Address to the St. Andrew's University Missionary Society : on the duty of personal engagement in the work of missions

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ADDRESS

ST. ANDREW'S UNIVERSITY MISSIONARY
, SOCIETY,

ON THE DUTY OF

PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

IN THE WORK OF

MISSIONS.

BY JOHN URQUHART,
Late of the University of St. Andrew's.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The following Dissertation, by the lamented John
Urquhart, will not be an inappropriate addition to the
excellent and seasonable article which immediately pre-
cedes it. It is a subject of absorbing interest at all times,
especially so at the present crisis ; and we need line
upon line, and precept upon precept, to make and to
keep its proper impression on our hearts. The follow-
ing extract from the Life of this extraordinary youth,
will show in what estimation this essay was held by the
Society before which it was delivered, as well as by the
gifted biographer. We earnestly recommend the entire
work to the serious perusal of every student of Divinity.

EDITOR.

Extract from Ortne's Memoirs of J. Urquhart.

" Very far be it from me to write a single sentence
that might diminish the force, or detract from the ear-
nestness of this energetic and eloquent appeal.

" On the society to which it was read, it produced a
most powerful effect ; and on their minutes they have

142 ADVERTISEMENT.

made the following entry of that impression :— ' Never,
probably, in any association, had such an address, on
such a subject, been before delivered. To say that it
was most eloquent, most solemn, most affecting, the pro-
duction of a mind of mighty grasp ; sedulously and con-
tinuously directed to one single object of mightiest im-
port, may convey to those who heard it not, some idea
of the impression produced by it.'

" I trust it is destined to touch the hearts of many,
whom the living voice of the author never could have
reached. I envy not the understanding, or the feelings
of that individual, who can read the address without ex-
periencing a higher emotion than that of admiration.
It is impossible not to be struck with the deep earnest-
ness of the advocate, the cogency of his reasoning, and
the affection and simplicity of his manner. Here are
' thoughts that breathe, and words that burn,' on a sub-
ject the most momentous which can engage the mind of
man."

ADDRESS.

I AM tired of arguing with the opponents of the mis-
sioiiary cause. It is my intention this evening to
address myself to those who profess to be its friends.

I can easily conceive a mind so biassed by prejudice,
as to take a distorted view of every argument that can
be adduced on this, or indeed on any other subject
whatever; — or, a mind moving in such a sphere as
never to have had these arguments fairly presented to
it; and, therefore, I am by no means disposed to speak
roundly of all who refuse to lend their aid to missionary
societies, in a tone of unequivocal condemnation. But
I do confess, I cannot imagine a mind which has deli-
berately weighed the arguments, and candidly consi-
dered the facts of this important subject, still refusing to
embark its energies or its influence, in some way or
other, in the work of evangelizing the nations of the
earth. Indeed, the cause of Missions has already met
with such able defence, and the arguments of its oppo.
nentshave been so often refuted, that they themselves
seem to be almost sick of the very sound of their oft
repeated objections. And, more than this, as if to show
that the subject is quite impregnable, even at those
points which the adversaries have never assailed, the
M 2

144 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

advocates for the promulgation of Christianity, like the
advocates for the truth of Christianity before them, have
ever brought forward fictitious objections of their own
invention, in order to demonstrate with what perfect
ease such objections could have been met, had the adver-
saries of the cause adduced them. And truly after the
champions of the Missionary cause have done their part
so well, it seems altogether needless still to keep up the
debate witht those who seem determined to resist the
appeals of the most cogent reasoning, and event o set at
nought the authority of human testimony. For of those
who persist in denying the efficacy of missionary exer-
tion, it may in truth be said, that they "will not believe
the great work which the Lord is working in these days,
even though a man declare it unto them." Surely,
then, we cannot justly be charged with a want of cha-
rity, when thus compelled to the belief that, after all, this
pretended opposition of judgment on the part of our
adversaries, is nothing but a screen for the coldness and
indifference of their hearts.

I turn, therefore, altogether at present from those
who oppose these exertions of Christian philanthropy,
and address myself to the friends of Missions. I ad-
dress myself to you, who, by being the members of a
Missionary Society, profess yourselves the advocates
and supporters of this benevolent scheme; and, more
especially, to those of you who, by entering on a course
of study preparatory to the duties of the Christian
Ministry, have thereb}'' professed to devote yourselves
unreservedly to the service of God, in the Gospel of his
Son.

