the Dutch authorities at Banjer. Africa the slave-trade yet ravages whole tribes; and a general confederacy exists, bent on extinguishing our Christian labours, and on extending the horrors of this piratical traffic. The great enemy, Satan, who has so long kept his dwelling there in peace, has taken alarm at the enlargement of our missions, and our scriptural translations; hence the strife that he endeavours to foment. But his power is limited. A stronger than he cometh; and we are well convinced that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord" ("Mercy for Africa;" a sermon by the rev. W. Jowett)." it The mission has proved hitherto a failure with regard to the adult population, whether Malays, Dyaks, or Chinese. They have been more successful with the young, their schools being attended by upwards of 500 pupils. They have three stations in the interior, to which several out-stations are attached: these stations include churches, schools, and residences for the missionaries. A number of small school-books have been already printed and distributed; and the missionaries continue to employ themselves upon translations, such as may prepare the soil for the good seed. A liberal grant from the Bible Society in London has en- CHINA.-The late Dr. Gutzlaff.-"His arabled them to print the whole of the New Testa-dent spirit of love" (thus writes an English clerment in the Dyak language. At the expense of gyman who attended him in his last moments) the Netherlands Bible Society they are also com66 was a predominant feature in his character. pleting a Dyak version of the Old Testament. As Nothing could shake it. Others might taint it, yet not more than 40 or 50 Dyaks have been bap- but with him it remained unsullied. His unwea tized; but, as each compound has a knot of na- ried perseverance in the exercise of prayer, both tives gathered round it, and receiving instructions, in health and in sickness, was another prominent it is hoped that, by the divine blessing, richer trait in his character. He never expected that it fruit will bo gathered. I would fall to his lot to convert the heathen was his assurance that it would be the Lord's work in gracious answer to the prayers put up for them; hence, whenever his new converts relapsed-and we know that the first Christians would at times relapse also-his manner was to pray the more fervently for them; neither would he murmur at beholding fruits which sprung from the corruption of nature. Nor must we omit to mention, with thanksgivings to God, the extraordinary activity with which he pursued his task. It was his desire that he might die in the missionary work. Every day he gave instruction to three classes of Chinese converts; besides this he preached daily in some quarter or another; and all this was done after he had punctually discharged his official duties-done without any recompence save the peace which it infused into his own bosom, and the joy such labours brought him; and he devoted most liberally out of his own substance towards the sacred cause of missions. If losses overtook him, he would say, 'This is no reason why the work of the Lord should be straitened.' Whenever outward help was lacking, his own purse supplied the deficit; and I am charged to make it known that he had come to the determination-a determination of which the realizing was near at hand-to resign his official appointment, and devote himself wholly to the work of the Lord; for which he would look to no other pecuniary means but his own. The plan upon which he built is an undeniable proof of great wisdom-the sending forth of converted heathens to teach their own fellow-country men. His main error seems to have been one which all servants of the gospel must share with him he hoped too much, and believed too much of his own people. A short time before his decease, he bore witness to his Christian faith, by joyfully receiving the holy sacrament at my hands; and all who were there present felt a blessing attendant upon this ministration such as they had seldom experienced be fore; for how rarely is it permitted us to believe that all who join in such a rite are real members of the mystical body of God's dear Son, which is the blessed communion of all believers! He intelligently repeated every word that fell from WESTERN AFRICA. The Slave Trade."Observe the secret of that success which marks the advancing evangelization of Africa. It is not because the British legislature spreads her shield to protect the rights of the negro race; nor yet because commerce is beginning to see her interests bound up with the annihilation of slavery: it is not because orators have eloquently declaimed, or poets rapturously sung in praise of heaven-born liberty; but it is because Christian men are acting in their true character, taking the compassion of Christ for their pattern, and his Spirit for their guide it is that one word 'grace' that touches their inmost soul. They are sustained by the confident assurance that the gospel is yet to flourish in Africa. God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, will be glorified there, even as with us; and the Spirit of God evidently now moves upon the face of that vast chaos. In this noble conflict the operations of the Church Missionary Society during the past fifty years have been most signally blessed of God. Of her missions, that to West Africa was, in fact, her first-born; and in every spiritual regard it has been her strongest and