tives in that city; whom, it is said, the "angel of the Lord took by the crown, and bare him by the hair of his head; and, through the vehemency of his spirit, set him in Babylon ;"--and when he had accomplished his mission, the angel conveyed him back in the same manner : and set him "in his own place again," in Judea !—But if no prophet was carried in this miraculous way from Judea, to minister salvation to the captives in the land of the Chaldeans;-if no apostle was carried miraculously to Syria, to Asia Minor, to Greece, to Rome, to the Islands of the sea, to preach Christ crucified to the Gentiles; we may safely conclude, that the prophet Ha bakkuk, who had made a mess of pottage for his reapers, was not, with it, suddenly transported to Babylon, for the infinitely minor purpose of giving Daniel his dinner!-This legend has no higher authority than the Apocrypha can confer; and I leave it where I found it, in The story of Bel and the Dragon, verse 33--39. 2. We are led, therefore, to form the very rational conclusion, that although it is the province of God to prepare, qualify, and commission the preacher, yet it is the duty of his people to equip him for his journey, to find the means for his conveyance, to bear his expenses, and support him in his works, while he is going forward, taking nothing from the Gentiles. Now, as there are whole nations in which Satan sits enthroned; as there are, after all that has been done to evangelize the earth, more than six hundred millions of immortal souls who know not God who bought them, and are a prey to superstition, idolatry, ignorance, cruelty, and wretchedness of every kind; and as Jesus has tasted death for every man, and God wills all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth; it is the imperious duty of every Christian soul,-of every humane mind, to send, as extensively as possible, and with the utmost speed, that gospel of God, which is the only cure for all these evils-While we hesitate, multitudes are. perishing for lack of knowledge. We have not done the whole of our duty by merely contributing to the universal diffusion of the Bible-this we should do, and not leave the other undone. We must send the missionary also, to call the attention of the millions (who, if they have even the word of life in their own languages, cannot read it) to the things which make for their peace, and the things whereby they may edify each other. No nation ever was, or, humanly speaking, ever can be saved, where there is neither a prophet to proclaim the righteousness of the Most High, nor an evangelist to comfort those who labour and are heavy laden, by pointing them to that Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. -If any farther arguments or motives can be necessary to induce those who have tasted and seen that God is gracious, to send, as far as their influence and means can reach, the gospel of Jesus to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and salvation to the ends of the earth; let them consider the following: God, who made you, says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength." And God, who redeemed you, has said, "Thou shalt do so, and love thy neighbour as thyself;" and adds, "There is no greater commandment than these and on these hang all the law and the prophets." To this he farther adds, "What you would that men should do to you, do even so to them." Now 1. If we love God, shall we not keep his commandments? 2. If we love our neighbour as ourselves, shall we not labour to make him happy? 3. If we have ever felt the gospel to be the power of God to our own salvation, shall we not endeavour to send it to those who are destitute? 4. If we feel bound to do to others, as we would wish, on a reverse of circumstances, they should do to us, then, from what we now know, had they the gospel, and we were destitute of it, how ardently should we desire that they would share with us that heavenly bread? And how hardly should we think of them, me. if they had the blessing of which v e were destitute, and had the means of sending it, which we could not command, and yet permitted us to perish while they themselves had bread enough and to spare; although giving, however largely, would not lessen their store? Think of this, and then act under the influence of that conviction which the evidence may bring. 5. There is a maxim in law, "that he who neglects to save life, when it is in his power to do it, is a murderer, as well as he who violently takes it away." What, then, must God and considerate men think of us, if we permit Satan to murder those souls, which, by the grace of God, it is in our power to snatch from the sides of the pit, and pluck as brands from the burning? 6. But this subject is placed in the strongest point of view by God himself: "Son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore, thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die if thou do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand," Ezek. xxxiii, 6-8. Will not these words apply to every man, whether in Palestine, England, or elsewhere, who neglects, when it is in his power, either personally, or by proxy, to turn a sinner from the error of his ways? We find from the above passage, that although the sinner who is not warned "shall die in his sins," yet his blood shall be required at the hands of the negligent watchman. And may we not infer, that the Gentile nations who do not receive that warning, which it is in the power of Christians to send, "will die in their sins?" And surely they who die in their sins, where God is, can never come. We know that any Gentiles who act according to the dictates of that light which lightens every man that cometh into the world, shall on their death, enter into Paradise; for in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of him. But how many of the Gentiles, in any nation of the earth, de really act up to the dictates of that light?-Out of the millions of heathens, with whom our commerce has brought us acquainted, how few individuals have we ever found who were living according even to the general rules of justice, righteousness, and mercy? In millions, scarcely one thoroughly moral character appears! How awful is this consideration? Let us remember that vice uncurbed daily gains strength; and that evil habits become inveterate where there is nothing to counteract them. Myriads are annually sacrificed to superstition. Darkness is perpetuated and becomes thick and gross in consequence. God is not known, and the people are led captive by Satan at his will!-Who will arise, grapple with the destroyer, and pluck the prey out of his teeth? Many excellent men, full of the Holy Ghost, and power, are on tiptoe, with their lives in their hand, saying, "Here are we, send us! Send us to the dispersed among the Gentiles,-to the stupid Hottentots, to the savages of New Holland,--to the cannibals of New Zealand, to the uttermost parts of the earth, where God our Father is not known, where Christ our Saviour is not named,-where Satan keeps his seat, and where reason and the human form are degraded. Constrained by the love of Christ, we will freely go :--Here we are, "the messengers of the churches for the glory of Christ." After such offers, (and, through the mercy of God, they are in abundance,) these men will be guiltless, if not sent. -But what a reckoning must those have with the great Head of the church, who neglect these calls, and will not join hands with God to make the wretched live! Let us all feel and say, "We will not be any longer guilty of our brother's blood:-and now, go to, and we will show, that the hand of the Lord is upon us for good,--that our heart is enlarged,--that our hand is as ready as our prayers, and that, in the true missionary spirit, we consecrate our service this day unto the Lord! Amen. Selah! |