YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY OF THE
DIVINITY SCHOOL

MISSIONS A NATURAL GROWTH FROM CHRISTIANITY.

A S EE M O N

DELIVERED BEFOUE THE

FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY

NEW-YORK AND BROOKLYN,

APRIL 6th, 185 6.

REV. WILLIAM HOGARTH,
PASTOR OP THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BROOKLYN.

$u&Itsf)rti fcfi t&e Sociztu.

NEW YORK:
ALMON MERWIN, BIBLE HOUSE, ASTOR PLACE.
1850.

JOHN A. GRAY, PRINTER,
16 & 18 Jacob Street

SERMON.

Mark 16 r 15.
" Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature."
The words of Jesus are always eminently fitting to
the occasion which calls them forth. He was equal to
any time. A careful perusal of all He said leaves the
conviction that he uttered the best things, and in the
most natural manner. In all the gospels there is nothing
of the style which the schools dignify by. the name of
eloquence. Meeting with various classes of men, bred to
differing modes of Kfe, and occupying the various social
positions, Christ always adapted his intercourse to their
wants. And when he spoke to an assemblage, there
was in his address a , straightforward pertinency which
laid its grasp on their hearts, and made them feel that
a Master was dealing with its inborn subtleties, and its
urgent needs. In no one instance is this fitness more
obvious than in the last interview with the disciples re
corded by John. He was about to leave them. He
knew the sacrifices which they had made in following
him ; sacrifices of business, of national pride, of pre-

judice in favor of their ancestral faith, a faith which had
been rendered illustrious by the splendor of the ancient
temple, and endorsed by the shekinah. He knew to
what trials and toils they were called — trials and toils
from which no reprieve on earth would be granted. He
knew they would need a stimulus and ministry of
strength, a high and commanding motive for deeds of
chivalric daring, and for the heroic endurance of priva
tion. With a gentleness and naturalness all his own,
he supplied that stimulus and presented the motive in
the Scripture to which we have referred. How fitting
those words are to sustain the soul may be learned from
the whole history of His suffering saints into whose
hearts they have gone with the light and fragrance of
heaven. At the time He uttered the text, his work on earth
was accomplished. He had inaugurated a new dis
pensation ; he had fulfilled the import of the ancient
sacrifices and prophecy " by the offering of himself once
for all." He had opened the way to life. His work of
mercy was as broad as the ruin of the apostasy. He
had chosen its messengers. And what could be more
natural than to give to them a commission bearing a
just ratio to the extent of the work which he had
wrought ? Hence, He says : " Preach the Grospel to
every creature." Could he have said any other thing
so fitting ? "Would any other word have been so ap
propriate to him, to the sacrifice for the sake of which
sin is pardoned, to the duty of the disciples and to the
world ? Let us, then, occupy some moments with this
theme, namely :

The missionary wokk a natural evolution of Christ
ianity. By the missionary work is meant an obedience
to the letter of the text. It is to give the Gospel to all
who are destitute of it — through any channels by
which men may be reached. It is not the attempt to
introduce the elements of civilization, literature, art, and
commerce among a people. These may follow in the
wake of a missionary enterprise, may attend it, or pre
cede it. It may be important that a missionary should
have an eye to these sources of power, and lines of in
fluence, and skillfully employ them in subordination to
his grand aim. But a missionary work, in the biblical
sense of it, and in the view of apostolic example, looks
beyond the culture of man's material and social condition
to the renewal of his heart into the divine image by means
of the word of life. This statement ventures no opinion
as to the metliods of doing the work ; it affirms the end
to be regarded, and no more. It does not undertake to
name a theory of conducting the labor, but declares
what the aim of the labor must be in order to stamp it
a missionary work. The Gospel must be preached to
man. This is the natural out-growth of Christianity.
I. The Old Testament economy vias a limited one. It
had origin in the promises made to Abraham — pro
mises of a national and religious greatness. It was con
fined to one people; Others were admitted to some of
its privileges, when they sought those privileges. But
the Jewish institutes did not embody the command to
instruct and disciple other nations. On the" contrary,
they erected a barrier between Jews and Gentiles, and
aimed to preserve a broad line of demarcation ; not so

6
much that others might remain untaught, as that the
Jews might be preserved from the corruptions of other
nations. Their geographical position, their employ
ments, their social habits, also, contributed to make
them a separate people. This was evidently the design
of Providence, until the fullness of His plans of mercy
should open to the world in the incarnation and death of
his Son.
The method in which that economy enlarged upon
itself was at least an intimation that it must, in the end,
give way to one more ample and expressive of the
munificence of the Divine compassion. In the first in
stance the most indistinct promises were made, the most
elementary principles were taught, the simplest forms
of worship were established. These in time, yielded to
a more gorgeous yet burdensome ritual. The splendor
of the temple succeeded the less ostentatious tabernacle.
In prophecy, broader views, vaster plans, and better
principles were dimly yet actually expressed. The
clouds which curtained the august future began to rise
from the horizon, and scattered rays from the source of
light streamed over the earth like the morning dawn.
He came who was very sacrifice. Jerusalem is no more
the holy city. In what lowly hamlet, in what pala
tial home, in what forest solitude, in what tongue soever
prayer is offered " in spirit and in truth," that place is
holy. The heart of any meek, believing man is hence
forth the altar on which offerings are laid — from which
ascends the incense of gratitude and praise. " The
middle wall of partition is broken down." The dis
pensation has at once opened into a more simple mode

of worship, and overgone the national barriers. The
spirit of the old economy has been released from its
bondage of ceremony, and goes forth in the freedom
of its manhood.
This growth of the plans of God, this successive de
velopment of truth, intimates, if no more, the possibility
of an inherent purpose of love as wide as the dominion of
sin. It is presumptive that such an economy will fur
nish reasons, and find means for its universal extension;
that it will inspire those who come within the spell of
its power by a spirit of emprise as ample as its provi
sions of mercy. It is probable that such an economy
has, in own vitality, the elements of its own diffusion ;
and no inference could be more natural than this from
the history of God's dealings with man.
II. The character of the Founder of Christianity was
such as to induce the belief of His boundless love for
man. His character is obvious from the record of his
life, and from his acts. Those who were familiar with
him during the period of his public ministry, and whom
every earthly motive tempted to forsake him ; who saw
him in the privacy of social intercourse, and had
chances to study his motives from the stand-point
which such intimacy gives; and who knew his public
history, they have left but one verdict. The voice they
utter is unanimous. They call Him " the Lamb of God,"
" without spot or blemish." They give testimony to his
love, which did not shrink from death. All the single
incidents which they have recorded of his miracles of
healing, of his condescension in teaching, of his forbear-

