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ist, -that God would be pleased to lift upon me the light of his countenance, whereby I could obtain true peace of mind.-After retiring, took up the holy Bible to find the text, in order to read the context, in hopes to find some word to comfort my troubled heart and distressed unind: but failed in the attempt, the text being mentioned before I got there; and I could not recollect in which of the Evangelists it was contained; therefore, thought I would turn to some portion of the Old Testament, and opened to Isaiah; and looking along, cast my eye upon the 40th chapter, and read as follows: "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God; speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned," &c.Truly, it was a word in season: never before did I read with so much delight; indeed, I had not read but very few verses, before every word appeared to be full of divine beauty; and thus I continued to read a number of chapters by course, which led me to meditate upon the being of God, and upon his divine attributes, as the supreme Governor of the world, and to rejoice with the Psalmist in his government, and to adopt the words, "The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice, let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof; though clouds and darkness are round about him, yet righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne," and to rejoice that there was such a Being that would judge the world in righteousness, and to delight in the

ted them to memory to repeat in my leisure moments of retirement, as corresponding with my feelings, and the language of my heart. But, notwithstanding, the thoughts of death were irksome, and even wondered why it was thus with me, that while I took so much satisfaction in religious services, that I felt no more willingness to die, than I usually had done before;and still wondered how it was that they obtained such lively hopes; that being the mark which I had set to try myself by, resolved to pursue the prize, and not to content myself with any thing short of that, if possible to be obtained. In the mean time Doct. L. gave me an invitation to attend an evening lecture up town sometime in October, which I very thankfully accepted, in hopes that it would be a mean of affording me some light upon that all-important and interesting subject, which, in some degree, had the desired effect. Hearing a sermon preached from these words, by Mr. H. "Peace I leave with you, peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you," &c.; together with conversing upon the subject, very much affected me, and produced in my mind a strong desire after reconciliation and peace with God, as the only thing conducive to my happiness here, and hereafter: and even thought, if I was in possession of the whole world, it would afford me no satisfaction, without peace with God; and with the latter, I could be happy without the former, if ever so adverse which led me to implore reconciliation with God, in the words of the Psalm-law of God after the inner man; VOL. VI. No. 12.

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which caused me to view, with astonishment, my past ingratitude, and rebellion against God: reflecting that I had been all that time quarreling against him, and, at the same time, imagining that I loved him, and did his service, and kept his cominandments, when quite the reverse : that, truly, the heart was "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:" that I had been "hewing out to myself cisterns, broken cisterns, that could hold no water:"-that it was not owing to any goodness in me, or that my heart was any better than others, that I had not been guilty of gross immoralities; but to the kind care of providence, or his restraining grace:that it was he that had made me to differ, in that respect; but that I was "a child of wrath, even as others;" and that the carnal mind is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, (as saith the inspired apostle):-that I had been contending with the justice of God, in condemning me, thinking that I had not been guilty of any sin worthy of everlasting punishment: but now I could view myself unworthy of the least of his mercies; and that God would be perfectly just, in punishing me to all eternity, and that he would be glorified in so doing; and that it was of his mercies, that I had not been consumed; because his compassion failed not that I had not been cut down as a cumberer of the ground; and to admire at the long-suffering of God. I had nothing to plead, but for mercy, and with the publican, to smite on my breast, and cry, God be merciful to me, a sinner, a great

sinner, and even the chief of sinners, and to loath and abhor myself on account of sin. Indeed my sense of sin, and load of guilt was so great, that it appeared to me, that I could Bot long have existed under them, if these texts of scripture had not been brought to my mind, and received by faith:-that Christ died for sinners, the chief of sinners, and even for such an one as I was:-that "he was the way, the truth and the life, and that no man cometh to the Father, but by him:"--whom having not seen I loved, and who, though now I see him not, yet in him I would rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and say with good Simeon of old, in the words of the poet

