*2 84.05 A SERMON Preached at the Opening of the General assemhly in crescent street church, Montreal, June loih, 1885. BY THE REV. W. MACLAREN, DO., IProfessor of Syst'^.matic Theology, Knox CoUegej Tofonto, Retiring ,, Moderator. > « « • ■^% J i . t TORONTO: THE PRESBYTERIAN NEWS COMPANY. 1 88s. " "^^'-:^:- •mm^mm 4 t * * • • « • • • • ' • • • • • 1 • • • _• • • • • . » « • • • -• « / • t i I I I 1 * • * THE GREAT COMMISSION: A Sermon preached at the opening of the General Assembly, June lo^ i88^y by REV. W. MACLAREN, D.D., PROFESSOR OF SYSTE- MATIC THEOLOGY, KNOX COLLEGE, TORONTO, RETIRING MODERATOR. Matt, xxviii.y 18-20. — ^^ Atid Jesus came and spake unto them saying. All power is given unto ine in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father^ and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, to, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world '"^ These words contain the Church's commission and point out her work and encouragement in all ages. They were addressed to the eleven apostles, but it is not likely that they were spoken to them alone. The view seems highly probable which regards this commission as delivered on the occa- sion referred to by Paul when our Lord " was seen of above five hundred brethren at once "(i Cor. XV., 6). When such a 'number of Christ's followers assembled to see their risen Lord, the time and place of meeting must have been previously ap- pointed, and well known. Immediately after Christ's resurrection, we find the angels, and our Lord himself, giving intimation by the women of such a meeting in Galilee where they and His brethren would see Him. There is no account of the apostles going to attend this meeting, until the verses immediately preceding our text. There, however, we read of Fift918 the eleven going "away into Galilee, into a moun- tain where Jesus had appointed them." What might have been expected occurred. The time and place of meeting were well known, and anxious disciples flocked to the spot ; and when the time arrived, about five hundred were there to meet their Lord. If this opinion is correct, and no one certainly can show that it is not, then our text was addressed to a mass-meeting of the Church of God, regularly convened by Her Divine Head to receive His final instructions ere He left our world. It was an assembly, in some measure, worthy of the august occasion. There was the body of Christ's dis- ciples, waiting to learn their Master's will : there were the survivors of the severiy, already employed in an important mission, and prepared to embark in higher service : and there were the eleven, chosen and trained for a high office, and soon to be endued with power from on high to be the infallible teachers and rulers of the Church. The whole Church was there to receive her com- mission. It may indeed be acknowledged that these words were spoken, as the context indicates, more directly to the eleven, although neither the command nor the promise can be confined to them. It is customary to address a nation, or any organ- ized body, through its rulers, and even to speak to them as if they were the nation or body which they represent (Rev. iii., i). And our Lord, designing to put honour on the apostles, and to recognize them as the rulers of His visible kingdom, spoke of his Church through them, but this commission cannot be confined to them. The work of the apostles was unique, and their office was temporary. They were called to lay, for a 1 T^ . . all time, the foundations of a new order of things ; they were sent to organize the visible kingdom of a risen Christ upon earth. For this work they required very special gifts and qualifications which have been possessed by none since their day. They were ordained to be witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, and they were endowed with infallibility in teaching and ruling, and had the power of con- ferring the Holy Ghost in His miraculous bestow- ments. These were the essential gifts of an apostle, without which a man could no more be an apostle than he could be a prophet without inspira- tion, or a painter without sight, or a musician with- out hearing. The apostles therefore had no suc- cessors. None of their pretended successors, in any Church, can claim to possess, individually, those gifts which the whole Christian world, with one consent, unites in ascribing to those chosen by Christ. The apostles, therefore, were of one age, but the command and the promise of this commission are for all ages, "even unto the end of the world." They were designed for no mere order of ecclesi- aistics, but for the Church of Christ, there solemnly convened, which shall live throughout all ages, and against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. These words bring before us three things on which we may profitably meditate : — the Church's commission, the foundation on which it is based, and the promise which accompanies it. I. The commission. In its extent^ it embraces all nations. The gos- pel Church, in contrast with the Jewish, which was confined to one favoured land, is for all nations. The middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile has been broken down, and what- ever the Church is now to one nation, it is, by divine appointment, to every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. Its