Luke xi. 2.) 
 
 The missionary having charge of candidates 
 for the ministry will instruct them as to the na- 
 ture and importance of prayer, of private or 
 personal prayer, of social and family prayer, 
 and of public prayer. The successful minister 
 of the gospel, whether in Christian or heathen 
 lands, is a man of prayer, much earnest, believ- 
 ing prayer. Our Saviour was often in prayer 
 during the days of his earthly ministry, some- 
 times spending whole nights in prayer. The 
 minister who "prevails with God" prevails also 
 with men. 
 
 The functions of the pastorate naturally grow 
 out of the labors of the evangelists, foreign and 
 native. The existence of a native pastorate im- 
 plies a native membership, organized churches, 
 and an advanced state of missionary work. To 
 discuss this would carry me beyond the pre- 
 scribed limits of this little book. I shall there- 
 fore omit the subject, and leave the matter to be 
 supervised and arranged according to the pe- 
 culiar views on Church polity held by each de- 
 nominational representative. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SELF-SuproRT OF Native Ciiurches. 
 
 That native churches should become self-sup- 
 porting as soon as they are able to bear the nec- 
 essary expenses, and are sufficiently educated in 
 Christian doctrine and ecclesiastical polity, to 
 regulate their own affairs successfully, does not 
 admit of question. It is in this way only that 
 a native church can be developed and become a 
 living and self-propagating agency. A churcli 
 dependent for support on foreign funds, and 
 under foreign control, cannot command the en- 
 tire respect or confidence of the native j^opula- 
 tion; it will always be looked upon with suspi- 
 cion, as mercenary in character, and alien in its 
 sympathies. Especially will the native minis- 
 try who receive the means of support from for- 
 eign boards be likely to suffer from this popu- 
 lar prejudice. The people will say: '' You eat 
 the foreigner's bread, and of course you preach 
 the foreigner's doctrine," 
 
 The gospel plan for tlie support of the minis- 
 
 (93) 
 
94 The Foreign MiSvSioxary. 
 
 try is set forth by St. Paul in his first Epistle to 
 the Corinthian church (1 Cor. ix. 13, 14): "Do 
 ye not know that they which minister about 
 holy things live of the things of the temple? and 
 they which wait at the altar are j^artakers with 
 the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that 
 they which preach the gospel should live of the 
 gospel." This is in harmony with the Saviour's 
 command to the twelve apostles when he sent 
 them out to preach: " Provide neither gold, nor 
 silver, nor brass in your purses; nor scri]^ for 
 your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, 
 nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of 
 his meat." (Matt. x. 9, 10.) The same instruc- 
 tions were given to the seventy. (Luke x. 7.) 
 It is evident that the early converts to Christian- 
 ity were expected to meet all the necessary ex- 
 penses of their religious services, to care for the 
 poor among them, to send means to assist poor 
 Christians in other places, and to carry the gos- 
 pel into the "regions beyond." (Gregory.) 
 
 The expenses of a native evangelist or pastor 
 among his own people ought not to be relative- 
 ly very great. He should live as the common 
 peo})le live, in a plr.in, simple way, so as to avoid 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 95 
 
 the implication of preaching for "filthy lucre." 
 Besides, the native ministry should be in intimate 
 social and religious sympathy with all whom 
 they serve in the gospel. This cannot be if they 
 are supported by a foreign agency, even if the 
 amount of money they receive is not above the 
 wages of a common laborer. The heathen will 
 always associate them with "mercenary hire- 
 lings," and their influence will be greatly embar- 
 rassed, if not destroyed. If the native preacher 
 lives as the people among whom he labors live, 
 his support will not be a burden to even a small 
 community of native Christians. A little self- 
 denial on the part of the membership of a small 
 church will serve to furnish a reasonable sup- 
 port to the native ^^astor or preacher. In many 
 cases two or more congregations can unite in the 
 support of a common ' pastor. The Methodist 
 Church has demonstrated the practicability of 
 carrying on a great evangelical and pastoral 
 ministry by means of its unique system of itin- 
 erancy, with a small financial income. How far 
 this system may be adapted to foreign mission- 
 ary work depends upon the peculiar character 
 and circumstances of the people. Among sav- 
 
96 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 ages and rude barbarians it would probably re- 
 quire some modification. The principle of self- 
 support is not materially affected, however, by 
 the different methods of missionary labor pur- 
 sued by the various Churches of Protestant 
 Christendom; all must come at last to the same 
 condition of self-reliance, and consequently of 
 self-support, if the world is ever converted to 
 Christ. 
 
 Converts from heathenism should be taught in 
 the beginning that Christianity is a benevolent 
 religion, and that they are expected to contrib- 
 ute according to their ability for the cause of 
 Christ. As the Son of God gave himself for us, 
 so we should give ourselves and all our sub- 
 stance to him. A mistaken policy, practiced by 
 some kind-hearted missionaries, has had the effect 
 to make paupers rather than earnest and useful 
 Christians of their converts. Not only was the 
 gospel given to them free, but pecuniary aid 
 also furnished, thus increasing their native greed 
 for money. * ' The grace of Christian liberality " 
 was not inculcated in them, and "they became 
 a community of religious mendicants," says one 
 who had the misfortune to be stationed near 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 97 
 
 where such a church existed. The proper meth- 
 od therefore is, or seems to be to "employ only 
 suitable men to preach the gospel to their hea- 
 then countrymen, and as soon as a number of 
 converts are received into Church fellowship to 
 require them to contribute according to their abil- 
 ity for the support of the gospel in their midst, 
 and for "carrying it into the regions beyond." 
 Teach them that " it is more blessed to give than 
 to receive;" and that as they "have freely re- 
 ceived, so they should freely give;" that as the 
 blessed gospel has been given to them, so they 
 should give it to others who have it not. 
 