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 145

And I do not address you, my friends, for the purpose
of again repeating those unmeaning compliments that
are wont to be presented to the subscribers and office-
bearers of missionary societies, at such meetings as the
present. I do fear that there is too much of the tone of
this world's flattering adulation in the public language
of our missionary assemblies. The doctrine of this
essay may be unpalatable, but I believe it to be true,
that the members of missionary^ associations have abso-
lutely done nothing, when we consider the high de-
mands of a cause whose object is the spiritual and
moral renovation of a world. Neither do I address you
for the purpose of picturing forth in the colouring of a
romance, the high devotedness of the missionary cha-
racter, and lofty achievements of the missionary life.
This has often been done already; but like most other
poetic descriptions, while it has excited the imagina-
tion, it has failed to influence the conduct. It may
have caused him who listened to indulge in some fairy
dream of exile and martyrdom for the sake of his reli-
gion and his Saviour; while all the while it is quite
possible that not only he, but even the very person who
drew the splendid picture, may have remained alto-
gether unimpressed with the sober convictions of a duty
his imagination had set forth in such glowing charac-
ters. In reality, this has been the case. One cannot
help wondering, that of the many who have pleaded so
earnestly for the cause of Missions, and have declaimed
so eloquently concerning the high dignity of the mis-
sionary enterprise ; so few have been found who were

146 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

willing to go forth to the combat. It seems to me, that
while the enemies of Missions have altogether despised
and vilified the missionary office, the advocates of Mis-
sions have erred in the other extreme, by regarding it
with somewhat of a sentimental admiration, and by
describing it rather as a work of supererogation than of
duty.

We have been too much accustomed to regard the
missionary life as an undertaking of most extraordinary
magnitude, and as reserved for a few of the most daring
and devoted spirits in the race of living Christians ; and
thus we easily succeed in pushing from ourselves the
duty of personal engagement But we would do well
to view the matter apart from this borrowed splendour,
which, by its glare, obscures rather than brightens the
object of our contemplation. After all, the greater part
of the work must be accomplished by ordinary men.
And I am persuaded, if we but take a candid and sober
view of the case, we shall begin to suspect that the
matter may come home in the shape of duty, even to
ourselves. Great as are the sacrifices the missionary
makes, they are but small when we take into account
those sublime truths which we believe as well as he.
And it is of the very deepest importance that we should
bear in mind that those very sacrifices are represented
in the Bible, not as the fruits of an overreaching faith
which may fall to the lot of, but here and there a mind
of apostolic endowment ; but as the test of simple disci-
pleship itself " If any man come to me and hate not
his father, and mother, and wife and children, and

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 147

brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he can-
not be my disciple." If by these, and the remarks that
follow, I can impress the mind of any one of you with
the duty of engaging in this great undertaking, let me
warn such an individual of the delusion of putting such
convictions away from him on the ground that this is a
work far too high for him to engage in ; or under the
deceitful impression that his shrinking from such an
enterprise is a sign merely that his faith is weak, and
has not yet acquired sufficient strength to warrant his
engaging in a work of such difficulty and self-denial.
If the words of Christ be true, which I have just
repeated, to shrink from duty, even in the face of all the
trials that present themselves in the contemplation of
the missionary life, does not argue a weakness of faith
merely, but a want of faith. The man who is not ready
to part with country, and even life itself, at the bidding
of his Saviour, is not worthy of the name of a disciple.

Now were it not that the minds of all of us, in regard
to this subject, are under the influence of most overpow-
ering and bewildering prejudices, I am sure I should
only have to lay before you the present state of mission-
ary operations, in order to convince you of the duty of
taking the question into most serious consideration,
" whether you may not be called to engage in this work
of evangelizing the Heathen?" You give your assent
to the duty of sending the Gospel to pagan countries,
and by your subscriptions you profess yourselves wil-
ling to co-operate in the accomplishment of this grand
object. And, so far, you have done well. You may

148 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

have thought you were doing all that was in your
power for the furtherance of the great design, and you
may have never once suspected that there was any call
for greater services on your part. But if I can con-
vince you, that there is such a call, then, on the sim-
ple score of consistency, you are bound to listen to it,
and to obey it. For, if this matter demands our atten-
tion at all, it demands our deepest attention ; if it has
a right to our services at all, it has a right to our most
devoted services. If you are not prepared to make
greater sacrifices in this cause than you have ever yet
done, when manifestly called to do so, then the little
you have done will only serve most clearly to condemn
you. Others, who deny the importance, or disbelieve
the efficacy of the missionary project, may have some
plausible excuse for standing aloof: they are at least
consistent with their own profession. But, assuredly,
it does convict us of singular hard-heartedness towards
our fellow men, if our zeal for their conversion can
carry us the length of giving up a few paltry shillings,
which were not surrendered, it may be, at the expense
of a single confort, — and that our zeal can carry us no
farther. We might pardon, though we could not
defend, the incredulity of the individual who would not
believe that some family near was in a state of starva-
tion; but we should utterly detest the sordid avarice
and unfeeling apathy of the man who, by giving some-
thing, should just show us that he gave credit to the
tale of suffering, and who yet, by the worthlessness of
the trifle which he gave, should let us see that the

IN TIIE WORK OF MISSIONS. 149

wretchedness of his neighbour had made no suitable
impression on his heart.

