1. The call on us is as urgent as it was on the
Apostles —
[Were the bulk of the Jewish nation ignorant ; what must the heathen be, who possess not one of their advantages ? Cast an eye over a map of the globe, and see how small a part of the world is enlightened with divine truth. Not so much as the very name of Jesus is known to more than one-sixth part of the world ; or, if known, is known only to be hated and abhorred. Go through the world, as the Apostles went through Judaea, and say whether you will not find the souls of men diseased and leprous, and under the power of Satan, as much as ever their bodies were whom the Apostles were authorized and empowered to heal. Yes, verily, " the whole world lieth in wickedness," and " under the power of the Wicked-one^ ;" and it is the Gospel only that can heal them. I therefore call upon you to send forth the Gospel, by any means in your power. Individually, I well know, you can do but little ; but in concert you may do much. What might not the Christian world effect, if they all felt their obligations to the extent that they ought, and laboured to fulfil them to the extent that they might?
<i Isai. Ixv. 1. with Rom. x. 20. ^ tr -w Trovr^pw.
At all events, do ye rise to the call of duty ; and give as liberally as ye have freely received.]
2. The obligation, too, is as great on us as on them —
[We are not to " hide our talent in a napkin :" or, if v^^e do, vv^e must expect to be condemned as " unprofitable ser- vants." We must give an account of our stewardship, and ansvi^er for every talent committed to our charge. On the score of responsibility, therefore, we are as much bound to exert ourselves as ever the Apostles were. But I am ashamed to urge such an argument as that. Shall those who have been redeemed by the blood of God's only dear Son, and been renewed by his Holy Spirit, want any other motive to exertion than gratitude, especially when called to such a service as this ? Should not " the love of Christ constrain them" to do all that they can in this blessed work? Let me hope that you need no other impulse than this ; and that now, with one heart and one hand, you will combine in aiding the society whose cause T plead.]
3. The opportunity, also, is as favourable as ever theirs was —
[Was there at that time an expectation of the Messiah's advent? So is there now, to a vast extent, both amongst Jews and Gentiles. An idea seems to be pervading gradually the whole world, that one great religion is about to be established, to which all others will give way. And the Christian world, in particular, is beginning, and to an extent never known before, to feel its obligations, and to fulfil its duties in this respect. The diffusion of the Holy Scriptures in the different languages of the earth ; the sending out of missionaries from almost every different church in Christendom ; the zeal that is spread amongst all classes of society ; and the liberality that is exer- cised ; all augur well respecting the success of our endeavoui's : for, beyond all doubt, this zeal and liberality proceed from God : and what he has thus been pleased to excite, we may reasonably hope he will accompany with his blessing *^.]
f This being preached in behalf of the Missions of the United Brethren, called Moravians, it was here shewn, that they have claims upon us of no ordinary kind : they are an Episcopal Church, like ourselves : they have, amongst Protestants, taken the lead in the establishment of Missions, and are universally acknowledged as the brightest patterns of Missionary exertions : they have selected the- places most difficult of access (Greenland — the Coast of Labrador • — the North- American Indians and Cherokees — the West-Indian Islands, among the Negroes — the Galmucs in Russian Asia — the Hottentots at the Cape, &c.) Their self-denial has been great, like that of the Apostles, ver. 8 — 10 : their preaching simple, (the cross