work begins indeed at home, but it does not end there. It may not confine its operations to any one country, however wide its area. The Church which does so renoun- ces its commission, and its very status as a visible Church of Christ. The field is the world. The commission knows nothing of the distinction between home and foreign missions. It obliterates the dividing lines of country, and teaches us to see in every fallen man a brother. It overleaps all the petty distinctions of language, and nationality, and goes forth to embrace in the arms of its ample sympathies the whole human race. The work which the commission assigns to the Church among the nations, is to disciple them. It is not merely ** to make disciples of all nations," a rendering which has been strangely misconstrued. It is not as if the commission meant that the Church should proclaim the gospel in all lands, until a chosen few from all nations shall be gathered in, while the mass of these nations remain unconverted. The work specifically given to the Church is to disciple all nations j and she cannot regard it as accomplished while one member of the human family remains who is not enrolled among the vi sible followers of Christ. It is not a commission to gather out an elect people from the world, although as a matter of fact that may be the result, but to win the world itself for Christ. The work assigned to the Church is to disciple the nations. It is not here described, as the casual reader might suppose, as threefold, to teach, to baptize and to instruct, but as one work which is to be accomplished in two parts. It is a com- mission to disciple all nations by baptizing them, and by teaching them to observe whatsoever Christ has commanded. When the farmer savs to his servant, go plant my field, scattering the seed and harrowing the ground, he does not enjoin him to do three things, but one ; and sowing the seed and harrowing the ground are recognized steps or parts of the process by which the work is done, l^y baptism the nations are to be enrolled in the school of Christ, and then the work of instruction in the knowledge and practice of \\\ that Christ has taught is to follow. No doubt, a measure of instruction must be held, both from the nature of the service, and from the teaching of other parts of Scripture, to precede baptism. IJaptism is intended to serve spiritual ends, and is a channel through which we expect divine grace to flow. It is never, therefore to be treated merely as a decent cere- mony which it is unbecoming in Christian people to neglect. If pupils are to be enrolled in the school of Christ, such knowledge must be imparted to them, and such desires kindled in their hearts as will lead them willingly to yield themselves to the loving guidance of the divine Master. It requires, therefore, as its condition the avowed obedience of faith. Hence we are taught, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark xvi., i6). We of course understand this language of adults who are capable of faith ; and we do not believe that the lack of faith can be legitimately held to exclude infants from baptism, any more than from salvation. They had a place under the old dispensation in the visible Church, and they received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith — a faith which they could as httle exercise then as now. They wore the badge of discipleship under the old economy, and texts like these cannot be held to abridge their privileges, or to excommunicate them under the gospel dispensation, i. — Because the Scriptures are addressed to adults who are capable of understanding them, and are to be interpreted with reference to them, unless there is something either in the language itself, or in the context, to give the words a different bearing, and 2. — Because God has in all ages included the chil- dren with the parents in visible covenant with him- self. Since the time of Abraham their position has been settled and never reversed. The seal of the righteousness of faith has been changed, but the persons to whom the seal is applied remain the same. The promise of the kingdom then ran, " I will be a God unto thee and thy seed after thee ;'' and t'le promise now is, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house.'' No new command to recognize the chil- dren of believers was required. According, we find that when Lydia believed, she and her family were baptized; and when the jailor believed, " he was baptized, he and all his straightway " (Acts xvi.). But the work of the Church is not finished when its converts are bap- tized and enrolled as disciples. The foundation of the building has been laid, and its design has been solemnly announced j but the superstructure is yet to erect. The baptized are placed as pupils in the school of Christ, taught by the Church. It is her work by precept and example, by her dublic ministrations, and by the life and con- 7 versation of her members, to lead them to a fuller acciuaintance with the truth, and a more entire surrender of their wills to the revealed will of Christ. It is her oltice to teach them to observe all things whatsoever Christ has command- ed. No Church which does not aim largely at the instruction of its members in divine truth, can adequately discharge the great commission. II. The