The Joyful Sound reaching to both the
INDIA's.
A Discourse delivered unto the COMMISSIONERS, for Propagating the GOSPEL among the INDIANS, On 18.
d. XI.
m. 1720. A Time Set apart for Supplications to Heaven for a Blessing on their Intention, at the House of Judge
SEWALL.
Blessed is the People, that know the Joyful Sound.
THERE was a Direction given and taken in the Old Church of Israel, Numb. X. 2. Make thee Two Trumpets of Silver, that thou mayst use them for the calling of the Assembly. By the Sound of [Page 2]such Silver Trumpets, the People of GOD' were called unto the Employments and Enjoyments of their Sacred Solemnities. And, was this the Joyful Sound, which the People that heard it, are now Pronounced a Blessed People? I deny not, the Reference here-unto, which may be here supposed. But then, we will suppose a further Intent of the Holy Spirit, by whom the Psalm was dictated. He may intend the Joyful Sound, which in the Gospel, and the Institutions thereof, His People are Blessed withal. And accordingly, It will be no wrong unto the Text, if we put it unto the use, of Supporting this DOCTRINE.
Glorious is the Blessedness of the People, who truly Know the Joyful Sound, which in and with the Glorious Gospel of the Blessed GOD, and the Institutions thereof, arrives unto us.
In the Gospel, and the Ordinances of it, there is a Joyful Sound, which we are made partakers of. A True Knowledge of this Joyful Sound, will render the People that have it, a Blessed People.
Let us proceed more distinctly, in Three Propositions, to consider what we have before us.
[Page 3] I. THERE is a Joyful Sound, which is to be heard among the Children of Men, where the Gospel is Published, and where the Ordinances of it are Established. The Sound of the Silver Trumpets which Entertained the Ancient Israelites, in and for their Solemn Assemblies, was no less Typical than Musi [...]al. In these Days of the New-Testament, we have the Substance of the Instrumental Musick, which was of old used in the Worship of GOD; the Shadow is vanished away. The Shadow was of old confined unto the Temple; But the Substance we have now in every Synagogue. The usage of Instrumental Musick in our Publick Worship of GOD, hath been long since disrelished among His Faithful People. Justin Martyr long ago exploded it. Yea, Aquinas, himself as late as less than Five hundred Years ago decried it. Indeed, it was one of the Last Things which the Man of Sin introduced, in the Worship of our SAVIOUR, which he had already fill'd with a Multitude of Superstitions. We will then for the present look on the Jewish Trumpets, and Organs too, as a part of the Abrogated Pedagogy. Yea, but the Trumpets of the Gospel, these we have still sounding in our Ears. But the Sound has diverse properties assign'd unto it, which it will be proper for us, now to take notice of.
[Page 4] There is a Sound in the Gospel, and the Ordinances thereof; And it is, first, A Great Sound. Oh! were we so much in the Spirit on the Lords Day, as to hear, what is to be heard in the Gospel then brought unto us, we should be able to say, I heard a Great Voice, as of a Trumpet. There is a famous Prophecy; Isai. XXVII. 13. The Great Trumpet shall be blown, and they that were ready to perish, shall come and worship the Lord. Whatever other Accomplishment this Prophecy may have, it is very gloriously accomplished in the Proclamation which our SAVIOUR in His Gospel makes unto us. The Gospel, as with the Sound of a Trumpet, invites the Sinners ready to perish, O come, and worship, and obey, and enjoy the Lord. And when this Great Trumpet is blown, Great, Great is the Sound thereof. The Sound of the Trumpet is Great in the Extent of it. We read, Rom. X. 18. The Sound goes into all the Earth. In less than Forty Years, it reached unto the utmost Bounds of the vast Roman Empire; and tho' Satan Seduced numbers of Miserables into America, that they might be out of its hearing, it has now reached hither also. The Silver Trumpets were at first but a Couple, for the Two Sons of Aaron; but afterwards in Solomons Time, we find an hundred & twenty [Page 5] Silver Trumpets all Sounding together. Before the Incarnation of our SAVIOUR, His Gospel was heard but a little way. Afterward, it Sounded far and near, and the Gospel was Preached unto every Creature: It might be said, It Sounds in every Place. The Sound of the Trumpet is also Great in the Effect of it. A Loud Sound indeed; so Loud, as to Awaken them that have a Dead Sleep upon them! So Loud, as to convey Life unto them that Ly Dead in Trespasses and Sins! Yea, Joh. V. 25. The Hour now is, when the Dead hear the Voice of the Son of GOD, and Live. The Sound of this Trumpet fetches back the Lost Souls of all the Elect, from the power of Satan unto GOD. They are not Silver Trumpets, that are now Sounding unto us; But they are Saving Trumpets! Faith comes, the Love of GOD comes, the Love of our Neighbour comes, and the Foretaste of Heaven comes, by the Hearing of them. What are they, But the Power of GOD unto Salvation!
Secondly; 'Tis a Good Sound, as well as a Great one. No Trumpets can give so Good, so Grateful, so Lovely, a Sound, as the Trumpets of the Gospel do. Fame often in her Trumpet, has a Sound, which may not be relied upon; But every Trumpet of the Gospel, [Page 6]gives a Sound, of none but Faithful Sayings, and worthy of all Acceptation. We are told; Prov. XXV. 25. As cold water to a Thirsty soul, so is Good News from a far Country. In the Trumpets of the Gospel, we have the Sound of nothing but Good News from a far Country. The Sound which we hear in the Trumpets of the Gospel, is what was once heard from the Mouth of an Angel; Luk. II. 10. Behold, I bring you Good Tidings of Great Joy, that unto you there is born a SAVIOUR. Wherever the Gospel comes, there is a [...]ound of this Tenour; Good News for you who by your Sins have the Face of GOD hidden from you; There is a JESUS, who saves His People from their Sins. Good News for you who have the wrath of GOD abiding on you. There is a JESUS, who delivers from the wrath to come. The Joyful Sound, which here distinguishes a Blessed People, may carry some Allusion to the Trumpets of Jubilee, heard once in Fifty Years, among the Israelites. Once in Fifty Years, there was that custom observed; Lev. XXV. 10. Then shalt thou cause the Trumpet of the Jubilee to sound, and ye shall proclaim liberty throughout the Land. Certainly, The Trumpets of September, proclaiming the Acceptable Year of the Lord, made a very Good Sound unto the Poor People that were now to see a [Page 7]Release from various Miseries: A Good sound unto the Servants, who were now to call for and to take up their [...]dentures: A Good sound unto the Debtors, whose Mortgages were now Expired and whose Tenements return'd unto them. Thus where the Gospe [...] arrives, it brings a Jubilee with it. It proclaims a Liberty for the Captives; a Redemption for the Miserable; a Recovery of what we have Sinn'd away. 'Tis the Gospel of Peace; The Trumpets of the Gospel, are Trumpets of Peace. The Sound of these Trumpets is, A Reconciliation with GOD obtained for Sinners; The Anger of GOD now turn'd away from those, whom He was once Angry withal! The Trumpets which gave the Law, had a Sound that was trembled at. The Guilty Sinner hearing those Trumpets, may have it said of him, A Dreadful sound is in his Ears. The Sound of those Trumpets is, Cursed is he that continues not in all things to do them. The Gospel of our Salvation, this is a much more pleasant Sound than so. The Sound of it is, Grace Grace! The Grace that will [...]ard [...] the Penitent! The Grace that will Quicken the Impotent! The Grace that will heal them that Languish under all sorts of Maladies!