ance with the blind and bitter prejudices of his own
people, of his rare gentleness and meekness, are so
many proofs of a noble beneficence, seeking the good of
all who have suffered. His love is the distinct charac
teristic of his history. It knew no limit but the cure
of evil. He came "to seek and to save that which was
lost." When opportunities opened which might appeal
to the ambition of men, they did not tempt him. They
had no sympathy with his mission. With the keen
glance of his eye he saw the mischief sin had wrought,
and with voluntary benevolence, he cried : " Lo I come ;
in the volume of thy book it is written of me :" "A body
hast thou prepared me." He was sent to the " lost
sheep of the house of Israel." To them he dispatched
his disciples in the first instance. Afterwards their
commission was extended, for his love sought the race.
If you would read the gospels, and from these gather
your impressions of the character of Jesus, of the fullness
and breadth and power of his mercy, would it not sur
prise you if, on "the great day of the feast," he had
said : " If any Jew thirst let him come unto me and
drink" ? Could any such invitation have been harmon
ized with your inferences from his history % Would
not the incongruity be painful and repellant ? Leaving
out of our count the question of his divinity, there is
yet such a halo of glory on his character, such a fra
grance of affection in his words and life, such purity
and unstudied nature, we can only affirm that if in his
hands there was a blessing, it was free for all, to the
measure of his capacity. There is in data no basis for
a conclusion if this be not true. The radiant mercy of

his character, which shone in each act of his eventful
life, prepares us to hear him say : " Go ye into all the
world and preach the Gospel to every creature."
III. The eocpress instructions of the Bible are to the
same point. The text is conclusive. It is only neces
sary to supplement this, by saying there is not a truth
in the Bible which would not increase the sum of human
knowledge, and the amount of human happiness. There
is not a sentiment expressed which can debase the mind,
or deprave the morals, or disturb the peace of society.
There is not a principle taught which does not at once
illumine the present and the future with the light of
heaven. These truths and principles are exactly adapted
to meet all human needs. Directly they meet the
great spiritual needs which, from the depths of con
sciousness, cry for help, indirectly, they supply every
other demand by giving right aims to the soul, and
right habits in the life. To a thoughtful mind these
adaptations are so patent and earnest as to indicate their
Divine source ; and so imperative as to command with
the inherent authority of truth that they be gratified in
their achievement of man's best good. I can not say as
a reforming skepticism has said, " that a true expediency
is as binding as a positive revelation." But I may be
permitted to say that a system of truth divinely given,
and precisely adjusted to the necessity of the suffering
and guilty, and bearing on each sentence the testimonial
of its specific worth for such, and finding an echo in the
universal heart, that such a system, in its very nature,
commands a voice to proclaim it, and is not impudent

10
in its demands. We are prepared to hear it say,
" Preach the Gospel to every creature." " What I tell
you in darkness, that speak ye in light : and what ye
hear in the ear, that preach ye on the house-tops." In
every age, the Church has given to this and to similar
language a uniform interpretation. It has been ac
cepted as the Divine authority for missionary work.
IV. Theprinciples of the Gospel lead to the same result.
The Gospel holds two relations, namely, to its Author,
whom it must truly represent, and to mankind, whom it
seeks to bless. To the first it is an effect, growing from
His mind and affections. To the second, it is a cause,
embodying forces equal to the most stupendous issues.
Iu this latter relation it enunciates principles which
buttress the throne of the Highest, and it gives a
record of facts illustrating the principles. The princi
ples "crop out" through the history, giving it life and
suggesting the source of the facts. It would lead me
too far from my present purpose if I should aim to
state all the first truths of the Gospel. Here I seek
to present only those which bear on the topic we are
discussing. The Gospel first aims to restore in man the likeness
of God, to re-produce in their pristine glory those ele
ments of character which were lost by the fall. It
deals with the soul, as that is the source of character,
and of all right activity. The conventional moralities
which good society demands, are immeasurably below
the work which the word of life seeks to accomplish.
In his thought, in his affections, in his impulses, man

11
must take the key-note from the revealed character of
God. He is not commanded to tally with the best
ethical system, to be even with the purest philosophies,
to harmonize with the noblest philanthropies, to be
gentle as the most humane sympathies. " Be ye holy ;
for I am holy." He is not called to indorse a creed,
but to imitate an example, not alone to connect himself
with a church, but to unite himself to Christ as the
branch is united to" the vine. This likeness to God the
Father, in the moral nature of man, is the first great
purpose of the Gospel.
It then commands a fervent obedience to the Divine
authority. So strongly is this urged, that we are com
pelled to doubt a concrete religion which evades all
possible responsibility. " Ye are my friends, if ye do
whatsoever I command you." If they refuse to do,
what then ? It is vain to profess a regard for the Gos
pel, for its purities and peace, to dabble in sentimental-
isms and humanities, and the religionism which is en
grafted on the mere poetry of nature, and hesitate to
look in the face the stern, old authority of truth, such
truth as God has spoken. It is the very kernel of
Christianity to take the dicta of the Divine mind as
the law of life. They may be accepted with a reason
and not blindly, with a loving spirit and not compul-
sorily, with a joyous heart, not sadly ; but they must
be accepted. In man, they must be the transforming
power, and for man the last standard of appeal. As
similation to the divine character, and a resultant obe
dience, these are first principles in the Gospel. Not a

