me God's second great demonstration of
man's inability to save himself, and his need of divine power to save
him. As the ancient world and its history were God's demonstration of
human sin, and of man's need of Christ's first advent, so this war is
God's proof that science and philosophy, literature and commerce, are
not sufficient for man's needs, and that Christ must again come, if our
modern world is ever to be saved. "In the fulness of time" Christ's
first advent occurred. "In the fulness of time" Christ's second advent
will occur. But not until humanity, weary of its load, cries out for its
redemption. "How long, O Lord, how long?" "It is not for us to know the
times which the Father has set within his own authority." But it is ours
to believe in Christ's promise, and to pray for its speedy fulfilment.
And so, I beg you to join with me in the one prayer with which our book
of Scripture closes, namely, "Lord Jesus, come quickly!"

XVII

THE THEOLOGY OF MISSIONS

"The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord." Yes, a candle, but a
candle not yet lighted, a candle which will never be light nor give
light, till it is touched by a divine flame. So said Doctor Parkhurst.
Was his interpretation of Scripture correct? He drew from the proverb
the conclusion that man has a religious nature, not in the sense that
he is actually religious, but only in the sense that he has a capacity
for religion. Doctor Parkhurst would say that man is actually religious
only when he knows the true God and worships him in spirit and in
truth. To that God he is by nature and by sinful habit blind. He can be
light and give light, only after God has enlightened him by special
revelation. His nature is a candle unlighted, until God touches it with
his divine flame.

What is the truth in this matter? The months I have spent in these
heathen lands have made deep impression upon me, and the problem of
heathenism has loomed up before me as never before. When one sees
thousands prostrating themselves in a Mohammedan mosque and chanting in
unison their ascription of greatness to God, or when one sees a Hindu
devotee so absorbed in his prayer to a senseless idol that he is
unconscious of the kicks and shouts of the passers-by, one comes to
realize that man must have a god. The religious instinct is a part of
his nature. It is more than a mere capacity for religion. It is active
as well as passive. In some sort the candle is already burning. It