 It should not be forgotten in this connection 
 that idolatry is a costly institution. The building 
 of heathen temples in India, China, and Japan 
 far surpasses 'in expensiveness the building of 
 churches in Christian lands. There are temples in 
 China that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars; 
 and the daily service, burning of incense, offerings 
 at popular shrines, and the support of the priest- 
 hood, thousands of dollars more. Idolatry is ev- 
 erywhere more or less expensive. It is estimated 
 by a venerable missionary who has spent many 
 years in China that the Chinese spend annually 
 7 
 
98 Tee Foreign Missionary. 
 
 not less than $250,000,000 in ancestral worship 
 alone. Add to this vast sum the millions spent 
 in support of minor superstitions, and you will 
 have some idea of the expensiveness of idolatry 
 in China. The Japanese and Hindoos are not 
 behind the Chinese relatively in the costliness of 
 their temples and expensiveness of their wor- 
 ship. The mass of contributors and worshipers 
 are poor people, who support out of their mea- 
 ger incomes this enormous system of oppres- 
 sion and spiritual tyranny. Giving for the sup- 
 port of religious institutions is not, therefore, a 
 new idea with the heathen. They are taught 
 everywhere to give. Why should they then 
 think it strange or a hardship when they become 
 Christians that they are asked to contribute a 
 reasonable amount for the support of the gos- 
 pel? Where they are properly taught as to their 
 duty they do not complain. 
 
 The self-support of Christian churches is not 
 an experiment; all Christendom proves that it is 
 not only feasible but absolutely necessary to 
 the life and prosperity of any and all church 
 organizations. Native self-suj^porting churches 
 are to be found in nearly all modern mission 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 99 
 
 fields, and they are everywhere growing and 
 prospering. In many instances they are rapidly 
 becoming missionary in spirit, and are sending 
 out agents into the heathen communities around 
 them, thus not only supporting themselves, but 
 bearing the glad tidings of the gospel to their 
 heathen countrymen. 
 
 The great want of our Churches at home and 
 in our foreign mission fields is deep, earnest, en- 
 thusiastic i>iety, a profound love for Christ and 
 for the souls of men. Where this exists in a 
 native church there will be ex^^ansive enterprise, 
 a genuine missionary enthusiasm will character- 
 ize the individual lives of its ministry and member- 
 ship, and that church will grow and develop into 
 a living and aggressive force, extending its opera- 
 tions into the surrounding regions. To such a 
 community of believers no duty involved in self- 
 support will seem a burden, but a blessed priv- 
 ilege. All the subordinate institutions of the 
 Church will be cheerfully and amply supported, 
 the children will be educated and trained in the 
 ways of righteousness, and what was once a mor- 
 al wilderness will become as "the garden of the 
 Lord," will "rejoice and blossom as the rose." 
 
100 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 It is not expected that every native cliurch will 
 become self- supporting as soon as organized; 
 indeed, it is not expected that they should do 
 so in any case until sufficiently prej^ared for it. 
 This will require time, patience, and persever- 
 ance. During this period of preparation the 
 foreign missionary must remain in charge. It 
 will also be necessary to furnish some pecuniary 
 assistance, for, as a rule, the first converts are 
 from the j^oorer classes and not able to contrib- 
 ute much. They are likewise ignorant, and not 
 able to intelligently manage the aifafrs of a 
 church. The presence and aid of the missionary 
 is therefore necessary, at least for a time. 
 
 The building of chapels increases very greatly 
 the expenses of self-supjjort; but the congrega- 
 tions can meet in private houses, or rent rooms 
 in most places at small cost, in which they can 
 worship until able to build small churches or 
 chapels. The building of churches comes after 
 the congregation has grown strong enough to 
 bear the expense without feeling that it is a bur- 
 den. 
 
 The importance of the subject I have been 
 discussing cannot easily be overstated. Self- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 101 
 
 support is absolutely necessary in order to the 
 ultimate success of any effort to plant Christian- 
 ity in a heathen soil. Therefore the sooner the 
 converts gathered into Church fellowship can 
 be induced to undertake self-support the better 
 for the future of the church. 
 
 It does not come within the sphere of my 
 present design to discuss details of methods or 
 plans of work. This belongs to the mission- 
 aries in the field. The number of self-support- 
 ing stations has greatly increased in all the mis- 
 sion stations of the world within the last quar- 
 ter of a century. These churches are, as a con- 
 sequence, becoming active agents in spreading 
 the gospel in other places, and thus making it 
 self-propagating. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mission Schools. 
 