"Now let me die like Simeon,

With Christ in my arms :"and that well might the Christians rejoice, in the near views of the dissolution of the body, with the hope of their soul's being united to Christ beyond the grave, never to be separated from his delightful presence to all eternity :-that truly, there was enough in him to make even death desirable; and that if it was the will of God to call me hence, to be here no more, that I could feel willing and resigned, and even could rejoice in such an event. Then, it pleased God to grant me the utmost of my desires, and even more than I wished, or even thought of, and at a time when I least expected it, -viewing myself utterly unworthy of such a manifestation of his abundant mercy, and even of the least. Then did my heart arise with incessant thanksgiving and praise to God, and wished

every body to assist me in the Thus, I continued for three or

delightful employment; and to call upon my soul, and all my powers, together with the whole eration, to help me to praise the Lord: for indeed, I could not be thankful enough that I had not been left to take up with nothing short of Christ; and to view the hand of God in all the work, and to give all the glory to the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And with the Psalmist in these words " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name: bless the Lord. O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities! O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever:" and that text had been verified in me, as one that stood a living monument of God's forbearance and long-suffering!-" Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men."

four days successively, constantly in the exercise of such like aspirations of thanksgiving and praise. The Sabbath following heard you preach from these words: "If the ministration of condemnation be glory, how much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory!"-'Truly, methought I had found the ministration of condemnation to be glorious, and the ministration of righteousness far exceed in glory. It was a most delightful and interesting subject to me; never before did I enjoy such a Sabbath; truly, it was a day, the best of the seven, and a day spent in the house of God, in such a manner, better, far better, " than a thousand elsewhere."

Truly, the ways of religion are ways of pleasantness, and all. her paths are peace: for the favor of God is life, and his lovingkindness better than life.

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

An Address to the Christian Public on the Subject of Missions to the Heathen, and Translations of the Scriptures.

In behalf of the American

Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the subscribers, a committee for the purpose, beg leave to solicit the attention of the Christian public to the cause in which the Board is engaged, and for the promotion of which it was originally instituted, and has been since incorporated. We are not backward to state, at the commencement of this address, that we

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shall lay before the reader, with great satisfaction, some of the facts and reasons, on which our attachment to this cause is founded, and which, we are sure, will not fail to commend themselves to every enlightened conscience, and to make an impression on every pious heart. The cause itself is transcendently glorious, and deserving of the warmest approbation of all men, however imperfectly, or feebly, we may state its claims. To doubt, or hesitate, in regard to the urgency of these claims, and the duty of keeping them habitually in view, would be equally repugnant to our feelings, and dishonorable to our profession as

Christians. Can it be a matter of doubt, or of indifference, to any man, who has the Scriptures in his hands, and has profited by perusing them, whether Christianity is to become, at some future day, the religion of all mankind? whether its transforming power is universally to influence the hearts and the lives of men? whether the word of God is to be read, understood, and obeyed, by the nations now sunk in idolatry and ignorance?-whether this grand consummation is to be effected by the means which men are voluntarily to supply? or whether there is an imperious necessity that Christians should zealously co-operate in this great work of the Lord?

The object of the Board is onethe promulgation of Christianity among the heathen. The means, by which this object is designed to be effected, are of two kinds; the publication and distribution of the Scriptures in the different languages of the nations; and the support of faithful missionaries to explain, exemplify, and impress on the mind, the great truths which the Scriptures

contain.

In regard to the distribution of the Scriptures, the Board is in fact, though not in name, a FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY; and, under this aspect, we earnestly request that its advantages may be considered by all, who would joyfully place the bible in the hands of pagaus. Confined in its operations to no part of the globe in exclusion of other parts, the Board can extend the sovereign balm wherever there are spiritual maladies to be healed; enjoying the benefit of established plans of correspondence and co-operation, the result of its proceedings can be more prompt, than could otherwise be expected; and having its attention long fixed on the most promising fields of exertion, its agents will acquire a facility of action, which can never be applied to single, insulated, and sudden efforts. Through the instrumentality of the Board, every charitable person, however retired or obscure, has it in his power to send the bible to those very heathens than whom none of the human race can need it more, and on whom

there are peculiar encouragements to bestow it. A known, regular, uninterrupted channel will be kept open, (with the blessing of Providence,) through which the streams of American beneficence may flow into the centre of the pagan world, and contribute to fertilize regions which have long been dreary and barren of all moral good. And shall not these streams increase, till they form a mighty river, flowing with a steady and resistless current, and bearing on its bosom the immortal hopes of restored Jews, and the imperishable riches of converted Gentiles? Will not many of our countrymen esteem it a high privilege, that their contributions, at whatever season bestowed, may in a few months and without care or trouble to themselves, be so applied, even in the remote eastern hemisphere, as to commence a series of good effects, which shall never end, and the num ber and magnitude of which no human powers can calculate? A single bible given to a Hindoo, or a Ceylonese, may be the means of enlightening a family, of arousing the attention of a neighborhood, of withdrawing a multitude from Idolatry, leading them to procure the Scriptures for themselves, and turning them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to the living God.

