IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 V 
 
 // 
 
 / 
 
 % 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 v 
 
 Ay 
 
 Sj, 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 U 1 1.6 
 
 V] 
 
 <P^^ 
 
 VI 
 
 ■c'l 
 
 
 A 
 
 // 
 
 '/# 
 
 >^ 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, NY I4SB0 
 
 ( 716) 872-4503 
 
 €^ 
 
 <v 
 
 ;\ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^\^ 
 
 6^ 
 
 -i>":, ^ 
 

 V '^m^ 
 
 ■^ *,^ 
 
 M.?. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut canadien de microreproductions historiques 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which may significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 ^ 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couverture de couleur 
 
 I I Covers damaged/ 
 
 Couverture endommagde 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaur^e et/ou pelliculde 
 
 j I Cover title missing/ 
 
 D 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gdographiques en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other then blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Reli6 avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La reliure serree peut causer de I'ombrp ou de la 
 distortion le long de la marge int^rieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas 6t6 film^es. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppl^mentaires; 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplrjre 
 qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage 
 sont indiquds ci-dessous. 
 
 I I Coloured pages/ 
 
 D 
 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommagies 
 
 I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 
 Pages restaur6es et/ou pellicul6es 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxei 
 Pages d^colordes, tachet^es ou piqu6es 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages d6tach6es 
 
 Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 I ^ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 I I Pages detached/ 
 I ~] Showthrough/ 
 
 Quality of print varies/ 
 Quality in6gale de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary material/ 
 Comprend du materiel supplementaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, 
 etc., ont 6t6 filmdes d nouveau de facon i 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 This item is filmed at ths 'Eduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqu^ ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 
 
 
 
 
 14X 
 
 
 
 
 18X 
 
 
 
 
 22X 
 
 
 
 
 26X 
 
 
 
 
 30X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 yy 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12X 
 
 
 
 
 16X 
 
 
 
 
 20X 
 
 
 
 
 24X 
 
 
 
 
 28X 
 
 
 
 
 32X 
 
 
9 
 
 »tails 
 5 du 
 lodifier 
 r une 
 Image 
 
 The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 Library of the Public 
 Archives of Canada 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grAce A la 
 gAn6rosit6 de; 
 
 La bibliothdque des Archives 
 publiques du Canada 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6X6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la netteti de l'exemplaire filmA, et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprimie sont filmis en commenpant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 derniire page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la 
 premiAre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou dlllustration et en terminant par 
 la derniire page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol ^^ (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED "), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la 
 dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbole -^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 film^s d des taux de reduction diffirents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre 
 reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmi A partir 
 de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche 6 droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images n^cassaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la m^thode. 
 
 srrata 
 to 
 
 pelure, 
 in i 
 
 n 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 

 \ 
 
 1.1 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 if 
 
 j ■ 
 
Iff r 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 V 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 <^e^yc^t^ Ci/i^ ^ 7r/<?<-^ ^cA rX^ 
 
 ^ /t^<Lt ciji^L^\ 
 
 (UL-LtiTZ. ^/ 
 
 A. 
 
 ^ 
 
 7 
 
 NEW YEAR'S SERMON- 
 
 '-a. 
 
 PREACHED UN 2m) JANUARY, 18cSl, 
 
 BY 
 
 REMUIF.N DAVID 3I1TCHELL, 
 
 Pasto 
 
 II Strerf /'nshferinn Chun/i. Bt'llr.'illf, 
 
 AND NOW PUBLISH Kl) iiV 
 
 Jll^MBKIIS OF HIS (JONCRECATION. 
 
 •■^■w.vvw<.x\-\.\%~-^^"v.'v- 
 
 1! I:LL 1-. \ I LLK : 
 I'KINIKI) AT THK DAIl.S I N 1 Kl.lJCKNCEK OMUK. I'.KI.I KVI I.LK, 
 
 i88i. 
 
 C2cf 
 

 1 
 
 
r' 
 
 NEW YEAR'S SERMON 
 
 I'RKACHKD l)N iNI> .lANUAKV, IHSl. 
 
 in 
 
 REVI'HEM) DAVID MITCHELL, 
 
 /'(lator of John Street Preshyterian Chunk, Belleville, 
 
 AN!) NOW PUBLISH KI) MV 
 
 MEMBERS (IF HIS (JONGHEGATIUN. 
 
 -%s'v.\\\w\.x-v.->.x~-">-'>-"v.^~ 
 
 l!KLLK\ I LI. !•: : 
 HRINIKh A I THK DAIl.N I N IKI.I.IUKNCKK OKFK K. IIKI.I.KVI I.I.K. 
 
 1881. 
 
Calm un tlit- Iiomhii of thy ( 'md, 
 
 Kair spirit, rest tlicc iii)s\ : 
 Kv'ii while with us thy footsti-p^ imd. 
 
 If is sen! was on thy lirow. 
 
 Dust to its narrow house i)i'ncath, 
 
 Soul to its hoinc on hijjh, 
 They that have seen tliy look in <ieaih. 
 
 No more mav fear to ijie. 
 
