Philippians 3:1313Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (Philippians 3:13); John 4:3535Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. (John 4:35); Matthew 9:3737Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; (Matthew 9:37); Luke 10:22Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2)
As I was leaving New York to go to England in 1867, a friend said to me, “I hope you will go to Edinburgh and be at the General Assembly this year. When I was there a year ago I heard such a speech as I shall never forget. Dr. Duff made a speech that set me all on fire. I shall never forget the hour I spent in that meeting.”
Dr. Duff had been out in India as a missionary; he had spent 25 years there preaching the Gospel and establishing schools. He came back with broken-down health. He was permitted to address the General Assembly in order to make an appeal for men to go into the mission field. After he had spoken for a considerable time, he became exhausted and fainted. They carried him out of the hall into another room. The doctors worked over him for some time, and at last he began to recover. When he realized where he was, he roused himself and said, “I did not finish my speech; carry me back and let me finish it.”
They told him he could only do it at the peril of his life. He replied, “I will do it if I die.”
So they took him back to the hall. My friend said it was one of the most solemn scenes he ever witnessed in his life. They brought the white-haired man into the Assembly Hall. As he appeared at the door every person sprang to his feet; the tears flowed freely as they looked upon the old veteran. With a trembling voice, he said:
“Fathers and mothers of Scotland, is it true that you have no more sons to send to India to work for the Lord Jesus Christ? The call for help is growing louder and louder, but there are few coming forward to answer it. You have the money put away in the bank, but where are the laborers who shall go into the field? When Queen Victoria wants men to volunteer for her army in India, you freely give your sons. You do not talk about their losing their health, and about the trying climate. But when the Lord Jesus is calling for laborers, Scotland is saying, ‘We have no more sons to give.’”
Turning to the President of the Assembly, he said:
“Mr. Moderator, if it is true that Scotland has no more sons to give to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ in India, although I have lost my health in that land and came home to die, if there are none who will go and tell those heathen of Christ, then I will be off tomorrow, to let them know that there is one old Scotchman who is ready to die for them. I will go back to the shores of the Ganges, and there lay down my life as a witness for the Son of God.”
Thank God for such a man as that! We want men today who are willing, if need be, to lay down their lives for the Son of God. Then we shall be able to make an impression upon the world. When they see that we are in earnest, their hearts will be touched, and we shall be able to lead them to the Lord Jesus Christ.