healthiest. From the period of the abolition till now, she has been continually receiving hundreds and thousands of liberated slaves. She has given them Christian education: she has cooperated with the government in locating them in new-built villages, and there supplying them with ordinances in churches: she has sent them a succession of pastors and teachers: in later years she has established a college for superior education; and recently she has presented to the bishop of London three candidates, who have been admitted by him to holy orders. What now is wanted is the superior hand and mind of a bishop actually resident in Sierra Leone, by whose appointment the benefits already existing in that colony might be multiplied, we may say, almost indefinitely. I have spoken of conflict; for let it not be supposed that this work of mercy has been carried on by the Church Missionary Society and other institutions, or will ever advance, without encountering resistance. That the sys tem of slavery will struggle hard for existence cannot be doubted. Throughout the interior of .... the minister, laying marked emphasis on the wordsgave himself for me,' shed for me.' Shortly before his dissolution, he said, ' Into thy hands I commend my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me, O God of truth! And, when the beloved sharer of his sufferings, from whose hands alone he would accept any support, repeated the precious text, God be praised, who hath given me the victory,' the dying warrior exclaimed, 'Yes, victory!' feebly raising his trembling arm and hand; and a short time afterwards the same dear lips having breathed to him, 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith,' he replied, It is finished!' And these were his last words" (from Neueste Naehr, d. R. Gottes, 54 p. 508, 509). CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.-"The Dutch inhabitants of the towns can read and speak English well; but in the country parts they can neither read, speak, nor understand any English at all; and therefore it is that I wish for Dutch books to give to them occasionally. I find that the sight of our prayer-books removes many of their prejudices; for they have heretofore had a false idea that our church, as episcopal, and with a fixed liturgy, was in some measure popish still; and they find in the book of common prayer that it is quite the reverse. Next to the translation and circulation of the sacred scriptures, in any tongue or land, no book would do more good, or be more acceptable, than the prayer-book" (Correspondence of the Prayer Book and Homily Society). Weekly Almanac. "Noah walked with God."-GEN. vi. 9. H. S. "It was Abraham's commendation that he not only served the Lord himself, but was solicitous that his children and household might serve him likewise. I trust that he, who inclines your heart to walk in the footsteps of faithful Abraham, will bless you in the attempt, and give you peace in your dwelling, a mercy which is seldom enjoyed-which indeed can hardly be expected by those families which call not upon the Lord. I think family prayer cannot be said to be stated unless it is performed at least daily, and, when un .... avoidable hindrances do not prevent, twice a day; The eternal hills beyond the skies: them the divine nature and character of Jesus Christ, and the wonderful plan of redemption accomplished by his incarnation and sufferings, and by his final exaltation to the throne of glory, he goes on to exhort them in these words: "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we bave heard, lest at any time we should let them slip," or run out, as from leaky vessels. "For, if the word spoken by angels was sted fast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" Let us then, my brethren, at this time consider First, the greatness of the salvation of which the apostle here speaks; Secondly, when we may be said neglect it; to Thirdly, the danger incurred by neglecting it. I. The greatness of the salvation here set before us. This salvation is great, in every view in which we can consider it. It is great if we have respect to the Author of it. The author of it is Jesus Christ, "the Author and Finisher of our faith." He is the eternal Son of God, "who was in the beginning with God," "and thought it not robbery to be equal with God" (Phil. ii. 6). Thus, as the apostle writes in the beginning of this instructive epistle, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world; who, being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." "The Author of our salvation," therefore, is not Moses, or any of the prophets, but the Lord of the prophets himself; "concerning whom Moses and the prophets did write;' and whose advent in the flesh they foretold in the most animating language. "The Author of our salvation" is not an angel or an archangel, but One whom all the heavenly hosts are commanded to worship. And was he not a great and highly distinguished character, even when he appeared in his lowest state of humiliation on earth; when his birth was announced by a company of the holy angels; when the wise men of the east came from a distant country to pay him their homage, and to "present to him their gifts," their steps being guided to him by a supernatural star or heavenly light (Matt. ii. 1-11)? Was he not great when he sat in the temple, though only twelve years of age, "in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions" (Luke ii. 46)? Was he not