 Ami //(■ saitf iiiitn fhcni, f-oliow me. and I -vill make von Fishers 0/ men. 
 -Math. IV. 19. 
 
 
 
'I'r.x I ; I si'fk Mni yuurH, Imt yuu. 2 ('or. \ii. 14. 
 
 (•;/. 
 
 I do not kiKJW a moit: a|)|)ro|)riatc text whi( h (an l)e taken as 
 a motto for iIk- year on which we are ent^.ring. It is one of those 
 short, antithetic sentences which mark the writings of the Apostle 
 I'auL lie (an honestly say this. I'or while hiving much stress 
 upon the right of hil)orers to their hire, or the tluty devolving upon 
 the people to support their pastors, he yet can proudly hold up his 
 hands and say: "These hands have ministered unto my wants."' 
 The Apostle had come amongst the C.'(jrinthians, not like some 
 Jewish merchant for the purposes of personal gain. He had labored 
 long and earnestly in their midst, and no one coukl allege as the 
 reason that he sought some selfish enil of his own. He hatl visited 
 them a second time, and it was still with the object of gaining them 
 to Christ, and not of making profit by any kind of commerce. It 
 was his pur|)ose now to come to them a third time. ;ind he held 
 before them his animating ()bje( l in the words ot this text. •' I seek 
 not Vijurs, but you." I'aul was in trudi a noble example to all who 
 would sincerely follow him as preachers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Their vocation is to win men to the Saviour. '• Follow me." said 
 Jesus to the earliest of his disciples, " and I will make you fishers 
 of men." In this respect the business of a minister differs from 
 that of other men in general. We cann(Jt but associate the idea of 
 money-making with other callings. .\ merchant in buying and 
 selling could not well say in the hearing of his customers, " I seek 
 not yours, but you." A tradesman or mechanic in engaging to 
 serve another for certain wages would incur ridicule were he to 
 conclude his bargain with such words as those of the .Apostle. The 
 Ishmaelite trader might use the phrase in a literal sense to the poor 
 Joseph whom he was seeking to make his slave, and say to him, " I 
 seek not yours, but you. " Hut we know that is not the meaning of 
 the Apostle when he uttered these memorable words. No. The 
 genuine missionary or minister of the cross never dreams of money- 
 making as the object of his life. His is a nobler employment. It is 
 to gain men for the Master. In a true meaning of the words, he is 
 
1^ 
 
 seeking,' to have a property intcivst in his fellow im.n, l)y l-ringing 
 them out ot the darkness of ignoranc e and sin into the marvellous 
 light of Divine grace and truth. What a property we may thus come 
 to have in men ! What a |)ossessi()n may we have in souls that are 
 saved I I-et us • arry out this thought today as an appropriate theme 
 lor the beginning of another year. I,et us speak of the property 
 interest one may aetjuire in his fellow-men. And it becomes us to 
 show, - 
 
 4 
 
 (I.) In the first place, that the property we may have in one 
 another is nai. Is there a reliable sense in which we can have 
 vested interests in men? Jesus Christ was eminently a fisher of 
 men. His mission \o this world was to "seek and save the lost." 
 He came in order to make them his own. Let us take one of the 
 numberless instances which are recorded in the Saviour's life, the 
 meeting between Him and the woman at Jacob's well. At first they 
 pre far removed from one another. Hut Jesus seeks to make her 
 his own by rendering the most precious service which one can do 
 for another. In the veiled form of a beautiful figure, He tells her 
 of living water which He has to give, and which in those who drink 
 of it shall be a well of living water, springing up into newness of 
 life. When at length He draws aside the veil, and reveals the 
 wickedness and shame of her past life, the utter barrenness o( her 
 heart before God, and the complete satisfaction to be found in Him 
 as the Messiah, He has done her a service which will lead her in 
 return to say, " let me be thy slave, thy servant, thy daughter — 
 anything, only that I be near Thee, and doing Thy will." But Jesus 
 in a deeper and truer sense than this purchased a right and title in 
 men. He gave his life a ransom for sinners. " Forasmuch as ye know 
 that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver ."nd 
 gold. . . .but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without 
 blemish and without spot." Before the death of their Lord the 
 disciples were called his — ^his servants, his followers. But, oh ! how 
 intensely did they now realize they were his when they looked back 
 to that awful death on the Cross. The favorite designation of every 
 one is — a servant of the Lord Jesus, -a servant, that is a slave, or 
 the property of the Lord. Paul no longer regards himself as his 
 own, but as belonging to Christ. He felt he had no longer any 
 claim upon himself, for soul and body he belonged to God, " by 
 whom he was called into the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our 
 
 i 
 
I 
 
 Lord." Paul had thoroughly rclin(|uishcd himself into the hands of 
 Jesus Christ, because he owed his soul's salvation to the death ol 
 his Lord. He owed everything to Christ. I herefore, he was an 
 ambassador for Christ. He was ready to go any where that Christ's 
 spirit would lead. He took no longer any ac( ount of himself as 
 his own. He was Christ's the Lord .lesus Christ owned him. 
 