foundation upon which it i.s based. *' All power is given unto Me in heaven,'' etc. It would recjuire to rest on a solid foundation. It is a commission to turn the world upside down, to revolutionize the social fabric of nations, and to set up an empire which rulers and subjects alike must obey. It is not with carnal weapons it seeks to achieve these results, but with the sword >)f the Spirit, which is the Word of Ciod ; but this does not lessen the opposition which it excites. There is nothing which so arouses the worst part of human nature, while it appeals to the best, as the pointed and faithful proclamation of the gospel. It will not let a man enjoy in peace the pleasures of sin even for a season. It makes all that is best in him condemn his conduct, and demand with authority hat he should lead a new life. It has a subtile power over his conscience, which he at once fears and bates. It is " quick pnd powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, aiercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Those who bear this message may expect to encounter often the bJtter hostility of earthly rulers, who dislike the humbling doctrines of the Cross, and hate the moral system of Christianity. They 8 may be prohibited from entering lands destitute of the gospel, or, when they have entered, they may be forbidden to teach or to preach any more in the name of Jesus Christ. The question will at once arise and press for an answer, Shall we carry out the great commission or permit earthly potentates to set it aside ? This is not a question which can be dismissed with a lordly wave of the hand. We have been taught to respect and obey regularly constituted government. We have learned that the powers that be are ordained of God ; and that we must not only fear God, but honour the king. When rulers forbid us to preach the gospel to their people the commission would need to rest on a solid foundation which proposes to override their authority, and send us forth, to the full extent of our opportunities, to disciple these very^nations. On what then does Christ base it ? It is upon His mediatorial dominion over the universe. " All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations.'' He exercises physical control over all creatures by His universal Providence, but not on this does He base th^ commission, but on the fact that He has been invested with all authority in heaven and in earth. In reward of His obedience and death, our Divine Mediator has been constituted the lawful king of intelligent creatures. The homage which they owed to the Father they owe to Him. To Him has been given ** a name which is above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth." All intelligent creatures are now under moral obligations to own His authority and obey His will. All human authority therefore ceases te be author- ity when it comes in conflict with His revealed will. As Dagon fell before the ark of God so all opposing authority is overthrown before Christ. In obedience to our Lord's command, His disciples may go everywhere preaching the gospel and they will find no lawful authority obstructing their work. Physical force may bar their progress, and the prudence taught by the Master may lead them when persecu- ted in one city to flee to another, but no authority, such as binds conscience, arrests the work of disci- pling the nations. Such is the foundation on which Christ bases his commission to the Church. He speaks as one having authority. Those He sends and those to whom He sends them are alike His lawful subjects ; and the earth on which they tread is His rightful heritage. He sends His messengers over no territory which He does not own, and to no people who are not subject to His sceptre and bound to accept His message. HI. The promise. '* Lo, I am with you alway,'' etc. This promise was given in remarkable circumstances, and is rich with encouragement to the Church as she engages in the work to which she is called. In a short time our Lord, having finished his earthly work, is to leave our world. In a few days His sorrowing disciples will follow Him to Olivet and witness His visible ascension into heaven ; and *' the heavens shall receive Him until the times of restitution of all things." The voice which addresses them they shall hear no more until " the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God." It was in full view of this event that he gave the assurance, ** Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 10 It was scarcely to be expected that Christ's disci- ples should all at once understand the full bearing of these words, which have been as manna to the Church of God ever since. It was, perhaps, too early for them to compre- hend that Christ's bodily absence was an essential condition of the largest enjoyment of His presence, protection and aid. And it may be questioned whether we, after the experience of eighteen cen- turies, have got any adequate insight into what these words mean to us. But if we have not, we can see at least that they contain a pregnant pro- mise from which we can draw unfailing comfort in the work of Christ. I. They assure all who obey the commission of 2i faithful witness. Their work may be misunder- stood, and their motives misconstrued, but the eye of Christ is upon them. He does not misconceive their course ; and He nerer forgets their fidelity, their sufferings, or their services. Annual reports may not do justice to their work, but in Christ's book of remembrance everything is recorded. Missionaries in the foreign field are often misun- derstood by brethren at home, who take the deepest interest in their work ; and they, in turn, are equally liable to mistake the motives and the views of those at home who are earnestly seeking :to sustain them in their distant field. It is no small comfort for both to know that when defec- tive access to the sources of knowledge and human imperfection cause the mists to gather round them, there is One above who sees through the mists, and neither misunderstands the missionary in his dis- .tant outposts, nor the committee engaged in its home duties. Those who hold the rope and those who go down to the pit, are alike under the eye of [I Him who has called us to ** Rescue the perishing" ; and He has assured us that ** every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own work." 2. This promise assures Christian workers of a living helper, Christ is present with His people not merely as time and space are present with everything which exists in them : our Divine Re- deemer is omnipresent, but here He speaks of some- thing more precious. There is something higher to which [Christ refers when He says, ** If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make jour abode with him." There is a living presence and indwelling of Christ by His Spirit in His people. He dwells in them to quicken and enlighten, to skengthen and guide them in Chris- tian service. He works also in the hearts of those among whom they labour, preparing them to wel- come the message of His love. If we are asked to explain how an unseen Saviour can be present with His people, and work in them to will and to do of His good pleasure, and how He can exert such power in the hearts of enemies as will make them receptive of the truth, and transform their nature, we shall confess our ignorance of the mode, while we affirm our knowledge of the fact. But if the objector will not be satisfied, let him explain clearly the steps by which a seen friend can help his nearest neighbour, and we may deem it more reasonable to ask from us the solution of such a problem. Let him explain the power of mind over body, and make clear how it is that the soul which dwells in one body can commune with and act upon the soul which dwells in another, and we may consider it more reasonable to demand that we 12 shall refuse faith to the living and efficacious pres- ence of Christ with His people until we can explain how His Infinite Spirit acts in the dependent and finite spirit of man. But while in so many departments we are compelled hourly to accept facts which we cannot explain, we shall not allow unbelief to snatch from us the comfort of the felt presence of Christ. In all ages this has been the joy and strength of living Christians. When everything seemed against them and their own resources appeared useless, they fell back on the power, wisdom and aid of a present Christ, and they were not disappointed. It is this presence of Christ by His Spirit in His Church which has crowned her with all real success in His service. In dependence on her own resources she may prophesy in the valley of vision until bone comes to bone, and fiesh, sinews and skin appear in their place ; it may even galvanize something which presents a horrible mimicry of life, but there is no life there. It is not until the Spirit of God breathes on the slain that they stand up a living army. True success, whether in the home or in the foreign field, is " not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." 3. This promise assures the Church Qi providen- tial protection and aid in discipling the nations. It is not fate, but God who rules the universe. It is not chance, but a living person who conducts the system under which we live. A person endued with wisdom, power and moral excellence is at the helm and guides the course of history. His provi- dence extends to all orders of creatures, and governs each according to its nature. It links the past with the present,and the present with the fulure,and binds all events together in the unity of an all-compre- 13 bending purpose. Over the movements of this vast system Christ presides. If you would understand the trend of Providence you must go to Calvary, and view the centre around which the system revolves. The Lamb slain is '*in the midst of the throne,'' and in the heart of every influence which proceeds therefrom for the government of the uni- verse. The design which filled Christ's mind on the cross fills it still, and all the power He wields is subservient to it. No event occurs without His permission, and which He does not overrule and make tributary to His high designs of redeeming love. Frequently His interpositions have been so palpable that few can fail to see the band which wrought. But more commonly His providence works slowly and imperceptibly, and it is only by degrees that we discover the design which runs through events. Those who sail on the ocean do not mark the movement of the tides on which they rise and fall. And the most potent agencies of nature are frequently the most unobtrusive and