Now, I say, there is a call for much more devoted
services on your part, than you have ever yet rendered
in the work of evangelizing the nations. If we are
disposed to estimate the prosperity of the missionary
cause from the sums that are annually poured into its
coffers, we should indeed augur well of its success.
But you are aware, that after ail, money is but a subor-
dinate part of the apparatus. It may be the main
spring of the machine, but it is not the machine itself.
The agents, who go forth to the work, are the effective
part of the mechanism. And what avails it, that we
have obtained a good moving power, if there be no
machine to set it in motion. A good will to the cause
of Missions has been on the increase, but there is every
reason to fear that the spirit of missionary zeal is on the
decline. It has grown more fashionable of late to sub-
scribe to missionary societies : in consequence of this,
the revenues of the different societies have been so
increased, as would enable them to extend their plans,
could they but find a sufficient number of zealous and
devoted agents. But such is the languishing state of
missionary zeal,' — so little is there of what Home would
call " a passion for missions," that it is with consider-
able difficulty the present stations can be supplied ; and,
in such circumstances, it is altogether vain to talk of
extending the plan of missionary 6perations.

When first the proposal was made to send the heralds
of salvation to the ends of the earth, the Christian world

150 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

received the proposal with eagerness and joy. A splen-
did equipment was fitted out, and many were desirous
of sharing the honours of the victory that was so confi-
dently and so ardently anticipated. But the novelty of
the missionary enterprise is gone ; and it would seem
that the spirit of undaunted chivalry which a scheme of
such lofty sublimity, and such disinterested benevo-
lence, at first excited, has languished, and well nigh
expired, under the heavy pressure of those difficulties
and discouragements which an actual experiment has
brought to light.

The Scottish Missionary Society is in want of
labourers ; — the London Missionary Society is in want
of labourers ; — the Church Missionary Society (to the
shame of the churchmen of England be it told) have for
some time been compelled to gather the missionaries,
whom they send forth, from the other countries of
Europe. And, to sum up all, even among the Mora-
vians themselves, so famed for the devotedness of their
missionary zeal, that spirit of other days, which could
brook slavery and death for the sake of Jesus, would
seem to have died away. Of them, it once could be
said, that, no sooner was a missionary station vacant,
than there was an eager competition who should have
the honour to supply it; for then it was counted an
honour, for the love they bore to Christ, to succeed to a
dreary station, amid eternal snows, or to fill the places
of those who had fallen by the murderous hand of the
savages for whose sakes they had left their country and
home. But now there is a difficulty in finding persons

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 151

willing to go even to stations of ordinary comfort aind
ease. In this state of matters, what avails the increase
of missionary funds ? Do you not feel that there is a
loud call for something more than mere subscriptions ?
And to whom can this appeal be made, but to the mem-
bers of missionary associations? And on whom can it
be urged home more forcibly than those who have pro-
fessed to surrender the whole energies of their minds
and their bodies to the promulgation of the religion of
Christ?

This is a statement of facts, and such a statement, I am
sure, would be quite sufficient to call forth the willing offer
of his services, from any one who believes in the efficacy
of Missionary exertion, and who is not tied down by
some peculiar circumstances to his native land, were it
not that the mind is driven from its convictions of duty,
by prejudices and affections, the strongest that can in-
fluence our nature — and I will even say, the purest that
can oppose the will of God. Accordingly, I have found
in my own experience, that even those who are most
liberal in their donations to Missionary Societies, and
most active in spreading among their friends, a spirit of
good will to this work of Christian philanthropy, im-
mediately abate their ardour, and turn upon another
tack, so soon as the duty of personal engagement is
pressed home upon themselves, or even upon any of their
near relations. Those who are most strenuous in their
arguments for the general cause of Missions, instantly
start objections to the proposal of themselves becoming
Missionaries. A thousand plausible arguments irame-
N

152 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

diately present themselves. Our own country has much
higher claims upon us, — all are not yet converted here.
Besides, the success of Missionaries has not been very
great ; and we think we can do more good by remaining
at home. Such arguments, when in the mouth of an
opponent to the general cause of Missions, none so for-
ward to answer, or so eloquent in refuting as they ; and
yet to the very same refuges do they betake themselves,
when we merely carry out a little farther, and make a
new application of their own previous assertions.

Nor do I at all wonder at this, though I cannot apolo-
gize for it. The ties which binds us to our country and
our home, cannot be so easily broken. The love which
we bear to parents, and sisters, and brothers, and a
whole circle of affectionate friends, is perhaps the strong-
est passion that has its seat in the human breast; and
Christianity, far from impairing, refines and strengthens
the attachment. The land which gave us birth, and
where our fathers lived before us, — and the companions
of our youth, — and the affectionate guardians of our ten-
der infancy, — are objects which most, of earthly things,
deserve our love. There is but one, and only one Being
in the universe, whom we are commanded to love with
a stronger affection. It is little wonder, then, that when
feelings like these, — so strong, that no time or distance
can ever efface their influence; and so pure, that piety
itself imparts to them a tone of deeper tenderness, that
when feelings like these exert an opposing influence,
even the most devoted Christian should be startled at
the first proposal of a duty which speaks destruction to
them all.

IN THE WORK OP MISSIONS, 153

It is on this account that I feel the statement of facts
I have laid before you, may not be sufficient to call forth
your services to the work, which loudly calls for them,
and in which you profess to take an interest. It is only
on this account that I feel that the statement I have
made needs to be enforced by arguments. For I be-
lieve, that to a mind which could take an unprejudiced
view of the matter, no reasoning would be required to
convince him of the urgency of the appeal, and no ar-
gument, however strong, could add to the force of the
simple statement.

I feel, however, that it is necessary to reason with
you. And the main argument on which I would insist,
is founded on the commandment of our Saviour : " Go
ye and teach all nations," This has often been re-
peated by the advocates of Missionary exertion; and
though it may thereby have lost something of its fresh-
ness, it has yet lost nothing of its force. I consider it
still the strong hold of the Missionary cause. But I am
inclined to take a more extended view of the precept.
Not only do I look upon this little verse as the great
foundation on which all arguments for Missions must
be received, — but as the only scriptural authority which
we can have for preaching the Gospel at all. I can
conceive many other inducements, which lead men in
our own land to profess, or pretend to be the ministers
of God. But I believe, that every truly Christian min-
ister in the land, must rest the whole authority of his
commission on this and similar commandments. Now
jou must aU perceive the bearing of this argument It

154 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

places our own country exactly on the same footing with
the other nations of the earth, — and it makes the work
of the Missionary abroad, and the Minister at home, one
and the same work. The loorld is the field; and the
preaching of the Gospel is the work to be accomplished.
And it is only as far as Great Britain is one of the
'■'■all nations" specified in the terms of the commission,
that we have any warrant from Scripture to preach the
Gospel here. Grant me but this view of the subject,
and the question comes home with irresistible force.
How comes it that all the labourers should have con-
trived to cluster together in one little corner of the vine-
yard ? What special order has been given by the Lord
about this little island on which we dwell ?• Or, in what
does the vast superiority of its claims consist ? It is
nothing to my argument, that in this country, an eccle-
siastical establishment has poured forth its benefices
over the land, and has connected with the profession of
the Christian Ministry, the comforts of civilized life, and
the enjoyments of a refined society, — or the opportuni-
ties of literary and scientific retirement. With the hire-
lings that have crept into the Church, at present, I have
nothing to do. Neither is it any thing to me, that nu-
merous sectaries with which some of us may be con-
nected have spread themselves over the land, and are
struggling for the superiority. I have no sympathy
with the outcry that is made by each rival party, about
the interests of their cause. I know of no cause that de-
mands the homage of our hearts, and our services, but
the cause of Christ. Now, strip our country of these,

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 155

and other accessory distinctions, which I think all of
you will admit, should have no control in giving it a
higher claim upon our Christian services, and then tell
me wherein it differs from other lands, in as far as the
scriptural argument for the preaching of the Gospel is
concerned.

I am persuaded, that with all our knowledge of
geography, we are accustomed, from irresistible preju-
dices, to rate the extent and importance of our own
country much too high. Now, in order to dissipate
this delusion, and give the subject a more manageable
appearance, let us try if we can take a reduced sketch
of the world, diminishing every thing proportionally,
just as a land surveyor finds it convenient to draw upon
paper a reduced representation of the estate which he
has been measuring.

Let us imagine, that instead of the world, a single
country had been pointed out by our Lord as the field of
action. And, since we are most familiar with our own
land, lot us just suppose that the particular country spe-
cified, was the island of Great Britain : and that, in-
stead of the command to go forth into all nations, and
preach the Gospel to every creature, — the order had
been, to go throughout all the counties of this island,
and preach the Gospel to every inhabitant. I find, that
on a scale which would make the population of Great
Britain represent that of the world, the population of
fiuch a county as Mid Lothian might be taken as a suf-
ciently accurate representation of the population of our
own land.

n2

156 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

In order, then, to have a just picture of the present
state of the world, only conceive, that all who had
received the above commission, some how or other,
had contrived to gather themselves together within
the limits of this single county. Imagine to your-
selves, all the other divisions of Scotland and Eng-
land immersed in heathen darkness; and that by
these Christians, who had so unaccountably happened
to settle down together in one little spot, no effort was
made to evangelize the rest of the land, except by col-
lecting a little money, and sending forth two or three
itinerants, to walk single-handed through the length and
breadth of the country.