 While not to the same extent (an one man have a property in 
 another that (!hrist has in those whom He has saved by his blood» 
 yet it is given to us to establish such a right in another that we can 
 call him our own. We feel that were any one to run the risk of 
 death in order to save our lite, that man wcjuld hencelorth have 
 a right in us which the grateful heart of the saved one would be far 
 from disputing. What was it that imi)clled (Irace Darling to the 
 madness — as the world would call it — of leaving the lighthouse, and 
 with her father dashing through the furious billows to reach the 
 shipwreck before the last victim would be claimed by the devouring 
 waters ? To save life she thought not of her own. In every stroke 
 of the oar there was the purchase price by which ^he was to make 
 the drowning men her own. It was with a feeling of pride we read 
 of the heroic conduct of the firemen in Toronto. When that man 
 mounted the frail ladder and leaping through the window into the 
 midst of smoke and fire, he was at length seen emerging and 
 carrying on his back a man rescued from destruction ; or when 
 again not content with his victory over the fiery foe, he rushed back 
 amid the devouring flames, and wheri coming forth and bearing in 
 his arms a little child, what meant those ringing cheers from the 
 crowd below, as, tottering and ready to fall, he placed his precious 
 burden in the arms of others ? It was the cry of admiration for a 
 man unselfishly throwing his life into the flames to save other lives. 
 And hud these victims lived, would there not have been established 
 between them and their deliverer, a peculiarly tender relationship? 
 They would have been his, in a sense in which a mother calls these 
 children her own. He had established a claim that could never be 
 set aside. So it is indeed with a mother. Her claim to call these 
 children her own is constituted by the tears she has wept over them, 
 by the sufferings she has endured in their behalf, by her sleepless 
 vigils, by her prayers to Cod for them. How genuinely can a 
 mother say, " My son, my daughter." 
 
 It is in this sense the Apostle says, " I seek not yours, but you." 
 I seek you. I want to make you mine in virtue of what I am 
 
6 
 
 ready to bestow upon yf)ii. And so it is, bntlircn, with every 
 i.iinister, everv tea( her in the Sal )l Kith school, with cvcrv man 
 seeking,' to save his fellow-man. What is it that makes a piei i' ol 
 property mine? N'oii say it is the money 1 pay for it. lUit thai 
 money is re|>rLsentative. It is my toil it is the energy I e.xpend 
 it is my skill. The pioneer in this (ountry mi^^ht well say, " This 
 farm is mine, because I have put into it the labor of many years. 
 It has l)een watered by my tears. I have put nr, health. w\ 
 very life into it." .\nd what is it that gives a minister his rifjiit 
 in souls? it is the truth which he imparts. It is the prayers 
 by which he brings down heaven to his fellow men. If you have 
 been the means of turning a soul Irom daikness unto light, you 
 will feel towards that man all the tenderness of a ntolher. and 
 he will show to you all the devotion of a son. How much 
 more real is this property-interest than any other ! It is a vested 
 right that no trickery of law, or no violence of thief or murderer 
 can ever disturb. The Apostle sought the real propety when he 
 sought mt;n, not the things whi( h belonged to men. And when you 
 are endeavoring to bring men to Jesus, or when you are expending 
 yf)ur capital of prayers, and tears, and earnest efforts to ac (omplish 
 this end, you are seeking a real property— ind(;ed, far m')re real 
 than that which consists of money or estate ! VVhat a precious 
 thought IS this ! How it exalts a minister's work '. |)utting that work 
 in its true light. How it brings to view the work of every (Christian 
 man or woman I Yours is a glorious work, brethren, for the reason 
 that everv man who is saved by your instrumentality becomes yours 
 by a right and title which cannot be disi laimed. 
 
 (II.) What a /vr/ //////// property is implied in this ex[K)sition of 
 the text ! For there is not anything more lovely than a man saved 
 from sin and death. It might well be that amongst the Corinthians 
 there were some who owned large possessions, and the .\postle in 
 saying that he sought not their possessions but themselves, was 
 really choosing that which would retain its brightness long after the 
 beauty of the other had passed away. It might be the lot of one of 
 us to win to Christ a man of princely fortune or a lady who owned 
 a large estate. From which would the most da/./.lmg light be 
 reflected — from the gold or silver or diamonds, or from the man 
 himself? There is something here that is incomparable. For what 
 more lovely spectacle could there be than a man's countenance 
 
 I 
 
VI til every 
 
 very man 
 
 a pic'i I' ol 
 
 lUit that 
 
 C'X|Klld 
 
 ay, '• This 
 iny years, 
 talth, my 
 
 his right 
 c prayers 
 
 you liave 
 li^lit. you 
 tiler, and 
 c)w much 
 s a vested 
 
 murderer 
 
 when he 
 when you 
 .'Xpending 
 complish 
 iiV)re real 
 
 precious 
 that work 
 
 Christian 
 he reason 
 lies yours 
 
 losition of 
 
 lan saved 
 
 orinthians 
 
 ^)ostle in 
 
 :lves, was 
 
 after the 
 
 of one of 
 
 10 owned 
 
 liglit be 
 
 the man 
 
 For what 
 
 intenance 
 
 beaming with the light of heaven? Contrast for a moment the lady 
 whom w»' have imagined, and the estate whi( h she owns in lur own 
 right. Her mansion may he a palate, around whirh are extensive 
 grounds that slope down lo an undulating river whose water is ( lear 
 as ( rystal, and on whose banks shady trees extend iheir verdant 
 brani hes. On these groutuis llit^re may lie every known tree from 
 the lofty and umbrageous oak to the grateful (e<lar in Lebanon. 
 'I'hey may present the appearam e of a giassy lawn dotteil with beds 
 of (lowers of every hue and perlume, while in the eii< losure that is 
 set apart as a garden there may be the greatest taste displayed in 
 the disposition of varii'gated plants and ri< lily l.ulen fruit trees. The 
 lordly mansi(in itself may be of syiiimetrital form, (onstruetid of 
 purest marble, lelieved by (olumns of polished granite. ,\s the 
 massive oaken door is thrown wide ojien, brilliant reflections come 
 from (rystal fountains, and your eyes are daz/led with ornaments 
 of gold. Besides the tastefully painted ceilings and richly decorated 
 walls oil painiings of ilie masters and ancient statuary excite yonr 
 admiration. There is everything, in short, in that beautiful mansion 
 to |)lease and delight the eye. Hut could you ( ompare all this 
 beauty and brilliance with her who. through your blessed w(jrk and 
 influence, is giving herself to the Lord? See her kneeling at tho 
 altar of prayer, her eye steadfastly gazing into the heaven: , her uplifted 
 hand stretched out to take the hand of Jesus. Hut now listen to 
 her words as she earnestly converses of her Saviour, and of the 
 kingdom He has purchased for the sinful. What juire and holy 
 utterances they are ! How gracefully do the thoughts of Scripture 
 well from her heart I Or. listen to her with that beautiful lurly 
 headed child on her la|) as she opjns the simple story u( .lesus to 
 his eager mind. Or see her laying aside her costly garments, and 
 now, with saintly dress of white and with a simple tlower in her 
 hand, she goes on her errands of mercy to the humble cottages of 
 the poor. Tell me, can that beautiful mansion with all its wetlth of 
 furniture and magnificent surroundings, be compared to this tender 
 and loving one whom you have turned to (loil ? In whi( h of these 
 would you as the servant of Christ -like to have the largest rights .-' 
 Here is a sight 1 have been privileged to see — a congregaton made 
 up of those who were once fallen and depraved, but who, having 
 Deen sought out by the missionary, are now the children of (iod. 
 Listen to their sweet hymns of praise, and there from eyes that once 
 glisiened with the glare of passion, from hearts that were steeped 
 
"T 
 J 
 
 I 
 
 k 
 
 I 
 
 i* 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 'f 
 
 8 
 
 in wickedness, from voices broken with hoarse hlasphciijies and 
 sullen oaths, there are reflected to you the beauty of holiness, the 
 light of truth, the incense hulen prayers of the saints, the |)eare of 
 heaven. Could there be anything more beautiful than that ? Y^s, 
 Sabbath school teachers, here is the Lord's garden — ^your Sunday 
 school composed of little ones. How lovely the sight ! How 
 delicious to hear those tender lips lisping the sacred names of the 
 King of heaven 1 Watch their eager look as they listen to the story 
 of the Cross. See their glistening eyes as you tell them of a child 
 dying in the arms of Jesus? Could there be anything more to be 
 desired ? These children will by and by liecome as the tall oaks, 
 and the beautiful sycamores, and the shady cedars, and the twining 
 vines in the garden of the I-ord. With the fruits of the Spirit in 
 rich clusters hanging from their branches, can I, my brethren, present 
 to your minds anything that is more attractive and delightful ? 
 
 (III.) What a Tahiable property we may thus come to have! 
 " I seek not yours, but you." These words tell me this, that the 
 man who seeks not mine but me, regards me- the man -as more 
 valuable than all I hapj)en to possess. This is true of the millionaire 
 that he himself is more precious than his coffers filled to repletion 
 with gold. Men generally make the mistake of valuing rather what 
 they have than what they are. Nay, it is true, although few car 
 realize it, that the untold wealth of Australian mines is not to be 
 compared in value to a single human soul. You call this a jioor 
 investment I have made when I speak of having an interest in that 
 poor drunkard whom I have helped to save from the dee[) damnation 
 of vice. I do not regard it so. For it is clear that according to 
 the statements of Scripture, he is precious in Cod's sight and pre- 
 cious in the sight of the angels and redeemed. " 'I'here is joy in 
 the presence of the angels of (iod over one sinner that repenteth." 
 What a.n I doing when I ply such a man as this with earnest questions 
 about the state of his soul, when I seek to implant the truth of God in 
 his heart, and when I bring him to the loving Saviour? I am taking 
 a valuable jewel from the mud. I am washing that jewel with tears 
 of sympathy. I am burnishing it with the frictions of admonition 
 and instruction. It is now so bright and lustreful, that as it is held 
 up to the Word of Cod, the divine image of Jesus is seen shining 
 from its bosom. Or, compare for a moment the king on the throne, 
 having an empire at his command, able to bring continents under 
 
 A ,> 
 
I 
 
 cniies and 
 oliness, the 
 e i)ea(e of 
 hat ? Y^s, 
 ur Sunday 
 Hit : II()>v 
 nies of the 
 o the story 
 of a child 
 11 ore to l)e 
 i tall oaks, 
 the twining 
 e .S|)irit in 
 ren, present 
 ul? 
 
 to have I 
 is, that the 
 n- -as more 
 millionaire 
 to repletion 
 rather what 
 ^h few can 
 s not to be 
 this a poor 
 rest in that 
 damnation 
 ccording to 
 It and pre- 
 e is joy in 
 repenteth.'" 
 It (]uestions 
 •. of God in 
 am taking 
 with tears 
 idmonition 
 i it is held 
 en shining 
 he throne, 
 ents under 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 tribute to him, having untold fon es ready (o obey his will, who yet 
 has not the love of (lod in his soul- < omjjare him with that |)oor 
 laborer whose home is but scantily furnished, to whom the Bible is 
 of more value than the costliest library, who is enjoying the blessings 
 of Heaven in his soul, who is walking in the ways of peac e, which 
 is the richer of the two? "The king," you say. '1 he world says "the 
 king." Hut I say 'no,'" for the Bible says*" no." It is the poor 
 man, and therefore I come to say this, that if I have a property- 
 interest in men, I have a more valuable possession than if they gave 
 me all they owned. Why am I to take the poor wretched sinner by 
 the hand ? Or rather, for we should bring all things to this bar of 
 judgment, why did Jesus speak to publicans and harlots? Fancy 
 Jesus stopping on the street to speak to a jjoor woman whom the 
 proud I'harisee would pass by in perfect disdain. If ever there was 
 a lesson read to the world as to the value of a single man, it was 
 when Jesus addiessed Zacchaeus, the publican, and said, '• C'oine 
 down, for to-day I must abide at thy house." W hy, ///ust abide at 
 the hou.se of a man who was a worthy object of contempt in the 
 estimation of every patriotic Jew? Simply because he was a man, 
 with a soul to be saved, with a heart yearning to be .satisfied, with 
 precious powers and faculties to be consecrated. Why did Jesus 
 deign to listen to the words of the thief on the cross, and why speak 
 back to him in language of tender sympathy ? Because that male- 
 factor was a man. Beneath the accretions of crime and passion 
 and dishonor, there was the sparkling, priceless jewel of manhood. 
 It might be lost to sight -trampled upon — despised. But there it 
 was a bright and glorious jewel. Imagine the view Jesus took of 
 the men and women who crowded upon him, or were swaying to and 
 fro with the conflicting passions his presence and words invoked. 
 They were men. "He did not come to call the righteous but sinners 
 to repentance," because these sinners were men, with immortal 
 longings, with heavenly capacities, (iive Christ the offer of a king- 
 dom to be clothed m purple and gold —to receive the plaudits of 
 countless subjects, with fleets at his command, with a i)erfect mint 
 ever before him ; or the offer of an interest in souls by saving them, 
 and which do you think he would take without hesitation ? It would 
 br" the men— because they were men. That was ever the way with 
 him. He counted that He would have a greater wealth at the close 
 of his life by gathering men around him, and instilling into them the 
 truth of Heaven, than by owning lands and houses and kingdoms. 
 
10 
 
 
 It is the same with that ardent loving Apostle \vIio was ever ready 
 to lay down his lift for men, who ( ompassed sea a?ul land for men, 
 who spoke to men, -whether they were cultured Athenians or 
 uncouth savages -who spoke to theui of Christ, the power of (.iod 
 and the wisdom of (lod. He was seeking men-not their posses- 
 sions. I can imagine liie Ajjostle tiianking God for one soul with 
 more fervid gratitude than he would for a fortune laid at his feet, 
 and why ? Because a man was in his view infinitely precious — 
 preciiHis in the sight of (lod and before the angels, — therefore, 
 precious in his. Fancy Paul in gaol blessed of (lod to the pulling 
 down of the strongholds of sin and .Satan. How did he feel con- 
 cerning that gaoler whom he had been the means of saving. That 
 gaoler was worth more than the crown and sceptre of Rome which 
 he represented — worth more than the wealth of the Imperial city in 
 the view of the Apostle. And so it will be with the followers o'^ 
 Jesus to-day. You are to be fishers of men —because men are more 
 valual)le than anything we can name, (lo, brethren, on your mission 
 to souls with this feeling — I may be the means of taking one soul 
 from the mire, and ^ettirlg it in the glorious (Town of Immanuel, Cio 
 to your class, Sabbath-school teachers, with the thought that one of 
 these little ones may l)e saved for Christ, nay that all of them may yet 
 be His. Cio, full of faith, nothing doubling, for Christ has promised 
 to be with you in this work of winning souls. What takes a truly 
 consecrated man a»vay from his home and friends, where he would 
 have every advantage to rise on the social ladder, and where he would 
 have every comfort and luxury at his eoinmand. What took Alex- 
 ander Duff from the certain pros[)ect of rising in the Church at 
 home? What led William C. iiurns to give himself to (Jhina? 
 What is the secret of our own ajiostolic Mack.iy immersing himself 
 among.st the idolatrous Chinese and the fierce savages of the Island of 
 Formosa ? These men go forward at the command of Christ. 
 They remember the commission to preach the gospel to every 
 creature. They leap up at the call, " Come over and help us," 
 because they feel they are called to quarry a mine of wealth, such as 
 cannot be found in the gold beds of Australia or California — the 
 mine of human souls. Have we the Spirit of the Master in us - 
 to value a human being at what he is worth ? Then, no .sacrifice 
 will be too great, no price we are to pay will be regarded as out of 
 <^ue proportion. In winning a soul for Christ, in gaining a man 
 
