A SERMON, DELIVERED BEFORE THE PALESTINE MISSIONARY SOCIETY, AT THEIR THIRTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING, HELD AT RANDOLPH, MASS., JUNE 18 , 1851 , BY JAMES P. TERRY, Pastor of the Second Congregational Church in Weymouth, BOSTON: PRESS OF T. R. MARVIN, 42 CONGRESS STREET. 1851 . Digitized by the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/sermondeliveredbOOterr SERMON. JOHN hi. 16. — 1 JOHN v. 19. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIE VETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLAST- ING LIFE. AND THE WHOLE WORLD LIETH IN WICKEDNESS. That the Almighty should devise and execute a scheme for man’s rescue, displaying, beyond all his other works, his infinite perfections, and adequate in its provisions to the moral necessities of the whole human family ; and yet, that after so long a time since it was announced to the world as “ finished,” it should be not only unavailing, but even unknown to the greater part of those for whom it was designed, is a matter which has often exercised, if not per- plexed the mind of the thoughtful Christian. He believes that this scheme, on which God has, for aught that appears, exhausted his attributes, con- tains all that is necessarv to elevate the entire race J from its deep degradation, to the glory and felicity of heaven ; yet he cannot hide from his eyes the painful fact, that its ample provisions are lost as to the greater part of those who need them ; that even now, almost “ the whole world lieth in wicked- 4 ness ; ” that much the largest portion of mankind are filling up the measure of their iniquities, and will descend into the fire that never shall be quenched, without its ever having been announced in their hearing, that 44 God so loved the world that he gave his only- begotten Son, that whosoever be- lieveth in him should not perish, but have everlast- ing life.” Why is it so ? he asks. Why, at the end of eighteen centuries since the death of Christ, is the knowledge of his death confined to so small a portion of those for whom he suffered ? It is my purpose to answer this inquiry. I shall first speak of the fact of the limited spread of Christianity, and then consider some reasons for it. I. The fact itself. Statistics on this subject are truly appalling. They show that of the ten hundred millions that now people our world, more than six hundred millions are heathens ; that one hundred millions are Mohammedans ; and that, of the remain- ing three hundred millions, two-thirds, though nom- inally Christians, are yet so far removed in their belief and practice from the doctrines and duties of the religion of Christ, that as a means of salvation the gospel is of hardly any more advantage to them than it is to the heathen. Scarcely less appalling is the map of the earth in its representations. It shows us, that of the fifty millions of square miles contained in the land sur- face of the globe, upon more than thirty millions it is unknown that the Son of God ever trod this earth ; and that not more than five millions are occupied by those who generally embrace the 5 Protestant religion; — that of the entire eastern con- tinent, less than one-thirtieth part is occupied by evangelical sects, while nine-tenths of it are in the possession of heathens or Mohammedans. It exhibits the three grand divisions of the earth, Asia, Africa, and Oceanica, embracing more than three-fifths of all the land upon the globe, as covered with clouds of midnight darkness, through which no ray of light penetrates, save over those few spots where the altars of Christianity have been erected by the mis- sionaries of the cross. Nothing presents a more affecting view of the moral condition of our world than a missionary map exhibiting the relative size of its enlightened and unenlightened portions. The few luminous spots are to the surrounding darkness but little more than the beacon lights that glimmer here and there on the shores of the ocean, to the wide waste of water that lies between them. But could we see the reality of what is thus rep- resented to us ; — could we, like the angel having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, fly in the midst of heaven and visit every nation and kindred and tongue and people ; — could we look down upon the 350,000,000 of China prostrate three times a day before their tutelary deities ; — could we see the sensual Hindoos in the act of offering their blind adoration to their myriads of gods — the representations and patrons of what- ever is ridiculous, obscene and cruel ; — could we gaze upon the disgusting and horrid features of human depravity, as they stand out frightfully dis- tinct, in the treachery and ferocity of the Malays, and in the sottishness of the Hottentots ; in the 6 infanticide of China, and in the cannabalism of Fejee; — in all the vices and crimes, the deeds of cruelty, pollution and shame, which in a greater or less degree characterize every unevangelized nation ; — could we thus make the circuit of our globe, and survey these 600,000,000 of heathen in all their degradation and sin, we should obtain an impression of the moral desolation of our world, such as no representation of figures nor exhibition of maps can make ; and we should understand, as never before, the import of the Apostle’s declaration, The whole world lieth in wickedness. II. We are now to consider the reasons for this fact. Why is so large a portion of the earth yet unevangelized ? 