tihraxy of t:he t:heolo^ical ^tminary 
 
 PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 ROBERT ELLIOTT SPEER 
 
 BV 2500 .G6 1892 
 Gollock, G. A. 1861-1940. 
 Candidates- in^wai ting 
 
Candidates-in-Waiting 
 
 A MANUAL OF 
 
 HOME PREPARATION FOR FOREIGN 
 
 MISSIONARY WORI 
 
 >;;^HV of P/?/,; 
 
 APR 1 1 
 
 IVifh Preface by the Rev. F. E. WiG^^»M;: m^l, ^ ^ -^ 
 
 Hon. Sec. Church Missionary Society. 
 
 ^' 
 
 LONDON : 
 CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY, 
 
 Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, E.G. 
 
 [all right? fe«er--ep.] 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. — Introductory 9 
 
 II. — Preparation in Bible Study 18 
 
 HI. — Preparation in Christian Work 23 
 
 IV. — Preparation in Christian Work {con- 
 
 timied) 47 
 
 V. — Preparation in Character and 
 
 Habits 60 
 
 VI. — Preparation in Things Practical ... -ji, 
 
 VII. — Preparation as to C.M.S. Principles 87 
 
 VIII. — The Missionary Call 99 
 
 IX. — Spiritual Warfare 1 11 
 
 50A0 
 
NOTE. 
 
 The greater part of this Httle book has been 
 reprinted, b}' special request, with considerable 
 additions, from a series of Articles on " Home 
 Preparation for Foreign Missionary Work," 
 which were written for the Church Missionary 
 Gleaner, and appeared in that Magazine in 
 successive months in 1892. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 During the past eleven and a-half years 
 it has been my privilege to be brought 
 into personal relations with a very large 
 number of persons, male and female, who 
 were facing the momentous question of 
 personal service in the Mission Field. 
 
 To try, in humble dependence on the 
 guidance of God the Holy Spirit, to 
 help such to discern the Will of the Lord ; 
 to seek that such a crisis of their life might 
 result in a more entire and whole-hearted 
 surrender of the will and consecration of 
 service to Him, whether His call proved 
 to be to Home or to Foreign work, — has 
 indeed been a privilege ; and has in a 
 
6 Preface. 
 
 measure compensated for the loss of that 
 heart to heart touch which the Parochial 
 Clergyman has with his parishioners in 
 their individual joys and sorrows. 
 
 But while it has often been my joy to 
 further the aspirations of such inquirers, 
 the experience gained has given me an 
 insight into the practical difficulties which 
 often beset their paths ; the crude notions 
 which sometimes characterise their ideas 
 of Missionary work ; the inadequate con- 
 ception of the requirements needed for 
 its fulfilment ; and, alas ! the ignorance of 
 Holy Scripture, and the existence of a 
 strong self-will, which may sometimes 
 accompany an ardent zeal, and a firm per- 
 suasion both of personal salvation and 
 of a personal call to this particular service. 
 
 Very often have I had to point out that 
 the enthusiasm which impels them to offer 
 needs to be balanced by the common- 
 
Preface. 7 
 
 sense which takes into consideration such 
 questions as those of home claims, and 
 of personal fitness, spiritual, physical, in- 
 tellectual. 
 
 The following chapters, addressed to 
 Candidates-in-waiting, on Home Prepara- 
 tion for Foreign Missionary Work, are 
 admirably adapted to meet the needs of 
 those to whom they are addressed. Nay, 
 more, they are worthy of the perusal of 
 all who recognise the Lord's claim on 
 themselves for service, and who desire to 
 render that service faithfully and effectually, 
 in the place of His appointment, be it in 
 the limited sphere of domestic life or in 
 the energies of evangelistic w^ork at home 
 or abroad. 
 
 There will be found in these pages a 
 simplicity and directness of instruction, 
 begotten of an evident wealth of experience 
 on the part of the writer ; while the whole 
 
8 Preface. 
 
 subject is dealt with on the high level which 
 the dignity of the work, and the alone 
 strength in which that work can be ful- 
 filled, demand. 
 
 A recognised need is ably met : and if 
 these pages are perused with that spirit of 
 prayer, and of humble dependence on God 
 the Holy Spirit, with which they have 
 evidently been penned, many a profitable 
 lesson will be learned : and if the counsel 
 given be acted on, the Foreign Mission 
 Field will be the richer both in the number 
 and in the equipment of those who are 
 sent forth, and the Church at home will be 
 furnished with more whole-hearted and 
 intelligent workers. 
 
 Freuc. E. Wigram, 
 
 Hon. Sec. C.M.S. 
 jiinc 24, 1892. 
 
CANDIDATES-IN-WAITING: 
 
 A >,[ANUAL OF 
 
 HOME PREPARATION FOR FOREIGN 
 MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORV. 
 
 THE object of our little Handbook is 
 exactly set forth in the title which it 
 bears, but it may be well at the very outset 
 to remove one or two misunderstandings 
 which may possibly arise. 
 
 First, let me say that the book is not 
 intended to take the place of a course of 
 definite and specific training, or in the least 
 to propose a substitute for any portion of 
 the present testing through which mis- 
 
lo J^usib/f Misuiidvrstaiidings. 
 
 sionary candidates have to pass. The 
 pathway which leads from the quiet 
 English home into the battle-field abroad 
 is often a long one, and we in these pages 
 are only concerned with its prior part — 
 that preparation region which lies between 
 the call of God to missionary service and 
 the definite offer to a Missionary Society. 
 
 Secondly, we must clearly keep in mind 
 that no standai'd is set up in this book on 
 the various subjects discussed. If young 
 men and women read our pages to find 
 out whether they are " fit " to offer for 
 foreign service, the result will be sad indeed. 
 Those who are over twenty-two years of 
 age, and find themselves free to offer, had 
 better do so at once, after prayerful con- 
 sideration, and consultation with those who 
 can gauge their character and capacity. 
 Earnest prayer and long experience will 
 help those who then weigh the case to 
 decide whether it is well to go forward, 
 and if so, all the preparation outlined in 
 our pages can be begun under the direction 
 of those to whom the definite training of 
 accepted candidates is entrusted. 
 
 So if you read with the thought that 
 
" In/erviezvs " a7id '* Questions^ 1 1 
 
 our counsel, if acted on, will save you from 
 those " interviews " which seem so formid- 
 able, or those " questions " which seem so 
 severe, you will be disappointed ; and, on 
 the other hand, if you read to see whether 
 you are fit to offer at all and are up to 
 the " required standard," you will be dis- 
 couraged and cast down. Nothing can do 
 away with the need for close personal ac- 
 quaintance with a candidate on the part of 
 those who are responsible to God for send- 
 ing him out; but the alarming "interviews" 
 are simply a series of earnest talks with 
 those whose whole desire is to send every 
 possible man or woman as a missionary 
 into the great needy world, and the " ques- 
 tions " are simply a necessary test — not of 
 profound theological knowledge — but of a 
 really clear experimental grasp of the 
 fundamentals of our faith, and sufficient 
 accessory knowledge, or capacity for ac- 
 quiring it, to justify the acceptance of a 
 candidate for training. 
 
 But if it is possible to be accepted for 
 training without having gone through the 
 discipline described in this book, and if such 
 high attainments are not absolutely esseii- 
 
12 ll'Iiy -uw JFn/r. 
 
 tial, why write at all ? Why not let the 
 candidates come forward for training as 
 soon as they can, and then learn just as 
 much as is possible before they go out? 
 The answer is clear. We want missionaries 
 quickly^ and we w^ant them good ; both 
 quantity and quality are needed as soon as 
 ever we can get them. The time is short, 
 and the calls are urgent all over the world. 
 It is profoundly saddening to have to bid a 
 man of six-and-twenty wait a year because 
 he is ignorant of his Bible, or to postpone 
 some hospital nurse's offer because she has 
 never realised God's call to individual 
 work. A Avorker thirty years of age will 
 sometimes lack all evidence of ability to get 
 on harmoniously with others, or show so 
 little clear apprehension of doctrinal truth 
 as to compel either rejection or a lengthened 
 course of training at an age when such 
 training ought to be a thing of the past. 
 Therefore, in order to avoid such woeful loss 
 of time after the way has opened for a 
 definite offer, it is very urgent that whilst 
 still held at home, each one whose heart 
 God has touched should save time by pre- 
 liminary preparation. A young man of 
 
How to Save Time. 13 
 
 eighteen hopes to be a missionary ; he is 
 busied in his office, or in his workshop, it 
 may be, all da}-, and knows that for some 
 years to come he cannot offer himself for 
 training ; but if he has an intelligent appre- 
 hension of the studies that will help him 
 most, if for three years or four he steadily 
 works on the lines presently to be laid down, 
 he will be a very different man when he 
 does ofter from what he would have been 
 had all thought of " preparation " been 
 postponed until his way was clear. A 
 daughter is either too young or is shut off 
 in some other way from a present offer of 
 missionary service ; for years, it may be, she 
 has to wait, but if those waiting years have 
 been spent in quiet and diligent preparation 
 what time will be saved afterwards, and 
 what added power gained for the work of 
 God. And even if the long-shut door 
 should never really open to the foreign 
 field, would not such a man or such a 
 woma^i find blessed use for the outcome 
 of such preparation in work for God at 
 home ? 
 
 Throughout our land to-day there are 
 many hundred of '' candidates-in=waiting." 
 
14 Candidates- in- Waiting. 
 
 They are to be found in our Universities 
 and colleges, in offices and ware-rooms, aye, 
 and thank God, also in the humblest walks 
 of life. Many a one is "waiting" in a 
 cultured home with social claims around 
 her, or in a schoolroom patiently plodding 
 through the children's lessons day by day, 
 or behind a counter, or in a work-room, or 
 in service, or washing and toiling and 
 enduring in a humble abode. More than 
 that, there are *' candidates - in - waiting " 
 amongst older and experienced men, hold- 
 ing positions of honour and of responsibility. 
 Many a pulpit w^ould be emptied, we doubt 
 not, if the preacher could but have his 
 " heart's desire." Many a successful woman 
 worker would count her gain as loss if she 
 could but one day have the holy joy of 
 setting forth to the Mission Field. But 
 though it gladdens our heart and strengthens 
 us, to class such men and women as these 
 last with ourselves, our little book is by no 
 means addressed to them, for they will 
 already have been taught the lessons which 
 its pages set before us to learn. 
 
 Many candidates-in-waiting, realising the 
 responsibility of this ''waiting-time," are 
 
The Fnudaificntal Principle. i 5 
 
 asking, "How can I use this interval aright? \ 
 How can I, tied at home or in my daily 
 business, prepare myself for missionary 
 work?" Let us talk together about this 
 quietly and simply in the following chapters, 
 asking the Spirit of God to grant us His 
 guiding light. There are so many varied 
 circumstances, each of them affecting in- 
 dividual possibilities, that it is hopeless to 
 try to meet them all. It may be, how- 
 ever, that in His great goodness God the 
 Spirit will use what is written to guide, 
 rebuke, or comfort some who are in per- 
 plexity as to what to do, and enable them 
 effectually to use the waiting-time ordained 
 by Him. 
 
 First, let us dwell for a moment upon 
 the fundamental principle of all true 
 missions — " Spiritual men for spirit ual 
 work." You must yourself be in living 
 union with Christ, by the Holy Spirit, 
 before }-ou can lead others to know and 
 love Him. " No candidate is accepted 
 who does not give clear evidence of having 
 yielded his heart to God^and of his personal 
 realisati on of the work of Christ for him, and 
 of the work of the Holy Spirit in him." 
 
1 6 Spiritual Qualification . 
 
 The object of missionary work is the 
 same to-day as it was when the Great Com- 
 mission was given to the early Christian 
 Church. INIissionaries arc sent now^ as 
 then^ so to ^ "preach " Clirist_ that on 
 profession of faith in Him true converts 
 may be baptized into the name of the 
 Holy Trinity, and so to "teach" among 
 all nations that the converts may seek 
 to observe *' all things " that Christ has 
 commanded. What man can do thatx 
 without a living faith in a personal Saviour j 
 and a daily experience of the guidance and ' 
 enlightening of the Holy Ghost? 
 
 It is very important to remember that 
 spiritual fitness is just as needful for an 
 educational missionary, or for a medical 
 missionary, or for a missionary who has 
 to do with house-building or accounts, as 
 it is for a missionary who has more directly 
 evangelistic work, such as itineration ; or 
 pastoral work, such as the oversight of a 
 number of Native Christian congregations. 
 There is not one standard of spiritual 
 requirement for a hospital nurse or a 
 teacher, and another for a lady who is to 
 visit among-st the wom.en in their homes. 
 
" Not good e?ioHgJiy I J 
 
 No matter what the technical qualification 
 of a candidate may be, it never can atone 
 for lack of this one great essential. The 
 humblest and least learned candidate who 
 is spiritually equipped is far more to the 
 glory of God than those w4io, however 
 great their other qualifications, cannot truly 
 be described as " spiritual men." 
 
 INIark that it is true spiritual life, not high 
 spiritual attainment, that we write of now ; 
 the confusion of one with the other is not 
 infrequent, and therefore needs a guarding 
 word. A man may be truly " spiritual " 
 and yet be deeply conscious of his need 
 to *' grow in grace " ; nay, did he not feel 
 the need, could he be called truly spiritual 
 at all } Therefore let no humble-hearted 
 child of God drawback — because he is " not 
 good enough " — from saying, in all the 
 fervour of self-abasement, " Here am I, 
 Lord, send me !" 
 
An irrational Mistake, 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 PREPARATION IN BIBLE STUDY. 
 
 PROBABLY two out of every three 
 who read this chapter will begin it 
 with the idea of seeing whether they k7tow 
 all that it suggests they should begin to 
 study. That is scarcely a rational, and 
 certainly not a comfortable thing to do. 
 Our object is not to indicate how much of 
 his Bible a man must know before he can 
 possibly satisfy the Candidates' Committee, 
 nor is it to fix a standard of knowledge 
 below which he may not be a good and 
 faithful missionary in the field. Our aim 
 is rather to take, with all reverence and 
 humility, the great majestic Revelation of 
 God to man, and seek to point out why and 
 how we should study it, and also so to 
 magnify the wonders of its breadth and 
 length and depth and height that candi- 
 dates-in-waiting may be stirred to a stead- 
 
A life-long work. 19 
 
 fast endeavour day by day to penetrate 
 deeper into its counsels, and be filled with 
 a holy ambition to be mighty in the 
 Scriptures, as was Apollos of old. 
 
 Of course it would take years and 
 years to cover all the ground which we 
 indicate here, and then when you had 
 covered it you would find there was precious 
 ore beneath the surface, and that every 
 inch called for excavation, if its hidden 
 treasures were to be brought forth. So it 
 is quite hopeless ever to get one's Bible 
 study " finished " ; sometimes one feels it 
 almost hopeless to get it even properly 
 begun. But it is absolutely esse ntial that , 
 every can didate-in-waitinp^ should be an 
 honest a nd earnest Bible stu dent, thank- 
 fully accepung as Uod's good gift the 
 waiting-time in which such knowledge may 
 be gained, and resolutely working onward 
 day by day as a steady habit of Bible study 
 is being formed. Begin at once, and you 
 will find, if you re-read this chapter at the 
 end of a year, that you have cause for 
 encouragement and thankfulness. Specially 
 would we urge upon girls who have just 
 left school the paramount importance of 
 B 2 
 
20 Hozu should I read? 
 
 regular Bible study between the ages of 
 seventeen and twenty-three. More leisure 
 can be secured then than ever in after-life ; 
 the mind is fresh and pliant, and future 
 usefulness may be doubled by buying up 
 the opportunities which can never be 
 brought back. 
 
