Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

1819.

To a Professing Christian.

23

the advancement and glory of which should outweigh all other considerations, in the breasts of its avowed friends.

Our concern for the condition of such as have confessed the Savior before men, while in works they deny him, will, if, our own hearts are right, stimulate us to unceasing prayer in their behalf, and to embrace every opportunity presented us, in giving them such counsel and exhortation, as shall be authorized by the divine word, with a view to their emancipation from the influence of men of corrupt minds," and of their enjoying that liberty, with which Christ will ever bless his devoted followers. With an humble hope, my dear brother, that my weak labors may in some measure be instrumental in exciting my brethren more to a practical evidence of their interest in the dear Savior, I crave your prayers with mine, that my dependance may be placed wholly on the aids of the divine Spirit, for the ultimate success of this undertaking. What may be sown in weakness, will the Lord in his good pleasure, and according to the riches of his grace, raise in power.

"Then are ye my friends, said our dear Lord, if ye do whatsoever Icommand you." This language cannot be mistaken. Its meaning conveys an indescribable happiness to those, who have been enabled through grace, to say with the apostle, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Nor can they walk in the comfort of the divine promises, who are unsolicitous concerning e state of others, who demonstrate an habitual attachment to the world and its fading pleasures. In the ardent pursuit of its possessions they are totally careless about their precious souls, and are "treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath."

the

Let us inquire now what are the commands of our blessed Lord, an observance of which must be counted as evidence of that union of heart to him, which constitutes the character of a true disciple, and insures a title to the fruits of the tree that is in the midst of the paradise of God: or, in other words, to an immortal crown of glory in heaven. "Love not the world, nor the things of the world," said the beloved disciple; subjoining, he that loveth the world, the love of the Father is not in him." We shall find no difficulty in ascertaining the characters here described; they are daily before us. They present a determined hostility to the kingdom of Jesus. You see them grasping continually after the riches of the world, but will give themselves no time to associate with those who "love the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." When solicited to attend conference meetings, where so often the divine Shepherd hath signally blessed his little flock with his presence, they form an excuse, that they have so many calls of this nature, they cannot attend all, but they are willing to help the good cause as far as they have opportunity. Ask them for some pecuniary assistance to a naked brother or sister, they will tell you, that they would with all their heart, but they have many poor rela

tions, who have with a claims upon their charity. Ask them for a

little aid in behalf of missionaries, bound on a long and perilous Voyage to carry the Gospel to the heathen world, and they will tell you, that in making a collection of such articles as may administer

2

to the comfort of the servants of our divine Lord, you may rely their attention, if they can possibly make it convenient. After all, my dear brother, we witness nothing but profession, mere profession, While some of them have amassed fortunes by unremitted industry and the most rigid economy, they are determined to keep them:-and so far as they can by words satisfy those around them, that the cause of religion has a predominant influence upon their hearts, so far are they willing to maintain the cause; but when required to sacrifice a small item of their gain, for the advancement of that kingdom to which they profess so strong an attachment, they will say to you as Felix to Paul, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season will call for thee." I remain affectionately yours. J.T. C.

[graphic]
[graphic]

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

A Compendium of the system of Divine Truth; contained in a series of Essays; in which the principal subjects contained in the Holy Scriptures are carefully arranged, briefly discussed, and improved. By Jacob Catlin, A. M. Pastor of a church in New Marlborough, Mass. Hartford: George Goodwin and Sons. 1818. pp. 314.

Address to the American Society for colonizing free people of color of the United States. Read at a special meeting, in the city of Washington, Nov. 21, 1818. Washington: Davis and Force. 1818. pp. 56.

The Constitution of the Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intem perance, as revised and altered, together with their Annual Report for the year 1818, and a list of the officers and members of said Society. Boston: Sewell Phelps. 1818. pp. 30.

def

m

Third Report of the Directors of the American Society for educating pious youth for the Gospel ministry. September 30, 1818. Andover: Flagg and p Gould. 1818. pp. 54.