No wonder then, if thirdly, it be a Glad [Page 8]sound, when we find it such a Good One. A Joyful sound! The Souls that are Effectually Called by the Sound of the Gospel, how Joyful does it render them! The Trumpets of the Gospel do to the Soul, as the Harps of David unto Saul; They drive away the Evil Spirit of Sorrow, of Sadness, of Despair. The Psalmist could say, Psal. CXXII. 1. I was glad, when they said unto me, Let us go into the House of the Lord. The Trumpets which gave a Joyful sound unto the Blessed People, had this among other Intentions of them, They were for the Calling of the Assembly. Glad, Glad at Heart, was that Israelite indeed, when he heard the Trumpets give that call; Come away to the Sacrifices! The Trumpets of the Gospel call us, to those Appointments of GOD, wherein we are to Glorify Him with the Sacrifices of Righteousness; And how glad will a sincere Christian be of such Invitations! But then, in these Appointments of GOD, What is it we meet withal? Enough to make us, Rejoyce with Joy unspeakable, and full of Glory! The Tenders of a SAVIOUR, a Powerful, a Merciful, an only SAVIOUR, are here made unto us. Oh, the Joyful sound of such Tenders! The Promises of a most Gracious Covenant, are here brought unto us. These very Great and Precious Promises, Oh, [Page 9]the Joyful sound of them. The Sound of these Promises is, Rejoyce, O thou saved Soul; GOD the Father is thy Friend; GOD the Son is thy Surety for Good; GOD the Spirit is thy Condu [...]r and [...]omforter; Be of Good cheer, Thy [...] are forgiven thee. The Angels are thy Gu [...]dians, T [...]ou art a Temple of GOD. GOD will make all things work together for thy good. And were are the Spiritual Blessings of the Heavenly Places reserved for thee! Oh! Joyful sound! How Reviving, how Ravishing! When the Gospel was Preached with Success, we read, Act. VIII. 8. There was great Joy in the City. Well might there be so, on such a Joyful sound! How Joyful is the Souldier, when the Trumpets invite him, To the Spoil! To the Spoil! The Joyful sound of the Gospel carries this in it: Else it had not been said, I rejoyce at thy Word, as one that findeth great Spoil. The Blessings which the Word of GOD leads us to, are Matchless Treasures. What a Joyful sound must it be, that leads us to them!
II. In order to Blessedness, it is Requisite, not only that we Have, but also that we Know, the Joyful Sound, which is brought unto us, in the Gospel, and in the Ordinances of it. Indeed, in a larger sense, [Page 10]To Have the Joyful sound, is to Know it. A People that Have the Gospel, and Know the Joyful sound, in the External Enjoyment of it, these do Enjoy a Rich Favour of GOD. The Places which Enjoy the Scriptures, and have the Church state, with the Faith & Order of the Gospel, are therein highly Favoured of the Lord. Gideons Fleece, wet with the Dews of Heaven, when the Ground all about is Dry, has a singular Token for Good upon it. The Sound of the Trumpets which proclaim the Kingdom of GOD, is heard in some Happy Lands, while others are left unacquainted with it: Even so, Righteous Father, Because it pleases thee! And so far they have a Singular Happiness. It may be said unto them, as in Matth. XIII. 16. Blessed are your Eyes, for they see, and your Ears, for they hear. Such a People are in some Degree the Favourites of Heaven. They have the Kingdom of Heaven in some Essay of it among them. Where the Trumpets of the Gospel are Sounding, we may say, The Lord is near. Yea, the Name of that City, that Country, is, JEHOVAH SHAMMAH, The Lord is there. A People who so far Know the [...] sound, are after a peculiar manner Known [...] the King of Heaven; He may say to such; Amos III. 2. You only have I known. But, [Page 11]alas, Many who so far Know the Joyful sound, may after all come to ly down in Sorrow. They that are so far Lifted up to Heaven, may be thrown down to Hell after all. In such a Knowledge of the Joyful sound, as will render a People a Blessed People, there is more implied, than a meer Hearing of it. To Know the Joyful sound, as it should be Known, is to Know the Meaning of it, the Value of it, the Credit of it, and the Power of it.
First. There are People who Discern the Joyful sound. The Silver Trumpets of old, were Distinct and Signal in the Sound thereof. The Marches, the Motions, the Stands, of the Armies passing thro' the Wilderness, were directed by the Sound. The Trumpets of the Gospel give Orders unto us; we are to take our Measures from their Joyful sound. People Know the Joyful sound, when they Understand the Gospel; and perceive the Mind of the Lord. There are those under the Gospel, to whom our Lord says, as He once did unto His Disciples after Sermon; Matt. XIII. 51. Have ye understood all these things? And they can reply, Yea, Lord! We may say concerning the Trumpets of the Gospel as was of old said concerning the Pauline Epistles; There are in them, some things hard to be understood. But there are People who [Page 12]do competently Understand them. They readily perceive the Language of the Trumpets, about the whole Mystery of CHRIST, and the Homage that we owe unto Him; 'Tis not a Strange Language unto them.
O Blessed People, who so Know the Joyful sound! We remember the Speech of the Pharisees, about the People which know not the Law,—How justly to be spoken about the People, who Know not the Gospel! But then, Blessed the People, who do know it! How it thunders, in Isai. XXVII. 11. It is a People of no Understanding; Therefore He that made them will not have Mercy on them; He that formed them, will shew them no Favour. But then on the other side; A People that Understand well the Joyful sound, are a People that GOD has much Mercy for; much Favour for; A People greatly Blessed of the Lord.
