The first effort on record, so far as we know, to cut the nerve of missions, was made by Satan himself in the Garden of Eden when he affirmed to our first parents, “Thou shalt not surely die.” The reason for missions comes out in the great truth of Scripture, that men are lost without the Gospel, and are saved only by the Gospel. The advocacy of any view that relieves the mind of a sense of the lost condition of unbelievers cuts at the nerve of missions. The purpose of God the Father in sending his Son was that “Whosoever believeth in him might not perish.” The fact that Christ came to seek and save the lost makes it clear that whatever serves to convince the world that men are not already, and will not continue eternally to be, lost without the obedience involved in the exercise of faith in Christ, runs counter to the whole drift of missionary endeavor. The gospel of repentance was foremost in the preaching of John the Baptist, of Christ and the Apostles—repentance because “He will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” However much good may come from missions to civilization, howsoever much they may add to the comfort, the intelligence, the personal enjoyment of those who may receive the benefit of them, nevertheless the grand inspiring motive of missions is to save lost souls. Those in the closest sympathy with Christ, those who have consecrated themselves to work for him, feel this most deeply. There are many who appreciate the excellent example given us by our Saviour when on earth, many who are actuated by kindly impulses, who wish well for the happiness of their fellow men here and hereafter; but if these men fail to realize that Christ’s mission was to save the lost, and that the lost can be saved only through the preaching of His cross, they are not, as a rule, deeply interested in the work of promoting missionary efforts at home or abroad. They do not manifest in any good degree the actuating power of any nerve of missions. Help must come, progress must be made, indeed, the world must be brought to Christ, so far as we can see from history, or from observation in the present generation, by those who believe and are ready like Christ himself to do all in their power to bring a lost world into the fullness and blessedness of the Redeemer’s kingdom. [Illustration: THE JOHN BROWN STEAMER.] * * * * * SECOND NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSEMBLY. This Assembly, to which reference was made in our July _Missionary_, was held at Ocean Grove, Aug. 9, 10, 11 and 12, for the purpose of bringing together prominent persons to awaken public sentiment in favor of aid for the education of the illiterate masses in our country.