 " But how should a missionary candidate 
 study the Bible } I read mine twice a day, 
 and make 'underlines' and 'railways'; what 
 more should I do ? " 
 
 Set before you as a life-long purpose to 
 study that Book until you know it through 
 and through ; until your mind is steeped in 
 it ; until your heart beats in unison with it ; 
 until your lips run over with it. In order 
 that this may be so, study your Bible 
 
 Prayerfully. The Holy Ghost is the 
 Author of the Book, He is ever ready to 
 be a Commentator upon it. Never take up 
 your Bible without prayer for His teaching 
 as you read. Constantly remember the 
 insufficiency of human reason to discern 
 the meaning of the Word of God, and with 
 the humbling sense of your own inability 
 always link the grateful remembrance of 
 the promised aid of the Divine Teacher, the 
 
Study in the L igJit. 2 1 
 
 Holy Spirit Himself, Without this spirit 
 of prayer the Bible will oftentimes be dry 
 and barren to you, its deeper meaning will 
 not unfold, its voice will not reach your 
 heart. Nor is a merely formal prayer at 
 the commencement of the reading all that 
 we would imply. As well hold the Book 
 up for a moment to the sunlight and then 
 expect to find its letters legible in the dark. 
 The Bible must be studied in tJic light ; we 
 must recognise the need for continued 
 illumination by the Spirit of God as long as 
 we are engaged over His Word. One half- 
 hour so spent will be more fruitful than years 
 of Bible searchingapart from His grace. You 
 will necessarily come upon many conflicting 
 interpretations of certain passages ; in each 
 case lay the matter before God, and if it is 
 still not clear to you, make a note of it, and 
 quietly go on. Scripture will throw light 
 upon Scripture, and by-and-bye the inter- 
 pretation will be found. 
 
 Further, the Bible should be studied 
 
 Personally. Open the Book, expecting 
 
 to find in your portion a message to meet 
 
 your need. It may be God's arrow to convict 
 
 you, or God's oil and wine to comfort you ; 
 
22 Food for the Son L 
 
 in either case, be personal, and take it for 
 yourself. A German divine has said that 
 the //2-spiration of the Bible is proved by 
 its ont-s^iYdiiion — its breathing out of God's 
 message to the inmost soul. The Book is 
 a living oracle, still uttering the voice of 
 God. You believe this, but do you 
 k?io2v it } It must be your experience now 
 if you would have it so in the Mission 
 Field. Accustom yourself to feed on the 
 Bible. Resist the temptation to feed unduly 
 on devotional books, or teachers, or pastors 
 (all good gifts of God), and specially 
 beware of building up theories as to 
 Christian experience on uninspired bio- 
 graphies, or the testimony of others. Study 
 the experimental Christianity of the Bible. 
 Experience based on that of other men 
 will not transplant into a foreign soil, but 
 that experience which is " from above " is 
 as much an exotic in England as in China, 
 and it will flourish anywhere in " an honest 
 and good heart." In the Mission Field you 
 may have only God and your Bible to 
 support you ; learn the suf^ciency of the 
 Book and its Author at home. Do not 
 stop short at finding out the beautiful \'crses 
 
A Marvellous Volume. 2^ 
 
 and underlining them, but say, with 
 Jeremiah of old, " Thy words were found, 
 and I did eat themr Many of the meta- 
 phors used in speaking of the Word of God 
 indicate the personal nature of its message ; 
 it is " milk " and " meat " to nourish and 
 strengthen ; it is " light " and a " lamp " to 
 guide the feet. No amount of technical 
 Bible knowledge can ever take the place of 
 a devotional feeding upon it as the living 
 Word of God. 
 
 On the other hand, it is quite possible 
 to read the Bible with great joy and com- 
 fort to one's own soul without really 
 studying it with thoughtful interest through- 
 out. The Bible should be read 
 
 Intelligently, Take that Volume into 
 your hand and look thoughtfully at it for a 
 moment. It has taken some 1,500 years 
 to write ; the history concerning its pre- 
 servation is of thrilling interest ; it contains 
 within it the destiny of the human race ; 
 it em.bodies all that God has recorded 
 about Himself; all that is necessary to 
 salvation ; no more, no less. It gives in 
 Divine proportions the truth about God. 
 
 Surely such a Book as that should be 
 
24 Suggestions for Study. 
 
 not partially but wholly known ! Surely 
 the missionary who would take a full 
 Gospel to the heathen must recognise the 
 necessity of seeking to have a whole Bible 
 in his heart and head ! 
 
 How are you to set about this ? Begin 
 from to-day, steadily, patiently, earnestly, 
 with the faithful use of such ability and 
 time as you have, to study your Bible with 
 intelligent purpose to grasp its meaning as 
 a whole. Study both Testaments, realising 
 that each one is half of the great revelation 
 of God. Aim at a clear idea of the relation 
 of these halves to each other. Seek to 
 trace their connections and contrasts. 
 With St. Paul as your teacher compare the 
 Law and the Gospel, the Old Covenant and 
 the New. Work out the leading prophecies 
 and their fulfilment. Note the groivth of 
 revelation, as, for instance, in the prophecies 
 concerning the Saviour, where we have 
 successively the revelation oia seed (Gen. iii. 
 15), then the nation (the seed of Abraham), 
 then the tribe (Judah), then the family 
 (David), and finally, in the prophecy of 
 Micah, the very birth-place (Bethlehem 
 Ephratah). 
 
The Message of eacJi Book. 25 
 
 Further, let each book of both Testaments 
 be a reahty to you. Find out what you can 
 about the writer. Fix (as far as may be) 
 the date. Many of those who come forward 
 to offer have not even the vaguest idea of 
 any chronological order of books after the 
 Pentateuch. Try to connect each book 
 with its historical surroundings ; fit the 
 prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, for 
 instance, into their proper connection with 
 the return from the Babylonish Captivity, 
 and read them side by side with the books 
 of Ezra and Nehemiah. Search out the 
 parables and miracles peculiar to each 
 Gospel, and note the special aspect of 
 Christ which is presented by each Evan- 
 gelist. Notice the leading line of each 
 epistle, and see if the opposite aspect of 
 truth is emphasised in any other letter. 
 For example, the justification by faith of 
 Romans is balanced by the works following 
 faith in the Epistle of St. James. This 
 method of study will transform your Bible, 
 and make the parts that have before seemed 
 lifeless instinct with life. What new books 
 the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah be- 
 come when we read them, not only for their 
 
26 kidded Vividness, 
 
 beauty and comfort, but with an intelligent 
 grasp of the majestic movement oi\h.^ whole; 
 the slow sinking of the backsliding people 
 into deeper and deeper captivity, with the 
 glorious golden hope of a coming Saviour 
 shining through the cloud ! What vividness 
 is added to St. Paul's Epistles when once we 
 have mastered their relation to the history 
 of the Acts of the Apostles, and are 
 sufificiently familiar with their character- 
 istics to trace the growth of the Apostles' 
 teaching. 
 
 We are not asserting for a moment that 
 any *' candidate-in-waiting" should be able 
 thoroughly to do all this, the mere list of 
 the work to be done proclaims it to be a 
 life-work, but each one can at least set out 
 prayerfully and hopefully to do as much 
 towards it as lies within his power. 
 
 Further than this, even if we knew each 
 book in its main teaching, and in its relation 
 to other books, a great and important 
 region, and one that should early be 
 entered upon, would still be left out. The 
 missionary student should begin to trace 
 right through the Bible, from chapter to 
 chapter, from book to book, from Old 
 
TJie leading Doctrines. 27 
 
 Testament to New, the great leading doc- 
 trines of our Faith. 
 
 The inspiration of the Bible ; the fall of 
 man, and the consequent depravity of the 
 whole human race ; the nature of sin ; the 
 power of idolatry ; the need of an atone- 
 ment ; the principle of substitution ; the 
 glorious fulness of the Redemption, 
 shadowed in the types, brought to light 
 under the Gospel ; justification by faith ; 
 sanctification ; the doctrine of the Trinity ; 
 the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ ; the 
 personality and work of the Holy Spirit ; 
 the second coming of Christ, especially in 
 its practical bearing upon daily life ; the 
 eternal separation from God of those who 
 "obey not the Gospel " ; — these and many 
 others are cardinal truths, and the whole 
 of God's teaching about them should be 
 known. 
 
 Also, do not forget the missionary aspect 
 of your Bible ; it will prove the best hand- 
 book as to methods of teaching in the 
 Mission Field. Notice that both Old 
 Testament and New set forth not only the 
 necessity for the death and resurrection of 
 Christ, but also for the evangelisation of the 
 
28 Is such study necessary ? 
 
 world (Luke xxlv. 44 — 47). You will soon 
 learn to distinguish the principles, which 
 are eternal, from the outward surroundings, 
 which vary according to time and place ; 
 you will learn the true meaning of the 
 evangelisation of the world, and acquire a 
 clear knowledge of the whole of God's 
 mind and will for mankind. 
 
 But the oft-repeated question comes, 
 " Is all this study, or any portion of it, 
 necessary? If I know the way of salvation 
 can I not preach to the heathen? What does 
 it matter to the saving of a soul whether I 
 know the connection between Ezra and 
 Haggai, or am familiar with the missionary 
 journeys of St. Paul? And as to doctrines, 
 so long as I firmly believe them, does it 
 matter whether I can prove them from 
 Scripture or not ? " Far be it from us to 
 say that an untaught and unlettered person 
 cannot point a soul to Christ. He can use 
 the weakest and most ignorant of us ; but 
 because He is so gracious, is that any 
 reason why we should presume on His 
 grace .? Granting that He can use you 
 a little without real Bible knowledge, are 
 you content with that ? Do you not want 
 
Bible knoivledgc in tJu: Jllission Field. 29 
 
 Him to use you as much as possible ? And 
 is it not reasonable that of two missionaries 
 equally earnest, the one who knows the 
 relative proportions of the many-sided 
 truths of the Bible is far more useful than 
 the one who does not ? 
 
 Then again, you can do far better with 
 very limited Bible knowledge at home than 
 you can in the Mission Field. Here, when a 
 soul is brought to the Lord, the echoes of 
 former teachings almost invariably come 
 back ; some little knowledge has lain 
 dormant in the mind and springs into life. 
 Abroad nothing will be known but what is 
 freshly taught. Here newly-converted souls 
 have opportunities for learning, and if you 
 are not able to feed them with the Word 
 of God some one else will. A Bible can 
 be had for sixpence ; in every church God's 
 Word is read, and your ignorance does not 
 involve the ignorance of others. In the 
 Mission Field, if you go to a remote district, 
 where but little translation has yet been 
 done, or where very few of the people can 
 read, the only portions of the Bible avail- 
 able for them will be those that come 
 through your lips. Would it not be a 
 
30 ^^ Histo)y^propJiecy, biography, poetry!' 
 
 heavy responsibility to give them part only 
 of the whole counsel of God ? How could 
 you pass on to them what you have not 
 earnestly sought to grasp and understand 
 yourself ? If, on the other hand, you go 
 to a place where the whole Bible is in the 
 hands of clever heathen, who twist and 
 distort it, or into Mission schools, where 
 the children have been carefully taught the 
 historical outline of Old Testament and 
 New, or to labour amongst a Native Church 
 threatened with doctrinal error, which needs 
 to be cut away with this two-edged sword, 
 — would you not feel deeply, intensely 
 thankful that in the " waiting-time " you 
 had learned how to turn its edge against 
 the enemy ? 
 
 But even if there were no such practical 
 reasons for intelligent Bible study, there is 
 one which alone ought to settle the question 
 for us all. God has seen fit to give us 
 great part of His Word in the form of 
 history, prophecy, biography, poetry. If 
 that had not been the best possible way, 
 He would have chosen another. The Son 
 of God Himself, when on earth, showed 
 intimate acquaintance with Old Testa- 
 
Desirable, but is it possible f 31 
 
 ment history, and expected to find the 
 same amongst His hearers. Have you ever 
 noted from how many of the Books of the 
 Old Testament He quoted, and that 
 even John iii. 16 is Hnked with a type 
 from the journey in the wilderness ? In 
 this, as in all else, He left us an '' example." 
 " I see that intelligent and systematic 
 Bible study is desirable," some one sadly 
 admits, " but it is not possible for me : I 
 am not clever, I could not learn all that." 
 Firmly do we believe that every one whom 
 God is calling to be a missionary, now or 
 hereafter, is capable of intelligent Bible 
 study. Remember the miraculous power 
 of the Holy Ghost, which is available for 
 every student. Remember, too, that we 
 have outlined a study for years in this 
 chapter, and you must not be discouraged 
 that you cannot do it in a month ! Do not 
 attempt too much at first or you will get 
 bewildered. At the end of this book 
 (Appendix I.) you will find a list of works 
 which will help you in your Bible study. 
 It is by no means necessary to have them 
 all, but one or two of them at least will be 
 very useful to have. In a true commentary 
 
32 Books in Aid. 
 
 you will often find the teachings of God's 
 Holy Spirit through the man who wrote it, 
 and thus you will get fuller light than if 
 you consulted no book of reference. 
 
 But always be very careful what books 
 you do read ; many which aim to be 
 helpful will tend to undermine the founda- 
 tions of your faith. Read no commentary 
 or book of reference which you do not know 
 to be scriptural and evangelical in doctrine. 
 If you are in doubt, lay the book aside 
 until you can ask some experienced friend. 
 The Spirit of God, as you study, will bring 
 all things to your remembrance ; He will 
 enlighten your understanding, and when 
 the waiting-time is over, and the door is 
 open to the Foreign Field, you will thank 
 God for every hour you have spent in 
 learning to wield " the sword of the Spirit, 
 which is the Word of God." 
 
 In Appendix II. you will find some 
 reference to the working of a scheme of 
 Bible study called the ** Chronological 
 Scripture Cycle," which we cordially com- 
 mend to the notice of every candidate, not 
 as a substitute for daily devotional reading, 
 but as an invaluable adjunct to it. 
 
Fishers of Men. ^^ 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PREPARATION IN CHRISTIAN WORK. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 /^ANDIDATES-IN -WAITING must 
 V_y be not only students, but diligent 
 workers in preparation for the Foreign Field. 
 " I will make you fishers of men." This is 
 the Master's own image of what His 
 followers ought to be. You may fish with 
 a rod and line, landing your silvery captives 
 one by one, or you may, in concert with 
 others, cast out and draw to shore a net 
 with a great multitude of fishes. Both 
 methods of Christian work — the individual 
 and the associated — concern our "candi- 
 dates-in-waiting." Let us talk of the rod- 
 and-line fishing first. 
 
 Have you realised the importance oi work 
 amongst individuals t You can never deal 
 with numbers until you know how to deal 
 C 
 
34 " Books in Boots.'' 
 
 with units ; all true understanding of 
 masses is based on the knowledge of the 
 needs and difficulties of individuals. A 
 clergyman will rarely help men from the 
 pulpit, unless he has helped them one by 
 one from his study chair ; a Bible-class 
 teacher \w\\\ rarely solve the problems 
 practical and spiritual of her hearers unless 
 she has been in living touch with them 
 singly in the week. No amount of know- 
 ledge or "preparation" will make up for 
 this; you may study books, but they will 
 not do instead of " books in boots," as 
 someone has quaintly termed our fellow- 
 creatures. 
 
 If personal dealing is valuable in work 
 at home, it is still more so as training for 
 the Mission Field. Reading, with this 
 thought in mind, the reports and magazines 
 which record the conquests of the Cross, 
 we find that preaching to large audiences 
 is only part of a missionary's work ; great 
 portions of his toil, and also of his blessed 
 harvest, are connected with the patient 
 personal work in which one single case 
 is followed up, for years it m.ay be, in 
 hum.ble, prayerful faith. And it is this work, 
 
Our ''Master of Methods'.' 
 
 0^ 
 
 this face-to-face dealing with difficulties, 
 which gives a missionary power to touch 
 the hearts of many when he stands before 
 his congregation. 
 
 We find that the Lord Jesus Himself 
 worked very largely amongst individuals. 
 It was He who first revealed to the world 
 the priceless value of one immortal soul. 
 Crowds thronged to hear Him, yet He 
 found time to seek out one and another who 
 would singly hear His voice. Trace His 
 interviews with individuals, -as recorded in 
 the Gospels ; you will find in them a per- 
 fect example for personal work to-day. 
 By the well (St. John iv.), in the Temple 
 (St. John viii.), at the lake (St. John xxi.), 
 by night (St. John iii.) as well as by day — 
 anywhere, any time — if one would listen — 
 He lavished His time and thought on that 
 one. There was a Divine compulsion about 
 it : " He must needs go through Samaria." 
 That fourth chapter of St. John's Gospel is 
 pregnant with the principles of individual 
 work. We cannot unfold them here, but if 
 you will take the Lord as your " Master of 
 methods," and study His dealings with the 
 woman recorded there, you will learn 
 C 2 
 
36 " Rod-and-line fisJiiug'' 
 
 secrets which will help you to unlock many 
 a soul. 
 