1. Is it because the work of its entire evangeliza- tion is in its nature impracticable ? It is unquestionably a difficult work. The obsta- cles to the conversion of the heathen, arising from their religious prejudices, their mental and moral habits, and their social and civil condition, are truly formidable. To persuade a people to abandon as false, a religion which has come down to them from remote antiquity, the religion in which they were educated, by which all their habits have been formed, and with which all their recollections are associated ; a religion, too, which is congenial to their corrupt hearts, and which fosters their natural desires and passions, — and receive in its stead, one that is totally opposed, in its spirit and requirements, to their inclinations, their prejudices, their habits, — is a work 7 which must be undertaken , in order that the real difficulty of it be understood. Yet, difficult as it unquestionably is, it is not impracticable. For, (a) in the first place, just such obstacles as now hinder the conversion of the nations, have been overcome. Difficulties as formi- dable as those which exist in the stupidity of the African, in the ferocity of the Battas, in the pride and prejudice of the Chinese, in the superstition and jealousy of the Japanese, have again and again been surmounted. Put together all the difficulties that can be conceived to arise from the most fascinating idolatry, the most inveterate prejudice, the most savage cruelty, and the most beastly sensuality ; and they can be matched by difficulties which Chris- tianity overcame when she vanquished the splendid idolatry of Greece and Rome, tamed the fierce bar- barity of the ancient Britons, and raised from the lowest degradation the modern Sandwich Islanders. Neither the depravity of man, nor unfriendliness of climate, presents any obstacle which Christianity has not, at one time or another, successfully encoun- tered. There cannot be found any soil more barren than that in which it has taken root ; no clime more uncongenial than that in which it has extended wide its branches. There are no hearts harder than thousands which it has subdued ; and bitterer enemies can never rise up against it, than such as have fallen before it. Satan cannot defend his kingdom with walls higher, broader and more ada- mantine, than those which Christianity has many times laid level with the ground. So that, were the religion of Christ now to extend its triumphs “ from 8 sea to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth,” it would encounter no new form of diffi- culty, nor achieve any new kind of conquest. Its victories would be only a repetition of those already gained. But what has been done, may be done again. Obstacles that have been surmounted, are not insuperable. As, therefore, the conversion of the world involves no greater difficulties, essentially, than have already been overcome, it is not imprac- ticable. (b) And this is further evident from the predic- tions of the Bible. “ All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall serve him.” “For from the rising of the sun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles ; and in every place incense shall be offered and a pure offering.” “ The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ.” These and other inspired predictions place the final spread of the gospel over the whole earth beyond a doubt. But these predictions can be fulfilled only by the removal of just such obsta- cles as now hinder the work of the world’s evan- gelization. These obstacles, then, are not insuper- able. To affirm that they are, is to deny the verity of God’s word. (c) And further, when we consider this work in relation to the power of him who has undertaken it, we cannot doubt its practicability, without doubting whether God is omnipotent. It is God’s work ; and though committed to human hands, it is carried forward by divine power. But “ is any thing too 9 hard for the Lord ? ” Has he not only predicted , but actually undertaken the accomplishment of a work which is really impracticable ? But if the work is not impracticable, then it must be for some other reason that it is not accomplished. 2. Is it because the church has not possessed the means necessary for its accomplishment ? The ability of the church to perform, instrumentally, the work assigned her, consists in her men and money. And is it for want of either or both of these that the work is yet unfinished ? Is it for want of men? How many men did Christ, at his ascension, leave on earth under com- mission to preach the gospel to every creature ? The little band of one hundred and twenty disciples, assembled in an upper chamber at Jerusalem to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, comprised, if not the whole numerical strength, nearly or quite all the moral power of the Christian church. But small as was their number, they went forth to exe- cute their high commission, and actually became witnesses for the Lord, “ both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.” Those few individuals succeeded in publishing the gospel throughout the whole civilized world. And if so small a number could, at the very outset of