Who of all the children that read the Youth's Dayspring, would not like to confer this happiness on the heathen, by helping to send out preachers of the gospel through all the world? A HEATHEN CHILD BROUGHT ALIVE FROM THE DEAD. At a communion season in one of the churches at the Sandwich Islands, a little girl about eleven years old was presented for baptism, by her adopted mother, who had that day united with the church. The story of this child was interesting. Her own mother strangled and buried her under the ground when she was a baby, and left her there, thinking she was dead. A neighbor, who knew about this, went secretly and dug up the poor child before its little heart had ceased to beat, and adopted it as her own. She had faithfully taken care of her until that communion day, when she was permitted to come forward and give herself and her family to the Savior. Who can tell what Providence designs that dear child shall become when she grows up! If our young readers knew of any little children who were thus buried alive, would they not give all their pennies to hire somebody to go and dig them out? But millions of heathen children are in a worse condition than that little infant was. They are dead, the Bible says, in trespasses and sins. Ought you to give less to save their souls from hell, than you would to save their bodies from death? Think of this question, dear children, and see what answer you will make. WHICH IS THE GREATEST, MARY OR CHRIST? A papal Armenian at Trebizond, who had become convinced of the errors of his church through the preaching of a missionary, asked a very respectable young man in that church, whom he considered the greatest, Mary, or Christ? The young man was taken by surprise, for it was a question he had never thought of before. After thinking a few moments, he answered that " Mary must be the greatest." "Why?" "Because in our books of devotion we find a great many prayers addressed to Mary, and almost none to Christ." Such a man we should pity and pray for. But we ought not to ridicule him, for he had never been taught any better. THE CHILD COMING TO JESUS. BY ROBERT M. M'CHEYNE. Suffer me to come to Jesus, Mother dear, forbid me not; By his blood from hell he frees us; Suffer me, my earthly father, Suffer me to run unto him; Gentle sisters, come with me; O that all I love but knew him, Loving playmates, gay and smiling, Yes, though all the world have chid me, Jesus never will forbid me! Jesus loves me to the end! Gentle Shepherd, on thy shoulder Carry me a sinful lamb; Give me faith, and make me bolder, THE YOUTH'S DAYSPRING. Vol. I. SEPTEMBER, 1850. No. 9. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE RELIGION OF MAN AND THE RELIGION OF GOD. Whenever people have a false religion, whether they are heathen, or Jews, or Mohammedans, or nominal Christians, they are always thinking of the most trifling and foolish things, instead of the Savior and his love to them, and trying to be like him. Missionaries in the Eastern churches, in Turkey, Syria, and Greece, often see how true this is... There is a mission seminary at Bebek, near Constantinople, superintended by Mr. Hamlin. Soon after he opened the school in that village, the Armenian priest, two Greek priests, and several of the leading men of the village, called on the Armenian Patriarch, and said they were very sorry that such a man as Mr. Hamlin should be allowed to live among them. "Why," said they, "he eats meat, eggs, butter, milk, etc., both during Lent and on Wednesday and Friday, [the days of their weekly fasts]; and he teaches his scholars that it is no more wicked to eat butter than olive oil, meat than bread, or eggs than olives! They also said that neither he nor his scholars made the sign of the cross, nor paid honors to the holy virgin or the saints; and they were sure he was nothing but an infidel, and hoped he would be removed at once from their village! The Armenians and Greeks have always disputed whether the sign of the cross should be made with two fingers or with three. The Armenians say it should be made with two fingers, to remind us that Christ had two natures; that he was both God and man. The Greeks say it should be made with three, to remind us of the Trinity, three persons in one God. A Bulgarian was once speaking to a missionary about the Armenians. He said they had wandered very far away from the truth. When the missionary asked him why he thought so, he answered, "Why, they make the sign of the cross with only two fingers." "Now," said he, "whoever does not make the sign of the cross with three fingers, thus, (crossing himself while he spoke) might just as well not make it at all!" You see from this account, children, what Paul meant when he tells Timothy (2 Tim. iii. 5) about men “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." What is such a religion good for? Does it make men happy? Does it make them holy? Will it help them when they come to die? Will it carry them to heaven? No; Rev. Mr. Dulles is now preaching Jesus Christ in Madras, a great city in the southern part of India. He has written an interesting account of the examination of the schools there. Though his letter is addressed to the children of a Sabbath school in Philadelphia, all the readers of the Dayspring will be pleased with it. The children were collected in the mission church. It is a small pleasant building, without pews, but with rattan settees about half filling it. These were arranged in the back part of the church, for visitors. Before them sat Dr. Scudder, at a small table covered with books for prizes, principally Bibles and Testaments in English or Tamil. Between him and the pulpit were three hundred boys and girls, seated on the floor, with their Hindoo teachers, keeping them in order. The boys first were examined in reading the Bible, saying catechism, line upon line, (in Tamil,) Bible his tory, grammar and arithmetic. I am sure that not many boys in either Mr. Barnes' or Dr. Parker's Sunday school, could answer questions on the history of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, better than did these poor heathen boys. One exercise was that of putting questions to each other. This they did with a great deal of spirit, asking the hardest questions they could make. After these, one hundred and twenty girls were examined. They were neatly dressed in jackets and petticoats of bright calico, and many of them with rings in their ears and noses. With their hair smooth, and shining with cocoa-nut oil, they were a pleasant sight. Prizes having been given to the best scholars, the examination of the English school commenced. From this school one hundred and fifty-one boys and young men were present. These are nearly all heathen; but for the sake of learning the English language, which will help them to get situations under government, their parents send them to this Christian school. Some of them even are Brahmins. But it is very sad to see the heathen marks made on their foreheads, whilst they explain the meaning of the Bible and tell what men must do to be saved. But, my dear young friends, how is it with you? You study these things, and yet you do not give yourselves to the service and love of God! Your parents will not beat you, if you love the Savior; they will not lock you up. If, however, these boys become Christians, all their friends will persecute them. I saw one young man there who once was in this school. He saw that idolatry was false, and though he was not fourteen years old, he resolved to be a Christian. His parents found it out and confined him; they then took him to a temple and forced him to do worship to the image. At last he escaped and went to the Scotch missionaries, who have received and sheltered such young men; and with them he staid, (though his friends tried to get him away,) was baptized and now is a Christian young man. We hope that hereafter the instructions given to these boys and girls may lead them, or some of them at least, to repent, to stop worshiping idols, and to love the Lord Jesus, who died for them. You must pray for them, as well as give money; for God only can change their hearts. I have been ill with remittent fever, and am now slowly recovering my strength, so that for six weeks I have not been able to study Tamil or do any missionary work. This language is very difficult. It requires several years to be able to speak very freely in it, so that it is a trial to be compelled to lay aside all study. Yet I am sure that it was best for this sickness to come upon me, for God sent it, and it has not made me unhappy. I trust that some of you are intending to come out and help us, for the heathen are very many, and we are few and weak. Do not be afraid that you will not be happy if you are missionaries; for missionaries are very happy, if they labor faithfully and trust in God. And I hope that your parents, as well as yourselves, will be ready to give to support missions. The American Board has one hundred and fifty ordained missionaries, (or ministers,) and many female missionaries and teachers, to support in different parts of the world; and if we have no money, we cannot live and preach and print tracts |