I shall be told, however, that illustration is not argu-
ment ; and so distorted have our views been on this sub-
ject, that you will be disposed to think this a perfect cari-
cature of the matter. But I deny that this is an illus-
tration at all. It is merely a representation, on a re-
duced scale ; and I believe you will find it to be a correct
representation of the state of the world. It is no argu-
ment against the conclusions of the practical mathema-
tician, that his calculations have had to do not with the
very objects or doctrine themselves, about which he de-
termines, but with proportional representations of them
which he has delineated. The very same thing holds
here. And if you but grant the correctness of my re-
presentation, then the deductions made from it are every
whit as conclusive, as if our minds could so expand, as
to do away with the necessity of the representation, and
could gather their conclusions with as much ease from

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 157

the consideration of the objects themselves about which
we reason.

You will permit me, therefore, to argue from the repre-
sentation a little farther.

Were I to ask you what, in the case we supposed, you
would imagine to be the duty of the ministers who had
clustered within the limits of a single county, when their
commission embraced every county in the land? You
would at once reply, that they ought at once to spread
themselves over the face of the country, till every cor-
ner of the field shared equally in the benefit of their
ministration. Now I am almost afraid to transfer this
question from the representation to the actual case be-
fore us. Not, but that I believe I might most legiti
mately do so, but because I feel that I cannot carry along
with me the sympathies of the Christian world. In
fact, I ani arguing at present for a much humbler effort,
than the fair answer to such a question would land us in.
To return to our ideal field of operation, let us suppose,
that even the little band of itinerants began to fail, and
a difficulty was found to recruit their numbers. Let us
suppose, that the funds collected were sufficient to send
forth more if any could but be found who were willing
to go. Let us try if we can fancy any thing in the
shape of an excuse, which our professed evangelists
could allege, for still refusing to quit the little territory
to which they had all along so pertinaciously adhered.
Some might say they did not think it was the proper
time to go forth. You might meet them with the un-
limited command of their Master, and especially his

158 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

promise, to be always with them in the work to which
the commandment called them. Others might say, they
did not think those who had gone forth already, had
taken the right plan, and might even urge, in support of
this, that actually the two or three preachers who had
been sent forth had not yet converted the country. The
direct reply to such would be, — The error of another is
no apology for your disobedience. It is only a louder
call to you to fulfil the command of your Lord, by some
plan which will be more agreeable to his will. Such
excuses might be framed by those who had never co-
operated in the little effort that had been made. But
can you conceive, that those who had given their entire
consent to the plan itself, and had been zealous in send-
ing forth others, could have any imaginable excuse from
shrinking back, when their personal services was called
for? Let us try if we can invent any. They might
tell us, there were yet many within the little sphere they
had allotted to themselves who were yet unconverted.
They might bear witness to their own negligence, by
telling us, that actually there were still some within
their own sphere of action, to whom the message they
had received from the Lord, had never been fairly de-
livered. They might express their apprehension, that if
they began to go forth over the face of the country, the
little spot which they had hitherto cultivated with so
much care, might hereafter be overlooked in the wide
field which lay before them, and come to be altogether
neglected. And some might even have the effrontery
to tell us, that they quite felt the urgency of the call, to

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 159

go forth over the face of the country; but for their part,
they had rather stay at home, and persuade others to go.

You feel that there is something very ludicrous in
the very description. There is such an utter discrepan-
cy between the command and the professed obedience of
it ; — between the work to be performed, and the scanti-
ness of the means that are expected to accomplish it ;
between the obvious calls of duty, and the frivolous ex-
cuses by which they are evaded. Now, would this were
but an imaginary picture ; but it must recommend" itself
to all of you as too true a representation of the present
state of the world, and of the kind of obedience which
the disciples of Christ render to the last command of
their Lord and Saviour.

I have thus tried to set before you, and illustrate my
main argument, that the world is one field, and conse-
quently that every minister of Christ should be ready to
go to that part of the field wherever it be, which
stands most in need of his services. You must perceive
that we have taken it upon ourselves to circumscribe
most unwarrantably the limits of our commission ; and
that in these days nothing adequate to the fulfilment of
our Lord's command has so much as been attempted.
I have pressed upon you the loud demand that there is
at present for labourers, in order to maintain even the
comparatively feeble effort which the Christian world
has of late put forth ; and you perceived that the objec-
tions to this appeal just hinted at, appeared sufiiciently
frivolous. I am aware, however, that on these, or simi-
lar objections, the whole force of your refusal to obey

160 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

this call, must rest ; and, therefore, I feel it necessary
to take each of them singly into more serious considera-
tion.