Secondly. There are People who Esteem the Joyful sound. They so Know it, as to Prize it; Set a vast Price upon it. In the Bible, Words of Knowledge do signify sometimes Affection too. Some so Know the Joyful sound, as to be Well-affected unto it; Yea, to Prefer it above their Chiefest Joy. There are People, who had rather be with David, where they may hear what GOD the Lord shall say unto them in the Silver Trumpets of the [Page 13]Gospel, than be with Belshazzar, at a Bout where Golden Vessels are caroused in. They count no Melody like that which is to be heard in the Courts of the Lord: And looking on the Silver Trumpets, they say, as he, Psal. XIX. 10. More to be desired are they, than much Fine Gold. They will strive to have the Silver Trumpets with them, whatever Expence of Silver, or anything else, it puts them to; They begrutch no cost for it; Are Patient, tho' it cost them the Bread of Adversity, and the Water of Afflicton.
O Blessed People, who so Know the Joyful sound! We are told, Psal. CXIX. 165. Great Peace have they that Love thy Law. If the Trumpets of the Gospel have our Love, they will then speak our Peace, cause our Peace. The Fruit of the Lips, that blow in those Trumpets, is, Peace, Peace, and all the Blessings of Goodness!
Thirdly. There are People who Believe the Joyful sound. We read of, the Good Seed, falling into good and Honest Hearts; Thus there is the Good Sound coming into Good and Honest Ears. There are some, that find no Jarrs in the Sound of the Silver Trumpets; They raise no Disputes about it; they start no Cavils upon it. It was a noble Confession of Faith; Act. XXIV. 14. I worship GOD, Believing [Page 14]all things, which are written in the Law and the Prophets. Thus, There are People who Live unto GOD, and Live by the Faith of the Son of GOD; And it is because, they Believe all things that are Sounded in the Trumpets of the Gospel. About the Trumpets that Sounded on Sinai, it was the perswasion of the Godly People in all after ages; Lord, Thou spakest with them from Heaven, and gavest them Right Judgments. Truly, In the Trumpets that we have Sounding from Zion, we have the Lord speaking from Heaven unto us, and we have Right Judgments in them. This is the perswasion of the People that Know Right Judgments. They embrace the Gospel, with Reason satisfied, and Faith established.
O Blessed People, who so know the Joyful sound! The Unbeliever is always under the Wrath of GOD. The portion of the Unbeliever is for ever to be deprecated. But our Lord hath assured us, Joh. XX. 29. Blessed are they that have Believed.
Fourthly. There are People that Obey the Joyful sound. We are informed. 1 Joh. II. 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his Commandments, is a Lyar. There are some who so Know, as to Do: They know practically, Their Knowledge has their Practice conform'd [Page 15]unto it. They Hear the Trumpets of the Gospel, and they are not the self deceivers, who are no Doers, but Hearers only. When the Sound of the Silver-Trumpets, is, Repair among them who have listed themselves under the Banner of their SAVIOUR: Then these People come and put themselves under the Conduct of the Lord, who is an Ensign for the People. If the Sound of the Silver-Trumpets be, Arm, Arm your selves against the Adversaries that seek to devour you: Then these People put on the whole Armour of GOD. If the Sound of the Silver-Trumpets be, Fall on, Fall on, give no Quarter to the Lusts from which you have your Wounds: Then these People Mortify their Members which are upon the Earth. If the Sound of the Silver-Trumpets be, Retreat, Retreat out of the the Reach of the Destroyers? Then these People Abstain from the Fleshly Lusts which War against their Souls.
O Blessed People, who so Know the Joyful sound! It is one of the Notes in the Silver-Trumpets, If ye Know these Things, Happy are ye, if ye Do them. And one of the Divine Heralds that carried the Siver-Trumpets thro' the World, has assured us, Jam. l. 2. The Doer of the Word, this Ma [...] shall be Ble [...]ed [...] his Deed.
[Page 16] III. The Blessedness of the People who thus Know this Joyful sound, is a very Glorious Blessedness.
A most considerable Article of the Blessedness attending a People who hear the Silver-Trumpets of the Gospel, and pay due Regards unto them, 'tis this; They shall walk, O Lord, in the Light of thy Countenance. A Gracious Pre [...]nce of the Blessed GOD among a People, accompanies the Joyful sound. The Silver Trumpets are heard no where, but where the King of Heaven keeps His Court. There are those whose Office it is, to blow in the Silver-Trumpets. Unto those our SAVIOUR hath engaged Himself; Matth. XXVIII. 20. Lo, I am with you always. Will Health, and Wealth, and R [...] among a People, make a Blessed People? 'Tis commonly thought so: But, What will GOD among a People? Oh! Blessed that People, whose GOD is the Lord; and who have a Gracious Presence of GOD among them. Even such are the People, who Know the Joyful sound! Where the Gospel with the Ordinances of it, are well settled, maintained, respected, and the Silver-Trumpets well founded, among a People, it may be said as in Numb. XXIII. 21. The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a King is among them. In one Word, The Ordinances of the [Page 17] Gospel furnish us with Opportunities for Communion with GOD. In them I will Commune with you, saith the Lord. We may herein Draw near to GOD; GOD will herein Draw near to us. The Voice of the Silver-Trumpets is, Draw near to God, and He will Draw near to you! Can any Blessedness be more Glorious?
BUT more particularly,
First, In the Joyful sound, we have the Guide to Blessedness. The Silver-Trumpets put us into the way, unto the Rest that remains for the People of God. We are ignorant of the way to Blessedness; and the way of Peace we have not known. But where the Trumpets of the Gospel Sound, there is a fulfilment of that Word; Isa. XXX. 21. Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk in it. They reveal to us, what we are to Think, what we are to Do, what we are to wish for; They lead us in the way, wherein we should go.
Secondly, In the Joyful sound we have the Cause of Blessedness. The Silver-Trumpets are like the Golden-Pipes in Zech. IV. 12. Which convey the Golden Oyl of Grace into the Souls of Men. 'Tis by them, that GOD fetches Men out of the Graves, in which they lye sinfully and wofully putrifying; and infuses a Principle of Piety into them; and inclines [Page 18]them to the things that are Holy, and Just, and Good. That Effectual Calling, which brings Men into Blessedness, 'tis in the Trumpets of the Gospel, that the Spirit of GOD gives it unto His Chosen ones; Men Hear the Word of the Gospel, and Believe.
APPLICATION.
BUT let us now make some Improvement of these Instructions.
