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because, when eradicating the weeds, the good grain would be liable to injury. They must grow together till the harvest, and then they shall be separated for ever. The idea, therefore, of a perfectly pure church on earth does not seem scriptural: and let not members of churches take for granted, that their being so, necessarily implies, that they are true members of Christ's body. There is a danger that those who try to make their churches as pure as possible, should instil the dangerous error, which has just been noticed; viz. that every member of their church is really converted.

There we leave the hint in passing, and remark, that by the phrase, "the Church," in this discourse, is not meant any section of professed Christians throughout the world; or in any country, whether great or small; whe ther connected or unconnected with any government, in any quarter of the world: for we believe that the church of Christ, of which we speak, is not confined to any nation; but is placed amongst the nations, for the good of mankind, irrespective of political or geographical distinctions; and that her efforts should embrace the whole world, without the narrowness of feudal bigotry, or pagan-derived notions of patriotism. God's world is the Christian's country; and he should feel none of those violent partialities for particular spots of his heavenly Father's territory; nor any of those malevolent antipathies to other regions than those in which he was born, which are so generally felt by men who know not God, and still considered amiable or pardonable in those that do. Now, since the church of Christ is, as we believe, set in the midst of the nations, for the benefit of the whole world, she should proportion her efforts more equally than she has heretofore done, according to the wants and necessities (of a moral and religious nature) which exist in different parts of the world. She has, it is to be feared, become too much nationalized and entangled with the politics of the several European governments; and has imbibed the idea, that her exertions, and her cares, are to be narrowed or extended by the political limits of the several nations, where her members re

side; and so she has been led to neglect, or perform very carelessly her duty to the rest of the nations; and has not communicated to them Christ's Gospel. I have spoken of the church as one; but if we consider her, as the truth requires, made up of many local churches, or assemblies, or congregations of God's faithful people, and use the term church in the plural, our reasoning will be the same. Even in this day of missions, the churches, whether national or not national, do not proportion their efforts, in that equitable degree which the necessities of our Father's world require; and the churches cannot in justice claim the character of good stewards of Christ's mysteries, nor of obedient soldiers of the Captain of salvation, nor of loyal subjects of Zion's King, for they have not promulgated those mysteries, nor obeyed the orders given, nor sought to enlarge the kingdom. Your preacher this day appears amongst you as a representative of Eastern Asia; and knowing, as I do, the command of God our Saviour to the churches, to make known the Gospel to every human creature ; I am astonished to find Christians so often referring all their missionary efforts to charity, in the ordinary sense of that term. A missionary sermon, is a charity sermon. Now the churches cannot conceal it from us, that Heaven has made it their solemn duty to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth; and if they thought rightly, they would feel as Paul did, when he said, "Wo to me, if I preach not the Gospel." Yes! were matters as they ought to be, we should hear from the bench of English Bishops, and from the Scotch General Assembly, as well as from every Pastor of congregational churches, thoughout the land, a sincere confession-" Wo to us, if we assist not to proclaim Christ's Gospel to the ends of the earth."

Charity indeed! Here is a world of guilty rebels; and the world's god has put into the hands of men, pardoned and saved by mercy, a proclamation of mercy and pardon to all who will accept of it; and has given a solemn injunction to go and proclaim it, to the ends of the earthto every creature-to each rebel; and these pardoned re

bels think it, in themselves, a charity to do so: and this proclamation has been in their possession eighteen centuries, and yet one half of mankind has even now scarcely heard distinctly of it; so indolently and carelessly have successive generations done their duty. And there are professing Christians in our land, and ministers of Christ's religion, who think they have nothing at all to do with Christian missions, which are designed to proclaim this divine mercy, to the ends of the earth: and who think that the Lord's servants must all of them stay in their native country; and that when Heaven chooses, Heaven will convert the rest of the nations by a miracle. But alas! how impious and rebellious this language, which is every day heard how insulting to common sense!