I shall say nothing concerning the argument that the
Heathen are not in a fit state for receiving the Gospel,
and other similar objections. These are adduced only
by the opponents of missionary societies. I take it for
granted at present that I am addressing those who give
their full assent to the duty of sending the Gospel to the
Heathen, and who give their decided approbation to the
plans that are in operation for the accomplishment of
this grand object. The arguments which I mean to
consider at present, are those which are urged by the
supporters of missionary operations, when a demand is
made for their own personal services. Among the most
prominent of these, is the assertion, that all are not yet
converted in our own land, and therefore our own coun-
try has the first claim upon our regard. The terms of
the argument are very true, but the conclusion drawn
from it I believe to.be false. It is a lamentable fact,
that so many in our own land are not under the power
of the Gospel. But why? In by far the greater number
of instances, because they will not come unto Christ
that they may have life. Have they not had the mes-
sage of mercy proclaimed to them, and what more can
the messenger do? Have they not been plied, sabbath
after sabbath, with the call to repent and believe the
Gospel, and if they still remain impenitent, what more
can man accomplish ? can we hope to do more than apos-
tles, with all their miraculous powers, and their unwav-

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 161

ering faith could effect ? When the Gospel was declared
by those extraordinary men who had trod this earth in
the company of their incarnate God ; and who, after he
left them, were visited with the supernatural endow-
ments of his Spirit, — the account of their success is,
that " some believed the things which were spoken, and
some believed not." And as long- as the Scripture doc-
trine of election holds true, it will still be found where-
ever this Gospel is proclaimed, that some will receive
the message, and some will most obstinately reject it.
Far be it from me to adduce the doctrine of election as
a reason why we should ever cease to ply with all our
earnestness, and admonish with all our tenderness, the
most hardened unbeliever, or the vilest scoffer at sacred
things. But I am quite warranted in adducing it, in
order to show the fallacy of the expectation, that we shall
ever be able, by any concentration of our energies to any
sphere, however narrow, to convert all who dwell within
these limits, to the truths of the Gospel. We do well to
consider whether by such expectations we be not oppos-
ing the purposes of God. He has given us no reason to
indulge the hope that he will choose his people exclu-
sively from our nation, although that nation has been
favoured very highly. He has said that he will take
one of a city and two of a family ; and it is said of the
redeemed in heaven, that they have been gathered
" out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and na-
tion."

But it may be said, that I am not giving a fair view
of the case, for that very many in our own land have

162 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

never had the message of mercy fairly proclaimed to
them. This is too true, and a disgrace it is to the min-
isters, and even the private Christians of Britain. How
easily might the numerous evangelical ministers of the
land, or at least the evangelical ministers among the dis-
senters, who are hindered by no ecclesiastical authority
from preaching the truths where they think it has not
been fully declared : — how easily, I say, might they dis-
pel the ignorance that yet darkens the spiritual atmos-
phere of this enlightened country ? But, after all, I do
not feel the force of this claim when weighed against
the claim of those who are literally perishing for lack of
knowledge. I do believe that every inhabitant of our
land has heard so much, as makes him utterly inexcu-
sable if he be ignorant of the way of acceptance before
God. If he sit under a minister who perverts, or but
imperfectly declares the Gospel, he has the standard of
truth in his hand, and by the Bible he can, and he ought
to try the doctrine, whether it be of God. If he have
not a Bible himself, he has seen it in the possession of
others, or at least he has heard that there is such a book,
which many believe to be a revelation from Heaven.
And, finally, even in the haunts of the most abandoned
depravity, where ignorance and wickedness may have
spread a gloom as dismal as the darkness of paganism
itself: — even there the wretched inmates are still remind-
ed of a God and a Saviour ; if by nothing else, yet by the
weekly return of a day of unusual stillness, and by the
ofl repeated and well known invitations of the sabbath
bell. But when you urge as an excuse for remaining in

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 163

this land, that some within its borders are yet ignorant
of the terms of mercy. Do you, indeed, mean to wander
from parish to parish, and illumine every dark corner on
which the light of truth has not yet shown ? Or will
you venture, where none have dared to venture before
you, within the receptacles of vice and infamy, to pro-
claim the tale of a Saviour's sufferings to those who may
never have heard of his name ? If you will not, or can-
not do these things, then this argument is no argument
for you.

Closely connected with this objection, that all are not
yet converted in our own lemd, there is the apprehension
lest a spirit of missionary zeal should damp the spirit of
exertion at home, and that our own country should suf-
fer from our attention to foreign lands. The spirit
which excites the apprehension for the eternal welfare of
our countrymen, deserves the highest commendation.
But depend upon it the fear is quite unfounded. I am
quite willing to allow that our kinsmen according to the
flesh, have the first claim upon our Christian sympathy.
It is true, that as the messengers of Christ, and as far
as the command of our Saviour is concerned, the world
is all before us, and no country has any peculiar claim
upon our regard. But as men who are Hnked to those
around us by bonds so strong as those of relationship,
and all the other connexions which form the cement of
civil society, there is no doubt something very peculiar
in the claims of our native land. To true patriotism I
am willing to allow all the eulogiums, that poets and
orators heaped upon it. The love of our country is a very
O