ever ready 
 nd for men, 
 thcnians or 
 wcr of Ciod 
 their posses- 
 iie soul with 
 at his feet, 
 
 precious — 
 
 , — therefore, 
 
 the puUing 
 
 le feel con- 
 
 ving. 'I'hat 
 
 i.onie which 
 
 )erial city in 
 
 followers of 
 
 en are more 
 
 ^'our mission 
 
 ng one soul 
 
 manuel. do 
 
 ; that one of 
 
 hem may yet 
 
 las promised 
 
 takes a truly 
 
 jre he would 
 
 lere he would 
 
 t took Alex- 
 
 e Church at 
 
 t to ( !hina ? 
 
 rsing himself 
 
 the Island of 
 
 d of Christ. 
 
 pel to every 
 
 id help us," 
 
 ealth, such as 
 
 alifornia — the 
 
 ister in us — 
 , no sacrifice 
 
 ded as out of 
 
 lining a man 
 
 11 
 
 from sin, we will feel we have accomphshed a result that cannot 
 bt.' represented by any syml>ol of vahie. 
 
 (IV.) In seeking men, and not the things which belong to them, 
 we are .seeking to possess ourselves of a most product've property. 
 What do we regard in business as a ]>r()fitable investment? Some- 
 thing that pays, is the general answer. Now wliat is the true idea 
 of a paying i)roi)erty ? It is when a pro])erly produces something 
 other than itself, and is found constantly increasing in size and 
 ini])roving in iiuality, then it may be said to l)e pnifiiable. It does not 
 follow that by so investing tnoney you ini-rease it four or a hundr.vi 
 fold, you have a property which in the true sense is a paving one. 
 The miserly hoarder of money is, tried by the wortl of Cod, making 
 very poor investments. The man who is getting rich on the i)rm 
 ciple of extravagant usury may be a very bankrupt in regard to the 
 proper enjoyment of life, to his mental culture, or his eternal 
 welfare. We see what it is for a husbandman to make a good 
 investment. He buys as fertile fields as his means \»'ill permit. 
 He puts into them the richest substances that are needful for the 
 stimulating of growth. He labors industriously fn^m early morn till 
 dewy eve in tending his < rops. in overcoming noxious weeds, in 
 gathering in the jjroduce. When one bushel of grain vields twentv 
 or forty bushels, and leaves the soil rather richer ;han what it was 
 before, we call that a i)rofitable fariii. When the vinegrower 
 succeeds in turning a waste plat e into a luxurious and productive 
 vineyard, we call that a i)aying property. When, from industrious 
 savings, you set out with building o?it,' dvvelh'ng-house for your own 
 accommodation, or that of your fell(;w-nien, and from that have gone 
 on until now you are a loved and respected landlord on a large 
 scale, or when you so manage an estate that instead of a few starving 
 families, it is dotted with comfortable homes, it is worthy the name 
 of a productive projjerty In the intellectual reahn you succeed when, 
 from the books you have purchased and the laborious studies in which 
 you have e gaged, you are able to work as teacher or author, and to 
 impart to others those ideas which have inade your own minds, 
 or when you make journeymen or masters of your apprentices, and 
 teachers and authors of your pupils, you are surely reaping that 
 which you have sown. And how true is this when it is 
 applied to the winner of souls in making disci[)les for Christ. 
 Think of the gain to the world from the conversion of Paul. He 
 