 St. Paul says, in speaking of the religious 
 training which the Jews received under the Mo- 
 saic dispensation, ''Before faith came, we were 
 kept under the law, shut up unto the faith 
 which should afterwards be revealed. Where- 
 fore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us 
 unto Christ." (Gal. iii. 23, 24.) 
 
 Gross ignorance characterizes all forms and 
 grades of heathenism, from the negro fetichism 
 of Africa to the metaphysical speculations of 
 Buddhism. All are without the knowledge of 
 the true God as revealed in his word, and all 
 therefore need instruction, not only in secular 
 matters, but especially in "the things of God." 
 They are to be made Christians, or "children 
 of God by faith in Christ Jesus," not by any 
 process of secular education. "Believe on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," is 
 the language of Holy Scripture. But "how 
 shall tliey believe on him of whom they have 
 (102) 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 103 
 
 not heard? and how shall they hear Avithout a 
 preacher?"^ "So then faith cometh by hear- 
 ing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. 
 X. 14, 17.) "Go ye therefore," says the Sav- 
 iour, in the great commission, and ' ' teach all 
 nations . . . teaching them to observe all things 
 whatsoever I have commanded you." (Matt, 
 xviii. 19, 20.) 
 
 The great agency ordained by Christ for the 
 carrying out of his last command is preaching 
 the gospel. Next to the oral proclamation of 
 the gospel is teaching. Preaching and teaching 
 are used in the great commission as synonymous: 
 to preach is to teach, and to teach is to preach. 
 Among the methods employed in teaching is 
 the common school, where the children and 
 young people are educated. Christendom is full 
 of schools, from the kindergarten to the well- 
 equipped university in which the whole circle 
 of human science is taught. In China, Japan, 
 India, and other semicivilized lands the com- 
 mon school is almost the only educational in- 
 stitution in existence. The teachers in these 
 schools exert a great influence over their pu- 
 
 5 Sec chapter on preaching to the heathen. 
 
104 The FoiiEiGN Missionary. 
 
 pils, and consequently over the whole native 
 population. They are the conservators of the 
 popular and traditional superstitions of the 
 country, and the expounders of etiquette and 
 morals. They are the intellectual rulers and so- 
 cial guides of the people. 
 
 The missionaries, seeing the use made of these 
 schools, and the great influence which they ex- 
 erted over the masses of the common people, 
 wisely adopted a similar method of instruction, 
 and established day schools in all their fields of 
 labor, where it was at all practicable. They 
 have thus utilized one of the most powerful na- 
 tive agencies in the evangelization of the hea- 
 then. The day schools are among the first 
 means employed by the missionaries to open work 
 in a new fielch- Through them the poor are ap- 
 proached, their children gathered in and in- 
 structed; and by and by the parents, seeing the 
 benefit their children derive from the school, 
 are conciliated, and finally become converts. 
 The school thus often forms the nucleus of a 
 station and the beginning of a church. Such is 
 the use made of the "mission school." We do 
 not mean that all is due to the influence of the 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 105 
 
 schools. Other means and agencies are em- 
 ployed in conjunction with them, but in the be- 
 ginning of mission work in a new field the day 
 school has been, and is, a most efficient agency. 
 
 An adult heathen, in order to become a Chris- 
 tian, must surrender all his religious opinions, 
 superstitions, and prejudices, and submit to be 
 accounted an alien and an outcast among his own 
 people. He must discard all the religious teach- 
 ings of his ancestors as false and wicked, and suffer 
 all manner of reproach and obloquy for Christ's 
 sake. In some places one who becomes a Chris- 
 tian is declared to be dead, and funeral services 
 are performed for him as if actually deceased. 
 His relatives seize his property and distribute it 
 among themselves. The common courtesies of 
 life are denied him, and to kill him is considered 
 justifiable homicide. It is no wonder, therefore, 
 that an adult heathen is slow to become a pro- 
 fessed Christian. 
 
 The children and young people have no such 
 difficulties to encounter in receiving Christian 
 truth, and they are therefore the hope of the 
 missionaries for the future conversion of the hea- 
 then world. And herein lies the usefulness of 
 
106 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 mission schools. They train the young and plas- 
 tic minds of the children in the knowledge of 
 God's Word, and thus prepare them to under- 
 stand and accept the gospel before they are 
 brought fully under the demoralizing influence 
 of heathenism. The seeds of religious truth 
 are in this way sown in the virgin soil of child- 
 hood, and will never entirely perish. The 
 teaching in the schools should be so arranged as 
 to begin with the first principles of Christianity, 
 and lead on step by step through a regular 
 course of primary instruction. 
 
 Bible history, and especially Bible biography, 
 interests children, and furnishes the material for 
 moral and religious instruction. The revelation 
 of God's character as a Being of infinite com- 
 passion, the Maker and Governor of all things, 
 illustrated as it is in the beautiful and sublime 
 life and ministry of our Lord, presents a strik- 
 ing contrast to the gloomy and malignant crea- 
 tures of the imagination which the heathen Avor- 
 ship. There is nothing beautiful or lovely in 
 all the pantheon of heathenism, no god of pity, 
 no god of love. There is nothing pleasing in 
 the forms of worship. All is a horrible drama 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 107 
 
 of sin, suffering, despair, and death. There is 
 no joy in life, or solace in affliction known to 
 the poor, deluded devotees of any false religion. 
 The advantages of day schools as a part of 
 the Avorking machinery of our foreign missions 
 may be thus summarized: 
 
 1. They furnish the best means of approach 
 to the children and young j)eople of the heathen 
 families. It is the only door, in many places, 
 that stands ajar, through which the missionary 
 may hope to enter the homes of the heathen. 
 As long as the homes remain pagan and inacces- 
 sible to missionary agents, so long little can be 
 done for the conversion of the masses. 
 
