THE DESTINED EFFICIENCY I a ^na ^ Vv^. i ^ OF JUVENILE MISSIONARY EFFORT. BY THE REV. THOMAS SMYTH, D. D. CHARLESTON, S. C. PRINTED BY B. JENKINS, 1,00 HAYNE-STREET. 1847. THE DESTINED EFFICIENCY OF JUVENILE MISSIONARY EFFORT. The great importance of the subject, and the very partial at¬ tention which it has yet received, lead me once more to present to the churches the question of Juvenile missions. I will, on this occasion, endeavour to prove the destined efficiency of Juvenile Missionary effort in the evangelization of the world- This, I think, is most explicitly taught by our Divine Redeemer in the discourse recorded in Matth. xxi. 12—16 : “ And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money chan¬ gers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying. Hosanna to the Son of David, they were sore displeased, and said unto him, hearest thou what these say ? And Jesus saith unto them. Yea, have ye never read. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise ?” This whole narrative is strictly historical, and cannot therefore be interpreted as merely figurative. These children were in the temple, most probably for the purpose of worship, and when our Saviour entered, they were led to apply to Him as the Son of David, that language which the occasion required them to offer unto the Lord Jehovah. This worship our Lord Jesus Christ not only permitted, but approved, and in opposition to the scorn and contumely of the ‘‘ chief priests and scribes,” justified by an express quotation of scripture. The reference made in these words is to the eighth psalm, 4 which celebrates the praises of God for our redemption by that Divine Redeemer who was made “ a little,” or “ for a little while,” ‘‘ lower than the angels,” and who “ having put all things under his feet, was crowned with glory and honor.” This Psalm is applied directly to Christ by the apostle Paul in three different passages. (Heb. ii. 7. 1 Cor. xv. 7. Eph. i. 22.) It is introduced by the following glowing language. “ O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, who hast set thy glory above the heavens.” But by whom is this excellency declared ? Not by “ the wise and prudent,” but by “ babes ;” not by the great, the mighty, and the learned, but by those who are in comparison as children, and, in some good meas¬ ure, even by children themselves. Such precisely is thc' meaning attached to the Psalm in the application made of it in the passage of the New Testament now under consideration. The doctrine which it unfolds and presses upon our attention is therefore twofold,—general and particular. It announces a general law in the spiritual government of God’s kingdom, and a particular illustration of that general law : The general truth here promulgated, is that God employs means, in themselves feeble, for the accomplishment of His purposes. And the particular illustration of this doctrine is, that children are designed to constitute an important agency in the further¬ ance of God’s glory, and the extension of His kingdom. In the first place, then, there is in this passage an announce¬ ment of a general law in God’s moral administration, and that is, that in the accomplishment of His purposes, God employs feeble and inefficient means. For in the estimation of the world, the ministry of the word, the means of grace, and the influence, example and agency of individual Christians, are as weak and inefficient as are “ babes and sucklings.” And yet by this instrumentality, God secures the grandest results, even the salvation of all that believe, the completion of His own designs, the glorious triumph of the Redeemer, and the everlasting bles¬ sedness of heaven. This is God’s general plan of working, both in the kingdoms of nature, of providence, and of grace. The efficient agencies in nature are, for the most part, invis* ible, inscrutable, and when discoverable, of the simplest charac¬ ter. Such are all the laws and processes of nature. Such are attraction, gravitation, light and life. Those changes too in the natural world on which depend the fate and the food of miU lions are the result of the operations of minute, and, in some cases of imperceptible animals. Thus it is to the polypes spe¬ cies of Zoophytes that the origin of the coral islands, reefs, and I may say continents, of the Pacific and other tropical seas, are principally ascribed —extending as these now do, some 7000 miles, and increasing as they are daily. These worms of the dust are justly reckoned the principal operators in the mutations of the bed of every tropical sea, as they were in the bed of the primeval seas. They roughen the bottom and fill up the shallows in every shallow sea. They occupy the tops of reefs in deeper ones and bar up the entrances to harbours and lagoons. They cap sub-marine mountains and bring them to the surface and they lay up every where the materials for the formation of future quar» ries of lime-stone. And here we may notice an opinion which has found its advo¬ cates in every period of the history of medicine, that most con¬ tagious diseases, fevers, and plagues originate from animalcules introduced into the body, and which are propagated by their commu¬ nication to other bodies through the medium of the atmosphere. Linnaeus was a believer in this hypothesis, which has recently been supported with much ingenuity, by Dr. Holland. “ And we admit^’ says the Encyclopaedia Britannica “ that no more pro¬ bable cause of many pestilences, and especially of cholera, has been assigned.” Such are the instrumentalities employed by God in accom¬ plishing his purposes in the kingdom of nature. And just such is the manner of God’s working in the kingdom of providence. The mightiest results are made to flow from the weakest agencies and the most unlikely causes. This subject is well illustrated in his own striking manner and in a very recent paper by old Humphrey.* *See The (London) Visitor for March 1847, by Lond. Tract Soc. 6 *‘A grain of wheat is sown in the ground, that springs up again in a cluster of goodly ears. In their turn the grains of these ears are cast into the soil, and bring forth fifty and a hundred fold ; which abundant produce being committed to the earth, year after year, fails not to multiply exceedingly, till a wide-spreading harvest is seen to cover the ground—small in the beginning, but the end is very great. Myriads of golden ears adorn the plain, The goodly produce of a single grain, I took an acorn in my hand, and walked with it to a grassy field, where lay a giant oak, that the woodman with his axe had brought to the ground. Its bark had been stripped off for the tanner, its leaves were collected for the dyer, its boughs had been lopped for the carpenter and charcoal-burner, and its huge trunk, an enormous ruin, was intended for the use of the ship-builder. I looked at the acorn—the beginning ! I surveyed the oak—the end ! And did that, which seemed a burden to the ground, really spring from a light seed, similar to what I held in my hand ? Wonderful! wonderful! In the morning of a summer’s day I visited a stream that trickled from a mountain’s side, and before the sun declined I sailed on a flowing river, which poured its rushing waters into the mighty deep. The trickling stream was the be¬ ginning, the flowing river was the end ; for the former, fed by tributary currents, had formed the latter. How limited and feeble was the one !