 What an anomaly it is when someone 
 realises the need of the heathen but not of 
 the men and women near at hand ! Some 
 who hope to be missionaries by-and-bye 
 are at present debarred from " castint^ the 
 net," but *' rod-and-Iine fishing," which is 
 imperative on all disciples, is ahuays possible, 
 whatever home circumstances may be. 
 Perhaps someone is saying, " I am too busy 
 or too shut in to take up any work." 
 Where did you learn that " work " only 
 meant a Sunday-school class, or district 
 visiting, or going to the PCast End of 
 London ? Not from your Bible, surely ! 
 All this is one kind of work ; another kind 
 is quite close at hand. 
 
 Here is a loved and cherished daughter 
 in a sheltered English home. She is not 
 allowed to have a Sunday-school class, 
 lest the children should bring some infec- 
 tion ; or to visit in the cottages, because 
 they are not clean ; or to sing in the work- 
 house wards, because it might injure her 
 voice ; or even to gather the girls of the 
 neighbourhood for a Bible-class, because 
 
Waiting and Working. 37 
 
 they are beneath her in social rank. But 
 into the sheltered luxury of such a home 
 the call of God has come. The daughter 
 asks if she may go with the message of 
 salvation to those who have never heard, 
 but her plea is refused, the door seems 
 shut. She is willing to " wait," perhaps, 
 but it does seem hard that in the waiting- 
 time no ivork should be possible which 
 would fit her for the field. No work ! 
 Why she is surrounded with it ! Only it 
 is the one-by-one work which costs more 
 than a class or a district. There are 
 brothers and sisters, perhaps ; certainly 
 there are servants, visitors, friends. There 
 are afternoon calls and afternoon teas ; 
 there are the thousand and one social claims, 
 all these may be transformed into a little 
 home Mission Field. What better practice 
 than this ? What more needful training 
 for one who longs to win souls abroad .-* 
 Circumstances vary widely, of course, but 
 we unhesitatingly say that everybody can 
 reach somebody — and if you only know of 
 one for whom you might angle, begin on 
 that one ; more will soon be sent. The 
 busy clerk in his warehouse, the young 
 
38 The Mitiistiy of tJic Pen, 
 
 governess in her schoolroom, the sales- 
 woman behind her counter, the servant in 
 her kitchen or nursery, can all be "fishers'* 
 where they are. Take a quiet prayerful 
 hour, and face, alone with God, the sur- 
 roundings and responsibilities of your own 
 life, and seek His grace to begin this indi- 
 vidual work in every possible direction 
 from to-day. 
 
 If you cannot get into personal contact 
 with people, what about " the ministry of 
 the pen " } Are there no friends to whom 
 you can write of your Saviour, no lonely 
 discouraged ones whom a letter would 
 cheer } This correspondence work is in- 
 valuable missionary training. When the 
 sorrows or difficulties of others are put on 
 paper, one has time to think and pray over 
 them., to search one's Bible for the best 
 answer, and in so doing one's own sym- 
 pathy and knowledge is deepened, and 
 cobweb-doubts are swept away. 
 
 " But individual work needs courage,'' 
 you say. Perfectly true. It is easier for a 
 young man to address a Y.M.C.A. meeting 
 than to have a manly word about salvation 
 with his fellow-clerk in the dinner-hour. 
 
TJiinking of what is '' easy.^^ 39 
 
 It is easier for an undergraduate to take 
 charge of some sea-side services .than to 
 witness term after term for his Master to 
 men in his own set at college. It is easier 
 for a girl to teach a Sunday-school class 
 than to tell her favourite school friend of 
 the love that has drawn her heart away 
 from the love of the world, and to follow 
 that friend with prayer and pleading until 
 she too has found the Lord. But oh, if 
 candidates are thinking of what is " easy," 
 what manner of spirit is theirs } Those 
 who do not love the Lord enough to face 
 individual work for Him at home are little 
 likely to face it bravely for Him by-and- 
 bye abroad. 
 
 Not less essential — rather more so — is 
 sympathy. To help any one, you must get 
 near them. You must put yourself on 
 their level, and as far as possible in their 
 place. You must unite with them on every 
 point that is possible for one who is truly 
 loyal to Christ, and you must banish every 
 shade of condemnation from your mind. 
 The " gift," of which we read in Romans 
 V. 5, will enable you to do this. Social ice 
 is the great barrier to this individual work. 
 
40 TJie danger of Compromise. 
 
 But even an iceberg- melts if the sun shines 
 long enpugh upon it, and if you keep on 
 loving the barriers will disappear. But 
 sympathy must not degenerate into com- 
 promise. There is a danger of being 
 tempted to do evil that good may come. 
 A young man may feel tempted to share 
 in some Sunday excursion in order to finish 
 a "straight talk"' which he began with his 
 companion the day before ; or a girl may 
 wonder whether she ought '* just for once " 
 to go to some worldly amusement to show 
 the friend she is longing to influence that 
 " religion " does not make her " narrow" or 
 *' dull." When you fish with rod and line 
 be sure you stand clear on the bank your- 
 self, and draw the fish out of its element 
 on to yours. Far, far more is lost by com- 
 promise than is ever gained. It is a deadly 
 snare of the enemy, with which every 
 Christian's path is beset. Again and again 
 has it resulted in very grave injury to the 
 eternal interests of the one who thought to 
 help another thereby. 
 
 But even when you have got as far as trust- 
 ing the Lord to give you courage, and feel 
 some kindlings of Divine love in your heart 
 
Zeal (Did Discretion. 41 
 
 for the souls around you, it is not easy to 
 know how to set about individual work. It 
 needs great tact. The promise in James i. 5 
 meets that. It is easy, unless we are guided 
 by wisdom from above, to do a right thing 
 in a very wrong way. It is quite possible 
 for zeal to outrun discretion, and many 
 a young worker has overstepped the 
 boundaries of social reserve in an honest 
 desire to help another soul. Here is a 
 serious danger, for the Christian is bound to 
 avoid " every form of evil " (R.V.), and to 
 do all to the glory of God. Integrity of 
 motive is not enough ; there should be 
 wisdom in action as well. It is also quite 
 possible to put the right truth in the wrong 
 way. The Gospel message is many-sided, 
 and so is human nature. The same side 
 will not fit every one at first. You will find 
 a wonderful variety in the aspects of the 
 Gospel presented by our Lord in His inter- 
 views, and it is instantly clear that these 
 aspects fitted in each case the one to whom 
 He spoke. Further, it is possible to speak 
 in the right way but at the wrong time. 
 Have you noticed that our blessed Lord 
 met St. Peter more than once after the 
 
42 Tact and Directness. 
 
 denial, but it was not until that morning 
 by the lake that He saw it was time for the 
 tender solemn questioning which melted 
 the disciple's soul ? 
 
 On the other hand, it is possible to get 
 so enamoured of tact as to lose directness. 
 We may talk of Christian work, yet never 
 of Christ ; we may discuss Conventions, but 
 not the truths taught at them ; we may 
 witness, with great tact, perhaps, to the fact 
 that we are Christians, and yet fail to zvi7i 
 sonls. That, after all, is the paramount aim 
 of individual work. Anglers are sent to 
 catch, not to play with, fish. 
 
 Full well we know that the whole issue 
 lies with God ; the best of us, at home or 
 abroad, can reach no soul *' except the 
 Father draw him," but none the less we 
 ought to strive as though all depended on 
 ourselves. In this joyous though solemn 
 work of pointing one and another to that 
 Saviour v.hom we ourselves have found, we 
 have the highest, the only true training for 
 the Foreign Field. If we have not earnestly 
 striven to reach souls by God's grace 
 at home, how can we do it abroad ? May 
 not this be the secret of many a waiting- 
 
" Keep 0)1, keep on, keep 011!' 43 
 
 time ? May It not be that ** He that shutteth" 
 holds some back until His love so burn in 
 their hearts as to send them after every 
 lost one within reach of their voice or pen ? 
 Great perseverance is a feature of true 
 individual work. The Shepherd in Luke 
 XV. sought for the lost sheep — only one^ 
 remember — " until He found it." Blessed 
 pertinacity of grace ! Where should we 
 ourselves be but for it to-day ? Heart-doors 
 open very slowly, and often young workers 
 are so timid that they run away when the 
 first knock is given, not even waiting for 
 the possibility of response. In the Mission 
 Field patience becomes a great reality. 
 Years of sowing may precede the reaping, 
 and hope deferred makes the heart sick. 
 If God has set you to learn patience at 
 home, accept His Holy Will. Those near 
 and dear to you may shut their ears to your 
 message ; your letters may only get evasive 
 replies ; your friends may seem to turn 
 from your words (they cannot from your 
 prayers), but keep on, keep on, KEEP ON ! 
 Years hence it will be harvest time, and 
 you shall " doubtless come again with joy, 
 bringing your shea\'es with you." 
 
44 ^oul Secrets. 
 
 Where words cannot reach, a Hfe of holy 
 consistency may speak with power, but of 
 this we shall have more to say in a later 
 chapter. Another feature, and it is one 
 which is as good for the worker as it is 
 necessary for the work, is that personal 
 dealing \^ private work. It makes no show 
 or noise; it brings no reputation to the one 
 who does it. Let reverence mark it always. 
 The secrets of other souls are very sacred, 
 to be breathed out only to God in prayer. 
 It is a deeply solemn thing to stand in the 
 inner chamber of even the humblest heart. 
 There is danger in repeating the experiences 
 of others, or making "cases" out of those 
 with whom we have talked. We should 
 rightly shrink from revealing the family 
 secrets of a household w^here we had been a 
 welcomed guest, how^ much more from un- 
 veiling the recesses of the heart which had 
 opened to us in some hour of need } In 
 these days of Parochial and other Missions 
 one fears not a little from the unintentional 
 irreverence with which young workers, true 
 and earnest, indeed, but lacking in holy fear, 
 sometimes lay bare with ruthless fingers the 
 sanctuary of a soul. Though it is holy 
 
The Worker s Creed. 45 
 
 ground, the youngest may be called to 
 stand there in the name and on the business 
 of his Lord, but let him put his shoes from 
 off his feet, and listen for the voice of God. 
 And let him remember that what passes 
 there is not his to repeat. 
 
 Finally, it is a Divine work. Our own 
 ability and discernment, and knowledge, 
 if unaided, cannot avail. God has pro- 
 vided the Worker — the Holy Spirit, who 
 knows the secrets of all hearts, and the 
 Weapon — " the sword of the Spirit, which 
 is the Word of God." Again and again has 
 it been proved that if the worker has leant 
 on human power or influence, the movement 
 soon dies down, if the words have been 
 human words they have quickly been for- 
 gotten. Hence the paramount importance, 
 in personal work, of using no merely 
 personal influence over souls, and also of 
 carefully basing all their hope of help and 
 blessing on some clear passage in the Word 
 of God. 
 
 The Creed of the Christian worker, as he 
 comes face to face with an inquiring soul, is 
 this : "*I believe in the Holy Ghost,' who 
 has power to do what I can only talk of, 
 
46 Yielded to be used, 
 
 and I believe in the Word of God, which is 
 quick and powerful, and sharper than any 
 two-edged sword, piercing even to the 
 dividing of the joints and marrow, dis- 
 cerning the thoughts and intents of the 
 heart." 
 
 The mighty Worker can speak through 
 the weakest mouthpiece, and He can nerve 
 the feeblest hand to wield His piercing 
 sword. God help us, one and all, to be so 
 yielded that we can be used ! 
 
The Poivers that be'' 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PREPARATION IN CHRISTIAN WORK. 
 PART II. 
 
 ALL important as is this individual 
 work, it lacks a most essential 
 element in a missionary's training. It in- 
 volves no co-operation with other workers ; 
 it does not introduce the discipline of con- 
 trol. In the home work we are all familiar 
 with the good but self-willed people who 
 must have their own way at any price, 
 and who take it without regard for protest 
 from '' the powers that be," but perhaps we 
 scarcely realise how serious this spirit is 
 when let loose in the work abroad. A 
 Mission Station is a place w^here patient 
 faith is strongly tested. It is a place where 
 loving Christian discipline must be kept 
 up. It is a place where Duty looms so 
 large and so real that it leaves no room to 
 spare for self-will. In the Mission Field 
 
48 Young Missionaries. 
 
 one must not expect perfect fellow-workers, 
 or infallible Committees, or model organi- 
 sation. Every one is over-pressed, every 
 station is under-manned ; and there must 
 be thorough loyalty and harmony if things 
 are to go on at all. If young missionaries 
 go out wedded to certain methods, bent upon 
 certain plans, fixed in certain views on minor 
 and external matters, and not prepared to 
 surrender everything that does not involve 
 a principle, they are sure to cause pain and 
 friction. If, on the other hand, they go in 
 loving humility, prepared to " soothe and 
 sympathise," prepared to learn and listen 
 before they claim a right to teach or talk, 
 prepared to test old plans before they pro- 
 pose new, prepared to take their place in 
 the line of workers and keep it, they will 
 indeed be a blessing and a strength. 
 
 Submission to control does not mean 
 lack of vigour and spiritual power. Read 
 in I Chron. xii. the characteristics of the 
 "mighty men" who came to David at 
 Ziklag. Were there ever greater warriors, 
 more ardent partisans } Can you surpass, 
 can you even rival them, in holy ardour, in 
 fearless zeal, in perfect equipment } Yet 
 
CJianncls and Banks. 49 
 
 notice that twice over we read that they 
 could " keep rank!' Oh that this were true 
 of all the King's men of valour to-day ! 
 Again, in the fullest of all promises regard- 
 ing the outcome of a Christian life, that in 
 St. John vii. 38, have you noticed that the 
 Spirit is to flow out of the believer in rivers 
 of living water ? We rest on the thought 
 of the river's full swift current, increasing 
 mile by mile ; but we forget that a river 
 has a channel, a river has banks. For the 
 fullest spiritual life there is a God-made 
 channel — there are God-made banks— let us 
 beware that we never term such banks and 
 channels " undue restrictions," or mistake 
 God-sent limitations for hindrances placed 
 by man. 
 
 The practical side of this is not easy to 
 learn, but it can be acquired by experience 
 in associated work at home. Grace to 
 tolerate — nay to love — uncongenial fellow- 
 workers, to fall in with unwelcome plans, 
 to abide by irksome restrictions, and to 
 execute unpalatable duties is neither needed 
 nor proffered for the Foreign Field alone. 
 It does not wait to fall as a mantle on the 
 outgoing missionary ; it is a garment that 
 D 
 
s o Dis ti ii t I ^i si tin <r. 
 
 must be worn at home, in the lowly work 
 of daily service, if it is to be available for 
 the pressing needs of the work abroad. 
 
 So much by way of proving the value of 
 associated work. Let us now touch on 
 some of its methods, selecting three round 
 which we may group what we have to say. 
 
 District Visiting stands naturally be- 
 tween our subject in this chapter and that 
 in the last. In one aspect it is individual 
 work, in another it is associated. No home 
 work is more closely analogous to that in the 
 Mission Field. Excepting for difference in 
 climate and colour, greater ignorance and 
 darker sin, the house-to-house work in 
 India, for instance, is strangely like that in 
 England. There is the same need for 
 patient, thoughtful sowing, the same long 
 waiting for results ; there is the same diffi- 
 culty on the visitor's part in directness, the 
 same shrinking from an avowal of accepted 
 truth on the part of those visited. There 
 are the same varied natures and varied 
 needs, the same hindrances, the same hopes 
 and fears. If God has entrusted you with 
 a district to visit at home, remember it is 
 missionary work. It is a spot to be evan- 
 
■ Useful Discipline. 5 r 
 
 gelised for Him, to be prayed over earnestly 
 and continuously, and to be held as a 
 sacred trust for which you will have to 
 give account. And while you seek to do 
 this work in the true missionary spirit, you 
 will learn many invaluable lessons to be 
 practised by-and-bye in a larger sphere. 
 
