shall humble himself before God and his sparrows and clothes the flowers of the brethren. We will do our outward labour in the name of the Lord; and if any one is remiss, we will remind him of his duty; yet we will not be over-anxious for externals, but cast our care on Him who feeds the field. After this agreement, they strengthened the bonds of their union, by a refreshing participation of the holy sacrament. (To be continued.) TESTIMONIES TO THE LATE REV. JOHN OWEN, At the Nineteenth Anniversary of the British and Foreign Bible Society. [From the London Missionary Register.] IT was to be expected, that at the first anniversary of the British and Foreign Bible Society which should occur after the death of Mr. Owen, the grateful remembrance of those distinguished services of which the Grace of God had made him the instrument, would be a prominent topic with the speakers. From the following extracts of various addresses delivered at the last anniversary, it will appear that this expectation was fully realized. We rejoice to put on record such a series of just and honourable testimonies to the grace of God, manifested in our late friend. of the society's operations were they unknown? LORD TEIGNMOUTH. If I do not meet you with all the pleasure which I have ever felt at the anniversaries of our society, your sympathy will readily suggest the cause of its diminution, in the recollected loss of esteemed associates; and of one in particular, whose presence never failed to add to the interest and the gratification of the day. If, indeed, the prosperity of our institution depended solely on human wisdom and efforts, the loss which it has thus sus tained would be irreparable; for where can the society expect to find another Owen ?-one who, with the most ardent zeal for the unlimited attainment of its object, shall possess such an assemblage of unrivalled qualifications for giving it effect. But I will not indulge my feelings, by expatiating on the pre-eminent endowments of our lamented colleague and secretary: the record of his merits is too deeply engraven on our hearts ever to be obliterated. They were acknowledged and admitted wherever they were known; and where, I may ask, in the wide range In justice to myself, I cannot however omit saying, that I ever felt that cordial esteem and affection for his person, which the qualities of his heart never failed to impress on all who knew him. He had the happiness to witness the great and growing prosperity of the institution to which his labours had so largely contributed; that he was so long spared for its service demands our devout gratitude : his removal inculcates a solemn admonition of increased diligence in the administration of the great concern intrusted to us, under an humble and ex-. clusive dependence on Him alone, who can make it subservient to His glory, and to the happiness of his creatures. LORD BEXLEY. To your lordship it must be a source of great satisfaction to consider, that you have contributed so much to the relief of the spiritual wants of this and other countries: to your lordship, who, like myself, have passed through some of the most laborious scenes of life, what can be so consolatory and delightful as an employment so well connected as this is with the business of the life that now is, and of that which is to come? But it is not to age alone that I would appeal: the service of this society calls for all the zeal and all the exertions of the young and vigorous. Your lordship has referred to one who dedicated his strength, his time, his unrivalled talents, to the service of this society. I will not attempt to add to the panegyric, which, from longer acquaintance and more continued intercourse, your lordship has pronounced, but I will just allude to one circumstance in his character. We all know how eminently he was gifted with the power of satire, and how powerful that weapon is; and yet, assailed as he was from every quarter, he never was provoked to retort on the most unkind, the most obstinate, the most absurd of his opponents, by a reply that could hurt their feelings. It may be long before we again see abilities like his exerted in this cause; but we all can exert ourselves, and imitate in our degree his disinterested zeal, his active labours, his devotedness to the work. He is gone to his reward- -a reward which awaits all those who sincerely labour in the cause of the gospel. BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER. The report has afforded ample cause for gratification and praise: our work is proceeding: but we have lost ONE chief instrument. The triple cord has been broken, which linked three individuals together, harmonizing in their minds and endowments for the work which they had in hand. Praise is, indeed, almost withheld from the living, in an assembly like this; but that obstacle is removed from the dead and we can now bestow our full share of applause, without any of fence to personal modesty, and without any suspicion of interested flattery. He, whom we all lament, was the friend of all who love the Bible Society: he is removed from us, and what is our consolation? Thanks be to God, we have two strong consolations. The loss of a hero, of a statesman, or a philosopher, is rarely alleviated by any reference to futurity: when we look at their past achievements, we allow they were great and useful in their time; yet not, in general, with any reference to eternity; but the loss of a labourer in this cause-the loss of a chief labourer-the loss of an Owen, affords the consoling thought, that his life was sacrificed to his labours for the Bible: his life is, as it were, bound up with that Bible; and, like the names of the translators of our version, bound up with it for ever: he is gone to his rest, and his works do follow him, as the fruits of faith, and accepted only through that incarnate word whom he preached, and whom he delighted to exhibit through the medium of the written word. This is one consolation; but I am well convinced that we shall find another. We have a promise of a worthy successor, respecting whom I would only say, may it please Almighty God to give him all that temper, that judgment, that attachment to his colleagues, that attentive regard to all