"SELL CHAT THOU HAST."

Otago Witness, Issue 2151, 16 May 1895, Page 50

"SELL CHAT THOU HAST."

Says Dr MacLaren :— " There is no general principle of conduct laid down here, but a specific injunction determined by the individual's character. All diseases are not treated with the came medicines. The command is but Christ's application of his broad requirement, ' If thine eye cauoeth thee to stumble, pluck it cut.' The principle involved is, surrender what hinders entire following of Jesus. When that sacrifice is made, we snail be ia contact with the fountain of goodness, and have eternal life, not as payment, but as a gift. 'His countenance fell,' or, according to Mark's picturesque word, ' became lowering,' like a summer sky when thunder clouds gather. The hope went out of his heart, and the light faded from his eager face. .The prick of tho sharp spear had burst the bubble of his superficial earnestness. He had probably never had anything like so repugnant a duty forced upon him, ar.d he cannot bring himself to yield. Like so many of us, he cays, 'I want eternal life,' but when it comes to giving up the deareat thing he recoils. 'Auythipg else, Lord, Thou shalt have, and welcome, bub not that.' And Christ Bays, ' That, and nothing elee, I must have, if thcu arb to have Me.' So this man went away sorrowful. His earnestness evaporated ; he kept his possessions and he lest Christ. A prudent bargain I But we may hope that since he ' went away sorrowfnl,' he felt the ache of something lacking, that the old longings came back, and that he Ecrewed up his resolution to make the great surrender." But not everyone who goes away soirowf ul comes back again. If you have that feeling now, don't put it aside. Can you be sure that it well ever retnrn to you 1

Key. W. Hewitsou.— lt seems tolerably certain that Mr Hewitson will accept the call to Knox Church. He is Australian born and Australian educated, and is a fine speoimen of the " colonial." His manners are pleasant and modest, his speech is correct, and altogether he has a very winning personality. He is abatit 34 yeara of age, and has a ladylike and agreeable wife, who, I should think, is nearly bis own age. He has a good carriage, and stands about 6ft high, wears a datk moustache, and In the street is attired in an ordinary tweed suit and ordinary layman's collar. He has fully an average amount of ability, speaks pleasingly and convincingly from notes, and has a considerable measure of warm spiritual power. His addresses to the youpg people are excellent. Knox Church iB briDging into the colony a man not only of good capacity, but of admirable, unaffected, winning Christian character.

The Ecclesiastical Situation ill ScotlniuL—The British Weekly of March 14 has & five-column article on this subject, which is sure to exercise a great influence in Scotland. The subject is practically, " Religious Freedom, Kquality, and Unity: How is it to be obtained ? " The Weekly says that what is wanted at present is a strong effort for tho disestablishment of the Church of Scotland. That, and not the union of the Free and U.P. Churches, should bo the first Btcp. The question of union, if raised in tho Free Church, will, it says, bring on " the fiercest, vainefct, and the most destructive of all its battles." Failure would be the result, and then people would say that as tho disestablished churches could not agree among tbemselveß ib would be unwise to throw into their midst another church. It would bo better to keep the establishment as it is. Tho Weokly affirms that if the union were consummated, not fewer than one-third of the Free Church adherents would secede to the establishment, which would make disestablishment much harder to obtain than it is now. So It calls upon Dr Rainy and other churchmen to unite to demand disestablishment, as the Welsh have done, and leave the matter of union alone at this juncture.

A Chinese Minister.— The following is tte conclusion of a touobiDg and quaint letter recently written by Pastor Hsi, a Confucian scholar, and "one of tbe most striking characters in the Cbinese Church," to the father of one of the missionaries: — I beseech all to pray earnestly for ma in my york to which th<" Lor.l has appointed me for the salvation of iucd and women by the openicg of opium refuges in the several provinces of Shan-si, lio-aau, Sheu-si, and Chih-h, that God may help me in my weakness. Pray, too, that the Lord may pour out His Holy Spirit and still send many pastors and teachers from your honourable country to come to us in the Middle KiDgdom and preach the Gospel ; for in every province the Lord has opened a great door for preaching the Triitb. I pray our Heavenly Father that He will spara you, venerable sir, and your honoured wife yet

many years inp^acoupoa earth. Amen. Wiittcn with his own pen by your humble servant, Hsi. Trusting in the Lord, victorious over tho devil.