 The necessity of submitting to rules in 
 such practical matters as the distribution 
 of relief; the restraints imposed by the 
 cautions of experience on unguarded sym- 
 pathy, or over-sanguine conclusions ; and 
 the habit engendered by the easy oppor- 
 tunity of seeking counsel from your clergy- 
 man, — will most surely prove a valuable 
 preparation for foreign missionary work. 
 You will remember them when tempted to 
 write your report from abroad with coiilcur 
 de rose ; when you are face to face with 
 temporal needs seemingly far more sad 
 than any which confront us here ; when you 
 are disposed to think with self-satisfaction 
 of spiritual success ; or when the kindly, 
 but for the moment, perhaps, unwelcome 
 comments of some senior superintending 
 worker will check unwisdom, which, origi- 
 nating in the best intentions, might have 
 D 2 
 
5 2 TeacJier and Pupil. 
 
 led to dire results. Bend yourself, then, 
 lovingly and humbly to the discipline 
 which a district must bring. 
 
 Again, Siniday-school zuork provides train- 
 ing of the best kind for future missionaries. 
 It calls into play not only tact and sym- 
 pathy and the power of working with others, 
 but also the faculty of imparting Bible 
 knowledge, and giving clear expression to 
 doctrinal truth. Nowadays in most Sun- 
 day-schools regular courses of published 
 Lessons are prescribed for every class. 
 This has the advantage, if the courses are 
 wisely chosen, of securing a due sequence 
 and proportion in the teaching of the fun- 
 damental doctrines of our faith. You will, 
 in preparing such lessons for your class, 
 find yourself obliged to take the position of 
 '• pupil " all the week, reserving that of 
 '' teacher " for the Sunday-school hour. 
 
 Whether the lessons be prescribed ones 
 or not, the true teacher will always keep the 
 main object in view, namely, the salvation 
 through Jesus Christ of the scholars in his 
 class, and their building up in the Faith. 
 He will own entirely that this must 
 be the work of the Holy Ghost, and yet he 
 
Magnify the Office. 53 
 
 will apply himself with diligence to do his 
 part towards that end. He will seek to 
 convey a clear, though outline, knowledge 
 of the great plan of salvation to each boy 
 or girl, tracing its unfoldings in every part 
 of Holy Writ ; and he will do so with 
 the avowed expectation that knowledge 
 shall be translated into experience ; he will 
 prayerfully watch indications of a sense of 
 sin that he may lovingly point the awakened 
 soul to the finished work of Christ. What 
 training for the Mission Field is this ? And 
 alas ! how little do Sunday-school teachers 
 *' magnify " their " office " ; how lightly is 
 the work undertaken, how. lightly set aside ! 
 It is second to no branch of Christian work 
 in importance, in interest, in difficulties ; 
 yet one sometimes hears it spoken of as if 
 it were a trivial duty, a Sunday " matter-of- 
 course." 
 
 Giving addresses in cottage meetings, to 
 Bible-classes, or in the open air will also 
 furnish im.portant missionary training. It 
 may be you are inclined to offer an old ob- 
 jection — that of Jeremiah — " I CANNOT 
 speak " (Jer. i. 6). But there is an experi- 
 -ence which should go hand in hand with 
 
54 " •^ caiuiot " — '* / cixjl' 
 
 this. It is that of St. Paul in Phil. iv. 13 : 
 " I CAN do all things through Christ which 
 strengtheneth me." These articles are in- 
 tended for those who are hoping some day 
 to be working among the heathen, and if 
 this hope comes to be realised, they will 
 find it probably an absolute duty from time 
 to time to speak to companies of people 
 both in houses and in the open air. Take, 
 therefore, the " I can " of the great Mission- 
 ary, and do not shrink from this one of the 
 " all things " which Christ will enable you 
 to do. Your weakness is a direct claim on 
 the strength of God. Far better to be a 
 trembling, faltering speaker, who feels that 
 in his own strength he "cannot," than to be 
 assured and self-reliant with the " I can" of 
 human power. Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
 " could not," and yet they " could." Out of 
 the same weakness the same strength avails 
 to-day. Try it, and you will prove it true. 
 Many and various are the kinds of meet- 
 ings to be addressed ; we do not say that 
 each worker should attempt them all. 
 Especially do we urge upon our sisters 
 to observe all due regard for quietness 
 and gentleness of demeanour, reminding 
 
Children s Meetings. 55 
 
 them that while the Spirit of prophecy 
 is still poured out on the "handmaidens" 
 of the Lord, the Pauline precepts referring 
 to woman's place in the Church have never 
 been revoked. 
 
 Before passing on to the question of the 
 preparation of lessons or addresses, a word 
 about children's meetings may be allowed. 
 It would be interesting to note the number 
 of well-known workers amongst children who 
 are now in the Mission Field. Pej"haps there 
 is a danger here, as in Sunday-school teach- 
 ing, of underrating the solemnity of the 
 work. Little hearts are strangely sus- 
 ceptible, little minds strangely keen, little 
 consciences strangely sensitive to every 
 word and touch. Simple teaching is all 
 that is needed, no doubt ; but oh ! let it be 
 clear and true and real ; let it have sub- 
 stance and povrer ; let it be based on the 
 Bible, not on illustrations mainly ; and in 
 personal dealing with the little ones go 
 softly and slowly and deeply to work, laying 
 a Divine foundation for all the future life. 
 Remember that sin is a great reality to 
 children ; that oftentimes they are dimly 
 conscious of the convicting power of the 
 
56 On preparing a Lesson. 
 
 Spirit of God ; and that the fear of death 
 and the hereafter is strongly present with 
 them. Hence, whilst very open to the 
 Gospel of God's grace, they need the ten- 
 derest dealing, the most guarded, loving 
 care. 
 
 Now as to the preparation of lessons or 
 addresses. Sometimes one hears it said, 
 " I scarcely prepare at all, but just trust to 
 be given the right words at the time." 
 Where is the Scripture warrant for this "^ 
 " Take no thought how or what ye shall 
 speak " (St. Matt. x. 19) does not apply to 
 the ordinary work of preaching or teaching 
 the Gospel, as the context readily shows. 
 If a servant of the Lord is nnexpectedly 
 called upon to speak, no doubt he may 
 implicitly trust for the right message to be 
 given, but in ordinary cases careful and 
 prayerful preparation seems most in accord- 
 ance with the mind and will of God. The 
 choice of a subject should be made under 
 the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in 
 simple faith that He will direct. Instruc- 
 tion, illustration, application should have 
 due place, and no verse should be 
 interpreted in a sense not confirmed by the 
 
A typical Address. 57 
 
 context. Each truth of revelation is 
 abundantly proved by passages bearing 
 directly upon it ; we weaken our cause and 
 grieve the Spirit of Truth when we allow 
 ourselves to use passages to prove truths 
 to which they do not really refer. It has 
 been well said that " some people teach by 
 persuading, and others persuade by 
 teaching." The latter way is infinitely the 
 better. Application and illustration may 
 sway the emotions, but only solid tcacJdng, 
 under the influence of the Holy Spirit, 
 ought to be relied on to reach and convert 
 the soul. 
 
 Take a typical Bible address — that in 
 Acts ii. — and use it as a model for your 
 own. Note first the condition of the 
 speaker. He was " filled with the Spirit " ; 
 he spoke under the guidance of the Holy 
 Ghost. Then see how closely he kept to 
 Scripture, referring everything to the 
 standard of God's Word. Notice further, 
 that whilst personal testimony (ver. 32) 
 and direct reference to the personal know- 
 ledge of his hearers (ver. 22, 33) have due 
 place, the sermon embodies a great mass 
 of Christian doctrine, in fact every article 
 
58 Special Dangers. 
 
 of the Apostles' Creed is either expressed 
 or implied in the chapter. Finally, in 
 closing, the Apostle makes a direct 
 descent upon the consciences of his hearers, 
 and leaves them " pricked in their hearts." 
 If we had more of such teaching as this, 
 we should see more of results such as St. 
 Peter saw. That address was followed by 
 " an after-meeting," during which those 
 convicted of sin came, asking, " What shall 
 we do .'* " Then with fearless individual 
 dealing, the Apostle puts before them — 
 not a shallow Gospel, but the full and 
 glorious truth ; he calls them to repentance 
 and faith, and proclaims to them the 
 definite gift of the Holy Spirit. May the 
 Lord teach those who shall one day go to 
 the Mission Field so to teach and so to 
 deal with inquiring souls ; then we shall 
 see converts more like those of the Day of 
 Pentecost, as the Lord adds daily to the 
 Church those that are being saved. 
 
 A word in closing as to special dangei's 
 in associated work. It is easy to allow it 
 to displace home duty, and so bring dis- 
 honour to the Lord. Earnestly do we 
 warn all " candidates-in-waiting " of this. 
 The Hand that bars your way to many a 
 
" Praise vf Men.' ' 5 9 
 
 meeting and class where you "want to go" 
 is the wise and loving Hand of God. It 
 may be that, for the present, much outside 
 work is not good for you ; you may be 
 in danger of teaching beyond your ex- 
 perience, or toiling beyond your strength. 
 Put home, with its prior claims and 
 honoured restrictions, in the first place, and 
 take up, outside it, such work as is sent 
 you by the Lord. Then, again, associated 
 work has a varying amount of publicity, 
 and is therefore liable to be done for 
 " praise of men." This and other secondary 
 motives are very apt to creep in, such as a 
 desire to be with certain other workers, or 
 connected with certain kinds of w^ork. 
 Humble, prayerful watchfulness, and con- 
 stant self-examination in the light of the 
 Holy Spirit, are the only safeguards. 
 Lastly, there is a great danger of leaning 
 upon other \\orkers, or upon special 
 methods, instead of waiting only upon God. 
 If the power of a meeting is thought to 
 depend on the presence of certain people, 
 or upon certain forms of order, or disorder, 
 can we be said truly to " have faith in 
 God''? Neither worker nor method is 
 essential where He is all in all. 
 
6o A Call and a Character, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PREPARATION AS TO CHARACTER AND 
 HABITS. 
 
 IT has been well said that a missionary 
 needs not only a Call but a Character. 
 It is important to ascertain why you, as a 
 missionary candidate, want to go to the 
 Foreign Field, what doctrines you believe, 
 what knowledge you have acquired, what 
 work you have done ; but what you are, in 
 addition to all your knowing and doing, is 
 of vital importance too. 
 
 The way in which character may be 
 formed and developed in life and work at 
 home, is our subject, then, in this chapter. 
 First, let us take a steady look at the 
 character zve have to start zuith. 
 
 It is clear that each of us inherits, from an- 
 cestors more or less remote, certain charac- 
 teristics or features which largely influence 
 our future life. It is essential that in any dis- 
 cussion of character formation or develop- 
 
Differences and BleviisJies. 6i 
 
 ment, we should give these natural charac- 
 teristics their proper place. 
 
 Being born unlike, nothing will ever 
 make us quite alike. Varied types of 
 character have their place and value, not 
 only in the Church at home, but in the 
 Mission Field ; we need, however, carefully 
 to distinguish between those differences of 
 character which are necessary to the well- 
 being of the work, and those natural 
 blemishes of character which will sadly mar 
 and hinder it, unless they are removed by 
 the grace of God. Can God's grace do 
 this ? Yes ! for have we not seen the 
 strong made gentle, the weak made 
 vigorous, the timid made bold — " under the 
 mighty hand of God " ? Natural character 
 is the soil which the great Husbandman 
 tills. In some cases He adds what enriches 
 and fertilises ; in others, the stiff damp 
 clay needs an admixture of sand ; in others 
 again, there is need to have the great rocks 
 and stones blasted out by some vast power ; 
 but when all this has been done, each soil, 
 good and useful in its way, is best suited 
 for a certain kind of crop. 
 
 If you would know the extent, and at the 
 
62 ]V/iat God's Grace docs. 
 
 same time the limit of God's dealing with 
 natural character, trace it in the Bible for 
 yourselves. Look at Moses, at Joshua, 
 at Elijah ; look at Jonah, at Jeremiah ; look 
 at David — and at Saul. Study St. Peter 
 as he was, and as God fashioned him ; see 
 the man called Boanerges turned to the 
 disciple of love. But perhaps the deepest 
 character study of all is that of the Apostle 
 Paul, clearly pictured for us before his 
 conversion, and followed thence step by 
 step till the well-fought fight is nearly 
 done. 
 
 Have any of you felt utter discourage- 
 ment because your natural character is not 
 as vigorous or as balanced as others ? 
 Take heart ! what the grace of God did for 
 men of old it can do, and does, for men and 
 women of to-day. 
 
 Have any of you felt tempted to justify 
 repeated failure because you are " naturally " 
 this or that } Take heed ! Such a phrase 
 is often used, not as a humble confession of 
 weakness, but a-s a mere excuse. If God's 
 grace is "sufficient," you are responsible if 
 you do not use the grace. 
 
 As you seek to trace in your Bible the 
 
TJic formation of CJiaractcr. 6} 
 
 extent to which natural character is modi- 
 fied or developed, you will not fail to notice 
 the varied means which God employed to 
 that end. Primarily, of course, the great 
 trainer and developer of character is the 
 Spirit of God. It is ever His work to 
 bring form out of chaos. But here, as else- 
 where, He works in general through means, 
 and He deigns to use us as instruments to 
 forward His designs. 
 
 From the character which we have to 
 start with, we pass on, therefore, to consider 
 /iozu cJiaracter is daily being formed. It 
 dignifies and glorifies the homely suffering 
 of life when we recognise our circumstances 
 as the great means by which character is 
 disciplined day by day. The setting of 
 God's jewels is designed by His love, and 
 fashioned by His hand. He has put each 
 of us — unless we are definitely resisting His 
 Will— into the place and amongst the 
 people where we can be best developed and 
 trained. To our dull minds and restless 
 w^ills it may seem as if the waiting-time 
 were being wasted because we are hedged 
 in from '• work " by home difficulties, or 
 yoked to uncongenial companions, or 
 
64 Ordered Circumstances. 
 
 hampered by lack of means ; if only the 
 eyes of our understanding were enlightened, 
 and our wills hushed into obedience to the 
 grand and perfect Will of God, we should 
 see that all these outer things are not 
 merely allowed, hut 3.ctua.\\y orde^rd by the 
 One who makes no mistakes. Remember 
 that He " knoweth what is in man " ; that 
 ev^ery lack, every unlovely excrescence of 
 character, every possibility of life and 
 service here and hereafter, are open to the 
 eyes of Him with Whom we have to do. 
 Well may we say with the patriarch Job, 
 " His hands took pains about me" (Job. x. 
 8, maro-.). By-and-bye, in India, or China, 
 or Japan, or Africa, or somewhere else in 
 that " field " which is the world, the 
 chastening through circumstances which 
 seems grievous now will yield peaceable 
 fruits of righteousness to those that have 
 been exercised thereby. 
 
 This *' means " towards God's end of per- 
 fecting His servants' character has nothing 
 to do with us; it lies outside our choice. 
 We cannot alter a single circumstance at 
 will. It only remains for us humbly, 
 patiently, joyfully (Rom. v. 3 — 5) to accept 
 
The Pozvcr of Habit. 65 
 
 every circumstance which is sent us, lest by 
 murmuring or rebellion we hinder the end 
 in view. 
 
 But there is another element in the 
 formation of character with which we are 
 practically and constantly concerned. 
 Who can estimate aright the wonderful 
 power of habit, the agpjregate influence of 
 myriads of tiny words and doings ? Too 
 often we allow ourselves to be " slipshod " 
 and careless in the habits of daily life, little 
 knowing what marks are left upon our 
 character thereby. Do you ever say (in 
 your inmost heart, of course) about some- 
 thing which you now " allow " yourself to 
 do, " I shall not do that when I am a 
 missionary " } If so, remember that when 
 you become a missionary you will still be 
 only a man (or a woman, as the case may 
 be) ; there will be nothing in your office 
 to change you. Be now, and do now, 
 exactly what, by God's help, you mean to 
 be and do in the Mission Field ; never 
 allow yourself to live habitually below 
 your convictions on even a minor point. 
 When one day you are placed in a trying 
 climate, with a difficult language to master, 
 
66 Physical Habits. 
 
 and little spiritual help around you, how 
 you will thank God, not only for the 
 character formed by good habits, but for 
 the strength of the habits themselves. 
 