Memoirs of Henry Obookiali, a native of Owhyhee, and a member of the Fora eign Mission School; who died at Cornwall, Con. Feb. 17, 1818, aged 26 years. New Haven: 1818. pp. 109. To which are added, a Sermon at his funeral by R the Rev. Lyman Beecher, a Sermon delivered at the Inauguration of the Rev. Mr. Daggett as Principal of the Foreign Mission School, by the Rev. Joseph Harvey, A. M.; and an Address at the opening of the School by Mr. Daggett.

A Century Sermon, delivered in Middleborough, Mass. Sept. 10, 1818, at the residence of Mr. John Alden, the day he completed his hundredth year. By Isaac Tompkins, A. M. Pastor of a church in Haverhill, Mass. Published at the request of the hearers. Haverhill: N. Burrill. 1818. pp. 16.

A Sermon, preached at the funeral of General Jedediah Huntington, of New London, who died September 25, 1818; aged 75 years. By Abel Mc Ewen, Pastor of the Congregational Church in New-London. Published at the request of the bereaved family. New-York: Daniel Fanshaw. 1818. pp. 16.

The Printers' Guide; or, an introduction to the art of Printing: including an essay on punctuation, and remarks on orthography. By C. S. Van Winkle New-York: C. S. Van Winkle. 1818. pp. 229.

Second annual report of the Boston Society, for the moral and religious instruction of the poor. Presented at their anniversary, October 22, 1818,

Boston: Parmenter and Norton. 1818. pp. 22.

Essays on the Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character. By Gardiner Spring, A. M. Pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, Second Edition. Boston: S. T. Armstrong. 1819. pp. 288. Family Lectures. By Mrs. N. Sproat. Boston: S. T. Armstrong. 1819.

PP. 202.

[ocr errors]
[graphic]

THE

MISSIONARY HERALD.

heb. 1.

JANUARY, 1819.

VOL. XV.

6.

BOSTON FOREIGN MISSION. SOCIETY.

Annual Meeting of the Foreign Mission Society of Boston and the Vicinity held at the hall of the Massachusetts Bank, on the 1st inst. at 11 A. M., for Jchoice of officers, when the following gentlemen were chosen: His Honor LLIAM PHILLIPS, Esq. President, JOSIAH SALISBURY, Esq. Vice Presi , the Rev. JOSHUA HUNTINGTON, Secretary, JEREMIAH EVARTS, Treas and Mr. CHARLES CLEVELAND, Auditor.

he Society adjourned to Concert Hall, where they met at three o'clock, with ew to hear some statements, which a committee had been requested to presdf, and of which public notice had been given. Seats were provided for ladies, fewer than two hundred of whom honored the Society with their presence. When the President took the chair, a brief history of the Board of Foreign sions was given by the Treasurer, comprising an account of the mission at bay-its origin, progress, and present state-its share in the work of missions, Colslations, and superintending schools; of the mission in Ceylon, and its varilabors;-of the missions to the Cherokees and Choctaws, and other contemed efforts in behalf of the American Indians; of the Foreign Mission School, Cornwall, Con. and of the desired enlargement of all the operations of the frd. In the course of the afternoon, four gentlemen addressed the meeting at length. We purpose to give the substance of these addresses.

the evening, a sermon was delivered before the Society, by the Rev. Mr. of Milton, from Zech. viii, 6. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If it be marpus in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be vellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts. The sermon was heard with omn attention, and a copy was requested for the press. We hope our readers have the opportunity of perusing it.

he Rev. Mr. Huntington is appointed to preach at the next annual meeting, the Rev. Mr. Dwight to supply his place in case of failure. The usual votes anks were passed, and a considerable number of persons expressed a wish to the Society.

it the close of the statements made by the Treasurer, he continued his obserons nearly as follows.

