India Christiana. A discourse, delivered unto the Commissioners, for the Propagation of the Gospel among the American Indians : which is accompanied with several instruments relating to the glorious design of propagating our holy religion, in the Eastern as well as the Western, Indies. : An entertainment which they that are waiting for the kingdom of God will receive as good news from a far country. / By Cotton Mather, D.D. and F.R.S.

India Christiana. A discourse, delivered unto the Commissioners, for the Propagation of the Gospel among the American Indians : which is accompanied with several instruments relating to the glorious design of propagating our holy religion, in the Eastern as well as the Western, Indies. : An entertainment which they that are waiting for the kingdom of God will receive as good news from a far country. / By Cotton Mather, D.D. and F.R.S.

Table of contents

Title page

To the HONOURABLE ROBERT ASHHURST, Esqr GOVERNOUR of the CORPORATION for Propagating the Gospel in New-England, and Parts adjacent in America.

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.

APPLICATION.

Notitia Indiarum.

I. The Names of the present SOCIETY, and of their COMMISSIONERS.

II. Verus Christianismus. Or, The Sum of the Christianity, Taught unto the INDIANS.

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The RELIGION, Which ALL Good Men are united in.

III. Unto Fidelium. Communications between the Western and Eastern INDIA.

Viro vere REVERENDO, Ubique Terrarum Nominatissimo ac Honoratissimo Evangelii Ministro; D. Bartholomao Ziegenbalgh, Eccsesiae Ex Indis Collectae Praeposito; Apud Malabarenses in India Orientali Mimonario Indefesso, Christique Servo Integerrimo, ac Celeberrimo; Salutem in Christo Plurimam.

TO the REVEREND, and every where known and honour'd Minister of the Gospel, Mr. Bartholomew Ziegenbalgh, Pastor of the Indian Church, And an Indefatigable Missionary, and most faithful and famous Servant of CHRIST, among the Malabarians in the East Indies; Much Happiness in the Lord.

§

To the most REVEREND, the most Learned, most Faithful, and most Vigilant Pastor of a Church in America, the most beloved Helper in CHRIST, Most hearty Salutations.

APPENDIX.

Corrigenda.

§

§

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India Christiana.

A Discourse, Delivered unto the Commissioners, FOR THE Propagation of the GOSPEL among the AMERICAN Indians WHICH IS Accompanied with several INSTRUMENTS relating to the Glorious DESIGN of Propagating our Holy RELIGION, in the EASTERN as well as the WESTERN, Indies.

An Entertainment which they that are Waiting for the Kingdom of GOD will receive as Good News from a far Country.

By COTTON MATHER, D.D. and F.R.S.

BOSTON in NEW-ENGLAND: Printed by B. Green. 1721.

To the HONOURABLE ROBERT ASHHURST, Esqr GOVERNOUR of the CORPORATION for Propagating the Gospel in New-England, and Parts adjacent in America.

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SIR,

IT is promised as a Felicity to the Church of GOD, Instead of thy Fathers there shall be thy Children; And it is received among its Maxims, The Glory of Children are their Fathers.

The People of NEW-ENGLAND, may count it their Felicity, and the Aboriginal Natives Christianized in that Country may very particularly do so, That when the Benign Influences of your Incomparable FATHER, are withdrawn from us, we have a SON of His to take, like Him, a kind cognizance of us. And You as well as we, esteem it Your Glory, that you are a SON of such a Valuable & Memorable FATHER.

The Honourable Persons, that compose a Society of the most Christian Intention, whose CHARTER feels no Feebleness, tho' near the Age at which the Natural Body is usually Enfeebled, have express'd for you the Reverse of what Regards the Romans had for the Son of Scipio Africanus, in that [Page]they have chosen you to Succeed your FATHER in the Quality of their GOVERNOUR. And indeed, when in a Succession of old there was Bonus a Bono, Pius a Pio, it was a very Happy Government.

Unto YOU, & unto the Gentlemen of the Society with you, here is of Right now humbly made a small Present, with a short Account of some Things which you have a Relation to; whereto we add our Hearty Wishes & Prayers, that all the Blessings of Goodness, and the Rewards of all the Good you do for a poor People, may be Multiplied upon you.

But, as it has been, You know well, sometimes the custom of an Eminent Person, to carry about him the Picture of an Excellent FATHER, and often look upon it with Quickened Resolutions, To approve himself a Son worthy of such a Father, So, we can Desire no more, than what we not only Expect, but also already Enjoy in You; That you are the Worthy SON of a FATHER, had in Everlasting Remembrance, in these American Regions, as well [...] in the City and Nation whereof he was a Conspicuous Ornament: But with none more affectionately, than, SIR,

Your most Sincere Servant, COTTON MATHER.

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.

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PSAL. LXXXIX. 15.

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]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] 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] 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] 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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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] 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] 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]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]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]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] 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]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]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]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] 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] 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]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] 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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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] 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] 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]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]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]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]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]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]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]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.

Notitia Indiarum.

[Page]

A Collection of Some Things worthy to be known, relating to the Work of CHRISTIANITY among the INDIANS.

I. The Names of the present SOCIETY, and of their COMMISSIONERS.

¶ IT may be some Satisfaction unto the Publick, to have the Names of the Persons, Entrusted with the concern of Evangelizing the INDIANS of New-England, and the parts adjacent.

THE present SOCIETY in London, have lately chosen ROBERT ASHHURST Esq for their Governour; in the room of his Honourable and Memorable Father, Sir William Ashburst, lately Deceased. The rest of the Corporation, whose Names we insert in the Order of their Election, are,

Joseph Thompson Esq Treasurer.

Sir Thomas Abney.

Mr. John Gunston.

Mr. Edward Richier.

Mr. Samuel Read Sen.

[Page] Earl of Stamford.

Sir John Scott.

Sir Daniel Wray.

Daniel Dollings Esq

William Thompson Esq

John Lane Esq

Sir Justus Beck Baronet.

Mr. John Bridges.

Mr. John Morton.

Mr. Robert Atwood.

Robert Clark Esq

Mr. James Halbert.

Richard Chiswel Esq

Mr. Thomas Gering.

Sir Peter King, Lord Chief Justice of the Common-Pleas.

Mr. Thomas Knight.

Mr. Arthur Martin.

Richard Minshul Esq

Philip Papillon Esq

Mr. Henry Palmer.

Mr. Thomas Styles.

Mr. James Townsend.

Mr. John Jackson.

Sir Henry Ashburst Baronet.

Mr. Joseph Thompson Jun.

Mr. Samuel Read Jun.

Mr. Jeremiah Morden.

Mr. Samuel Shease.

Mr. Thomas Carpe [...]r.

Mr. John Mitchel.

[Page] THE present Commissioners Impowred and Employ'd by the Governour & Company, to act on the behalf of the Society, in New-England, are,

His Excellency SAMUEL SHUTE Esq Governour of New-England.

The Honourable, William Dummer Esq Lieutenant-Governour.

Samuel Sewall Esq Treasurer to the Honourable Corporation.

Penn Townsend Esq

Edward Bromfield Esq

Simeon Stoddard Esq

Thomas Fitch Esq

Thomas Hutchinson Esq

Adam Winthrop Esq

Jonathan Belcher Esq

Daniel Oliver Esq

Dr. Increase Mather

Dr. Cotton Mather

Mr. Neb. Walter.

II. Verus Christianismus. Or, The Sum of the Christianity, Taught unto the INDIANS.

¶ THAT Strangers may see the Nature, and Marrow, and Spirit of the RELIGION, wherein our Indians are instructed; and that the more Curious may also have a Taste of the Language wherein their Instructors give it unto them; We shall here insert, the Ensuing Instrument.

§

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WAME wunetooog WUSKETOMPAOG pasukqunnineaout ut yeunnag peantamweseongosh.

(1) NA ohtu Sohsumooe koohkootamwehteaonkash papaume peantamweseonkash uttuh Missikenuk Koowadtchun oowaenin youmun wuttinau wamputtanun ummissininyoumog uppamantamooonganoowoash kah wuttohkoowoash woh wunno [...] womooash yeuut, ut woh nakum woh nag attumunonau en wussohsumoonganit GOD.

Kah yeush wechaiittumooash wadchanittuonk, Neish pish miskomomukish wuttinomiyeumut wame nag pish wadchanitcheg; Kah neish matta wuttapehtunkooanash nanwe onkahtogig.

Yeush nanneeswê wittinniyeuongash kah usseongash papaume ne annomutteahue wunneetuppantumooonk uttaiyeu nashpe wusketompog pamantamooog en Godut.

Nah ohta nahnaneyoue chipagish papaume peantamweseonkash neish annoonukqueogis [...] nashpe Koowadchanoowaenin youmum, onk woh sampwesue GOD noh mosquontumwahhont nashpe numatcheseonganunonash woh Koowunohteahikqumun en Godoh. Onk woh nutapinunkqussimunan onate wutche oowetomoowaonk Godut, ne wunnetupantamoonganit, uttiyeu ne matta annanoog matta howae wosketomp woh nauoook Godoh,

[Page] Na ohta nahnaneyeue chipagish papaume michemohtae wunnontcheemoohkaonk uttiyeuash neanag pish woshwunumunkqueog nashpe mishontoowae wuttauwottunkqussuonk onk woh Koowabsuwottumunaunononate Kah sosusumwahenate GOD. Kah Kottume ukketassoottamooonk GOD, nekonne wapeemo ut nuttinoomiyoumonat matta woh Kootatumunumoomunanonate en Kesukque Ketassoottamooonganit.

(2) Nah ohta nish wunash nahnaey oue anoowaonkash papaume peantamooonk ahsuh wunetupantamooonk ne pish nussumpoantammumauonate kah menehkinumunate.

Yeu Negennae. Chipi Pasuk Qununkquesue GOD wutooshemau Wunnamoniin kah wunetupantamwe Nashauunit, nakum pish webeyeue Numanittoom. Kah pish nuttiimun mishe nupogodttumtumooong ut nuppamantamooonganit, kah mamusse nukkodtantamooonk wussikitteahonate kah wuttinumuhkauonate nakum nashpe wame wunnetupantamwe nooswehtamooonk, kah agwopehtumooonk, kah wabsuontumunate papaume nish noh teag uttiyeu oowequaiayoom ut nukketeahogan [...] unnoowomoo ne machuk.