connected with the society, that zeal and perseverance which shone in him whom he has succeeded. Then our regrets will be softened down to an affectionate recollection; and our great cause will hold on its undeviating course, with undiminished energy and unimpaired success. REV. JOSEPH HUGHES. My lord, if, while offering my grateful acknowledgments at the last anniversary, I referred, with deep solicitude, to the indisposition of a revered and invaluable colleague, what must be my sorrow, in common with your own, while, in the discharge of the same duty, I now remind you, that our friend has been followed by a long train of mourners to the grave ! Truly, and most pathetically, has a distinguished prelate remarked, this day, "The triple cord has been broken." Let us, however, embrace the comfort derived from the recollection, that the cord was preserved entire for eighteen years; and that neither apostacy, nor indifference, nor strife, nor any kind of moral failure, can be quoted as the cause of its disruption: it yielded only to the stroke of death-that awful power, which is permitted to dissolve so many other virtuous and happy bonds. And, after all that can be uttered, expressive of lamentation, it is but in reference to an official connection, a partnership known from the hour of its formation to be of a temporary nature, that the cord can be said to be broken, and the bond dissolved. The indi viduals, who have ceased to co-operate as secretaries, will, I trust, never cease to feel as friends: their very intercourse is but suspended; it remains only for death to sever from the community of mortals those who as yet survive a fellow-labourer so much endeared; and then, if indeed they all find mercy of the Lord, they shall renew their intereourse, and that intercourse shall be more exalted and felicitous than it ever could be in a world like this and it shall be eternal. With such a hope on each others behalf, all the pious promoters of the British and Foreign Bible Society aim, under the divine blessing, to insipire the breasts of millions. Turning from those solemn views, which show that our institution has been visited with a most afflictive bereavement, my mind traces, in the character and temper, the capacity and attainments, of Mr. Owen's successor, so many streams of relief and consolation. My highly respected foreign colleague and myself are prepared to give him, what we doubt not he will more and more receive from the religious public-a cordial welcome: on his part, I am persuaded, nothing would be uttered with more strength of feeling, were he in the midst of this assembly, than his request, that the prayers of all the devout might combine to bring down upon the society, through the me: dium of his exertions in its behalf, fresh tokens of God's favour and benediction. REV. ROBERT Newton. The operations of this society, during the past year, have been made to pass before us in detail, and our hearts have been dissolved into mingled feelings of gratitude to Him from whom all good counsels, and all just works proceed. Yet I cannot forget the emotions of sympathy, and those feelings of a mournful kind, which have so generally mingled with those of another description, to which I have adverted; and if so obscure an individual as myself may turn to this subject, my apology is, that our late clerical secretary was the friend of all who were friends of this society. Again and again have my eyes been directed to the spot where that distinguished individual was wont to sit on these occasions; but no! though I looked, he was not to be perceived. He has fought the fight, and kept the faith, and now, at the command of his great Master, he has put off the harness, and put on the crown. eyes, accustomed to sparkle with living fire, are closed in death, and that once eloquent tongue, to which enraptured multitudes have listened, now lies silent in the grave. But, my lord, though dead, he yet speaketh: he lives with the spirits of the just before the throne: he lives in the affectionate and grateful recollection of the members and friends of the British and Foreign Bible Society at home and abroad, in every part of the world where its influence is known and felt: he Those lives an illustrious example of piety and charity, of zeal and assiduity, which he has left to us, and most sincerely do I unite in the wish, that the mantle of this ascended Elijah may fall on many an Elisha who may be left behind. Reports of Societies. NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BAPTIST BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. PRESENTED IN WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, APRIL 30, 1823. In the introduction to this report, the managers remark-"As might reasonably have been expected, much has occurred which calls for humiliation and sorrow; but they are happy in stating, that still more has arisen in the progress of the government of the Lord Jesus, which furnishes occasion for exultation and praise. The board has reason to believe that, if in some sections of our country the missionary spirit has languished, the deficiency has resulted from the absence of exterior excitement; from the want of more comprehensive ideas as to the fields and advantages of missionary efforts; or from the influence of mistaken apprehensions of the duty and honours of the disciples of Christ. They persuade themselves that where the hand has been closed, and the resources of Christian benevolence have appeared as streams in autumn, the grand principles of love to the Redeemer, and benevolent desires for the salvation of millions that are perishing in their crimes, and degraded by their superstitious follies, still remain. Nothing more is needed than, with wisdom and affection, to bring these principles into virtuous operation." Burman Mission. In reviewing the several mission stations, Burmah, the region which first engaged the pious sympathies, and the resolute efforts, of the convention and its board, solicits consideration. The providence of God distinctly pointed to this region as the primary circle in which the spirit of missions, among the Baptist denomination, should shed its influence. Succeeded with the blessing of the Lord of the harvest, the convention