Where would we have been, and what would have been the state of our native land to-day, but for foreign missions? Our forefathers the Britons were cannibals. St. Jerome tells of seeing some of them in Gaul when he was a boy; and he says, we are told, that they had great flocks and herds in their own land, but that they preferred a ham of the herdsman to that of any of their flock. These were our ancestors, so that we have little to be proud of, but much to be thankful for which the Gospel brought us—light, liberty, privileges, and blessings we should never have known but for foreign missions.
Foreign missions can never be a failure. Directors may die, princes and great men in the church may fall, and missionaries may be martyred; but the Great Head of the church lives and works. He was dead, but is alive for evermore, and has the keys of death and of Hades. He lives and rules and reigns for ever and ever, and while He lives and reigns His work must make progress. Amid the wreck of thrones and the falling of dynasties, the revolutions of empires and the death of sovereigns, the onward rush of successive generations, and the march of sweeping centuries, God’s work must and shall prevail.
And the work being done now for the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom will not die when the labourers’ task is over and they are called home; but will live and bring forth fruit long after the green grass has grown over their graves. ‘To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.’ His work must and shall advance until the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and they shall hang upon Him all the glory of His Father’s house; and a glorious and blood-bought church shall yet rise from the ruins of this sin-blighted world, and shall come forth ‘fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.’ May God hasten it in His time, and help and bless all who are working for that glorious consummation!
INDEX
- Aepyornis, the, [16].
- Affliction, use of, [156].
- Almeida, Don F. de, voyage of, [17].
- Ambàtonakànga (A-kànga), church at, [232];
- state of, [233], [273];
- Sabbath school at, [235];
- state of schools in, [237];
- collections for soldiers, [271];
- troubles in, [279];
- girls’ school at, [288];
- kindness of people of, [365].
- Amusements of children, [269].
- Andrìamihàja, [26].
- Àndrìamònana, story of, [143].
- Andrìanaivoràvèlona, Pastor J., work of, [250];
- banishment of, [346].
- Andrìantàvy, Pastor, [131].
- Andrìantsehèno, Pastor J., [266].
- Antanànarìvo, fall of, [293].
- Antsàmpandràno, church at, [169].
- Arabs in Madagascar, [15].
- Artisans, missionary, [22].
- Baptisms, the first, [39];
- forced, [114].
- Bath, the, festival of, [14].
- Beating, asking for a, [275].
- Bètsilèo Mission, the, [267].
- Bevan, Rev. T., death of, [21].
- Bible, the, translation of, mistakes in, [113];
- first Malagasy, [157];
- revision of, [248];
- changes in, [249].
- Bible-classes, [145], [157].
- Bible teaching, [174].
- Blind girl, story of a, [143].
- Bliss, Miss M. T., [243].
- Boegner, M., visit of, [353].
- Bond, Hon. John, [18].
- Boothby, R., book of, [18].
- Boy communicants, [116].
- Brick-making, [125].
- Brigands, [276].
- British treaty with France, [286].
- Bullock, a, presented, [189].
- Burglars, [276].
- Burning of martyrs, [56].
- Cameron, Mr. J., on soap-making, [35];
- story of, [38];
- quoted, [85].
- Carpenters, dispute with, [130].
- Cases, the question of, [209].
- Catechism, the, translation of, [244].
- Catechizing, [193].
- Cave, the, [50].
- Certificates, use of, [106].
- Chapel royal, the, [77].
- Charms, native, [31], [223].
- Chief, case of a poor, [219].
- Children’s Scripture Mission formed, [237].
- Chloroform, use of, [109].
- Conscription, [180];
- anecdote of, [181].
- Contributions of native church, [220], [226], [271].
- Cousins, Rev. W. E., quoted, [69], [70], [74], [76], [77], [86], [91], [186].
- Criminals, treatment of, [66].
- Crucifixion, punishment of, [24].
- D’Abrew, J. G., [17].
- Dead, burial of the, [202].
- Delirium, native, [223].
- Dentistry, [107], [151].
- Diaz, Bartholomew, [16].
- Discipline, church, [93], [272], [275].
- Disease, native views of, [223].
- Divorce, cases of, [34], [135].
- Divorce of trade, the, [111].
- Doll prizes, [269].
- Drainage, [97].
- Dress, the question of, [104].
- Drink, question of the, [179].
- Duchesne, General, expedition of, [292];
- conquest of the capital by, [293];
- character of, [301];
- recall of, [305].
- Edresi, writings of, [15].
- Education, progress of, [39], [101], [163].
- Ellis, Rev. W., visit of, [62], [63].
- Emancipation of the slaves, [305].
- Escande, Pasteur B., on shooting of natives, [325] sq.;
- murder of, [353], [358].
- Examinations, school, [178].
- Fànompòana, the, [130].
- Fàravòhitra, martyrdoms at, [57].
- Farquhar, Sir R., [19].
- Fees, a question of, [151].
- Feudal service, [130].
- Fever, malarial, [95], [99];
- ravages of, [221].
- Fìhàonana, mission at, [96], [99];
- school at, [174].
- Freebooters, [110].
- French, the, difficulties with, [239];
- banished the island, [240];
- treaty with, [280];
- disputes with, [291];
- expeditionary force sent to the island, [292];
- free the slaves, [305];
- rising against, [307];
- subjugation of the island by, [312];
- severe policy of, [314];
- conduct towards the London Missionary Society, [316];
- murders by, [324];
- take over the island, [355];
- present policy of, [361];
- administration of, [369].
- French corporal, story of a, [365].
- Frere, Sir Bartle, visit of, [106].
- Funerals, native, [202];
- expenses of, [227].