The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-10-06

who should accept this salvation, were in
that mighty fellowship of Christ Jesus, to
be made one Nevertheless, this missionary
Gospel, this Gospel to be preached to all the
NATIONS, was to be emphatically gospel
of separation, gospel of election.
and gospel calling out and settin
apars peculiar pssple. 1t was TO
1s Ia this respect, the precise counterpart
Of that OLD dispensation. The very promises
that appeared in that economy of law,
run everywhere through and stamp this
economy Of Grace covenants" and prom
ises children Of promise" "people OF God'
IA peculiar people," ga holy ma
tion,-a kingdom of priests; who
are these, but the yernacular of the Gospel;
the perpetually recurring molds in which
the Aoy spirit expresses His thought
ana purpose concerning this salvation.
La other words, the supreme end
in this age which the Holy Spirit
proposes to accomplish, by this wit
Messing OF the Gospel to all nations
IS TO call out from these nations, q people
chosen in Jesus Christ, before the founda-
ton OF the world, people redeemed by his
blood, people regenerated by. his Spirit, a
people appointed to be joint heirs with him,
q people made partakers Of the Divine ma
tnre, people constituting the body and
bride OF the Lord Jesus, set apart in this
present time to be the witnesses of his Cos
pei, the revealers of his grace. and. in
that world that is to come, destined to be
the transformed and the transfigured re-
hections of himself, and through all the
ages that are yet to be, to share with him
his royalty and his glory
Let us make no mistake here. We stand un-
der e.pierced handand the bleeding side We
know this cross over our heads means blood
shed, death suffered for the sins of the
world. We compass the nations and ages
in our thoughts and with him that hangs
here our hearts reach out, far and wide with
ardent desire, with inexpressible longings
that all men may know this Christ, may ac-
cept this gospel, may possess this eternal lifo
But Gods desires are not Gods DEGREES.
The pitying Christ eager to save ALL is the
Christ rejected and hated ana crucified by
those whom he seeks to save.
The amazing invitation: "Come unto
me all We that are weary and | will give
you rest,' sounds, indeed, in all ears but
only now and then Nichodemus, or
woman at the well, or a thief on the cross
makes response.
From pole to pole sounds forth the bless
ed invitation. "Whosoever will, let him
come,' and perchance q score or two
among thousand, or a thousand or
two ameng the tens of thousands or the
million, make response. The spirit even
attends the word, incites believers to
prayer and toll; but how scattered and how
scant the revival; how few and how wide
apart the Pentecosts.
This,in the very nature of the case, this is
a gospel published to all, inviting all, arging
all, and yet gospel compelling none and
saving only thos3 who freely accept it and
willingly believe.
We plant, we water, He, ard He alone
gives the increase. This is the doctrine of
the text and all Scripture.
Barnabas and Saul are sent by the Spirit
TO Cyprus. They preach the Gospel from
one end of the island to the other, preach
il faithfully, preach it in one spirit; yet no
where do we fad a record of any revival
as there taking place. No church of Cyprus
appears in the history. If the Governor
believed he was the only person that can
be reckoned as the fruitage of the first mis-
sionary tour of these great apostles in
that island. But was this missionary toll,
this proclamation Of thes gospel, hence a
failure? Aye, if it was q failure for the
Christ who preached the same Gospel, to be
driven of his own countrymsn, with stones
in their hands, from the work he songht
to do If he failed at Nazareth, then Bar
nabas end Saul failed at Cypress.
Paul gives us the true explanation, and
he may have had this first missionary trip
to Cypress in mind when he so testified.
No. thanks be unto God, who always caus-
eth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh
manifest the SAVIOR of his knowledge by us
in every place. For we are unto God
sweet SAVIOR of Christ in them that believe
and in them that perish. III Cor 2 IA Is.
This is not Pauls explanation of the fall
use, this is the Spirits own utterance about
the whole missionary work. It holds good
through the years from that time to this. If
the millions of China, India and the Dark
Continent, shall accept the tidings, shall be-
delivered from the appalling curse of heath
ernism and become the children of the King
dom, blessed then is the work, and unutter-
ably glad may they be, who have been
permitted to carry the message, and we that
have been privileged to send them forth.
But if these millions of heathen do not re-
ceive this testimony; but turn away
from the lifted cross to their bloody super
stitions none the less acceptably in the sight
of God, none the less effectively as regards
the coming of the Kindom, will these
heralds of the gospel have done their work.
Judson wrought four hard and painful years
before single Karen SO much as asked the
way OF life. Morrison toied seven long years
in China before he saw his first inquirer. The
missionaries of the Londen Society spent ten
years IN Madagascar without known conveF-
sion; and fifteen years rolled away at Tahiti
before the first native voice was heard in pray
er. Yet Judson was as faithful the first year
as the last and pleased his Master as well by the
service he rendered So of all the rest and of
that mighty unnamed host who, through all
the centuries have had like experience of CIV
il witness everywhere dispised. Abel,
Enoch and Noah testified to a world that hurl
ed in their faces its mockeries of the God they
worshiped, and through all the centuries of
their witness they neither saw revival, nor
meeting nor inquirer. Yet, there they stand,
their names heading Gods roll of honor--that
royal 18th chapter OF Hebrews-snd their
euiogy penned by God himself and hung up
for all the ages to read
Abel and Enoch and Noah
testified to the world that hurled
in their faces the mockeriss of the God they
worshipped, they neither saw revival nor
PRAYER meeting in all their generations, yet
there they stand. their names on Gods Roll
of Homer, iu the 11th of Hebrews, and
Gods own utterancc gwen to the eulogy, so
of all such witnesses. 1t is fruitage to be
exceedingly desired; to preach the gospel,
and have three thousand souls accept the
first sermon and come crying "What must
we do to be saved?" But it does not ap-
pear that Peter ever repeated that psalm
with like results. 1t is, however one that
must conTol the heart as nothing else can,
to welcome the thirsty thousan is of eager
converts.
Now it must be grand to give a lifetime
TO such service as that of our honored broth
ers Titus Going; but such honors and ser
vices are not permitted to all the messen-
gers. II is not the messenger, or the appar-
ent success, upon which the privileges and
rewards of the master turn; but on the
faithfulness of the services that are render
ed. And the day when the great reckoning
comes, it will be found that, whether the
toilers wrought few or many works, no labor
has been in vain, and in that day, nothing,
nothing is surer than that among the radi-
diant wreaths of Heaven none will be more
radiant than that which will encircle the
brows of such toilers as Henry Martin and
Harriet Newall. Does any one feel op-
pressed now, with the thought that the work
may leave US with comparatively little
fruitages l do not wonder. How any chris
tian heart can stand before these millions
how any christian heart can read the stories
of the centuries since our Lord, and not be
burdened, cannot see. The mysteries of
Ged's plan and of Gods methods Of Govern
ment, is not for you or for me to know. One
thing sc can always say, standing by this
side Of the Sen of God,-we can say, 81 know
that God pities man and in the fulness, infin-
ite measure of His being. longs for eur saliva
ton. And / know that we have this Gospel
and this Goenal ahaIi he uraachad and this