The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-10-30
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR,
Prayer Meeting Topic For the Week
Beginning Oct. 81, 1909.

~ sA-SSISsiS al lle u
lan1s.-Isa. xxi. IA; l6-5a.
The striking mission verse Of these
paragraphs is. blessed are We that
SOW by all waters, that send forth
thither the feet of the OK and ass
lisa. xxxii. 2O,. Palestine had its dry
and wet seasons. In the dry season
the soil of the banks and nearby land
became baked and hard from the sun.
When the approach OF rain was dis
cerDed this hardened land was broken
up by THE feet Of the OK and the ass"
Seed was scattered. and when the tor.
rents came and the streams overlooked
their banks the seed sank into the
sofrened soil and brought forth fruit.
But the prophet here praises breadth
Of sowing-"beside all waters" The
reason is clear. If the sowing were
limited in extent the place selected
might for some reason be unfruitful.
But If il were sowed along all banks
and stream 1t could - all be un-
productive: hence he would be blessed
or happy who "Sowed beside all wa
ters." for he would be assured of a
crop somewhere. if not at n place.
A1t a. NV W. "S sttb' ~ : 'N ilft
applies to the sowing Of spiritual seed
the word Of God.
IT must be sowed everywhere. beside
all waters. for we know not where it
will produce results and where il will
not. God alone knows this. and He
assures us that our sowing will not
be in vain. Some seed may fall on he
beaten path. some among thorns. some
on the rocks. but some in a worldwide
scattering will fall upon good ground
and bring forth good fruit.
If we SOW beside all waters the is
lands cannot be neglected. for they are
entirely surrounded by water. More
over. they have had special need of the
gospel. Living almost alone in scat
tered parts of the great deep. Stand
erS have usually sunk to b lowest
depths of moral and spiritual decrada-
tiOn. The lowest forms Of civilization
and Of religion have existed among
them. Caunibalism has widely pre-
vailed. Vessels from other parts OF
the world have been wrecked. and
those aboard have been cruelty mis-
treated and murdered. Such being the
state Of affairs. they who have car
ried the gospel TO many islands have
been heroes indeed. All may be called
.'heroes Of missions.' Many Of them
have faced death frequently. and many
today wear the crown Of m%artyrdom.
John Williams was a heroic island
missionary as well as the pioneer in
the work. In 1916 he went TO the So
,;otr ;sJo~1, or1 lotor v-hi1o trvjnO
to SOW the gospel seed in the New
Hebrides. was murdered by the ma
tives. who mistook him for a cruel
trader. Patterson. the bishop Of Mel
anesia. was put to death by the ma
tives.
John G.. Patton passed through untold
horrors in the New Hebrides and more
than once stood face to face with
death. Lyman and Munson in 1884
went to the East Indies and were al
most Immediately murdered by the in
habitapts of Sumatra. Robert Chal-
mers labored in New Guinea for years
in constant danger from cannibals and
PRISONERS. At last he was murdered
by Il tribe on his first visit to them
with the gospel. These are only a few
names of the long roll of heroes of
missions to Islands. Yet their endur-
ance of perus and death should lead
US TO recOnSecrate ourselves to the
cause of missions by all waters.
The heroism of these and other brave
mel has been wonderfully successful.
They died. but the seed they planted
lived and produced abundant results.
Paul's first missionary fruits were
the islanders Of Cyprus. Eug-
land was transformed from barbarism
by the gospel. Patton in his long life
Of service in the New Hebrides did
great things for God and his benighted
island people. The conversion of the
islands Of New Zealand, Madagascar.
the south sea islands and Hawaii H.
the miracles of modern mis-
sions. In the least expected places
God has wrought His most wonderful
works. What an encouragement this
should be to missionaries and their
BIBLE READINGS.
Nall. i. 10: rs. ii: lxxii. 1919: lisa.
xiii. 1-:3: Ii. 1-6; Matt. xviii. 10, 20;
Mark xvi. 10: John iii, 10: Acts xiii.
LIZ; Rom. <. 1915.