The Man with the Book; or, The Bible Among the People

The Rev. J. P. A. Fletcher then read an abstract of the Report of the Society for the past year.

The Bishop of Sodor and Man:—My Lord, I have to move the first Resolution:—

"That the Report, an abstract of which has now been read, be adopted, printed, and circulated, under the direction of the Committee."

I should have been very much wanting in gratitude if I had failed to respond at once to the kind invitation that was sent to me, asking me to take part in the proceedings of to-day; for I shall always look back with pleasure to my connection with the City Mission when I was a working clergyman in London. Only this morning, as I was coming to this meeting, I met a gentleman who said to me, "Where are you off to? Which of the meetings are you going to attend?" I said, "I am going to the anniversary of the City Mission." "Oh," said he, "but that is not a Church of England Society." "No," I said, "but it is an old friend of mine; it is an unsectarian Society." When I was a clergyman working in London, the City Mission gave me support in two parishes; and now I am made a Bishop, I am not going to refuse to give my support to the City Mission. The truth is, there is room enough in this vast city of London for all the Societies that are working for the spread of God's truth. We could afford to have twice as many Societies; and if all the City missionaries, and Scripture readers, and Bible-women, and district visitors, were quadrupled in number, there would be room enough for all, and we should want more. But the benefit of such Societies is not only to be found in their evangelistic work—that they carry the Gospel of the grace of God to the masses—but I take it that it is to be found above all in the fact that they unite Christian people together for the Lord's work. This is what we especially want in the present day. The enemy is carrying on his work with the greatest activity. The Lord's people must be united, and I rejoice in the working of such Societies as this, because they bring Christian people together, and unite them in the grand common object of the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. It is now some years ago since I first entered upon the work of my first parish in London. I received a district of 10,000 people in the parish of Marylebone, cut off from St. Mary's, Bryanston Square. There were no rich people in the district, and I had to set about the work with many difficulties to contend with. I had the help of a Scripture reader, a Pastoral-aid worker, and three Bible-women, but still that was not sufficient. As we went on with the work we found a City missionary working in one corner of the district, and we found that he got hold of the people that we were getting hold of. I felt, "This will never do, because we are treading upon each other's heels." So I went to the Committee of the Society and represented the case to them. I said, "We have got a common object in view; we only want to take the Gospel to the masses. I am unfortunately in this position: that I cannot go beyond my bounds. I am tied by the parochial system (a very good system, too). Now, I will undertake the superintendence of the missionary if you will kindly let me do so." The Committee at once said they would, and from that time I began to work heartily in connection with the City Mission. But this was not the end of my connection. I was asked to undertake what I believe to be a most important part in the work of the Society; I was asked to become one of the examiners of the City missionaries. I say this is perhaps the most important part of the whole work, for our success very much depends upon the men whom we select to carry on the work. There is a tendency in the present day for men to take up this kind of work when everything else fails. Well, that will never do. We must not have this work undertaken simply as a profession. We want men constrained by the love of Christ; we want men with an accurate knowledge of the Word of God to go and deal with the masses of the people; and if we have not this class of men as our City missionaries, the work will fail sooner or later. We may have five hundred City missionaries, but unless they are men of God, unless they know the Word of God, they will never carry out the work of God. I look back, therefore, with the greatest pleasure upon my connection with this Society. I dare say there are some missionaries now before me who have passed through my hands. I hope they did not find me very severe; but if they did, I can tell them that I was only severe in my examination of them because I was anxious about the good of the Society. The question before us this morning, as it seems to me, is, How can we stir one another up to take greater interest in the work? I believe