12
step can be taken in the Christian life unless they are
recognized as the starting-point.
Once more, the Gospel teaches the doctrine of a bro
therhood in man. This it does historically, by tracing
the race to a common ancestry. It does it doctrinally,
by declaring their common inheritance in the misery of
the fall. It does it divinely, by referring every man to
one Saviour who never varies the conditions of salva
tion. It does this by the command : " Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself." I think there is no truth in
the word of God more distantly removed from an ab
straction than this. It has been perverted, indeed, to
the patronage of every form of social revolution and
agrarianism ; it has been made to preach a leveUing rad
icalism, and in some cases to bring on a collision of dif
ferent classes. This we both confess and deplore. But
it is a first truth, and to be held all the more firmly, as
it is imperiled by men who abuse it for purposes sinister
and vicious.
These are the things which we have said. Man must
resemble God. He is benevolent to all; has made pro
vision for the salvation of all, and sent his message of
love to all. A Christian must be the same, must do the
same. This the Lord has commanded. The Christian
must obey the command. Each human being, how de
graded soever, is his brother. By all the claims which
such a kindred can make, must that brother be aided in
his wants, be shielded in his sorrows, be strengthened
in his weakness, be taught in his ignorance, and be led
with the loving gentleness of the Gospel to the Saviour

13
whom it reveals. If this missionary work does not grow
from the very principles of the Gospel, it might as well
be dumb. If it does not bear this fruit, it has no claim
on us.
V. The history of Christianity sustains our view.
The history interprets its spirit. It is not possible that
good men who have studied its precepts through eigh
teen centuries, who have prayed for wisdom, should en
tirely mistake its meaning. True, they have not ex
hausted its meaning : but it can not be that the very
spirit of the economy has eluded their search. Least of
all could this be true, when conformity with its spirit
summoned them to a life of self-denial and rare endur
ance. If they had been caUed to a life of pleasure and
indolence ; if the purest men in the Church had sought
their ease and self-indulgence ; if this had been a very
uniform fact, and received the approval of all men as
consistent with the genius of religion, the inference
would be resistless that the inmost aim of Christianity
was a ministry of social and personal comfort.
But the first age of the Church, that which was near
est to the time of Christ, which may be supposed to
understand most perfectly His views, was the golden
age of missionary enterprise. From the period when,
dispersed by persecution, they "went everywhere
preaching the word," until this present, the people of
God have recognized the obligation to give the Gospel
to all men, and with more or less energy and success
have pursued this line of duty. In those terrible cor
ruptions which have obscured her glory and wasted her

14
strength, the advance has been small. Still, a few have
been preserved who have prayed for Zion's welfare.; and
the revival of a pure Christianity has always been the
signal for a revival of missionary endeavor. There
have been no exceptions to this fact. True, the work
has been limited by want of facilities which commerce,
science, and the art of printing, have multiplied in these
latter days. And if the difficulties in the way are well
considered, we must feel that the energy and piety of
the Church have been often even with her advantages.
At the present time this spirit is .taking on a more do
mestic form, and exploring all the haunts of crime and
wo which are the shame of Christendom, and giving to
the needy at our own doors the word which is the
" power of God unto salvation." That this spirit of the
Gospel should perpetuate itself, that the prestige of suc
cess should impart zeal and courage, is natural.
These thoughts, so imperfectly expressed, are the evi
dence that a missionary work is the natural evolution of
Christianity. It grows from the advancing method of
God's economy. It springs from the character of its
Author, and accords with his instructions. It is im
bedded in the principles which He taught. It is an
outgrowth from the history of Christianity. It is
therefore a natural idea in the Christian scheme and
spirit. The way is prepared for some inferences. If the
view we have taken be the correct one, then,
I. We can see where the real elements of cooperative
work are to oe found. There is a strong feeling pervad-

15
ing the hearts of good men that Christianity demands
a union of spirit and purpose in its friends. This con
viction arises from broader views of the Gospel, and
from a stronger Christian life. It is a well-founded
conviction. To realize it in actual experience is fast be
coming a practical problem and is challenging the
thought of the best minds. Some fear that the eye will
be turned in the wrong direction, induces me to say
what I deeply feel.
The too current idea of a cooperative Christianity, as
I gather it from reading is this, namely, that different
denominations of Christians shall so sink all their pecu
liar doctrinal views, and waive their ecclesiastical organ
izations, that the machinery shall work without any
friction, that no seeming advantage shaH be given to
any one denomination. Whether or not this is possible
at present, it is not easy to say. But the attempts
which the theory suggests are certainly visionary. No
amount of pains in adjusting platforms of action ; no
measure of charity in yielding cherished preferences
under the idea that they are non-essential ; no effort to
blink the strong tendency of the age to ecclesiasticism,
if not to sacerdotalism ; no compacts to keep the peace,
and to utter fraternal words which are not the natural
reflection of the soul ; no glorification of a nominal
Christian union can possibly achieve a cooperative
Christianity. Christianity is a unit in its teachings, and
its spirit. It is essentially cooperative. It has, and can
have but one aim. It seeks that aim through all the
" diversities of gifts" bestowed on those who are called
to its warfare, by preserving " the unity of the Spirit

16
in the bonds of peace." There is room in a field so vast
for every variety of method and talent. Moreover, it
is possible that the power of individual forces are under
rated, that the power of organization is over-estimated,
that individualism is too much merged in concentrated
action through accredited institutions, and that what is
styled a revolutionary and sectarian process is only the
rupture of systematized constraints, in which the means
have been substituted for the end. Be this as it may,
we have no faith in the permanency and capacity of a
cooperation which does not put its foundations on the
central Christian idea, the union of the heart in Christ.
The Church does not need so much to cherish the spirit
of Christian union, as the spirit of Jesus. This latter
is the directest way to the former. A towering faith
and love must project their shadows over all social and
ecclesiastical differences ; if not so dense as to conceal
those differences, yet so as to soften them in the shelter
of its twilight. Votes in conventions will not cement
estranged affections, nor hush suspicions. Beneath the
most beautiful plains, where flowers bloom in quiet
beauty, and murmuring streams mingle their notes in
the melody of nature, where the ploughman opens the
furrow to the sunlight, and hamlets gem the lawn ; be
neath such seeming harmonies, the earthquake sleeps.
And when comes the time, and the materials are gath
ered, its voice of terror will be heard. Underneath
seeming unions that catch the eye of the world, ele
ments of rupture may be found working with intense
energy. No verbal agreements can check the ongoing
tendency to disunion ; only the inculcation and the ac-