—how expanded and powerful the other ! From acorns springing, oaks arrest our eyes! Where streamlets run there mighty rivers rise. In the year 1666, London abounded in wealth, A part of the south side of Cheapside, then called Goldsmiths’-row, was a complete row of goldsmiths’ shops, glittering and sparkling with gold and silver plate. The Strand was a street of large mansions, or rather of goodly palaces of the nobility, with gardens stretching down to the Thames. Great was the gran¬ deur and the wealth of London ; but neither wealth nor gran¬ deur could keep out the plague ! The beginning was small, but the end was great. At first one victim sickened, then another, and they were carried quietly to their graves; little was it sup¬ posed that the pestilence would spread as it did through the city, but so it was; and scores, hundreds, nay thousands, died week¬ ly ! The doleful cry of “ Bring out your dead,” and the rumbling carts laden with mortality, afflicted the ear. Five thousand vic¬ tims in one week were carried to the grave. The shops were closed; people shunned each other in the streets; grass grew on the Royal Exchange; and Whitechapel might have been mis¬ taken for green fields. When such wide-spread calamitous ending proceed from such limited beginnings, well may we pray to be preserved from the, “arrow that flieth by day, and th& pestilence that walketh in darkness,” Psa. xci. 5, 6. It was on the 2nd of September, in the same year, 1666, when midnight had shrouded the great city, and slumber had sealed up the senses of ils inhabitants, that a fire broke out, near the spot where the Monument now stands. Every one was made acquainted with its ending, though no one could describe its be* ginning. It might be that a spark in some chimney took fire, or that a half-smoked pipe, with the tobacco burning, was thought¬ lessly thrown among shavings, or that some negligent master or mistress, or servant girl, put out a candle carelessly. I can fancy that I see the extinguished taper standing on the litile table of a close room, near the bed-curtains. A small portion of the snuff of the candle has fallen on the table-cover, and a spark of fire, is seen in the midst of it. The spark is almost gone out, nay it must go out, if it does not catch one of the fine threads of the table-cover. The spark runs along a thread, and in its course sets other threads on fire ; a piece of curl-paper is now lighted at its edge—it flares upward—it has caught the cap, hanging on the cap-stand—the cap, nay the bed-curtains, are ' on fire. The slumberer awakes half suffocated and hurries from the chamber, unconscious that her own carelessness occasioned the calamity. And now the flame rapidly spreads to the bed- stead, the table, the floor, and the window-frames. The glass panes fly, the fresh air feeds the fire—the ceiling falls, the rafters are blazing—the adjoining houses, one by one, are involved in the catastrophe, till the whole street is wrapped in a sheet of fire. Now the conflagration is fearful. As it gathers strength it runs down to the bridge, wrapping Magnus Church in flames on its way. After burning down the houses on the bridge, it hurries back to the city, like a giant tossing about firebrands in sport. Thames-street is in a glow—people hurry to their windows, and “ Fire ! fire! fire !” is the universal cry. On goes the flame, roaring like a hundred blast furnaces; houses, churches, and streets add to the general conflagration. Hour after hour, day after day, and night after night, hurries on the relentless ele¬ ment, sparing nothing that it meets in its all-devouring course. Its beginning was a spark of fire—its ending is the destruction of a city. Ten millions of property is destroyed! Halls, ancient edifices, hospitals, schools, libraries, eighty-nine churches, four hundred and thirty streets, thirteen thousand two hundred dwell¬ ing-houses! From the Tower by the Thames side to the Temple Church, and from the north-east part of the city wall to Holborn, all is a fiery, smoking ruin. Think of this, ye careless ones! and reflect on beginnings and endings. The beginnings of sin are often too small for the powers of the magnifying glass to discover. The seeds of selfishness, covetous¬ ness, ambition, and cruelty, are smaller even than the mustard seed, spoken of in holy writ as the smallest of all seeds, and yet these brought forth the unholy Ir.quisition, and the greater part of the murderous wars that have wasted the world. It has been computed, if the seeds of an elm-tree were sown, every seed bringing lorth a tree, and the seeds of all the trees a- gain sown in succession, that in the third or fourth generations there would be elms enough to cover the superficies of the earth and the whole planetary system. What an elm-seed is sin ! what trees of evil spring from it! and what innumerable scions of iniquity branch out on every hand ! He who has not yet reflected on the beginnings and endings of sin, has a suitable subject for his meditations! What endless griefs on human hearts Have evil actions hurl’d ! What shadows, plagues, and poisoned darts Has sin flung on the world !'’ In further illustration of this law of providence, I remark that a simple tree in the garden of Eden was made the seal of God’s covenant, and the eating of its forbidden fruit the occasion of temporal, spiritual, and eternal death. A serpent of brass was made the medium of deliverance and - healing in the wilderness. Moses, an outcast slave-child, was the chosen mediator, lawgiver, and deliverer of the whole Jewish people, and David, a despised shepherd youth—the champion and king of Israel. Esther, also, one of their greatest benefactors, was a weak and timid woman. And the prophets —who were they ?—but humble and unambitious men. Such, too, were the apostles and the first heralds of the cross. Indeed the whole plan and method of salvation, are founded upon this principle of the divine economy. Of the simplicity, and absolute rejection of all human agency manifested in the gospel scheme, we have most striking illustrations in the ancient cure of Naaman, and the cures performed by Christ. And if we look to what God has wrought,” in modern times, how conspicuously does He display the working of this principle. Luther under God was the chosen instrument for giving voice, coherence and power to the gathering sounds of protestation and alarm with which that spiritual despotism which “sat in the temple of God as God,” had long been denounced. And who was Luther ? A poor unthought of student in the monastery of Erfurth. The young student, says D’Aubigne, passed in the university library all the time he could snatch from his academical pursuits. 9 Cooks were as yet rare, and it was a great privilege for him to profit by the treasures brought together in this vast collection. One day—he had then been two years at Erfurth, and was twenty years old—he opens many books in the library, one after another, to learn the writers' names One volume that he comes to attracts his attention. He has never until this hour seen its like. He reads the title: it is a Bible! a rare book, unknown in those times. His interest is greatly excited: he is filled with astonishment at finding other matters than those fragments of the Gospels and epistles that the church has selected to be read to the people during public worship every Sunday throughout the year. Until this day he had imagined that they composed the whole Word of God, and now he sees so many pages, so many chapters, so many books of which he had had no idea ! His heart beats as he holds the Divinely inspired volume in his hand. With eagerness and with indescribable emotion he turns over these leaves from God. The first page on which he fixes his attention narrates the story of Hannah and the young Samuel. He reads, and his soul can hardly contain the joy he feels. This child whom his parents “lend to the Lord as long as he liveth,” the song of Hannah, in which she declares that Jehovah “ raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes;” this child who grew up in the temple in the presence of the Lord ; those sacrificers, the sons of Eli, who are wicked men, who live in debauchery, and “ make the Lord’s people to transgress;” all this history, all this revelation that he had just discovered, excites feelings till then unknown. He returns home with a full heart. “Oh, that God would give me such a book for myself,” thought he. Luther was as yet ignorant both of Greek and Hebrew. It is scarcely probable that he had studied these languages during the first two or three years of his residence at the university. The Bible that had filled him with such transports was in Latin. He soon returned to the library to pore over his treasure. He read it again and again, and there in his astonishment and joy, he returned to read it once more. The first glimmerings of a new truth were then beginning to dawn upon his mind. Thus had God led him to the discovery of his Word—of that book of which he was one day to give his fellow-countrymen that admirable translation in which Germany has for three centuries perused the oracles of God. And thus did God fire Luther’s energies with that zeal which made him “mighty through God to the pulling down of the strong holds of sin and Satan.” And, if we consult history, who else shines forth in the dark sky of humanity, and gather around their course the increasing light and glory of moral and spiri- > - 10 tual renovation? We naust look to Wickliffe, and Huss, and Jerome of Prague, and Calvin, and Tyndale, and Knox, and Whitfield, and Wesley, and Bunyan—the very men whom the world knew not and esteemed not. Neither has this manner of the divine working been accidental, partial or occasional. It was adopted by God in the spiritual world, and not in the natural and moral world only, as His chosen and designed law and policy of procedure. This is fully de¬ clared, as it is in other passages, by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. i. 17-30 : where he fully developes the purpose and the plan of God. “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gos¬ pel : not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the pru¬ dent: Where is the wise ? where is the scribe ? where is the disputer of this world ? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Be¬ cause the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weak¬ ness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are ; That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is 11 made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” That such is the plan of the divine procedure may therefore be regarded as established both by Scripture and by facts, and that it is in accordance with the wisdom manifested by God in every part of His works and ways, might be proved by many reasons: I shall only, how'ever, mention three. And, in the first place, by thus employing feeble means in the accomplishment of great results, God best promotes His own glory. He thus leads men necessarily to the belief of His exis¬ tence and perfections. For by an inherent law of our moral con¬ stitution, we are led to trace up effects to causes, and to seek therefore forevery effect a cause adequate to its production. And hence when there is no adequate material or visible cause sufficient to account for any phenomena, we are led to seek for such a cause in that which is immaterial and invisible. ‘‘ The eternal power and Godhead” of the great Creator are thus ‘^clearly seen, being understood by the things that are seen and visible,” so that men who question or deny the existence, providence and law's of God, are without excuse.” And since, as has been seen, the same course is pursued by the author of nature, who every where works by invisible, secret, or feeble instrumentalities, God by pursuing the same plan in the kingdoms of providence and of grace, identifies Himself as the God of grace with the God of nature and of provi¬ dence, and draws towards Himself the concentrated lustre of all His works and of all His ways. The glory of God in all His attributes and perfections is thus illustrated. And as the welfare of the universe depends upon the proper recognition and reflection of this glory of God, it is infinitely important and as unspeakably beneficent, that it should be made conspicuous in every possible way. In the very insignificance and weakness of the instrumentalities He employs the ‘‘ strength” of God is ‘‘ perfectly” displayed, and He is proved to be “ almighty.” In their utter insufficiency to accomplish any result. His power is magnified. And in their ignorance and fatuity, the wisdom, skill, and every other moral 12 quality of God, are brightly reflected to the praise and glory of His adorable name. But secondly, by this course of proceedure God best secures the real ultimate good of His creatures here below. The two great evils of fallen humanity, are pride and independence, which lead to ungodliness, to atheistic unbelief, and to that en¬ mity and carnality which are the fruitful source of manifold iniquities. Now in no way could “ the axe” be more effectually laid “to the root” of this prolific tree of evil, than by the nothingness which is attached to all the might, and power, and wisdom, and strength of man, it being ^made manifest in every department of God’s kingdom, that as by Him all things have their being, so by Him do they subsist, and from Him do they derive their power. Man is thus humbled while God is exalted “ over all as blessed forever.” But thirdly, another beneficial result of this course of proce¬ dure on the part of God is the encouragement it affords to his obedient and willing creatures in undertaking any and every duty required by God. “ With man” such duties may be “impossible, but with God all things are possible.” In ourselves we are im¬ potent, but “ our sufficiency is of God, by whom we can do all things.” “ If God therefore, be for us,” vain is all the resist¬ ance made against us, since whatever He commands us to do He will enable us to accomplish. What God did for Joshua at Je¬ richo and for Gideon, He will do for us. When God goes before us as “ the breaker,” and “the captain of salvation,” “one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.” When God teaches our fingers to fight. He will put our enemies to shame, and make even the wrath of man to praise Him. Never, therefore, let Christians despair when they have a work to do for God and his glory. Though the result of these efforts, in any case, to use the language of Dr. Porter, should not be so im¬ mediate as we could wish, we are called to the exercise of faith, and patience, and courage, not despondency. The first question is, in eyery such cdise, Is this a good object ? The second is, By what means shall it he accomplished ? Settle these; and there is no third question. To deliberate whether such an object shall not be given over, is beneath the dignity and energy of Christian principles. I know that the cause of piety and good morals has stubborn obstacles to encounter. The majority of the world is against it. Still the 13 friend of this cause may say, with fearless confidence, like the prophet’s servant, they that be with us, are more than they that be with them.” Here again let facts speak our instruction. The disciples of Christ were once a feeble, despised sect at Jerusalem. The Jewish Senate deliberated whether to crush this sect at a stroke, or to let it die of itself. But behold, “the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Twelve fishermen of Galilee, without learning, without power, without friends, erected the standard of the cross. Hosts of opposition gave way before the triumphs of truth: and all the wealth and wisdom, the pride and prejudice, the power and policy of the world, could not resist its progress. But we need not survey past centuries. The astonishing events which we have recently witnessed, rebuke despondence in doing good. Look at the Concert of Prayer. A few British Christians, in a private chamber, resolved to set apart an hour on the first Monday evening of every month, to pray for the revival of religion. The flame spread from minister to minister, and from church to church, till it reached the extremities of the empire in which it began. From Britain the same spirit has been kindled, in various parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. It is no enthusiasm to hope that all Christendom will soon unite in this concert; and that the spirits of Luther, and Baxter, and Edwards, will look down from their abodes of light, to witness the church, resting from her long conflict and agony; and her pravers, from every part of the globe, ascending in one great cloud of incense to heaven. Look at the little band of men who formed the first Missionary Society in modern times. With means utterly incompetent to the magnitude of their undertaking, they assumed a motto worthy of the apostolic age: “Expect great things, attempt great things.” The history of their labours and successes demonstrates, that no obstacles are too great to be surmounted, no enterprise of Christian benevolence is too arduous to be undertaken in the strength of the Lord. Look at the British and Foreign Bible Society. In twenty years from its establishment, it distributed more than four millions of Bibles and Testaments, filled the world with kindred societies and the fruits of its beneficence, and its annual expenditures for this sacred object amounted to little less than five hundred thousand dollars. Look at the British Tract Society. At its fourteenth anniversary, one of its founders said, “I have followed this Society from its birth: at first we could not number more friends than would surround this table. But this infant has become a Samson in strength.” Twenty-six years from its establishment it had an annual income of forty thousand dollars ; and had