164 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

noble affection. But there is a thing which has been
misnamed patriotism, which consists not so much in
loving our own country, as in despising- and disregarding
every other. But surely it but ill accords with the libe-
ral sentiment of the present age, to despise any brother of
the human family, because he has not sworn allegiance to
the same sovereign with ourselves ; or because, forsooth,
he happens to be separated from us by some river and
mountain, or imaginary political boundary. Time was
when, in our own little country, every petty chief was a
monarch; and whatever may be the associations that
romance has gathered around these olden times, every
generous mind must look back with detestation and dis-
gust on that narrow minded spirit of clanship, which
could tie down the affections of an individual to the few
families that happened to bear the same name, or to
serve the same lord with himself, and which pronounced
him the noblest of his clan, who hated with the deadliest
malice the whole world besides. But what is this pre-
tended patriotism but the dross of this same detestable
epirit. We surely have not need to be told in this age of
enlightened liberality, that God has made of one blood,
all nations that are on the face of the earth. And if the
spirit of the age cannot reclaim us, Christianity at least
should reclaim us from such bigoted narrowness. A
spirit of true patriotism is in perfect harmony with a
spirit of the most extended liberality. Your benevolence
must overflow the narrow channel, ere it can dilate it-
self over a wider surface. Just tell me of a man that he
is a general philanthropist, and I can immediately con-

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 165

ceive of that man, that his family and social affections
are stronger than those of other individuals. There
may be exceptions to this rule, it is true; for it is quite
possible to find monsters in the moral world, as well as in
the natural. All I assert is, that it is the general ten-
dency of an extended benevolence to unite us in closer
affection than ever, to those objects which have a near
relation to us. And, indeed, in the late extension of our
Christian philanthropy to other lands ; this principle has
been most beautifully illustrated. Whence sprung our
tract societies, our school societies, our itinerant soci-
eties, and the other institutions that are now in operation
for instructing the ignorant in our own land. They
have all originated in the impulse that was given to
Christian philanthropy, by the formation of the Mis-
sionary Society. The stream of Christian benevolence,
when it sought its way to the ends of the earth, first
filled and overflowed the reservoir that had contained it.
The very consideration of the case of those who were
farther removed from them, made the Christians of our
land take a deeper interest in the situation of those who
were connected with them by stronger ties. It is on
this account that I would have you to extend your views
still farther, till not only would I have you think of our
country as a little spot, when compared with the world ;
— that so you may feel the close relationship that exists
between ourselves and our fellow-countrymen; but I
would have you think of this globe itself, on which we
dwell, as but one among the myriads that travel with it
in their mighty journies, through boundless immensity.

166 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

And then will you begin to feel that the whole human
race forms but one little family in the universe of God.
We shall thus yet forget those little distinctions which
the ambition and avarice of man has made upon the
face of our globe. We shall feel ourselves to be deni-
zens of this earth, and the inhabitants of the universe.
We shall feel that we are united to our fellow-men by
stronger ties than the indefinite relation which subsists
among all the creatures of God. Are we not united by
the ties of a common nature ? Are we not involved
in a common calamity, in that we have forfeited the fa-
vour of our God, — a calamity which, for aught we know,
may have happened to our race alone, of all the families
of the universe ? And is not a common pardon offered,
and has not a common Saviour died for us all ?

I have thus tried to answer the objections that spring
from an overweening partiality to our own country, and
from the ignorance and unbelief that still exists there.
But by far the most triumphant answer to all these ar-
guments is founded on the authority of apostolic exam-
ple. Paul the Apostle had a much stronger attachment
to his country, than any modern patriot can boast. He
wished himself even accursed from Christ, for his breth-
ren's sake, and yet he gloried in being the apostle of the
Gentiles. But there was feelings stronger than patriot-
ism, that bound the early disciples to the land of their
fathers ; — feelings which none but an Israelite could ex-
perience. Their country was the favoured land of Hea-
ven. Their countrymen were the chosen people of God.
And if any man urge as an excuse for lingering in the

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 167

land of their nativity, that all their countrymen had not
yet embraced the Gospel, assuredly the apostles and early
evangeUsts might have used this plea. But far different
was their conduct. They thought it enough to have
fairly offered the terms of mercy to tiieir countrymen,
and when some rejected the message which they de-
livered, so far from thinking this a reason why they
should still remain, they considered it as the very signal
for their departure. They thought that those who had
never had the offer of Code's favour, had now a prior
claim upon their regard ; and they addressed their coun-
trymen in such language as the following: — "It was
necessary that the word of God should first have been
spoken to you ; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourself unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the
Gentiles."