 Let us be thoroughly homely and 
 practical, and have a word to say about 
 physical habits first. Old people always 
 know the importance of these ; young 
 people seldom do. A young man wishes 
 to study half the night and most of the 
 day, taking little exercise and hasty meals ; 
 he does it, and says he has not suffered, 
 but, by-and-bye, the Medical Board report 
 him unfit for foreign work. A girl dislikes 
 the trouble of carrying a waterproof, ignores 
 wet feet, sits needlessly in a draught, over- 
 walks herself, perhaps, and believes it is 
 rather heroic to act as if she were made of 
 iron, instead of flesh and blood. She does 
 it for a year unhurt, then comes a collapse, 
 and the prospect of China or elsewhere 
 recedes from view, perhaps altogether. 
 
 Now the quiet formation of prudent 
 habits would, in a large number of cases, 
 obviate the need for the verdict, " unfit for 
 foreign service." It is true that care will 
 not bring health to those who are constitu- 
 
^' Earlv to bed, early to riseT 6j 
 
 tionally delicate ; but it is equally true that 
 carelessness necessitates the rejection of 
 many who would otherwise have been 
 physically fit. 
 
 Form a habit of going " early to bed," 
 with its proper sequel of " early to rise." 
 Some are kept up late by duty, but are there 
 no young folk who love to loiter, and allow 
 themselves to waste hours that rightfully 
 belong to sleep } A little resolution, con- 
 tinued and prayerful, will soon help in 
 setting this right. Then food habits need 
 some thought. Many neglect proper 
 nourishment, others indulge themselves in 
 dainties ; both extrem.es are injurious to 
 health, and therefore to future usefulness. 
 People who have " a habit of forgetting " 
 their lunch hour at home are not very 
 likely to take proper precautions abroad, 
 and those who habitually " can't eat " 
 homely fare will be troublesome to cater 
 for in the Mission Field. Then as to 
 clothing, fresh air, exercise, we might write 
 volumes. Oh, that all our readers would 
 see the real importance of forming right 
 habits as to these simple things ! 
 
 As to mental and fnoral habits there is 
 
 E 2 
 
68 Books and A vnise^nents. 
 
 still more to be said. What books are you 
 in the habit of reading ? To what kinds 
 of amusements do you go ? These are 
 questions of extreme importance for the 
 future missionary. The few theological 
 books read with a special purpose have not 
 left so deep a mark as the multitude of 
 other books which you have chosen for 
 lighter reading year after year. Have you 
 steadily accustomed your mind to good 
 reading until it has become your choice, 
 or have you bent it now and again to a 
 weighty book, and then let it rebound to 
 its habitual frivolity t About amusements, 
 have you trained yourself to find recreation 
 in what is simple and healthy and pure } 
 When all restraint is taken off, and habit 
 asserts itself, what do you choose? Again, 
 it may be some one says, '* I do now 
 what I shall not do as a missionary." 
 What a terribly low standard ! Are you 
 then going to regulate your amusements 
 or your books by what is consistent with 
 the missionary " profession," not by what 
 is consistent for a blood-bought servant of 
 God.? 
 
 It is God's wise and loving plan to give 
 
A constant say big " No'.' 69 
 
 opportunities for the formation of habits 
 now, that they may strengthen men and 
 women in the great testing and temptation 
 of foreign work by-and-bye. How many 
 opportunities for self-forgetfulness and un- 
 selfishness come to us day by day ! Is 
 there not need for the constant saying 
 " No " to the temptation to speak of self, 
 to think of self, to pity self, in our daily 
 life ? Sometimes we read in a letter from 
 abroad, " So-and-so is beautifully unselfish, 
 and sets us all an example of devotion in 
 the work." Did that unselfishness fall as a 
 cloak upon the missionary ? Nay, it was 
 the result, under God's blessing, of a habit 
 of putting self last at home. Or a letter 
 comes to say, " If we want anything done 
 
 quickly and well, we always take it to ." 
 
 Now if you could get at the secret of 's 
 
 promptness in the tropics, you would be 
 sure to find he had a habit of concentration 
 at home, and did at once, and with all his 
 mind, whatever he had to do. Or at a 
 committee meeting a letter is read, making 
 some important suggestion about certain 
 workers or a certain part of the work. You 
 see directly that it has weight, not only 
 
70 Convictions and Prejudices. 
 
 because the writer is an old, experienced 
 missionary, but because, as some one says 
 presently, he is a man who is in tJie habit 
 of speaking accurately and without ex- 
 aggeration, a habit which no doubt cost 
 him much patience and prayer in years 
 gone by. 
 
 These are but a few points out of many, 
 but they may suffice to show the paramount 
 importance of those constant hourly de- 
 cisions for what is right, by which a habit 
 is formed. 
 
 One word more ; never trifle with a 
 conviction, but be utterly merciless to a 
 prejudice — if it is your own ! These 
 painful prejudices are the cause of half 
 the difficulties in Christian work, and the 
 man who is in the habit of yielding to 
 prejudice is sure to cause sorrow to others 
 and to himself. Prejudices grow above 
 ground in youth ; they are very apparent, 
 but easily removed ; as a man gets 
 older his prejudices are less evident, but 
 they send roots down into the very centre of 
 his being, and are almost impossible to 
 dislodge. Strive earnestly in the waiting- 
 time to get rid of every known prejudice. 
 
spiritual Habits, y i 
 
 and pray earnestly for light to see those 
 which you have not discovered in yourself 
 as yet. It is very important to distinguish 
 between the " open mind," which readily 
 rids itself of prejudice, and is able to weigh 
 fairly the rights and wrongs of a case, and 
 the "unsettled mind," which has no fixed 
 anchorage, and is tossed to and fro with 
 every wind or wave. 
 
 Finally, the formation of spiritual habits 
 is supremely important for the missionary. 
 Here, at home, there is the force of example, 
 the stimulus of constant warning 'and 
 appeal, but out in the Mission Field a man 
 has to stand well-nigh alone with God, 
 amid the deadening influences of heathenism. 
 What a strength to him, then, if the habit 
 of regular Bible reading and study is a 
 strong one ; if it is as natural to him, from 
 long custom, to turn to his Bible as to 
 breathe. But that habit must be formed at 
 home. The chain must be forged by little 
 links wrought out in loving patience year 
 by year. There will be times when intense 
 longing for God's Word may be absent, 
 then the force of a life-long habit will be a 
 barrier against the temptation to sloth. 
 
/- 
 
 III His House, at His Tabic. 
 
 And the habit of prayer — can any words 
 of ours express sufficiently its paramount 
 importance, its need ? Not only the prayer 
 which rises in a moment of special need or 
 pressure, not only the cry of despair when 
 danger is at hand, but the steady, unbroken 
 uprising of a stream of confession, petition, 
 intercession, and praise to the throne of a 
 reconciled God. We at home know well 
 the temptations that assail us in prayer ; we 
 know how Satan assaults us most when we 
 seek to get on our knees before God ; the 
 temptations and the tempter are even 
 stronger in the Mission Field. Let each 
 one seek, by ^the power of the Lord, to 
 persevere to victory here and now, that by- 
 and-bye we may not fail. 
 
 Then the habit of regular attendance at 
 the House of God, a steady continued share 
 in the public services of the sanctuary, is 
 one that should carefully be formed, as well 
 as the constant habit of drawing near in 
 faith to the Table of the Lord, for our 
 own soul's strength and comfort, and in 
 obedience to His own command. Such 
 spiritual habits as these are all important 
 for the growth of holiness in the soul. 
 
A Missionary's Bicsiness. Ji 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PREPARATION IN THINGS PRACTICAL. 
 
 THE business of a true missionary is to 
 preach the Gospel, and to seek to 
 instruct and to estabUsh in the faith all who 
 will learn the way of truth. But we need 
 to remember that a missionary must eat 
 and sleep and take exercise as well as 
 preach; he needs food and clothing and a 
 house ; he has to travel, and most probably 
 to encounter a variety of novel and trying 
 circumstances far away from civilised 
 human aid. Then the people amongst 
 whom he labours have bodies as well as 
 souls ; they need practical as well as spiri- 
 tual help, just as the multitude did when 
 the Christ was on earth ; and, furthermore, 
 they are by no means always ready to 
 listen to the direct preaching of the Word 
 at first, and can best, in the preliminary 
 stages of missionary work, be reached by 
 
74 " Unprofessio7ial " knowledge. 
 
 an appeal to their senses. Hence pre- 
 paration in things practical is well worth 
 while. 
 
 We do not purpose to go into the 
 question of full medical or hospital training, 
 or into the details of educational work. It 
 is widely recognised that men and women 
 fully trained are sorely needed for Medical 
 Missions in many parts of the w^orld, and 
 there are nearly always vacant posts for 
 educational missionaries of every class, 
 from the University man who can be prin- 
 cipal or vice-principal of a Divinity college, 
 down to the elementary school teacher, who 
 can use her power of discipline and know- 
 ledge of method for God's glory in some 
 Mission school. What we want to talk 
 about here is rather the varied practical 
 knowledge — fragmentary, perhaps, and quite 
 *' unprofessional " — which can be acquired 
 during the waiting-time at home. It is well 
 to realise that home duties — yes, and even 
 accomplishments and certain forms of re- 
 creation — are preparation for future work 
 abroad. It is so gloriously possible to do 
 all to the glory of God when we realise how 
 fully every power of body and of mind 
 
Athletics. 75 
 
 is called out and used in the Foreign 
 Field. 
 
 There is always a danger that these 
 earthly things, on which a certain propor- 
 tion of our time and energy is sure to be 
 spent, may get into the wrong place. By 
 divorcing them entirely from the main pur- 
 poses of our life, and isolating them from 
 spiritual aims and objects, all sense of 
 relationship, and therefore of due proportion, 
 is lost. But when we realise that body, 
 soul, and spirit are alike claimed for the 
 service of God, the things of the body and 
 mind are brought into sacred bondage to 
 those which are of the spirit. 
 
 A young man at college would certainly 
 be far less liable to be ensnared into undue 
 love of athletics if he looked on them, while 
 kept in entire subordination to higher 
 things, as an invaluable preparation for 
 missionary work. Such recollections would 
 also help to remind him that many a valu- 
 able worker has been lost to the Mission 
 Field owing to overstrain in athletic exercise 
 at home. 
 
 Instances quickly rise to mind in which 
 first-rate oarsmen and cricketers have made 
 
76 Missionary Cyclists. 
 
 first-rate missionaries. Bishop Tucker's 
 long training in severe exercise on the 
 Cumberland mountains has stood him in 
 good stead in Africa ; the Rev. Barclay 
 Buxton has found his tricycle and the 
 Rev. W. Andrews of Hakodate his bicycle, 
 of good service in Japan ; and the Rev. 
 R. P. Ashe went inland on his bicycle in 
 East Africa, and believes they will be found 
 valuable means of transit on the narrow 
 forest paths. In the storm on the lake, 
 when Bishop Tucker's party were so nearly 
 drowned, attention to the order of the 
 missionary, who knew it was wrong to 
 make fast a lug sail on a squally day, 
 would have saved the terrible risk. We 
 read of India missionaries finding a know- 
 ledge of healthy games a capital beginning 
 of a firm friendship with the Native lads. 
 Then we have heard a West African lady 
 missionary tell of the health she enjoyed 
 because she was able to manage the unruly 
 little Native horses, and so get riding exer- 
 cise every day ; and, as a rule, ladies going 
 to join the Persia Mission have to face a 
 fortnight's ride over the mountains to 
 Ispahan. Yes, walking, climbing, boating, 
 
" Someivhat of an Artisan T yy 
 
 cycling, riding, cricketing may be done to 
 the glory of God, and in direct preparation 
 for a missionary career. 
 
 Again, if it is well for a missionary to have 
 a touch of the athlete, it is also well that he 
 should be somewhat of an artisan. Here, 
 of course, Mackay of Uganda towers above 
 all other illustrations. Not only is engi- 
 neering skill like his of use, but knowledge 
 of building, carpentering, brick-making, or 
 such like arts is sure to turn to account. 
 Letter after letter from the Mission Field 
 tells of the use of such knowledge, or the 
 pains and penalties which result from the 
 lack of it. Native workmen need much 
 supervision, and direct saving of Mission 
 funds is effected when the missionary in 
 these practical matters " knows what he is 
 about." Then a practical knowledge of 
 printing has proved useful many times, and 
 through it missionaries have so trained un- 
 skilled Native workmen as to enable them 
 to issue the Scriptures in distant lands. 
 Many Missions have a small local printing- 
 press, and some experiences in type-setting, 
 &c., at home, would make a young mission- 
 ary able to help from the first. Shoe-mak- 
 
78 Cohhling, cooking, zvashing. 
 
 ing,too,is a most important accomplishment 
 in many parts of the Mission Field ; in 
 fact, so clearly is this recognised, that a 
 shoe-mending class is held at the Church 
 Missionary College for the students. One 
 hundred years ago a shoemaker turned into 
 a missionary ; to-day we see missionaries 
 taking a turn at shoemaking ! 
 
 As to domestic knowledge, scarcely too 
 much can be said. Each "candidate-in- 
 waiting " should learn how to cook (and 
 especially how to prepare simple and 
 tempting food for invalids), how to wash 
 and " make-up," how to make and to mend. 
 This, of course, is more strictly a woman's 
 province, yet we have cause to know that 
 many young men missionaries in isolated 
 stations, with no lady within reach, have 
 been sorely perplexed for lack of knowledge 
 of such homely things. Very often a 
 precious life in the Mission Field may, 
 humanly speaking, depend on the possi- 
 bility of palatable food being prepared from 
 unpromising materials ; happy the man or 
 woman who at such a time is able to give 
 efficient aid. Every missionary, too, is the 
 better for some knowledge of nursing, and of 
 
" y^ ?;; Imlauce Practice. ' ' 79 
 
 the best way to act in such emergencies as 
 must arise in a station far from medical or 
 surgical aid. Ambulance and nursing 
 lectures, as well as lectures on hygiene, are 
 possible for most, and though they do not 
 make a " medical missionary," they give 
 useful and thorough instruction as far as they 
 go. The value of a knowledge of nursing 
 was strikingly exemplified after the recent 
 earthquake in Japan, when Miss Tristram, 
 a highly-qualified educational missionary, 
 was able, because of a few weeks' training 
 in nursing, and thorough familiarity with 
 ** ambulance practice " before she went out, 
 to render important assistance to scores of 
 sufferers. Not for a moment do we exalt 
 partial knowledge to the same level as 
 complete mastery of a subject, but it is 
 important to remember that in many cases 
 a missionary is compelled to combine the 
 functions of a whole home community in 
 himself, and that a little knowledge all 
 round is many degrees better than ig- 
 norance. 
 
 In fact, as one turns the matter over in 
 one's mind, it seems as if every occupation 
 that is not wrong in itself has a bearing on 
 
So ■ Faucy-ivork. 
 
 missionary work. We had thought, per- 
 haps, that fancy work was an exception, 
 but no ! A lady missionary was heard not 
 long since stating that the only disadvantage 
 of her new helper was that she " did not 
 understand fancy work," and therefore the 
 senior worker had herself to take the whole 
 school in this subject, which was regarded 
 by the parents of the pupils as one of con- 
 siderable importance. Perhaps the know- 
 ledge of this may dignify the hours which 
 some " candidate-in-waiting " has to spend 
 " in the drawing-room," unable to do any 
 work but what is considered sufficiently 
 tasteful for the public eye. It is well- 
 known what a power fancy work has been, 
 and still is, in obtaining for lady mission- 
 aries admission into Zenanas. 
 
 The circumstances of those who hope to 
 be missionaries one day vary widely, and in 
 chapters so general as these it is not 
 possible to deal with classes one by one. 
 It is, of course, impossible for everyone to 
 know how to do everything, and you will 
 readily recall many earnest and honoured 
 missionaries who cannot ride, or cook, or 
 mend shoes, or nurse, or do fancy work, or 
 
Music in the Mission Field. 8 1 
 
 manage a printing-press. It would be folly, 
 indeed, to wait until one had compassed 
 such varied knowledge as we have written 
 of to-day, but those who are zvaiting — those 
 who cannot go just yet — will do well to 
 apply themselves diligently to such portions 
 of it as are individually within their reach. 
 Turning for a moment to things of a 
 more intellectual aspect, notice the great 
 value of music — vocal and instrumental — 
 in missionary work. All who can should 
 take pains to cultivate this. An ear accus- 
 tomed carefully to distinguish tones is a 
 great help in learning a difficult language, 
 such as Chinese. To be able to sing plea- 
 santly, and with clear enunciation of the 
 words, means having an open door for the 
 Gospel where preaching would, perhaps, fail 
 to find entrance. A knowledge of the 
 tonic-sol-fa system has proved of great 
 value again and again. Missionaries, both 
 men and women, have carried portable 
 instruments — small organs, concertinas, 
 violins, and others — into the w^ilds of 
 Africa, up the snowy sides of the Hima- 
 layas, far away into North-West America, 
 and everywhere the music has proved a 
 F 
 
82 A ccoiin t- keeping. 
 
 help in the work. In many Mission 
 churches and schoolrooms there are har- 
 moniums to be played, and curious Native 
 music to be read at sight. We have seen 
 a letter from a lady missionary, rejoicing 
 that in the midst of all her helplessness 
 about the strange language, she was able 
 on her very first Sunday at the station to 
 play the harmonium in church. 
 
