Smyrna times., 1894-12-12
The Worlds Harvest Time.
NOT THE THE TIME To RELAX 1
LABORS.

NOT THE THE TIME To RELAX IN
LABORs.
Presiding Elder Smith preached
aud strongly sunday morn
ing at the Methodist Church, having
for his subject the great harvest field
and this the harvest time of the gospel,
hasing his discourse on the address of
Christ to his disciples in the incident Of
the woman at the Well of Samaria
Say not We, there are yet four months
aud then cometh harvest behold | say
unto your, lift up you eyes and look ON
the fields, for they are white already to
harvest"
The history of this incident in the
SaviOurs ministry was aptly stated
mparatively, as applicable to the
present state Ot the world and its re-
ceptive condition for the new order of
things that follow the promulgatiOn of
the gospel.
The noted historical fact in this con-
nectiOn is the great development of |
religion and science in the past 100
years. In that time have come nearly |
all the discoveries in art and science |
during the Christian dispensation. So !
it has been in carrying out the divine |
command of preaching the gospel to all |
nations
For ages the Christian religion was
confined to a small part of the globe. !
In fact before they began to work for
their fellow man in other and less fa-
VOred countries, il was hard to keep
it in healthful vigor among themselves.
Ii took years Of earaest persuasion to
induce many churches to do anything
for the outside world.
The missionary work in the way of
bringing men out of paganism into the
better and higher life as inculcated by
the gospel has all been within the CEN
tury and the most of it in the last Gfty
years; and that of the redemption and
elevation of women from their secluded
and degraded condition through the
efforts of the WOmuu's Foreign Mis-
siOnary Society, within the past twenty
five years.
The walls of partition that for CEN
turies shut out Christianity from the
old countries have been battered down
or scaled, and the liberalzing influences
have been marked bOth for improved
morals and as a promoter ofcommerce.
The missionary stations everywhere
worked as leaven in this particular, in
working out the brotherhood of man
kind. The seed planted by the mis-
sionary opens the way not only for the
church, but the school master, the ply
sician and the tradesman.
Thus are the citadels of ignorance
and superstition being weakened in the
| countries of Asia, the dark continent
of Africa, the Isles of the South Seas
and the South lands of our own hemi-
| sphere. The countries of Asia pre-
sented the most determined barriers,
but superstition is giving way before
the superior light and life as dissent.
mated from the missions.
In China there are many missionary
stations, and converts are now mum
| bered by the thousands, one of the
cities alone, Shanghai, having seven
| presses running constantly printing
| Christian literature.
Japan stands ont prominently as
nation ready for progress. Some three
| centuries ago the Roman Catholics got
a strong footing in this country, but as
seems their custom everywhere, soon
began to meddle with civil affairs and
endeavOred to get the government
under their control. This caused the
nation to rise up and expel them after
a great loss of life, from the country,
refusing thereafter to have intercourse
with Western countries This was the
condition Of things when our Com.
mOdOre Perry visited that country in
1852 to demand reparatlon for injuries
to our seameD, compelling them to
make treaty and the revolution ten
years later which did away with the
Tycoon and Feudal system, and re-
stored the MikadO. Japan has grown
more in one generation than any Eu-
rOpean nation in century. The
United States aud its customs have
served as models and it welcomes the
missionaries and teachers Forty years
ago when Perry put them in friendly
relation with our nation there was not
a newspaper in the country; now there
are 1000 And 40 ready do they seem
to be to fOrsake Buddhism. that follow
ing the war it would not be surprising
if Japan you'd not be announced a
Christian nation by proclamation of
the MikadO.
India is the marvel of the progress OF
missions. Besides the metaphysics of
their false faith n great hindralee hRs
been caused by the rigid notions Of
cast, but despite all these things the
mist is giving way and the people see
with clearer vision. There are now, as
the OutgrOwth of the last generation
two annual conferences as the result
alone OF tbs n. F. missionaries sent
from this country, and the natives are
accepting the new faith in greater
numbers than the missionaries have
time to baptse them.
10 Rome, the seat of the Papal power
} when the Pope was "a Temporal ruler
as we'll as presiding over the church, a
protestant could not take his bible, on
entering Italy. Now there are twenty
places of Protestant worship in the
same city of the Vatican. Thus is the
t freedom Of the individual and the &C,
0 ceptance of the new light emitted from
7 the simple teachings Of the grea
7 Master, the great characteristic of the
century,
The argument deducted was tina
the fields were "white to harvest.
8 This seemed to be the condition Al
never before in all quarters OF tn,
globe. II is the masters work, anC
the reapers must be maintained. Th'
s speaker closed with a strong plea L
sustain these Outposts of the grea
q Christian army that is marching TOT
q ward to victory with greater assurance
than ever before, whatever may Do tp'
temporal exigences of the times JUS
q now IN the way of giving.