17
ceptance of a Christianity which naturally and preemi
nently evolves the missionary work.
II. A church in a normal condition will engage in
missionary enterprise. Churches, so named, which
have departed from the truth, and those which never
held the truth, do make attempts in missionary
labor. These are exceptional facts in their history,
occurring under peculiar circumstances, and stimulat
ed by considerations which do not find origin in the
Gospel. Such exceptions will again occur. But the
mass of sects that do not hold the fundamental doc
trines embraced by Protestant churches have no mis
sions. This is inevitable.
But a church in a healthy spiritual condition will
make a business of giving the word of life to all men.
It will not be an accident, not an episode, not a result
from the pressure of outward forces in the history of
such a church. It will be her daily work. A church
is in a healthy condition when the inner life is vigorous,
when the word of Christ rules in her counsels, and the
spirit of Christ prompts her activities. There may be
a large degree of outward thrift, an array of social
influence, abundant means, a public regard, a place of
commanding consideration, existing- in a church when
the decay of vital energy is going; forward, and the
pulse of its spirituality is waxing ever feebler. Thia
has been usually the fact with churches that have sunk
into mere inanities. What the adversary can not de
stroy, he will seek to corrupt, and to weaken by cor
ruption. The process may last through a century. In

18
the mean time a fair outward prosperity may conceal
the terrible defection.
Christ promised that the Spirit should abide with
his people. His presence secures a genuine affection
for God, a regard for the good of all men, a spirit of
self-denial to the last extremity. It reproduces the
divine in the human. This is the Gospel in the con
crete — not a letter but a life — not a theory but an ac
tivity — not a creed but an onworking force. And any
church in this state will naturally preach the Gospel by
any avenue which promises success. It will do it as a
development of its own life. It will do it in imitation
of Christ, and in sympathy with his mission and
sacrifice. The Church does not exist or work for its own sake.
Human governments often extend their territory by
purchase or arms ; they exact tribute, and levy taxes,
not so much for the subject as for the government.
The maintenance of that is the grand aim. But the
kingdom of Christ exists and works only for the good
of its subjects, and for those who may become such.
It has no central source of power on earth to maintain
— no visible head to whose support it is pledged. It
has no object to be gained except in the happiness of
mankind. For this it has a place and elements of
power. I do not say the Church is to be lightly re
garded even as an institution — that no collateral bene
fits flow from it. But the divine idea of it is this : that
it is a medium through which the compassion of God
is manifested and offered, and when unperverted by
worldly maxims, and unseduced by worldly influences,

19
it seeks the accomplishment of its legitimate design —
it does not labor for its own sake as an organization,
but broadly preaches the mercy of God as revealed in
the Gospel. It can do no other work as of first import
ance. While we boast of this as a missionary age, it is a
disheartening fact, that there is so much labor neces
sary to furnish the appliances for the work of preach
ing the Gospel to every creature. It is a sad symptom.
Resources fail. The Board is oppressed with debt.
Mission labor is curtailed. The young men of the
Church find a sphere of activity in the business of life.
Few seek the ministry; fewer, heathen lands. The
money given is oftener regarded as a taxation than a
privilege. There is little of that self-abnegation which
brings wealth and children to the altar of God — little
of that mighty faith which foresees the future in the
promises of God. The love of the world is magnify
ing. The habits of society are receding from the sim
plicity of the truth. Yet the Gospel is accredited, its
institutions are praised, its work celebrated. For the
sake of the Church men will submit to a levy if it is
not too depleting, not too often repeated. The shrink
ing sensitiveness which is afraid of thorough, hearty,
spiritual work, can not ultimately hinder the purposes
of God. The nations shall hear the " good tidings."
The great Head of the Church will effect revolutions
in her communions, fitting her for her high behests.
And when the true life of Christ is regnant in the
hearts of those who have recorded their names in His
houge, the work of missions will be spontaneous and

20
natural. It will come with the sympathies which bind
the Church in closer union with Jesus, as gushes the
water from a crevice in the rock, when fed by a living
spring. III. The missionary spirit is not a specialty. If
the missionary work is a moral necessity, from the
nature of Christianity, the missionary spirit is equally
such a necessity. It is a real misfortune that we have
bounded the idea of such a spirit by actual, personal
labor in heathen lands. Here and there in the Church
are found a few who devote themselves to such labor.
Forthwith they are indorsed as havingthe spirit of a
missionary. It is implied that others have no kindred
spirit, and are not expected to have it. The result of
such a general conviction is soon obvious. A true sym
pathy for missions is exiled from the hearts of those
who should stand by the throne, laden with prayer, and
filled with benevolence. It is. a matter of doubt which
most manifests the spirit of the Gospel, the daughter,
who, in the fervor of youth or the blush of woman
hood, gO§s abroad, or the aged widow of three-score
years who parts with her last child, leaving the mater
nal benediction on her head, then pursuing her solitary
way to the grave, looking to the ministry of strangers
in the hour of her greatest need.
In the measure that a missionary spirit is regarded
as a specialty in the Christian life, does the demand be
come imperative for calling the attention of the Church
to the genius of the Gospel. Of that boon, bought
with the blood of Christ, there is no monopoly. It is a

21
gift for the world. Every man into whose hands it
comes, into whose soul it enters with light and joy,
every man whose eye is opened to see its beauty and
worth, is by such fact a missionary. "Let him that
heareth say, Come." The identity of the Christian and
missionary spirit is a first truth. The spirit is the
same. There may be need of instruction as to the lines
of duty and the necessity of the mass of our race, but
the true Christian life responds to that instruction with
electric promptness. There are no such lines of distinc
tion as make one man more a missionary than another,
only for the reason that he labors in another field.
The man who seeks information from every quarter of
the globe, that he, as a steward of God, may best
know how and where to appropriate his means so as to
please the Master who intrusted them to his care — the
man who gives his child to a foreign field, and gives
him from the wealth of his love to Jesus — the man
who has no more to give than the full prayer of his
soul, and gives that — these all have the missionary
spirit, because they have a Christian spirit. A Christian
heart in which pulsates no love for the work of mis
sions — or a mission spirit which does not grow out of
the Christian life- — these are anomalies which we can
not understand, which find no explanation in the re
vealed word. We are looking with hope, for the time
when every man given to Christ is thereby given to the
world ; when the acceptance of Christ in the heart by
faith, will be a commission to preach the " Gospel to
every creature." Shall that glad day soon dawn ? Nor
men nor resources then shall be wanting. The harvest

