I (j IHGETOIT Dto 1BB2 \ THEOLOGICAL ,r X § vunw & k'\ X^-' V ^vvfvv.‘ I IlI'P TEE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, THEIR CLAIMS ON THE CHURCH. j •V' Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/religiousconditiOOculb THE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, AND THEIR CLAIMS ON THE CHURCH: A SERMON PREACHED FOR THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, IN NEW YORK, MAY 3, 185 7, REV. M. SIMPSON CULBERTSON, OF THE MISSION AT SHANGHAI, CHINA. NEW YORK: PRINTED FOR THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, By Edward O. Jenkins, 26 Frankfort Street. 1 8 5 7. . r . . . SERMON Behold, these shall come from far ; and lo, these from the north and from the west ; and these from the 'land of Sini m — Isaiah xlix 12. ^ One of the great mysteries of godliness of which the apostle Paul so -often speaks, is the fact that Christ was preached unto the Gentiles. That great apostle felt it to be a peculiar privilege to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, to make all men see what is the fellow- ship of the mystery which, from the beginning of the world, hath been hid in God. This great truth was a mystery, because it had not been made known so clearly as to be understood. To the apostles it was one of the peculiar glories of the Gospel. To us it has become so familiar that it affects our hearts scarce more than does the fact that the sun shines in the heavens. In the chapter we are now considering, this wonderful mystery is set -vividly before us. It is the Son of God who here speaks to us. This is a magnificent missionary sermon by the great Prince of missionaries himself. The truth he is about to declare concerns the whole earth, and he therefore introduces the discourse by invoking the attention of the world. “Listen, 0 isles, unto me ; and hearken, ye people from far ! ” He presents to our view in an interlocutory form the covenant made by the Father with the Son, in which the mystery of Christ believed on among the Gentiles is set forth in this most emphatic language ; “It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” The Messiah having given the Father’s promise to himself, addresses the •Church, declaring his unalterable love. It is at the close of the Father’s address to the Son, and before that of the Son to the Church, that we find the remarkable language of the text : “ Behold, these shall come from far ; -and lo, these from the north and from the west ; and these from the land of Sinim ! ” This seems intended to sum up the results of the promises which pre- cede, and the promises which follow. It is probably designed to include vthe whole world, presented under the usual four-fold division. Three of 4 THE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, the four quarters of the world are mentioned in general terms; for the fourth the name of a particular country is given. What country is it that is thus distinguished in a prophecy embracing so wide a range ? It is obvious in the first place that this land must be looked for to the South or the East of Judea; the north and the west being expressly men- tioned as distinct from it. It is evident, too, that it must be a country of extraordinary importance on account of its magnitude, population or po- litical power, and one, too, that is remote from Judea. Egypt, on the south, might answer the other requisites, but it is too near to Judea to be a suitable- parallel to the first clause. It is a consideration of great weight, too, that however high Egypt may have once ranked among the nations, it has now become the basest of kingdoms. The terms of the prophecy, then, in connexion with historical facts, point us to the extreme eastern limit of the Asiatic continent as the situation of this great prophetic land. There we find in China all the characteristics which the prophecy seems to attribute to the land of Sinim. In population, in extent of territory, in material wealth, and political importance, it is, at the present time, incomparably superior to any other country to which this- name can be supposed to refer. If this were not enough, the name itself would point us to China. For* many hundred years before the birth of Christ, that land was known among the nations lying to the west of it by the name of Tsin or Chin ; a name which seems to be identical with that which is here employed by the pro- phet. He employs the plural form, perhaps, because although originally it belonged properly to but one of the feudal principalities composing the Chinese Empire, it here includes them all ; or, perhaps, because it was meant to include neighboring nations, some of which are still tributary to China. We now use the term, “ The East Indies,” in much the same sense. It is not a little remarkable that the name here employed is, in effect, identical with that by which this country is generally known in our own day, when the prophecy seems about to be fulfiled. The prophecy points to^ the aspect of the world at the time of its fulfilment, rather than that at the time of its utterance. It is worthy of observation, too, that of all the na- tions here referred to, China is the only one which remains to this day in so- nearly the same condition in which it was at the time the prophet wrote, as to retain every thing necessary to national identity. This may be one- reason why it alone is mentioned by name. We may safely assume, then, that we have here a distinct prediction of the conversion of the Chinese. This prediction involves the duty resting- upon those who have it in their power to use the means by which this result may be brought about. The prophecy appeals with peculiar force to the churches of England and the United States. They, from the far North, and AND THEIR CLAIMS ON THE CHURCH. O wc, from the distant West, have already answered the Messiah’s call, and have been admitted to citizenship in his kingdom ; and these two great Protestant nations of the earth are precisely those which, on account of their intimate relations and constant intercourse with China, are in the * best position for making known to the Chinese the Gospel of our salvation. We owe, then, a duty to the Chinese. Let me