most inappropriate. Were not they, it may be asked, virtually created
into a separate and exclusive nation, and taught to look upon themselves
as God's peculiar people? Did not they become proverbial for their pride
of race, and for saying on every occasion, "We have Abraham to our
father," and were they not especially the Pharisees among the nations?
Now it must be confessed that all these questions must be answered in
the affirmative, but when we widen our view and take into consideration
the great purpose of God in the formation and conservation of the Hebrew
commonwealth, we may see reason somewhat to modify our opinion. For the
settlement of the Jews in Canaan and their restriction within its limits
were not ends in themselves, but only means for the attainment of higher
ends which were to affect the moral and spiritual condition of "all
people that on earth do dwell." The promise made to Abraham was in this
wise: "In thee and in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be
blessed;" and it was for the purpose of securing the fulfilment of the
latter part of that promise that a special and peculiar hedge was
planted around the vine which God had brought out of Egypt. It was not
meant to be a permanent arrangement, but was designed merely for a
temporary emergency, until, as Paul has said, "the Seed should come" to
bless the world with his great salvation. It cannot, therefore, be
quoted as furnishing a universal example, or as giving any divine
approval to that pride of race of which we have been speaking. Moreover,
even when the Hebrews were selected by God for this purpose, they were
told over and over again that they were not chosen for anything in
themselves, and that they had no reason to plume themselves on the fact
that they were chosen. And when they degenerated into self-conceit on
the ground of their having been so highly privileged, they were finally
cast out of the land of promise. Nor is this all. In the system under
which they were placed by Moses, they were taught to look with
kindliness on those who came to sojourn among them, of whatever race
they might be. They were not, indeed, to be a missionary people, or to
seek to induce others to settle among them, but if others came to dwell
beside them, hear how they were to treat them: "Thou shalt neither vex a
stranger nor oppress him, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."
"And if a stranger sojourn with thee in the land, ye shall not vex him.
But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born
among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in
the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Love ye therefore the
stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." (Exodus xxii. 21;
Levit. xix. 33; xxv. 35; Deut. x. 19). Lay these commands alongside of
recent legislation among ourselves with reference to the Chinese, and
then see what God must think of that blot upon our statute book in this
age of our boasted enlightenment.
Take, again, the account of the singular retribution that came upon the
people in the days of David because of Saul's treatment of the
Gibeonites. These aborigines belonged to the ancient Canaanitish tribes,
and were so astute as to impose even upon Joshua, and to obtain from him
a treaty on false pretenses. Still an agreement was made with them on
the terms that they should be permitted to live in the land, but that
they should be "hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of the
Lord." This contract was faithfully observed on both sides until the
days of Saul, who sought to slay them "in his zeal to the children of
Israel and Judah." And what was the result? A famine lasting for three
years, which was only removed at last by the giving up, according to the
ancient practices of the Gibeonites, of seven of Saul's sons for
execution. Now there is much in that old history that is difficult for
us at this distance of time, and ignorant as we are of the customs that
prevailed among these tribes, to understand. But no one of us can read
it without being reminded of our treatment of the Indian tribes that
linger among us still. Have we not broken almost every treaty that we
ever made with them? Have we not said, unpityingly regarding them, that
their destruction before the advance of civilization is inevitable? And
have we not forgotten that the God of the Gibeonites lives to be the
avenger of the Indians? If the hewers of wood and drawers of water were
not beneath his notice long ago, think you he does not see and chronicle
the wrongs of the Indians to-day, and shall not he render to every man
according to his works?
Before passing from the Old Testament to the New, I merely mention the
fact that among the ancestors of the Lord Jesus Christ we find two
belonging to alien races, namely, Rahab of Jericho, and Ruth the
Moabitess, whose very presence in that noble line is a prophecy of the
glorious truth that the Son of David was to be also the Son of man, the
Saviour of sinners of every name and nation, the kinsman of all races,
the brother of humanity, and that as he represents them all in his
priestly intercession yonder, so in each of them we may see a
representative of him here and now upon the earth.