22
will soon be gathered, and earth bloom with the beauty
of Eden. Each home will be vocal with the praise of
the Saviour, and each heart a temple to his name.
IV. If the missionary work is a natural evolution of
Christianity, the Church needs an enlarged scale of
missionary labor. If any question has been settled so
as never to need a review, it is this : that a church can
not live and thrive except by the most intense activi
ties. What has been done in the way of preaching
the Gospel to the nations has returned with interest.
The general sum of knowledge has been increased.
Collateral evidence of Christianity has been accumu
lated. The commerce and literature of the world have
been extended. New objects of prayer and hope have
opened to the Church. Those who love Zion have
been united in closer amity. Revivals of religion have
followed missionary effort. The tone of genuine piety
has been strengthened. The heart of the Church has
been drawn upward into a sweeter communion with
the Lord. The word of truth, and the significance and
power of the atonement have been more thoroughly
understood. The plans of God, in all their grandeur,
have been unrolling before the open eye. A field of
Christian enterprise has been discovered. The spirit of
benevolence has been cultivated. The Church can not
spare such benefits. They enrich her. It is a peculiar
ity of the spirit of the Gospel that it increases by ex
penditure — that it enlarges in proportion to its outlays.
If it be in the nature of Christianity to give, and to do ;
if this is its chief work ; if its beneficence is its life,

23
then the most fatal disaster that could befall its inter
ests would be to entertain any thought of a policy
which should seek to circumscribe its work. If all our
missionary enterprise should cease in our hands to-day,
it might save some money in our coffers, it might keep
some of our sons and daughters by our hearth-stone,
but it would stifle many a prayer that has lived in the
soul for years with a growing strength ; it would
turn back into the heart of many a devoted Christian
the tide of love which has been ceaselessly flow
ing ; it would sunder some of the dearest Christian ties
and blot out some of the brightest hopes which gild
the horizon. No ; the Church needs a policy of mis
sions evermore expanding in order to give scope to her
sympathies, tone to her piety, and might to her exer
tions. It is as essential as her own vital growth.
Without this, there can be no evolution of the Christian
spirit, no gradual and grand unfolding of the dignity
and power of the Christian character. Without this
the man, the Church, must be dwarfed always, and the
genius of the Gospel obscured. The thoughts which
God has spoken in his word will not be grasped. With
a vision near-sighted, with palsied limbs and in veriest
decrepitude for want of exercise the Church will drag
along in her joyless pathway. So surely as Christian
ity finds expression in missionary exploits, she must
have a scope as wide as her mission, and a motive im
pulsive as the love of Christ, and appealing as the
death-throe of a world sinking to the dark grave in sad
impenitence. Ampler and still ampler must be her pol-

24
icy and her prayer, if her inward strength is fed, and
she climbs to the eminence of her privilege.
V. If missions spring naturally from Christianity,
then we may esopect God's blessing to attend them.
From his own nature came Christianity. He inspired
it so far as it is a matter of record. He illustrated it
in the life of his Son. He appointed its mission. He gives
its life to the individual. He teaches its meaning. He
makes it a ministry of joy and hope to the believing
heart. He has pledged its success to his Son. He has
not withdrawn his promise or command concerning it.
All his providential dealings indicate his purpose to
crown missionary labor with his benediction. The re
cords of the past are fruitful in encouraging facts.
To the eye of faith the future is glorious. In all the
events which transpire among the nations, his hand is
visible. Never was human mind so active and wakeful
as at present. Never were there larger expectations
of the incoming of a new order of things. Never did
hoary despotisms so tremble in the presence of man
hood asserting its rights. Never was the voice of lib
eral principles so manly and firm. Never were old dy
nasties, enthroned for ages and cemented with blood,
so lunatic and smitten with fear. Never did the uni
versal heart of man find so free utterance. Its very
longings are prophetic. Events are hastening. The
limits of the world are narrowing. Nationalities are
being obliterated. The press, the mightiest enginery
of modern times, is increasing knowledge. Commerce

25
is amplifying. Science is making all nature tributary
to man's comfort. The power, of man is multiplying,
and the grapple with his worst foes draws on. There
are stirring scenes before us. There are revolutions
ripening which will scoff at "the balance of power."
The seeds of these are sown by every press, by every
free voice that rings through the nations, by every
Bible and tract distributed. The cloud is lifting, and
what a vision opens ! There are suspicions and fears,
and jealousies and ambitions. They struggle for the
victory. In the midst of all these strange convulsions,
the men of God are speaking his word. They pursue
their calm way undisturbed by fears, with eye uplifted
towards the throne of the Highest. Their work thrives.
Politicians and statesmen refer us to social and civil
causes in order to account for the troubled state of the
world. It may be that only such causes come within
their range of view. It is moreover a fact that
through such agencies the highest religious events are
wrought out. But with the past all legible with the
evidence of a divine force working through human
forces, with the prophecy of the Scriptures in hand,
with the design of the atonement clear as the morning,
with some definite experience of the spirit of the Gos
pel, and with some small measure of faith, we can eas
ily see that the Lord is casting up a highway for the
word. His messengers shall travel with all the means
of commerce, shall employ all the facilities of art and
education, shaU subdue to the purposes of mercy the
resources of the world.
God will give his benediction to every attempt to

26
fulfill his command, to glorify hi3 Son in the proclama
tion of his love. That blessing shall grow more be
nignant and commanding as the day of ultimate triumph
approaches. " A nation shall be born in a day." Our
work is not bootless. It shall prosper. The hand of
God is in it. We may expect his love to crown it. He
is mightier than oppositions. " Greater is He that is in
you, than he that is in the world." The " Gospel shall
be preached to every creature," and the smile of Jeho
vah shall be its passport to the heart, and its earnest of
a glorious victory.

TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL REPOET

NEW-YORK AND BROOKLYN FOREIGN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION.