I. Blessed the People, who Know the Joyful sound; Then Wretched the People, Forlorn the People, Undone the People, who are Strangers to the Joyful sound. Oh! The pity that is due unto them!
The Jewish Nation have now lost their Silver Trumpets for these many Ages. And in their long Dispersion, how pathetical is their Cry unto us. Have pity on me, O ye my Friends, have pity on me, for the Hand of the Lord hath touched me. Yea, And how many Protestant Churches, have in our Days, had their Silver-Trumpets forced from them; and instead thereof heard the Enemies roaring in the midst of the Congregations! Yea, How many Nations are there, that never heard the Joyful sound! That lye buried in Paganising or in Mahometan infidelity! And is it not a lamentable [Page 19]thing, that so near unto our selves, there should be so many Ungospellized Plantations! Our Pity for these, ought certainly to put us upon Prayer for them; upon Study for them; Oh! What shall be done for them who lye in Wickedness, and have this Epitaph upon them; If our Gospel be hid, it is hid unto them that be Lost.
II. Blessed the People, who Know the Joyful sound; Then we are a Blessed People: And at the same time we are to be taught how to continue so. My Brethren, We have the Joyful sound at such a rate, that it may almost be said of us, as in Deut. IV. 7. What Nation is there, who hath God so nigh unto them? For the Silver Trumpets to be heard sounding as they are in the American Regions; Verily, 'Tis the Lords Doing, and marvellous in our eyes. May we ever account these, Our Precious, and our Pleasant Things.
Oh! How Thankful ought we to be unto our GOD, for His Gospel, and the Ordinances of it! When the Silver-Trumpets were of old going to Sound, the Angels of GOD were heard making those Acclamations thereupon, Glory to GOD in the Highest! And shall not we give Glory to the most High GOD, on the Occasion! O Gospellized People, GOD hath [Page 20]shewed His Statutes and His Judgments unto us, Praise ye the Lord. When the Trumpets of GOD are sounding, shall not our Trumpets he sounding too? His Trumpets are in His Ordinances; our Trumpets are in our Thanksgivings. We are so called upon, Psal. XCVIII. 6. i [...]th Trumpets make a Joyful Noise before the Lord.
Such a Blessed People should be a Thankful People. But verily, our GOD will not look on us as a Thankful People, if we are not also a Fruitful People. A Barren People, Oh! what a Fearful Doom are they threatned with! what a Fearful Fate are they warned of? Heb. VI. 7. It is nigh unto Cursing. Sirs, Be Fruitful in every good Work; Fruitful, and always abounding in the Work of the Lord.
In the midst of these cares, you will use all due Means, that you may see no Intermission of the Joyful sound You will provide seasonably, for the Succession that shall be needful, by all due Cares about the Means of Education in our Land, without which the Land becomes a Scythian Desart. But when you make this Provision, Oh! Look up to the Glorious Lord, that you may be Blessed with truly Silver-Trumpets: Never have any but a Man of Worth; Such as will be of Good Metal; and such as in the Cause of GOD will always Lift up their Voice like a Trumpet.
[Page 21] BUT this is that which is most of all to be urged upon you. Hearken, Hearken, to the Joyful sound. Hearken to it, and Comply with it. The Joyful sound is that, Let the wicked forsake his way, and Return to the Lord, who will have Mercy on him. Hearken to it, and with Echo's of Devotion Reply, My GOD, I Return unto thee! The Joyful sound is that; Come to me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you Rest. Hearken to it, and with Echo's of Devotion Reply, My SAVIOUR, I come unto thee! That Grace of GOD which bringeth Salvation, has the Joyful sound of the Silver Trumpets in it. Now, your Echo's to the Trumpets must be those; Lord, I Desire, I Resolve, to lead a Godly, a Saber, a Righteous Life before thee!
My Friends, The Last Trumpet that is to sound at the Appearance of the Glorious Lord, who is to Judge the World, will er'e long Summon you, to give an Account of your Compliance with the Silver Trumpets of GOD. You that now hear the Joyful sound of these Trumpets, must er'e long hear the Awful sound of that amazing Trumpet. A Loud, and a Shrill Trumpet will Sound, Arise, ye Dead, and come to Judgment! Oh! May our Compliance with the Joyful sound of the Silver Trumpets now be such, that we may find [Page 22]Mercy in that Day. So comply with it now, that the Joyful sound of a, Come ye Blessed, may be heard by you, in the Day, when the Times of Refreshing shall come from the Presence of the LORD.
¶ WHAT has been hitherto spoken, is but an INTRODUCTION, unto the Expressions which we are this Day to make, of our concern to have the JOYFUL SOUND of the Glorious Gospel convey'd unto the Aboriginal Natives of the Good Land, which the GOD, whose is the Earth and the Fulness thereof, has bestow'd upon us; Our Concern, that the Promise made unto our SAVIOUR, I will give the Heathen for thine Inheritance, and the Uttermost Parts of the Earth for thy Possession, may have a very Illustrious and Conspicuous Accomplishment, in the Arrival of our INDIANS unto the Knowledge & Service of our Great REDEEMER.
It is utterly Unknown unto us, How and When it was, that AMERICA came to be first Peopled with the Inhabitants of that Olive Complexion, which, they say, the Biggest Part of Mankind is Coloured with. Be sure, They [...]ho have Entertained us, with Dissertations upon that Obscure Subject, have been [Page 23]sufficiently Luxuriant in their Fancies; and have sometimes allow'd a little Resemblance in Sound, (as, for instance, Massagetae, and Massachusetts,) to be a Sufficient Bottom for their most Confident Conjectures.
Let a foolish Paracelsus and Peyrerius pretend what they will, we are sure, that the Americans are of the Noetic Original. And there is a great probability of what is affirmed by Acosta and Brierwood, That Asia and America are Contiguous. The Phoenicians also were great Sailors, and by them (tho' Bochart in his Nice tracing of them allows it not,) either Intentionally or Accidentally, People might be carried over the Atlantic into America. 'Tis reported, That Christopher Colonus, (the Leader of all our American Colonies, in the two last Centuries,) had some Advice of People, by a violent Storm carried over into America, to lead him into his Noble Undertaking. A Learned Helvetian, (the Incomparable Heidegger,) has well observed, That the Countries which have Great and Wide Seas between them, yet generally meet some where with an Isthmus, or some small passable Distance of Water between them; which Conjunction of Countries, N [...]n sine Numine facta est. But I must refer you, to the Lucubrations of them who have written, [Page 24]as diverse others besides Hornius, have done, De Origine Gentium Americanarum, and especially an Essay in the Introduction to the Itinerantium Bibliotheca, more lately Published, for the Satisfaction of that Enquiry, Which way the Indians, and other wild Creatures might come into America?