therefore present for your consideration some of the facts in relation to this great field of missionary labor, which should impel us to a vigorous and earnest discharge of that duty. In the first place, let me call your attention for a moment to that hack- neyed theme, the immense population of China. According to a census taken by the Chinese government in the year 1812, the population was three hundred and sixty millions. There is no reason to doubt the proxi- mate accuracy of this census, and certainly no reason to suppose that the returns were intentionally falsified. If we suppose that since that time there has been even a small increase, the population at the present time cannot be less than four hundred millions. This statement we have as yet no means of verifying, but if we may reason from the condition of that portion of the country with which we are acquainted, to that of the portion of which we are still ignorant, we cannot but believe that these figures are not an exaggeration. Glance at the country around Shanghai and Ningpo. The land teems with inhabitants. Go where you will, you see on every hand large villages and small hamlets of every grade, from the little collection of a dozen houses, to the town of ten thousand inhabitants. As you pass along the narrow foot-roads winding through the fields, you everywhere see yourself surrounded by the busy activity of an industrious people. The farmer is at work in his fields. The traveler in his sedan, or in his uneasy seat upon the clumsy wheelbarrow, is borne along upon his journey. Foot passengers cross each others’ paths on' the numerous intersecting roads ; and in the canal or river, one of which is always near, boats propelled by scull or sail, are toiling slowly on their way. Then look again at the numerous large towns and cities. Within from five to fifteen miles of Ningpo, we have some ten or twelve towns, contain- ing from three thousand to ten thousand inhabitants; and within from twelve to sixty miles there are not less than five cities with a population of from twenty to twenty-five thousand. Within one hundred and fifty miles to the west of Ningpo, there are at least ten cities, which have been visited by missionaries, each containing a population of from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand; and there are probably double that number with a population of twenty thousand. Ningpo and Shanghai each contain a population of some three hundred 6 THE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, thousand. Within one hundred miles of Ningpo stands the city of Shan- tung, with an equal population; and some thirty miles from Shanghai, with an equal, or even a larger population, is the city of Sungkiang. And what shall we say of those monster cities, scarce equaled in all the world beside? There is Peking with three millions; Suchau with two millions ; Ilangchau and Canton with a million each; and Wuchang and two associate cities, situated like New York, Brooklyn and Jersey City, containing an aggregate population of four or five millions, or, according, to the Jesuit traveler, M. Hue, eight millions, equal to three times the population of London. Besides these, there are many cities, of which we have no definite information, the population of which must be over half a million. Compare this now with the United States. With all our truly wonderful progress we had in 1850, but nine cities of over one hundred thousand inhabitants, and but two of these, even now, approach to a population of half a million. Besides these, we had but twenty-seven towns numbering over twenty thousand, and thirty-nine others with over ten thousand in- habitants. The contrast is not surprising when we remember that some single provinces in China contain a population greater than that of the whole United States. In view of these facts we can appreciate the vast significance of the movements at this moment going on in China. These populous regions are now about to be thrown open, so that the Gospel may have free course among these overflowing cities. The alarm of war is again heard upon those distant shores, and the sword shall not be sheathed until those bar- rier walls of pride and self-seclusion shall have been battered to the dust. We shall then have free access to those vast regions which have hitherto been closed against us. A magnificent field of operations is thus opening before us. Is the Church prepared to enter it ? In order to understand better the nature of the work to be done, and feel more than we have felt the necessity for doing it, let us look at the. religious condition of these millions of people. In the first place, then, they are idolaters. All idolatry is based upon a misconception of the nature and character of God, and a misapprehension of the nature of our relation , to him. The Chinese are involved in the grossest error in regard to all these points. They have no proper concep- tion of the unity of God. Even when they look upon the chief deity of their several pantheons as one superior to all others, they do not clothe him with omnipotence and omniscience, in any such sense as would enable him to dispense with the aid of a crowd of minor deities, each ruling over some department of nature, and acknowledging,, at most, but a kind of feudal subordination to their chief. AXD THEIR CLAIMS OS TnE CHURCH. The emperor, as the great High Priest of the nation, worships the August Puler on High, as the governor of the world ; hut he worships also Heaven and Earth, as the greatest exhibitions of his power, while he at the same time offers sacrifices and prayers to the sun and moon and stars : to the gods of the hills and valleys ; of the wind, of thunder, of rivers, and of seas : to ancient monarchs and heroes, and sages, and to his own imperial ances- tors. In these services of the state religion, the emperor uses no idols ; but the mass of the nation, while they worship Heaven and Earth as the highest representatives of the Deity, yet worship innumerable idols, repre- senting almost every operation in nature — almost every occupation known among men. They are utterly in error as to the character of God. He is not to them a God of infinite holiness, hating