But now what may we learn from Christ himself in the New Testament? It
is true that his personal ministry in the world was almost entirely
confined to the Jews. It had to be so limited at first, if his gospel
was to gather force for its triumphant march over the world at a later
day; but even during his life in the world he came repeatedly in contact
with men and women of races other than that of the Jews, and always in
such a way as to show his sympathy with them and love toward them. I
remind you of his long and earnest conversation with the woman of
Samaria, at the well of Sychar, and of the fact that she was a
descendant of that mixed nationality which sprung from the amalgam of
those heathen colonists that were sent by the King of Assyria to take
the places left vacant by the ten tribes whom he had carried away
captive. I recall to your recollection, too, his eulogy on the Roman
centurion, and his constant exposure of the contemptuousness of the
Pharisees in their attitude not only toward the publicans and sinners of
their own nation, but also toward Gentiles of every description. Think
of his dealing with the Syrophoenician woman. She was a Canaanite of the
old race, and, though at first he seemed to turn her away, yet
ultimately he gave her all she asked and more: and even his apparently
abrupt treatment of her in the beginning, if I read the history aright,
was meant to be an exposure and condemnation of the feelings commonly
cherished toward those of her nation by the Jews of his day. No doubt it
tested and strengthened her own faith. But we must not forget that the
whole conversation with her was meant to teach a lesson to his disciples
also. It was part of their training for their future life work. It was a
portion of their preparation for carrying his gospel to all nations. And
so he spoke out their own thoughts about the women, holding up a mirror
before them in which they might see themselves, when he said, "It is not
meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs;" and he
ultimately showed them that she was better far than many who would have
spurned her from their presence. So from the kindness showed to aliens
by the Lord himself, we may learn not only to beware of this leaven of
the Pharisees, but also to deal kindly and truly with men of every race,
and make them sharers with us in the blessings of the gospel.
But thus far we have not come upon any case where the difference was one
not only of race but of color. Even here, however, we are not without
scriptural instances to guide us. You remember that of Ebed-melech, the
Ethiopian. Jeremiah was, by the cruelty of his enemies, imprisoned in a
dungeon or water tank, and was sunk in the mire at the bottom.
Ebed-melech, learning his condition, went and informed King Zedekiah of
the real state of the case, and obtained a command to take an escort of
thirty men with him and deliver him from the dungeon lest he should die.
So with great tenderness the Ethiopian threw down rags to put under the
ropes which he let down, and by which he was to soften the pressures of
the cords under his arms as they drew him up therewith from his filthy
prison; and after they had thus delivered him there came to the prophet
this message of God concerning him; "Go and speak to Ebed-melech, the
Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good;
and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. But I will
deliver thee in that day, saith the Lord; and thou shalt not be given
into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For I will surely
deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall
be for a prey unto thee; because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith
the Lord." Here we have a kindness done by a colored man to Jeremiah,
and a message sent from God to the colored man acknowledging and
rewarding that kindness; but O! how many debts of that sort owed by men
among ourselves to the colored people have been forgotten or repudiated!
In the agony of the war, colored people fought in the ranks of the
Northern armies; and I have heard those who have belonged to the
Confederate side declare with tears in their eyes that the faithful
watch kept by their colored servants over their wives and families while
they were absent with the troops was beyond all praise. And yet in these
days we read every now and then of colored people shot down like dogs on
the slightest provocation, and prevented on the merest pretext from
exercising the rights of citizens of this free Republic, and men look on
and do nothing. But God may say something by and by, and when he speaks
men's ears shall tingle! We have another illustration of God's treatment
of a colored man in the case of the Ethiopian treasurer. He was
returning from Jerusalem, where he had been at one of the great annual
Jewish feasts, and as he was riding in his chariot he was reading aloud
to himself the book of the prophet Isaiah, when the evangelist Philip,
specially sent thither for the purpose by God's Spirit, addressed him,
and on being asked to come into the carriage with him expounded to him
the meaning of the passage which he was reading, and preached the gospel
from it unto him with such good effect that he was forthwith baptized on
the confession of his faith, and afterward went on his way rejoicing to
found that Ethiopian church which claims to this day to be one of the
most ancient Christian churches in the world. He was a man, for he was
moved by the truth as you and I have been, and he became a
Christian--"the highest style of man"--to show us that, as Peter said,
"In every nation they that fear God and work righteousness are accepted
of him." That which is highest in any man is his appreciation and
acceptance of the gospel! of Christ, and wherever we see that
appreciation we have not only a fellow man but a brother Christian, to
be treated by us as Paul requested Philemon to treat Onesimus--as "a
brother beloved." Nor let any one suppose that there is a single race
upon the earth that can not be so transformed and gladdened as this
Ethiopian was. Even Charles Darwin declared that after the Patagonians
it could not be said that any race is too degraded for the gospel to
elevate, and so he gave new emphasis, unwittingly, perhaps, but, if so,
all the more strongly, to the words addressed to Peter on the housetop:
"What God hath cleansed that call not thou common;" or those of Paul in
one of his epistles: "For there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all
one in Christ Jesus."