great when he entered on his public ministry, and was baptized in the river Jordan; and when the heavens were opened unto him; and when the Spirit of God, descending like a dove, lighted upon him; and when, lo! a voice from heaven was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. iii. 16, 17)? Jesus Christ was also great when he delivered his sublime doctrines, and "spake as never man spake" before, and clearly revealed the mind and will of God, his heavenly Father. He was great when he performed such innumerable miracles of mercy, and allowed himself no rest, while "he went about doing good" to the bodies and souls of men; when, after the fatigues of the day, he spent whole nights in prayer, and thus poured out his soul to his heavenly Father in mountains and deserts. But the time would fail me were I to enumerate all the instances in which he manifested his greatness, his goodness, his wisdom, his power, his mercy, and his loving-kindness to the children of men. This salvation is also great, if we consider the means by which it is brought about. The plan of our salvation was laid out by Infinite Wisdom, and has fully displayed all the attributes and perfections of God. When man had ruined himself, and was fallen from God, and had lost the innocence and purity in which he was at the first created, and had rendered himself liable to a thousand evils, and finally to death itself, it pleased God to pity his unhappy creature. He did not immediately inflict on him all the punishment which he had deserved, but allowed him a respite, and a space for repentance, and encouraged his hopes of pardon and acceptance, by giving him a promise of a future Deliverer. Our first parents were assured, when they were expelled from Paradise, that "the seed of the woman should afterwards bruise the head of the serpent" (Gen. iii. 15). This promise was renewed to the patriarchs, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and to their pions descendants; and we find it more clearly expressed as we approach nearer to see of God, become the Son of man, was nailed to the accursed tree, suffering the sharpest pains in his sacred body, exposed to the rudest insults from his malicious enemies, and enduring the greatest agonies and distress in his soul, as being then a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, and procuring eternal salvation for mankind, by shedding his own most precious blood for them on the cross! See all nature in convulsions, on witnessing such a spectacle as this; the sun withholding his light, while the earth shook, and the rocks were rent! the time when Christ appeared. Many par- Turn, in the next place, to the New Testament. Behold the Son of God proceeding with this grand design. Behold the heavens open, and the angels desiring to look into those things which he was about to finish! See "the mystery of godliness" gradually unfolded by the manifestation of the Son of God in "the form of man." Follow the divine Redeemer through all his labours, his gracious miracles, his public teaching, his journeys by day, his watchings by night. Observe his healing virtues on the bodies of men. See his almighty power in casting out devils from those who had long been subject to their destructive rage. Listen to his heavenly doctrines, which are capable of giving rest and peace to the "weary and heavy-laden," and to those who have long been under the power of disorderly passions. Accompany him through his last agonies in the garden of Gethsemane; when "his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death;" when "his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood, falling down to the ground" (Luke xxii. 44). Behold him in the judgment-hall, scourged and spitted on, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Follow him to Calvary see him sinking under the load of that cross on which he was shortly to expire. Approach to that awful scene, when the Son After you have taken this view of the great Redeemer, expiring on the cross, and “ "giving his life as a ransom for many," you will be constrained to say, Surely this was indeed a most astonishing work; the salvation which he then wrought for men was a great sal 66 Again, attend at his sepulchre: see him rising from the dead, as the first-fruits of them that slept," and obtaining a complete victory over death and the grave, and securing "life and immortality" to all his followers. Let your eyes also attend him while he ascends above the clouds, and returns to his Father, and "goes up on high, and leads captivity captive, and receives gifts for men, yea, even for the rebellious, that the Lord God may again dwell among them" (Ps. lxviii. 