GE

Er. President,

There is an objection to attempting the immediate promulgation of the Gosamong the heathen, which probably weighs more than any thing else having form and semblance of an argument, with a considerable number of wellning persons; and even with some, who apparently have the cause of religion eart. It is this: While we have a multitude of objects at our doors, importuly calling for Christian beneficence, why should we seek objects at a distance? our large towns, in the older parts of the United States, contain a considerapopulation unsupplied with the means of grace; as you advance into the ntry, too many neighborhoods may be found, which are appropriately called ste places;" and from our new settlements an earnest cry for ministers and sionaries is heard. From the White Hills and the Green Mountains of the h-from the vast range of the Alleganies,-from the shores of the great es, and the banks of the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Missouri, the voice of ious and suffering myriads demands of our churches that the Gospel be sent hem. Why should we attempt to cultivate the banks of the Ganges, and the

The respected father of Mr. Salisbury had been Vice President of the Society, from its ation till his death, which took place in the course of the past year, at the age of 78. VOL. XV.

4

Indus, while our own rivers roll through a moral desert? Why should we water the hills of Palestine, and leave our own Zion parched and thirsty?

This is the strong language of the objector; but there is a confidence in truth and in a good cause, which fears not the sturdiest assertions, or the most fervid declamation of an adversary. The duty, the immediate and urgent duty, of proclaiming the Gospel to all the heathen, of sounding the trumpet of salvation from every hill and mountain on the habitable globe, and causing its delightful reverberations to wind into even the obscurest vallies, which are trodden by the feet of sinful men, is proved by such incontestible evidence, and is a truth so consonant to the feelings of every pious heart, that it will not be questioned by any well informed Christian, who has paid proper attention to the subject.

That the souls of all men are equally valuable will not be denied; at least, we have no authority to say they are not. Silly indeed it were, and little accordant with the humility of the Gospel, to suppose that we, because we are favored with greater privileges, are inherently of higher value in the creation, than other children of Adam, who, groping in thick darkness, spend their lives in a toilsome round of debasing superstitions;- -or in pilgrimages to Mecca;-or in climbing the mountains of Thibet to render idolatrous homage to a mortal of the same sinful race, or in the worship of demons, and the immolation of human sacrifices. The geins of the Redeemer's crown will not shine with less splendor, if collected in Asia or Africa, than if taken from the fairest parts of Christendom. The joy that bursts from the holy throng, who surround the throne of God, on the announcement that another sinner has repented, is not limited by any consid erations of country, or climate, or complexion. Nor will the redeemed Ethio pian, or Tartar, or New Zealander, enter with less rapture into the song of Moses and the Lamb, than the descendant of Christian parents, who has been a child of God from his early youth, and reached heaven through the portals of an earthly sanctuary.

The truth is, that every immortal soul is of incalculable value; and the evangelizing of such an empire as China is as much more desirable than that of smaller communities, as the swarming population of such an empire is more numerous than theirs. The whole world needs the Gospel; the whole world is to enjoy the Gospel, ere the purposes of the divine mercy be accomplished. This grand consummation is to be effectuated by human means and instruments; and among these instruments it is our part to be employed.

Taking it for granted, then, that every Christian, so far as he discharges his duty, will aim to extend the Gospel to every brother of the species, the only question to be solved is, how can he do this most effectually? or rather, how can he do most toward an object so infinitely desirable? Shall he circumscribe his exertions by the narrow limits of his family, the street which he inhabits, his town, or county, or state, or country; or shall he obey the apostolic injunction to do good to all men, as he has opportunity-a rule of Christian benevolence; equally remote from the sordid selfishness, which neither knows nor cares for the necessities of others, and that pompous philosophy, which prates much about universal philanthropy, and does nothing? In a word, shall he, in imitation of the good Samaritan, prove himself a neighbor to every human being, who comes within the reach of his kind offices, and needs his compassionate assistance?

It is not supposed, or pretended, that an ordinary Christian can offer the Gos pel to numerous and remote people, by his own personal ministration. But what he cannot do in person, another may do, if sent forth by his liberality; and what he cannot do alone, may be easily performed by many acting in concert. In this way it is as practicable to send the Gospel to India, as to send a ship thither for the purposes of trade.