Nahoitoe. Sohsumooe CHRIST noh miche mapue wunomonuh GOD noh wusketomp [...] onkanyounate, kah sohsumooe appuongunun [...] ate ut [...]ut Jesusumut noh wosketompo [...] [Page] uppohquooh whussuwaenninnummoouk; Kah nashpe nehenwonche mishe wussephesuonk pish nuttinauwamp uttumun tapineamooonk ut anaquabit GOD. Agwe wunnananuwaonk pish nuttinauwampattamun wah weke wuniyeuonk wutch nukketeahogkau, kah nuttinauwompatamun noh pish numppemumun nuhhog en ne wah weke wunniyeuonk wussittumwae ne Kesukodut.

Nish Wetashshinyouk. Neanag ne nuttoowantamooong kah ne nuk quohtiantamooonk en Godut, kah uk-Christeyeumoh pish sampwutteahae pish noowomun nehtohteamonk kah nagwutteae unnehhenat nagum neane nussampoowonate ne sampwesu kah wunnissu wutche nakum unnehhonate nuhhog.

(3) Kah Keteahogkau noh wame yeush pogohtantogish, ahsuh noh yeush menchenumunash neish kah asseitchis ahsuh asseit wame wunnetupantamooonkash kah yeush wuneseonkash. Wame neg yeu asecheeg kah matta onkohtogig, Qut webe yeue woh mishkauantamwog ut wah wehke annoussuonganit papaume wussohsummoonganit GOD.

Qut ne unomuteahae qunnukqussue wunneetupantamooonk pish weechaittumoo wah weke sampoowaonk papaume yeush wunnumukkuteyoukish, newutche wuttinniin, uttoh neit yeuush matta wunumuhtamooanoasn ne, [Page]wanehke wunnetapantamooonk pish nuppoomoo ut nuhhogkanonut kah wusketompog noonehkquttum wahittit pamantamooog en Godut. Newag Kisnont kussampooantamunanonate wittinnoowaonk GOD ne webe yeue kuhkeehheeg papaume wame neish pish noonanumuh humunanonate, Kah wame peantamooe nuttiseonganunnononash.

Na ohta un niyouonk papaume peantamoonk ne pish miskomut ut wuttinomiyouumoomut wame neg matta peenoowohteoooog wutch Manittoe pamantumooonk Kuttumakusumpoounanonut qununkqussoot GOD, noh woh qut appuwape wame kah womonate anue onk neit wame, Kuttuma Kussampooamunanonate JESUS CHRIST, kah fohsumwahkon te nagum webe yeue wadchanoowae nummanittoomun, Kah Kuttuma Kuppogketamunan wame Eskauanittuonk nukquayoug nuketohteamunkanumonog. Kah Amaemunnanonate nisn noh teag uttuh Numuttahhanittoomun unnoowomuk ne matchetoonk asuh numuttuhhanittoom annoowomoo ne matchtooonk, asuh nummittah hanittoom, auohkompanomoo wutche Matchseonk, Matta pish kunaumoomun papantamooonk, Qut Ummusquontamooonk GOD pish Kuttahpehtunkqununonat [...]. Wame yeush Kuttumonteanitteaonkash kah Koohkootomwehteuonkash wunuhmuhkut quenanchikoomukish onk woh Kuppomushomunanonate ut yeu wunnetupantamooonganit, Kah yeush quenohtoonkush papaume wame wunumuhkuteyoue peant [...]nweseonkash, Kah wame wunneetooog wusketumpog yeush nanauehtotounash: Kah yeush menchkinumunash kah pomoshonate neanag wame yeusn.

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The RELIGION, Which ALL Good Men are united in.

(1) THere are Glorious Maxims of PIETY, whereto our Great SAVIOUR will have the Hearts and Lives of His People conformed, that He may Receive them to the Glory of GOD. There are the Things which accompany Salvation; The Things which must be found in all that shall be Saved; and are no where found but in those that shall be Saved; The Tempers and Actions of that Vital Piety wherein Men Live unto GOD.

There are certain Methods of PIETY directed by our SAVIOUR, that so a Just GOD, offended by our Sins, may be Reconciled unto us, and that so we may be Qualified for the Enjoyment of GOD in that Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

[Page] There are certain Points of the Everlasting Gospel, according to which, it must be with a loud Voice proclaimed unto us, That we must so Fear GOD, and give Glory unto Him; and Except the Kingdom of GOD, be therewithal first set up in us, we cannot be Received into His Heavenly Kingdom.

(2) There are Especially THREE Grand MAXIMS of PIETY, which we must yield our Assent and Consent unto.

The first is this.

The ONE most High GOD, who is the FATHER, and the SON, and the Holy SPIRIT, must be my GOD; and I must make it the Main Intention of my Life, to please Him with all Holy Obedience and Submission unto Him; and be afraid of Every Thing which His Light in my Soul shall condemn as an Evil Thing.

The second is this.

A Glorious CHRIST, who is the Eternal Son of GOD, Incarnate and Enthroned in our Blessed JESUS, is the Redeemer of Mankind; [Page]unto whose Great Sacrifice I must repair for Acceptance with GOD; And under His Conduct, I am to Expect a Compleat Happiness for my Immortal Soul, to which He will Restore my Body, when He shall come to Judge the World.

The Third is this;

Out of Respect unto GOD and His CHRIST, I must heartily Love my Neighbour, and for ever do unto other Men, as I must own it Reasonable for them to do unto me.

(3) 'Tis a Soul Moulded according to these Maxims of PIETY that may, and none but such a Soul truly can, Rejoyce in the Hope of the Glory of GOD.

But then, this Vital PIETY, must be accompanied, with an Acknowledgment of those Truths, without the Fai [...] [Page]whereof PIETY cannot be kept Alive, nor can Men Live unto GOD. We must therefore Acknowledge the Sacred Scriptures, for the Rule of what we are to Believe and Practise in Religion.

Briefly, There is a Degree of PIETY, which must be found in all that are not [...]nated from the Life of GOD. Except the GOD who is Above all, be Lov'd above all; Except our SAVIOUR be adored as the GOD of our Salvation; Except we lay aside all Malice towards our Neighbour, and avoid every Course, which our Conscience Condemns as a way of Wickedness, we cannot See Life, but have the Wrath of GOD abiding on us. All those Principles, which are Essential to the Exercise of this PIETY, are Fundamentals of Religion. All Good Men do come unto them: And all they are Good Men, who Live according to them.

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III. Unto Fidelium. Communications between the Western and Eastern INDIA.

¶ UNto many of the Faithful, the Matters now to be related, will be Good News from a far Country. It will be a pleasure unto them who are Waiting for the Kingdom of GOD, when they see some opening of it in the Eastern as well as the Western INDIES. It will be an Addition unto the pleasure, to see the Harmony which True, Right, Genuine PIETY will produce, in Persons that are in many Sentiments as well as Regions, distant from one another. And if that Article of our Creed, The Communion of Saints, be illustrated in this Correspondence, Of this also we will say, How Good and how pleasant is it?

In the Latter End of the Year, 1714. the Illustrious Dr. Franckius, did me the Honour of writing to me, from Hall in the Lower Saxony, a very large Letter, which has been since Translated and Published (by that Man of an Excellent Spirit, Mr. B [...]ehm) in London. And from that Letter, I will now transcribe one Historical passage, which will Introduce those that are now going to be divulged.

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I can't but Entertain you on this occasion with another Charitable work, but of a very Singular Nature, and Extending it self as far as the Coast of Coromandel in the East-Indies. In the Year [...]705. Two Young Candidates of Divinity, Bartholomew Ziegenbalgh, and Henry Plutscho, Natives of Germany, were sent by Frederick IV. the present King of Denmark, to the East-Indies, to attempt the Conversion of the Malabar-Heathens there. They arrived safely at Tranquebar, in the Month of June, 1706. and immediately applied themselves to Learn the Portuguese and Malabar Tongues. The Latter of these Languages, tho' exceeding Hard and Intricate, was, within Eight Months time, so far Mastered by Mr. Ziegenbalgh, that he began to Preach to the Malabar Heathen in it, and by this Means, to Explain unto them the Method of Salvation.

In Effect, GOD left not their Endeavours without a Blessing: For soon after, some of these Heathens being wrought upon by the Word of Salvation, did shake off their Pagan Idolatry, and readily came over to Christianity. And this hopeful Beginning proved a New Encouragement unto these [Page]Labourers, to go on with the work so happily set on foot, tho' not without Toil and Difficulty. However, after a Little while, they found so many Lets and Impediments in their way, raised by Heathens & Christians, as seemed to break the very first Efforts tending to the Conversion of the Heathen, to the Church of CHRIST.

The Pagans were generally possessed with an utter Aversion to the Christian Religion; and this for no other Reason, but because they saw so much Impiety and Profaneness abounding among those that Call themselves by This Name. This was attended with many Consequences. For no sooner did an Heathen Embrace the Christian Faith, but he was for ever banished from all his former Goods and Possessions, and left to the wide World, to shift for himself. However, there were some other Impediments thrown in their way, far more Obstructive to the Propagation of the Gospel, than all what the Heathens could do to Oppose it. Those Impediments were started on the part of the Christians themselves, whose Duty it had been to aid and support so laudable an Undertaking.

[Page] But in the midst of these Various obstacles, raised Originally by the Common Enemy of Souls, GOD was pleased to Excite many persons in Germany, to favour the Labours of the Missionaries; Especially after they were Convinced, with what Candour and Diligence they endeavoured to manage the work Committed unto their Trust. And truly, Considerable Sums of Money were required, for Settling and improving, the several Branches of this Constitution. It was necessary, that a Church should be built, and Charity-Schools should be set up, and all manner of Malabarian and Christian Books transcribed, for the Improvement of the whole Design.

About the Latter End of the Year, 1708, when the work increased under their hands, Three Persons more, were sent over on the same Errand. — They were supplied with a Printing-Press, a Font of Latin Types, and other Necessaries, at the Expence of the English Nation; the whole being accompanied with a present of Fifty Pounds in Money, for carrying on the better the Design in hand. — And we in Germany did what we could, to prepare a Font of [...] bar [Page]Types, in order to Print off, such Books as were thought necessary for the Church and Schools gathered on the Coast of Coromandel. — A Printer come from Le [...]psick freely offered himself to go over to the East-Ind [...]es, to manage the Printing part for the use of the Mission. We readily Embraced this offer, and looked upon it, as a Finger of Providence, thereby to settle this work on a Good and Promising Foundation; since this Person was not only acquainted with the Art of Printing, but had also a sufficient skill in Graving and Casting of the necessary Letters. — Having put themselves on board the English Fleet, they pursued their Voyage to India; where they happily landed the June Ensuing.