all iniquity, and not looking upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Although the Chinese do not, in their sacred legends, attribute to their deities such gross vices as the heathen generally do, they nevertheless look upon them as governed by the same passions as those which govern men. They punish sin, indeed, but it is not because they hate it, but because it is needful to uphold their authority ; and it is as easy to induce them to wink at it, as it is to bribe the civil magistrates to overlook a crime against the state. Their views of the holiness of the gods are such that pirates and rob- bers invoke their protection in prosecuting their nefarious work, with as much assurance as the peaceful farmer prays for the rain of heaven and for fruitful seasons. Their estimate of the character of God is derived from their conceptions of the nature of sin. They seem to have no idea of the enormity or the turpitude of sin. They look upon it not as terminating on God, but on their fellow man. They overlook the fact that it proceeds from, and has its seat in the heart x and rather regard it as a mere attribute of an external act. It is in fact little more than a mere violation of the rules of polite- ness, or of the laws of etiquette. Indeed, the word they use for sin is the same that is employed to denote a transgression of the rules of good man- ners. With such views of sin, they can have no idea of an atonement, in any proper sense of the word. Their offerings may indeed be considered as embodying an obscure adumbration of the great truth of the necessity of atonement, since they are designed to procure the favour of the gods. Yet they cannot be said to be intended as an expiation for sin. They are rather presents or bribes intended to flatter the pride of the offended god, and thus secure his favour. It is plain that, holding such views of sin, they have misapprehended entirely the nature of our relation to God. He is not, to them, the great 8 THE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, All in All, in whom we live, and move, and have our being. The relation between God and man is not that of the creature to the Creator, but only of the governed to the governor. They have, as the necessary result of their views of the Deity, mistaken the nature of religious worship. It is not a communion with the Deity. It is not the homage of the heart. It is but an outward act : a prostra- tion of the body : a movement of the lips : a burning of incense ; or a presentation of offerings. As they have no conception of a spiritual worship, they lilways connect it with some outward symbol of the Deity — - whether an image made with hands, or some of the works of nature. To understand their mode of worship, we should witness it. Let us transport ourselves in imagination, then, to one of their temples. It is the birth-day, perhaps, of one of their gods — of Shangti, the Euler on High ; it may be of the God of Thunder. Passing through the great gate of the temple court, the scene which presents itself is that of a busy fair. There is the vender of hot viands, with his portable kitchen ; the strolling peddler, and the ragged beggar. A crowd has gathered around a table at which several priests are seated with their writing materials. They are busily engaged in filling up the printed prayers required by the worshippers, who eagerly purchase them. Let us follow one of those purchasers of prayers. It is a poor woman, perhaps, in coarse apparel, whose gray hairs and tot- tering step indicate the approach of old age. She has traveled some weary miles to-day — weary to her, for her tottering limbs and cramped feet have compelled her to a creeping gait and mincing step. And now she turns to the vender of incense sticks (small rolls of the dust of sandal- w T ood), and then proceeds to another stand to supply herself with the necessary candles. The sale of these articles brings in a handsome rev- enue to the priests. Now enter the great hall of the temple. The worshippers are chiefly women. They are seated on low benches, each with a mat before her, on which is laid her printed prayer. Some are singing over the prayers which, with great labour, and without understanding a word, they have commit- ted to memory. Others are simply repeating the name of the idol, and counting their beads. Buddha is the favourite idol, and often these poor women sing over his name for hours together, repeating continually the words, Nan-mo-O-mi-to-fuh — Nan-mo-O-mi-to-fuh. As our worshipper enters the temple she lights her candles and her incense sticks, and then, after many prostrations, during which she waves them in her hands before the idol, has them placed upon the altar. She then takes her place on the seats to con over her prayers like the rest. Besides these special occasions, worship is performed by the more devout on the first and fifteenth days of each month. The priests, however, main- AND THEIR CLAIMS ON THE CHURCH. 9 tain a daily round of services. At early dawn, in the forenoon, in the evening, and at night, the sound of their noisy devotions may be heard. Look at them. There stand twelve or fifteen priests in line before colossal images of the three precious Buddhas. The smoke of incense rises from the altar. The prayers are chanted in a measure now fast, now slow ; one of the priests beating time upon a drum, another upon a hollow piece of wood ; while a third, with a little bell, gives notice of the various move- ments called for. Now they kneel and strike their foreheads upon the pavement ; now they face this way, now that ; now they march in proces- sion, and again they return to their places and stand still. In the midst of the service you may sometimes see the foolish jest and silly laugh pass round. Such is their religious worship. But with all its heartlessness there is a deep significance in that wor- ship. It is not all a mere mockery. No. It is the utterance of the innate yearning of the human heart for that which shall satisfy the desires of the immortal spirit. Think you those crowds of poor women squander their money, and waste their strength in muttering unmeaning prayers without an object ? Assuredly not. They are in