 2. Day schools furnish a field for usefulness 
 for the women employed in our missions. So 
 soon as they are able to speak the native lan- 
 guage with any degree of ease and accuracy they 
 can do efficient missionary work. The schools 
 furnish also an audience for the preachers, both 
 foreign and native. 
 
 3. They also form a center around which may 
 be gathered the first converts in a new station, 
 and thus supply a nucleus for the organization 
 of a church at an early day. 
 
108 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 4. In the day school the pupils are brought 
 into immediate personal contact with the mis- 
 sionaries, and thus have the advantage of Chris- 
 tian example. It is worth a great deal to have 
 such an object lesson as a cultivated Christian 
 m^an or woman to illustrate by example the 
 teachings of the gospel. 
 
 As to the best manner of conducting a day 
 school, I need not speak. That must depend 
 upon the character of the people, their grade of 
 intelligence, their local circumstances, and the 
 good judgment of the missionary. Besides, it 
 does not come within the scope of this little vol- 
 ume to discuss the details of missionary work, 
 except in its preliminary stages. 
 
 Boarding schools for boys and girls have been 
 used for training the children of native Chris- 
 tians, and with success. Also theological schools 
 have been established in the older missions for 
 the training of young men for the ministry. 
 Schools and colleges of a higher grade have been 
 erected, where the natural sciences are taught 
 in connection with a limited classical course. 
 Sunday schools, industrial schools, training 
 schools, infant schools, have all been employed 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 109 
 
 more or less in our foreign missions, and with 
 different degrees of success. 
 
 Whatever be the character of the school, 
 whether day school, boarding school, primary 
 or advanced, one thing is imperative, that without 
 which no school can legitimately be recognized 
 as a mission school; its main object must be to 
 teach the Bible, not merely as a text-book in the 
 school, but as the curriculum, the sum and sub- 
 stance of all teaching. Unless the school oper- 
 ate directly as an evangelical agency, auxiliary 
 to the great end of all religious teaching, it 
 has no legitimate place in mission work. If the 
 pupils in any school are not brought to Christ, 
 It least some of them, that school is a failure 
 as a missionary agency. Mission schools, as a 
 rule, have done much good. Their work abides. 
 As to the character of the teachers employed 
 in mission schools, that must depend on circum- 
 stances. They should, if possible, be Christians; 
 but this cannot always be, especially in the 
 opening of new stations. The missionary's good 
 sense is the only guide in this and many other 
 matters connected with the details of mission 
 work. 
 
110 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 The introduction of women's missionary so- 
 cieties as an organized force has added a new 
 and most efficient element to the evangelical 
 agencies for the conversion of the world. The 
 Christian women of the Church had, from the 
 beginning, been the friends of foreign missions, 
 and had contributed their share of means and 
 personal labors to the great enterprise, but with- 
 out formal recognition, until within the last few 
 years. Now they appear in the field of common 
 missionary effort as a most important factor. 
 Their success has been marvelous. Their skill 
 in the management of their affairs has surprised 
 even themselves, especially in the businesslike 
 manner in which they have conducted their finan- 
 cial interests. Hundreds of thousands of dol- 
 lars have been collected and disbursed by them, 
 and thousands of heathen women and children 
 have been taught under the influence of the gos- 
 pel by their instrumentality. They are well or- 
 ganized, and all their agents are active and effi- 
 cient. 
 
 The women have given special prominence in 
 their methods of work to mission schools, and 
 in this department they have been very success- 
 
The Foreign Missionary, 111 
 
 fill. They have given personal and immediate 
 supervision to their day schools, and thus de- 
 veloped this agency to its utmost capacity. 
 
 All that I have said in regard to the qualifica- 
 tions of missionaries and their methods of work 
 applies equally to the Woman's Board and its 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 A Native Christian Litekatuee. 
 
 The Bible is the fountain of all Christian lit- 
 erature. From this source the "waters of life" 
 liaA^e been distributed to the thirsty lands of 
 earth. The wilderness and the solitary place 
 have been made glad for them, and the desert 
 has been made to blossom as the rose. It shall 
 blossom still more abundantly, and rejoice even 
 with joy and singing. (Isa. xxxv. 1, 2.) 
 