The Methods & the Effects of the Mission, whereof this Great Man has given this brief Account, have been wonderful.

It pleased the Excellent Ziegenbalgh to address his Letters unto a Mean American: who happened (I scarce know, how) to be known unto him, under an Undeserved Character; Expressing his Desires of an Epistolary Correspondence; and that he [Page]might have our S [...]ntiments upon the ways of advancing the Kingdom of GOD.

In answer to his Desires, there went from New England, the following Letter to him.

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Viro vere REVERENDO, Ubique Terrarum Nominatissimo ac Honoratissimo Evangelii Ministro; D. Bartholomao Ziegenbalgh, Eccsesiae Ex Indis Collectae Praeposito; Apud Malabarenses in India Orientali Mimonario Indefesso, Christique Servo Integerrimo, ac Celeberrimo; Salutem in Christo Plurimam.

OPus [...]d Evangelicum et vere Angelicum, in quo (Viri maxime Reverendi) laborantes [...] atque desudantes, Laeti nos gratique spectamus, e [...] Omnium sane quae inter filios Hominum agu [...]ur vel agi possint, Nobilissim [...]. Sanctiffimo hoc Opere, Nil magis Divi [...]m, Nil magis Benignum, Nil Hominis primario arque pr [...]cipuo fini ac Summo Bono magis congruum excogitari queat; Nil Humano Generi Utilius, aut ipsorum Angelorum aemulat [...]one magis Dignum.

Misericors ille Deus est, et aeternis Philanthropiae coruscans Rad [...]s, qui vos Excitaverit, atque Excitatos adjuverit, pro Religione [Page]illius propaganda, quae ubi praedicatur et agnoscitur, Mundum in Corruptione sua ac perditione vere miseranda Sepu tum e Sepulchro revocat, et ad vitam AEtesnam, Apostasia Protoplastarum nostraque amissam restituit.

Religio haec est, quae Electos Dei in illam foelicitatem adducit, ad quam Deus ipsos e egit; ac Dei Regnum inter Gentes patefacit atque constituit. Religio haec est, quae fideles Domino Exercituum Subditos ac Milites colligit, atque viva pro Deo Templa, Omnibus Arte Compositis et Inanimatis multo pretiosiora, erigit. Religio haec est, quae Caelum in Terram invitat atque deducit; ac Terrae Incolas reddit Idoneos, ut in Coeli recipiantur Mansiones Beatissimas.

Opus, quam Illustre, quam Caeleste, quam Sublime! O [...]erque Quaterque Beati, qui in hoc Opere Dei sunt Ministri! Faelices etiam labores inter, et Vigilias aerumnasque perpetuas fatigati; Faelices nimium, sua se bona norint.

Hoc Ministerium, sit fane Onus Humeris Angelicis formadandum; Est revera tamen Opus, cui Angelorum Alae summo cum volarn [Page]atque gaudio forent Applicandae: Imo et Opus est in quo Ministri, qui Dei faciunt Placita atque Mandata, conati ut Regnum ipsius omnibus dominetur, Angelos non tantum AEmulantur, verum etiam Socios habent in his Conatibus et Comites, atque Coadjutores.

Grande atque Grave et nunquam satis lugendum in Eccesiis Reformatis datur Scandalum, quum valde parum et fere nihil in illis agitur, pro propaganda Fide, quae tota sapientiam Spirat, atque Bonitatem omni Exceptione majorem, et per quam Dei Regnum venit in hunc Mundum: a Satana jam ubique regnante Vinculis quam diris Oppressum atque Obsessum. Dum Ecclesia Romana improbo atque insano labore pro Idololatria et Superstitione Antichristi propaganda, Satanaeque imperio stabiliendo, contendat; Hujusque Meritricis Missionarii et Proxenetae, sunt mille Hominum Species, et quos non una vehat Navis: Lenonum Istorum Zelus quam ardens! Molimina quam Indefessa! Itinera quam difficilia! Et quanto cum ardore coronam quae illis verum et pro veritate videtur Martyrium, ambiunt!

[Page] Benedictum vero Dei Nostri sit Nomen, quod Animos Illustrium quorumdam Virorum ad amovendum hoc Scandalum inclinaverit, [...]tque pro devolvendo hoc a nobis Opprobrio Instigaverit. Et hos inter, si sint qui se strenue et praeclare gesserunt, Vos Missionarii Malabarici, quod non ut vester Adulator, sed ut Divinae quae vobis auxiliatur Gratiae Admirator, dico, Superastis omnes.

Missionis Vestrae, Diligentiaeque Fama ab Orientali ad Indiam Usque Occidentalem resonuit; Et quae per Divinam Gratiam in Asu Christianam inter Indus condere Gentem fecistis, in America summiscum Dei laudibus, et velut Aqua frigida sitibundis, Nuncia Bone e Terra longinqua, inter Christianos Americanos audiuntur.

Literis vestris, Humanitate et Christianitate plenis, Invitatus, atque summa Erga vestra pro Ecclesiae dilatatione Incaeptu flagrans Benevolentia, quae fit mea de Insigni Ingentique vestro negotio Sententia, paucis, et qua me decet, Modestia, Explicare velim.

[Page] Atque Primo quidem, Ego Primis meis votis hoc desidero, neque quicquam Ego magis quam hoc in votis habeo, aut fervidioribus opto desideriis; ut omnes illi Dei Servi, qui in Evangelisatione mundi Multa ferunt faciuntque, pura Aeterni Evangelii Axiomata toti terrarum orbi Exhiberent, atque Graviora Evangelii, triticumque a palea, et a rebus minutioribus quae inter Bonos Disputari et possunt et solent, bene Purgatam, Gentibus Praedicarent.

Certissimum est, Quod Religio Christana, nil aliud sit, quam Doctrina Deo per Christum vivendi, atque Practica potius quam Theor etica Scientia; cujus Intentio sit, Realem, Solidam, Vividamque animare Pietatem, atque homines in peccatis mortuos, ad piam, sobriam, justamque Vitam evocare.

Certissimum est, Quod in Religione Christiana, quae Pietatis est revera Doctrina, sint Practici quidam Articuli, in quibus Omnes Dei Filii uniuntur, et in hac Unione, qui serio ac sincere coalescunt, sunt inter Dei Filios Numerandi.

Certissimum est, Quod paucis hisce Practicoe Pietatis Articulis prius oblatis ac probe [Page]Receptis, Mens jam Sanata rectius, ac plenius de rebus illis Minutionibus, de quibus inter Bonos non fine mala multa miraque lite disputatur, Judicabit. Amor enim Dei est Illuminatio Mentis, et qui Controversias movent, hos Practicae Pietatis Articulos defendendi Zelum, utrinque profitentur.

Hoc igitur, a vobis unice ac obnixe Peto, Quod Gentibus inter quos in Opere Dei abundatis, Hos primae Magnitudinis Articulos, in quibus Verus Christianismus primo consistit, primo Proponatis,

Imprimis, DEUS ille Unus, qui in Tribus Personis, nempe Patre ac Filio ac Spiritu Sancta subsistit, Mundumque in principio Creavit, est pro Deo nostro amplectendus atque adorandus; Praecipuus hic debet esse Vitae nostrae Scopus, huic soli in Omnibus Obtempetare; Omniaque quae hujus Lumen in Anima nost [...]a Lucens pro peccatis contra illum Condemnaverit, summa cum Animae cura evitate.

Deinde; CHRISTUS ille, quiest AEternus Dei Filius, in Beatissimo nostro JESU Incarnatus, est Redemptor Noster, Unicus; qui pro nobis moriens sobtulit gratissimum Divinae Justitiae [Page] Sacrificium, cui Fides Nostra innixa nos Deo reddit Reconciliatos; et sub Hujus Institutione qui in coelos jam Receptus in Dei Throno Regnat, Mirabilem et Inenerrabilem faelicitatem Animae nostrae Immortalis, cui Conpus in Resurrectione gloria indutum, reunione fruetur, in Die quo Mundum Judicaturus, ad nos redierit, Expectare debemus.

Denique; Amore Dei Christique quum simus repleti, Oportet nos et Preximos ex Intimo Corde amare; Aureamque illam Regulam Quaecunque Volueritis ut vobis Hominesfaciant, ita et vos eis faciatis, perpetuo observare.

Hic est ille Purus Christianismus, qui cum fuerit per Dei Tubas Gentibus absque fraude ac fuco praedicatur, Deum habebunt Praedicatores absque dubio propitium; Erit cum illis Manus Domini, Multique credent, et ad Eum Convertentur.

Ast Manus Domini, quid aliud sit, quam ille Spiritus Dei, sinc cujus ope, frustra laborant qui Dei Domum aedificare velint?

Summo sane cum Animi Tremore, nec sine humillima Demissione, Hoc vobis Innuere, [Page]vel saltem quasi cum Susurro Infinuare vellem. Censent hoc insigniter Docti, et omni E [...]uditione Peritissimi Politissimique Viri et ab omni Fanaticismo prorsus Immunes; Religionis Reformationem ac Propagationem, fore per Extraordinariae Spiritus Frophetici Dona rursus concessa, quibus ille Dei Spiritus Primitivam Ecclesiam Irrigavit et Religionem Christianam in mundo propagavit et confirmavit.

Sanctissimus Dei Spiritus hac methodo ab ipsis mundi primordiis usus est; ut lucem illam quae populum ejus in terris peregrinantem ad caelestem duceret Sanctorum Requiem, communicaret. Angelos Bonos, qui Aeterni Spiritus in hac re Aptissima paratissimaque semper fuerunt Instrumenta, in filios Hominum ex alto immittere illi Visum est: Hominesquae Deo Grati sic ab Angelis Occupati, et Inspirati, facti sunt illius Nuncii ac Praecones, per quos voluntatem suam et Voce et Scripto Humano Generi revelavit. Variae atque Mirandae Angelorum Operationes in his Dei Ministris fuerint; omnia ver [...][Page]haec agit Unus ille et idem Spiritus, qui prout ipse voluerit singulit distribuit.