earnest. They believe that the highest good is to be thus attained. It is a mistake to suppose that these people are all wholly indifferent to their religious interests. Their many religious services, and the large expenditure of their scanty means in maintaining them, prove that they are not. There is a deep conscious- ness of a want which they know not how to supply. They often express a desire to become disciples of Jesus. They are so much in doubt as to the efficacy of their dwn religious worship, and find it in their own experi- ence so unsatisfactory, that they would fain join with it the worship of Jesus, and then if, at last, Buddha should fail them, Christ, perhaps, may help them. But few, alas, are willing to abandon Buddha altogether and trust in Jesus alone. They will repeat any prayers, or observe any fasts for Christ, but they cannot give up thfeir idols. I repeat it, then, there is a vast significance in this idolatrous worship. It is the voice of a mighty nation sounding in our ears the Macedonian cry, “ Come over and help us.” It is the cry of distress from a countless host entreating us to show them whither they may flee from the wrath to come. It is the earnest entreaty of the terrified mauslayer fleeing from the avenger of blood, begging us to point out the way to the city of refuge. Shall we turn a deaf ear to their petition ? It were a crime against humanity. Let us now consider briefly their views of the nature of man’s position in this world, and his destiny in the world to come. Whence came we ? Whither do we go ? These are questions which they cannot answer. They hold, however, almost universally, to the doctrine of transmigration. Here, 10 THE KELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, in this world, we are merely passing through one of an infinite number of stages of existence, both past and future. This life is, in a certain sense, a state of probation ; but it is to be followed by another. Hell itself is but a place of temporary abode, from which the soul is to be sent forth in the form of some inferior animal, perhaps to regain in time a position as man. Possibly at length even the heavenly happiness may be attained when crimes have been expiated by suffering, and a store of merit acquired by virtuous living. In their crude conceptions, however, they suppose the soul after death to be exposed to the trials, and subject to the wants incident to the present life. It is this idea probably that has given rise to one of the distinguish- ing characteristics of the religion of the Chinese — the worship of ancestors. This worship is not only the proper mode of manifesting that filial rever- ence which is due to the deceased parent, but is necessary, also, because the wants of the departed spirit must be provided for. In the performance of these ancestral services, sacrifices, consisting of food of various kinds, are placed upon a table before the tablet or the tomb of the deceased, together with burning candles and. incense. The worshippers then bow down before it in the same manner as in the worship of idols. The viands thus offered furnish a feast for the family and friends. Articles of clothing, neatly made of colored paper, together with furniture, sedan chairs, and servants, all of the same material, are transmitted to the spiritual world by burning them. It is important for the repose of the dead that they have a coffin and a tomb that will command respect, and secure the favorable effect of fortu- nate influences. Those who have the means, therefore, make large ex- penditures in the burial of their dead. Sometimes the wealthy, not content with the ordinary allowance of the common herd of humanity, appropriate for a single tomb land enough for the site of a large house. Near Ningpo there are some such tombs, dating back two or three hun- dred years. A large mound of earth, faced in front with a stone wall, con- stitutes the tomb. It is approached through a long avenue paved with stone. On either side of this avenue are stone figures of the size of life. First a pair of rams, then of horses saddled and bridled, and next the tomb, two priests of immense stature, standing with clasped hands and downcast eyes, as if in prayer. There they have stood — silent watchers of the dead — while many generations have lived, and played their part, and passed away. These views of the state of the dead give rise to many superstitions. The Chinese ever lives in apprehension of evil spirits. When misfortunes come upon him, he attributes them to these invisible powers, and is puzzled with the inquiry how their schemes* of evil may be thwarted. Necromancers, AND THEIR CLAIMS ON TIIE CHURCH. 11 soothsayers and diviners are consulted ; and charms, amulets and incanta- tions are called into requisition. The cause of his calamities may be found in the position of a tomb, or the situation of a well, or it may be in some slight unevenness in a door-sill, the position of a window, or the aspect of the household shrine. Thus whole families are often kept in alarm, and whole communities thrown into a state of excitement, through fear of terrible consequences from some of the numerous trifles on which their welfare is supposed to depend. Not only is the Chinese in fear of the intelligences of the spiritual world ; evil influences are also connected with the inanimate creation. The stars control the destinies of men. Certain mysterious influences are peculiar to the several quarters of the heavens — to the various seasons of the year, and the different hours of the day. How is he to protect himself from these complicated sources of evil ? Whither shall he flee for safety ? He. knows not. Refuge fails him. The gods may be unwilling, perhaps unable, to control these things. His trust is only in the power of cabalistic letters, or unintelligible sentences, or frightful images of he knows not what. How degrading must be fhe effect of these vain superstitions ! The mind is held in the most debasing bondage by these groveling views of all that relates to the life of man. What is there to give high and ennobling ideas where the deity is at best but a man of like passions with ourselves ; and where the rational intelligent