eral attention to the truths of re- | the apoftle, Who is fufficient for ligion. On week days, as well these things? "The diftribution of the So ás on the fabbath, an encouraging number attend lectures, and ap-ciety's books has, I hope, produ pear very attentive and fometimes affected with gofpel truths. 'Tis not uncommon for people to ride five or fix miles to attend an afternoon lecture, and ten or twelve miles on the fabbath. Thefe things I mention to encourage you in the unwearied pains you are taking to promote the great objects of our fociety. Our labor, we hope, is not in vain in the Lord. Infidels in fome inftances are inquiring, Whether that book, they have fo long defpifed and ridiculed, will not prove true at laft? God is King in Zion, and he will fupport his own caufe. The miffionary business is very pleafing to me. The fe rious attention of the people, and their friendly hospitality very far exceed my expectations. I have not in a single inftance been treated with unkindness. "I have preached nearly as often as once a day fince I have been on miffionary ground. There is no difficulty in obtaining hearers, even in the moft bufy seafon. "I have vifited and catechifed fchools wherever I found them, and encouraged them in learning the catechifm. They are generally very ignorant in this refpect. As far as time would permit, I have vifited from houfe to houfe and converfed with families on the concerns of another world. I have much unfaithfulness to lament, but 'tis my prevailing defire to anfwer in fome meafure the great objects of the Society, to acquit myfelf to my own confcience, and to God the Judge of all. The ftation is most important; and I feel fenfibly the exclamation of When fhall my God alone have all my heart, And no rude rival ever dare intrude? O day of joy! And will it come indeed? Yes, it will come; this conflict foon fhall end. The day of my redemption haftens on, Jehovah reigns, and will fubdue my foes: Jelas my Lord will guard me fafely home, That where he is, his incaneft child may dwell. Hail bleft abode of reft and pure delight! The purchase of a dying Saviour's love; Where pain, and fighs, and tears, fo frequent here, Obtain no place, where fin fhall be unknown, Where ev'ry thought fhall centre in my God, And love divine forever fill my breaft. 1. GR Reflections in a season of prevailing fickness. REAT God when men thy laws tranfgrefs, Thy wrath provoke and fpurn thy grace, Thou bidd'ft, and at thy dread command, Difeafe invades a guilty land. 2. All things ftand ready to fulfil 3. Thy patience long have we abus'd, 5. Thou, righteous God, haft brought us low, Subdue our ftubborn fpirits too; Donations to the Miffionary Society of Connecticut. Auguft 26. Tim. Stone, 2d, Guilford, for Indian Miffions, Septem. 6. A Friend of Millions of Franklin, 13. A young Friend of Miffions, D. C. 20 O 80 10 FOR THE CONNECTICUT EVAN GELICAL MAGAZINE. Attempts to Chriftianize the Indians NUMBER XI. | all, Efq. of Bofton, who, at his own charge, built a meeting house for one of the Indian congrega tions.* As the Indians in New-Eng land were taught Christianity by minifters of the congregational denomination, fo their public re ligious exercises bore a refem. blance to thofe performed in the Religious exercifes in the Indian congregational churches of the Congregations a fpecimen of the English. They prayed in their exhortations, or fermons of two affemblies without any pre-comof their teachers, comprehended pofed form: And it was obferved within a narrow compafs-by thofe who understood their State of the Indian Churches language, and occafionally atand Congregations in the year tended their meetings, that many 1687, extracted from a letter of of thofe, who led in their devoDr. Increafe Mather to Profef- tions, prayed with much pertifor Leufden. nence and enlargement. Pfalmody conftituted part of T may be proper to premife, their public worship. Some of that fome of the gofpelized them performed this in a very meIndians quickly built for them-lodious manner. Mr. Eliot prefelves good and large meeting pared a verfion of the Pfalms in houfes, after the English mode, their language in metre. in which alfo, after the English In refpect to their preachingmanner, they attended the things In early times, till they had gain of the kingdom of heaven. Anded more knowledge, and had fome of the English kindly affift- more experience, the public difed them in fuch works-among courfes of the Indian teachers whom ought particularly to be mentioned the Hon. Samuel SewVOL. IV. No. 5. * Magnalia, B. III. p. 201. were rather in the form of a serious, fcriptural exhortation: But they gradually imitated, in fome meafure, the manner of preaching, customary at that day among the New-English divines. great damage had been done to the fruits of their fields. The exhortation of Waban, an Indian, from Matthew ix. 12, 13. "But when Jefus heard that he faid unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are fick." "But go ye, and learn what Mr. Eliot vifited the Indians, and preached lectures as often as he could, on week days; but as his field of fervice was extenfive-that meaneth, I will have mercy, as fo many Indian congregations and not facrifice; for I am not were under his fuperintendence, come to call the righteous, but he found it neceflary to employ finners to repentance." fome of the moft ferious, beft inftructed, and judicious men among them