Angelica haec Spiritus Prophetici Possessio et Energia, Dei populo semper fuerit, in obscure loco Splendens Lucerna: Loco, ah! quam obscuro sane, tenebrisque obruto, si mundo nostro talis Lucernae Solatio Gaudere non datum fuerit! Immensos Veritatis Thesauros, quos in sacris Scripturis habemus reconditos, huic Spiritui Prophetico deberi fatemur; Imo et hujus afflatu, Ecclesiam contra Extinctionis minas metusque tanquam Scintillam in Oceano procelloso continuatam.

Per Quadringentos Annos ante Opt. Max. Sospitatoris nostri Incarnationem cessavit ac siluit hic Spiritus Propheticus. Quum vero Rex ille summus in Superna ascendens, ad celsissimi dextram sedit, Accipiens dona dedit hominibus; Angelosque quos in suam jam habuit potestatem traditos, immisit in Evangelii AEterni Praedicatores, et Liberalissimam Donorum Supernorum stillavit Pluviam, qua Haereditatem suam desessam Instauravit.

[Page] Per Plusquam Ducentos Annos, Haec Spiritus Prophetici Dona [...]cclesiam auxerunt atque rexerunt; et Ecclesia Sponsi sui Dilectissimi fic secum sensit Praesentiam, Quum vero Spinitus hujus Mundi carnalis, cum Epicureanae Philosoph [...] Veneno tumens: intravit in Ecclesiam, quae Salvatorem non amplius agnoscare voluit Gubernatorem Vexa us recessit hi [...] Paracletus, atque Successit Regnum Spiritu Antichristi foedissimo animatum; et per Tres Annos at Sex Menses, Pluvia terrae sub Indig natione Dei languenti, denegata fuerit.

Sed jam tandem, Quid si [...]post Elapsos Mille Ducentos et Sexaginta Antichristi Annos, Pluviae multae sonus audiatur! Quid si Columba his egressa ac mox reversa, tertia jam vice Egrediatur, idque sine animo revertendi; maneatque nobiscum, usque dum Diluvium Ignorantiae atque Impietatis, quo Terra submersa jam tota javet, Superficiem Terrae relinquat exsiccatam! Quid si Regnum Dei cum Gaudio Spiritus Sancti promissis Donis Modisque, pro Evangelii tam Interna quam Externa propagatione operantis, adveniat! Hoc, an sit Futurum; [...].

[Page] Certissimum est, Vaticinium illud Joeliticum, Effundam Spiritum meum Super omnen carnem, ad huc esse adimplendum. Est etiam Verisimile, Effusionem Spiritus, per quam Ecclesia Primitiva germinabat, fuisse tanquam Guttulas quasdam, quas ultimis Temporibus Imbres Copiosi in hujus Vaticinii adimpletione adhuc Expectanda, Sequentur.

Antichristium sceleratissimum Dominus et Spiritu sui oris confodiet; Et illustri suo Ad [...]entu abolebit atque extirpabit. Quid si per Spiritum sui cris talia sui Spiritus Dona intelligamus, qualia significavit quum are suo in Discipulos olim flavit, ac dixit, Accipite Spiritum sanctum?

Fateer sane, Dona Spiritus Sancti Extraordinaria, in minori pretio esse habenda, quam illa Gratia Vivifica, per quam Omnes in libro Vitae Conscripti sunt ordinario Sanctificati, Deoque suo Vivunt. Libentissime Fateor, Animam amore Dei et Christi et Proximi Sanctificatam, Spiritus Sancti Donis Extraordinariis omnibus esse omnino Anteferendam. Lubentissime Fateor, Extraordinaria Spiritus Sancti Dona hominibus collata, per Pietatis [Page]Regules esse Examinanda, et si Operationes, quae videntur Miraculosae, ad quidquam contra Pietatem ducant, has esse inter Principis Tenebrarum, se in lucis Angelum transformantis Technas, prorsus rejiciendas. Concedo etiam et semper censeo, Monito Franckiano nil quicquam salubrius unquam fuisse Inculcatum; Minus tu [...]o Extraordinaria Dona affectari, quippe quae ingens periculum illis, qui firmas altasque in Humilitate Radices non Egerint, (Quis autem Istud de se spondeat?) creare, per accidens quidem possint.

Nihilominus, Quid obstat, quo minus, Pater noster coelestis, qui Spiritum Sanctum dat ab Ipso Petentibus, annuere vestrae Petitioni possit, quum ut Angelos illius habeatis in illius Opere vobis assistentes ac associatos, ab ipso rogabitis? Est hoc sane non inter Impossibilie desperandum. Quod si Precibus Jejuniisque Extraordinariis et quidem necessariis, ter et amplius, Dominum rogaveritis, En, Spiritum Sanctum in vos descendentem sentietis, qui vobis illa Antiqua, at in Venturo Saeculo Renovanda, forsan suppeditabit Charismata atque Auxilia, quibus facilem et foelicem in opere vestro progressum nacti fueritis.

[Page] An Tempus pro tali Spiritus Sancti Effusione Divinitus Praestitutum, Statim sit Venturum, et [...]. Nescio; sed appropinquare credo. An Vos qui Deo Venerationem justam castamque persolvitis, et summa cum Charitate, propriaeque Voluntatis et Utilitatis abnegatione, in Evangelii Negotio vestram guaviter navatis operam, hujus Effusionis primitias (quod opto) percepturi sitis, me nescire confiteor. Prosperos attamen vobis Deum successus largiturum, assidue ac ardenter Precor, et non sine causa Spero.

Sed Manum de Tabula. Epistolam Scribere volui, non volumen. Haae Indigitare satis est; Amplificare, nimium foret. De nobis plane jam cernit R. V. quales revera simus;

— Animis juncti; Secernimur undis;

Unaque Mens, Tellus non habet una duos.

Mutuis apud Clementissimum nostrum Deum ac Patrem nos precibus adjuvate jam Restat.

Salve, ac Vive, ac Vale; Semper Bonus, semper Foel [...]x, semperque Christo Vivens; et non tantum dico Meum, sed et Christiani Orbis, imo et astantium Angelorum, Delicium.

Sum Tuus ex Animo et in Domino, Cottonus Matherus, S.T.P. et V. D. M. Bostonensis, Nov-Anglus, Americanus

Bostonae Nov. Anglor [...] Die Decembris XXXI. Annoque Domini M DCC XVII.

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TO the REVEREND, and every where known and honour'd Minister of the Gospel, Mr. Bartholomew Ziegenbalgh, Pastor of the Indian Church, And an Indefatigable Missionary, and most faithful and famous Servant of CHRIST, among the Malabarians in the East Indies; Much Happiness in the Lord.

THat Evangelical and indeed Angelical work, in which (Reverend Sirs, You and your Collegues) We with a Joyful & Grateful Mind, see you Engaged with such a toylsome Labour; 'Tis truly, the most Noble of all that are or ever can be undertaken among the Children of Men. Than this most Holy Work, there can be Invented, Nothing more Heavenly, Nothing more Gracious, Nothing more Agreeable & Subservient unto the First and Main End, and Chief Good, of Men; There can be nothing more Profitable to Mankind; or more worthy of Emulation even among the very Angels of GOD.

It is a GOD full of Mercy, for ever darting out the Beams of His Love to Mankind, who has first Excited you, and thereupon Assisted you, for the Propagation of His Religion [Page]which wherever it is Preach'd & own'd, it fetches out of the Grave, a World buried in its truly Miserable Corruption and Perdition, and Restores it unto that Life Eternal, which we have lost by the Apostasy of our First Parents, and our own.

'Tis the Religion which brings the chosen of GOD into the Blessedness unto which He has Chosen them; and opens & sets up the Kingdom of GOD among the Nations. 'Tis the Religion that brings in Faithful Subjects and Souldiers for the Lord of Hosts, and builds up Living Tempels for GOD, which are far more precious than any that are but Artificial and Inanimate. This Religion it is, that Invites and fetches down Heaven to the Earth, and prepares the Inhabitants of the Earth to be received into the most Blessed Mansions of Heaven.

A Work, How Illustrious! How Celestial! How Sublime! Oh! Thrice and four times Happy they, who are Ministers of GOD in such a Work! Happy, tho' never so much harass'd with Labours, and Watchings, and Perpetual Troubles! Happy beyond all Expression, did they but know their own Happiness!

This Ministry, Suppose it a Load which even the Backs of Angels may tremble at; yet it is a work, which the Wings of Angels would [Page]be with the highest Flights and Joys applied unto: Yea, and a work, in which the Ministers who Execute the Pleasure & Command of GOD, with Essays to have His Kingdom ruling over all; These not only are a sort of Competitors with the Angels, but also in these Essays Enjoy them for their Companions and Coadjutors.

Great and Grievous and never enough to be bewailed, has been the Scandal given in the Churches of the Reformation; in that so very little, yea, next to nothing, has been done in them, for the Propagation of a Faith, which breathes nothing but the most unexceptionable Wisdom and Goodness; and by which the Kingdom of GOD comes down into a World, which Satan Reigning every where in it, Possesses and Oppresses, with how direful Chains of his upon it! While at the same time, the Church of Rome, strives with an Unwearied and Extravagant Labour, to Propagate the Idolatry and Superstition of Antichrist, and advance the Empire of Satan. And the Missionaries and Brokers of that Harlot, are indeed more than can be numbred. The Zeal of those Panders, how Ardent is it! Their Attempts, how never tired! Their Travels how very tedious! And with what an Ardour are they Ambitious of a Crown, which appears to them a True Martyrdom, & for the Truth.

[Page] But Blessed be the Name of our GOD, in that He hath inclined the Minds of some Eminent Persons, to take away such a Scandal, and instigated them to roll off this Reproach from us. And among these, if any have done vertuously, You, O Malabcrian Missionaries, (which I would Speak, not for the Flattering of you, but as Admiring the Divine Grace which has assisted you!) You have excelled them all.

The Report of your Mission and of your Diligence, hath reached from the Eastern even to the Western Indies. And what the Grace of Heaven has helped you to do, towards the producing of a Christian People among the Indians, is heard among the American Christians, with the highest Praises offered up to GOD on the occasion, and as cool waters to our Thirsty Souls is the Good News from a far Country.