there are three things which are necessary. We need first of all a deep sense of our responsibility in the sight of God; we need secondly a keen sense of sin in God's sight; and, last of all, we need a lively sense of God's presence and power with us. I believe these three things are necessary, and I am substantiated in that conviction by a reference to three of the greatest City Missions that we find mentioned in the Word of God. We have a grand work before us in connection with London, the largest city in the world that was ever seen, but I do not think that we must run away with the idea that London is worse than other places; the only thing is, that we have so much evil brought together, with its seven or eight thousand streets, and its nearly four millions of population. It is a tremendous place, but after all I do not think upon London as worse than other places. It is, so to speak, the heart of the world. The blood flows from London throughout the world, and therefore, if we are to deal with the world outside, we must deal with the heart. We must bring the Gospel to bear upon the masses of London, and then we shall do a mighty work for the world. There are three grand essentials that we need in carrying out the work, and I would substantiate this by a short reference to three of the greatest City Missions that we read of in the Word of God. I said, in the first place, that we need a true sense of our responsibility in the sight of God. The portion of Scripture which has been read to us reminds us of Nineveh and the Mission to that city. It was a vast city, somewhat on the scale of London, but its wickedness had gone up to heaven. God commanded His prophet Jonah to go and call it to repentance, but he went on board ship and tried to flee from the presence of God. He went down into the cabin and fell asleep. It was not till a storm sent by God aroused him—it was not till the captain put his hand upon his shoulder, and said, "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God," that he was awakened to a sense of his responsibility. I believe there are many just in the condition of Jonah, and it is not till the world makes an appeal to them that they are aroused. For you will notice that it was not a man of God who awakened Jonah to a sense of his responsibility, but it was a man of the world, the captain of the ship, a heathen. Dear friends, the world wants us to speak to it. There are people around us who want us to take the Gospel to them. They know what our privileges and blessings are. But how is it with many? They just flee from the presence of God; they go down into the sides of the ship and fall asleep. We need, then, first of all, in our Mission to this great City, a true sense of our responsibility and duty in the sight of God. But let me remind you of another city of quite a different character, blessed with every privilege of a religious kind—the city of Jerusalem. Though that city had every blessing which God could shower on it, the people rejected God in all His love, and grace, and kindness. Their wickedness may have been of a different kind, but it was as great in the sight of God as that of Nineveh. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself came as the great Missionary to that city—the city of His love. He beheld the city and wept over it; its sins, its wickedness, its rejection of God's love, drew tears from His eyes, and He said, "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." And as I think of that, I learn the second grand essential for us of a keen sense of sin. Oh! if you realize more and more the wickedness of this great City, you would be more and more constrained to work, so as to let others know of that Saviour who has proved so precious to you. Lastly, let me refer you to another Mission—the Mission to the city of Corinth. It was the centre of the commercial world; through it flowed all the wealth from the East and the West; and as it was famous for its wealth, so it was notorious for its vice. We are told of the Apostle Paul visiting that city for the first time, and being discouraged; but we are told that the Lord appeared to Paul in a vision and said, "Fear not, Paul; be not afraid; I am with thee. I have much people in this city." So he was encouraged in his work. He went forward in the cause of the Lord with his hands strengthened with the blessed assurance that the Lord was with him. Let me, in conclusion, remind you what a glorious work is performed in this Society. If we are only true to God, God will be true to us. His promise is sure. His people shall be gathered out. As we look at the various discouragements, difficulties, and trials with which we have to contend, we can go forward with hope and firm assurance, remembering that blessed promise, that He has prepared for us a city.