The Foreign Missionary Society of New- York and Brooklyn completes, to-night,
the twenty-ninth year of its operations. During the passing months of another year
God has graciously continued us in the stewardship of his bounties, held out to us
his encouraging promises, and opened his ear to our prayers, while he has been say
ing, " Go, preach my GospeL" "The field is the world."
This is an occasion which calls us to review the past, to observe the leadings of
Providence, to prepare for the future, and to ask with deep solicitude what have we
done, what are we doing in obedience to our Lord's great command?
The year, covered by the reports which were presented this evening, has been
marked throughout by the Divine blessing upon the Missionary work.
At home, while fears have been excited in view of reported changes in our mis
sionary operations, and much discussion called forth in regard to the wisdom of
those changes, it is believed that the discussion has only developed a deeper inter
est in the cause, and prepared the way for a more complete agieoment as to the
best means of securing the great end which all the friends of missions have at heart.
The recent special meeting of the Board at Albany, to which many looked forward
with apprehension, seemed eminently marked by the spirit of Christian kindness
and earnest prayer. Those who went with solicitude, returned to thank God and
take courage.
Abroad also, the work has been crowned with peeuliar favor from on high. The
year opened amid scenes of fierce and desperate struggle. China was rent by bar
barous revolutions. A fearful and bloody war was raging in close proximity to the
most important and promising of our missionary fields — a war which threatened to
involve the whole eastern world, and wakened dark forebodings as to its effects on
all our missionary operations. But God has been better to us than our fears. In
China, amid scenes of butchery and blood, the work, though somewhat retarded,
was nowhere suspended ; while, in Amoy and vicinity, particularly, the special

28
effusions of the Divine Spirit have proved the Lord on high to be mightier than the
noise of many waters — while He causes the wrath of man to praise him. In Persia,
the opposition of the royal court, which threatened seriously to interfere with the
labors of our brethren among the Nestorians, has been so far removed as to allow
them to proceed without interruption. In Western Asia, notwithstanding " the
thunder of the captains and the shouting," the work of God has gone prosperously
on. The Gospel is taking a still deeper hold on the Armenian mind, and spreading
to places in the interior which no missionary has yet reached. New churches have
been planted ; and our hearts have recently been gladdened with the tidings that
another, the thirtieth among the Armenians, has been just organized in Oorfa, the
supposed birth-place of Abraham; thus, after forty centuries, reviving the faith of
that man of God, in the home of hi3 childhood. Other and yet more remarkable
indications also there are — though; for obvious reasons, it may be unwise to do
more than merely allude to them — of God's gracious presence in those lands of the
East. It may not be improper to say, however, that there are so many and such
striking evidences, that He is moving upon the minds of multitudes hitherto un
reached by the Gospel — awakening their intense interest in divine truth, and pre
paring them eagerly to inquire for, and readily to receive it — as to animate our mis
sionary brethren with the strongest hopes, and call them to special efforts to meet
these new demands upon their time and strength.
If, during a year of warfare, when all the aspects of Divine Providence would
seem to have been peculiarly adverse to missionary operations, God has thus brought
light out of darkness, what advances of his kingdom may we not expect now, when
the whole civilized world is rejoicing at the return of peace among the nations ?
But if we have to sing of mercy, we have also to speak of judgment. Death has
been at work in our missionary band. The aged and the young — the veteran sol
diers of the cross, with hoary hairs and ripe experience, bearing upon their persons
many a mark of the long conflict of faith ; and others, newly enlisted in the ranks,
who had just gone from the bosom of our churches, with strong hope and ardent
zeal, and the promise of continued usefulness — Poor and Scudder, Hitchcock and
Benjamin, Hume and Lobdell have alike finished their work. They have obeyed
the command, " Come up hither," and gone to meet the great Captain of our sal
vation on high. And others also, daughters of the Church, fitting and faithful help
ers in the work, have, during the year, been called to lay down the cross and take
up the crown.
Prom this glance at some of the great features of the missionary work, we may
turn to the efforts which this Society has made to promote it. How closely and
faithfully have we walked in these footmarks of God ? The duties of our Associa
tion are limited and definite. Its objects, as set forth in its constitution, are two :
" To disseminate missionary intelligence, and to raise funds in aid of the missions
under the care of the parent Society." These objects the Directors have kept stea
dily in view. To secure the first, they have sustained for years, on the afternoon

29
of the first Monday in every month, a meeting at the Tract House, at which, by the
Corresponding Secretary of the Board, and such Missionaries as may from time to
time be in the city, the latest intelligence is communicated ! from the different sta
tions. The aim has been by such means to bring every part of the missionary field
directly under the. eye" of the churches represented there. Our own hearts have
often burned Iwithin us, as we thus heard the sound of God's goings among the na
tions, and the voice of our brethren in the field fell on our ears, - " Come over and
help us." We have been deeply affected as we have listened to the glowing elo
quence and strong appeals of those who, just- returned from foreign lands, have
spread ^before us the wants of multitudes ready to perish, and urged us to a loftier
standard of effort and self-denial in their behalf. And we have felt that, in propor
tion as the needs of a dying world; and the blessing of God upon the labors of. those
who seek to give it His' Gospel, could he brought clearly before the minds of Christ
ians, in that proportion would be the fervor of their prayers, and the increase of
their contributions. ."But while the great work of the world's evangelization is still
far from its accomplishment,' and while its progress has not failed to develop.new
features of interest "and" importance, the'Directors regret to say that there has' been
a falling off in the attendance upon the meeting. This may be in part accounted
for by the general removal of church-members to the upper and distant portions of
the city. And yet;it js believed that the slight sacrifice even thus required, would
be more than repaid' by the fresh interest which the friends of the cause might gain
to themselves by their attendance, and the impulse which their presence and sym
pathy would give to others.
Arrangements have been made to secure the almost simultaneous presentation of
the cause, and the collection of funds among the churches. Still further to increase
the efficiency of the Society, two Directors are chosen annually from each church,
whose duty it is, in the language of the constitution, " to do all in their power to
enlist every member, both of the church and congregation, in the missionary work,
and to take measures to secure systematic and regular contributions to the funds of
the Society, from the churches and Sabbath-schools." This system has now been in
operation for six years. Its first results' were very encouraging. Our contributions
went up, the first year, in round numbers, to $16,000, the second year to $18,000,
the third to $22,000, and the fourth to $23,000. Would that we could go on to
speak of yet larger offerings to the treasury of the Lord. But instead of this, the
receipts fell the last year to $21,000, and the present year they have gone down to
$19,000. The plain and humiliating fact is, that our contributions to the great
object of a world's conversion have been $2000 less this year than they were the
last, and more than $4000 less than the year before.
It was suggested at our last anniversary, that the deficiency then reported might
have arisen from the general embarrassments of business, and the new claims upon
charity made by multitudes of the destitute and suffering in the midst of us. But
to what shall we now attribute this still greater deficiency ? There has been no blot-