 Experience in " operating " with a lan- 
 tern is another valuable item of practical 
 preparation for the Mission Field. In 
 many places pictures are being increasingly 
 used to make Bible incidents real to the 
 people, and our young missionaries are 
 called upon to be the exhibitors. Photo- 
 graphy is also well worth a thought, and 
 any facility for making rapid pencil sketches 
 should be developed. 
 
 It is a safe statement that every mis- 
 sionary is sure, somehow or other, to be 
 called upon sooner or later to keep accounts. 
 This, which is a very simple matter if you 
 know how to do it, is terribly perplexing 
 to one who has never attempted it before. 
 And most lady missionaries are likely to 
 have a turn at keeping school registers 
 
Natural Science. "6^ 
 
 before they have been very long In the 
 field. Here are two simple and practical 
 matters, easily mastered to a sufficient 
 extent by any one at home, without much 
 expenditure of trouble or of time, and a 
 knowledge of them may mean much to 
 yourself and to your fellow-workers in days 
 to come. 
 
 Again, any knowledge of natural science 
 is of value in the field. To be able to 
 explain visible phenomenon may give aid 
 in dispelling superstitions amongst the 
 natives, and familiarity with the positions 
 of the leading constellations may help a 
 missionary to guide his steps aright. Botany 
 and geology, too, are of use, but here a 
 careful guard must be raised against the 
 seductiveness of " collections," which might 
 possibly prove as unduly absorbing to a 
 missionary as they have to other men. 
 
 Intending candidates may also, with 
 great advantage, spend time in a careful 
 study of the whole Mission Field. 
 There are numerous magazines to be read ; 
 there are missionary questions to be 
 answered. Books may be borrowed, and 
 such can always be had, for *' v/here there 
 F 2 
 
84 Other work and other ivorkers. 
 
 is a will there is a way." The geo- 
 graphy and history of Missions are well 
 worth attention. The policy of Missions 
 is far more interesting than that of any 
 earthly kingdom. Have you realised how 
 you will be tempted by-and-bye in the field 
 to look on your own special station or 
 Mission as the central one, more important 
 than any other } Its comparative needs 
 will be enormously magnified to you through 
 personal contact with them ; reinforce- 
 ments will oftentimes seem very inadequate 
 in proportion to those sent elsewhere ; and 
 the interest of the missionary papers, which 
 reach you a month or two after date, will 
 depend largely on whether the Mission that 
 you love so well has received due mention 
 in them. A knowledge of and love for 
 other work and other workers is the best 
 antidote to this. It will help you to 
 remember that your corner of time and 
 space is only a fragment of an age-long, 
 world-wide movement for the evangelisa- 
 tion of the world. See how Mackay in 
 Central Africa followed every advance in 
 India, China, or at home, with as keen and 
 intelligent an interest as if it had directly 
 
Views of future work. 85 
 
 concerned himself ; the broad questions of 
 missionary policy throughout the world 
 were present with him in his solitude by 
 the Lake. 
 
 This study of contemporary missionary 
 history, and of missionary biography as 
 well, will also help to rid you while at 
 home of the unhealthy glamour which dis- 
 torts your view of your future work. You 
 will find that spiritual results are beyond 
 all human comprehension in their origin, 
 and can be commanded by no methods ; 
 not even the personal consecration of the 
 missionary, not even firm faith in the power 
 of the Holy Ghost, can ensure an early 
 ingathering of souls. You will find that 
 men who died after long years of apparently 
 fruitless labour have yet done service for 
 which all succeeding workers have given 
 glory to God ; and you will learn that 
 many apparent revivals and ingatherings 
 have proved but fleeting in real results. 
 You will see that missionaries have to take 
 a humble place in the eyes of the heathen 
 as well as of the civilised world ; that they 
 have little romance, little honour, little to 
 flatter self in their lives. But, on the other 
 
S6 The true Missionary's attitude. 
 
 hand, you will gather something of the 
 marvellous wonder-working power of the 
 " Wind " which " bloweth whither it 
 listeth," even the Spirit of God. You will 
 catch glimpses of the true missionary's 
 attitude — humble, from a sense of his power- 
 lessness ; watchful in every detail of life 
 and conduct, from a sense of his responsi- 
 bility; rejoicing and expectant even through 
 long delay and disappointment, from a 
 sense that, being where' he is in obedience 
 to the call of God, he will in due season 
 reap if he faints not. And you will find, as 
 a cordial to your own soul, the oft-repeated 
 assurance that the consolations of God's 
 grace abound to the servants who leave all 
 for Him, and that missionary service and 
 suffering have a heavenly sweetness even 
 before the cross is exchanged for the 
 crown. 
 
No definition attempted. 8/ 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PREPARATION AS TO C.M.S. PRINCIPLES. 
 
 TO furnish a definition of C.M.S. prin- 
 ciples would be a task beyond the 
 writer's power. The Society itself has no- 
 where attempted to define those cherished 
 principles which have ever been its glory 
 and its strength. The position of the 
 C.M.S. as an evangelical Church society 
 results not so much from what it has said 
 as from what it has done ; the accumulated 
 evidence of a line of work carried on with- 
 out deviation for well-nigh a century is 
 more conclusive than any official utterance 
 could be. 
 
 In the preceding chapters many, nay 
 most, of the great principles and doctrines 
 of evangelical Christianity have been 
 touched upon. To these, though they are 
 of paramount importance, we shall not now 
 recur. Our object is rather to make such 
 
88 Many workers, one zvork. 
 
 suggestions as will enable intending candi- 
 dates to prepare themselves for missionary 
 service in connection with the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society as loyal and intelligent 
 members of our beloved National Church. 
 
 In the C.M.S. Monthly Cycle of Prayer, 
 which it is hoped all candidates-in-waiting 
 regularly use, different missionary societies 
 are brought before us for special prayer, on 
 the thirty-first day of the month. They 
 have all one grand object — the evangeli- 
 sation of the world — and believe that 
 nothing can effect that end but the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the 
 circulation of His Word, under the gracious 
 influence of the Holy Ghost. Yet there are 
 certain features which clearly distinguish 
 one society from another. In some cases 
 this distinction is territorial. We are asked 
 to pray for the South American Missionary 
 Society, for the China Inland Mission, for 
 the North Africa Mission, &c. Other 
 societies are formed to reach women by 
 means of women, as for instance the two 
 Zenana Societies, and the Society for Pro- 
 moting Female Education in the East. 
 Others, again, draw their support from cer- 
 
No fit zuorker excluded. 89 
 
 tain denominations at home, and send 
 members of those denominations to repre- 
 sent them in the Mission Field ; such are 
 the Wesleyan and Baptist Societies, and 
 many others. Then there are the unde- 
 nominational societies, which, though they 
 may have territorial limits (as the C.I.M. 
 has), or may work only amongst women 
 (as the I.F.N.S. does), are willing to accept 
 members of the various evangelical Churches 
 for the Foreign Field. Therefore, broadly 
 speaking, we may say that for every country 
 open to the Gospel there is an organi- 
 sation ready (as far, in some cases, as funds 
 permit), to send out suitable workers, and 
 no truly earnest man or woman is shut out 
 from the Mission Field because of his or 
 her attachment to any recognised section 
 of the Christian Church. But it is true at 
 the same time that candidates may some- 
 times be excluded, because of such attach- 
 ments, from certain societies, and therefore 
 from CQvtdiin parts of the Mission Field. A 
 man who was by conviction a Baptist could 
 not go as a missionary to Uganda, nor 
 could a man who was definitely a member 
 of the Church of England go as a mission- 
 
90 Loyalty essential. 
 
 aiy to the Lower Congo, unless each 
 went in independence of the societies now 
 at work in these respective fields. But both 
 Baptist and Episcopalian would have 
 abundant opening for work in other dis- 
 tricts where there is no less pressing need. 
 
 We want you to understand very clearly 
 that a missionary society is bound, not 
 only by the convictions of its members, 
 but by its pledges to the public who sup- 
 port it, to be perfectly true and loyal to 
 the line of work which it has taken up. 
 No one would expect the C.I.M., for in- 
 stance, to send a missionary to North-West 
 America, or question the action of one of 
 the women's missionary societies if they 
 refused to accept a man. On exactly the 
 same principle, the Baptist Missionary 
 Society could not accept a candidate who 
 held that " the baptism of young children 
 is in anywise to be retained in the Church," 
 though they might be heartily glad to see 
 him sent forth by another section of the 
 Church of Christ. 
 
 The Church Missionary Society (though 
 bound by Law XXXI. to maintain a 
 " friendly relation " with " other Protestant 
 
C.MS. Candidates. 91 
 
 societies engaged in the same benevolent 
 design of propagating the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ") is unable to accept as mission- 
 aries those who, at the time of offering, 
 are not bond fide members of the Church of 
 England, and in hearty accord with the 
 Protestant and Evangelical principles which 
 her formularies and articles recognise. The 
 Society's work in the Mission Field was 
 founded, and is still conducted on these 
 lines, and it is essential for the comfort 
 and harmony of the Missions that each 
 member should not only be at one on 
 fundamental doctrines such as those con- 
 tained in the first eighteen Articles, and 
 those on the Sacraments, but should also 
 intelligently accept the statements set forth 
 in the remaining Articles, especially those 
 on Church constitution and government. 
 
 Perhaps you say; " Surely difference of 
 view on these points would not involve 
 difficulties in practical work ? It would be 
 easy to be silent about them ; missionaries 
 do not go out to preach infant baptism, for 
 instance, but Christ." In one sense, most 
 true ; and yet if you think a little you will 
 see what practical difficulties divergence of 
 
92 Infa7it Baptism. 
 
 view on infant baptism would involve. 
 Let us suppose a case. A lady missionary 
 visits amongst Chinese women ; her labours 
 are blessed with success ; the mother of a 
 family is led to know and believe in the 
 Son of God, and, after due testing and 
 inquiry, is finally baptized. Then comes 
 the question, What about her children — too 
 young as yet for conscious faith in Christ ? 
 The C.M.S. missionary will, of course, 
 wish them to be baptized, and he will 
 naturally look to the lady missionary to 
 help to instruct the mother as to the full 
 meaning of so important a step. But if 
 this missionary has strong misgivings as to 
 the Scriptural grounds of infant baptism, 
 her position becomes a very painful one. 
 She must either stifle her misgivings, or 
 dissent openly from her fellow-workers. 
 You see, then, that such a question as that 
 of infant baptism, which comes up whenever 
 there is work amongst women and children, 
 ought to be quietly and prayerfully faced 
 at home. 
 
 Even if a candidate's own mind has 
 never been troubled about such subjects, 
 an intelligent understanding of their Scrip- 
 
CInircJi History. 93 
 
 tural basis is very important in the Mission 
 Field, where much that has been a Hfelong 
 habit to us at home, comes with all the 
 force of novelty to intelligent non-Christian 
 men and women inquiring into the meaning 
 of Christianity ; we need to give them 
 practical illustration that worship, even in 
 its external form, is not a mere matter of 
 heredity, but one of clear conviction. 
 
 Does it sound dull and uninteresting to 
 study with care and prayer on these lines ? 
 If so, it is only because you have not yet 
 begun. Make an effort, pierce a little 
 below the surface of things, and you will 
 not need to be urged to continue. 
 
 Some knowledge of the history of the 
 Church of Christ will be of real value to 
 you, and will link the Acts of the Apostles 
 in the chain of the ages with the missionary 
 enterprise of to-day. You will find how 
 history repeats itself; in the triumphs of 
 Christianity over the ancient Gauls and 
 Celts you will find fresh encouragement for 
 the modern warfare of the Cross, whilst the 
 failures and hindrances of the past will be 
 useful object lessons for the present. The 
 whole story of the Reformation will 
 
94 -^/^^ Book of ConiDwn Prayer. 
 
 emphasise the need for purity in life and 
 doctrine, and show the danger of many 
 errors which were then faced in their full 
 development, and are now among us in 
 germ. Further, as you trace the severance 
 of various bodies of Christians from the 
 Church of England, you will be better able 
 to estimate their relative positions one 
 towards another. You will see how the 
 truths which (amid much that we cannot 
 but deplore) were accentuated by such sepa- 
 ration, have in turn had a frank and full 
 recognition in the teaching of the National 
 Church. Such study as this will not make 
 us love our brethren who differ from us 
 less, but it will make us love our privileges 
 as evangelical Churchmen more. 
 
 Then an intelligent knowledge of the 
 Book of Common Prayer is very important. 
 The history of its formation is blended 
 with the stirring story of Reformation days, 
 and the changes in its wording chronicle 
 the successive tendencies of those unsettled 
 times. Back through the dark Middle Ages 
 into the early days of the Christian Church 
 many portions of it reach, bringing to us 
 the clear and limpid stream of primitive 
 
Its Balance of Truth, 95 
 
 doctrinal truth. The names of many men 
 well known in history are linked with 
 familiar prayers, yet the greater number of 
 those who use the Prayer Book week after 
 week are entirely ignorant of all this interest 
 which lies behind it. 
 
 It must ever be carefully remembered 
 that we accept no statement as true because 
 it appears in the Prayer Book, but only 
 accept the Prayer Book because we believe 
 it embodies truths which have been pre- 
 viously and independently found in the 
 Word of God, Therefore, as we study its 
 teaching, we must bring it to that one and 
 only standard of the Christian's faith. 
 
 You will find it helpful to notice the 
 balance of truth which the services of our 
 Church ensure. The great events of the 
 life of our Lord, as well as such leading 
 doctrines as those of the descent of the 
 Holy Ghost at Pentecost, the Trinity, and 
 the Second Advent, are brought before us 
 in the Church's year, and illustrated by 
 careful selections of Scripture. Then in the 
 orders for Morning and Evening Prayer we 
 have a broad and comprehensive scheme of 
 worship. The opening " sentences " indi- 
 
96 The Order for Morning Prayer, 
 
 cate the only attitude in which man can 
 approach his God ; the Exhortation ac- 
 knowledges the Scriptural basis of con- 
 fession to God, both in private and public, 
 and calls upon all present to humble them- 
 selves before the Throne of Grace. The 
 General Confession, with its unconditional 
 acknowledgment of the sinner's guilt and 
 helplessness, relieved at the close by the 
 all-prevailing plea of the "promises declared 
 unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord," 
 leads up to the Absolution, in which the 
 terms of God's pardon to all true penitents 
 are declared, and the need of the Holy 
 Spirit as the power for a holy life is 
 emphasised. Then, after the Lord's Prayer 
 and the Versicles, the true worshippers are 
 invited ''to sing unto the Lord," and the 
 praises of the redeemed are heard. Then 
 follow the Psalms, and a lesson from Old 
 Testament and New, interspersed with 
 further songs of praise, until, based on the 
 Word of God which has been read, the 
 Apostles' Creed comes as the personal and 
 audible expression of each worshipper's 
 faith. Finally, having in true penitence 
 sought and received forgiveness for which 
 
A BeaiUiful Sequence. 97 
 
 praise has been offered up, having been duly 
 instructed in the Word of God and confessed 
 a faith founded thereon, the congregation 
 is invited to join in a service of intercession 
 wonderfully varied in its remembrance of 
 need. It must be remembered, too, that the 
 idea of united Congregational worship, in 
 the sense of any intelligent approach to 
 God, is entirely unknown in heathen lands. 
 Again and again have missionaries testified 
 to the great value of the Book of Common 
 Prayer as a means of enlightening the 
 understanding and guiding the united 
 devotions of those but lately emerged from 
 heathenism, who have no adequate idea of 
 how fitly to approach the Throne of Grace. 
 