the Christian religion, proclaim its doc- trines over so large a portion of the earth, could not the still greater number converted through their instrumentality, have extended the knowledge of these doctrines still farther. And had the continu- ally increasing number of converts to Christ been fired with apostolic zeal, need many generations 10 have passed away before all the tribes and families of the earth should have seen the salvation of God ? Surely, it was not for w T ant of numbers in the church, that the work, commenced, and carried so far towards its completion, by the little band that went out from Jerusalem, was not finished at an early period in her history. And if, at any subsequent time, the church has so dwindled away, as to lack sufficient numerical strength to evangelize the world, she certainly is not in such a state now, nor has she been for cen- turies past. Had all who have been members of Protestant churches during the last half century , devoted themselves to the work of missions with the zeal of a Paul, an Eliot, or a Martyn, would there have been to-day any tribe or family, to whom the gospel offer had not been made ? And were the eighty thousand Protestant ministers of the present day, and the many times greater number of pious laymen, qualified to aid in the missionary work, now to disperse themselves among the hea- then, and labor for their evangelization with the assiduity and self-denial which worldly men exhibit in the accomplishment of their enterprises, would even the present generation pass away before the gospel would be published to the ends of the earth ? When we look at the actual results of many an individual’s labors in the work of evangelization, and remember that there are in the church many thousands capable of effecting similar results, we cannot for a moment admit that it is for want of numbers merely, that the church has failed to 11 accomplish her work. Were all, or even half of those who have by profession consecrated them- selves to Christ, to accomplish a tenth or a hun- dredth part as much as has been accomplished by a Schwartz, a Carey, a Brainerd, or as thousands of less note have individually accomplished, the stand- ard of the cross would speedily be raised in every part of the habitable earth. Is it because the church could not command money enough to send abroad and support her men, that the world is not evangelized ? When was the church more destitute of wealth than in her infancy ? And if, with all her poverty, she could support mis- sionaries enough to preach the gospel throughout the civilized world, can it be, that with her present abounding wealth she is wanting in pecuniary ability to evangelize the heathen ? She has given much ; but has she given according to her ability ? Some there are, who, like the poor widow, have given all their living ; but the most, if they have given at all, have given of their abundance. Their gifts have cost them no self-denial, subjected them to no inconvenience. And yet, by means of these charities, the mere crumbs which have fallen from the tables of God’s people during the last fifty years, three thousand schools have been estab- lished, in which two hundred and fifty thousand children have been instructed ; the Bible has been translated into two hundred languages ; “ four thousand churches have been built, and two thousand ordained ministers, and more than seven thousand lay preachers and catechists have been sent forth among the heathen.” And if so much 12 has been accomplished by what has cost so little, what might not the church have done during this time, had all her members acted like the early Christians, on the principle that none of the things which they possessed were their own, and as faith- ful stewards made such use of their Lord’s goods as would best promote his cause ? Had the Chris- tians of America, during the thirty years in which they have been contributing the five millions of dol- lars that have resulted in transforming the Sandwich Islanders into a Christian people, instead of giving on an average less than fifty cents a year for the conversion of the world, given individually to the extent of real self-denial, there would have been ample means to send the written and the preached word to all the tribes of the earth. The church, then, has money enough, and men enough ; and it is for want of neither of these that her work is not accomplished. 3. Nor is it to be ascribed to the mere sovereignty of God. That God is a sovereign, is no more to be ques- tioned than that he exists. Nor is it to be denied that it accords with his sovereign pleasure that the moral and religious condition of the world should be precisely what it is. And so, too, it accorded with his sovereign pleasure that Pharaoh should refuse to let the children of Israel go when com- manded, and that the Jews should crucify the Mes- siah. But who would consider it a proper answer to the inquiry, why Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel depart, or why the Jews put to death the Lord of glory, merely to be told that such 13 conduct was in accordance with the eternal and sovereign purpose of God. No more appropriate would such an answer be to our present inquiry. It would indeed be a sufficient answer, were the evangelization of the world solely and exclusively God’s