Being Invited by your most Courteous and Christian Letters to me, and being a most hearty well-wisher to your Enterprizes for the Enlargement of the Church, I am willing to declare, in a few words, and with the Modesty which becomes me, what my Apprehensions are concerning the Glorious and Weighty Affair which you have upon your hands.

[Page] And in the First Place, this is the very First born of my Wishes; nor is there any thing that I more wish, or have more Earnest desires for, than this: That all the Servants of GOD, who Do and Endure many Things for the Evangelizing of the World may Exhibit unto the whole World the Pure Maxims of the Everlasting Gospel, and would Preach unto the Nations, the Weightier Matters of the Gospel, and the Wheat well cleansed from the Chaff, and from those Lesser Matters, whereabout Good Men, may and often do, carry on their Disputations.

'Tis most certain, That the Christian Religion is no other than the Doctrine of Living to GOD by CHRIST; and is a Practical Thing rather than a meer Theory; the Intention whereof is, to animate a Real, Solid, Vital PIETY, and Call forth such as [...]y dead in their Sins, unto a Godly, & a Sober, & a Righteous Life.

'Tis most certain, That in the Christian Religion, which is indeed a Doctrine of PIETY, there are sundry Practical Articles, in which all the Children of GOD are United; and they who seriously and sincerely Coalesce in this Union are to be reckoned among the Children of GOD.

It is very certain, That these few Articles of Practical Piety, being first offered and well [Page]Received, the Mind thus Healed, will now make a Righter and [...]uller Judgment, of those Lesser Matters, upon which Good Men have many, mischievous and marvellous Controversies. The love of GOD will Enlighten the Mind that has it; And indeed they that manage Controversies, do on both sides make a profession of Zeal to maintain these Articles of Practical Godliness.

This therefore is the One Thing, which I earnestly Request of you; That you first of all propound unto the Nations among whom you abound in the work of the Lord, these Articles of the First Magnitude, wherein True Christianity does Firstly and Chiefly consist.

In the First Place; The One GOD, who Subsisteth in Three Persons, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and who in the Beginning did Create the World; is to be Embraced and Adored for OUR GOD. It must be the Principal Aim of our Life, in all things to yield Obedience unto Him. And it must be our most hearty Care, to Avoid every Thing which His Light shining in our Soul shall condemn as an Evil Thing.

In the Next Place; The CHRIST, who is the Eternal SON of GOD Incarnate in our Blessed JESUS, is our only Redeemer; who Dying for us, has offered a most Acceptable [Page] Sacrifice to the Divine Justice, on which relying by Faith we become Reconciled unto GOD; and under the Conduct of Him who being received up into the Heavens, now Reigns on the Throne of GOD, we are to expect a wonderful and unspeakable Blessedness for our Immortal Soul, whereto our Body shall be Re-united in a Glorious Resurrection, when He shall Return unto us to Judge the World.

Lastly; Being filled with the Love of GOD and of CHRIST, we must most Heartily Love our Neighbours; and for ever go by that Golden Rule, Whatsoever you would have Men do unto you, do you even the same unto them.

THIS is that PURE CHRISTIANITY, which when it shall be by the Trumpets of GOD purely and plainly Preached unto the Nations, the Preachers will doubtless have GOD smiling upon them; The Hand of the Lord will be with them; and many will Believe, and be turned unto the Lord.

But, The Hand of the Lord! What is it, but that SPIRIT of GOD, without whose Aids, they that would Build the House of the Lord, will but Labour in Vain?

'Tis indeed with a very Trembling Heart, and not without the most profound Submission, that I would now hint a matter to you, [Page]or at least insinuate it with a whisper hardly to be uttered. Some eminently Learned Men, Persons of the most finished Erudition, and the farthest in the World from all Fanaticism, are of this Perswasion; That the Reformation and Propagation of Religion, will be accomplished, by Granting over again, those Extraordinary Gifts of the Prophetic Spirit, by which the Holy Spirit watered the Primitive Church, and at first spread and confirmed the Christian Religion in the World.

The most Holy SPIRIT of GOD has used this Method from the very beginning of the World; that so He might communicate the Light, with which He would lead His People travelling on the Earth, to the Rest which the Saints have in the Heavens reserved for them. It hath seemed Good unto Him, to send down from on High, into the Children of Men, those Good Angels, who have always been the most proper and ready Instruments of the Eternal Spirit for such a Purpose; and the Favourites of GOD, who have been so managed and inspired by Angels, have been the Messengers and Proclaimers, by whom He has revealed His Will both in Word and Writing, to the Children of Men. Various a [...] Wondrous have been the Operations of the Angels in these Ministers of GOD; but all [Page]these things worketh that one and self-same Spirit, who divides to every Man severally as He pleases.

This Angelical Possession and Energy of the Prophetic Spirit, has ever been to the People of GOD as a Light shining in a dark place; A Place, alas, how Dark, how buried in Darkness, would it have been, if it had not been allowed unto this our World; for to Rejoyce in the Consolation of such a Light! The Immense Treasures of Truth, which we have treasured up for us in the Sacred Scriptures, we confess to be owing unto this Prophetic Spirit; yea, 'tis owing to the Afflations thereof, that the Church is continued against all the Hazards and Horrors of Extinction, tho' it be like a little spark in the midst of a Tempestuous Ocean.

For Four Hundred Years before the Incarnation of our SAVIOUR, there was a Ceasing and Silence of this Prophetic Spirit. But when that Great KING Ascending on High, Sat down on the Right Hand of the most High GOD, He received Gifts, which He gave unto Men, and He sent down into the Preachers of the Everlasting Gospel, the Angels, who were all made Subject unto Him; and He Distilled a most Plentiful Shower of the Heavenly Gifts, with which He Refreshed His weary Heritage.

[Page] For more than Two Hundred Years after this, the Church was Enlarged and Governed by these Gifts of the Prophetic Spirit; and the Church enjoy'd a sensible presence of her Beloved with her. But when the Carnal Spirit of this World, fermented with the Venom of the Epicurean Philosophy, entred into the Church, and she would no more acknowledge her SAVIOUR as her Governour, the Grieved Par [...]let withdrew, and there Succeeded a Kingdom animated with the Unclean Spirit of Antichrist; and for Three Years and Six Months, the Rain is witheld, from a Land Languishing under the Indignation of GOD.

But now at last; what if after the Twelve Hundred & Sixty Years of Anrichrist are Expired, there should be heard the Sound of Abundance of Rain! What if the Dove sent forth Twice and Returning again, should go forth a Third Time, never to Return any more; and Abide with us, until the Flood of Ignorance and Wickedness in which the whole World at this day lies in a manner drowned, shall go off wholly from the face of the Earth? What if the Kingdom of GOD should come, with the Joy of the Holy SPIRIT, working with such Gifts and in such Ways, as He has promised, for both the Internal & External Propagation of His Gospel? Whether it shall be so or no; —I know not, GOD knows!

[Page] It is very sure, That the Prophecy in Joel, I will pour cut my SPIF IT upon all Flesh, yet remains to be accomplished. And it is not unlikely, That the Effasion of the SPIRIT, by which the Primitive Church flourshed, might be but as Drops, which will be follow'd with Mighty Showers, for the Accomplishment of this Prophecy still to be Expected in the Latter Days.

The Lord will Consume the most wicked Antichrist, by the Breath of His Mouth, and will Destroy him with the Brightness of His Coming. What if by the Breath of His Mouth, we should understand such Gifts of the Holy SPIRIT, as He signified unto His Disciples, when with His Mouth He breathed on them, and said, Receive an Holy Spirit?

I Confess. That the Extraordinary Gifts of the Holy SPIRIT are to be less esteemed of, than that Quickening Grave, by which all that have their Names written in the Book of Life, are Ordinarily Sanctified, and Live unto their GOD. I most willingly Confess, That a Soul Sanctified with the Love of GOD and of CHRIST, and of our Neighbour, is altogether to be preferred before all the Extradinary Gifts of the Holy SPIRIT. I most readily Confess, That the Extraordinary Gifts of the Holy SPIRIT best [...] upon Men are [Page] Regules esse Examinanda, et si Operationes, quae videntur Miraculosae, ad quidquam contra Pietatem ducant, has esse inter Principis Tenebrarum, se in lucis Angelum transformantis Technas, prorsus rejiciendas. Concedo etiam et semper censeo, Monito Franckiano nil quicquam salubrius unquam fuisse Inculcatum; Minus tu [...]o Extraordinaria Dona affectari, quippe quae ingens periculum illis, qui firmas altasque in Humilitate Radices non Egerint, (Quis autem Istud de se spondeat?) creare, per accidens quidem possint.

Nihilominus, Quid obstat, quo minus, Pater noster coelestis, qui Spiritum Sanctum dat ab Ipso Petentibus, annuere vestrae Petitioni possit, quum ut Angelos illius habeatis in illius Opere vobis assistentes ac associatos, ab ipso rogabitis? Est hoc sane non inter Impossibilie desperandum. Quod si Precibus Jejuniisque Extraordinariis et quidem necessariis, ter et amplius, Dominum rogaveritis, En, Spiritum Sanctum in vos descendentem sentietis, qui vobis illa Antiqua, at in Venturo Saeculo Renovanda, forsan suppeditabit Charismata atque Auxilia, quibus facilem et foelicem in opere vestro progressum nacti fueritis.

[Page] to be Examined by the Rules of PIETY, and if the Operations that look Miraculous do lead us unto any thing that is contrary to PIETY, they are to be rejected, among the Wiles of the Prince of Darkness transforming himself into an Angel of Light. I also Grant, and always Think, that there can be nothing more wholesome to be inculcated, than that Advice of our Franckius, It is not safe to affect Extraordinary Gifts: For [...]hey may be at least accidentially, attended with Mighty Dangers to them that are not very deeply rooted in Humility. But who dare engage for himself his being so?

Nevertheless, What is there to hinder, but that our Heavenly Father, who gives His Holy Spirit unto them that ask Him, can grant your Petition, when you shall ask it of Him, that in His work you may have His Angels for your Assistents and Associates? Truly, 'Tis not utterly to be despaired of as a Thing Impossible. But if by the Extraordinary Prayer with Fasting that shall be Necessary, and beseeching the Lord Thrice, and oftener, you shall ask it of the Lord, Behold, You may be sensible of His Holy Spirits descending on you, who perhaps will supply you with such Gifts and Helps, as were conferred of old, and are to be Renewed in the Age that is coming on, and will procure for you an easy and speedy Progress in the Work before you.

