208
THE KING’ S BUSINESS
out o f them, and a word o f mine would bring a half million more to fill their place. Oh, God, my God,” he groaned, under his breath, “what am I that Thou shouldst ask this-of me? What am I that Thou shouldst trust me s o !” You will recall that President Lincoln was compelled to issue a call for many thousands o f soldiers and how grandly the nation responded: W e are coming, Father Abraham, Three hundred thousand more— ' From Mississippi’s winding stream And from New England’s shore. You have called us and we’re coming. By Richmond’s bloody tide To lay us down for Freedom’s sake, - Our brothers’ bones beside. Six hundred thousand loyal men And true have gone before— W e are coming, Father Abraham, Three hundred thousand more. You haye heard o f the expedition that Great Britain- sent to Ashanti. The Col onel, in talking to his men about the prop osition, said: “ Not many o f you will return alive who go on this expedition. W e are not going to command any man to go. W e are going to call for volunteers.” He added, “Any riian who will volunteer to go will please step one pace to the front.” The Colonel turned his head to give the men time to think and. act, and when he looked around again a flash o f indignation ran over his cheeks as he saw the line as solid as it had been before, and he said, “W hat; the Scotch Guards, and not a volunteer?” A man stepped forward from the ranks, and touching his hand to his cap, said, “ Colonel, the whole line has stepped forward.” What a tremendous thing it would be for the kingdom o f Christ if we could see this vision and beholding the greatest o f all leaders, that we could reply to Him, “ Captain, the whole line has stepped forward.” The time has come for the whole Church to step forward. “The-Son o f God goes forth to war. . . . Who follows in His train?”
the word “ Go” means, think o f the condi tion o f the heathen world, think o f the responsibility resting upon you. In this command o f the Master lies the greatest argument for foreign mis sions, to disregard which is to disregard the express command o f our Master. This is The grand Missionary charter o f the ^Church and is a positive duty to evan gelize the world. Do not say, “There are heathen enough in America; let us convert them before we go to heathen lands.” This objection sounds cheaper and more shameful each year. What can be more disgraceful than to make the imperfection of our Christi anity at home the excuse-for not doing our work abroad ? It ’ is like pleading indul gence on the ground o f our own sin and neglect. It is like a murderer o f his father asking .the judge to have pity on his father less orphanhood. Let such a shameful cry be heard no more in our midst! Do not be like those Jews in the 22nd chapter o f Acts, verses 21, 22: “And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live." They listened to the apostle speaking up until the point where he touched foreign missionsAand then stopped their ears arid refused further to listen. An incident is related o f our martyred President, Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, which is to the point just here. Mr. Lincoln began talking to himself: “A ' million men, a mighty host— / and one word o f mine would bring the million sleeping boys to their feet— send them without a word to their guns— they would fall in rahk—brigade on brig ade, regiment on regiment, corps on corps. A word more, an they would march steady, quiet, a million men in step straight ahead, over fields, through forests, across rivers. Nothing would stop them—cannons might tear holes in their ranks, and they would fill them up; a half million might be bled
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker