Mexico weekly ledger., 1900-04-26
FOREIGN MIesIONs,

AOCh0s
FOREIGN MISSIONS.
What wonders hath God wrought In
hundred yearsl Nations that CEN
tury ago sat in darkness, behind closed
walls, sullenly, stubbornly resisting
the gospel are now eagerly calling for
the truth. Walls of stone, Of ignor-
ance and superstition, OF error and
prejudice have been as completely
demolished as the walls OF ancient
Jericho.
The church,so long asleep as regard
missionary enterprise, has awakened
to the fact that she is called now to go
into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature. The COM
mand ia ego ye" and is binding on
each Christian to go, or that being
impossible, to send q substitute. But
how few the substitutesi How meager
their supportl
/ am here reminded of the story of
the little boy who was saving the
choicest meat on his plate for bis dog.
His mother admonished him to eat
that part hims elf and save the scraps
for Fldo. He finished the meal in
silence, then, approaching the dog
with plate full Of bones and gristle
and odds and ends, said sadly: ~
meant to bring you an offering, Fido,
but 10 is only collection. So, think,
the amounts now raised to sustain
missions cannot provide many sub
stitutes, or even be styled offerings--
they are merely collections. But the
church has awakened and the outlook
for the evangelization Of the world
was never 90 bright and full OF prom.
ise as now.
When the present century began no
regularly educated and ordained min
ister had gone out 90 q missionary.
Ward was printer, Moffat a garden
or, Morrison last-maker, Marsden
and Williams bIacksmiths, but with
Carey the cobbler's clarion cali, like a
ire bell ~ midnight, began the pres
ent era Of foreign missions; and, at
the end Of the century, we find men
and women of the greatest ability and
ripest scholarship saying, "Here am,
Lord, send me-even to the uttermost
parts of the earth.n The work Of
missions is no longer regarded as the
special work Of enthusiasts, fanatics,
lunatlcs. Christian people are coming
TO feel more and more that the chief
end for which they ought to live is
the conversion of the world to Christ.
Three young men of Williams Col
lege held prayer meeting in mead
ow under q haystsck and from that
little prayer meeting sprang Ameri-
can Foreign Missions. Fearing storm
Of opposition would wreck their plans
and hopes, the trio deemed 1t prudent
at first to keep their organization q
secret. Now the very meadow Is en-
closed as q memorial park, and the
monument q place OF pill
grimage each commencement for
students and guests Of Will
liams. The missionary is receiving at
last his just need of honor. Another
cause for rejoicing at the close OF this
nineteenth century is that the Script
ures have been translated into three
fourtbs of the languages Of the globe,
even carrying light into many dark
corners where man can not gain ad-
mission.
A century ago the largest fields
were closed against Christianity. An
English official said to one who sought
to enter India 10 . missionary; "The
man who would go on that errand 10
as mad as the man who would put q
torch to a powder magazine"
Now every other faith in In
dIa Is decaying and India is
won for Christ. To-day her
famine stricken millions are reaping
some Of the blessed fruits Of Christi
anity generous purses and store
houses quickly opened at the far-away
cry Of distress.
Japan set her face like flint against
Christianity. One edict ran: "While
the sun warns the earth let no Christ
Ian enter Japan under penalty OF
DEATH" Commodore Perry steamed
into the bay of Yeddo, spread the
American flag on the capstan, opened
the bible, read and sang the Tooth
psalm, and Japan was opened to the
gospel. And the triumph OF the gos-
pei there is to-day the marvel Of the
age, the wonder of the world.
Ray Palmer said fifty years ago; 81
fancy am coming back to earth hve