to give a word of exhortation to their brethren on Lord's days, and on other days on fpecial occafions. After fome na years, teachers of their own "I am a poor weak man, and know but little, and therefore I fhall fay but little." "Thefe words are a fimilitude, that as fome be fick, and fome well; and we fee in experience, that when we be fick we need a phyfician, and go to him, and make use of his phyfic; but they that be well do not fo; they need it not, and care not for it: So it is with Soul-Sickness; and we are all fick with that ficknefs in our fouls; but we know it not. We have many, at this time, fick in body, for which caufe we do fast and their teachers, the Chriftian reader this day, and cry to God; but more are fick in their will be pleafed with the air of ferioufnefs in which they appear;eafes, and fickneffes in our fouls, as fouls. We have a great many difand with many pertinent and folemn thoughts which they fuggeft,idlenefs, neglect of the fabbath, In the fpecimen I fhall now give of fome public difcourfes of as arifing from the fubject: The plain garb in which their thoughts are dreft, will not difguft any candid Chriftian : Their apparent fincerity, and zeal to promote practical religion will more than compenfate the want of external ornaments. Serious readers will doubtlefs be gratified with the following exhortations. The firft was delivered on a faft day, when ficknefs was prevalent among themthe other on a day of fafting and prayer on account of exceffive rains, in the year 1658, when pray paffion, &c. Therefore, what Chrift the phyfician; for Chrift fhould we do this day, but go to healed mens' bodies, and he can is the phyfician of fouls: He heal fouls alfo : He is a great Phyfician; therefore let all finners go to him: Therefore this day, know what need we have of Chrift; and let us go to Chrift to heal us of our fins; and he can heal us both foul, and body." Again, what is that leffon, which Chrift would have us to learn, that he "came not to call the righteous, but finners to repentance? What! Does not God love them that are righteous? Does he not call them to him? Does not God love righteoufnefs ? Is not God righteous ? Anfwer, | The righteous here are not meant thofe that are truly righteous; but thofe, that are hypocrites that seem righteous, and are not, that think themselves righteous, but are not fo indeed : Such God calls not, nor does he care for them: But fuch as fee their fins, and are fick of fin, them Chrift calls to repentance, and to believe in Chrift. Therefore let us fee our need of Chrift to heal all our diseases of foul, and body."* The exhortation of Nifhokon from Genefis viii. 20, 21. "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of erery clean beaft, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." "And the Lord fmelled a fweet favor; and the Lord faid in his heart, I will not again curfe the ground." ، A little I fhall fay according to that little I know."+ "In that Noah facrificed he showed himself thankful: In that Noah worfhipped he fhowed him felf godly. In that he offered clean beafts, he fhowed, that God is an holy God: And all that * Mr. Eliot's letter to the Corporation, Lond. 1659, quoted by Mr. Neal, Vol. I. p. 259. t It would be well, if fome modern, extemporaneous teachers, within thefe ftates, whofe education has been poor, and whofe knowledge in theology is but fmall, would imitate thefe honeft, and humble Indian teachers--would contract their difcourfes, by keeping to that point which, at the beginning, they propofed as their fubject. This would be more profitable than a long difcourfe, in which they quickly lofe fight of their text, and introduce a multitude of points in divinity with put any order, or connexion. come to God must be pure, and clean. Know, that we muft, by repentance, purge our felves, which is the work we are to do this day. " "Noah facrificed, and fo wor fhipped. This was the manner of old time. But what facrifices have we now to offer?" I fhall anfwer by that in Pfalm iv. 5. | Offer to God the facrifice of righteoufnefs, and put your truft in the Lord. There are the true, fpiritual facrifices, which he requireth at our hands, the facrifices of righteousness; that is we muft look to our hearts and ways, that they be righteous; and then we fhall be acceptable to God, when we worthip him. But if we be unholy, unrighteous, ungodly, we fhall not be accepted; our facrifices will be ftark naught. Again, we are to put our trust in the Lord: Who elfe is there to truft in? We muft believe in the word of God: If we doubt of God, or doubt of his word, our facrifices are little worth; but if we truft fteadfastly | in God, ourfacrifices will be good." "Once more, What facrifices muft we offer ? My anfwer is, we much offer fuch as Abraham offered : And what a facrifice was that ? We are told in Gen. xxii. 12. Now I know that thou feareft me, seeing thou haft not withheld thy fon, thy only fon from me. It seems he had but one dearly beloved fon, and he offered that fon to God, and fo God faid, I know thou feareft me. Behold a facrifice in deed, and in truth ! Such an ou muft we offer: Only, God requires not us to facrifice our fons, but our fins, our dearest fins. God calls us this day to part with all our fins, tho' ever fo beloved; and we must not withhold any of them from him. If we will not right. Let us part with such fias part with all, the facrifice is not |