This topic is at present greatly occupying the attention of the
Christian churches in our land. It was before the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church in May last, and has been again discussed at the
meeting of the Council of Congregational churches in Worcester three
weeks ago, and in the Triennial Convention of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, which has just closed its sessions in New York. I will not seek
to criticise or to characterize the decisions at which these bodies have
arrived, save to say that in my judgment the Presbyterian Assembly faced
the difficulty more thoroughly, and disposed of it more courageously,
than either of the others. But I will say that there is only one
solution of a question of this sort. Every Christian, when he comes to
think on it seriously, must feel that to be the case. No compromise will
satisfy either party to it or will please God, and any settlement to be
permanent must be in harmony with the inspired statement that "God hath
made of one blood all the nations that dwell upon the face of the
earth." But such a result can not be brought about either in the state
or in the churches merely by legislation. You can not compel either by
physical or moral constraint the different races to meet on terms of
social equality. No doubt you can, and you ought to see to it, that men
of all races stand precisely on the same platform before the law and
have the same protection from the law. But to get rid of a prejudice you
must take a different method. You can not uproot that all at once. The
removal of that must be the result of education and of spiritual growth.
But when I speak of education I must add that it is not the colored
people alone that need to be educated here. The white people of all our
cities, whether North or South, require education as well. They need to
be taught that the Negro is a man, for at bottom that is not more than
half believed by multitudes. They need to be taught that the Negro may
become a Christian, and that there are possibilities of Christian
missionary enterprise in his race that are absolutely incalculable. They
need to be taught to look upon the different races of Indians, Chinese
and Africans among us as dignified and ennobled by Christ's incarnation,
and as purchased by his sacrificial blood equally with themselves. They
need to look upon the Christianized among them as brethren in Christ,
and then the rest will come of itself.
There has been great progress in these recent years toward the result of
which I speak. The present agitation concerning the color-line, as it is
called, is itself an indication of progress, and the day assuredly will
dawn when men of all nationalities and names shall come from the East
and from the West, from the North and from the South, and sit down with
Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob in the kingdom of our Father. But if
we as a Nation cultivate the spirit of the Pharisees, and continue to
despise those who are "guilty of a skin not colored like our own," we
may be sure that he who visited the Hebrew nation for their treatment of
the Gibeonites will send also some nemesis on us.
I can not but feel, beloved brethren, that in these meetings which
to-night come to a close, something has been done to help forward that
result which under the guidance of the Scriptures we all believe to be
the right one. We have had a series of most delightful conferences. Now
let us go back to our homes determined to take the seminal truths which
have been presented to us here, and scatter them wherever we are called
to labor. The seed may seem to be but a handful, and the soil may seem
unpromising as the rocky mountain tops--but be sure the result will be a
harvest that will shake like the cedars of Lebanon. And though it may
seem a little incongruous to quote from the Scottish poet--would that
everything he wrote were of as pure and lofty an inspiration--I will
venture to conclude with his well-known lines:
"Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a' that,
That man to man the world over
Shall brithers be for a' that."
* * * * *
BUREAU OF WOMAN'S WORK
MISS D.E. EMERSON, SECRETARY.
The Annual Meeting of the Bureau of Woman's Work of the American
Missionary Association, held on Thursday afternoon in the church during
the session of the business meeting in the chapel, was one of unusual
interest. Following the Report of the Secretary, there were interesting
addresses by missionaries, and a very effective address by Mrs. Geo. M.
Lane, of Detroit, Michigan, who presided.
The Report and some of the addresses will be published in separate
leaflets, and may be had by application to Miss Emerson at 56 Reade St.
* * * * *
REPORT OF SECRETARY.
A look backward over the twelve months since our last annual gathering
reveals much of interest and encouragement, that should fill our hearts
with gratitude that our woman's work has had such an influence in
bringing light and gladness to thousands of women and children, whose
lives have been cast in the dark portions of our Christian land. So
large an element of Woman's Work enters into the plan upon which the
field of the American Missionary Association is operated, and it is so
interwoven with the entire structure of its missions, that any report of
it as separate and distinct can be only partial. And yet with the more
systematic organization of woman's work in the raising of funds, we have
been able to assign special woman's work on mission ground, with most
satisfactory results, for to have a particular school or missionary has
stimulated the givers, and has brought courage and comfort to the
missionaries who have been thus sustained.