work, involving human instrumentality and responsibility as little as the creation of a world. But since God has associated man with him in this enterprise, and made its success to depend upon appropriate human efforts, it has a human as well as a divine side. And though, viewing it in the one aspect, it were enough to say, in answer to the inquiry why it is not accomplished, “ Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight,” yet, viewing it in its other aspect, as a work for which man is responsible, to make such an answer to the inquiry would be as unscriptural and impious, as for Jonah to have answered the question why he fled to Tarshish, or for Ananias to have replied to the inquiry of Peter why he lied to the Holy Ghost, by pleading that such conduct was in accordance with God’s sovereign pleasure. However it may accord with the inscrutable and eternal purpose of Him “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,” that so large a portion of the earth should now be unevangelized, it does not accord with his express commands. And his will, as made known by his commands, and not his secret purpose, is our rule of duty. And as he has, by positive injunction, placed the church under obligations to evangelize the world, then it is in violation of known obligations that the world is not evangelized ; and this neglect of duty is no more to be ascribed to the 14 mere sovereignty of God, than is any other sin of the church ; and nothing but the rankest Antino- mianism could be satisfied with such an answer to the inquiry under consideration. The question still returns, Why is so large a por- tion of the earth unevangelized ? Since the work of its entire evangelization is not impracticable ; since the church has had adequate means to accom- plish it ; and since the acknowledged fact of God’s sovereignty furnishes no just reason for its being delayed, — why has it not been accomplished ? I answer, because the church has voluntarily and criminally neglected to use the means given her by God for its accomplishment. In explanation and proof of this, I observe, 1. In the first place, that the church for ages wholly lost sight of the true idea of her mission, and that a majority of her members as yet but partially apprehend it. One great design of Christ in instituting a church, was, unquestionably, to provide for the publication of his gospel to those for whom he died, and for placing the blessings of salvation in the reach of all for whom they were purchased. Consequently he designed the church for a mission as comprehensive as his own, having the same sphere and objects that were embraced in his mission to our world. But did Christ contemplate in his mission a part only, or the whole of mankind ? If we determine the sphere of his mission by the extent of the ruin which he came to repair, we shall not limit it, for it was not a province , but “ the whole world ” that lay “ in wickedness.” If we look at the design of his com- 15 ing, as disclosed by promises and predictions, we shall see that it had a relation as wide asihe race : “ In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Our text teaches that Christ was sent to provide salvation for the whole human family, without distinction of name or nation. “ For God so loved the ivorld , that he gave his only-begotten Son, that vjhosoever beheveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And why should Christ be called “ the Saviour of the world” “ the propitiation for the sins of the whole world;” and w r hy should an unlimited offer of salvation be made through him to the world, unless all mankind were contemplated in his mission ? And the church being organized to carry out the designs of Christ’s mission, her mission is nothing less than to publish salvation to all for whom he died. And this accords with the instructions of our Saviour. “ The field,” says he, “ is the world.” And, when commissioning his disciples, he says, “ Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” He designates no particular province or district as the sphere of their mission, but bids them go up and down the wide world which he had died to redeem, and proclaim to all who dwell upon it the messages of redeeming love. Christ himself here teaches what is the true mission of the church. It is to evangelize the world — the whole world. And that he designed this to be her mission in all coming time, appears from the promise annexed to the command : “ And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Whatever obli- 16 gations this command imposed upon the first Chris- tians, it imposes upon us. Christianity is the same now, in its principles and designs, that it was then ; and the world now 41 lieth in wickedness ” as it did then : hence there exist now the same reasons for its evangelization, as when Christ commissioned his disciples to teach all nations. The obligations of the church to evangelize the nations, grow out of her relations to Christ and to the world,, and are perma- nent. And they are as imperative on every member of the church, as are his obligations to love his brethren, to pray to God, or to obey any other command. I do not mean that every Christian is bound actually to go on a mission to the heathen ; but that he is under solemn obligation either to go himself, or sustain, to the extent of his ability, by his contributions and prayers, those who go in his stead. The disciples of Christ understood and acted upon this as the true idea of their mission. They regarded themselves as debtors both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise, and to the unwise, and as bound as much as in them was, to preach the gospel to every creature. They did not regard their field as circumscribed by the walls of Jerusalem, nor as contained within the boundaries of Judea or Samaria, but as extending to the 44 ut- termost parts of the earth, 5 ’ 44 and they took up the standard of the cross and bore it in triumph round the globe.” But not long after the primitive era, the church, corrupted by worldly alliances, lost sight of her mis- sion, forgot her obligations to the heathen, and 17 virtually expunged from the record of authoritative precepts the Saviour’s last command. However there may have been individuals who felt themselves bound by it, the church as a body felt no pressure of obligation to evangelize the world, and for centuries slept over her great concern. And instead of look- ing for her enlargement during this period of her inactivity, we should rather wonder that she did not become extinct. Scarcely half a century has elapsed since she began to awake from this long sleep. And the partial recovery of the lost idea of her mission, has aroused all her branches to systematized efforts for the spread of the gospel, whose results, as seen in the evangelized islands of the Pacific ; in the Chris- tian schools and churches that in India, and other idolatrous countries, have sprung up by the side of heathen temples ; and in the dawning of Christianity upon many portions of the benighted earth, indicate the state in which the world would have been, had the church never fallen into that sleep ; or had she, at the commencement of the present century, generally and fully awaked to the true end of her existence, and prosecuted as her one great business, and with the combined strength of all her members, the enterprise of the world’s evangelization. For at no time during this period has the church been pos- sessed with the one great idea of her mission. At no time have all her members felt themselves bound by the Saviour’s last command to do individually, according to their opportunity and ability, the work of a missionary. Is it probable that all, or even a majority of the members of any church connected 3 18 with this Missionary Association, regard themselves as acting under a commission that covers the entire world, and as bound to hold themselves ready to go into whatsoever part of it the providence of God shall send them ; — that they have ever so regarded the world as their field, as seriously to consider the relative claims of every portion of it upon their ser- vice ; and that the reason why they are now laboring and praying in New’ England, rather than toiling in India or Africa, is because, after prayerful delibera- tion, they became convinced, that this portion of the vineyard had the strongest claim upon them, and were persuaded that they could do more for the world’s evangelization by remaining here, than by going any where else ? Is it uncharitable to pre- sume, that were a just sense of the obligations of Christians to the heathen, at once to get possession of all the members of these churches, very many of them would be possessed with an idea no less novel than important ? Thus the church has not realized the great end for which she exists. And this is one reason why she has done so little to accomplish it. 2. Another reason is found in her want of earnest piety. While she has recognized to a considerable extent, theoretically , her obligations, and practically , so far as to form numerous and splendid schemes of Chris- tian exertion, she has not possessed enough of the true missionary spirit to carry out her well-devised plans. The machinery of her missionary enterprise has moved feebly, and acccomplished but little in comparison with what it is capable of, were it 19 efficiently worked, for want of propelling power — the power that consists in earliest piety, such piety as called forth the energies of the primitive Chris- tians. (a) The great controlling element of their piety was love to Christ . Their lively apprehension of his transcendent excellence, and their deep sense of personal obligation to him, for the blessings of his grace, begat within them a love and devotion to him, that absorbed all regard for worldly honor or gain, and lifted them above all considerations of difficulty and danger, and led them to regard not life itself as too great a sacrifice to make for the honor of their Master. And nothing but the con- straining influence of such love will ever lead men to labor faithfully, patiently and efficiently for Christ. But such love has not burned in the hearts of all, in every age, who have named the name of Christ. It is not now the absorbing affection, and the controlling principle of action in all believers. Christ is loved indeed, by all his true followers ; but brethren, do we all , do any of us love him as Paul loved him ? (b) Love for souls was another element of their piety. They viewed the soul as ruined by sin, and destined to a miserable eternity, unless saved by the grace of the gospel. And they longed for its salvation. So