silent in their operation. But when we compare the past with the present, we cannot fail to note the vast change which has been slowly effected. When this commission wasgiven, the disciples of Christ were a small band, whose Master had been crucified a few days before as a malefactor. Since that time the gospel has not only gone forth on a career of conquest, but when we study its position and prospects, at the present juncture, we find that they are such as to indicate that He who presides over all the complicated movements of Providence, has ordered them so as to secure the ultimate tri- umph of His cause. National power has passed almost exclusively into the hands of Christian peoples. »4 The commerce and the wealth of the world are controlled by those who bear the Christian name. All the great inventions which make the blind forces of nature slaves to the human will, are chiefly in the hands of Christian communities, and are used by them almost in proportion to the purity with which they have embraced the gospel. Railroads, steamboats and telegraphs have drawn the world closer together, and prepared us to recognize more fully the ties which bind us to the whole human race. No event of interest can transpire which is not in a few hours flashed round the world, and studied with care by multitudes in the most distant lands. The civilized world seems to gather round the bedside of a Garfield. They feel his pulse, and mark his changing symptoms, and sympathize with the narrower circle on which the stroke has more directly fallen. Colonization, which plays such a part in the extension of the gospel, is chiefly in the hands of Christian nations ; and in this work Pro- testantism everywhere takes the lead. North America, discovered by nations which are still Romish, has, with all its vast resources, passed into other hands, and been colonized by Protes- tants. Australia and New Zealand overshadow the Pacific with the influences of Protestant Chris- tianity. India and South Africa, under the sceptre of our beloved Queen, are becoming daily more pervaded by Christian influences. The Dark Con- tinent has been laid open from side to side, and Christian colonies and missions are pressing into it from every point of the compass. The world is now, in the wonderful Providence of God, open for the reception of the gospel. Twenty-five years ago large portions of the world were closed to the missionary. Now there is no 15 considerable mass of population anywhere who are not accessible to the Word of God and to the heralds of the Cross. The teeming millions of China are now free to embrace the gospel, and have not been slow to yield to its power. Japan has made our hearts burn by the way in which it has welcomed the message of life. Corea is no longer entirely closed, and to the Hermit nation the heal- ing art has opened a door to make known the gospel. Madagascar, under her Christian queen, in spite of French aggression, holds on hopefully in her Chris- tian course. And the islands of the South Pacific, where our own Church has been honoured to give noble martyrs to the cause of Christ, are slowly yielding to the gospel, and learning to wait for Christ's law. Even Rome itself has been entered by the colporteur and the missionary, and the Bible is now sold within sight of the Vatican. The words, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," have not proved an empty promise. We have seen enough of their fulfilment to make us look for more. We can set to our seal that Christ is true. He has been with His people and He is with them still. The Church is far from being what it should be, but when we compare its attitude at the beginning of this century towards the evangelization of the world and all manner of Christian work, with its attitude at the present time, we are forced to exclaim, " What hath God wrought !" The growing interest felt in the missionary cause, the spirit of prayer evoked on behalf of the perishing heathen, the rapid increase of missionary agents, male and female, in the foreign field, the advancing liberality of the Church in support of missions, and the increasing vitality seen in every iC department of Christian service, home and foreign, are marks of the presence and power of an ascended Saviour which we cannot ignore. Nor should we fail to acknowledge that He is cheering us on, and beckoning us forward in His work by crowning faithful missionary labour, especially in heathen lands, with a steadily increasing measure of success. We lament the deadness and defects of the Church, and we feel that she has never yet risen to an adequate sense of her responsibility to give the gospel to the whole world ; but were we to shut our eyes to these tokens of Christ's faithfulness to His promise, we would grieve the Holy Spirit, dis- honour Christ, and prove that we ourselves are unable to recognize the presence of Christ, when He is manifesting it before our eyes. And when we survey the mighty revolution silently effected in the position, and in the opportunities of the Church for evangelizing the world, we cannot fail to see that His heart has planned, and His hand has guided, the movement of events which have brought us where we seem to stand to-day, with an open door, on the threshold of the conversion of the world to Christ. When we go