 1. In any attempt to create a Christian litera- 
 ture for a people being redeemed from heathen- 
 ism the first thing to be done is to give them 
 the Word of God. If they have a written lan- 
 guage of their own, the work is com.paratively 
 easy: simply to translate the Scriptures into 
 their native tongue. If the people have no 
 
 itten lancrua^e, the task is much more diffi- 
 
 wr 
 
 '& *"&^' 
 
 cult. The missionary must reduce the barba- 
 rous jargon of the savage to a written form, as 
 Elliot did the rude Indian dialects of theXorth, 
 and then teach the natives how to use it. What- 
 (112) 
 
The Foreign Mfssionary. 113 
 
 ever be the character and condition of the peo- 
 ple, whether savage or semicivilized, among 
 whom the missionary labors, they must sooner 
 or later have the Bible in their mother tongue. 
 The missionary should therefore understand 
 the principles of translation, and be able to ren- 
 der the Word of God faithfully and fully into 
 the native language of the people. If he has a 
 critical knowledge of the original languages in 
 which the sacred Scriptures were given, so much 
 the better; but if limited to his own lano-ua^-e 
 and tlie speech of the natives, he must do the 
 best he can to give them the Word of God. 
 "The word of the Lord is not bound," but has 
 "free course" everywhere among the nations, 
 and may be translated into any language or dia- 
 lect spoken on earth. There is no ignorance so 
 gross that it cannot be dissipated, and no moral 
 darkness so dense that it cannot be dispelled by 
 the light of divine truth. 
 
 2. Next to a standard edition of the Bible, 
 good commentaries, and other expository works 
 are needed to aid the student to understand the 
 teaching of God's Word. These may be transla- 
 tions of books adapted to tlie purpose. Com- 
 8 
 
114 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 mentaries on the historical parts of the Bible 
 are specially useful. They show the unity of the 
 Old and New Testaments, and thus reveal the 
 harmony of divine revelation. A careful ex- 
 position of the prophetical books of the Old 
 Testament is exceedingly valuable, as showing 
 the intimate connection between the two dis- 
 pensations, and the oneness of God's purpose in 
 revelation. The New Testament is a sequel to the 
 Old Testament, and neither of them is intelli- 
 gible without the other. 
 
 3. Scriptural biograpliy furnishes an interest- 
 ing department of Christian literature, and illus- 
 trates God's method of dealing with individual 
 men, communities, and nations. It is a commen- 
 tary on divine providence, and an "object les- 
 son " of much value to the converted lieathen. 
 To them example is more intelligible than pre- 
 cept. Besides the narrative style, which charac- 
 terizes biography, is more attractive to the 
 young and ignorant than the more formal didac- 
 tic method of instruction. 
 
 4. "The life of our Lord," as recorded by 
 the four evangelists, occupies the first place in 
 Christian biography. Jesus Christ stands alone 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 115 
 
 in his unique grandeur, simple and sublime, 
 not to be classed with men, and yet he was the 
 Man of All the Race, " the Son of Man," and 
 "the Son of God." "This Supreme Man was 
 born to no rank and trained in no school, held 
 himself aloof from none, and did not shrink 
 from the touch of the sinful, sought no fame, 
 and seemed content to strew his words on the 
 vanishing winds." (Storrs.) The native Chris- 
 tians in all our Missions should be taught that 
 the highest type of Christian character is that 
 which approaches most nearly in spirit and tem- 
 per, that of our divine Lord and Saviour. To be 
 like Jesus is to be a Christian. 
 
 5. Church history, or the history of Chris- 
 tianity in the world, what it has done for tlie 
 nations of the earth, its trials and triumphs. In 
 this department may be included books and 
 tracts on the institutions of the Church, baptism, 
 and the Lord's Supper, prayer, worship, etc. 
 
 6. "Works on the evidences of Christianity 
 are very important as furnishing the proofs upon 
 which the Christian rests his faith in the Bible 
 as the Word of God. Such books may or may 
 not be controversial, as circumstances require. 
 
116 The FopwEign Missionary. * 
 
 As a rule, the best way to destroy error is to es- 
 tablish the truth. 
 
 7. Idolatry is the great sin of the heathen 
 world, and must be destroyed by the light of the 
 gospel. The Christian religion is intended for 
 the wdiole world, and claims the right to guide 
 the thoughts and the lives of all men in all na- 
 tions and throuo-h all the asjes. "A true reli- 
 gion must be a universal religion." Christiani- 
 ty must therefore, as the only true religion, be 
 absolutely intolerant and exclude all other sys- 
 tems as false. The missionary must therefore 
 be prepared to make good this claim of his reli- 
 gion. There is only one God — " One Lord, one 
 faith,, one baptism." All the false gods of 
 heathenism must be scourged out of the temple 
 of the world, and Jesus Christ enshrined " Lord 
 over all, blessed forever." 
 
 8. A sound Christian literature is a growth, 
 and not merely a manufacture. Good books 
 may be made in any quantity; but if not needed, 
 or if unsuited to the exigencies of the times, 
 they are useless. Books, tracts, periodicals, 
 etc., will come into existence as they are needed, 
 and will be adapted to the ends for wliich they 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 117 
 
 were called forth. The literature of a Mission 
 "should contain books and tracts suited to the 
 use of native preachers, and also for the native 
 mernhers of the Church. 
 
 In conclusion I would suggest that the chil- 
 dren should be furnished with a good supply of 
 Sunday school literature, and that such litera- 
 ture be translations of our admirable Interna- 
 tional Lessons, where circumstances will permit 
 their use. In this way a com^munity of religious 
 sentiment will be established between the church- 
 es at home and the native churches in our for- 
 eign mission fields. 
 