distributed more than seventy millions of Religious Tracts, in various languages, 14 which have gone as winged messengers of salvation to the ends of the earth. They have preached the Gospel in the splendid mansion and in the humble cottage. They have carried instruction ‘‘to the child in the school, to the traveller on the road, to the soldier in the cam.p, to the seaman on the mighty waters, to the victim of disease in the hospital, and to the debtor, the captive and the criminal within the walls of the prison.” Look at the wonderful efforts to do good, which our own country exhibits. Time would fail to mention the Societies for promoting Domestic and Foreign Missions,* Bible Societies, Tract, Education, and other charitable Associations, which have recently sprung up without number, and some which are among the noblest institutions of the age. I ask you now, brethren, to review this subject. Survey the world in motion: the wonderful characteristics of this age of action. Then look at the dear, immortal children, in your families and schools: then look forward into future generations, and into eternity; and say,—have you not a great work to accomplish ? Every man woman, and child, can do something—can do much. Who cannot spare one cent, to buy a small Tract? That Tract, dropped on the high road, or given to a stranger, may carry comfort to some desponding, or conviction to some careless heart; may reclaim some profligate, awaken some drunkard to sobriety, some Sabbath- breaker or swearer to saving reformation. The day is coming, when men will be accustomed to reckon the establishment of a Tract or Moral Society, or a prayer meetings among the instruments of ushering in the glory of the church, and the salvation of the world. It is not improbable that eternity will disclose to us, how the astonishing events of this age sprung at first from the closet of some obscure saint, like Simeon and Anna of old, “ praying to God always, and waiting for the consolation of Israel.” Courage, then, brethren! Stand up to your work, and go forward. God is with you. The struggle betwixt sin and righteousness is drawing to a close. The storm which has agitated the church is ceasing to rage. “ The long night of discord and calamity which has enveloped the world, is passing into a glorious day. With humble hope and joy, we hail the approaching consummation of the prophetic word, when the seventh angel shall sound, and great voices be heard in heaven, saying, “ The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever : Alleluia ! Amen.” I have thus endeavoured in my previous remarks to illustrate the general law of God’s kingdom of grace as laid down in many passages of Scripture, and of which the whole history * In 1808, the spirit of Foreign Missions, which has since excited a deeper interest in the American churches than any other subject ever did, was confined to the bosom of two or three pious young men, with whom it originated. 15 of the church is a constant and standing illustration. “ It is NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER, BUT MY SpiRIT SAITH THE Lord”— this is the unvarying lesson enforced by every page of the Church’s history, and by every fact in her experience. But there is a particular illustration of this general law presented in these passages, to which I invite special consideration, and that is, that the agency of the young is designed to be an efficient and powerful instrumentality in the conversion of the world. Through them praise will redound to the glory of God, and out of their weak and feeble instrumentality “ God will perfect strength” for securing the accomplishment of all the glorious things He has spoken of the future universal triumph of the gospel. We are thus taught that it is in accordance with God’s wisdom to employ the instrumentality of the young in the great work of the world’s conversion ; and that it is an exemplification of that tender mercy which leads the High and lofty one” to “ dwell with those who are of a humble and a contrite heart,” to work even in the hearts of children “ to will and to do of His good pleasure.” We are thus taught as an undoubted fact, that children are a constituent part of Christ’s Church, for “ of such is the kingdom of heaven and that being so, they must be intended for some useful purpose, since there are no drones in God’s hive, no idlers in His camp, no sitters at ease in His family, no unemployed workmen in His vineyard, and no supernumerary or sinecure offices in His household. All the circumstances of the narrative, on which especially I found the doctrine now enforced, are, as I have shown, literal and historical; while the very design of the quotation from the Old Testament was to prove that children might lawfully, and could acceptably, and were most assuredly intended to, co-ope¬ rate in promoting the glory and in advancing the cause of the Redeemer. And such also is the evident import of other facts and passages in the Old and New Testaments. Children were made partakers of the sacrament of circumcision, and of the other ordinances of the Jewish Church, and were to be trained up in that way in which, when old, they should go, that when old 16 they might not depart from it. And so are children now conse¬ crated to God by baptism, and made holy to Him, and soare they now to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is true that the agency of children is still despised by many. Our philosophy has gone little further even now than to increase our regard for the prospective interests and influence of children. We hear much of the familiar truth that “the child is the father of the man” but we hear little of the more important truth, that as it regards all spiritual and everlasting interests, and the formation of unalterable character and habits, the child is already a man—for in this view what is man but a child, and what is life but a childhood. We are as yet labouring only for future and prospective re¬ sults in our religious training of children. Very few even at this day expect the present conversion of their children. Very few attach any great value to the present services and active exertion of children. Many-—even professors of religion, and in some cases ministers of the gospel--oppose all direct efforts to train up children to ac¬ tive co-operation, in Christian efforts for the salvation of men.* The spirit generated by such efforts to train up children is regarded by some as self-righteous, aid by others as promoting forwardness and rudeness of manner. Now that the training of the young to Christian duty, as well as to Christian knowledge, may be followed in some cases, and to *In this respect how much more reasonable is the conduct of Protestants than of Romanists ! “I lately asked a little boy of eight or nine,” says a Colporteur in France, “ whose parents are Romanists, and who attended our school last year, what he is learning at the school of the friars. ‘ Oh, I am learning to • read and write, answered he. And what besides ? ‘ To play at nine-pins.’ But, my child, God has not told us to learn to play at nine-pins ; don’t you re¬ member what the word of God says ? ' Oh, they never tell us about that at school.’ Well, my child, listen to me : when you go to school to-morrow, ask one of your teachers, or the curate, whether the Lord Jesus Christ meant to teach children to play at nine-pins, when lie said: Suffer little children to come unto me. Two days after, I met the little boy coming home from school. Did you ask your teacher what I told you ? ‘ Oh, yes.’ And what did he answer 1 ‘Nothing.’ What, nothing ? ‘No: he took up his ruler and gave me three good blows on the fingers; and then he made me stay on my knees for punishment.’ ” Such is the way in which Scripture is explained by the ‘ Ignoranlin’ friars at S. 17 some extent, by such evil results is true but that such evils are in themselves necessary and unavoidable is not true. They need not follow. In multiplied cases they have not followed. And in all cases they may, by God’s blessing, be prevented as it regards Christian practice just as surely as it regards Christian doctrine, for the human heart wrests and abuses the truths it receives just as much as it does the duties it performs. Such evils are incident to every “ good word and work” and may and do spring luxuriantly in the hot-bed of man’s evil heart from the preaching of the truth, from the administration of sacraments, and from every other Christian privilege and duty. The only ques¬ tion then which can decide our obligation in the present case is—arc the young to be so trained and brought up and exercised? Butitic most manifest that this is not a question of expediency. It is not a debatable matter. It is a plain and positive duty on the part of God’s Church, as it is the plain and positive appoint¬ ment of God in the institution of that church. Of children the kingdom of heaven is to be in a good measure composed. They are to be discipled, and taught all things whatsoever Christ has commanded. They are to be trained for God, and just in that way which God will require them to pursue when old ; they are to be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; and out of their mouths God has ordained strength and per- feet praise. This language implies at once a command, a prophecy, and a promise. Children must and will be brought up to active co¬ operation in the cause of Christian missions. The agency of children will yet be found “ mighty through God.” And when the church realizes this truth, and acts upon it, and calcu¬ lates and relies upon the efforts of the young, then will she find herself strong enough to fulfil her great commission to preach the gospel to every creature, and then shall every knee bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. In my view, one of the most hopeful signs of the times is the attention paid to children, and the increasing efforts made to edu¬ cate them in a missionary spirit and for missionary efforts 2 18 The truth contained in the passages of Scripture already quo¬ ted, and which has so long been buried in neglect, is now forcing itselfupon the consideration of Christians of every denomination; and it will, I trust, be ere long acknowledged that the great aim of every Christian, the great aim of every Sabbath-school teacher, and the great aim of every Christian church is, to educate child¬ ren for Christ, and to train them up for the conversion of the world. That children—even very young children, are capable of be¬ coming intelligently pious, who would now dare to question. “A mother,” says a Missionary, “ who had brought up a large family, all of whom had become hopefully pious, was asked what means she had used for their conversion. She replied, “ I have felt that if not converted before seven or eight years of age, they would probably be lost; and when they have approached that age, have been in agony lest they should pass it impeni¬ tent ; and have gone to the Lord with my anguish. He has not turned away my prayers nor his mercy from me.” Let all pray for this: “Arise, cry out in the night; in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord ; lift up thy hands towards him, for the life of thy young children.” Hope for the early bestowment of divine grace from such pro¬ mises as this: “ I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, and as rivers by the water-courses. One shall say, I am the Lord’s ; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with his hand and shall surname himself by the name of Israel.” The late Mrs. Huntington, writing to her son, says her biog¬ rapher, “speaks of having a distinct remembrance of a solemn consultation in her mind, when about three years old, whether it was best to be a Christian then, or not, and of having come to the decision that it was not.” The biographies of Janeway, and nu¬ merous others, forbid the idea that religion in a young heart is a miracle, and show that parents have reason to be anxious lest their youug children die without hope, as well as to be en¬ couraged to seek their early conversion. The first great demand which the reconciled God makes of all, young and old, is, “Give me thy heart! or “Love me!” and the second is like unto it, “Love thy wezgAJoMr as thyself.” The obligation to support missionary societies, apart altogether from the positive com=. mission of our Saviour, naturally flows from obedience to those divine commands which even the lambs of the flock may under¬ stand. A child may give God its heart, and a man can do no more. A child may obey the precept, “ love thy neigbour” as purely, though not in the same measure or degree as the man of hoary hairs. That children ought therefore at once, and as children, to give their hearts and their hands, their voices and their labours to the cause of Christ is equally plain and evident, and has been, I trust, clearly established.* The coral insect buildeth well Far down beneath the sea; Chamber on chamber, cell on cell. In after-days shall be. The work shall through the waters burst> Like walls about a town, From small foundations, that at first A child might trample down. Then who shall say but little hands. That little offerings bring, May houses build in Eastern lands For God our heavenly King. May dwellings build for thee, O Lord, In hearts like mountain stone ; When these shall hear the holy word In Christian countries known ! But it is said that before any one, old or young, can contribute aright to missions, or co-operate in promoting them, the love of the Saviour must first be felt and experienced to some extent in that person’s own soul. But if it is meant that, as the converted alone can judge aright, or act aright, in the matter of missions, that the duty of supporting them should be urged only upon them, and not upon every person, then is such reasoning inconclusive. It may no doubt be asked, what good thing can any one, young or old, do before conversion ? I answer not one. Is it therefore not their duty before this vital and momentous change takes place, to do anything good ? to live to God’s glory ? to honour his ordinances ? to advance his cause on the earth ? Is it wrong in ministers or in Sabbath-school teachers, before this great era in a person’s life, * See the author’s discourse on the duty of interesting children in the mi*» eionary enterprizc, and the way in which this is to be done. 20 / •» to invite and urge that person to do what is good ? to obey God’s- commandments ? I maintain that it is not. If it be said that they are unable till conversion to do anything which is good, I answer, “true, but still God’s command, and not our ability, is the measure of our duty.” Sinners, young or old, must be told their duty, and be allowed an opportunity of performing it. If this be denied, observe to what dreadful consequences it would lead. The unconverted, it might be said, cannot read the Bible aright, that is in faith, “and whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” therefore the duty of reading it is not to be urged upon them ; nor do they commit sin in failing to do it. The unconverted cannot praise God aright in his house or elsewhere—nor pray to him aright—nor hear the gospel preached aright. Such persons therefore should not be exhorted, nor have the opportunity to praise God, or pray to him, or listen to the gospel T Such are the consequences of admitting that man’s inahility, (which is sinful and voluntary,) is to form an excuse for the non-performance of his duty, or for not exhorting him to the performance of it. But we must sternly resist such an admission. The opinion of the pious and judicious Boston on this point deserves consideration. •“If,” says that excellent writer, “ we be under an utter inability to do any good, how can God require us to do it ?” And he answers, “ God making man upright, (Eccles. vii. 29,) gave him a power to do everything that he should require of him. This power man lost by his own fault. We were bound to serve God, and do whatever he commanded us, as being his creatures; and also, we were under the superadded tie of a covenant for that purpose. Now we, having by our own fault disabled ourselves, shall God lose his right of requiring our task because we have thrown away the strength he gave us whereby to perform it ? Has the creditor no right to require payment of his money because the debtor has squandered it away, and is not able to pay him The same author says, “Do what you can, and it may be while you are doing what you can for yourselves, God will do for you what you cannot. ‘Understandest thou what thou readest V said Philip to the eunuch. ‘ How can I,’ said he, ‘except some man should guide me,’ Acts viii. 30, 31. He could not understand the Scripture he read; yet he could read it. He did what he could 21 —he read; and while he was reading, God sent him an inter¬ preter.” The