forth to evangelize the nations the Lord has gone forth before us ; and the whole sweep of His Providence is seen to be steadily carry- ing the world forward to that consummation which is dear to our hearts. Fathers and Brethren : In selecting a topic from which to address you on this occasion I have deemed it not unsuitable to ** stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance " in regard to the great work entrusted by Christ to His Church. As a section of the visible Church, while we have an interest in the evangelization oi n the whole world, and are debtors to it to give it the gospel so far as we can, a very important work lies more immediately at our own door. In our vast and constantly expanding Home Mis- sion field Christ has given us a work which we dare not overlook. If we regard the welfare of our country, the salvation of the teeming millions which shall yet occupy our prairies and our forests, or even our ultimate power for aggression in the foreign field, we must seek to permeate our country with Christian principle, and build up a strong and compacted Church at home, instinct with the spirit of the Great Commission. In building the walls of Jerusalem we must not neglect the portion which lies over against our own house. In this Province there is a large and gifted sec- tion of our population to whom we are specially called to make known the way of life. They have indeed heard of Christ, but they do not understand the gospel. They are enslaved by Rome, and debased by her idolatries, and they worship Mary more than her Son. A regard for their highest welfare and for the best interests of our country will not permit us to slack our hand in the work of French Evangelization. In all our five foreign fields there is room for expansion and encouragement to work. The difficulties occasioned by war in China do not seem likely to retard more than temporarily the progress of our mission in Formosa. The sad events which have recently transpired in our North-West Territories, events which have made us familiar with the marching of soldiers and the excitement of war within our own borders, call us loudly to do more for our Indian tribes. It is a matter of thankfulness that all the Indians I8 under the influence of the l^resbyterian Church have remained loyal, and that nearly all the Indi- ans connected with Protestant missions have, with a few exceptions, remained steadfast during the recent crisis. But surely we have seen enough to learn that when we take from heathen Indians their hunting grounds, we cannot safely leave them to gather their impressions of Christianity from the class of men whose conduct has involved us in these troubles. The work before us is great, but with God's blessing we shall do greater things than we have yet attempted. The men and the means should both be ready. When rebellion recently raised its headin the North-Westwe haveseen there was nolack of volunteers toputit downandto restore law and order. Mothers willingly surrendered their sons to all the dangers incident to such an enter- prise, and strong men evinced bitter disappoint- ment when they could not find a place in the expe- ditionary force. And right nobly have those who went to the front done their duty. And why, when Christ calls for soldiers, should there be any lack of volunteers for difficult posts either in the home or in the foreign field ? Shall patriotism be allowed to touch a higher water-mark than Christian faith and zeal ? VVe believe it will not. We know that there are many ministers and many devoted women who are prepared to respond to the call of the Church and labour for Christ wherever they may be sent. At a particular juncture the suitable labour for a special field may not be found, but we have seldom needed to wait long. In only too many cases the liberality of the Church has not sufficed to support in the foreign field the labourers who have offered themselves. We should, how- ever, thankfully note the fact that the Church is >9 be^qnning to respond more worthily to the claims of Christ in this department. There has in recent years been a marked increase in the liberality of our Church towards the evangelization of the heathen, and one congregation in this city has made many glad by offering, in addition to their wonted givings, to support an ordained missionary in the foreign field. Others, we trust, will follow their example. Hut while we have reason to rejoice in the evidences of growing liberality, we look for greater things in the near future. We trust the day is not distant, when no strong congregation in our Church which has overcome the difficulties incident to the outset of its career, will consider that it has attained a reasonable standard of liber- ality until it devotes at least as much to the aggres- sive work of the Church as it expends on the support of gospel ordinances for itself. In conclusion, we look for the time when the work assigned to the Church shall be accomplished, and the stone cut out of the mountain without hands shall fill the whole earth. And we are persuaded that in proportion as we enter into the spirit of this work we shall bring ourselves into line with the divine purpose, and shall share as we have never done, in the promised presence of Christ. • * 1. • u ■ • « < '- a . t . ^ V . . , ,