We are as much at a loss about the Time, as we are about the Way. For, though we have Evidences as well as Traditions (confirming the ever-Triumphing Sentiments of our Excellent Woodward) that the Flood reached unto America, yet we have none, (except the Reliques of Giants, like those at Albany should pass for such) that America was Peopled before the Flood.
It is the Opinion of a Learned Englishman, who would fain make America to be the Seat of them that shall Think an evil Thought, in a Thing that is yet above a Thousand Years off; That when the Silver Trumpets of the Gospel, were going to Sound in the other Hemisphere, upon the Ascension of our SAVIOUR, the Devil then seduced Numbers into these Remote Regions, in hopes that the Joyful sound thereof, never would reach hither after them. The Deceiver of the Nations has been Deceived, if this were his Expectation; and that he may be more so, is that for which we now are Labouring.
[Page 25] Yea, The Sovereign Grace of Heaven in that for which we are now Labouring, is yet more to be Adored, if the Opinion of a Learned German should be any better than so; which is, That America was not Peopled until after the Preaching of the Gospel in the other Hemisphere, when GOD for their Contempt of it, Ordered their coming hither as into a Banishment, where they that would not be Saints, do now almost cease to be Men: A Sentence of Transportation into America, was by Heaven passed upon them. We may leave it unto a [...]bius to Dispute it with them.
However, We are not so much at a Loss, How and When the Gospel was first Preached unto the Americans. We cannot be of the Perswasion, that it was done by the Mouth, or near the Age of the Apostles; or that All the World Evangelized by them, was much without the Bounds of the Roman Empire. Tho' Justin Martyr tells us, That [ [...],] there was no kind of Men tho' never so Barbarous, among whom GOD the Father was not in the Name of a Crucified JESUS then called upon: Tho' Irenaeus tells us, That [sicut Sol, Creatura Del in Universo Mundo] the Gospel had like the Sun, shone upon all Nations. Tho' Tertullian tells us, [Page 26] That [Loca abditarum multarum Gentium, and, Adspice universas Nationes, and, In Provincijs omnibus quas Sol oriens at (que) Occidens Lustrat,] the most hidden Nations, all of them, even all that the Rising or Setting Sun shone upon, had the Name of CHRIST then adored among them. Tho' Jerom tells us, That [Pellitorum turba Populorum, and, Scythiae frigora fervent calore Fidel,] The Scythians and People that were clad with nothing but Skins, were then warmed with the Light of the Gospel: And, tho' Chrysostom tells us, That [ [...]] in whatever Land the Sun looks upon, and even without the Bounds of their World, a Worship was there paid unto our Crucified SAVIOUR. And Theodoret adds, That the Preachers of the Gospel had carried it [ [...]] unto all the Men in the World. These Flourishes, are to be understood with their proper Limitations. Nor can we think, That because Nicephorus tells us, of Matthew's carrying the Gospel unto the Man-eaters, he must therefore be a Preacher to the Americans. Nor shall we believe the Legends we have had about either the Apostle Thomas, or a Lord-Thomas, Eight hundred Years after him, until we can see Malabar & Brosile holding a nearer Communication with one another. But considering [Page 27]how imperfect and spurious a Gospel it is, that the Spaniards have given to their Indians, and how the boa [...] Conversion of the Pagans (whereof sometimes one poor Friar, if we may believe Martinus de Valentia, and others of the Fraternity, has Baptized some Hundreds of Thousands) among them, has been little other than a Change of Idolaties: We may truly say, The First Planters of NEW-ENGLAND, are the First Preachers of the PureGospel to the Americans, that we certainly know of. This Good Work, O NEW-ENGLAND, thou hast the Honour of making the First, Right, Fair and Genuine Beginning upon it.
What we have now to do, is to Prosecute this Good Work: A Good Work! whereto our Obligations are not vacated by the Judgment entred against that former Charter of the Colony, which declared, The winning and inciting of the Natives of the Country unto the Knowledge and Obedience of the only True GOD, and SAVIOUR of Mankind, and the Christian Faith, to be a principal End of the Plantation. A Good Work, whereto our Invitations are still as Forcible, as they were, when the Seal of the Colony was, a Poor Indian having a Label from his Lips, expressing this Cry,
COME OVER AND HELP US!
[Page 28] Upon this Good Work, there are Two or Three REMARKS, with which I am now Briefly to Entertain you.
In the First Place, It is a matter of Humble Gratitude unto GOD our SAVIOUR, that so much of His Work in this matter, has appeared unto His weak Servants, and of His Glory in it, unto their Children. The desolate Indians, that survived the Mortal Contagion, which had newly and strangely swept away such Multitudes, as to make some Room for the European VINE that was Transplanting hither, were the most forlorn Ruins of Mankind, and very doleful Objects. Their way of living was lamentably Barbarous. Beyond all Expression Dark were their Notions of a God; and Chepian, or the Evil God, had as great a share as Kautantowit, or the Good God, in their Adorations, The Manicheans (as great a Tribe of Hereticks as ever were in the World) may boast of these, as being really Theirs. Tho' they saw a People Arrive among them, who were Clothed in Habits of much more Comfort & Splendour, than what there was to be seen in the Rough Skins with which they hardly covered themselves; and who had Houses full of Good Things, vastly out-shining their squalid and dark Wigwams; And they saw this People [Page 29]Replenishing their Fields, with Trees and with Grains, and useful Animals, which until now they had been wholly Strangers to; yet they did not seem touch'd in the least, with any Ambition to come at such Desireable Circumstances, or with any Curiosity to enquire after the Religion that was attended with them. To Humanize these Miserable Animals, and in any measure to Cicurate them & Civilize them, were a work of no little Difficulty; and a Performance little short of what One of our most famous Physicians esteemed the Greatest Cure that ever himself had wrought in all his Practice; To bring an Idiot unto the use of Reason. But then, to Raise these Miserables up, unto an Acquaintance with, and an Experience of, the Christian Religion, and bring them not only to Know something of their SAVIOUR, but also to Live unto GOD by Him; A Noble Work This; But every One must say, No very Easy One!