30
ting out of any of our churches, no falling off in the numbers of those who have con
secrated themselves and their substance to Christ and his cause, no drying up of our
pecuniary resources. On the contrary, these all have largely increased. Never has
there been a greater accumulation of wealth in the hands of the professed people of
God in these cities than now. But, while rejoicing in his bounty, are we forgetting
the great purpose for which He has intrusted it to our keeping ? It is charged
against an ancient king, that he "rendered not again, according to the benefit done
unto him," and therefore, it is told us, " there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah
and Jerusalem." If we are guilty of the sin of Hezekiah, shall we not fear its pun
ishment ? ' ' There is that withholdeth more than is meet and yet tendeth to poverty' '
— yea, the sorest and sharpest — poverty of grace — poverty of soul.
But we can not admit for a moment that the hearts of Christians among us have
grown cold in the work of missions. Other incidental and temporary causes, we
would trust, have led to this apparently backward step, when God, by his provi
dence and his spirit, has been so loudly calling us to go forward. Let us remember
that we are His stewards. Let us live as such. Let our regrets for the past be
turned into strong and soul-compelling resolves for the future. Let us aim to reach
that high standard of self-denial and sacrifice which is given us in the agony of the
garden and the cross — which was followed by apostles and martyrs, and led to the
early triumphs of Christianity — which we find everywhere in the progress of the
Redeemer's kingdom. Let us feel and pray, let us labor and give as we should do
if, on our ears alone of all the children of men, the tidings of redemption had fallen,
and it depended on our individual exertions whether the vast multitudes of our race
were to be reached and won by the truth as it is in Jesus.
A. A. WOOD, Corresponding Secretary.

31

THE FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF NEW-YORK AND BROOKLYN
In account current with their Treasurer, Almon Merwin.
From April 1st, 1855, to March 31st, 1856. Dk.
$9 50
141 87 151 31

Paid for carriage-hire, 
" 3000 copies Dr. Adams' Sermon,
Entered in account at sundry times with James M. Gordon, )
Treasurer of the A.B.C.F.M., )

By Cash, from the following sources :
Allen-street Presbyterian Church,
Brick " "
Broadway Tabernacle, .
Central Presbyterian Church,
Church of the Puritans,
Eastern Congregational Church, .
Eleventh Presbyterian "
Fourteenth-street "
Fourth Ave. Presbyterian "
Harlem " "
Houston-street " "
Mercer-street " " .
Madison-square " "
North " "
Presbyterian Church on University Place,
Seventh Presbyterian Church, .
Sixth-street " " . .
Spring-street " "
Thirteenth-st. " " . .
Twentieth-st. Congregational Church
West Presbyterian Church, .
West 23d-st " " ...
Sundry donations in New- York and Brooklyn,
Bedford Congregational Church, Brooklyn, .
Church of the Pilgrims, .
Clinton Avenue Congregational Church,
Elm Place " "
First Presbyterian Church,
Plymouth Congregational Church, .
Park " "
South Presbyterian "
Second " "
South Congregational "
Third Presbyterian "
Westminster " "
Warren-street Mission,
Williamsburgh First Presbyterian Church,
Hoboken, N. J., ....

Cb.
108 07
748 89
142 43
151 01
1122 51
133 83
100 00
2233 22
333 33
48 91
40 00
3856 01
2019 38
650 66
217 39
46 00
143 67
69 00
44 72
282 55
161 57
1737 33
9 09
2396 61
77 55
614 08
271 38
35 00
929 15
352 00
'26162 30 63
10 66
50 00
35 26

19,311 48

$19,462 85

14,389 82

5073 03

E. & O. E.
New-York, March 31st, 1856.
Examined and found correct.
O. E. Wood, )
Lewis E. Jackson, )

$19,462 85
A. MERWIlf, Treasurer.

Auditors.

32

RECEIPTS OP THE SOCIETY.

The following statement, exhibits the receipts of the Foreign Missionary Society
of New- York and Brooklyn, from its organization in 1827 to April, 1850 :

From 1827 to April, 1836, (nine years,)
For the year ending April, 1837,
" " " 1838,
" " March, 1839,
" " April, 1840,
" " March, 1841,
" April, 1842,
" " " 1843,
" " " 1844,
" -" 1845,-
" " 1846,
" " March, 1847,
" " "¦ 1848,
" " April, 1849,
" " " 1850,

Total in 23 years,

$86,931 28
19,068 72
11,195 53
12,433 07
10,131 33
11,721 17
15,937 73
10,432 42
14,018 10
11,974 88
10,425 10
9,867 59
11,834 70
19,536 56
14,217 58
$269,725 76

The following is a view of legacies paid into the treasury of the American Board
from New- York and Brooklyn since the organization of this Auxiliary :
For the year ending March

, 1834, from New- York, .

. $964 GO

1836,

U If

250 00

1838,

U ((

. 1350 00

1839,

U U

2865 00

1840,

u ((

. 5602 86

1842,

" Brooklyn, .

133 78

1843,

U [1

. 100 00

¦ 1844,

(1 it

100 00

1846,

• " New- York,

. 100 00

1847,

" Brooklyn,

500 00

1848,

" New- York, .

. 3094 38

1849,

„( " $1265 00
( Brooklyn, 100 00

[ 1365 00

1850,

" New-York,

. 100 00

1852,

u u

20 00

1853,

.. (C

. 885 00

1854,

tl u

3264 00

33

RECEIPTS FOR THE YEARS 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856.