deep was their solicitude for the spiritual state of man, that they warned them night and day, with tears. What evidence have Christians of later times generally given of such a passion for souls ? How deeply are our sympathies wrought upon, as we contemplate the awful doom 20 to which the souls of the heathen are passing by twenty millions a year ? (c) The piety of the primitive Christians was also characterized by a spirit of self-denial and self- sacrifice. Nothing was too dear for them to give up for Christ. For his sake they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods ; encountered perils by land, and by sea; endured weariness and painfulness, watchings and fastings, hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness, and “ counted not even their lives dear unto themselves.” And they gloried in tribula- tion, and rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. Does this spirit characterize the piety of modern Christians ? Are they generally willing to endure for Christ, if need be, poverty and reproach, persecution and death ? Few indeed are now required to serve him at such cost. Yet obligations are resting upon all which cannot be discharged without some sacrifice. But what sacrifice are they actually making for the cause of Christ ? What privations do they endure, to what hardships submit, that the heathen may be saved ? They give, on an average, less than fifty cents a year. Is that making a sacrifice ? Does it subject them to suffering ? No, nor to inconven- ience. And yet that is the sacrifice , that the great mass of American Christians make for the spread of the gospel ! O, how do Christians in our day, dwelling in ceiled houses, enjoying the comforts and luxuries of wealth, and giving of their abundance a few cents, or at the most a few dollars, in fulfill- ment of the Saviour’s last command ; — how do such Christians compare with those who, in obeying the 21 same command, had “ trial of cruel mockings and scourgings ; yea, moreover, of bonds and imprison- ment ; who were stoned, who were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword ; who wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented ? 55 (d) Another element of the piety of these self- denying men, was a deep sense of dependence on God. They believed that of themselves they could do nothing, and that all their sufficiency was of God ; — that whoever planted, and whoever watered, God must give the increase. And they accordingly sought, in frequent and earnest prayer, the divine blessing on their labors. Do Christians now pos- sess this same spirit of dependence in such a degree as to lead them to pray daily for the blessing of God on missionary efforts ? What does their attend- ance upon the monthly concert indicate ? In these and other elements of primitive piety, the modern church is greatly deficient. And this is one reason why she has no better discharged her obligations to the heathen. Thus, while the church has had ample means to evangelize the world, she has neglected to employ them, partly for want of a just idea of her mission, and partly for want of the spirit requisite to accom- plish such a mission. Then is it not the fault of the church, that the world is not evangelized ? And as she is responsible for the consequences of her neglect, who can estimate the amount of guilt she has contracted, while the millions she might have enlightened, have been going down to their graves in all the darkness of heathenism. 3 * 22 Far be it from me to disparage what has been done, and is now doing for the conversion of the world. The missionary enterprise is an honor to the church, and is the glory of our age. And the results already attained are such as to command the admiration of the world. But if so much has been accomplished, without any sacrifice, or even incon- venience, on the part of Christians generally, what might we not have beheld to-day, had all the resources of the church been employed in this enterprise ? And now, what is wanting for the speedy evan- gelization of the world, but for the church to take hold of the work with all her strength ; and carry it forward with all the means at her command — amply sufficient with God’s blessing for its accom- plishment. And for this, it is necessary that Christians more generally awake to the true idea of their mission. They should feel that their business here, is not to acquire wealth or honor, nor live in luxury and in- dolence, but to labor for the conversion of the world. Viewing the world as their field, they should regard themselves as placed under imperative obligations, by the Saviour’s last command as well as by every principle of their religion, to labor for its entire subjugation to Christ. And they should cherish a deep sense of the transcendent importance of their mission. They should look upon the world in all the magnitude and extent of its ruins ; contemplate its heathen millions in the light of God’s word, as under sentence of eternal death and hastening to receive their doom, 23 and jet as capable of being saved through the grace of Christ ; and realize that their mission is nothing less than to make known to them the provisions of eternal love, to save them from impending wrath, and raise them to heaven’s eternal glory and felicity ; — that their mission partakes of the importance