Two Decads of Years, from the Beginning of this Colony, had not rolled away, before an Entrance was made upon this Work of PIETY; And our celebrated ELIOT, having with a Labour that overcometh all things, made himself the Master of a Language, wherein many of the Words are of Sesquipedalian, and Unaccountable Dimensions (One [Page 30]of the words, I know, that has more than Fifty Letters in it,) he Visited the Villages of these Indians, and with a very discrete Management Preached the Word of Truth, and the Gospel of their Salvation, in their own Language unto them. This Memorable Servant of GOD, was no sooner at work, but in some other Parts of the Country, the Harvest had some other Labourers appearing in it, who did vertuously; but no One is wronged, if it be confessed, that our ELIOT shone as the Moon among the Lesser Stars, and Excelled them all.
This Good Man had the Hand of the Lord with him; & his Evangelical Attempts were so blessed of GOD, that anon (beyond what any Xavier could pretend unto!) Churches were formed among these Indians, and in an Holy Covenant they gave themselves unto the LORD, and then unto one another, Engaging to Live in the Service of GOD, and carry on together the Worship of our SAVIOUR, according to the Directions of the Gospel. This was done, after Synods of English Churches had seen Strict Examinations passed upon their Improvements in Experimental Piety, as well as their Knowledge in the Mystery of CHRIST. And an Eminent Person present at these Examinations, did then Publish to [Page 31]the World this Testimony concerning it. His words were these; ‘There is so much of GOD's Work, as that I cannot but count it a Great Evil, Yea, a Great Injury to GOD and His Goodness, for any to make light of it. To see and hear Indians, opening their Mouths, and lifting up their Hands & Eyes in Prayer to the Living GOD, calling on Him by His Name JEHOVAH, in the Mediation of JESUS CHRIST, and this for a good while together; to see and hear them Exhorting one another from the Word of GOD; to see and hear them Confessing the Name of CHRIST JESUS, and their own Sinfulness! Sure, this is more than usual! — We that were present that day, saw and heard them perform the Duties mentioned, with such Grave and Sober Countenances, with such Comely Reverence, in their Gesture, and whole Carriage, and with such Plenty of Tears, as did argue to us, that they spake with the Holy Fear of GOD, and it much affected our Hearts.’
BUT then, the Early Care of SCHOOLS, having brought these Uncultivated Salvages unto the skill of Reading and Writing, this indefatigable Doer of the Work of an EVANGELIST, with an immense [ANAGR.] Toile, produced a Library of [Page 32]Christian Piety for them. First, he Translated the whole BIBLE into their Language; (And a Translation of the PSALMS into Metre, whereof the Indians are Notable Singers, accompanied it:) which has been Twice Printed here; and is the only BIBLE that ever was Printed on the Western side of the Atlantick. A work for, Thy Land, O IMMANUEL!
This Great Light had several Satellits waiting on it; Primers, and Grammars, and Catechisms, and The Practice of Piety, and, our BAXTERS Call to the Unconverted, and some other Composures. Unto which Indian-Library, there have been since added, The Confession of Faith; and, An Epistle giving the Indians an Account of what the English desire them to Know and to Do, in order to their Happiness: And, A Discourse concerning the Institution and the Observation of the LORDS-DAY; And, Family-Religion Excited and Assisted; And, A Monitor for Communicants. Doubtless there have been some Souls to be brought unto Life, where the Living Waters from the Sanctuary were to run in such Streams as these.
It was an odd Ceremony and Superstition in some ancient Baptisms, that when they Renounced Satan, they turned their Faces to the West, where the Sun sets in Darkness; [Page 33]But Professing their Faith in our SAVIOUR, they turned their Faces to the East, the Region where Light arises. We now have seen the Sun Rising in the West; A Forlo [...]n People in the Western World now said, Thro' the Tender-Mercy of our GOD, the Day-Spring from on high has Visited us.
AND now, tho' ELIOT, and those that follow'd him, in the First Essays, to bring the Light unto the Nations, that were doomed unto Outward Darkness, be Dead, yet there has been a Succession of worthy Englishmen, who have gone on with the Essays; And there are Indians also, who are constant Preachers of the Gospel unto their Countrymen; so that the Good Work having Obtained Help from GOD, and having triumphed over the Plots of Ill-affected Men to divert from it the European Waters that nourish it, it continues to this Day.
The Work is Glorious: But a Principal Glory of it, has been the Purity of the CHRISTIANITY, which has been brought unto these Indians, in our Attempts to Christianize them. The RELIGION wherein they have been instructed, has not been the Religion of a Party; but the Pure Religion and Undefiled, which is evidently contained in the Sacred Scriptures. The Main [Page 34]Things, which the Instructions given to them have insisted on, have not been, either the Things which Good Men may be and have been Divided in, or the Observations wherein the Wickedest Men may act their Part as fairly as the Holiest, and with which the Kingdom of GOD cometh not. But the Pure MAXIMS of the Everlasting Gospel are those that have been instilled into them; Even those which All Good Men are United in, and which GOD will keep the Nations in Distress and Great Perplexity, until He has compelled His Churches to Unite upon. What they have been taught, has been, To Worship GOD in the Spirit, and Rejoyce in CHRIST JESUS, and Love one another, and shun every thing which the Light of GOD in their Souls may condemn as an Evil Thing. If the Direction given them has been, To Study their own Condition and acquaint themselves with the Oracles of GOD, and make their own Prayers with the Assistances of His Holy SPIRIT; rather than to cramp their Devotions with a Liturgy: To be content with such Officers, and Managemen's of the Offices, in their Societies, as they find in the Word of CHRIST an unquestionable Institution for: To Sabbatize on the LORDS-DAY, and know no other Stated Holidays of Religion; but yet keep [Page 35]whole Days of Humiliation, & of Thanksgiving, on the Occasions for them; 'Tis to be hoped, That such as have a true Sense of Genuine and Primitive Christianity, will not think the worse of them; nor any but the Mean Sons of Austin the Monk, think that any more should be Judged Necessary for them. 'Tis indeed Marvellous to see [And yet, My Brethren, Marvel not!] the Spite, with which this New-English Work, has been treated in the Writings of some who differ from us, in some Disputed Ways of Worship. I chuse rather to Pitty them than to Mention them; and only Wish that the Allatrations may quicken the pace of our Piety.
We rejoyce in what our Dutch Brethren have done in the East-Indies, where the Schoolmasters have taught some Hundreds of Thousands, to recite, The Lords-Prayer, the Greed, the Ten Commandments, a Morning-Prayer, an Evening-Prayer, a Blessing before Eating, and after. But in the West Indies, we have aimed at a Vital Work, before we have Baptized them.
