The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1902-06-18
THE PRESENT MISSIONARY oPPoR.
TUNlTY.


Baptist Foreign Missionary Society Of
the Central Association, held at Gro
ton, May IS, 1902.
We have left behind us by year,
the nineteenth century with all its
wonderful missionary achievements.
The century Of Carey and Marshman,
OF Judson and Rice, Of Livingstone, Of
Boardman, of Patton, OF Ashmore, and
| Clough. This nineteenth century,
| which we are proud to claim as our
own, has been rightly called "the great |
missionary century Of the world ;
but shall we, therefore, women of the |
twentieth century, sit idly by. looking
complacently at the duties of the past
we'll performed2 Nay, is not our re-
sponsibility all the greater because Of
to carry the work OF the Master on |
toward its glorious destiny? Behold |
/ have set before thee an open door |
and no man can shut it for thou hast |
a little strength and hast kept my
word and hast not denied my name"
We listen to the prophecy OF the in
spired seer and we see its fulfilment
o or all the world to-day. "Christ for
the world, we sing, the world to Christ
we bring with fervent prayer. The
Christian Church no longer needs to
pray, "Loed, open the doors for u.s."
for in all the wide earth, there is no
place where the door of opportunity is
not set wide open for the entering in
of the hosts Of the Lord.
"Pray ye therefore the Lord of the
harvest that he will send forth labor
ers into the harvest" This. the oft
uttered prayer OF the last century is
also answered in q marvellous degree. |
The fields verify are white, but are |
the laborers few? Let the army of |
earnest Young volunteers training for |
the Masters work, whose voices ring |
out with one accord, "Here am |, send |
me" be our reply.
God truly wants men. He will al
ways want more and more.
God wants women true-hearted,
earnest Christian women. But in this,
our twentieth century, God wants our
consecrated purses. A larger and
more liberal impulse for Christian Civ
ing F.; this is our greatest need. Let
us look closely at some of our mission
airy opportunities. What hath God
wrought? In China, Japan, India, in
the Philippines. in Africa? What re-
sponsibility has God laid upon us. the
women of the present?
China, torn by internal dissensions
and wet with the blood Of native Chris
tan martyrs, 10, 900 of whom died for
their faith and our faith, yet holds out
pleading hands. In that vast empire,
once barren land, closed practically |
to all Christian workers, are now at |
least $4,000 believers, bearing the |
fruits of the spirit love, Joy, peace,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance. The brave, unfiinching, |
loyal zeal of our missionary workers |
in China and also of the native Chris |
tians under such pressure as We can
not conceive of, has shown to China |
that Jehovah God reigneth and has
opened the way for more aggressive
| work from his followers. Verify, "the
blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
church"
What of Japan? Japan, the most
alert, progressive nation of the Orient. |
We have been called upon from time
to time to come to the relief of famine |
stricken countries and II NV, in the be-
ginning OF this present century, we
read of strange new famine in fair |
Japan. A terrible famine for theWord |
of God. This is our missionary oppor-
tunity here shall we grasp it? Japan
has come to realizing sense of the
unfitness of the religions of her faith
ers to satisfy her soul hunger and is
throwing away the husks. Shall we
not send to her the Bread of Life? |
Wonderful opportunities are placed |
before us in this fair land. We read
of the advancing march of civilization
with which Christianity has always
gone hand in hand Railroads are
over all the land. A new university is |
being built for women remarkable |
occurrence in an oriental country,
where the lot of woman is ordinarily at |
least cheerless, if not positively I'M
happy one. With women enlightened |
and cultured, what may we not accom-
plish for Japan?
India, poor sin strick en-, down trod- |
den country, how great are the oppor-
tunities of doing helpful work for the |
Master in thee! Carey's gold mine is
yet not all explored. We marvel at |
all Christianity did for India in the |
nineteenth century, but greater yet |
may be our work if we but have faith |
in God.
India, the land of girl wives, all un-
fit for the sacred duties of motherhood |
of child widows, despised, deprived
even of the natural right of every wo-
man to be chaste and pure. Can we
not tighten their burdens? Woman OF |
to-day, God calleth thee to at least |
bring into their lives the comfort of |
Christ's eternal presence.
And shall we see the flag of our
country floating over the Philippine
Islands and not accompany it with the
standard of the Lord firmly planted
in the hearts of these waiting peopleP
1t is the "White Mans Burden. The
stirring words Of Kipling's beautiful
poem, are just as applicable to our ma
ton in its relation to the Philippines,
as they were to Great Britain in her
relation to her dependent heather peo-
ple in India