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    the duty of every Christian to be a missionary , to go and carry the gospel to his neighbour , to go as far as circumstances permit preaching peace by Jesus Christ . That Christian is , to say the least , deficient in an essential element of the Christian character , who is not a missionary ; and pre-eminently that minister serves badly his Master's cause who is hostile to the cause of

    missions . We are not now speaking of exertions in foreign lands . Home missions are abundantly wanted in every part of our kingdom—men who , feeling the value of truth and the power of godliness , should be instant in season and out of season , instructing the young , warning the prodigal , visiting the orphan and the widow , stimulating inquiry , awakening attention to the claims of truth , going to the homes of the poor and with tenderheartedness and sincerity telling them of the great salvation , and inviting them to accept the gracious offers of their Father .

    Another leading feature of Christianity is seen in the earnest concern which it manifests for the immortal welfare of man . This concern is manifest in every page of the New Testament . How strongly , how fervently 3 did it burn in the soul of Jesus ! Thus on one occasion he expressed his emotions : " O that thou hadst known , even thou , at least in this thy day ,

    the things which belong to thy peace ! But now they are hid from thy eyes . '' The great object , in fact , of his mission was to seek and to save that which was lost ; the great inducement which led him to all his privations and sufferings , was the tender interest which he felt for the welfare of man . For us he lived , for us he suffered , for us he died . He became the

    Saviour of the world , because he pitied its lost condition . He died that we might live , because he knew that it profiteth a man nothing though he gain the whole world and lose his own soul . Should we not strive to feel as he felt—to have the same concern , the same pity , the same estimate of the worth of the soul , as he had , and to make at . least some efforts to save it from sin and suffering ? Let us put a case fairly before us of a human being left to the misery of a wicked heart , rising up to corrupt a whole

    familyhis own offspring . Let us think how all the emotions of the inmates of that family , which in their natural condition would have been each replete with happiness , are perverted and made the sources of constant trouble and torment ; how that their home , which ought to be the nursery of virtue and the resting-place of affection , is converted into a scene of strife , agitation , and sin ; how husband rises up against wife , and child against parent , and a man ' s worst foes are those of his own house ; and then , following up the

    consequences of this pitiable state , reflect on the wrath , tribulation , and anguish , which assuredly await each of these unhappy creatures—viewing the constant succession of sin and suffering through each period of their existence ; and how can we , if there breathes aught of the spirit of Christ in our heart , if meFe humanity e ' er touched our breast , hesitate a moment that it is our duty to exert a remedial influence , or fail to experience inexpressible

    delight in Tescuing a fellow-creature , a father , a family , from present and from future misery ? ' No ; he that follows Christ will pity sinners , and labour for their reformation . He will not be content to do justly , but he will love mercy also ; he will not be content to wait for , he will seek , occasions of leading men to God . Freely of the gospel he has received ; freely he will give .

    The true Christian has a constant sympathy with the spirit of the gospel . The objects which it pursues are his objects ; his desires , his affections , his aversions , are the same as those of his Lord , He is one with Christ and one

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    850 Spirit of the Gospel .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1829, page 850, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2579/page/34/