Our Woman's Work. What is it? Whom is it for? Who should do it?
What is it? It is to take to heathen mothers and sisters here in our own
country the glorious news of salvation for _them_; to bring the light
and truth of the Gospel to those who are groping in the fog of
superstition and a wrong conception of Bible truth; to plant the
Christian school; to establish the Christian home as an object lesson;
to show mothers how to train their children to honor and obedience, to
mingle with the needy and helpless, and by sympathy and tact secure such
changes in the homes as will lead to their permanent improvement; in a
word, to follow the example of our Lord Jesus, by living and teaching
the blessings of intelligence and godliness among those in our home-land
for whose improvement and well-being we are peculiarly responsible. The
American Missionary Association has ninety-four schools, and in most of
these more women than men are engaged. It is the duty of the missionary
teacher to avail herself of every opportunity which her relation with
her scholars affords, either in day or boarding school, to inculcate
Christian truth, to warn against the evils which she finds common among
the people, to teach by example and precept the living Word, as
manifested in the life of Christ. The wonderful change wrought in those
who are brought under the influence of such consecrated missionaries,
testifies to the value of woman's work in missions.
But who are these for whom we are peculiarly responsible, and why is
there so especial need of _woman's_ work?
They are our eight millions of negroes, of whom probably not more than
one-fourth may be said to have felt the corrective influence of the
Gospel upon their lives. Perhaps only those who have come in contact
with these people for the _sole purpose of helping_ them to manhood and
womanhood, can comprehend the tremendous incubus of bad habits, stunted
growth, blunted susceptibilities, with which they struggle. It is
painful to note the limitations of those even who have had the best
advantages. Yet they are ever reaching upward, and the struggle is
bringing out noble qualities of character, showing the possibilities of
the race. We have had a goodly recompense for Christian labor among
them, and does not this increase our responsibility for the
three-fourths that are yet to be helped to a good understanding of
themselves and their duty toward man and God? And no one will question
that in the development of the best _womanhood_ there rests the surest
hope of the elevation of this wronged, and even now, greatly oppressed
people.
But our woman's work finds also its mission among the needy whites of
the South. It seems almost incredible that there should be found, within
thirty-six hours' ride of our Northern towns, so dotted with schools and
churches and Christian homes, a section of our country where there have
been in hiding, in the ravines and on the mountain sides, two or more
millions of our American people, in gross ignorance and superstition.
But such is the case, and as always, the women are the greatest
sufferers. Doubtless the Negroes have the largest claim upon us, because
of their past history, their present wrongs, and their great numbers,
which have become so startling as to make it imperative that we yield no
jot of advantage gained, but rather increase our efforts every year for
their intellectual and moral improvement. Yet the work for the mountain
whites is _just now_ especially urgent. A missionary of much experience
expresses the view, that if we can bring the forces of Christian
education to bear mightily upon these mountain people for the next ten
years, they will themselves become a power as our allies in the great
battles of the future against immorality and false doctrines. A few
weeks since I met in North Carolina near the Great Smoky Mountains a
mother and daughter, the latter about eighteen years old. A school for
mountain girls had been opened there, and the daughter had attended the
last year. On entering she could not read a word, but now was in the
Fourth Reader, and studying arithmetic and geography. The rich, soft
color that came to her cheeks, and the kindling light of her eyes, told
of the brightness this school had brought into her life; this Christian
school, for here too, she had learned the way of eternal life. Even the
mother's eyes sparkled like stars as she looked with admiration upon her
"learned" daughter.
But our door stands wide open also towards the Indians and Chinese, and
all the arguments that appeal to us so strongly for the disenthrallment
of women in heathen lands, appeal with equal, yea greater force for the
heathen in our own land, whom the _Gospel only_ can make free.
Such is our great and urgent call for work for woman in the field of the
American Missionary Association. Who should do it, and how? Who but the
Christian women of our churches, either directly or by substitutes? Some
can go, of those who have prepared themselves for the highest and best
quality of Christian service. They should be thoroughly trained and
disciplined teachers, but not this alone. Every teacher should be a
careful and intelligent Bible student, able to instruct from the word of
God, practical and earnest, self-sacrificing and co-operative, ready to
do what seems most necessary, even though it should not call into action
her finest mental qualities. Let those who cannot go, send a substitute,
but let none fail to seize the opportunity for a part in this blessed
work, for the salvation of our country, and its protection as a
Christian land.