The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-05-07

the oId war Ir,ss'ef death. but there was
famine in Ireland. and the SnS, Thaf
was loaded with 500 tons OF ,attIe
hin once covered with smoke - Tsn
,sar covered with Easter h~osannas: lnaa
ship, constructed TO battle England. - -
forth over the waters to carry Pa.,sr
some of her starving SUBJECTS bes1C
than sword into plowshare. better 10
smear into pruning hook. was that oiu W
friEate turned into a white Wihkeu 80
of resurrection to roll away tne SUI
Sr,vn the mouth of Ireland's sepuichef;
on like GRAND five years & the Snip
Leo nut out with many tons OF 1000 ,oa
famine struck Russia one SATURDAY
aftarnoon on the deck OF that steamer as
she lay at Brooklyn wharf. a wonuFous
scene took place A committees OF ~
Kings Daughters had decorated tne snip
with streamers and bunting. Arnerlca"
and Russian flags Ihou-
sands of people on the wharIs anu on -
decks Joined US in invoking GOD oisSslhs
on the cargo, and the long meter DoNo-
logy in "Old hundred" sounded granuly
up amid the mastS and ratllnes. Ta'ihS
had the joy of seeing that snip nus Cohe
secrated we had the additional JOY OF
standing on the docks or ST petersburg
when the planks of the relief snip Were
thrown out and the representatives. Oh -
municipalities and OF the royalty Went
aboard her. the long freight train NJ the
same time rolling down 10 take the food
TO the starving. and on alternate cars OF
thar train American and Russian flags
foaing. But now the hunger in India Is
mightier than any that Ireland or Russia
ever suffered. Quicker ought TO De the
response and on so vast a scale that inc
one ship would become a whole fiotll!a-
New York sending one, Boston anolner'
Philadelphia another, Charleston anotheI;
New Orleans another. Then let them All
meet in some harbor of India. What a
peroration of mercy for the nineteenth
century, / would like TO stand on the
wharf at Calcutta or Bombay ana see
such a fleet come in. With what JOY II
would be welcomed, The emacSated woulu
lift their heads on shriveled hands ana
elbows and with thin iips ASK, 4 y
coming-sometfing to eat?" And whole
villages and towns, too weak to Walk,
would crawl out on hands and knees TO
get the first grain of corn they could
reach and put II to their furnished Ups.
May l cry out for you and for others To
those sufferers; Wait a little longer:
bear up a little more, O dying men OF
India. O starving woman, Q ernaciated
babes, Relief is or the way. and more
relief will soon be coming: We send it in
the name of the Asiasic Christ, who said
L was hungry and we fed me;
as We have done it unto one of the least
of these, my brethren. ye have lone 1t
1nto me-
Christian people of America. l call your
attention to he fact that we may now, as
never before. by one magnificent stroke
open the widest door for the evangelical
ton Of Asia. A S~tupendoIS obstacle In
the way of Outstanding Asia has been
the difference of language, but all those
people understand the gospel of bread;
Another obstacle has been the law of
caste, but in what better way can we
teach them the brotherhood of man.?
Another huge difficulty in the way of
Christianizing Asia has been that those
people thought the religion we would have
them take was no better than their Hin
dooism or Northumberland, but they will
now see by this crusade for the relief of
people /. 400 miles away that the Christian
religion is Of a higher, better and Srander
type than any other religion, for when dld
the followers of Brahma. or Nishnu, or
Buddha, or COnfuciuS, or Mohammed ever
demonstrate like interest in people on the
opposite siGa of the world? Having taken
he bread of this life from our hands. they
will be more apt to take from us the ore:Ad
of eternal life. The missionaries of differ
ent denominations In India at furty-SiX
stations are already distributing relief
sent through The Christian Herald. Is il
not plain that those missionaries, after
feeding the hunger of the body, will be At
better advantage to feed the hunger Il
the soul? When Christ, before preaching
to the 5000 in the Wilderness, broke for
them he miraculous leaves, he indicated
that the best way to prepare the world
for spiritual and eternal considerations
is first to look after their temporal inter
ests. oh, church Of God in America and
Europe, This is your opportunity. We
have on occasions Of Christian patriot
ism cried. America for God!' Now let
is add the battle shout, Asia for Cod
In this movement TO give food to starving
India 1 hear the ristling of the wings OF
The Apocalyptic angel, ready to fly
through the midst Of heaven prOclaining
10 all the kingdoms and people and
tongues the unsearch .ble riches of Jesus
Christ.
A DIVINE CIRCLE.
And now L bethink myself of something
/ never thought Of before. L had noticed
that the circle is Gods favorite figure.
and upon that subject L addressed you
sCnle time ago, but IL did not occur to me
until now that the gospel seems to be
moving in a circle. 1t started in Asia,
Bethlehem, an Asiat.c village; Jordan, ar
Asiatic river; Calvary. an Asiatic noun
tam. Then this gospel moved on to Eu-
rome witness the cpDDplS and chnTchpa
and cathedrals and Christian universities
of that continent. Then it crossed to-
and sung its way across our continent.
1t has crossed to Asia, taking the Sand
wich Islands in its way, and now in ali
the great cities on this coast Of China peo-
There Is a FountaE Filled With Blooc.~
for you must know that not only have t1e
Scriptures been translated into those
Asiatic ongues but also the evangelical
hymns.
Ny missionary brother John transit ted
some of them into Chinese, and Mr.. Glad
Jesus, Lover Of My Soul" which he mad
himself translated into Greek. The
of his life in India is there now in syirit.
converting and saving the people by the
hundreds Of thousands, and the gospel
will move right On through Asia unsh the
story of the Saviour's birth will nav be
made known in Bethlehem, and tho story
Of a Saviour's sacrifice be told anew on
anu dIOullu S1OUIbt calvary, ana tft story
of a Saviours ascension be told anew on
the shoulder of Mount Olivet. And then
do you not see the circle will be ccnplete?
This glorious circle, the circle of the earth.
This old planet, gashed with earthquake
and scorched with conflagration and torn
with revolutions, will be girGled with
churches. with schools, with universities,
with millennial festivities. How cheering
and how inspiring the thought that we
are, whether giving temporal or spiritual
relief, working on the gme Of such a
circle, and that the Christty mission
which started in Asia will keep on fits
way until it goes clear around - the place
where II started. Then the earth will
have demonstrated that for which 1t was
created. and as soon as a world has com
pleted its mission il dies. Part of the
heavens Is a cemetery of lead worlds.
Our world, built to demonstrate to the
worlds which have been loyal TO God the
awful results Of disloyalty. SO that nom
Of them may ever attempt 1T say our.
world, having finished its mission. nay
then 20 out Of existence. The ccntcti
| fires of the world which are burning eat
rapidly toward the crust may have reaa.fr-
ed the surface by that time and the Ta0ie
1 nrnrharN- no fllfllaI Witch declares yN..