[Page] Whether the Time appointed by GOD for such an Effusion of the Holy Spirit may quickly come on, & the Kingdom of GOD be suddenly to appear? For my part, I do not Know. But that it is not very far off, I do Believe. Whether You, who are such Devout Worshippers of GOD, and who with so much of Charity and Self-denial, industriously prosecute the work of the Gospel, may Enjoy (what I wish for you) the First Fruits of this Effusion; I confess, 'tis what I know not. But that GOD may favour you with Plentiful Successes, This is what I constantly & fervently Pray for, and what upon some good Grounds I hope for.

But its time to have done. My desgin was to Write a Letter & not a Volumn; 'Tis enough to Point at these things, without Amplifications upon them. Reverend Sir, You plainly see, What we are; Joyned in our Minds, tho' parted by the Waters; One Soul, tho' not One Soyl, Uniting of us. What remains is, that by Mutual Prayers to our most Merciful GOD and Father, we be helpful to one another.

Live and Prosper; Always what you are, and what you would be; always Living to your SAVIOUR; and not only very dear unto me, but also unto the whole Christian World, yea, unto the Angels of GOD, unto [...]hom you are a Spectacle. I am,

Yours in the Lord, most Heartily, Cotton Mather.

Boston, New-England, Dec. 31. 1717.

§

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TO this Epistle, the Reverend Mr. Grundler, made the following Return; which was accompanied with a Present of the New Testament, and sundry small Treatises, in the Damul [...]ck Language and Letter, which were lately Printed in the East-Indies, and are the First Things that ever were so brought forth by the Press in those Parts of the World.

Viro plurimum REVERENDO, Doctissimo Ecclesiae in America Pastori, Fidelissimo ac vigilantissimo, Fautori in CHRISTO dilectissimo, Salutem dico plurimam.

EX literis tuis, Vir plurimum Reverende, quas trigesimo primo Decembris Anni 1717. ad nos exarasti, id mihi Primum observare licuit, Te esse Virum mente Jesu Christi exornatum atque in virture Ejusdem Spiritus probe incedentem, cui certe curae cordique est, ut opus illud DEI circa Conversionem et Salutem animarum non modo Tecum in India Occidentali fundetur ac in dies crescendo magis erigatur, verum etiam, ut idem nobiscum in India Orientali majora quotidie capiat incrementa, imo longe lateque in omnium animas se vere insinuet, quo gens astu Satanae delusa ab idololatria sua ad verum DEI cultum brevi transferatur, atque desertis fanis, id unice curet, quomodo Sanctissimus DEUS in pectoribus fide plenis tanquam in Templo suo habitare queat.

[Page] Quae cum res, licet sua adhuc infantia laboret, Tibi, Vir plurimum Reverende, ex quo de iis quae DEUS hic molitur, audivisti, tantum gaudij, tantum voluptatis atque beneplaciti excitare potuerit; non possumus non Gratias DEO agere longe maximas, quod nobis talem Virum in oris Americae conciliare voluerit: imo prater Te etiam adhuc alios ejusdem mentis atque voluntatis, quorum Pietas istis nobiscum initiis, quae semper graviora sunt, valde laetatur, imo precibus atque consiliis progressui operis hujus Missionis feliciorem facilioremque viam pandere satagit.

Direxisti, Vir plurimum Reverende, literas [...]as imprimis ad B. D. Ziegenbalgium ejusque Collegam. At DEO interim placuit illum ex vinea omnium Expectatione citius hinc domum revocare, ita ut mihi nanc superstiti soli haec injungatur cura onus illud Missionis subeundi, Tibique de morte ejus, quae accidit die 23. Febr. Anni 1719. summa cummentis meae moestitia transscribendi. Gaudia eum caelestia cingunt, nobis hic [...]crymantibus. Sed quo fata trabunt, ille [Page]secutus, DOMINUS Messis illum ex hoc labore Missionis satis gravi et oneroso avocavit, dimisit, acceptavit; introduxit ac aeternis solaminibus iam refocillare incoepit. Quae cum ita fint, meum iam est, tua tamen cum venia, ad literas, quas ad B. Zieganbalgium dedisti, haec nunc loco responsionis Tibi inpraesens significandi.

Vir ille beatae memoria in Opere Missionis imprimis desideratur.

(a) Ob singularem suam industriam ac vigilantiam, qua Operi huic Missionis praeerat.

(b) Ob frequentissima illa colloquia, quae ille cum gentibus de salute in Christo unico fundamento instituebat.

(c) Ob illam translationem verbi divini in lingua gentis hujus Damulicae: utpote quem DOMINUS in hisce omnibus ad singularem usum Ecclefiae colligendae tam bonis naturae quam gratiae vel optime exornaverat.

In memoriam hujus Viri, ut testis Veri [...] tis, Tibi, hic offero Novum illud Testamentum in lingua Damulica, una cum aliis libellis [Page]de vero Christianismo conscriptis, quae omnia aequi bonique consulas, atque instat munusculi a nobis benevole admittas, obnixe velim; utpote qui pro tuis libris ad nos missis gratias agimus maximas.

Dona illa aurea, quae a Juvenibus Tecum sunt oblata, ego hic juventati nostrae Scholasticae distribu [...]. DEUS Remunerator omnium Optimus rependet unicuique secundum opus suum, et ut DEUS Pectora horum juvenum aurea veste fidei magis magisque exornet, illud est, quod in precibus habet spes nostrae juventutis, gratias insuper Benefactoribus agendo maximas.

Interim dum haec geruntur, dum B. Ziegenbalgius Caelum cum terra commutat. DEUS Misericors mediis hic inlangustiis, operis tamen sui nostrae hujus Missionis recordatus est: Providentia enim ejus rectrice eodem tempore tres Missionis Candidati ad nos ablegantur, qui, cum vera Pietate sint imbuti, omne nunc tempus addiscendae linguae Damulicae sedulo impendunt. Et simulac aliqualem hujus Malabaricae linguae habilitatem in dicendo adsecuti suerint, quatuor nos sumus qui potissimum circa Conversionem [Page]gentium occupamur, eas ex tenebris ad verum DEI cultum traducere contendentes. Verum enimvero cum Messis DOMINI vere sit ampla, et quat uor Missionarij haud sufficiant, desideria nostra circa quatuor adhuc alios Candidatos huc mittendos iam Curatoribus Missionis in Europa [...]odem hoc anno exposuimus; DEO humillime interim Supplicantes, ut velit mox plures Operarios ad nos in messem suam extrudere largissimam.

Illam Methodum, quam nobis suppeditare voluisti, summa cum voluptate acceptavimus, ut Testimonio inde gaudentes, quod JESUS CHRISTUS in omni Sinceritate Vobiscum annuncietur, et quidem quod jucundissimum est, eadem prorsus methodo, qua nos hic utimur, cum hominibus de salute animarum agendi, rejectis plane, quae Opiniones tantum sapiunt, in id unice incumbentes ut CHRISTUS solus omni procul fuco sistatur arque exhibeatur. Methodus vero illa nostra doctrinam gentibus Evangelicam proponendi in hisce, ut breviter dicam, consistit.

[Page] (a) Annunciamus illis Ethnicis DEUM Unicum verum, qui semetipsum tribus in Hypostasibus manifestavit, usque rite annotando, quid quaelibet Hypostasis beneficiorum hominibus exhibuerit, collocaveritque.

(b) Agimus de Homine, eum considerantes juxta statum ejus quadruplicem: ubi (a) Ostendimus, in qua beatitate fuerit, cum adhuc imagine DEI corruscaret concreata. (b) Qua ratione et quonam modo illam imaginem DEI amiserit, et larvam Satanae in duerit, pronusque in peccatum sua sponte ruerit.

(c) Quomodo autem DEUS filium suum dilectissimum unicum in hunc mundum miserit ad nos ex statu Maledictionis, cui natura quilibet subest, in statum Gratiae per veram poenitentiam vindicandos, ut translocati in statu gratiae iterum imaginem DEI in pectoribus erigi patiamur, in CHRISTO solo nostram quaerentes justitiam, per fidem quae per amorem efficax est in vita vitiis pura exercitioquc Pietatis quotidiano cautius incedamus, et magis magisque ad similitudinem et instar nostri Sospitatoris propius accedamus.

(d) Inculcamus, quod illi tantum, qui hac in vita per Christum in Gratiae statum vera [Page]mentis immutatione transierunt, et ad fin [...]musque in fide permanent, soli participes sint spe [...] haereditatis illius fidelibus in luce olim manifestandae, quae aeterna existit beatitas.

Hunc ordinem salutis ubique observamus, ita ut non modo in lingua Damul [...]ca, quando ad Damulos loquimur, sed etiam in lingua Lusitanica, quando ex origine Lusitanorum ortis, aut mancipiis Christianos Dominos habentibus, imo ipsis Europaeis in lingua Germanico Verbum DEI proponimas, hano nobis legem ita tractandi usque praescribamus. Quapropter quae nobiscum hic aguntur et in praedicando, et in docendo, et in examinando et in colloquendo privatissime, omnia eo prorsus collimant, ut homines ad veram paenitentiam, ad fidem vivam, ad Pietatem haud fucatam admoneamus, excitemas atque exstimulemus: DEUM ardentissimis invocantes precibus, ut tales Missionarios extrudere velit, quorum haec cura sit maxima quomodo oves ad optimum pascuum JESU CHRISTI deducantur, et ex fonte Israelis purissimo reficiantur unice.

Quotidiana experientia nos hactenus docuit, quod beneficio Catech [...]tarum non modo [Page]apud ipsa Ecclesiae membra, sed etiam apud cos qui adhuc extra eam vivunt, multum utilitatis efficere possimus. Ea propter hoc observantes, omni studio in id incumbimus, ut per verbum Veritatis tales Catechetas nobis praeparemus, qui in cognitione JESU CHRISTI bene sint fundati et Spiritualem experientiam nanciscantur, aptique hinc fiant iterum alios doctrinam JESU CHRISTI docendi atque ad vivum damonstrandi. Ejusmodi Catechetas habemus septem, cum quibus Collegium Biblicum, Exegeticum et Theologicum tractamus.