Last Words. — Death interrupted Dr Dale in the writing of a sermon upon " Unworldliness." Here are the words which were upon hfs unfinished page :— " Unworldliness does not consist in tho most rigid and concienticus observance of any external rules of conduct ; but in the spirit and temper aud in the habit of living created by the vision cf God, by constant fellowship with Him, by a personal and vivid experience of the gjoo.tness of tho Christian Redemption, and the soltled purpose to do and to will all that Gvd wille, always, In all thirgj, and at all costs, and by the power of a great hope — the full assurance that, after our mortal years are spent, th9re is a larger, fuller, richer, loftier life In" This sentence will etand for ever uncompleted, but it ia not an unfitting close to a true, powerful, and wonderfully rißef ul Christian life.

Questions.- (1) " What is the true way to Eternal Lite?," It will be necessary to understand what is meant by tho term " eternal life." It is to be noted that it is something given — something bestowed upon fulfilment of a condition (Matt, xxv, 16; John iii, 15, ; vi, 54 ; x, 28; xvii, 2 3 ; Romans vi, 23). The way to it i-i by repentance (Luke xlii, 3 ; Acts ii, 38 ; 2 Cor. vii, 10) ; acceptance of and trust in Jeeus as the God-appointed Saviour (John v, 24 ; Acts xiii, 39 ; Romans x, 10) ; and by ever-increasing Christ-dominance in tho life (Mark x, 17-27 ; John xv, 5-G ; 1 Cor. vi, 20). However much Protestants may differ upon certain details, they will agree upon the above truths. They are sufficient, if really accepted, to make any man wise unto salvation, and to win for him eternal life.

Kijrht Hon. W. E. Gladstone on Edition. — Mr Gladstone is well known as a powerful writer on the side of Christianity. H'j has recently pointed out the commanding position which Christianity holds in the world in respect to numbers and in respect to power. He says: "The religion of Christ is for mankind the greatest of all phenomena, the greatest of all facts. Ib is the dominant religion of the inhabitants of this planet in at least two important respects. It commands the largest number of professing adherents. IE we estimate the population of the globe at 1,400,000,000 (and some would state a higher figure), 400,000,000 or 500,000,000 of these, or one-third of tbe whole, are professing Christians; and at every point of the circuit the question is not one of losing ground, but of gaining it. The fallacy which accepted the vast population of China as Buddhists in the mass has been exploded, and it is plain that no other religion approaches the numerical strength of Cbristianity ; doubtful, indeed, whether there be any which reaches one-half of it. The second of the particulars now under view is perhapß even more important. Christianity is the religion in the command of whose professors is lodged a proportion of power far exceeding its superiority of numbers, and this power is both moral and material. In the area of controversy it can hardly be said to have a serious antagonist. Fore?, secular or physical, is accumulated in tbe hands of Christians in a proportion absolutely overwhelming; and the accumulation of influence is not less remarkable than that of force. This is not surprising, for all the elements of influence have their home within the Christian precinct. Tho art, the literature, the systematised industry, invention, and commerce — in one word, the power — of the • world are almost wholly Christian. In Christendom alone their seems to lie ' an inexhaustible energy of world-wide expansion. The nations of Christendom are everywhere arbiters of the fate of non-Christian nations."

Communion Cups.— A short time since considerable discussion took place over the euggeation to introduce separate wine cups at the communion services of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, for the sake of economy of time, as well as on sanitary grounds. The churoh at Ypsilante, Michigan, which has a membership of some 700, has settled the question in the following way : Ten little tables are provided, in the surface of which are depressions to placo tbe cup*, the table?, which are the same height as tho altar, rail, being placed inside ib alorg the eatiro lengfcb. On each table are two small plates of broken bread, and 60 little glass cups, each containing a spoonful of wine. The communicants file up in batches, all drinking simultaneously from the separate cups. A verse is then snng, during which the empty cups are removed, and the next batch of corarauuicants use the next table. By this method one minister can adminster the sacrament to 600 persons within an hour. Sd far from it resulting in any lack of reverence, the universally-expressed verdict of both ministers and laymen is that nothing could be more natural and impressive.