There were no less than Thirty Nations of Indians, which occupied the Land, that is now covered by the New-English Colonies. A Great Part of these Contemptuously and Obstinately Rejected the Repeated Offers of the Gospel, which our Evangelists made unto [Page 36]them; which Impiety was very much owing unto their TORY- Sachims, who were Jealous that Christianity would bring some Abridgment upon their Arbitrary Government. The Devil, to whose Possession and Slavery these Miserables thus Resigned themselves, quickly inspired them to a Precipitation into foolish Wars with the English Colonies, which quickly terminated in the utter Extirpation of them from off the face of the Earth. After they had for a little while distressed us, they fell into Confusions, into which as Men under an amazing Syderation, or like Beasts that are Stung with an Hornet, they every where fell an easy Prey to the Sword of the Wilderness; They Perished Wonderfully; and some of their Stoute [...] Captains, laying their Hands on their Breasts, were heard giving this Account of it, Here the Englishmans GOD makes us afraid! In these Wars, the Christianized Indians assisted the English, and were very Serviceable in subduing the Pagan Rebels. And now I know not any Numbers of Indians in this Province, but what have Embraced the Doctrine of GOD our SAVIOUR; [Oh! were it more Adorned among them!] Except those Destroyers of the East, whom the French Priests have infatuated with the Poisons of their Popery; But for the Reclaiming of [Page 37]whom, we are now using our late Endeavours; and this Day looking up to Heaven for a Blessing upon them. In the Colony of Connecticut there is a small Nation of Indians yet remaining in a Paganism sunk down almost as low as Atheism: Which have refused Instruction, and cast behind them the Words of GOD, that some worthy Men have heretofore made them a Tender of: But a Mission has been from us lately made unto them, not without some encouragement; and the Government and Ministry there, are laudably exerting themselves, to introduce a better State of Things among them. The Rest of our Indians are generally become such as we must call our Christian Brethren.
BUT then, I must proceed, in the second place, humbly to Confess and Bewail, the Clouds which we see this Good Work encumbred withal, and bespeak the Tears of a Bochim from us.
It is true, The last Account which we took not very long ago, informed us, That at Marthas-Vineyard, and the little Adjacent-Island, there were Ten little Congregations, wherein our Great SAVIOUR is Worshipped; and which have Two English-men, and Ten Indians, that in their own Language do Preach [Page 38]unto them. At Nantucket, there were Three Cengregations, and as many Preachers. On the Continent, there were between Twenty and Thirty Congregations of Christianized Indians, whereto there belong some Thousands of Souls. These had then Ten English Preachers, who gave them their Instructions and Assistances; and between Twenty and Thirty Indian Teachers, by whom the Exercises of the Lords Days are mostly managed. Some of these Congregations, are not yet advanced unto all the Privileges of the Evangelical Church-State. But a considerable Number are so; and some New Churches were lately formed among them. I suppose, Things are not very much altered, from what they were in this Account, which the last Visitation brought unto us. Very many English Witnesses have been much affected with the Devotion, that they have seen expressed by these Indians in their Publick Exercises of Religion; their Prayers formed with much of pertinency, and uttered with as much solemnity; their Sermons, of Orthodox Divinity, at the Hearing whereof, Children scarce a dozen Years old, readily turn to the Proofs; their Psalmody, in which they out-do some of our English Assemblies; and the Admonitions & Excommunications, with [Page 39]which they Censure Scandalous Offenders. One that is at this time a Worthy English Minister, but a Preacher to the Indians in their own Language also, has given in unto us, this Testimony. ‘Their Gravity, and diligent Attendance in the Time of Worship; with the Affectionate Confessions of such as are admitted into the Church; make me hope, that many of them may have the Work of the Spirit wrought in them, according to the working of the Mighty Power of GOD. Their Method, respecting those that are admitted into their Communion, is more according to the manner of the Churches in the Primitive Times, than is now practised in most parts. The Person to be Admitted, stands forth in the midst of the Assembly; and first makes a Declaration of his Knowledge, and sometimes desires Information in things most arduous and doubtful. And then he makes a Confession of Sin; which they do, (as I have seen,) with Tears and Trembling, like him in the Sixteenth Chapter of the Acts. And then he gives an Account of Experiences he has had, of Convictions, Awakenings and Comforts; in which they are large and particular. After which (much Counsel and Exhortation to remain stedfast in the [Page 40] Faith and Ways of the Lord, being given them by their Pastor and Elder,) they are Admitted. I would, (and not ungroundedly) hope, That Additions are made unto the Church daily of such as shall be saved. There are many, which maintain a Christian Conversation, and are to be accounted, not Almost, but Altogether Christians. And this does encourage the Preaching of the Gospel to them; when we see, it pleases GOD to make it, His Power unto Salvation.’
But notwithstanding all of this, we must humbly say, 'Tis a Day of Small things. The Indians are not yet improved so far into English Civility, and Industry, and Husbandry, as were to be desired, and as a due Improvement in Christianity would oblige them to. Many of the English, instead of giving them Assistences and Encouragements, have rather contrived Indirect Ways to keep them under, and Entangle them in Debts unto them; and Vile Things have been done upon their Insolvencies, Religion, 'tis to be fear'd, is under a Decay among them: Their Good Order languishing: And the older and wiser Indians going off, and English Neighbours too often hurting of the Survivors, much of that little Glory in which has been among them, seems to have an Ichabod written upon it.
[Page 41] But what has of all things the most Threatning Aspect upon them, is, The love of Strong Drink, which strangely Captivates the Indians; insomuch that very few are found Able wholly to resist and conquer the Temptation, when 'tis laid before them; and which, notwithstanding the Prohibitions of the Law, finds ways of coming at them, that seem almost Incurable; and which, where it has its operation, does confound all Religion, and every Valuable Interest. Rhum; That Branch of the River of Death; Alas, it threatens, more than any thing else, that we can think upon, to drown the Good Work, for which we are this day Signalizing our Sollicitude. Men of Israel, Help! What, what shall be done for the Help, of a Mischief, so formidable, so deplorable!
THIS is what I am in the Third Place arriv'd unto. I was going to Entreat your Thoughts, your Cares, your Pains, that the Good Work may not be lost, but be Revived in the midst of the Years, wherein we see so many Discouragements upon it. But as touching this Brotherly Love, ye need not that I speak unto you!