In Collegio Biblico sumitur liber aliquis totus, [...]t quidem ex Novo-foedere, in quo illis ostenditur, quot partes unicuique capitulo insint; postea per partes itur, et ip [...]i Catechetae dogmata quaedam cum applicatione usque conjuncta, inde eruunt. In proponendo autem ita procedunt, ut primo res exponant et contextum, deinde, his pofitis, ad propriam animae aedificationem ea applicant, quae huic potissimum inservire videntur. Qua Methodo autem eo imprimis collimatur, et illi ipsi partim solidiorem firmioremque de veritate ex sacris literis [Page]acquirant cognitionem, partim vero ut majorem inde habilitatem induant pro concione, data occasione dicendi, imo inter gentes veritatem divinam aliquando proponendi.

In Collegio Exegetico hactenus dicta tantum Biblica tractavimus, in quibus expositionem juxta regulas hermeneuticas illis suppeditantes porismata quaedam ad rem facientia eruimus, et quando ejusmodi dicta dispositione aliqua enucleavimus, quam prius calamo excipiunt, Meditationi postea eorum in totum committimus. Unde fieri solet, ut ea, quae secum sunt Meditati, die dominica memoriter recitent, et loco Sermonis pro concione publice proponant.

In Collegio Theologico illis ostenduntur primo Theses fundamentales secundum omnes articulos fidei; deinde illae etiam ex Scripturae dictis probantur usque firmissimis, et ut huic scopo melius inserviremus, compendium aliquod Theologicum formae Octavae in lingua hnjus gentis Damulica conscripsimus.

[Page] Faxit DEUS ille Clementissimus, Pater omnium misericordiarum, ut hoc modo hi Catechetae ita praeparentur, ut ex illis ipsis tales eligi queant, qui in posterum loco Missionariorum operi hujus Missionis praeesse possint.

Omne nostrum studium eo vergit, ut numerus eorum magis atque magis crescat, spem sic certissimam ingredientes, fore ut in ecclesia et inter gentes eorum beneficio multum utilitatis, et larga messis sit olim nobis certe futura.

Ex illis unus iam loco Antistitis Ecclesiolae in Pago aliquo praeest, alios vero Seniores, alios Exhortatores denominavimus, quorum officium in eo consistit, ut membra Ecclesiae saepius ostiatim visitent, examinent, doceant, admoneant, atque preces cum illis conjungant: aliis denique ratio ipsius corum Officij praescribit, ut convertendis et Catechumenis solidiora Christianismi fundamenta Viva Voce inculcent, atque ad altiora, jactis primo fundamentis, cum illis contendant.

[Page] Bono c [...]m DEO nobis qu [...]que mens est Dictionarium aliquod in lingua hac Damulica conficiendi, quod et Europaeis et huic genti Malabaricae inservire posset. Quamlibet paginam tres dividunt Sectiones: in prima area plantamus Verba Damulica, primitivum cum ejus appendice: in secunda [...]regione Malabaricorum ordinamus Pronunciationem eorum Latinis Characteribus juxta appositam: in tertia autem significationem Latino idiomate exprimimus.

In Scholis nostris, ubi omnia gratis exhibentur, octoginta liberi quotidie aluntur, cibls et vastibus ad necessitatem gaudentes. Caeteris vero beneficium informationis una cum libris, quorum indigent, fine omni pretio, lubentissime conceditur.

Sub typographiae nostrae prelo quotidie sudat Vetus illud Testamentum in lingua Damulica.

Mola haec nostra papyro conficiendo apta tantum chartae praebet, quanti ad nostrum usum quotidie indigemus.

Quod attinet ad Missiones illas Papales in hac nostra India, opinione certe numerosiores sunt, ita ut bis mille hinc illinc circumambulare dicantur: verum proh dolor, gens [Page]ethnica delusa ex tenebris ad tenebras, et ab una ad alteram-Idolatriam transfertar, nihil omnino utilitatis in CHRISTO verae sentiens; ne dicam quod Gentilismus Papismo nefarie inseratur.

Verbum DEI omnino indicat, quod ultimis temporibus testes veritaris exsurgere debeant, exornati donis illis miracusorum: et cum tritissimum illud Theologorum in ecclesia! quod dona Miraculosa dentur propter Infideles, sua radier veritate, haud inficias ibimus, DEUM opus suum, eo facilius reddendum ad conversionem paganorum coronare posse hisce extraordinariis mediis, Missionariosque suos tantis virtutibus instruere, et donis miraculorum condonare. Quae vero Gratiae, Misericordiae ac Providentiae divinae in universum remittimus, uti omnium optimae dispensatrici.

Id quod in votis habeo, est ut illud Literarum commercium, quod nobiscum incepisti, benigne in posterum continues, ita ut Oriens cum Occidente loquatur, et Occidens Orienti sua desideria et opera DEI manifestet: imo ut alter alterum in cursu [Page]Evangelij excitet, in precibus exstimulet, in via versus coclum impellat, ad patientiam admoneat, et in spe, qua vivimus, confirmet.

Pater ille Coelestis, Tibi, Vir plurimum Reverende, ex copiosissima CHRISTI pleni tudine et virtutem et lucern et Salutem largiatur, ut in omnibus; tuis operibus benedictionem Domini sentire et admirari possis. Vivas, Valeas rectissime in DOMINO. Commendo me tuo Paterno amori, precibusque,

Vir plurimum Reverende,

Nomini Tuo Reverendo Devinctus Cooperator et Conservus. Joh. Ernestus Grundler.

Tranquebariae Die 10. Decemb. 1719.

[Page]

To the most REVEREND, the most Learned, most Faithful, and most Vigilant Pastor of a Church in America, the most beloved Helper in CHRIST, Most hearty Salutations.

Most Reverend Sir,

FROM Your Letters, which you wrote on the Thirty-first of December, in the Year 1717. I could not but observe in the first place, That You are a Person adorned with a Mind agreeable to JESUS CHRIST, and suitably walking in the power of His Spirit; And One the Care of whose Heart it is, that the work of GOD for the Conversion & Salvation of Souls, may be well-founded, and continually make Improvements, not only with you in the West-Indies, but also that the same work with us in the East-Indies may be daily on the growing hand; Yea, that it may get into the Minds of all far and near; whereby a People deluded by the craft of Satan, may be soon brought from their Idolatry into the True Worship of GOD; and forsaking their Pagods, may make it their Main Intention, that their Hearts being full of Faith, the most Holy GOD may dwell as in His Temple there.

[Page] That this affair, tho' it be yet struggling in its Infancy, should nevertheless excite in you, most Reverend Sir, upon your hearing of what GOD is doing here, so much of Joy, and of Delight, and of Good Will, We cannot but render our Greatest Thanks unto GOD, who has been pleased to give us the Friendship of such a Man; Yea and that besides you, there should be others of the like Mind and Heart with you, whose Piety disposes them to rejoyce with us, in such Beginnings as are always attended with some Grievous Difficulties; and more than this, with their Prayers and Counsils Labour to open a more happy and easy way for the Progress of the work which the present Mission is concerned for.

Most Reverend Sir, You directed your Letters in the first place to the Blessed Mr. Ziegenbalgh, and his Colleague. But it has pleased GOD to recal him home from the Vineyard sooner than any of us look'd for; so that upon me who alone survive the [...] lie [...] the whole Care and Load of this Mission, and of Writing to you, which I do with deepest Sorrow, the Account of his Death; wich happened on the Twenty Third day of February, in the Year, 1719. Heavenly Joys encompass him while we are here drowned in Tears. But going, whither the [...] [Page]of GOD have carried him. The Lord of the Harvest has called him away from the Labour of a Mission heavy & weighty enough; has dismissed him, has accepted him; has introduced him into, and begun to refresh him with, Eternal Consolations. And now since 'tis so, what remains as my Duty, is with your Leave, to impart unto you such things as these at the present, by way of Answer to your Letters to Mr. Ziegenbalgh.

That Man of Blessed Memory is much wanted in the Work of this Mission.

First, For his singular Diligence and Vigilance, with which he governed this Work of the Mission.

Then, For the most frequent Conferences, which he maintained with the People, upon Salvation to be expected from CHRIST alone.

Lastly, For the Translation of the Word of GOD into the Damulick Tongue of this People; — For indeed in all these things, the Lord adorned him very much with the Gifts as well of Nature as of Grace, for the singular Service of gathering a Church unto Him.

As a Remembrance of this Worthy Man, and as a Testimony to the Truth of what I say, Sir, I here present you with the New Testament in the Damulick Tongue; together [Page]with some little Books written concerning True Christianity; all which you will take in good part; and I pray you kindly to accept them as a small present from such as would render you very great Thanks for the Books which were sent hither from you.

Those Presents of Gold from your young Gentlemen, I have Distributed unto the Youth in our Charity Schools. GOD the best Rewarder, will render to every one according to his Work. And, that GOD would more and more adorn the Souls of these Young Gentlemen with a Clothing of wrought Gold; This is what is in the Prayers and Hopes of our Youth for them; who also render very great Thanks unto their Benefactors.

In the mean time, While these things are doing, and while Bartholomew Ziegenbalgh leaves Earth for Heaven, a Merciful GOD has remembred His Work of this Mission here in the midst of all its Troubles. For through His Governing Providence at the same time three Candidates for the Mission are sent unto us; who being endued with true Piety, industriously spend all their Time in Learning the Damulick Tongue. And so, as soon as they have attained a Competent Skill in this Malabarick Language, there will be Four of us who are principally employed in the [Page]Conversion of the Nations, endeavouring to bring them out of Darkness into the True Worship of GOD. But since the Harvestof the Lord here is Great, and Four Missionaries are not enough, we have in this Year made known our Desires to the Curators of the Mission in Europe, about sending over Four Candidates more unto us; making in the mean time our most humble Supplication unto our GOD, that He would please anon to send yet more Labourers to us in this His so very large an Harvost.

That Method of proceeding which you have been pleased to supply us withal, we have Entertained with the highest Satisfaction; Receiving in it, as a Testimony that JESUS CHRIST is Preached among you with all Sincerity; and indeed, which is to us the greatest pleasure that can be, in the very same Method, that we our selves make use of here, in treating with Men about the Salvation of their Souls; laying aside those things which are Matters of meer Opinion, and wholly applying our selves to This, That CHRIST alone, without any manner of Disguise, may be Propounded and Exhibited. That Method of ours in Proposing the Doctrine of the Gospel unto the Nations, does, to tell in short, consist in these things.