has not laboured in vain. Animated by that living flame, which no ideas of difficulty and distance can render obscure, the hopes of the friends of Christ have been realized, and their fervent and united supplications answered. Persecution was apprehended; but the storm has been restrained. Conversions to God were, by some, con sidered as visionary; yet eighteen Burmans have been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost! A church has been formed; its native members have, in general, maintained the firmness of a rock in their holy profession; inquirers are increasing, and it is believed that the mission there was never in a higher state of prosperity, or opened before the expectations of the board a scene more encouraging. The New Testament, there is reason to believe, in the Burman language, has been completed, by the unwearied effort and discriminating talent of brother Judson. The health of Mrs. Judson is improving. It is devoutly hoped, from the good offices of the emperor of Burmah, exercised towards VOL. IV. 38 your missionaries, that the time is not distant, if it have not already arrived, when the religion of Jesus shall be taught in Burmah without the dread of the inhibitions of royalty, the availing resentments of the priesthood, or the anxieties which interrupt and enfeeble popular inquiry. Your board long and pray for the season when the "golden feet," swift no more to shed blood, shall be "shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Our missionary, brother Hough, has resumed his labours in the evangelizing and printing departments, and it is hoped will, prove a valuable assistant at Rangoon. Arrakan Mission. The interruption of missionary endeavours among the Arrakanese, occasioned by the decease of the amiable and persevering Colman, and by the temporary removal of his mourning widow to Calcutta, it is expected will not continue long. The the Serampore mission, is now engaged Rev. Mr. Fink, a worthy brother from in that section of Christian service, and the board are satisfied that it will be quite acceptable to the brethren at Serampore that American exertions should mingle with their own. Indian Missions. The first impressions attempted in the name of the Lord, by brother M'Coy, on the moral condition of the Indians, took place at a station not so far west as Fort Wayne. Several considerations induced the board to wish his removal to the late site of the mission, and considerations of a similar character have prompted them to instruct him to settle in Michigan, in the very heart of the nation of the Putawottomies. At this station, buildings are rising, and the Indians, by their fervent requests and liberal contributions, are inviting the continuance of Mr. M'Coy among them. It is expected a new station, in the course of a few months, will be established among the Ottowas. Mr. Johnston Lykins is a valuable assistant to Mr. M'Coy, and it is expected that the Rev. Peter Thurston will soon enter into these western labours. The board are still impressed with the conviction that it becomes the friends of missions to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth more labourers into this portion of the whitening fields. The mission planted at the Valley Towns, under the care of the Rev. Mr. Posey, and now under the more immediate superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Roberts, is quite in a flourishing condition. The pupils are numerous, among whom are several who appear to be serious believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. A spirit of solemn inquiry evidently gains ground. The worship of God is attended with seriousness. Among the inquirers are several chiefs. An accession was made to that mission in the fall of 1821 of three families, and three persons in single life-the whole number twenty-six. They live happily with each other, and encourage each other's hands in the work of the Lord. At its last meeting, the convention instructed the board to co-operate with their brethren of the United Associations in Georgia, for the purpose of establishing a mission among the Creek Indians. This they have cheerfully done. They have voted $5,000, to be drawn for in six drafts, at 60 days distant, during the present year. The intelligence which they have received from the Rev. Mr. Mercer, Powelton, Georgia, is truly encouraging. The mission is under the superintendence of a brother, highly approved and recommended by them, of the name of Compere. It is certain that this, and our other stations, will derive considerable assistance from the government of the United States. The board are impressed with a conviction that it is their duty to widen the scope of their exertions as much as in their power; but must refer it to the convention to ascertain in what direction this important design may best be accomplished; and at the same time solicit their energies in reviving the spirit of missions throughout the union, by such arguments and measures as their wisdom and piety may suggest. The minutes of this board will show that it is their wish to assist their brethren of New-York state, engaged in the mission among the Oneida Indians, to the utmost of their power. An application from those brethren for $500, the board has the pleasure of submitting to the convention. Columbian College. The Columbian College, in the District of Columbia, will offer to the convention a full statement of its present important and promising condition. It is unnecessary to say more than that when the board and the trustees of the college have found an interchange of counsels and endeavours necessary, a very pleasing degree of harmony has subsisted. The same harmony has pervaded the meetings of the board itself. Its members have often been filled with anxious cares, as well as with causes for joy. They have endeavoured, as they trust, to discharge the duties assigned them, in the fear of the Lord, and with an eye directed to the honour of the Messiah, and the salvation of thousands. Their doings aré presented for your inspection. They shall feel happy, if, in addition to the testimony of their own consciences, they find that their measures are approved by the convention, and especially by Him whose favour is life! |