Isaiah 60:22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time. So is it with every institution planted in the fear and love of God, with an aim to advance His glory and man's good. Its life and increase are assured, for it becomes God's work anal. enlists God's aid. The first hospital was founded by a Christian woman in her own house just outside the gates of Rome. Now there are hundreds in every land. So we may trace the rise and growth of institutions for the poor and the insane; of the universities, once small conventual schools where Christian truth was taught, developing into comprehensive and influential seats of learning. So, notably, the growth of the missionary enterprise. The latter was almost unknown a century ago. It began in the "reveries" of men or the dreams of Christian women, who began by collecting small amounts and consecrating them to Christ. Now modern missions are a power, immense, world-embracing. They emphatically illustrate the grace of Christ, present and dominant in the world. So it is with every endeavour. That which has the element of righteousness in it, God will care for. It has a vast future before it. Here, then, is illustrated the indebtedness of the race to the Gospel of Christ. Men of the world sometimes fancy that this matter of religion is an obstacle to their secular plans. But, for the very instruments they use in art and commerce and literature, they are more or less directly indebted to Christianity. (R. S. Storrs, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time. |
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