 I am aware that what I have said in regard to 
 a native Christian literature implies some con- 
 siderable advancement in mission work, espe- 
 cially where there is no native literature; but 
 the missionaries in the field must plan for the 
 future. They are enlarging the foundations of 
 the Christian Church, and must adjust their 
 plans to the glorious promises of God's Word, 
 and not to the limited area of present success. 
 The Church is a living organism, a growth, 
 and should have ample room for expansion. 
 Its "field is the world," and no scheme of mis- 
 
118 The Foreigx Missionary. 
 
 gion work that does not contemplate the uni- 
 versal triumph of the gospel is comprehensive 
 enough to be evangelical. "The World for 
 Christ " is the missionary's motto ; it should be the 
 watchword of every Christian, at home and 
 abroad. Christ has redeemed the world by his 
 sufferings and death, has purchased it with his 
 precious blood, and has therefore a right to 
 claim it as his own. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Medical Missions. 
 
 Medical missions have the highest authority 
 for their existence as a part of the evangelical 
 agencies ordained for the conversion of the 
 world. The Lord Jesus Christ, when speaking 
 of his mission as the Messiah, says: '*The 
 Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
 anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; 
 he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to 
 preach deliverance to the captives, and recover- 
 ing of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them 
 that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year 
 of the Lord." (Luke iv. 18, 19; Isa. Ixi. 1-3.) 
 
 \yc see, in the history of his blessed ministry, 
 how the Saviour understood the terms of his 
 great commission: "And Jesus went about all 
 Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preach- 
 ing the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all 
 manner of sickness and all manner of disease 
 among the people." (Matt. iv. 23.) 
 
 When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples to 
 
 ai9) 
 
120 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 *'the lost sheep of the house of Israel," he said 
 unto them, "As ye go, preach, saymg, The king- 
 dom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse 
 the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely 
 ye have received, freely give." (Matt. x. 7, 8.) 
 So also, when the seventy were sent out, the 
 same command was repeated: "Heal the sick." 
 
 The gospel has a mission to the whole man, 
 soul, body, and spirit, "because the whole man 
 has been redeemed by the suiferings and death 
 of Christ, and is thus brought under the dispen- 
 sation of grace. "What! know ye not that 
 your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost 
 which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye 
 are not your own?" The minister of the gospel 
 carries the word of life to the soul of the lost 
 sinner, by which he is converted and saved; the 
 medical missionary carries the healing remedies 
 by which his afflicted body may be cured and 
 the untold suiferings which disease inflicts re- 
 moved. They are both ministers of God's grace. 
 Their services are imperative in foreign mission- 
 ary work. 
 
 The barbarous and semicivilized nations are 
 as ignorant of the causes and cure of disease as 
 
The Foreign Missioxahy. 121 
 
 they are of the nature of sin and "the way of 
 salvation." They attribute all forms of sick- 
 ness and disease to the agency of evil spir- 
 its, or to causes equally absurd. The planets 
 are supposed to exert a malign influence over 
 the souls and bodies of men, and to cooperate 
 with "the elements" in producing all manner 
 of disturbances in nature, such as earthquakes, 
 pestilence, etc. The gods are charged with 
 much of the miseries that afflict mankind, espe- 
 cially bodily ills and misfortunes. Wizards, 
 witches, and demons play a prominent part in 
 the superstitions of the lower grades of barba- 
 rians. The "medicine man" is a principal fig- 
 ure among the North American Indians and 
 among the wild tribes of Africa. Semicivil- 
 ized nations also believe in the presence and 
 agency of evil spirits and malignant demons in 
 all the affairs of human life.^ In China, India, 
 Burmah, and Japan the ]3eople are "in bond- 
 age through fear" of the devil and his angels 
 all their lives. According to their ignorance, 
 the heavens above and the earth beneath are 
 crowded with gods, ghosts, goblins, sprites, and 
 
 iSee Chapter II. 
 
122 Tin Foreign Missionary, 
 
 millions of nameless beings, who exert their su- 
 perhuman powers in tormenting, in various 
 ways, the unfortunate sons of men. Among 
 the evil spirits may be the ghosts of dead rela- 
 tives, a father, a mother, a brother, who are of- 
 fended because of some apparent neglect or mis- 
 take in performing the funeral rites. 
 
 Such are some of the superstitions prevalent 
 among the people in regard to the causes of dis- 
 ease. The native doctors and the priests are re- 
 sponsible for these gross absurdities. They are 
 ignorant themselves of diseases and the proper 
 remedies for their removal, and, instead of con- 
 fessing their ignorance, they resort to all man- 
 ner of trickery and imposture to deceive the 
 people. 
 
 Some examples of professional ignorance 
 among the doctors in heathen countries may il- 
 lustrate the need for medical missions. I quote 
 from "Medical Missions," by Dr. John Lowe: 
 
 "The Chinese have a very extensive medical 
 literature, but no works on anatomy or physiol- 
 ogy. The kind of teaching imparted may be 
 gathered from the folloAving description of the 
 pulse in its relation to disease: ' There are three 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 123 
 
 pulses in each wrist. A man's strongest pulse 
 is in his left wrist, a woman's in her right. In 
 a man the pulse that lies nearest the hand is 
 stronger than those that lie above; in a woman 
 just the opposite is true. In the left hand are 
 located the pulses showing the diseases of the 
 heart, the liver, and the kidneys; while the right- 
 hand 2^iilses indicate the diseases of the lungs, 
 the spleen, and other organs.' 
 