18). Behold him, then, " exalted to the right hand of God, as a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins" (Acts v. 31). The great work of salvation which he began on earth he still carries on, by the ministry of his word, and the agency of his Spirit. To this end he sent down "the Spirit of truth" on his apostles and disciples, after his ascension, that he might "guide them into all truth, and endue them with wonderful gifts, according to his own will, such as the ability of speaking various languages, and the power of working miracles, in order that they might carry the knowledge of his salvation, of his saving grace, to the ends of the earth. And the same divine Spirit is still with his church. He still renders the word of God effectual in enlightening, converting, renewing, and sanctifying the hearts of men. He carries on the work of salvation, and brings men to Christ, and establishes their souls, and prepares them "for the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. i, 12). Surely that salvation which is brought about by such means as these is a great salvation. All the Persons in the sacred Trinity are engaged in carrying on this amazing scheme for the redemption of men. This salvation is also great, if it be considered in itself, and the ends which are accomplished by it. It is the complete salvation of both soul and body, and is a restoration to the blessings and privileges which were lost by the fall of man. It is a deliverance from death and all its consequences "the wages of sin": it is redemption from iniquity: it is the recovering of the divine favour, peace with God, adoption into his family, and the renewal of the soul to holiness and purity, to happiness and joy. It opens the way to the kingdom of heaven for all believers, and gives them an assurance of "an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away" (1 Pet. i. 4). It gives them a sure and stedfast hope that their bodies also shall be raised from the grave, and shall be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things to himself" (Phil. iii. 21). It gives them a lively expectation of being as happy in the eternal world as infinite power and infinite wisdom, joined with infinite love and goodness, will conspire to make them. Surely this is a great salvation which thus promotes the present and eternal welfare of the human race, of all who partake of it, of all true believers. This plan of salvation is also one which greatly advances the glory of God. It exhibits the excellence and goodness of the divine nature, and contains "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." It reveals in perfect harmony all the attributes of God, his justice and mercy, his holiness and truth, his pity and forbearance, his loving-kindness and tender compassion. All those perfections which are the most engaging are put into exercise by his manifold wisdom and almighty power. It contains a height and depth, a length and breadth, which the finite reason of man will not be able fully to comprehend even through all the ages of a happy eternity (Eph. iii. 18, 19). Such is the great salvation which is here set before us a salvation so conducive to the real interests and happiness of mankind, that we might suppose that none would neglect it. Yet, alas! it is by too many shamefully neglected. Let us then consider, II. When we may be said to neglect this salvation. We neglect it when we do those things which are inconsistent with it. Those persons who live in gross and wilful sin are undoubtedly strangers to this great salvation. One principal end of this salvation is to deliver men from sin and all its fatal effects. Those persons, therefore, who live in the practice of sin, clearly show that they have no real desire to partake of the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, as not considering that "he gave himself for us, in order that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." He came indeed into the world to "save his people from their sins" (Tit. ii. 14, Matt. i. 21). He will be the Saviour of none who continue in their sins, in impenitence and unbelief. "The workers of iniquity will be cast out into outer darkness"; and their having here" called him Lord, Lord" will not profit them in the day of wrath. He shed his blood on the cross to make atonement for sin; but they who indulge themselves in evil ways "crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame" (Heb. vi. 6). Christ was manifested in the world, "that he might de stroy the works of the devil," the enemy of God and man; but they who give themselves up to sinful courses frustrate the counsels of God, and pour contempt on the work of Christ, and "do despite to the Spirit of grace," and cut themselves off from eternal life. We are said to be "saved by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit. iii. 5); but those persons whose works are evil, and whose souls are the seats of impure desires, evidently declare that they are in a carnal state, the enemies of God, the disgrace of the gospel, and are still exposed to the penalty of death, even death eternal. Again: you may neglect this salvation, by being so engaged in other things as to forget it and overlook it. The conduct of many leads us to suppose that they never once heard a word about this salvation, or that they think that it is an object not deserving the least attention. They act as if they had not any adequate conception of being in a lost and degraded state. They do not seek an interest in the salvation set forth by the gospel, because they are not aware that they are exposed to endless ruin. They seem to regard this world as their whole concern, and they "set their affection on things below as their chief good. They are altogether alive to the things of time and the objects of sense, and are so engrossed by these that they can bestow no care and thoughts on eternal things. Or, if they are sometimes constrained to acknowledge that this salvation is great, yet it seems but a small matter to them in comparison with something else, something which they can see and enjoy in the present life. It is of small account, they think, if it be compared with worldly riches which afford to their possessors many and great advantages: |