cture is made of souls--souls to be saved. "Oh to save these! To
perish for their saving!" That is what the picture says. Picture! There
is no picture. In the place where it was, there is simply a pain--God's
world, and God dishonoured in it! Oh to see these people as souls!
Refined or vulgar, beautiful or horrible, or just dull, oh to see them
"only as souls," and to yearn over them, and pray for them as souls who
must live eternally somewhere, and for whom each of us, in our measure,
is responsible to God. Do you say we are not responsible for those
particular souls? Who said that sort of thing first? "Where we disavow
being keeper to our brother we're his Cain." If we are not responsible,
why do we take the responsibility of appealing to them in impassioned
poetry?

"Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To Him all majesty ascribe,
And crown Him Lord of all!"

What is the point of telling people to do a certain thing if we have no
concern in whether they do it or not? The angels and the martyrs and the
saints, to whom we appealed before, have crowned Him long ago. Our
singing to them on the subject will make no difference either way; but
when we turn to every kindred and tribe, the case alters. How can they
crown Him Lord of all when they do not know about Him? Why do they not
know about Him? Because we have not told them. It is true that many whom
we have told heard "their one hope with an empty wonder"; but, on the
other hand, it is true that the everlasting song rises fuller to-day
because of those who, out in this dark heathendom, heard, and responded,
and crowned Him King.

But singing hymns from a distance will never save souls. By God's grace,
coming and giving and praying will. Are we prepared for this? Or would
we rather sing? Searcher of hearts, turn Thy search-light upon us! Are
we coming, giving, praying _till it hurts_? Are we praying, yea
agonising in prayer? or is prayer but "a pleasant exercise"--a holy
relief for our feelings?

We have sat together under the wall by the Southern sea. We have looked
at the five as they worshipped Another, and not our God. Now let this
little South window be like a little clear pane of glass, through which
you may look up far to the North, over the border countries and the
mountains to Tibet, over Tibet and away through the vastness of Central
Asia, on to China, Mongolia, Manchuria; and even then y