and grandeur of Christ’s mission to our world. And they should also possess, in full measure, the earnest piety which characterized the primitive Christians. Their hearts should burn with love to Christ. They should have deep sympathy for man, degraded, ruined man. And under the con- straining influence of these heaven-born affections, they should be willing to sacrifice life, if need be, for the glory of Christ, and the salvation of man. They should “ elevate their thoughts and purposes above the current of this world’s influences, and associate them with the great objects of the medi- atorial reign ; and with the scenes and destinies of eternity, in which that reign will be consummated.” And withal, they should have a strength of faith that will yield to no discouragement, and can be shaken by no obstacles ; — such an assurance of the final triumph of the Redeemer’s kingdom, that they will no more admit the possibility of failure, than they will question the veracity of God. Let the church, in all her branches, and in all her members, apprehend her true mission, and be pervaded by a piety like this, and she will cheerfully consecrate to God, in the work of man’s salvation, her talents and learning, her wealth and influence. Her sons, nurtured in her bosom into sympathy with Christ, will stand ready by hundreds and by thou- 24 sands, to forsake all for his name’s sake, and go to the ends of the earth, to make known to perishing men the tidings of salvation. Her silver and her gold will be cheerfully, and without solicitation, cast into the treasury of the Lord. She will lift to heaven, unitedly and unceasingly, the voice of her supplications, for the blessing of God upon her instrumentalities. Quickened by such piety, she will feel the pulsations of a new life ; and starting from her sluggish repose, she will move forward with irresistible energy and might, to the accom- plishment of her glorious mission. And then will she “ look forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with ban- ners.” Then will the triumphs of the cross be mul- tiplied. Then will the standard of the gospel be raised in every land, and the announcement of God’s love to the world be made to all that dwell upon the earth. “ Then shall mankind no more in darkness mourn ; Then happy nations in a day be born ; From east to west God’s glorious Name be one, And one pure worship hail th’ eternal Son : Remotest realms one spotless faith unite, And o’er all regions beam the gospel’s light.” And then shall the world that now “ lieth in wick- edness,” “ be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” And we shall be blessed in proportion as our labors and charities and prayers contribute to the ushering in of this day of millennial glory. ANNUAL MEETING. The Thirty-first Annual Meeting of the Palestine Missionary Society, was held at Randolph, June 18, 1851. The public services commenced at 11 o’clock, A. M., when a sermon was preached by Rev. James P. Terry ; the Treasurer’s report presented, with the Auditor’s cer- tificate ; and addresses offered by Rev. Messrs. Worcester and Walker, as a deputation from the Parent Society. Voted , That the Treasurer’s report be accepted. Voted , That the thanks of this Society be presented to Rev. Mr. Terry, for his sermon, and that a copy of it be requested for publication. Voted , That the thanks of this Society be presented to Rev. Messrs. Worcester and Walker, for their aid on this occasion ; to the First Church and Society in Randolph, for their hospitality ; and to the choir of singers, for their performances. 26 The following officers were chosen for the current year : Gen. BENJAMIN KING, President. Mr. JOSIAH W. KINGMAN, ) Dea. JONATHAN NEWCOMB, $ Vice Presidents. Rev. JONAS PERKINS, Secretary. EBENEZER ALDEN, M. D., Treasurer. SILAS PAINE, Esq., Auditor. // ' ::- T • P- n~n*^ £a^4Ew ,-- X V - *3- •**••* «Nv«. < / •«- / /* •• - * / O J*. TREASURER’S REPORT 15; Receipts from June 18, 1850, to June 18, 1851. Ahington , First Parish, legacy, Edward Cobb, “ “ Gent. 72,92 ; La. 45,70 ; m. c. 31,38 ; “ East Parish, Gent. 33 ; La. 22,62 ; Braintree , First Parish, Ladies’ miss. so. 50,02 ; m. c. 65 ; R. S. S. 15 ; “ South Parish, Juv. so. 15 ; Gent, and La. 41 ; Braintree and Weymouth , Union so. 55,53 ; m. c. 34,61 ; Cohasset, D. S. Sutton, East Bridgewater , Trin. so. D. W. 10 ; m. c East and West Bridgewater , Un. so. m. c. Hanover , m. c. N'orth Bridgewater , Two Friends, “ “ First Parish, Gent, and La. “ “ South Parish, Gent, and La. . “ “ Porter Evan. so. Gent, and La. 153,58 ; m. c. 55 ; . Randolph , First Parish, Gent. 94,69 ; La. 35,28 ; m. c. 83,23 ; “ East Parish, Gent. 48,27 ; La. 62 ; m. c. 24,85 ; Young La. 14,48 ; Juv. miss. so. 5,31 ; Scituate , JVorth , Gent, and La Weymouth , North Parish, Gent, and La. .... “ South Parish, Gent, and La. 62,76 ; m. c. 26,25 ; Rev. J. P. T. 2 ; “ Union ch. and so. m. c. $750 00 150 00 3 00 55 62 130 02 56 00 90 14 10 00 25 00 14 43 20 00 40 00 22 00 52 00 208 58 213 20 3 6 s. .r 6 154 91 21 75 88 62 7 5 91 01 25 00 $2,221 28 EBENEZER ALDEN, Treasurer. I have examined the accounts of the Treasurer of the Palestine Missionary So- ciety for the past year, and find them rightly cast and properly vouched. SILAS PAINE, Auditor. Randolph, June 18, 1851. . , o . ' ■ ■ n n - ' uvn 3«i JO JCimn 3fll ■