all may co-operate with effect. St. Paul speaks of " women who laboured with him in the Gospelq :" and not unfrequently are they of most extensive service to the Church of God; assisting in a great variety of ways the cause of God, and advancing, in their own line, as much as ministers do in theirs, his kingdom in the world r. The contributing, or raising of contributions for the support of missionaries, is an office which they can perform with very superior effect : and if in no other respect they can be useful, there is not one who may not contribute to the success of missions by offering up their prayers to God in their behalf. This is the duty of all, with- out exception: for our Lord has commanded all to pray, " Thy kingdom come :" and if the people of God were more united and more earnest in presenting this petition to the Lord, there can be no doubt but that God would hasten forward that glorious day, in answer to their prayers s.]
And this will be truly " acceptable" to the Lord —
[God smelled a sweet savour, when offerings were pre- sented to him in the days of old. And will he not, when we present to him such offerings as these ? Yes : God the Father will accept them : for it is "his Gospel that is preached," even " the glorious Gospel of the blessed God*." It was He who devised this way of salvation for fallen man, and sent his own Son to effect it, and accepted the sacrifice of his Son in our behalf: and therefore we can have no doubt but that he will be well pleased with having that Gospel ministered to, and embraced by, the Gentile world. And God the Son, too, will be pleased : for it is " His servants that we are," and it is his kingdom which we labour to establish in the world. And God the Holy Ghost also will most joyfully accept the offering, because it is He who sanctifies it, in every case. It is he who renders our word effectual, and seals it on the souls of men. It is he who makes use of that word to purify them through- out, and to transform them into the Divine image. In a word, it is his work that we perform ; or rather, we are mere instru- ments in his hands : for neither is Paul any thing, nor Apollos any thing ; but God is " all in all."
Shall we not then all, according to our ability, engage in such a work as this ? Methinks it is a work which the first archangel in heaven might account it his highest honour to perform. Nor shall any who engage in this work lose his reward : for God has said, that " every man shall receive according to his own labour11 ;" and, that " they who turn
i Phil. iv. 3. r Rom. xvi. 1—4, G, 12.
s Isai. lxii. 1,2, 6, 7. ' 1 Thess. ii. 9. and 1 Tim. i. % 11.
u 1 Cor. iii. 8.