The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-10-20
Plymouth Pulpit.
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS DU.
TX TO AMERICA,
Sermon by Henry Ward Bcccher.
[MrfsLinn Eninn.1

~. TO AMERICA,
Sermon by Henry Ward Bcccher.
TChrtstian Union.l
"But 20 shall receive power, after TINT the Holy
Ghost Is c"ine upon y"n nnt ye shall lie Witnesses unto
HE both In Jerusalem, and In oil Judca, and In samlu-
ria. and unto the uttermost part VI the carlh."-
ACrs IL, s.
This opened the gate. Until the time of Christ the
spirit or the Jewish people WAS inclusive, centraliEing
crntripetal. From TINT prriod ID b, came Centrifugal.
Before, 1t was, aide here" Afterwards. go ye
out" AS We c~"nfnc children. In their early years,
to the home and the school until they are equipped by
knowledge aud by growing years, and then send them
forth to their Hes work, >, Israel WAS kept at sclopl
md ut home until tho tullnnrss Of times calnr; and
then the Command was, Go preach the G .spel to the
utttrmn6t parts the earth; and that injunction was
hid upon disciples Of Christ simply ass PERMISSION,
not q, an official duty 10 he performed by Apostles;
the spirit Of the Christian disciples is indicated In the
command Of Christ, Freely ye have received, freely
giv-,t; and as n miro receiving the full Hash Of the
sun throws 1t bnck again to all the .eyes that behold,
80 1t is the Christians duty, universally, without
sectarianlsm or exception, to impart to those that DC
destitute that which makes them rich, stroag and wise,
1t iSa part therefore, Of our duty tn SEQ to 1t that the
gifts that have c"Inc to ns through Lord Jesus Christ,
and have built Ills up In the household and In the com.
,nunity. are not lacking any where throughout the world
certainly not In avn hand.
Sine fifty or seventy years ago there arose abroth
~. '"O
American Board Of Commissioner for Foreign Mis.
si"ns, tho American Bible Society, tho American
Tact SOcirty. and the American Missionary Society.
or these four great associations, that undertook to
afford Instruments t"r the churches to opcrnte witlal
upon the nations, the two which perhaps were moro
urgent than either or the others have, by the lapse Of
time or chnngcof circumstance, gone int the Cd, rank.
There WAS n time when 1t was not the Interest. 81 pub.
fishers to publish either Bibles ar rel gions books, and
the Bible So"iety and the Tract Society had Oh actual
call OF Providence to supply them; but In the advance
Of Christian civilization publishers have now begun
to supply the Bibles that are lacking, and religious
literature Is becoming popular literature.
l do not say that either OF these two great societies
ahOuld diminish Its efforts, or pass ont Of existence:
but there Is no such need OF them to-day as there WAS
when they were called into being. On the other hand
the foreign mission WORK and tho home mission work,
!mperiously needed as they were ut that time, nre fir
more necessary to-day. L. Is no part Of my object tn
choose between. these two 1t Is not necessary to
determine which is the more important. Your sym
rathy nlny run with the other BY force of circumstance
without m"oting the question Mt all CD to their relative
assendency II 10 c~ccrtatnly trnc that tho american
church Rhh American civilization have received more
tnan inc roielSm NiAsiohary Society mas ever gwen.
All the funds, all the men, Ill the heroic women TINT.
f"r more than hhll a 20 Jury, have gone forth from Int
of our niiust 'hto foreign 'nhds haFc yielded 70 us
morn than they nave yielded To those foreign lands.
They have exalted Inc type Ml piety among US. They
havs enlarged our c"nceptions OF duty. They have
taken the American church out OF provincial relations
and put u lnD ey'ntatnE Win the largest conceptions
OF tho New Itstaliienn. The held Is the world =:
and 1t is impossible for the whole church To have
been exalted In It's temper nId plan Of fui n in this
wise and have tho effect confined simply 10 religion.
It hiss gone far to nOll the whole people In every
respect; snd We have received n hundred fnld back
for every grain that We have sowed.
But In the providence Of God, our own country has
b.comc. as Il were a word. Our continent Is so yn. 4.