The Rev. Dr. Manning (Secretary of the Religious Tract Society):—Ten minutes ago my name stood last upon the list of speakers. That, of course, meant that I was not to speak at all; that was the clear and obvious inference from the place in which I was put, and it is only fair to say that I was put in that position at my own urgent request, not having time to prepare anything to say to you to-day. In the absence of Mr. Waddy, I venture, very unexpectedly, to stand in the gap to second the Resolution so ably moved by the Bishop of Sodor and Man. The other day I was reading the memoirs of the late eminent aural surgeon, and scarcely less eminent a metaphysician, the late James Hinton, who, on one occasion, found himself in one of the very vilest haunts of London, surrounded by the most abandoned and depraved of this great city. He spoke to them of Jesus of Nazareth, and told them how, through Him, they might reascend to virtue and hopefulness; and then, his eyes brimming with tears, he turned to a gentleman who was accompanying him, and said, "If the Lord Jesus were back again upon earth where would He be? He would be here." And then with emotion, he turned away. So, when I think of the work of the City Mission, when I remember that I have before me some four hundred or four hundred and fifty agents of this Society, who are descending into the very depths of misery and vice, carrying with them the tidings of the great salvation, I cannot but think, in the words of James Hinton, if the Lord were here upon earth, He would be at the very work to which you, my friends, have been called, and in which this great Society is commissioning and sustaining you. Therefore, with very deep sympathy, I bid you God-speed, and rejoice with you in that very affecting and even eloquent (not so much in words as in facts) Report to which we have just listened. During the meetings of this week, and of this month, I wonder how often our Lord's great commission will have been quoted, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." However often it may be quoted, it cannot be quoted too often; and yet in this meeting especially, one cannot but remember that there is a certain limitation imposed upon the disciples—"beginning at Jerusalem." Why? It seems to me that almost every ground and reason which prompted that limitation to begin at Jerusalem, may by fair application and analogy, be brought to bear upon the work in which you are engaged. Throwing out of account the special position of the Jewish people, which, of course, entered into our Lord's consideration, what is the meaning of that limitation as applied to us? I think, first of all, it may teach us the duty of beginning the work which lies next to hand. They were at Jerusalem, and they, therefore, began where they were—began at once, and on the spot where the Master placed and found them. There is a proverb often misquoted and mis-applied, to which, however, I do attach extreme importance, that "Charity begins at home." I would not give much for the charity which does not begin at home, as I would not give much for the charity which ends there. The charity which is good for anything, and which the Gospel inspires, and which the Master teaches, is the charity that begins at our own door, and with the work which lies next to hand. In this great mission work for the world there is very much of romance;