But, perhaps, say some, the Gentiles at the ends of the earth will not thank us for our message. Thank us! their reception, or non-reception of the message, their gratitude or ingratitude, are not chargeable on us, nor are they the rule of our duty. It is ours to obey the King's command; to go and proclaim it. But then, says the spiritual casuist, we shall make their case worse. They had better never hear of mercy than reject it; and therefore we had better not go and proclaim it. Oh! how shocking the presumption and self-conceit of spiritual pride. It is assumed by this objector, that man's tender mercies are greater than God's-how blasphemous! The objector assumes, that he is wiser than God; and disobedience to Heaven is justified by the assumption of being more merciful, as well as wiser than the God of mercy, and than He, who is the infinitely wise God! When driven from this ground, the caviller next comes forward, and asks, if we would have every body become Missionaries, and form a crusade, in the ridiculous sense of that term, and desert our native land? and he asserts, that there is work enough to be done at home. There are plenty of pagans at home. And a Principal of a university will tell us not to give a shilling to foreign missions, till all the work is done at home. Now,

I have endeavoured to prove, that Christ's church on earth is not limited to any political government, the extent

of which is what people commonly call home. The homes of an Englishman, Scotchman, and Irishman, were once very different; and under that opinion, they were something worse than careless about each other-they often thought it meritorious to hate each other: and they called this malevolent feeling an ardent patriotism. But now, in reference to such matters as we speak of, any part of our united kingdom is considered home: and even India, though not called home, is allowed to have a claim, as being filled with fellow-subjects. But has the great Head of the Church, either by the letter, or spirit, or scope of any thing that he or his apostles taught, ever countenanced the idea, that the Church on earth shall thus confine, by political limits, her attention and her care? Did the principles or practice of the apostles countenance this idea? The peculiar attention paid to Judea by our Saviour and his apostles, was not on the ground of that being their native country; but on the ground of the inhabitants of that country having been heretofore God's peculiar people; in which circumstance, they were not to have, and have not, any successors. Jesus threw down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, and ever since that time, the nations of the earth are all on the same, and on an equal footing, as viewed by the Christian revelation. The Church of Christ on earth has no exclusive home, but should feel at home in any part of her Father's world; and should equalize her care and anxieties for the good of the whole of mankind. She should not care less, nor use less effort for one part, than for another; unless, indeed, she had some special notification from Heaven to do so, which she has not. I think the prevailing idea of the ex-. cessively disproportioned claims of home, not supported by Scripture nor reason. As to the cavil about English Christians all quitting their native land, it is meant only as a sneer and sneers are not often easily answered, although they may be easily retorted. The answer I would give to the cavil is this, that it opposes what is not affirmed-no crusade is by me advocated; but, it is affirmed, every Christian ought to do his utmost to promulgate the Gospel.

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If the church be compared to an army; there, when a general order is given, it is expected that every officer and soldier should do his duty, which is to do his utmost, to carry that order into effect; and his utmost doings will be regulated by his station and his strength. In the general order to promulgate the Gospel, which has been given by the King of Zion to the church, every Christian is bound to consider him or herself as included. And no one can innocently stand by, and say, "this matter does not concern me." No Christian Minister can innocently say, The proclamation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, is a matter with which I have nothing to do; I am a settled Minister, a stated pastor; I need not feel any interest in it. No! every Christian and every Minister, should rather say, "This too is my concern, and God helping me, I will do something to assist." If not, how shall they, in that particular, give in their account with joy, and not with grief? How can any Christian Minister pique himself on saying, "Yes, I heard of the general order to proclaim the Gospel to every creature, and I paid no attention to it; I did nothing to assist, but I endeavoured to explain it away, as binding only on the apostles; or I tried to prove that it was impracticable, and the scheme visionary; or I endeavoured to shew, that the time of using means was not yet come, or as a French Abbé has lately said, the time has gone by." It is not true, that we want every body to become missionaries; but we want many more than have yet become so. We want the bishops, and presbyters, and pastors, and teachers, to imitate the apostolic church at Antioch, and choose from amongst themselves some of their most experienced, and wisest, and holiest men-men separated by the Holy Ghost from worldly ambition, and schemes of self-aggrandizement, and selfish notions of domestic comfort, to go forth to the nations, to proclaim the Gospel. The churches should send forth their Pauls and their Barnabases, with young men like Mark to minister to them, and assist them; and when they die, to succeed them, as Joshua did Moses; and as Elisha did Elijah, that the work may not cease.

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