 It is possible some readers may never 
 have noticed the beauty of the above 
 sequence before. One no less helpful and 
 striking is readily traced in the Communion 
 Service, perhaps the most solemn and 
 beautiful of any service in the Prayer 
 Book. 
 
 Space does not permit us to take the 
 
 Occasional Services one by one. Each of 
 
 them is full of interest, and embodies 
 
 weighty truth. Each one will repay you 
 
 G 
 
98 The Thirty-nine Articles. 
 
 for study, if such study be hallowed by 
 prayer. 
 
 You will also do well to study the 
 Nineteenth and following Articles, in addi- 
 tion to the earlier ones, which deal more 
 exclusively with questions of doctrine. 
 The broad yet guarded definition of "the 
 visible Church of Christ," the clearly-ex- 
 pressed subordination of the authority of 
 that Church and its Councils to the Word 
 of God, and the definition of those who be 
 '* lawfully called and sent" to minister "the 
 Sacraments in the congregation " ought to 
 be familiar to us all. Then come the 
 Articles bearing upon the Sacraments, a 
 fruit of the Reformation for which we have 
 cause to thank God. Study them line by 
 line, compare them with the Catechism, 
 the Baptismal, Confirmation, and Com- 
 munion Services, and the Eleventh Article, 
 and then, not isolating a phrase here or 
 there, which by such isolation favours an 
 extreme of interpretation, compare, with 
 humble prayer for the teaching of the Holy 
 Spirit, their general tenour with the Word 
 of God — the test which the Articles them- 
 selves set before us again and again. 
 
Whatisa'' Cair'^ 99 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE MISSIONARY CALL. 
 
 WHAT is a "Missionary Call"? 
 With conscious weakness and 
 humble dependence upon the guidance of 
 the Spirit of Truth let us seek to consider 
 this question for a little to-day. 
 
 First, look at the Missionary Call in its 
 universal aspec t. The command — the great 
 commission — recorded in each of the four 
 Gospels, and also in the opening chapter 
 of the Acts of the Apostles, was not ad- 
 dressed to the Apostles only, but to the 
 whole body of believers. Nor did it refer 
 only to " the uttermost parts of the earth," 
 it included Jerusalem and Judsea. The 
 command was put into practical effect 
 when the Apostle Peter began to preach 
 in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, and 
 it was further acted on after the persecution 
 following the death of Stephen, when the 
 G 2 
 
100 i\ot Exempt. 
 
 whole Church was " scattered abroad," and 
 t he members of it '' went everywhere 
 preachings the Word ." 
 
 As in the beginning of the Dispensation 
 of the Spirit, so we find it to-day. 
 The "field" is still " the world," not only the 
 distant portions of it ; the " called " to 
 active personal service are still not a few 
 only, but the body of those who know and 
 love the Lord, and are in living union with 
 Him by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in its 
 primary and universal aspect, this call is 
 simply the direct and personal pressing 
 home by the Holy Spirit of the claim of a 
 risen Lord upon His servants for consecra- 
 tion to His service, with no limitation or 
 intimation as to what the nature or place 
 of such service shall be. This is as simple 
 and as fundamental as the great Christian 
 doctrines which we all accept and love : 
 would to God that it were definitely and 
 practically recognised by every member of 
 His Church ! If it were, every Christian 
 would recognise that, by the terms of his 
 enlistment, no soldier is "exempt from 
 foreign service," and that to say, " I will 
 not go," or, 'T cannot give up home work or 
 
A searchiiiz Will-test.. loi 
 
 %i> 
 
 friends to go," is to cherish a spirit of 
 rebellion against Christ's rightful claims. 
 ''A good soldier of Jesus Christ" is called 
 to be in readiness to march behind the 
 colours anywJiere, and to look on such 
 following as part of the allegiance due to 
 the great Captain of the host of the Lord. 
 
 Are there not many amongst us Avho 
 have scarcely realised this, many who 
 regard themselves as " exempt " without 
 the least ground for so doing ; many who 
 look on missionary work as an extra thing, 
 not included at all in their own covenant 
 with God ; many who could not say from 
 their hearts, *' By God's grace, I am willing 
 to serve ' in the place which the Lord shall 
 choose,^ whether that place be at home or 
 abroad " ? 
 
 This is a question which, when first it is 
 faced, touches far down in many a heart. 
 It comes as a deep and searching will-test 
 — a tender, sacred questioning of the soul's 
 allegiance to God. Oh, how can it be, 
 when He has surrendered all for us, that 
 it should raise such a tempest within us 
 when He claims this surrender of our wills ? 
 How it shames and humbles us that we 
 
102 *' Behold me ; send me.'' 
 
 should be so slow, so reluctant to realise 
 the obligation of such consecration of service 
 to our Lord. The question once raised 
 must be answered. The soul that has seen 
 the Lord high and lifted up, and has, there- 
 fore, humbled before His Holiness, been 
 bowed in conscious uncleanness to the dust, 
 and has been cleansed by the living coal 
 from off the altar, must hear the voice of 
 God, "Whom shall I send, and who will 
 go for us ? " and must surely answer, as 
 did the prophet Isaiah of old, " Behold me ; 
 send me " (Isaiah vi. 8, j/mrg.). 
 
 It will readily be seen that the Missionary 
 Call, in this its universal aspect, deals 
 mainly with the will, which is yielded to 
 Christ, and with the conscience, whi ch is 
 enlightened as to the extent of ' responsi- 
 bility. It implies no fitness for foreign 
 missionary work, and involves no definite 
 direction to ** go." It is as essential for 
 those who stay at home as for those who 
 go abroad, for until a man is willing for 
 service anywhere at the bidding of his Lord, 
 he will be in bondagepiimself, and will be 
 unable to stir others to set forth for distant 
 lands. 
 
An Individual Call. 103 
 
 We have said that wilHngness on a man's 
 part to go — even when such wilHngness is 
 the result of the influences of the Holy 
 Spirit within him — does not always imply 
 an intention on God's part to send. There 
 is an individual Missionary Call , analogous 
 to the "Go" with which God followed 
 Isaiah's prayer to be sent. A great deal 
 of mystery has centred round this indi- 
 vidual Missionary Call. Some have so 
 magnified it as to degrade it into a mere 
 work upon the emotions, others have so 
 minimised it as to make it a compulsory 
 acting on a mere sense of duty to the 
 heathen world. 
 
 But after all, the call is very simple to 
 him who, in childlike faith, has prayed, 
 " Send me." In one of the many ways in 
 which His sheep hear His voice, the Divine 
 Shepherd can speak to the listening soul. 
 Sometimes the call will come through a 
 human messenger, sometimes through His 
 Word ; sometimes it will be heard only in 
 the inner chamber of the heart, sometimes 
 it will come through outward circumstances 
 and opened doors. Sometimes it will be a 
 ringing call to press through seeming 
 
I04 Sending, not going. 
 
 impossibilities to some special work beyond ; 
 sometimes it will be a quiet guiding to take 
 " the next step " towards the Mission Field, 
 with no clear conviction as to what the 
 following step shall be. But whatever the 
 varying form or force of the call, the essence 
 of it is this : " The sheep hear His voice, 
 and He calleth His own sheep by name and 
 leadeth them out, and when He putteth 
 forth His own sheep He goeth before them, 
 and the sheep follow Him, for they know 
 His voice." 
 
 But if it is all so simple a matter as this, 
 wdience come all the bewilderment and 
 tangle which so often surround " a Mis- 
 sionary Call " ? Ah ! they come not from 
 the Shepherd but from the sheep. We 
 come so seldom with the childlike prayer 
 for God's sending, and so often with complex 
 wilful plans about our going ; we forget so 
 often that the choice must lie to the last in 
 God's hands, and that it is terribly easy to 
 rebound from the one extreme of not being 
 willing to go abroad, into the other no less 
 dishonouring one of not being willing to 
 stay at home. 
 
 A difficulty often arises as to the reality 
 
Is the Call a real one? 105 
 
 of a Missionary Call. Men and women not 
 infrequently come forward with fervent 
 willingness to go to the Mission Field, and 
 with a deep conviction that God wants 
 them there, and are grievously disappointed 
 at being rejected by some society to which 
 they have applied. It seems to them as if 
 the voice of God said, " Go," and the voice 
 of man said, " We cannot send you." It is 
 well calmly and thoughtfully to face this 
 point. It is quite certain that missionary 
 societies have made many mistakes — for no 
 collection of fallibles can make an infal- 
 lible : if each member of committee is only 
 an ordinary man or woman, liable to errors 
 of judgment to the very end, how can fifteen 
 or twenty or a hundred such men or 
 women be exempt from errors in such com- 
 plex work } But it is equally certain that 
 candidates have made many mistakes, too, 
 and, from their inevitable ignorance of many 
 of the underlying problems of the work, 
 they are more open to error than those who 
 have had long experience of the practical 
 working of things. Two things it is well to 
 remember : first, that missionary societies 
 are generally as sincere in seeking to do the 
 
io6 A needftil Touchstone. 
 
 will of God as the candidates, and just as 
 anxious to send a fit worker to the field as 
 he can be to go ; and second, that if God is 
 truly calling a man to foreign service, not 
 all the societies in the world can hold him 
 back. If he is Vvilling to go where God 
 wills, He will put him there in His own good 
 time. 
 
 But it behoves each one, because of the 
 danger of impure mixed motives, and the 
 possibility of mistaking God's Will, to make 
 quite sure that the call is real. A call will 
 stand every test and be all the stronger for 
 them. An emotion will fade if it is not put 
 on paper an hour after it is felt ; a true call, 
 heard and answered, will ring on through a 
 lifetime, a deep, sweet undertone to the 
 very end. 
 
 Suitability is the first touchstone to apply 
 to the conviction that we are called to the 
 Mission Field. It is a test which any 
 Missionary Society will apply to those who 
 offer, but it is also well for a candidate-in- 
 waiting to apply it to himself. If we are 
 honestly willing to serve God anywhere, 
 we can safely use our common sense, under 
 the guidance of His Spirit, to help us to 
 
Body and Mind, 10/ 
 
 judge where we can serve Him best. 
 Though no one is too good or too gifted 
 for the Mission Field, it is manifestly 
 unwise to throw away a useful life. If it is 
 God's will to take a young and noble 
 worker away at the threshold of his mis- 
 sionary service, we know " He doeth all 
 things well," but that is no reason why we 
 should send out to a trying climate a man 
 or woman who in all probability cannot exist 
 in it more than a few months at most, but 
 who might be spared for years of useful 
 service at home. Physical fitness is a 
 matter which a would-be missionary ought, 
 therefore, to consider. We have in a pre- 
 vious chapter discussed the importance of 
 this ; if there is any ground for question 
 about it, a doctor familiar with the consti- 
 tution and family history of the candidate 
 could throw light on it directly. 
 
 Then mental fitness should be considered, 
 though theTest here is not so easily applied. 
 Character fitness is very important ; per- 
 haps our comments in previous chapters 
 are sufficient index as to that. Capacity 
 to endure trial and hardship with cheerful- 
 ness is essential, and an excess of nervous 
 
io8 '• Search me, O God'' 
 
 morbidness is an effectual barrier to useful 
 missionary work. As to spiritual fitness, 
 let the candidate humbly and honestly face 
 the matter alone with God. What are the 
 motives from which the desire for missionary 
 labour springs .'' Have all thoughts of 
 earthly advancement, of self-exaltation, of 
 desire to escape from home friction or 
 monotonous engagements, been brought in 
 confession to God, and grace sought to set 
 them aside ^ May the Holy Spirit show 
 whether there is an honest desire that the 
 one motive should be the constraining love 
 of Christ, the one aim the glory of God in 
 the salvation of precious souls ! Far be it 
 from us to do more in this matter than 
 earnestly to urge each one who believes 
 he is " called " to pray with the Psalmist, 
 " Search me, O God, and know my heart." 
 Again, it is wise to use our outward 
 circumstances as a further test of the Mis- 
 sionary Call. In the present day, if there 
 be evidence of spiritual fitness, no con- 
 sideration of humble origin or lack of 
 means, or even lack of advanced education, 
 need bar the way to training for the 
 Mission Field. But there may be clear 
 
Circu instances. 1 09 
 
 home duties, binding family ties in the way. 
 There are "candidates-in-vvaiting " who may 
 always have to wait. Bring God's call side 
 by side with the circumstances in which 
 He has placed you, and ask Him to interpret 
 both to you by His Spirit. Welcome the 
 whole of His Will, and, as you wait His 
 time. He will either show you that His 
 call had a meaning that you did not see 
 at first— a meaning deep and sacred, to 
 be lived out at home — or He will work out 
 one of those miracles of His Grace by 
 which two impossibilities become one great 
 possible in His mighty hand. 
 
 As you weigh and test the reality and 
 meaning of the call which has aroused you, 
 it will no doubt occur to you to consult 
 friends and fellow-workers amongst whom 
 you may be placed. Give little weight to 
 difficulties put forward by those who do not 
 themselves recognise the full claims of the 
 • Lord on the personal service of His people, 
 and great weight to hindrances pointed out 
 by all who know His Mind and Will about 
 this. But always remember that the Lord 
 may choose to guide and direct you through 
 an earthly counsellor, and listen with respect 
 
no Missionaries at Home. 
 
 and humility to all that those more ex- 
 perienced than yourself may have to say. 
 
 Once again, remember that an individual 
 missionary call does not of necessity mean 
 bodily presence in the foreign Mission Field. 
 It seems as if some were called to China, or 
 Africa, or India, /<?r God, and others were 
 called, no less truly, to God for China, or 
 Africa, or India, or rather for the world. 
 Their place is at home, their work \sfor the 
 world, and they are kept here to kindle the 
 flame of love and longing in other hearts. 
 They are the instruments of God the Holy 
 Ghost in His great work of calling out 
 missionaries ; they are the intercessors 
 on the mountain-top, strengthening the 
 warriors in the field. They are truly called, 
 not only as the whole Church is called, but 
 in a special sense, and they have a special 
 and glorious service of their own. These 
 words may come as a light to some one 
 whose heart God has touched, but whose 
 way He has completely closed. Be not 
 cast down ; pledge yourself fearlessly to 
 Him for the evangelisation of the world, 
 and He will not only use you ifi the work 
 at home, but/6'r the work abroad. 
 
The CJiristiajis Armour. 1 1 1 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SPIRITUAL WARFARE. 
 
 IN the last chapter of the Epistle to the 
 Ephesians we find that description of 
 the Christian's Armour which is so familiar 
 to us all. We have taught our Sunday-school 
 classes the lesson again and again, — about 
 the girdle, and the breastplate, and the 
 sandals, and the shield, and the helmet, and 
 the sword. It has always been an easy 
 lesson, giving full scope for description, and 
 having the added interest of the Apostle's 
 position as he drew a spiritual lesson from 
 the soldiers round him in his imprisonment 
 at Rome. But as we look a little more 
 closely into the passage, remembering 
 that the illustration sets forth an actual 
 spiritual truth, the question may rise in 
 some minds, " Do I realise experimentally 
 the meaning of these verses } Is there not 
 some deeper, fuller teaching which I ought 
 
I [ 2 Co-operation. 
 
 to fathom before I go to the Mission Field ? " 
 If it be so, may the Spirit who inspired 
 those words shine upon them now, and stir 
 you to pray over them until you learn 
 lessons of vital import for God's Holy War. 
 