Dr Pnsey.— The life of this great ritualist, which recently appeared, has been read with much interest, In absoluto devotion to 'God, be haß hardly ever been surpassed. Dean Church eaid of him : "Ha takes rank with those who gave themselves, and all they had, and all they wished for- -their unspariDg trouble, their ease, their honour, their powers, their interests— to what they believed to bs | their work for God ; who spared nothing, reBerved nothing, shrank from nothirjg, in that supreme and sawed ambition to be Gtod'g

true and persevering servant." Unfortunately he seemed unablo to grasp the truth of forgiveness of sins by repentance and faith in Christ. And bo he Bought to win psace by penance and good works. In many respects ho was a very noble soul indeed. No ono can read his lifo without boing deeply moved at his continuous, unnecessary nelftorture, and at his entire iguorance of Christian peac3 and joy.

If ems. — The Rev. H. R. Haweis seems to be " catching on " in Australia. He will be in New Zealand presently. Dr Birrett, Congregational minister of Norwich, has occupied the one pulpit for 27 yeare. Daring tho,t time the fcum of £67,807 has been voluntarily contributed. It is said that in 1891 the members of the Scottish churcheg gave per head : — Estab- ! liahed, 11? 5-1 ; Free, 48a Id ; United Presbyterians, 41a 6J. Bub ib i 3 also eaid that the contributions are falling off, and that thio is rnosi marked in the wealthier presbyteries. [ The British papers to hand by tho last mail contain very full references to the Hto Dr Dale, late Congregational minister in Birmingham, whose death I referred to when the new 3 was cabled. They generally agree that he was the leading figure among the English Nonconformists. The late Dr A. J. Gordon, for many years a distinguished Baptist minister of Boston, was the author of several useful religious book?, and he was also the writer of that favourite hymn, "My Jasus I love Thee." He took a great interest in missions, ftnd was one of the editors of the Missionary Review of the World. Great efforts were made at Home by religious people and by the charitably disposed generally to allemte the terrible distress that existed during Ihe winter. Raligious organisations were well to the fore in giving and procuring help. Even halfpenny and penny meals were provided, and thoy afforded a good deal of relief. The course of sermons now being delivered in Westminster Abbey by Canon Gore upon " The Sermon on the Mount " is likely to be worthy of the preacher's high reputation. The first three sermone, fully reported, have come to hand, and are very suggestive reading. Taken in con junction with Dr Dyke&'s book, " The Manife&to of the King," a great deal of true light can be had upon the profound teachings of the " Sermon." Dr Dale wrote and read his sermon^ because he had such a flow of words that if be had not done so he would never have got what he wanted to say within the proper limits of time— his sermons would have been too long. The doctor was remarkably magnanimous. He was never bst rayed, so ib is asserted, into saying an unkind thing about anyone. As a preacher many affirm that, though manly and strong, he was lacking in emotion. But this defect was partly removed in later years— after he had gone through great suffering. SbroDg efforts are being made to induce the Archbishop of Canterbury to express disapproval of tho consecration of a Protestant bishop of Madrid. It is felt that the taking of this step has put an unnecessary obstacle in the way of the union about which the Pope baa "been speaking. Besides, it has practically affirmed the existence of a great difference between the Anglican and Roman Episcopal Cb.urcb.e3, and this great difference Lord Halifax and the Church* Union party deny. An enormous petition from the laity is fco be presented to the Archbishop of Canterbury asking him not to express his disapproval, aud 550 clergymen reoently expressed their sympathy with the petition. The papers to hand by the last mail show thatfcbe matter has excibed, and is atill exciting, great interest at Home.