"Its distance lends enchantment to the view,
And gilds the mountain with its azure hue."

And thank God for all that romance which prompts the imagination to enlist itself on the side of conscience. In this work of ours, however, there is little of romance; there is shown hard, terrible reality, vice in all its gaunt, hideous, and repulsive forms, which has to be grappled with; but, thank God, there are faithful men who will begin at London, this million-peopled city, with all its manifold share of vice, as the disciples began at Jerusalem. Then there is another point to which the Lord Bishop, who has just sat down, has adverted—that Jerusalem was the great centre of world-wide activity. "Parthians and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia"—every nation on earth was there represented; for at that time the Jew, as to-day, was the world's banker, carrying on the commerce of the world, and found in every city of the world. Is not that the position of London to-day? When the great Jew banker, Rothschild, some years ago was under examination by a Committee of the House of Commons, he was asked what was the influence upon the exchanges of the world of an alteration in the rate of discount in London, and he rose almost to a strain of poetry in his reply. "Gentlemen," he said, "London is the heart of the world, and every pulse and throb of the London market is felt in every part of the world." Why, my Lord, wherever commerce is spread, the power of England is felt; wherever trade is carried on, the sails of our ships whiten every sea, and the agents and missionaries of commerce are found dauntless and fearless in the pursuit of gain. Oh! what would the world soon be if this great London of ours were converted to God, if from this great centre of civilization and commerce there should go forth, not only men seeking earthly gain, but men who would carry with them, in the transactions of their lawful business, the love of Christ in their hearts, and the message of salvation upon their lips! From this London of ours an influence would spread over the whole world, and tens of thousands of volunteer and unpaid missionaries would go forth, without fee or reward, to carry the glad tidings of salvation. Then our Lord in His ministry always appealed to kinship. Andrew findeth his own brother Simon, and then they go and find their friend and fellow-townsman, Nathaniel, and to each one the glad tidings are communicated, "We have found the Christ." "Go, call thy husband, and come hither." This sense of family relationship, friendship, and personal attachment is used to spread the Gospel. And we, too, are to remember that our kinsmen and brethren are, first of all, to receive from us the glad tidings of great joy—the heathen not forgotten, but the heathen at our own doors, bound to us by ties of brotherhood, are to have the first message of the Gospel. Then there is patriotism. How proud the Hebrew has ever been of his ancestor! With what pride the Apostle again and again boasts that he is "of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin!" You look back upon that long line of heroes, of whom the world was not worthy. My Lord Kinnaird, we have a history behind us only second in nobleness to that of the Jew. We are born of earth's best blood, and have titles manifold. Admitting all the crimes of which our nation has been guilty, I yet thank God—and in that sentiment I but utter the feelings of every British heart—that I am born a Briton. Therefore it behoves us, as Britons, to spread far and wide throughout our beloved and honoured land that which can carry on its liberties and its prosperity to a yet higher height. Not very long ago I was standing before one of those meetings in the Faubourg St. Antoine, organized by that wonderful man, Robert McAll, who is carrying on that marvellous City Mission in Paris. I stood there amidst a crowd of gaunt, hollow-eyed Communists and Red Republicans, with their long dishevelled hair, and white, haggard faces, and I said to them, "I come simply to tell you what it is that has made England free and prosperous and happy. Our hearts have bled for you in the calamities which you in these recent years have endured. What can lift you up from this abyss of ruin into which you have fallen? What is it that can make you partakers with us of those national privileges which we enjoy? It is the Gospel, and nothing but the Gospel. Let London and Paris be found side by side falling at the feet of Jesus, and these two great master cities of the world will yet win the world for Christ!" Then there is just one further consideration to which reference has already been made why the Gospel was to begin at Jerusalem: it was the city of profoundest guilt and deepest need. At the point where the Lord Bishop left off in his touching allusion to Jerusalem, they were already plotting and conspiring not only to reject but to crucify the Lord of Life; and the agonies of His dying cries had scarcely ceased from the hills of Jerusalem, and His blood was scarcely dry upon the stones when He prayed upon the cross, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do;" and said to His disciples, "Go to these, my murderers, these men by whose wicked hands I have been crucified and slain, and as they are deepest in guilt and extremest in need, to them let the first offer of salvation come." And may not this, in some respects, be applied to London, too? Men may speculate as they will as to the future condition of the heathen world, and of those who have never heard of Christ, those who have been born in the deep, dense, awful darkness of heathenism, a darkness which might be felt, which like the pall of death hangs over those degraded nations; they may speculate as they will as to the future condition of those to whom the Gospel has never come, but what must be the terrible, appalling guilt of the millions of London who are living within the sound of the Gospel, and side by side with Christian influences and agencies, but who yet remain as utterly dead and as absolutely heathen as the very idolaters of Central Africa! As to their guilt and ruin there can be no doubt. We, therefore, who hold in our hands the glad tidings of salvation, are bound first of all to offer them to these first in guilt that they may be first in hearing the news of the Saviour. I have looked through the list which summarizes the action and agency of the Mission, and I see that nearly three millions of visits have been paid to homes darkened by misery, ignorance, and vice. Your missionaries have gone, for what purpose?—to dispel the cloud, and to bring peace instead of discord, joy instead of sorrow. How many visitors have gone to those homes on a different errand? Last night a gentleman, speaking in this hall, told an anecdote rather droll in its aspect, but which may yet illustrate the difference between the visits of the missionaries and those of many others who go to them. A dead body had been cast upon the sands, and at the coroner's inquest the persons who found it were asked, "Did you do anything to resuscitate the corpse?" They could not understand the question, and the Coroner repeated it: "Did you do anything to resuscitate the corpse?" "Yes," said the men; "We searched his pockets." Now, that does seem to me to express, in a quaint and droll way, the purpose for which many go into the homes and haunts of poverty and vice. Our friends, however, go to teach them, first of all, how to turn a penny into a pound by temperance, virtue, and religion; and then to give them the yet deeper blessings of salvation. I cannot sit down without one word of personal testimony to the work of this Society. I am one of the Secretaries of the Religious Tract Society. It has been our happiness and privilege to assist, year by year and increasingly, with large grants of tracts and publications, the work of this Mission, and its results. I am bound to say that amongst the most efficient coadjutors of the Religious Tract Society is this City Mission. There is no quarter in which our tracts are circulated with more entire confidence and satisfaction to ourselves, and with a firmer assurance that they will be well and wisely used, and productive of the best results. I feel, therefore, that while thanks have been from time to time rendered to the Tract Society for the help which we have rendered you, we should render you most hearty thanks for the help which you have given to us; and in the name of our Lord and Master we bid you God-speed.

The Resolution was unanimously adopted.

notes

1

J. M. W., London City Mission, Bridewell Place, E.C.

2

Isaiah xlix. 9, 10.

3

I Cor. ii. 13.

4

Rom. iii. 23.

5

John i. 1, 14.

6

John iii. 3

7

I John i. 7.

8

Rom. v. 1.

9

Acts v. 12.

10

Heb. xii. 14.

11

I Cor. vi. 11.