The question then recurs: In which way will the Gospel be most rapidly pro mulgated among men; by confining our exertions to a small circle, till all within its limits are effectually and abundantly supplied with Christian instruction, of by entering into every accessible field, which is white to the harvest? Let th question be decided by the plain dictates of common sense, by the practice Christ and his apostles, and by the express command of the ascending Savior. The decision of common sense on this subject may be easily learned, by obser ing the manner in which active and intelligent men always conduct, in referend to any plan of secular advantage, of humane exertion, or of public improvemen When any such plan has been thoroughly approved by experience, do they wai

1819. Address of the Treasurer of the Boston Foreign Mission Society.

before they attempt its general introduction, till it shall have overcome all prejudices, and fought its way through all opposition, in a particular city or country? No such thing. They introduce it into every place, where its admission is practinot cable. dresu did utat!

We all remember the recent discovery of a mild and safe preventive of one of at the most loathsome and virulent diseases, to which the human body is liable. Did Jenner and his friends wish to confine the benefits of this discovery to their own he metropolis, till all the individuals of that immense population should be persuaded of its efficacy? Or did he, and others like him, at great personal labor and expense, and encountering violent prejudices, convey the salutary antidote to all the most populous regions of the earth? So that thousands of lives were saved at Vienna, at Ispahan, at Calcutta, and in our own country, though multitudes at London may to this hour discredit the discovery, and greater multitudes may neglect to avail themselves of its protection.

And thus it is, with regard to all great improvements in education, in agricul sture, in arts and manufactures, and in civil government. They all have their di opposers, and are obliged to contend with prejudices, and with the tenacity of thestablished custom. The way of introducing them is, to push them forward in amany places at the same time. If obstinacy shall exclude them from one region, they may be gladly received in another; and the probability is, that wherever they are perseveringly urged, they will sooner or later make some progress. Let us look at the practice of infidels, in reference to the propagation of their pernicious doctrines. The greatest of the Latin poets has told us, that we may awfully derive instruction even from an enemy. When Voltaire and his assocates had formed the design of undermining and 1 destroying Christianity, they dnever thought of employing all their mischievous labors in one country, till their Principles had become triumphant there. Not they; but with incredible activity and zeal they plied every artifice, at the same time, in every country, and with all classes of people. They gained the ears of princes; they flattered the pride of philosophers; they pandered to the vices of the vulgar; they condescended to teach atheism and profligacy in every different manner to suit the tastes, the habits, and the prejudices of different men. And thus it was, that they made such frightful inroads upon morals, virtue, and happiness; and that, unless the Spirit of the Lord had raised up a standard against them, they would have triumphed in the destruction of all that is lovely and desirable upon earth. Their intentions we abhor; the means which they employed we detest; but the gener ality of their operations, and the wide extent of their plans, evince a thorough cquaintance with the human character, and a knowledge of the best way of making a cause prevail universally, in the shortest period of time. The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light-Christians have been far too tardy, in profiting by the example of infidels.

Indeed, so plain does it appear, that the planting of Christianity at every accessible point of the heathen world, is the only proper way of accomplishing the object desired, that it might safely be left to the conscience of any reflecting Christian. Let us not take the attitude of objectors, then, but suppose ourselves vested with the responsibility of choosing plans, and of determining what are the most effectual measures, for universally diffusing a knowledge of God's unpeakable gift. Nor is this a vain supposition. At the last day it will be found, at this mighty responsibility did actually rest upon us, whether we were aware fit or not. Suppose, then, that each one of us were required, with a view to all he solemnities of the judgment-day, to choose some plan for evangelizing the world. What would it be, but the very plan of sending the word of God, and missionaries to explain it, into every ignorant and heathen community, where ccess could be obtained. Should we not with one voice exclaim, let no part of he human family be excluded from the messages of love. Should we not

although the sending of missionaries deprives us of the personal serices of the valuable men whom we send, the very excitement, prouced by sending them, raises up ten times as many ministers, equally valuable, supply their places? Should we not feel, that the speediest and most effectual ay of supplying our own growing country with faithful ministers, is to rouse our ambering churches to the duty of providing, so far as means and instruments concerned, for the spiritual exigencies of a perishing world? When awake, alive to the magnitude of this object, such a host of young men, of various

« AnteriorContinuar »