I am not insensible, that there are clamours now and then made as if your Small Revenue, [Page 42]were not always applied unto the best Advantage; and as if your whole Affair were under a Defective Management. Yea, if the Glorious GOD had not almost Miraculously appeared more than once to defeat the Plots of some designing Men, who Envied the Small Revenue which Our work has been kept alive withal, it had before now been diverted unto other purposes. But some of those who are most clamorous, are Men whose ways are always grievous; and the Better Men who sometimes receive Impressions from them, it may be, do not enough consider, how common it is, for things to appear easy in Speculation, that are found for to be encumbred with Innumerable and Insuperable Difficulties in the Execution. I am well assured, That in the Discharge of the Trust reposed in you, a Charity to the Pitiable case of the Subjects before you is ever working in you; a Conscience of Duty to GOD continually acts you; and you have a Religious concern to acquit your selves as they that must give an Account of their Stewardship, when you are to appear before the glorious Judge of the World: There will be found in you, all that belongs to a compassionate Samaritan. Be not wearied nor faint in your Minds; but go on to Do the Best you can, for the Supporting and the Promoting [Page 43]of a Good Work, which the Powers of Darkness will do all they can, to Encumber with obstructions, that will require an uncommon Prudence and Patience to Encounter them. The Ocean over which our Predecessors passed hither, was by Antiquity revered as leading to Holy and Blessed Seats, and something of a more than Humane Character. Let us Do the Best we can, that it may be so; and if we cannot raise our Indians up unto all the More than common Goodness that we are Striving for, yet let us come to it Our selves, particularly in our Doing our Best for Them, that they may do so. And whereas a Main Intention which you now have in your View, is, To bring the Rising Generation of the Indians, unto a more general Understanding of the English Language, and more into the English way of Living, You will employ your frequent and earnest Consultations upon it, and Call in the Advice of as many others, as may offer any Proper Methods, for the more Effectual Prosecution of it.
But as a Testimony of your Zeal for this Good Work, and of the Sense which you have, that without the Influences of GOD our SAVIOUR we can do Nothing to purpose, You are this Day pouring out your Prayers before Him. These Prayers are doubtless a Token [Page 44]for Good, that there may be some Reserves of Mercy, for a Remnant of the most Pitiable Ones, on whose behalf we are now concerned. If but a Few of them, should be brought into a Sincere Love of GOD and of their Neighbour, and a Living Faith on our only SAVIOUR, it will be richly worth all the Time and Cost that has been laid out upon them all. And the Acknowledgments which we now make of our Entire Dependence on the GOD of all Grace for all the Good that is to be done among them and unto them, are the most likely way for our coming to see that Sweet Thing, Our Desire accomplished.
While our Supplications to OUR Father are thus Engaged, we shall Remember our dear Brethren, of the Danish Mission as far off as Malabar; the Good News of whose amiable Enterprizes have been as cool waters to our Thirsty Souls.
I will recite a passage in One of their Letters, because we may make an Application of it unto our own Affair. ‘Whenever the Sun riseth in these Eastern Parts of the World, it is always Surrounded with Thick Glouds; the common People of the Malabarians tell us, that these Clouds are huge overgrown Giants, thro' which the Sun every Morning must fight his way, before ever it can appear [Page 45]in its Compleat Lustre, and Brightness. This is a Fancy of the Vulgar Sort of our Malabarians; But the Application we might make of it, will hold too True in every Respect, The Sun of Righteousness would fain begin to Rise, in these benighted parts of the World: But what Opposition, what Contradiction, does this Sun meet with; even from those who should help to remove the Clouds and obstacles, which hitherto have intercepted His Light and Appearance, and this too, whilst this Light but just begins to break forth, and to appear in its first Dawn and Morning Red? However, 'tis to be hoped, that the Light will triumph at last over the Powers of Darkness, and spread its Rays over all the Regions of Heathenism and Superstition.’
Excellent Things are done by those Rare Men, in Laying a Foundation of True Christianity among the Orientals, for the next Generation to build upon, and Propagate a Religion which is not a meer External Thing that may render the Proselytes to it no better than Tinkling Cymbals, but that which sets up the Kingdom of GOD in the SOUL, and abolishes the Image of Satan, and introduces the Image of our SAVIOUR, there. This inexpressibly [Page 46]Endears those our Brethren unto us, and commends them to our Prayers.
With so saying, I will add, That I would, if I had Opportunity, bespeak the Prayers of the Faithful abroad in the World, for our own Affair, in such Terms, as are used for Theirs, by the College of Great Men, whom the King of Denmark has lately Incorporated, for the Propagation of the Gospel in the East-Indies; and who on the occasion thereof are also doing some New Things to Christianize their own Finlanders. The words used by these Great Men, in the Instrument lately Published by them, are such, as I would if I could address very many People with. Say they, ‘ Private Persens, who make Conscience of daily addressing their Heavenly Father in Secret, are Entreated to Remember this work, as a proper Subject in their constant Prayers and Supplications. The more fervent they are in their Addresses to GOD, the greater we trust will be the Blessings of Almighty GOD upon the whole Undertaking.’
Indeed, I despair of any very Great Matters to be done, for the Spreading of the Gospel, thro' the World, until the Israelitish Nation be Returned unto their Land, and Converted unto their GOD. The Camp in the [Page 47]Wilderness cannot get much forward, until the Leprosy of Miriam shall be taken off, and the Rejected Lady be Restored. Our Prayers for that Happy Revolution ought mightily to be Excited and Enlarged. But yet, Let us be doing what we can!
And, Oh! if our Prayers may have any share, in obtaining a Zeal of the Lord of Hosts to be Enkindled in more of His People, for the Propagating of a Religion which Glorifies Him, and Recovers Mankind unto Felicity! Then should we see, another face on the corners of England, the Highlands of Scotland, the boggy Recesses of Ireland, than there is yet appearing. Then should we see the Africans no longer so treated like meer Beasts of Burden, as they are in the Plantations of cruel Americans: And the Great Revenues left unto the Charitable Design of Christianizing the Negro's, would have some Good Account given of them. Then should we see the Noble Essays to Save a Lost World, carried as far as the Hunger of Trade, now makes Men run thro' Sea and Land, even to the Indies. And Madagascar it self, where some think they see Fields ripe for the Harvest, would not be left unvisited. But above all, Then should we see the Veil taken off the [Page 48]Minds of the Jewish Nation, and GOD would Shew wonders to the Dead, and the Gentiles would walk in the Light of the New Jerusale [...]!
Yea, who can tell, but the Holy SPIRIT promised upon the Asking for it, would make such a Descent, as to do Wondrously, and the Holy Arm of the Lord would be made bare in the Eyes of all the Nations, and all the Ends of the Earth, should see the Salvation of our GOD; and the Dove would so Return to us as to Tarry with us, and the Flood of Ignorance and Wickedness, wherein the Earth is now over-whelmed, shall be carried away.