There is still one other argument, perhaps the most
plausible of all, against engaging in the work of missions,
and to which I beg very briefly to advert. It is, that in
the present state of matters, we can do more good at
home than abroad. A minister in this country, it is said,
may make as many, and sometimes more converts, than
the missionary in a heatlien country. And the question
is triumphantly put ; — ^Whether the soul that is converted
at the distance of some thousand miles from our land be
more precious than the soul which is converted in our
own neighbouThood ? And whether it be not a matter
of as great thankfulness and joy, that a soul has been de-
livered, from a state of self-delusion, though living in a
country called Christian, as that a heathen has been
o 2

168 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

turned from idols to Berve the living God. The argu-
ment has a great semblance of, fairness, but I think we
shall find it to be unsound.

In the first place, it is not true, that in general the
success of ministers at home is greater than that of those
who labour in heathen lands. And, secondly, though it
be allowed that tlie conversion of a soul is not more ac-
ceptable to God, because of the place where the conver-
sion is wrought, yet there is much in the case of those
who first turn to the Lord from a nation of idolaters,
that may well fill our hearts with unusual joy and thank-
fulness, inasmuch as these are the first fruits of a hith-
erto uncultivated field, and may be regarded as the ear-
nest of an abundant harvest. In the same maner, you
can easily conceive, how a few grains of wheat, though
comparatively little worth in a cultivated country, might
acquire an immense value in a new colony, where no
other seed could be obtained. Besides, there is much in
preparing the way. We are not to suppose, that the
conversion of a world is to be the work of one genera-
tion. The ground must be cleared, ere we can so much
as sow the seed, and this must be a season of toil, and
difficulty, and discouragement.

You would perceive the fallacy of the objection now
under consideration, in almost any case but the one be-
fore us. Let us suppose an accommodation of our
Saviour's parable of the vineyard, to the present circum-
stances of the world. Imagine to yourselves all the
husbandmen to have settled down in one little fertile cor-
ner of the vineyard, and to have left all the rest with the

IN THE WORK OF MISSIONS. 169

soil unbroken up, covered with briars and thorns, and
trodden down by the beasts of the forest. When called
to account for their negligence, you may conceive them
to answer : — ' Our fathers have planted vines, and they
have yielded fruit luxuriantly ; and we truly thought,
that we were acting best for your advantage, in choos-
ing that spot for our labours, where the fruit was most
abundant.' Who would not see in such a case, that
their own ease had been consulted, and not their mas-
ter's interest ? And who could help the suspicion, that
they wanted to press into their own cup of the overflow-
ing vintage ?

I have thus tried to set before you the present state of
the missionary cause, and the loud call which there is
for efficient labourers. I have stated to you the great
argument, that the world is one field, and that our
Saviour's command is not fulfilled, so long as the dis-
tribution of his ministers over this field is so very un-
equal. And, finally, I have tried to answer some of the
objections that are made to personal engagement in the
work.

The matter, some time ago, presented itself very for-
cibly to my own mind, and I felt that it at least demand-
ed my serious consideration. As I have proceeded with
my inquiries on the subject, the difficulties seemed to
have gathered thicker on the prospect, but the convic-
tions of duty have grown stronger too. The arguments
for personal engagement, seem to me to have acquired
the strength of a demonstration. I have, therefore,
resolved, with the help of God, to devote my life to

170 PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

the cause; and I have only solemnly to charge every
one of you, who are looking forward to the ministry
of Christ, to take this matter into most serious conside-
ration.

Some of you may think that I have not satisfactorily
answered the objections which may be urged against
personally engaging in the work, — and other objections
may possibly present themselves to some of you. But
I ask you, seriously, to examine whether there do not
lurk under these objections, a want of devotedness to
God, and a secret love of the world. Why is it that
there is an eager competition for the ministerial office in
our own land, where a comfortable salary is annexed to
the preaching of the Gospel? And why is it that the
love of country can be overcome, whenever any worldly
advantage is to be gained ? But when the Gospel is to
be preached where there is no reward, but the reward of
winning souls to Christ : and no honour but the honour that
cometh from God ; — there alone the ranks of the labour-
ers are thin, and there deficiencies can with difficulty be
supplied. I mean no uncharitable insinuations respect-
ing your motives, but I ask you, if too much reason has
not been given for the outcry that has been made against
priestcraft, by the worlding or the infidel !

Do not think I wish to press you into this service.
It is a maxim, which much experience has taught the
Moravians, never to persuade any man to become a mis-
sionary. I have laid the matter before you, and I leave
it with your own conscience, as you soon must answer
before God.

IN THE WORK OP MISSIONS. 171

I have the happiness to mention to you, that your res-
pected secretary, of last year, has given himself to the
work; and I know that there are some present who
have felt the urgency of the call.

I am not without the hope, that even from this unno-
ticed association, a little band of devoted labourers may
be raised up, who shall carry the name of their Saviour
to the ends of the earth, and shall meet in another world,
to receive that high reward, which is reserved for those
who have left father, and mother, and sister, and bro-
ther, and houses, and lands, for Christ's sake, and the
Gospel's.

!»

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