man of to-day may to-morrow be one of. the beasts that perish ? It is not strange that with such views of the character of God and of the nature of man, these deluded victims of error should be governed by the very lowest views of the obligations of morality. We should expect that, among such a people, human life would be held well nigh as cheap as that of the brute ; and so in fact it is. The starving beggar is spurned from the door and left to die like a dog in the street. No public charity — no private sympathy can be found to extend a helping hand to relieve him from his want until death has done its work, and their, for self-protection, his carcass must be buried out of sight. Often have I seen a poor, wretched, friendless man, lying by the way side, or at the entrance of some costly temple, on the cold, wet stones of the pavement, in a state of nudity, and wasted to a mere skeleton by disease,, gasping away his life under the very feet of the busy multitudes who were hurrying on in the pursuit of business. All pass on, however, without deigning to look upon the miserable object before them' in the very act of passing away from the world. Deliberate and cold-blooded murders, except by robber bands, and ex- cepting also cases of infanticide, are perhaps not more frequent in propor- tion to the population, than in our own country • but self-murder, in every 12 THE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, large Chinese community, is almost an every day occurrence. Then look at the horrid, barbarous executions, official murders, which have recently taken place under the authority of the civil magistrates at Canton, where, it is said, not less than seventy thousand persons fell under the sword of the headsman in the course of a few months. Nor is it to be expected that the standard of morality can be elevated • higher than their views of the nature of sin. Falsehood is not even looked upon as a crime ; and there are none so high in position that they will not resort to it, when it suits their purposes better than truth — none who would blush to be convicted of it — none who would hesitate to acknowledge themselves ready to make use of it for the promotion of their own in- terests. Among the Chinese there are, perhaps, more guards to female virtue than in any other heathen land, and yet crimes which, in a Christian land, would outrage the whole community, are there passed by without rebuke. The young daughter is the slave of her father, or even of an elder brother, and may be sold into the most degrading of all bondages, without any hope of redress ; even the wife is sometimes thus disposed of, and in either case the foul deed is tolerated, though not, indeed, approved by the public sentiment. But enough of these gloomy details. It is time to glance at the efforts which have been made to bring about the accomplishment of the prophecy we are considering. In this part of our subject we must be content with a few general facts. Time does not permit me to enter at all into the his- tory of our missionary operations ; nor is it necessary. All that can be done is to state some facts which demonstrate that the blessing of God has rested upon the labors of his servants in this land ; and that we here see opening before us prospects of the most triumphant success. It was in the year 1807 that Robert Morrison commenced the first of the modern Protestant missions to the Chinese ; but he and those who subse- quently joined him were much restricted, and it was not until the treaty of Nanking threw open the five cities to foreign commerce that the present missionary operations of the Church may be said to have commenced. These cities have now all been occupied, and at the present time the num- ber of missionaries is about one hundred. About two hundred in all have been sent out, under the patronage of twenty-one Missionary Societies. That their labors have been crowned with success appears in the fact, that already — but little more than twelve years since the actual occupation of the stations thrown open by the treaties of 1842 and 1844 — already about one thousand persons have been received into the communion of the churches established by the missionaries of the various Evangelical de- nominations by whom the field has been occupied. AND THEIR CLAIMS ON THE CHURCH. 13 In estimating the success of this work, the difficulties with which we have had to contend must not be overlooked. We are obliged to speak in a language presenting greater difficulties to accurate acquisition than any other on earth. This much is true, although those difficulties, so far at least as regards the spoken language, have been greatly exaggerated. We have not only to speak with stammering lips in a difficult language, but we speak to a people notoriously callous to religious considerations, absorbed in the affairs of this life, and devoted to the worship of mammon. We speak to them of the mysteries beyond the grave. The too common reply is, “ We have not time to attend sufficiently to the -necessary busi- ness of this world : how can we look after the affairs of the world to come ? ” We speak of things that are entirely new to them. The doctrine of the atonement ; of faith and repentance ; salvation by grace, without money and without price ; of the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment ; of the glorious Trinity and the union of the divine and human natures in the person of Christ. Could it be expected that these mysterious doctrines would be eagerly adopted and readily understood by a people whose whole education and habits of thought are antagonistic to them ? Could we speak their strange tongue with the most perfect accuracy, the words we must use, in presenting before their minds these indispensable truths, must necessarily for a time be unintelligible to them. We must give them line upon line, precept upon precept ; and years must elapse before our public discourses can be thorough^ understood by any great number of those hearers who are not regular attendants. Could you look in upon the audiences which usually make up the con- gregations assembled in our churches you would be better able to appre- ciate the difficulty