Allen-street Presbyterian Church, '.
Brick " "
Broadway Tabernacle "
Central Presbyterian "
Church of the Puritans, (Cong.,)
Eastern Congregational Church,
Eleventh Presbyterian '•
Fourteen th-st. " "
Fourth-avenue Pr. "
Harlem Presbyterian "
Houstnn-st " "
Mercer-st " "
Madison-sq. " "
North . " "
Presb. Ch. on University place,
Seventh Presbyterian Church,
Sixth-street " "
Spring-street " "
Thirteenth-st " "
Tweniietb-st. (Cong,) "
"West Presbyterian "
"West23d-st. "

Bedford Congregational Ch.. Brooklyn,
Ch. of the Pilgrims, (Cong.,) "
Clinton-av. Cong Church, "
Elm-place Cong. u "
First Presbyteiian " "
Plymouth Cong. " "
Park-place " " "
South Presbyterian " "
Second k' " "
South Cong. " "
Third Presbyterian " "
"Westminster " " "
"Warren -street Mission Church, "
First Presb. Church, Williamsburgh,
Hoboken Presbyterian Church,

Sundry donations in New- York and }
Brooklyn,  (

Total,.

Year ending

Year ending

Year ending

Year ending

Year ending

March 31,

March 31,

March 31,

March 31,

March 31,

1852.

1853.

1654.

' 1855.

1856.

$129 00

$137 07

$186 40

$166 73

$108 07

933 14

911 88

941 87

869 04

748 89

25S 01

2S4 24

278 08

169 32

142 43

.687 40

1,016 82

892 06

317 28

151 01

1,252 27

454 60

2,174 73

1,646 26

1,122 51

19 09

31 57

52 94

102 44

133 83

68 85

1(19 34

170 08

100 00

100 00

469 73

997 88

1,61* 01

663 28

2,233 22

875 06

781 00

935 49

642 83

333 33

76 60

53 47

81 64

76 8S

48 91

25 50

19 50

76 75

53 08

40 00

5,139 11

6,726 66

6,404 98

6,244 50

3,856 01

50 00

1,126 76

2,604 75

2,019 88

80 00

72 27

50 87

250 00

850 00

500 00

200 00

650 00

203 77

190 53

306 98

162 80

217 39

50 00
50 00
46 00
81 76
128 17
159 00
145 44
143 67
38 06
89 84
222 70
104 28
69 00
44 72
406 60
368 59
502 42
232 59
2S2 55
25 00
102 65
103 42
177 06
161 57
$10,958 95
$13,2S9 45
$16,274 48
814,979 38
$12,652 49
11 89
15 10
19 59
12 76
9 09
2,065 23
2,420 21
2,267 59
1,260 00
2,396 61
40 00
851 31
215 64
32 41
77 55
880 58
985 87
1,322 99
830 46
614 08
452 46
303 12
445 00
483 49
49 78
271 38
85 00
1,219 32
2,476 94
1,033 25
1,004 00
929 15
56 28
942 IS
446 27
300 00
852 00
16 52
28 67
65 82
138 63
111 70
215 23
67 56
31 23
261 62
80 63
10 66
68 75
72 00
63 24
70 00
7 81
50 00
35 26
$5,827 64
$7,704 95
$6,128 72
$4,215 32
$5,073 03
$1,823 23
$1,917 11
$1,298 38
$2,337 74
$1,737 33
$18,109 82
$22,911 51
$23,696 58
$21,532 44
$19,462 85
2fote.— Of the $22,911.51 reported for the year terminating March 81, 1853, the sum of
¦was a special contribution for the debt of the Board in 1852.
34

LIST OF OFFICERS

FOE THE TEAK 1856.

PRESIDENT.
DAVID HOADLET.

VICE-PRESIDENTS.

ANSON G. PHELPS,
CHARLES J. STEDMAN,

"WILLIAM E. DODGE,
OLIVER E. WOOD.

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.
Rev. "WILLIAM HOGARTH.
RECORDING SECRETARY.
ALMON MERWIN.

TREASURER.
ALMON ME R WIN.

Allen-street Presbyterian Church,
Brick " "
Broadway Tabernacle, "
Central Presbyterian, "
Church of the Puritans, "
Eastern Congregational Church,
Eleventh Presbyterian "
Fourteenth-st. Fourth-avenueHarlem Houston-streetMercer-street

DIRECTORS. .... John P. Prall, Joseph W. Lester.
 A. L. Ely, C. H. Merry.
. . . . W. G. West, Israel Minor.
 W. P. Cook, James W. Dunning.
 Jas. C. Woodruff, H. 0. Pinneo.
 Noah T. Swezey, Lewis Chichester.
 Alex. McNey, J. H. Bulen.
 Lucius Hart, J. F. Joy.
.... Alfred Post, Edward Chester.
 E. Ketchum, James Riker, Jr.
 S. Derrickson, David Stevens.
 W. W. Chester, G. Manning Tract,
Richd. Bigelow.

35

Madison-square " "
ManhaltanviUe " "
NorthPresbyterian Church, University place,
Seventh Presbyterian Church,
Sixth-streetSpring-street Thirteenth-st. West West 2Sd-st.
Bedford Cong. Church, Brooklyn,
Clinton-av. " "
Church of the Pilgrims, "
Elm-place Cong. Church, "
First Presb. " "
Plymouth Cong. " "
Park " " "
Second Presb. " "
South South Cong. " "
ZTwnZ iVes*. " "
Westminster Presb. " "
Warren-st. Mission " "
First Presb. Church, WiUiamsburgh,
First Presb. Church, Hoboken,

. F. Bull, A. 0. Van Lennep.
. E. A. Pearce.
. 0. H. Lee, James Reeve.
. W. W. Stone, Henry Bange.
. Charles Merrill, H. B. Littell.
. Francis Duncan.
. John Endicott, Austin Requa.
. John C. Hines, W. J. Johnson, M.D.
, Lewis E. Jackson, A. D. P. Randolph.
. Henry D. Crane, Gurdon Burchard.
D. 0. Caulkins, Edward T. Goodall.
. Saml. E. Warner, Jas. W. Raynor.
. Sidney S. Sanderson, S. P. Phelps.
. P. W. Burke, Alfred Smithers.
. Rufus R. Graves, Isaac N. Judson,
J. W. Hayes.
. J. T. Howard, Arthur Nichols.
. Alfred Smith.
, Charles Clarke, A. B. Baylis.
David A. Holbrook, John Cattnach,
A. L. Van Buren.
. Solomon Freeman, Mr. Parsons.
. W. W. Hurlbut, J. C. Halsey, M.D.
. Walter S. Griffith, John Milton
Smith.
. Geo. H. Williams, N. H. Holt.
. Joseph F. Tuttle, J. W. Buckley.
, A. W. Rose, Joseph Boynton.

_