 First read the passage in the Revised 
 Version. How active it becomes ! The 
 altered tense is most significant; it brings 
 before us a soldier who has armed himself^ 
 who has taken and put on what was pre- 
 pared for him, and has been watchful that 
 each part was rightly fitted and placed. 
 It is not merely that his loins are girded, 
 he has girt them himself; it is not only 
 that he has on the breastplate, he has con- 
 sciously and definitely put it on ; his feet 
 are not only shod, but we read that he 
 himself has shod them. Here is practical 
 co-operation, active preparation in the face 
 of the foe ; do zve know in our spiritual 
 experience, day by day, a parallel to this, 
 or are we sometimes tempted to think that 
 our standing in Christ does away with the 
 need for daily obedience to the command, 
 '' Put ye 071 the Lord Jesus Christ " } 
 
 Then notice the threefold reference to 
 standing against the foe — " able to stand," 
 
'' Ve shall be able to standr 113 
 
 " able to withstand, and, having done all, 
 to stand." What an insight this gives us 
 into the aggressiveness of the enemy ! 
 And then see further the threefold nature 
 of the attack ; first there are the " wiles of 
 the devil," ambushments, mines, secret and 
 subtle assaults, unholy plottings against God 
 and the soul, devices to lure the soldier to 
 destruction ; then there is the " wrestling," 
 the hand-to-hand conflict, the encounter at 
 close quarters, the actual contact with the 
 foe ; and then come the " fiery darts " cast 
 from a distance — fierce, burning, unexpected. 
 Against all these the soldier has to " stand." 
 Further, against the armoured soldier we 
 find arrayed, not one solitary foe, but a whole 
 opposing kingdom. We read of the princi- 
 palities, the powers, the world-rulers of this 
 darkness, the spiritual hosts of wickedness 
 in high places, headed by the prince of the 
 power of the air, the spirit that now worketh 
 in the children of disobedience. But then, 
 in this same Epistle, the Apostle gives a 
 passing vision of the other heavenly princi- 
 palities and powers watching with awe and 
 gladness the Church Militant of Christ, 
 and he gives us a still more glorious reve- 
 H 
 
114 Garrisoned witlihi. 
 
 lation of the power to us-ward of God 
 the Father, and the power that w^orketh in 
 us of God the Holy Ghost. Notice that 
 the spiritual conflict is represented here as 
 partially carried on through human agency. 
 On both sides there is a spiritual possession 
 of men by a spiritual power (apart from, 
 though closely incorporated with, their own 
 being), which impels them to, and em- 
 powers them for, things that would be 
 impossible for humanity alone. Therefore 
 the Christian soldier must be garrisoned by 
 a power within, as well as clad in armour 
 without, and he must be prepared not only 
 for purely spiritual assault, but also — per- 
 haps mainly — for assaults from fellow-men 
 in whom, as children of disobedience, the 
 spirit of evil works. 
 
 Once again, we notice that though the 
 soldier is represented in the passage before 
 us as mainly on the defensive, there is clear 
 indication that he is also to be aggressive. 
 " The sword of the Spirit, which is the 
 Word of God," is needed in the Holy War. 
 It is a great thing to " stand," but there 
 must also be the fighting and the conquering. 
 
 But the soldier who would fully realise 
 
Au otUline for Study. 1 15 
 
 the nature and power of the conflict must 
 not hmit his study to this one passage, or 
 to this one Epistle, or even to the Bible 
 alone. It is important to know first what 
 is revealed about this kingdom which works 
 against the kingdom of light, and then it is 
 also well to look abroad into the world, 
 and study the various forms of opposition, 
 both in the Mission Field and at home, 
 which the enemy raises against the Gospel 
 and the soldiers of the Cross. 
 
 Instead of tracing here the Scripture 
 teaching on this subject, let us rather ^iwQ a 
 suggestive outline of study, round which we 
 may group the passages for ourselves. We 
 find in the Bible constant recognition of the 
 existence of a kingdom of darkness in oppo- 
 sition to the kingdom oi light. The chain 
 of verses on this topic will reach from 
 Genesis to Revelation. Then we find 
 numerous characteristics of that kingdom 
 either expressed or implied. By studying 
 in this connection the allusions to or de- 
 scriptions of idolatry, we get a deep and 
 awful insight into its heinousness in the 
 sight of God. The varied forms of the 
 manifestation of the power of the enemy 
 H 2 
 
1 1 6 The Liiniis of tJic Foe. 
 
 also strike us ; his many-sided assaults on 
 body and on soul are recognised ; and also 
 the special points of human nature on which 
 he most frequently works. Again, the 
 limits of the enemy's kingdom are note- 
 worthy. Satan is only the god of this world, 
 the prince of the powers of the air, but God 
 is Ruler of the Universe. As we stand in 
 the garden some starry night, how small 
 seems our earth and its atmosphere com- 
 pared with those myriad worlds and the 
 firmament between. So is the kingdom of 
 Satan compared with the Kingdom of God. 
 But the limits of Satan's kingdom refer 
 not only to space but to time. The day 
 of the enemy's final overthrow is coming ; 
 Satan shall "shortly" be "bruised" and 
 " chained," and finally " cast into the 
 lake of fire," while that Kingdom of God 
 which cannot be moved will be revealed in 
 glory all through eternity. 
 
 And the foe is limited, too, as to power. 
 With startling clearness both in the Old 
 Testament and in the New, is the mag- 
 nificent thought of the present suppression 
 and final overthrow of the counter-kingdom 
 set forth. It is a thought unknown to 
 
The Personality of Satan. 1 1 7 
 
 heathen faiths that frail and feeble man, 
 born in sin and corruption, but led by One 
 who unites a sinless human nature to the 
 very nature of God, should be enabled by 
 the power of the Spirit of God within him 
 '' to resist " the powers of darkness, to 
 " stand " under their assaults, and to 
 '* quench " the fiery darts of the wicked.^ 
 
 But perhaps the most solemn of all Bible 
 passages on this subject are those directly 
 concerned with the character of the great 
 enemy himself With awful clearness does 
 \\\^ personality of the Evil One stand out in 
 Holy Writ ; the combination of his titles and 
 of the figures under which he is represented 
 give a picture of what he is. There is no 
 veiling of his person, no hiding^ of his 
 power. He goeth about as a roaring lion 
 seeking whom he may devour. As we 
 study, with new and deeper meaning we 
 pray, " Deliver us from the Evil One " (Matt, 
 vi. 1 3, R.V.) . Yet as we realise the personal 
 malignity of Satan, we tremblingly rejoice 
 that the attributes of God are not his. 
 Though mighty, he is not almighty ; though 
 wise and subtle, he does not know all things ; 
 though possessing powers beyond those of 
 
ii8 A Contrast. 
 
 any human frame, he is not, and cannot be, 
 " in every place." Omnipotence, omni- 
 science, omnipresence, are the attributes of 
 God alone. 
 
 We dare not point to a Bible study of 
 the kingdom of darkness without urging to 
 a parallel study of the kingdom of light. 
 Take the heads suggested above, if you 
 will, and search out under them passages 
 bearing upon the existence, the characteris- 
 tics, the manifestation, the limits — or rather 
 the unlimitedness — of the kingdom, of our 
 God and His Christ. But most of all, if 
 you are tempted to be faint and dis- 
 couraged by the greatness of the foe, con- 
 trast the person of the leader of the hosts 
 of darkness with the wondrous Person of 
 Him whom we love to serve, the Son of 
 God and Son of man, matchless in power 
 and holiness, infinite in love and mercy, 
 Who has conquered death and hell, and 
 bruised the serpent's head, and now goes 
 forth to war at the head of His Militant 
 Church. 
 
 We turn now for a moment from the 
 Bible teaching about the kingdom of dark- 
 ness to the kingdom itself, as manifested in 
 
Heathenism a spiritual pozver. 1 19 
 
 the strongholds of heathenism or false 
 worship to-day. 
 
 One often hears a young candidate or 
 an outgoing missionary talk as if heathenism 
 were merely a mass of dead matter heaped 
 up through the ages, which patient plodding 
 pains would avail to clear away. The 
 heathen are believed to be craving for 
 instruction, crying out for light, and it 
 seems — once the partings are over — that 
 it must be the gladdest, easiest thing to 
 meet their deep-felt need. You never 
 hear an old missionary talk like that. He 
 will tell you that in heathen lands you 
 meet something more than ignorance plus 
 superstition, plus wickedness, //?^j- inherited 
 lines of thought. He has measured the 
 foe, and faced the force against him. He 
 will tell you there is an organised kingdom 
 of evil, bearing down with mighty power 
 upon the men and women who dare to 
 invade its domain. He will tell you that 
 heathenism is a spiritual power, holding the 
 people in cruel bondage ; the idols — " dumb 
 idols " — he will agree with you are " nothing 
 at all," but behind them he has found 
 entrenched the power of the father of lies. 
 
1 20 TJie effect of Contact. 
 
 In some places, he will admit, the heathen 
 are craving for teaching, but that is the 
 exception, not the rule, and the craving 
 often means that the white man is 
 wanted to bring goods for barter or pre- 
 sents for the chiefs ; a real spiritual 
 longing to be led into the way of truth 
 is very, very rare. The strong man 
 armed keeps his palace, and his goods are 
 at peace. As to " crying out for light," 
 — that is gloriously true of individual souls, 
 but speaking of heathendom as a whole, 
 men still " love darkness rather than light, 
 because their deeds are evil " ; and as to " a 
 deep-felt need," the old missionary will tell 
 you that the god of this world has so 
 blinded the heathen, that a true sense of 
 need and sinfulness is rare enough to make 
 contact with it set his heart singing for joy. 
 He will tell you, too, of the tremendous 
 personal effect of contact with heathenism, 
 how deadening to the soul, how blighting 
 to the spiritual life, and it may be he 
 will solemnly and earnestly warn you to 
 beware lest you grow cold and loveless 
 under such chilling influence, and lose the 
 spring and vigour needed in the battle ot 
 
Studying the Strongholds. 1 2 1 
 
 the Lord. When a young Christian soldier 
 steps in answer to his Captain's call to the 
 front of the battle, he will find himself 
 before the strongholds of a mighty, living 
 foe ; a foe who has reigned, it may be, 
 supreme and unchallenged ; a foe who will 
 assault the invader fiercely, and seek to 
 re-capture every deserter from his post ; 
 a foe whose fiery darts can pierce all things, 
 except the armour of God. It is well to 
 know all this beforehand, lest the soldier 
 be taken by surprise. 
 
 If the Christian soldier is to wage war 
 amongst the strongholds of heathenism, he 
 should be somewhat instructed about them, 
 that he may assail them at their weakest 
 points. Perhaps in home preparation for 
 foreign missionary work, sufficient stress is 
 scarcely laid on the value of an intelligent 
 knowledge of the religions of the heathen 
 and Mohammedan world. The subject is 
 a vast one ; a single branch of it would 
 employ a life-time, but students who can- 
 not go exhaustively into any part of it, can 
 readily gain an intelligent general know- 
 ledge of the false systems behind which the 
 power of Satan is entrenched. This will 
 
1 24 The Work of tJie Holy Spirit. 
 
 We know the Spirit of God as the One 
 who convinced us of sin, and, reveaHng to 
 us the Saviour imparted new life to our soul. 
 He is to us the Spirit of Witness, whispering 
 " Abba Father " in our heart. He is 
 Teacher, Comforter, Guide. His sanctify- 
 ing Grace has worked in us any like- 
 ness there is to Jesus Christ. He is no 
 Stranger, but *' a Gracious, Willing Guest," 
 Who has been with us and in us since first 
 we yielded ourselves to God. But have 
 we even begun to realise the abundance in 
 which He has been shed forth — for us, and 
 for all who will " ask " the Heavenly Father 
 for the fulness of His gracious Gift } The 
 Holy Ghost is infinite; He is God. We 
 are bidden to be filled with Him, so filled 
 that we may not only know Him as a well 
 of water within us, but as rivers of water flow- 
 ing through us to the thirsty ones beyond. 
 He is offered to work in us a spirit of power 
 and oflove and of discipline (2 Tim. i. 7, R.V.). 
 He is to be the inspirer of all true prayer 
 (Eph. vi. 18), the power for witnessing and 
 for warfare. Do we long that our Christian 
 life shall keep bright and glorious in a 
 heathen land 1 The secret of that lies in 
 
Hoiv we may Conquer. 125 
 
 " the supply of the Spirit." In the Pilgriiiis 
 Progress Christian is shown, in Interpreter's 
 house, a furnace burning brightly, though a 
 man pours water on the flame. How does 
 it keep alight ? The mystery is explained 
 in a moment when he finds that, screened 
 away from sight, someone is pouring into 
 the furnace a stream of oil, which makes 
 the flame leap up and live. 
 
 Do we long to defeat the enemy, to bear 
 up under his fiercest assaults } It was the 
 Sword of the Spirit — the Word of God — 
 which our Leader used in His great re- 
 corded conflict with the foe. That sword, 
 still wielded in the Spirit's power, is our 
 one aggressive weapon to-day. The Lord 
 Himself did not face the temptation in the 
 wilderness until He had been baptized with 
 the Holy Ghost, and after the tempter 
 departed from Him for a season, He 
 returned " in the power of the Spirit into 
 Galilee." If He needed the Holy Ghost 
 to sustain Him, how much more do we } 
 
126 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 I. 
 
 BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR STUDY. 
 
 ''The Portable Commentary." (Collins and Sons.) 
 
 2 vols., lOS. 
 " The Cambridge Bible for Schools." (Cambridge 
 
 University Press.) Vols, from is. 6d. to 55. each. 
 Blunt's " Undesigned Coincidences." (Murray.) 6s. 
 Nicholl's " Help to Reading the Bible." (S.P.C.K.) 
 
 2s. 6d. 
 Angus' " Bible Handbook." (R.T.S.) 55. 
 Tristram's " Bible Places." (S.P.C.K.) 4s. 
 Canon Girdlestone's " How to Study the English 
 
 Bible." (R.T.S.) i^. 6d. 
 Maclear's " Old Test. History." (Macmillan.) 45. 6d. 
 Smith's " Scripture History." (Murray.) 3s. 6d. 
 Maclear's " New Test. History." (Macmillan.) 5.9. 6d. 
 Conybeare and Howson's " Life of St. Paul." (Long- 
 man's.) 6s. 
 Paley's " Horse Paulinae." (S.P.C.K.) 35. 
 Vaughan's "Ch. of the First Days." (Macmillan.) ios.6d. 
 Dr. Waller's " Handbook to the Epistles of St. Paul." 
 
 (J. F. Shaw.) 55. 
 Barrett's "Companion to the Greek Testament," 
 
 (Bell and Sons.) 55. 
 
Appendices. 127 
 
 II. 
 "Clews to Holy Writ," or the Chrono- 
 logical Scripture Cycle. A Scheme for 
 studying the ivhole Bible in its historical order 
 during three years. By Mary L. G. Petrie, 
 B.A., LoND. {Hodder and Stoughton, 35. 6d.) 
 This book has grown out of a student's effort to 
 help other students, made in connection with the 
 College by Post, of which its author is founder and 
 president. The first papers of the " Chronological 
 Scripture Cycle " were written in 1888, and when 
 the scheme had been taken up by nearly fifty of 
 the correspondence classes in the College by Post, 
 and also by over 1,400 individual Bible Readers 
 (many of whom were missionaries abroad or 
 "Candidates-in -Waiting" at home), a general 
 desire was expressed for their issue to a wider 
 public. 
 
 For further particulars as to the College by Post, 
 application should be made (enclosing a stamped 
 envelope) to Miss Petrie, Hanover Lodge, Ken- 
 sington Park, London, W. 
 
 III. 
 
 BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR STUDY. 
 
 Bishop Harold Browne on the Thirty-nine Articles. 
 Boultbee on the Thirty-nine Articles. 
 Pearson on the Creed. (Bell and Sons.) 55. 
 
128 Appendices. 
 
 Procter on the Book of Common Prayer. (Macmillan.) 
 
 105. 6d. 
 Moule's " Outlines of Christian Doctrine." (Hodder 
 
 and Stoughton.) 2s. 6d. 
 Maclear on the Creeds. (Macmillan.) 
 Hole on the Book of Common Prayer. (Hodder and 
 
 Stoughton.) 25. 6d. 
 Barry's Teachers' Prayer Book. (Eyre and Spottis- 
 
 woode.) 35. 6d. 
 Procter and Maclear on the Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 (Macmillan.) 25. 6d. 
 Bishop Rowley Hill's "Notes on the Church Cate- 
 chism." (Nisbet and Co.) 
 Maclear on the Ch. Catechism. (Macmillan.) 15. 6d. 
 Bishop Titcomb's " Gladius Ecclesiae." (Church of 
 
 England Sunday School Institute.) 25. 
 Bishop Ryle's " Old Paths." (Hunt & Co.) 75. 6d. 
 Bishop Ryle's " Knots Untied." (Hunt & Co.) 75. 6d. 
 Bishop Ryle's " Principles for Churchmen." (Hunt 
 
 & Co.) 75. 6d. 
 
 [The books named in Appendices I. and III. are 
 such as are generally helpful on all essential points ; 
 in some cases we are not prepared to endorse the 
 authors' views on minor matters.] 
 
on Theological Seminary-Speer 
 
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