arising from this source. The doors of the church are thrown open at the appointed hour, but there is no congregation whose well-known faces always greet the preacher, each in the appropriate seat, and who have often cheered him by their intelligent attention while he has been unfolding some great doctrine of the word of God. There is as yet nothing of the kind, except where the schools and church-members are assembled. Each separate service has its audience collected at the mo- ment for that occasion alone. It is not a feast spread for the invited guests, but one like that of which the guests are gathered from the high- ways and hedges, among whom are numbered the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. The audience is gathered in great measure from among those who at the time chance to be passing on the street. The huckster ceases his cry and enters with his load. The peddler puts up his bell and walks up the aisle with his pack upon his back. The passing porter, attracted by the sound of the preacher’s voice, walks in with his 14 THE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE. ropes and bamboo pole; and is followed, it may be, by the wealthy mer- chant in his silken robes; or the tradesman who turns aside for a little time from his business. Some soon grow weary and retire; though the mass are polite enough to remain to the end of the discourse. In almost every sermon the preacher is burdened and oppressed with the thought that some, and probably many, listen to his -words who have never before heard the word of our salvation preached, and who in all probability may never trouble themselves to hear it again. As we look upon such an audience, and feel that with some it is the first and the last time they may hear of salvation by Christ— that many of those who listen with respectful atten- tion to our broken language, will never meet us again until they meet us at the judgment-seat of Christ, to render an account of that one sermon of their lives, ought we not indeed to be oppressed with the weight of re- sponsibility thus thrown upon the hour, and to be deeply sensible of the absolute necessity of the Spirit’s miraculous influence to make the word effectual to their conversion — or even to bring them back again to inquire more particularly concerning these to them strange doctrines ? Could you witness such a scene you would understand why it is that the missionary is importunate in begging your prayers in behalf of his labors. Such are some of the difficulties which as yet meet us in our work. Yet so great has been our success that already our churches number, as I have said, a thousand members. In Ningpo we began our mission less than thirteen years ago, among a people of whose language we understood not a word, and who were utterly ignorant of us and our religion, and now in connection with that mission there are about forty native church members. Our success, however, must not be estimated by the number of converts alone. It must be remembered that much has been done in the way of preparation for more efficient labor. Schools have been established; tracts have been prepared, printing presses have been put in operation from which many millions of pages of Christian books have been sent forth; churches have been built; and above all, the Bible has been translated, imperfectly indeed, but with an accuracy sufficient to enable its readers to learn from it the way of salvation. We must not conclude this part of our subject without a brief reference to that wonderful revolution which has been so long in progress, and which threatens the overthrow of the reigning dynasty which has ruled the des- tinies of the empire for more than two hundred years. It is not necessary to recapitulate the history of its rise. I shall but notice the character of the remarkable religious element connected with it. Whatever opinion we may form of the character of the men who lead this great movement, a consideration of all the facts connected with it can hardly fail to con- AND THEIR CLAIMS ON THE CHURCH. 15 vince us that it is designed in providence, as it is in its nature calculated, to prepare the way for the spread of the Gospel among the people. It is a fact which cannot be controverted that these men have made an immense step in advance of the paganism of their countrymen. The idols they have utterly abolished. Wherever they go the idol temples are destroyed, and the gods are scattered in broken fragments among their ruins. They abhor idolatry in every form. They bow not down to the sun or the stars, and even that form of idolatry once so stoutly defended by the Romish missionaries, the worship of ancestors, they have discarded. Not only idolatry, but all the vain superstitions of their countrymen, all the absurd notions in regard to the influence of the stars, the power of evil spirits, and the condition of the dead, together with the system of lucky and un- lucky days promulgated annually, as it has been for ages, in the Imperial Almanac — all these they have scattered to the winds. Again, it is an immense step in advance of Mohammedism. They not only denounce idolatry and proclaim the great doctrine of the unity of God, but they also teach the cardinal doctrines of Christianity. The doc- trines of the Trinity — the depravity of man and the necessity of regenera- tion by the renewing influence of the Holy Spirit — salvation by grace through faith in Christ, and reliance on his atoning sacrifice, are all set forth in their books. The chiefs do indeed profess to have special commu- nications from heaven, but the revelations received have respect rather to military operations than to religious doctrines. They have never had any such views of their chiefs as the followers of the false prophet had of him ; and they have never issued any revelation as the rival of the word of God. But it is also a step in advance of Romanism. They set up no idols. They worship no dead men, nor dead men’s bones. They believe in no purgatory, nor in self-torture for sin. Above all, they print the Bible — the unadulterated word of God as it has been given to them by a Protestant missionary, without comment, and as we believe, without alteration. They not only allow, but require their people to make themselves acquainted with its teachings. It is said, I believe on good authority, that they have even gone so far as to substitute the Bible for their own ancient classics in their examinations of candidates for literary degrees. It is certain that they require in all their officers some knowledge of the word of God — or of some portions of it. Besides all this, they adopt the ten commandments as the basis of their moral system, observe a weekly day of rest, collect the people together to hear religious doctrines explained, and rigidly enforce the due observance of some of the maxims of morality which most seriously affect the public welfare, severely punishing licentiousness, gambling, intemperance and opium smoking. 