 "In another Chinese book, considered a 
 great authority on the nature of disease, we are 
 informed that the elements which compose the 
 human body are fire, earth, iron, water, and 
 wood. So long as the equilibrium of these is 
 maintained people enjoy health, but as soon as 
 one predominates sickness ensues. All dis- 
 eases, therefore, are but the disturbance of this 
 equilibrium, and the art of healing consists in 
 restoring the balance." 
 
 The medical education necessary to fit one for 
 entrance into the prof ession "is to procure a pair 
 of spectacles with large bone rims, some grasses 
 and herbs, an assortment of spiders, and a few 
 venomous snakes, which are placed in bottles in 
 his shop window." The larger the rims of his 
 
124 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 spectacles, and the cooler his impudence and 
 self-assurance, the more likely he is to become 
 famous as a doctor and to enjoy a reasonable in- 
 come. Here is one of his never- failing prescrip- 
 tion, "cures all incurable diseases, and operates 
 instantly under all circumstances : " Powdered 
 snakes, 2 parts; wasjjs and their nests, 1 part; 
 centipeds, 6 parts ; scorpions, 4 parts ; toads, 
 20 parts. These ingredients are to be ground 
 thoroughly, mixed with honey, and made into 
 pills; two to be taken four times a day. 
 
 ^ ' In case of debility and bodily weakness tigers' 
 bones are reduced to powder, made into pills, 
 and administered frequently to the patient." 
 This remedy is explained in a sim^ple way. The 
 strongest animal is the tiger, and, when proper- 
 ly administered as a medicine, the strength of 
 the animal is imparted to the patient. *'It is a 
 powerful tonic, and works wonders." The 
 Chinese doctors divide diseases and remedies 
 into two classes, hot and cold. If there is too 
 much heat in the body, they use purgatives; if 
 too much cold, they employ hot medicines, such 
 as pepper, spice, etc. Drug stores are common 
 in China, Japan, India, and other semicivilized 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 125 
 
 countries. They usually display a variety of 
 simple medicines, such as gums and minerals. 
 These are put up in small packages, each contain- 
 ing one dose, with instructions how to use them. 
 If the doctor or druggist happens not to have 
 the particular drug wanted, he writes the name 
 of the medicine on a piece of paper, rolls it into 
 a pill, and gives it to the patient. The one is as 
 efficacious as the other. Perhaps the paper is to 
 be preferred as less harmful. 
 
 Astrology and pathology are strangely mixed 
 in the practice of medicine by the Chinese and 
 the Hindoos. Jupiter rules over the liver, 
 Saturn over the stomach, Mars over the heart, 
 Venus over the lungs, and Mercury over the 
 kidneys. 
 
 If ^the causes and nature of diseases are un- 
 known, the properties of medicines and their 
 use are still less, if possible, understood by hea- 
 then doctors. They attribute wonderful virtues 
 to inert substances, such as dragon's teeth, fos- 
 sil bones of tigers, pearls, deer's horns, ginseng, 
 etc. If such ignorance exists among so enlight- 
 ened a people as the Chinese, what must the 
 practice of medicine be in savage and barbarous 
 
12G The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 countries! Better a thousand times let nature 
 alone to work out cures in her own way. 
 
 The moral influence of the medical missions 
 upon the heathen communities where competent 
 physicians and surgeons are employed is very 
 great, es23ecially in pioneer mission work. The 
 skill of an educated Christian doctor must 
 seem to the ignorant natives little less than mi- 
 raculous. Sickness brings sorrow and suffer- 
 ing, and is always associated with the thought 
 of death. No station, however exalted, is ex- 
 em])t; kings and great ones suffer and die like 
 the homeless beggars on the streets. We never 
 feel more helpless than in the presence of death, 
 and naturally turn to God, as the Lord of life 
 and death, for help. The doctor is called in 
 first, in case of sickness, that he may, if pos- 
 sible, arrest the disease. If his remedies fail, 
 then the minister is sent for to aid the dying 
 patient to fix his thoughts on God and eternity. 
 A minister of the gospel may never have been in 
 the house before. In days of health and pros- 
 perity, when all was well, his presence was not 
 desired; but now that sorrow has come and 
 death draws near, even the most thoughtless be- 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 127 
 
 come serious. The minister and the doctor are 
 seen side by side in the chamber of death, and 
 their sjentle ministries cease not until the last 
 quivering pulse of hope expires. It is thus that 
 the Christian minister and the Christian physi- 
 cian join to alleviate and soothe the anguish and 
 sorrow of the stricken home. 
 
 If sickness and death always bring sorrow to 
 the Christian home, what must it be in a hea- 
 then household; and if the skill of the physician 
 avails to heal the patient, how grateful the 
 feelings with which he is regarded by the friends! 
 If this be so with us, with what feelings must a 
 heathen look upon the benevolent stranger who 
 heals him, or some one of his family, "without 
 money and without price." There is no shorter 
 way to a sinner's heart than through his bodily 
 sufferings, through hunger, cold, thirst, and 
 pain. What does it profit a man who is suffer- 
 ing for food and raiment, and for daily bread, to 
 say unto him, "Depart in peace, be ye warmed 
 and filled; notwithstanding ye give him not 
 those things which are needful to the body." 
 (Jas. ii. 16.) Will a starving man listen pa- 
 tiently to a sermon when he is dying for bread. 
 