i 
 
 i t 
 
 12 
 
 becoires a fisher of men. Here is his golden motto, " I seek not 
 yours, l)ut you." He gains a Timothy for tlie Lord, or a Titus, or 
 some mother or sister. The property he is desiring is accumulating 
 in his hands. Timothy becomes in turn a fisher of men. While 
 the Apostle is day by day planting seed that will grow and mature, 
 his disciples are in other fields similarly employed. They are 
 working for souls. These men they seek l^ecome again workers for 
 (k)d. In seeking men the .\postle was aware he was investing in a 
 property the productiveness of which was incomparable. Think of 
 what I may be the means of accomplishing by the seed I am planting 
 this day. God grant that many of you, who may not before have 
 thought seriously of spiritual things, may this day give heed to God 
 who is beseeching you by us, to be reconciled to Him. But 
 what if one of you yield your heart to God, you may yet be 
 called, like our own Mackay, to be a missionary. Suppose you 
 are led to the resolution to be a missionary, you will be 
 seeking men at once— you will not wait till you get to India 
 or China. You will go to work to-day in the vineyard of the 
 Lord. When at length you set sail for a foreign shore, like 
 Alexander Duff or Wm. C. Burns, you will be seeking men on board 
 the ship. Like Morrison in China, years may pass before you get a 
 single convert, but God may give you converts at once, [t may be 
 that a single convert means ultimately t!ie conversion of a nation, 
 or a continent. Would not the property I this day acquire in you 
 be of a most productive nature ? There is no end to the productive- 
 ness of this property. Think of Mackay's eight years in Formosa ! 
 two thousand native Christians, twenty churches ; many little ones 
 singmg to-day, "Jesus loves me." These are some of the results. 
 And what will be the history of the next eight years ? Who can tell i 
 For the producing power is ever increasing. The handful of seed, 
 if perpetuated from year to year, will by and by cover millions of 
 acres of our great North- West. What may other eight years in 
 Formosa do for the Lord ? There may be a Pre.sbyterian Church in 
 that Island of the proportions of our Church in Canada of to-day. 
 There may be 50,000 or 100,000 Christians by that time. There 
 may be a University like this,* educating students for the Ministry, 
 rhere is no property so productive as this. There is nothing like 
 this in the vegetable kingdom. There is nothing like it in the pro- 
 
 * This Sermon was preached in the Course before the Students of Queen's 
 College, on 30th January, 1881. 
 
 ,- I 
 
13 
 
 ), " I seek not 
 
 or a Titus, or 
 
 accumulating 
 
 men. While 
 
 V and mature, 
 
 d. They are 
 
 lin workers for 
 
 investing in a 
 
 ble. Think of 
 
 I am planting 
 
 ot before have 
 
 e heed to God 
 
 Him. But 
 u may yet be 
 
 Suppose you 
 you will be 
 
 1 get to India 
 vineyard of the 
 gn shore, like 
 y men on boaid 
 efore you get a 
 ice. [t may be 
 ion of a nation, 
 f acquire in you 
 » the productive- 
 irs in Formosa ! 
 nany little ones 
 e of the results. 
 ' Who can tell f 
 handful of seed, 
 over millions of 
 ■ eight years in 
 terian Church in 
 anada of to-day. 
 at time. There 
 for the Ministry. 
 
 : is nothing like 
 ike it in the pro- 
 
 iluflenls of Queen's 
 
 ductivity of animal life. Think of the influence of the labors of 
 one man like a Luther, a Chalmers, or a Livingstone upon heaven 
 itself Oh! what rapture, what joy for the Christian samt to realize 
 in heaven that which is meant by the expression, " his works do 
 follow him !" Think of the l)lessed experience it must be for a 
 l)astor, a Sabbath-school teacher, a parent or friend, to see this 
 man, or that woman coming into heaven to join the glorious throng. 
 You helped to save them when on earth. Now they are saved — 
 now they are in heaven I (lod be praised! will be the universal 
 shont as others— and it may be hundreds, aje thousands- — are seen 
 entering heaven through the labors and prayers of those whom you 
 were instrumental in converting, and whom you left in the world 
 behind you. Your works do follow you. Your labors shall not be 
 in vain in the Lord. In due sen son you shall reap, if you faint not. 
 
 (V.) In seeking men, rather than the things which belong to 
 them, the Apostle is securing for himself a /asti'ni^'^ property. He 
 feels that the grasp with which men hold earthly possessions is most 
 illusory. In a day, in an hour, these may be taken from us. It is a 
 sad history — the history of the changes of ownership through which 
 properties have passed. Even in the older countries, with laws of 
 entail in fullest force, it is a frequent and solemn lesson to witness 
 the departure of the old family from the home in which their many 
 generations dwelt. I have sei n the tenants of a Scottish Highland 
 estate gathering with sullen looks around the new owner, muttering 
 treasonable thoughts as they followed him in his march of inspection, 
 and at a word from their leader ready to resent the intrusion. But 
 they had to submit, for the old laird was bankrupt and dead, and the 
 youthful heir of the family name had to leave his ancestral halls to 
 make his living in the city. In younger countries how often is such a 
 change witnessed — properties passing from one to another like cur- 
 ency— those one day proudly regarding themselves as rich and the 
 next overtaken by financial disaster. It is not long since we read of a 
 deluge of water sweepmg away the good soil of a property and the 
 ripening crops, and leaving nothing !)ut the barren rock. How little 
 would the owner have dreamed of such a disaster ! It is so indeed 
 with all earthly properties ; they are liable to change — to lose in 
 value — to pass from one to another —or to be completely destroyed. 
 