16 THE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, They have also written and published various religious tracts, which, along with some serious errors, set forth much important truth; and set it forth in a manner in which it can be apprehended by the inquiring sinner. And who shall say there are no anxious souls, no awakened- consciences, among all those thousands before whom the truth has been so clearly placed for so many years ? And now shall we set all these facts aside and denounce these men as impostors, just because they hold some errors and are not perfectly up- right in all their conduct ? Impostors, printing and distributing the Bible ! With all the fanaticism of these men, and all the errors into which they have fallen, this fact alone must lead the lovers of the Bible to bid them God-speed. Far be it from me to defend the conduct of these men, or to excuse the blasphemous titles one or two of them have assumed. Some of the leaders, and perhaps all of them, are more anxious, it may be, to establish their 'own authority, and promote their own selfish ends, than to further the in- terests of true religion. They may all be wicked men. I know not. But the doctrines they promulgate are in the main the doctrines of Christianity, though strongly tinctured with fanaticism. I firmly believe, too, that they are convinced of the truth of those doctrines; and that the movement originated in a sincere desire, on the part at least of its prime mover and its chief, to propagate truth in opposition to the long cherished errors handed down from antiquity. As a political movement this rebellion may be crushed, and the throne of the Manchus may yet be bolstered up for a season. If it be true, as there seems good reason to believe, that in the closing months of the year 1856, thirty thousand persons of one of the factions which have begun to divide the rebel camp, were cruelly put to death in cold blood, without respect to age or sex, it is an indication that the movement will fail. This occurred, if our information may be relied on, under the following circumstances. The Eastern King, Yang Siutsing, conspired against the life of Tai-ping- wang, the Rebel Emperor, with a view to usurp his place. Information of his plans was communicated to the Emperor. In order to defeat those plans, Tai-ping-wang secretly ordered the speedy return to Nanking of the Assistant King with his army, then engaged in a distant expedition. This army on reaching Nanking surrounded the palace of the Eastern King, and put him and his followers to death. The massacre was continued from time to time until. all his adherents were put out of the way. The number mentioned is perhaps an .exaggeration, but the main facts are probably cor- rectly given. The Eastern King had long acted as prime minister for his chief, and his influence in the movement seems latterly to have entirely overshadowed that of Tai-ping-wang himself. To him undoubtedly we must AND THEIR CL'AIMS ON THE CHURCH. 17 attribute much of that conduct, in the progress of the movement, which is most objectionable. It is a question of great interest, what effect his death will have upon the future history of the insurrection. Yet in any event the word of God will remain. Its teachings have been made known ; and the seed so widely scattered will bring forth fruit in due time. It will ac- complish that whereunto it has been sent. We must discern in this move- ment, in spite of all its errors, the finger of God. It is one of the modes by which the Lord is going before us to prepare the way for the glorious triumph of the Gospel among these perishing millions of human souls. I have thus endeavored to place before you a view, though necessarily very brief and very imperfect, of the religious condition of the millions of that vast empire which embraces within its bosom one third of the human fami- ly. We have looked upon the poor blind Chinese endeavoring to unravel the dark mysteries of life and death. He seeks to penetrate the hidden depths of his own incomprehensible being, and listens to the strange whis- perings which faintly strike his ear from the inner recesses of his soul, or earnestly scans the ill-defined and shapeless forms of truth which darkly loom up from the midst of the gloomy clouds of error which envelope him. He is sure that something affecting the very vitals of his existence, of which he is still ignorant, lies there concealed. But the forms he sees olude his grasp, or assume some shape of terror which serves but to fill his heart with fear. His feet still stumble upon the dark mountains. He walks through the pathway of life as Bunyan’s pilgrim walked through ■the valley of the shadow of death. He is ever surrounded by horrid sights and unearthly sounds. Grim-visaged monsters beset his path. Hideous .shapes and terrible hobgoblins blear upon him through the darkness. 