128 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 be the sermon ever so eloquent? Feed him first, 
 and then preach to him. If sick, heal him, and 
 then offer him the ''bread of life." 
 
 The object of the medical missionary, like 
 that of all other persons engaged in mission 
 work, is the salvation of souls. He is primarily 
 an evangelist, and all his ^professional labors 
 ought to be directed to this one object. He 
 sliould be able to minister to the soul as vv^ell as 
 to the body; to pray with and counsel the per- 
 son whose bodily affliction he is laboring to re- 
 move, and to point tlie sufferer to the Great 
 Physician of souls, who can heal all his diseases. 
 The medical missionary ought, therefore, to be 
 a man of much prayer and great faith, full of 
 sympathy and the love of Christ. 
 
 Hospitals and disj^ensaries constitute a part of 
 the necessary outfit in all well-equipped mission 
 stations. They have become a very efficient 
 agency in mission work. Their history is their 
 best defense. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 A Short Argument for Foreign Missions. 
 
 WHY SHOULD WE ADVOCATE FOREIGN MISSIONS? 
 
 1. Because our Lord, just before his as- 
 cension to his mediatorial throne, said to his 
 disciples, and through them to the Church in all 
 ages: ''Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
 gospel to every creature." (Markxvi. 15; Matt, 
 xxviii. 19.) This command is absolute and im- 
 perative. There is no higher authority in the 
 universe. To refuse or neglect to obey it is 
 disloyalty and rebellion. 
 
 2. Because Christ by his sufferings and death 
 has redeemed all men, Jews and Gentiles, 
 Greeks and barbarians, bond and free. Now if 
 he died for all men, then he died for the hea- 
 then, and they have therefore a right to the 
 benefits of his death and mediation. If this 
 be so, are we not depriving them of their blood- 
 bought inheritance by withholding from them 
 the blessed gospel? They are our neighbors, our 
 
 9 (129) 
 
130 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 brothers, and can we without great guilt leave 
 them to perish in their sins? 
 
 3. Because we have received the gospel as a 
 trust, and the condition on which we have re- 
 ceived it, and by which we are to retain it, is 
 that we give it to others who have it not. Have 
 we done this? Our ancestors were pagans; and 
 had no foreign missionary ever visited them, we 
 should be in the darkness and desolation of pa- 
 ganism to-day. We have "freely received," so 
 we should "freely give." We owe all the bene- 
 fits and blessings of our Christian civilization to 
 the transforming and elevating influence of the 
 gospel. It is the only hope of the world. 
 
 4. Because the gospel is the only means of 
 salvation. We are saved by faith in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. " Neither is there salvation in any 
 other: for there is none other name under heav- 
 en given among men, whereby we must be 
 saved." It is the object of foreign missions to 
 make the name of Jesus Christ and his salvation 
 known to the heathen iiations of the world by 
 which they may be saved. 
 
 5. Because the gospel elevates woman in the 
 social and domestic relations of life, and thus 
 
The Foreign Missionary. 131 
 
 cultivates social purity in tlie home and ex- 
 alts and refines general society. The wife and 
 mother are raised from mere slaves and drudges 
 to equal rights and privileges with man, and 
 thus become his companions. 
 
 6. Because the gospel solves the problem of 
 life and death, of right and wrong, opens the 
 gates of immortality to man's hope, and sheds 
 its radiance on the portals of the tomb; it fills 
 his troubled soul with peace and joy. 
 
 7. Because foreign missions have greatly en- 
 larged the field of general knowledge through 
 tlie intelligent observations, and labors of mis- 
 sionaries, especially in the departments of geogra- 
 phy, philology, ethnology, natural history, etc. 
 Missionaries have been the pioneers in opening up 
 vast fields of vv^ealth to the enterprise of Chris- 
 tian nations, by which the commerce and trade 
 of the world have been greatly increased. ^ 
 
 8. Because the Church at home is dependent 
 upon the missionary spirit for its existence and 
 efHciency. If the Church were to lapse into its 
 former indifference to the heathen, the Dark 
 Ages, with all the gloom and spiritual death, 
 
 1 See Chapter I., *' Great Commission." 
 
132 The Foreign Missionary. 
 
 anarchy and wretchedness, which characterized 
 that unhapj)y period cf the world's history, 
 would return upon us with tenfold intensity. 
 
 The Church must subdue the world to the 
 obedience of the gospel, or the world will de- 
 stroy the Church, atheism will become universal, 
 and a night of solid darkness and hopeless de- 
 spair will settle down upon the nations. There 
 can be no compromise in this matter. 
 
 Thank God! this gloomy picture will never 
 be realized. Christ has all jjower in heaven and 
 earth, and he is with his people. He has con- 
 quered death and hell, and now reigns Lord of 
 all. 
 
 *'As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall 
 boAV to me, and every tongue shall confess to 
 God." (Rom. xiv. 11.) 
 
 Jesus shall reign where'er the sun 
 Does his successive journeys run ; 
 His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, 
 Till moons shall wax and wane no more. 
 

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