 But it is not so with the property we have in men. It is not 
 thus with the purchase Jesus made of human souls. Here is an 
 
 ( 
 
T 
 
 ; 
 
 
 i 
 
 I I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 14 
 
 everlasting inheritance. What does Jesus mean by these unearthly 
 words. " Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me bt 
 with me where I am ; that they mav behold my glory, which thou 
 hast given me ; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the 
 world." Jesus can regard the redeemed as his own for ever, for He 
 says: "All mine, are thine, and thine are mine, and lam glorified 
 in them." His one thought — that ])roves the incentive to all his 
 undertakings — that makes him content with a lot, with which that of 
 the foxes with their dens, and the birds of the air with their nests, 
 cannot be compared — this one thought is, that He is to gain a 
 l)roperty in men that shall never ])ass away They will be His when 
 the worlds are swept into oblivion. His when the light of the sun 
 and stars is extinguished. His when the jiresent economy of the 
 world's history is a thing of the past By the beautiful parable of 
 the Vine and its branches, the Saviour showed the abiding relation- 
 ship of believers to himself. They are one, and, as Jesus is the 
 eternal Son of the heavenly King, and is to reign for ever and ever, 
 those who are united in Him shall enjoy an endless felicitv. This 
 parable is a figure of Christ and all believers as they are in the 
 heavenly Kingdom. The saints are the inheritors of everlasting 
 mansions. Oh 1 it is Christ who has th( right and title to own the 
 countless saved. These are His ])ropeity. They are His for ever. 
 Nothing can disturb this relationship. 'I'he enemy cannot assail 
 Heaven's battlements and take the redeemed from the Lord of 
 Cilory. 
 
 The Apostle felt, however, that while all the ransomed belonged 
 forever of right to the Lord Jesus Christ, he, too, had an interest in 
 men that would never pass away. He sought the Corinthians not 
 only for time, but also for eternity. What might be the joy he would 
 experience on witnessing the conversion of the Phillippian gaoler, 
 was a joy more lasting than the sun, for the cause of it could never 
 be removed. We may imagine the .Apostle in heaven gazing with 
 rapture in the countenance of him whom, on earth, he startled with 
 his night-songs in the prison cell, and if this be so, what must be the 
 delight of the Apostle in the possession of the tens of thousands 
 who have been saved by his instrumentality ! It is in truth an 
 inheritance that fadeth not away. 
 
 And here, finally lirethren, is what I would have you consider, 
 that, in seeking men, you are seeking a property that is lasting — 
 that cannot fade — that cannot be worn away by the frictions of sin. 
 
15 
 
 hese unearthly 
 given me bfe 
 y, which thou 
 id.ition of the 
 r ever, for He 
 I am glorified 
 tive to all his 
 I which that of 
 ith their nests, 
 ; is to gain a 
 1 be His when 
 Lrht of the sun 
 :onomy of the 
 iful parable o^ 
 liding relation- 
 s Jesus is the 
 ever and ever, 
 felicity. This 
 ley are in the 
 of everlasting 
 tie to own the 
 t His for ever, 
 cannot assail 
 n the Lord ot 
 
 :)med belonged 
 i an interest in 
 ;!orinthians not 
 le joy he would 
 llippian gaoler. 
 
 it could never 
 k'en gazing with 
 le startled with 
 lat must be the 
 is of thousands 
 
 is in truth an 
 
 That child whom you have taught to read the Rook of (lod, whose 
 lips you have shaped to u.ter words o'i praise and prayer, whose 
 little feet have been made by you to tread the Saviour's steps, and 
 that is now called away from earth to heaven, is your dear one for- 
 ever. Those members of your Hock, dear pastor those ( hildren ol 
 the school, beloved teachers — those poor savages, kind missionary — 
 whom you have tended well on earth, will shine forever in the firma 
 nient above. Let us then be up and doing. Let such a thought 
 stir our hearts into earnest longing desires for souls. Be it ours to 
 make a business of going and seeking out the lost. Here is surely 
 a noble work— a glorious undertaking! It is not like earth's employ- 
 ments that are all transient and ephemeral. Here is a task worthy 
 of your highest powers. What an incentive to win souls, that they 
 will be yours forever ! Let us so live and work that our diadem in 
 heaven will be like that of the Son of God. Mis crown is made 
 up of the men whom he has saved from sin and death, and the 
 Christian's crown will be composed of those whom he has been the 
 means of saving. Oh, what thoughts are these I We must be worse 
 than dead, if our hearts are not stirred at the recital. Let us rise 
 then from our lethargy. Let us awake out of sleep. Let us be up 
 and doing, for the time is at hand when the Master will take account 
 of the living stones we have added to his glorious temple in the 
 skies. Surely, inertness, coldness or indifference is altogether incom 
 patible with the life and character of him who is called to be a 
 winner of souls — a fisher of men. Let the world be indifferent as 
 •^o the value of a human soul; but let it not be said that you, the 
 follower of Christ, are other than your .Master was when He came 
 from heaven to earth " to seek and save the lost.'' Amen. 
 
 : you consider, 
 hat is lasting- 
 frictions of sin. 
 
1> 
 
 " And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, blessed are the 
 dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, said the Spirit, that they may 
 rest from their labors: am/ their works do ioUm> them:' Rev. XIV. 13. 
 
 r' 
 
 
, blessed are the 
 it, that they may 
 XIV. 13.