Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-12-31
''THB TRIUMPH
Or MODERN MISSIONS WAS TEE SUBJEOT
OF AN INTERESTING SERMON
By Rev. Dr.. Cunningham Yesterday Morning at
the First Presbyterian
Church

OfluR you BOOu tluluBS VI SASNN JSJ'
Following is az extract of the discourse:
behold, bring you tldings OF great
Joy" This was the cheering announce
meet Of the angel to the shepherds at
the birth OF Christ. "For unto you is
born this day in the city OF David
Savior, which Is Christ the Lord" The
angel did not stop when be said IL
bring you tidings OF great joys he
added, which shall be ito all people,
What wonderful missionary text this
isl 1t has 10 it the very essence or the
gospel. There is nothing 10 it narrow,
limited, selfish. tine good tidings Of
great JOY" must be given 10 ''al the
people," How far this has been accom-
piished is a pertinent question at this
advent season, aud amid the Christmas
songs and rejolcings.
Ii is the peak that scars highest and
commands the widest horizon that IS
sought by the daring and determined
mountaineer. From such point OF
view there is something more than more
range and scope; at glance the vision
sweeps over a whole landscape and sees
il n its proportions and relations. Sucn
a high point of view is our text this
morning, Good tidings Of great JOY,
which shall be to all people" Now
what progress has the church made In
sending the good tidings of great joy
TO all peope?" We have the answer In
the 'Trlumphs of Modern Missions,
which is my subject The facts and
figures l propose TO gather aud set
forth as compactly as possible.
First-The distinguished statistician.
DR.. Dorchester, tells there we're only
fifty millions of Christians in the year
1000 A. d. Within 500 years thereafter
there had become one hundred millions.
AT the opening OF our nineteenth cen
tury there were two hundred millions,
and now there are four hundred and
! twenty-five millions. So that In this
last one hundred years the increase has
| eoualled the ingathering OF all the pre-
yious centuries together. Therefore it
is more than poetic flight where
| Isaiah ioresses the success OF ChrlSts
reign: "Of the increase OF his govern
ment aud peace, there shall be no end.
| TIE great mission Of the Church is. not
to civillze-that is a necessary incident
of great value-but TO ChristianiZe the
nations. ChristianiZe, l say. The
thoughts VIII ch the word sug'
gests an unutterabe. Christionize-to
make the nations Christ's nations; 10
make individual men Christs men; TO
nnur pis life through the dead heart OF
Al humanity and make the whole
body. That is our mission, au
mission To the eye OF naturat
practicable and absurd. Let
s oysl ocean OF
survey the world
Ia. PASS by Rome and
Atheu and Antioch, and
AlexanL. Asalem. We have
heard of place called Nazeretn. We
find it at last nestled among the hills OF
GaIliIee. lisa poor village. All the
inhabitants toiling peasants. AS we
pass through the streets we are attract
! ed TO a lonely cottage by the sound Of
| the saw and the plane. We enter; there
bending oveI his work we see youth
| ful artisan, clad 10 peasant garments, his
hands hardened By toll. he raises his
head: His eyes fall upon us. We are
| thrilled: we feel II is the glance OF a
| God. We see him lay down hammer
and axe and saw. We follow Him TO
the Jordan, to Capernaum, to Jerusalem.
We hear His wondrous words, we be
| hold His miracles of healing. We
stand by the cross, wherein De dies as
a felon. What amaZes US Is that this
! Galilean carpenter from the beginning
of His teachings uniformly expressed
the most unwavering confidence that
the religion which He taught was FOR
"all people," and would become uni
yersal and endure forever. He ap
| pointed apostles and evangelist 10 pro-
claim His doctrine TO all nations. He
! declared Himself the Savior, and Mas
ter, and King, and Judge, OF all man.
! kind, aad His last command was "go
| preach the gospel TO every creature"
! Second-An encouraging evlC ence OF
| the triumph OF modern missions that
! the Bible is IN fair way TO be given
TO the nations Of the world. During
the century one hundred and sAty
millions Of copies, and portions ha' e
been issued 10 two hundred and twenty
| tongues, comprising the languages and
| dialects Of nine-tenths OF the human
race. From 1880 % 1890 the average
translat ion OF the Blble was FIVE trans
lations per each year. or fifty trans.
lations ia decade. The issues
from Che presses OF the British
and Foreign Bible Society are pile OF
! Bibles and Testameuts equal To height
10 the + ffel Tower. In 1892 TWO hun
! red and eighty missionary societies re-
ceiys4 more than $4,000. 600. There
are now seventy-two Womens' Foreign
Mlssi onsry Societies. The various
Missionary Societies maintain the work
OF evangeliSation hopefully and success.
| fpllv. and as rule guide their affairs
with an enterprise and fidelity uRsur-
passed in any calling.
For the first time in history our gen
! Grafton sees the Christian rel CLOS thor
! ougHly organized for aD advance upon
All the Pagan world Even 10 Africa
railroads are projected from the south
and The east, and a telegraph line from
! Cairo to the Cape. The new appliances
for u,ostal communication, for financial
exch Ange, for rapid printing and for
| safe land swift travel are bringing ell
the world into a community Of iqterest
and fife II is impossible for savage
and barbarous nations to stand before
the fnroads OF Western civilization.
To-day nearly 1000 protestant mis-
sio5 aries and $1,000 native laborers are
on heather soil. Fifteen thousand dis
tin6t points are occupied by them. The
native and regular missionaries, whose
setvices are actually paid, far exceed
se keral thousands the entire army and
nRyv OF the United States. In 1892
| ,Rare were 81. 600 protestant Christians