mere fact, then, of the majority of our children, or even the whole of them, being unconverted, is not a sufficient reason to excuse even them from the performance of any commanded duty, far less those of them who are really the children of God; and consequently cannot justify their teachers or parents in failing to give all an opportunity of supporting missions, or in refusing to exhort and entreat all, in the fullest and most unqualified terms, to love God, and to keep his commandments, under pain of being numbered at last among “the wicked, who shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Either therefore, children are incapable of praying, or they are capable of acting. Either they ought not to be taught to pray or they ought to be taught to act. The coming of God’s kingdom is to be in return to labours, and not merely in answer to prayer. You are not to say thy kingdom come, and then look up, as if you expected God to send down angels and bibles from heaven to aid in the propagation of the gospel. You must remember, that while it is God’s work to hless the gospel, it is man’s work to preach the gospel; while it is God’s work to prosper the preachers of the gospel, it is men’s work to send the preachers of the gospel— for “ how shall the heathen call on Him in whom they have not believed ? and how shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard 1 and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach except they be sent ?” Understand, then, dear readers, young and old, what you really mean when you pray that God’s kingdom may come. If you pray for the coming of God’s kingdom, and do nothing for its coming, you are praying for your own destruction. Every one of you is either a helper or an obstacle to the advance¬ ment of Christ’s cause, and, meanwhile, you are either learning how to help or how to hinder the gospel. Christ says, “ He that is not with me is against me.” In the eyes of Christ, then, every one of you, who is not an auxiliary, is an obstacle to the coming of His kingdom; and every prayer for its coming, is a prayer for the destruction of obstacles. Beware, then, lest, 22 when you offer up this prayer, you be found praying for your t)Wn removal out of the way, that your place may be filled by some one more dutiful than you. Remember, that your only safety con¬ sists in being sincerely on the side of Christ. For though you should cease to pray others will not. While a single Christian lives, these prayers will still be going up to heaven, and sooner or later they will all be fully answered, Satan’s kingdom will be de¬ stroyed—and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ. God is, we believe, preparing the earth as a scene of mighty action for the rising generation. ‘^Out of their mouths He will perfect praise” and through their efforts “He will ordain strength —yea strength which “shall still the enem^ and the avenger.” A few years ago, and the idea of enlisting the young in foreign missionary enterprise was -unknow.n, and the success of the scheme doubtful, because untried. Its propriety, however, is now as uni¬ versally admitted, as its prosperity has been the subject of praise and gratitude to God. Everywhere throughout the British Christian Church has the experiment been made, and almost every attempt has been crowned with the best results. A few of those instances may be mentioned. Last year, the London Missionary Society intimated their intention of purchasing a new and improved Missionary ship to convey their Missionaries from England to the South Seas, and then to be employed in that mighty ocean in carrying them about from island to island. The sum required was very large—upwards of #150,000 ; but they were ■sanguine of success. They appealed to the Sabbath scholars of England, and that amount was collected by them before the lapse of many weeks. The name she received was “The John Wil¬ liams,” in memory of a devoted Missionary who, a few years since, fell a martyr in these very islands. She was of 296 tons burden, 103 feet long, and 24 feet broad, and sailed from the docks of London last summer, a living monument of “the mighty power of littles.” In addition to the exertions of the London Missionary Society, those ot various other societies might be named. In connection with the Ghurch of England, a juvenile Missionary society has been es¬ tablished, and a considerable amount is annually received. The 23 Wesleyan Methodists have here, as in all other Missionary enter* prises, exhibited a noble example. During the last year, their ju* venile contributions amounted to about £4000 (820,000 ;) and for the last four years, their total juvenile offerings have reached no less a sum than £15,000 (870,000). The Primitive Methodists, -also, have embarked in the cause. A Missionary, entirely support¬ ed by Sabbath scholars, has, we believe, been lately sent out to Aus¬ tralia—the Missionary as well as his youthful contributors, being connected with that denomination. Among the Baptists, likewise, juvenile exertion has been largely displayed. A Missionary ship, named ‘‘The Dove,” has been built by the contributions of the young—and not satisfied with this, they, last year, collected the sum of 82,500 for the expenses of the vessel, and, at the same time, promised to collect fora similar purpose during the present year. The United Secession Church and the Free Church of Scot¬ land also derive considerable revenue from the same source. These cheering accounts augur well for the prosperity of Missions in future years. Beginning with the young, the Church at large is now securing, so far as human means can do, the perpetuation and increase of a Missionary spirit among all ranks and classes of the people. The attempt has been followed with unparalleled success—a foretaste, we trust, of what another gen¬ eration will not only attempt but achieve. There are many collateral advantages, besides those which di¬ rectly appear, attending the interest in the work of Missions, now excited in the juvenile mind. In the words of Dr. Phillip, of Cape Town, himself an honoured agent in the cause : “It is not the amount of the sums collected, large though these be, to which the greatest importance should be attached; but to the effects of it on the minds of the rising generation, and of generations yet to come. To enlist the sympathies of youth in this manner in the cause of missions, is to prepare their hearts for the saving reception of the gospel; it is training their minds to greatness, by bringing before them and accustoming them to meditate on the greatest of all interests ; it furnishes parents with the best aids of which they can avail themselves for evangelizing the souls of their children while it is training up young soldiers for the Captain of our salvation/’ ^6 24 The gifts of the young, be it also remembered, are additions to the gifts of those who are older and abler than themselves. But this is not all; the givings of a man of thirty, or forty, or fifty years, will be larger if he has been giving to the cause of Christ since he was a child, than if he had never given anything to that cause till he had attained to manhood : just as we should expect a grown¬ up man to play much better on a flute or violin, or some other instrument of music, who had been accustomed to it all his days, than if he had never taken it into his hand till he had reached the prime of life. The man who was a musician when he was a boy, Vv^ill be a much better musician when he becomes a man, than if he had delayed all practice of music until he had become a man of full age ; and so the man of years who gave to missions when he was a child, has not only added his juvenile gifts to the missionary treas¬ ury, but he has added to his willingness, and his desire to give, and to his happiness in giving. A kind heart likes to use an open hand ; and the longer the heart has tasted its own kindness, and made others taste it, the more cheerfully will it open the hand ; and, therefore, if you would train men to be warm-hearted and open- handed friends of missions, enlist them in the work, heart and hand, from their earliest years. We are happy to think that the juvenile friends of missions are at this day, by thus preparing themselves, doing much for the cause of missions in time to come. They are doing much for the mis¬ sionary cause in the present generation, and they are learning to do much more for it in the next generation. The seed they are now sowing will bring forth a crop in those that follow them in some thirty in some sixty, and in some, an hundred fold.’’ But let not the young look to the future, or rest in it. You must look, my young friends, more at present duty, than at dis¬ tant prospects. You must look more at what God is doing, and has done already, to open up a way for Christian missions, than even at what He may do when you are grown in years, and influ¬ ence. Although the church has failed to occupy the fields pre¬ viously opened, God is setting open new fields before her eyes, and saying to her, “ behold, the fields are already white unto the liarvest; the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.’^ 23 China is open, West Africa is open, and among our own coloured population, a wide and effectual door is open. Now then is your time. God is saying to every one of you, in words of love and of command, in words of great haste, “ Son, go work this day in my vineyard.” You must not delay one day. “The night cometh, when no man can work.” While you have life, it is your proper work to praise and glorify God—and you can do so in earth, m in a way in which you will not be able to do even in heaven. You cannot praise God among the heathen, excepting in the present world. “ The grave cannot praise God. Death cannot celebrate Him. They that go down to the pit cannot hope for His truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Him.” Now, then, is your time. You must not wait till you become men and women. While you are waiting the heathen are dying. In New Zealand, an old man, speaking of the need of mission¬ aries, said Make haste—make haste, my sun is fast going down When Mr. Jones, an English missionary, was about to return from the scene of his labours, one of the North American In¬ dians sent with him this message to England, showing, by his gestures, while he spoke, how deeply he was in earnest, “ Tell them to make haste ; time is short, and death is snatching away our friends and relations very fast. Tell them to make HASTE.’* The same cry of haste comes from every quarter. When the great missionary, Williams, was entreated by a South Sea chief to bring his wife and family to live and die on his island, and to tell them about Jehovah and the love of Christ, Mr. Williams said: “my proposition is, that I return immediately, to my native country, and inform my brother Christians of your anxiety to be instructed.” “Well,” replied the chieftain, “go, go with speed—obtain all the missionaries you can, and come again as soon as possible; but we shall be dead— many of us will he dead before you return.” “ There was,” says Williams, ‘^'something thrillingly affecting in the above expression.” You must then make haste, not only because you are dying, but because the heathen are dying. Your opportunity of doing good, and their opportunity of getting good is passing away forever. Next to the sin of neglecting your own salvation, is 26 % the sin of neglecting theirs. Think what a disgrace before God it -must be, to spend a life, however short, and to go out of time into eternity, ^without having done something to lessen the a« mount of crime and misery that oppress this world. Begin your life, then, and end it, with these words often before your minds, ^‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the » grave whither thou gosst.” There are some people who speak rather contemptuously of the present age; they say it is not an age of great men—that it is deficient in originality. As to its not being an age of great men, we remark, that most persons seem to mistake what true greatness is, and account it the same thing as great strength of mind. Now, without stopping to show that this age is remark¬ able for intellectual power, manifesting itself in every branch of science and of art, and in every kind of writing, we observe, that the highest form of greatness is moral excellence, and that the richest display of such excellence, is when it is seen en¬ tirely consecrated to the promotion of the Redeemer’s glory, in connection with the salvation of immortal souls. And if so, then the present age, which is most truly an age of missions, and has produced a Carey, a Martyn, a Morrison, a Williams, a Moffat, and a host of others like them, is, notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, an age of truly great men. The present age, they tell us, is deficient in originality. With¬ out entering on a full discussion of this point, we maintain that in some respects the age we live in is vastly more original than any former one ; and in proof of this, we appeal to the varied schemes of Christian usefulness that have been devised, and es¬ pecially to those the most recent of all, which are bringing the sympathies and energies of the young into vigorous and health- ful operation. If we ourselves are little men, we are doing what we can to form great ones, and we are somewhat confident, that the next generation will comprehend an unusually large proportion of illustrious characters. We say, then, to the dear young friends who peruse these pages—we expect great things of you, and that, when we have 27 TBtired from the scene, you will fill our places to far better pur¬ pose. But this is not all;—we expect not only that you will do great things hereafter, but also that you will begin to attempt them now ; and we are encouraged to this by the consideration of what you have already accomplished. Young friends of missions, thank God and take courage! You are already great, and you are increasing every day in number. God alone can know the good arising out of your new and happy movement in the cause of missions. Think of the good it will do to others ; and remember, it cannot but prove an infinite blessing to yourselves, for Christ has said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.’’ And you that are adults, with what a trumpet-voice does this purpose of God speak to Christian parents, teachers and ministers. For, if “God has ordained this strength—out of the mouths of babes and sucklings” then upon you devolves the duty of develop¬ ing and perfecting this strength by suitable training, nurture, ad¬ monition and exercise. And the real source of the past weakness and inefficiency of the church, and the present feebleness, tim¬ idity and covetousness of Christians will be found, as has been said, in the fact that if we look upon the children of Christian parents, who have professed to dedicate their all to God we find .that to a great extent, they have neglected to educate their offspring for the express purpose of serving Christ in the advancement of his kingdom. Said a Christian mother, whose heart is deeply inter¬ ested in this subject, “I fear that many of us think that parental duty is limited to labors for the salvation of our children ; that we prayed for them only that they may be saved ; instructed them cnly that they may be saved. Infinitely important, indeed, it is, that they should be saved. But if ardent desires for the glory of our Redeemer and the salvation of souls glowed in our hearts like an inextinguishable .flame, our most earnest prayers, from their very birth, would be, that they might not only be saved themselves, but be instrumental in saving others. The present generation assuredly cannot go forward and en- ter the promised inheritance. We must remain and die in the wilderness; and in order to “ have a mind to work,” and a heart lo “count not even life dear to them” the young must be trained in the principles and spirit of Christian self-denial and effort for the evangelization of the world. The duty is plain and impera¬ tive, and cannot be overlooked without crying guilt and shame. And as the family is the primary School of the Christian Church, every parent must bring up his own children in this nurture and admonition of the Lord. Parents must aim at more than the conversion of their children. They must devote them to the service and glory of God. This must be the first great object of desire, and sought as the first great and all-important end. It must, therefore, be made to appear to our children that this object is OUR first, and great desire and aim, and the object of our su¬ preme regard, both as it regards ourselves and them. This also must be The great aim”* of every Sabbath School, and of all the means employed by the Church, for the purpose of teaching those who have been discipled by baptism, according to the command of Christ, ‘‘ all things whatsoever He has command¬ ed them.” “Christian parents, teachers, ministers and elders, are you hoping, praying, and labouring for the conversion of the world ? Do your hearts thrill with the crowding signs of great events to come ? In your hands, under God, is the fulcrum on which the scale shall turn. On you, as instruments, rests the responsibility of furnish¬ ing and disciplining the soldiers of Christ, and thus of deciding whether victory or defeat awaits the Church. On you rests the destiny not only of the hundreds of millions now living in heath¬ enism, but of the generation that is crowding upon the scene of ac¬ tion. Be entreated to be faithful to your trust, and train your chil¬ dren to save the world.” “Christian parent, do you love the God who made you ?