It is a fact highly gratifying to the Board, that the liberality of Christians has devolved on them the duty of remitting, in the course of the vear past, bills of exchange to the amount of about eight hundred and sixty pounds sterling, to aid in the translation and distribution of the Scriptures in Asia; a sum which will produce as much in India, according to the present rates of exchange from London to Calcutta, as would be produced by remitting four thousand dollars in specie, after deducting from that sum the peace rates of freight and insurance. Though it is a pleasing reflection, that some part of this money may even now have been expended, and contributed to supply the spiritual wants of numbers, vet we are not to forget, that a few thousand Bibles cannot suffice for many millions of inhabitants; that the demand for the word of God

will be more urgent, the more a, have distributed a considerable num

knowledge of it is disseminated, and that the united efforts of all Christians, in all parts of the world, are demanded, and will be demanded for many years to come, in this single branch of charity.

We might state a multitude of facts, all tending to prove, that the encouragement to distribute the Scriptures in Asia is continually increasing. From the journal kept by Peter, a native missionary of the cross, it appears, that throughout a long journey in Orissa, a part of Hindostan, performed in the Autumn of 1811, he found great numbers of persons, who heard him with attention when he preached, and were very anxious to receive from him copies of the Scriptures. In stating his labors on a particular Lord's day, he says, "some sat down with me for two hours at a time, reading the New Testament and hearing it explained. Others earnestly intreated for a New Testament, or a tract; and when they had obtained their request seemed as glad as if they had gained some rich prize." ""At Bhudruka, as well as in the way to it," says the same writer, "I preached Jesus to multitudes. The people seemed so eager for books, that I

think I could have distributed a thousand if I had had them." On a subsequent day, he writes thus: "I sat from 12 o'clock till seven in the evening reading and explaining the word of God. I gave away many tracts; also two Testaments to two very sensible Ooriyas, [i. e. natives of Orissa,] one of whom appeared very serious and attentive, and after I had departed to my lodgings, came and inquired very particularly about the way of salva

tion"

Two other missionaries write thus: "The poor heathen are much surprised to hear the gracious news of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You would admire to see with what gladness they accept the Orissa Testaments at our hands. They say they never thought the Firingees had such a good book! We *"That is, the unclean; a name given by them to all who were without cust"

ber of Testaments in the country, and have had the pleasure of sending one to Pooree, and the Brahmans of Jugunnath [Juggernaut] received it gladly. They wanted to pay for it, but we strictly charged the bearer to present it without taking any thing for it."

Important, however, as the distribution of the Scriptures among the heathen, in their own languages, is held to be by us, and by the Christian public generally, it should never be forgotten, that the preaching of the Gospel in every part of the earth, 'is indispensable to the general conversion of mankind.Though the Scriptures alone have, in many individual cases, been made the instrument of regeneration, yet we have no account of any very extensive diffusion of Christianity, unless where the truths of the Scriptures have been preached.Were the Were the heathen generally to receive the Scriptures, and anxious to learn divine truth, they would, like the Ethiopian eunuch, apply for instruction to those who had been previously acquainted with the same Scriptures; and when asked if they understood what they had read, would reply, How can we, except some man should guide us? The distribution of the Bible excites inquiry and often leads those who receive that precious book to attend public worship in the sanctuary ; but the preaching of the Gospel is, after all, the grand mean appointed by Infinite Wisdom for the conversion and salvation of men. Without this, the scriptures, however liberally distributed, will have comparatively little effect among any people, whether pagan or nominaliy

Christian. This assertion is not on

ly approved by reason, but abundantly confirmed by the history of the Church, and the express declaration of God's word. Whosoever, says the great apostle to the Gentiles, shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall

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