'There is no escape. He turns to his idols. He calls upon Heaven and Earth. He implores help from ancient heroes. He invokes the aid of dead ancestors. .It is all in vain. He finds no peace to his troubled spirit; and at last he must go down to the grave without hope, and must make his abode in that outer darkness where are weeping and wailing and gnashing •of teeth. Is there nothing in his case to move your heart to sympathy ? The holy angels are not unmoved by it. The Lord Jesus cannot look with indiffer- ence upon such a spectacle. Can you, then, be indifferent to the spiritual and eternal welfare of four hundred millions of your fellow men ? Surely no Christian can be, for if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. What, then, are you willing to do for them ? You cannot deliver them, hut you. cart place within their reach the means of deliverance. This much God has put in your power, and if you will not do it, it will not be done at -all until millions more have passed beyond the reach of hope. Will you, 18 THE KELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE, dare you, refuse to come to their aid ? Can you laugh at the calamity of your fellow-man, and fold your hands and take your ease, while millions, and hundreds of millions, are calling upon you for help ? Shall they be- left to perish ? Away with such a thought. It is worthy only of a fiend. No more can you set aside the claims of Christ. The claims of a common humanity must impel us to go to the help of the heathen; but we must not forget that what we do for the heathen, we do not so much for them as for our Lord. His right it is to reign. He is entitled to the homage of every human heart. His kingdom must be established among all nations. Are you then a citizen of the commonwealth of Israel, a loyal subject of the kingdom of Immanuel, and yet take no interest in the prosperity of this: glorious kingdom ? Are you equally indifferent to the passing political questions of the day ? Look back a few months, and recall the scenes of the political contest through which our country was then passing. How eagerly were the con- tents of the political journals devoured by thousands ! The periodicals which tell us of what God is doing to build up the kingdom of Christ among the nations are treated as comparatively worthless. There is nothing startling in them ; for the work goes forward quietly, without noise or tumult. They were not printed to-day, and do not give us the news of yesterday, and therefore, forsooth, they are dull and uninterest- ing ! How eagerly, too, during that period of excitement, did the people as- semble to hear political harangues ! In open field, in shady grove, in crowded hall, in the village street, or the country school-house — under the bright noon-day sun, in the damp, dark shadows of night ; by moonlight, by torchlight, by gaslight, or without any light at all ; every where and at all hours the political speaker found a ready and a willing audience. Do you not remember it ? Did you ever experience or witness so great an excitement in reference to the politics of the kingdom of heaven ? Do you remember how readily, too, the purse-strings were opened ? Do you not remember, some of you, when a political friend called upon you for money when the exigencies of a party demanded a large assembly of the people or a costly procession, how freely and how liberally you poured it into his hands ? How is it, then, when money is needed for the purposes of Him whose are the silver and the gold, and the cattle upon a thousand hills ? Ah ! how many are there in the Church who give less in the course of a year for the conversion of the world than they willingly expend on a single evening’s entertainment for their friends, or for a single article of superfluous dress, or of elegant furniture ! Is this right ? Is it right, at this day, when the whole world has become one vast field of missionary enterprise, AND THEIR CLAIMS ON - THE CHURCH. 19 for the man of wealth to surround himself with every luxury, while he con- tributes but an insignificant fraction of his superabundant wealth to the work of saving souls from death ? But this is not a work to be done by the rich alone. It belongs alike to all. Those whose dwelling is in the garret or the cellar, may labor as acceptably and as efficiently as those whose home is the costly mansion. It is not money alone that we want. It is prayer. And we want more than this. We want your sons and your daughters. Give them freely. Christ demands the sacrifice. Is it not an honour and a privilege which our Lord has conferred upon us in permitting us to contribute something to the accomplishment of his vast designs ? Can we be employed in a nobler work than that which occupies the man who, in whatever sphere he moves, consecrates all his powers and all his substance to the service of Christ, and the best interests of men ? That is an insignificant life which is devoted to the work of adding house to house and field to field, and amassing wealth to foster pride and pamper the body. This is an ignoble work. It is but to waste your powers and throw away the precious years of life, and heap treasures together for the last days which shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Is this the work you would chpose for yourselves and your children ? Not such a work is that which would give the Gospel of our salvation to all mankind. This is a* work of ineffable glory. It is glorious in its results on earth. It dries the tears of the sons of sorrow ; binds up the broken heart ; gives the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; it breaks the chains of the oppressed, gives light to those who sit in darkness, and chases away the dim and shadowy shapes of terror which surround the heathen in his path. How glorious above all in its finished consummation It opens the pearly gates of the holy city, and fills its streets and its shining mansions with shouts of joyful praise. It places the golden crown on the sinner’s head, and the golden harp in his hand. It calls forth the sweetest songs of the whole multitude of the angelic choir, and fills all heaven with accla- mations of praise. Who would not wish to take part in such a work as this ? On that day, when the great Head of the Church shall appear before the assembled worlds to celebrate his glorious triumph over all his ene- mies, who would not wish to appear in the shining ranks of the honoured ones, whom he will then acknowledge as his trusty allies and faithful coadjutors in this blessed work — that work by which he wrought out those magnificent results which then, and through all eternity, will fill the highest pinnacles of the heavenly glory with unbounded admiration and unutterable joy.