—the Saviour who redeemed you the Church to which you have con¬ secrated your all ? How then can you fail to train solely for that God, that Saviour, that Church, the children God has given you? Hear the voice of the Redeemer; he calls you each by name, “Lovest thou me?” Does your soul answer, “Yea, Lord!”— then heed your Saviour’s message, “Feed my Lambs.”f * See the work under this title published by the A. S. S. Union. t Procure two very fine Tracts, issued by the Am. Tract Society, Children to be educated for Christ,” and, “ Training Children for the Conversion of the World.” Also, Dr. Scudders’ Appeal to Mothers. 29 APPENDIX. A MISSIONARY LESSON FOR THE YOUNG. PART I. A GRAIN of corn, an infant’s hand May plant upon an inch of land, Whence twenty stalks should rise and yield Enough to stock a little field. The harvest of that field might then Be multiplied to ten times ten. Which, sown thrice more, would furnish bread Wherewith an army might be fed. PART II. A penny is a little thing, Which e’en a poor man’s child may fling Into the treasury of heaven. And make it worth as much as seven. As seven ! nay, worth its weight in gold, And that increased a million-fold ; For, lo ! a 'penny tract, if well. Applied, may save a soul from hell! That soul can scarce be saved alone ; It must, it will, its bliss make known; ‘‘Come,” it will cry, “and you shall see What great things God hath done for me.’^ Hundreds that jojTful sound may hear ; Hear with the heart as well as ear ; And these to thousands more proclaim Salvation in “the only Name.” That “only Name,” above, below, ' Let Jews, and Turks, and Pagans know,. Till every tongue and tribe shall call On Jesus Christ, as Lord of all. PART III. The “day of small things,” God will not Despise ; the least are unforgot. An orphan’s off’ring, widow’s mite. Are precious in their Maker’s sight. Children I who now hosannas raise. Out of whose mouths He perfects praise, Spare, from the little you possess. What God will own, accept, and bless ; Till through the east, the south, the west, Gifts from the north will be so blest. That, in the end, earth’s countless throngs Shall sing with us this song of songs* Worthy the Lamb, for sinners slain, Power, riches, honour to obtain Who loved, and washed us in His blood, And made us kings and priests to God ! James Montgomert. PRAYER FOR CONVERSION. They tell me, that beyond the seas, In distant heathen lands, The people worship idols still. The work of human hands. They never heard of Jesus Christ, And all his dying love; They fear not hell below, nor care For joys of heaven above. Oh, what a wretched state is theirs T How sad, no tongue can say ! But am I wiser let me ask. Or better off than they ? What is the use of all I know Of God’s most holy word. Unless my heart be changed, and brought To know and love the Lord. If I delight in earthly things, Instead of God alone; I worship idols just as they Who bow to wood and stone. Since then I am by nature born Like other sons of men, O grant that by thy Spirit, Lord, I may be born again. TO A COLLECTOR OF SMALL CONTRIBUTIONS. Though trifling in your eye The little mite appear, Yet to my charming words A moment lend your ear. Look on the mighty deep, And contemplate the sea; If ’twere not for the drops. Where would its vastness be ? Behold the emerald field, Where sheep and oxen feed; If ’twere not for the blades. Say, where would be the mead! The oak its shelter gives. When flocks from tempests flee ; But if the leaves were gone. Where would the shelter be ? 31 The pmooth extended strand, That checks the roaring deep : Say, if the grains were gone, Where would the billows sweep ? Were little words despised, How could a book appear ? How would a preacher preach, Or how his hearers hear ? Despise not then the pence. They help to make the pound ; And each may help to spread abroad The gospel’s joyful sound ! “SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME.’* I hoar a voice around, below. From meadow, flower, and tree. That speaks where gentle rivers flow, And murmurs in the sea. It cries amid the desert’s gloom. Howls wildly in the storm, Rejoices in the woodland’s bloom, Awakes at dawn of morn. Faint now the charm it yields to me, A sweeter voice has called My soul away from vanity— No more by earth bethralled. ‘Tis Jesus calls, I hear his voice Within the Holy Word ; In Him my soul shall now rejoice. My only sovereign Lord. “Let little children come to me,” I hear the Saviour say ; • Then haste my soul, He calls for thee, Oh, haste thee fast away ! “He calls for thee, no longer live On dream oft vain though bright, Of lengthened years, dear child, but give Your soul to Christ this night! “And Oh ! forget not those who lie In chains of darkness bound, A prey to Satan’s enmity, Who hear no Gospel sound. “In earth’s fair climes, yet still unblest, Go forth to them in love— Oh tell them of a Saviour’s rest, Of joy, through Him, above!” BASKET OF FRAGMENTS. "WILL YOU GO TO THE HEATHEN ? The Command. Go ye into all the world, &:c. Mark xvi. 15r The Douht. Who is sufficient for these things ? 2 Cor ii. 6. The Assurance. My grace is sufficient for thee. 2 Cor. xii. 9* The Response. Here am I; send me. Isaiah vi. 8. Rev. H. Venn^s appeal to the Universities. “When the student has completed his academical studies, and re¬ volves in his mind the anxious question, How can I best consecrate my talents to the glory of God and to the good of my fellow crea¬ tures ? where can I best make my pound to gain ten pounds ? let the missionary field of labour be contemplated, and compared with those prospects which a curacy, or educational pursuits, or it may be a rural incumbency, present to the mind.” —Present Po¬ sition, d^c. of C. M. S., 1846. Examples. — David Braineed. “I have no notion of joy from this world ; I care not how or where I live, or what hardships I go through, so that I may but win souls to Christ.”— Life., p. 139. Henry Martyn. “ How many hundreds of millions of souls lying in heathen darkness there are! how many millions of heathen souls professing Christ! how few preach the truth as it is in Jesus ! how few among them are willing to go out to visit the deserts of paganism !—Adieu folly and sloth ! I will be, through grace, the servant of Christ; and the little I can do for India, I will.”— Jour¬ nals i. 334. The Conclusion. Go, and do thou likewise. Luke x. 37. MOTIVES TO LIBERALITY IN THE MISSIONARY CAUSE. 1. It is more blessed to give than to receive. 2. It shall be paid with interest. —There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth. 3. The example is good to others.— Your zeal hath provoked many. 4. By it the Gospel is preached to the heathen for— How shall they preach except they be sent ? 5. It is to the Lord.— He that hath yity upon the poor lendeth to the Lord. 6. It is pleasing to God.— God loveth a cheerful giver. 7. It is like Christ. —He gave himself for us. CHRISTMAS JUVENILE OFFERINGS. We always like to tell our young friends good news ; and it now gives us great pleasure to inform them that the collection for the “ Juvenile Offering,” last Christmas, amounts to j£5,000. There would have been much more money got, if the weather had not been so cold; in many places the children were not able to get out for the snow. If our young collectors will try and think how much good may be done with this five thousand pounds, how many children may be taught to read, and how many souls will be saved from hell by the preaching of the Mis¬ sionaries whom it will keep, then they will be well rewarded for their trouble and have good interest for their money.— Wesl. Mis.