[Page] First, We Declare to these Heathens, One only True GOD, who has manifested Himself in Three Persons: Fairly Noting to them therewithal, what Blessings each Person has given forth to Men, & will bestow upon them.

Next, We treat of Man, considering him according to his Fourfold State; while we show, in how Blessed a State he was, while he yet shone with the Image of GOD which was Concreated with him: Then, How, or in what way, he lost that Image of GOD, and put on the Visage of Satan, and of his own Accord run headlong into wickedness.

Next, How GOD sent His most Beloved and Only Son into the World, that he might bring us by Repentance out of that Cursed State, unto which every one is by Nature liable, into a State of Grace; that so being translated into a State of Grace, we may be willing to have the Image of GOD recovered in our Souls; seeking for our Righteousness in CHRIST alone, by Faith, which working by love, we may carefully walk on in a life pure from Vices, and in the daily Exercise of Godliness; and grow more and more into the Likeness and Resemblance of our SAVIOUR.

Lastly, We Inculcate this, That only they, who in this Life, do by CHRIST, pass into a State of Grace, with a True Change of Mind [Page]upon them, and persevere in Faith to the End; These only may partake in the Hope of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light; which is our Eternal Blessedness.

We every where keep to this Order of Salvation; so that not only in the Damulick Tongue, when we speak to the Damuleans, but also in the Portuguese Tongue, when we tender the Word of GOD, unto such as are of a Portuguese Original, or to Slaves that have Christian Masters, yea, or unto Europeans in the High-Dutch Tongue, we for ever oblige our selves in this manner to deliver it. For which cause, whatever is done among us, in Preaching, or in Teaching, or in Examining, or in our most private Conferences, All still is Entirely Levell'd at this Mark, that we may admonish and Excite and quicken Men, unto a True Repentance, unto a Living Faith, unto an Undissembled Piety; At the same time calling upon GOD with most ardent Prayers, that He would thrust forth such Missionaries, whose chief concern it shall be, that the Sheep may be led unto that best of Pastures, which is with JESUS CHRIST, and be refreshed from none but the pure Fountain of Israel.

Daily Experience has hitherto taught us, that by the advantage of Catechists, we may [Page]do very much Good, not only upon the Members of the Church themselves, but also upon those that are without. Wherefore upon the Observation of This, we do all we can, that by the Word of Truth we may prepare such Catechists for us, who having a Good Foundation laid in the Knowledge of JESUS CHRIST, may both arrive to a Spiritual Experience, and may be made fit from hence to teach others in the Doctrine of JESUS CHRIST, and give them a Lively Demonstration of it. We have Seven such Catechists, with whom we manage, a Biblical Exercise, an Exegetical, and a Theological.

For the Biblical Exercise, we take some whole Book, of the New Testament; wherein we show them, what Parts are in every Chapter; Afterwards we go thro' the Parts; and the Catechists themselves fetch out from thence, certain Doctrines joyned with some Application of them. But when they come to Declare things, they proceed after this manner. First, they Expound the Matters, and the Context. Then, This being done, they apply to the proper Edification of the Soul, those things that appear to be most Subservient unto it. But by this Method, that which is principally aimed at, is, partly that they may get a more Solid, and a Stable [Page]Knowledge of the Truth, out of the Sacred Scriptures; and partly that they may get into a greater Ability for Preaching when they shall have Opportunity to Speak any where, yea, anon to propound the Truth of GOD among the Nations.

In the Exegetical Exercise, we hitherto handle only particular Sentences of the Bible; wherein supplying them with an Exposition according to the Rules of Interpretation, we fetch out certain Positions which are to the point in hand; and when we have in some orderly manner opened such a Sentence; they taking Notes hereof in writing, we leave them to their own Meditations. Whence it commonly comes to pass, that the Things which they have thus Meditated by themselves, they recite by Heart on the Lordsday, and offer them as a Sermon for the Publick.

In the Theological Exercise, we show them first the Fundamental Theses, in all the Articles of our Faith: And then we bring the strongest Proofs for them, from Sentences of the Scripture. And that we may serve this End the better, we have written a certain Compendium of Divinity, of an Octavo form, in the Tongue of this Damulic Nation.

[Page] May our most Gracious GOD, the Father of Mercies, Grant that these Catechists may in this way be so prepared, that even from These there may be chosen those, who may hereafter in the quality of Missionaries, take the work of this Mission into their management.

Our Main Study is of this Tendency; That the Number of these may increase more and more; Upon which we enter into a most certain Hope, that in the Church, and among the Nations, by their Means, we shall one day see much Advantage and a mighty Harvest.

Of these, there is One already placed as a Ruler to a little Church in a certain Village. To Others we have given the Denomination of Elders; to others that of Exhorters; whose Office 'tis often to Visit the Members of the Church from House to House; Instruct them, Advise them, and joyn in Prayers with them; And finally, the Office of others, is, That upon such as are to be Converted, and upon the Catechumens, they may Viva Voce, inculcate the most Substantial Foundations of Christianity; and so, having first laid those Foundations, then strive to get up higher with them.

[Page] If GOD please to Smile upon it, we have a Mind also, to make a Dictionary, in the Damulick Tongue, which may be of use to the Europeans as well as to this Nation. Every Page is to be divided into three Sections. In the first Plat, we place the Damulick words; the Primitive, and what is to be appendiced unto them. In the second, over against the Malabarian words, we place the Pronunciation of them in Latin Characters close by their side. In the third, we Express the signification thereof in Latin.

In our Schools, where all things are dispensed upon free-cost, there are fourscore Children daily fed; Enjoying such Victuals and Garments as may be necessary for them. Unto the rest, there is most willingly allowed the Benefit of Instruction, and such Books as they may want, without their paying of any thing for it.

Our Press is now every day at work upon the Old Testament in the Damulick Tongue.

Our Paper-Mill here, yields us as much Paper as we have daily occasion for.

As to the Popish Missions in this our India, they are thought more Numerous than ours; insomuch that they say, there are no less than Two Thousand who here go to and fro in the Earth: But, alas, the deluded Heathen [Page]People, is translated out of Darkness into Darkness, and from one Idolatry to another, without the least sense of the Good that in a CHRIST is to be met withal: That I may not say, Paganism is wickedly grafted into Popery.

The Word of GOD abundantly declares, That in the Latter Days there must arise Witnesses of the Truth, endued with the Gifts of Miracles. And since that thread-bare saying of Divines in the Church, Dona Miraculosa dantur propter Infideles, is a Truth shining with its own indisputable Rays; we do allow, That to facilitate His work in the Conversion of the Pagans, our GOD may crown it with these Extraordinary Helps to it; and may furnish His Missionaries with so great Powers, and bestow the Gifts of Miracles upon them. However these things we wholly leave with the Grace, and Mercy, and Providence of Heaven; the best Dispenser of all.

That which I now desire, is, That the Correspondence by Letters, which you have begun with us, may be still kindly continued; so that the East may talk with the West, and the West may manifest unto the East, its Desires, and the works of GOD. Yea, that they may stir up each other in the course of [Page]the Gospel; quicken each other with their Prayers; push on each other in the way to Heaven; give to each other the Admonitions of Patience; and Confirm each other in the Hope that is our Life.

May our Heavenly Father, plentifully grant unto you, most Reverend Sir, from the overflowing Fulness of His CHRIST, Strength, and Light, and Happiness; that in all your works you may Perceive and Admire the Blessing of the Lord. Farewel in the Lord. I commend my self to your Fatherly Love and Prayers; Being,

Most Reverend Sir,

Your most obliged, Fellow-Labourer, and Fellow-Servant, John Ernest Grundler.

At Tranquebar, the 10 day of December. 1719.

APPENDIX.

[Page]

The present Condition of the Indians on Martha's Vineyard, Extracted from an Account of Mr. Experience Mayhew, newly Published; From whence the present Condition of the rest may be apprchended.

COncerning the Conversion of the Indians on these Islands, and places adjacent on the Main, there was a brief Narrative written by Matthew Mayhew, Esq Eldest Son of the Rev. Mr. Thomas Mayhew, who first Preached the Gospel unto them; which Narrative was Printed at Boston in the Year 1694. and Reprinted at London the next Year, under the Title of, The Conquest and Triumphs of Grace, &c. The same for Substance, being again Printed some Years after, in Dr. C. Mather's History of New-England.

I shall begin my Account of the State of the Indians from the time the said Book was first Published, that being about the time that I first began to Preach to them.

The Number of Indians on these Islands is very much diminished, since the English first settled on Martha's Vineyard, which was in the Year 1642, there being then as was supposed on that Island about 1500 Souls. At present there are in the Vineyard six small Villages, containing in all of them, about 155 Families, and the Number of Souls may be about eight hundred.

Each of these Villages is provided with an Indian [Page]Preacher to dispence the Word to them on the Lord's Days, when I am not with them. They meet for the Worship of GOD twice a Day on the Sabbath, and after Prayer, sing a Psalm; then there is a Sermon Preached on some Portion of Scripture, which being ended, they sing again, while the Days be of a sufficient length; and then conclude with Prayer.

There has, from time to time, been much care taken that the several Villages might be provided with School Masters to teach the Children to Read and Write; yet some of them have not been so constantly supplied, as is to be desired; and generally when the Spring of the Year comes on, the Indians take their Children from School, alleging they want them for Tillage of the Land; and so the Schools fail till the Fall; and this has much hindred their Progress in Learning: Nevertheless, I think the greatest number can Read, either in the English or in the Indian Tongue; and some in both.

There is also care taken to Catechise the Youth: For besides what is done in this kind, by the Indian School-Masters & Preachers, I frequently examine the Young People my self, and have determined to attend this Service once a Fortnight, in some or other of the forementioned Villages; and this Method will, I hope, prove very advantageous: many grown People as well as Children, attending these Exercises.

The Indian Church at Marth's-Vineyard, whereof Mr. Japhet Hannit an excellent Indian Minister was formerly the Pastor, but died in the Year 1712, had after his Death another Pastor, called Sowomog: but he being an Old Man when he was first called [Page]unto that Office, lived but a very few Years.

The Name of the present Pastor of that Church is Joash Pann, who is a very serious prudent and pious Man, of a good Conversation, and one who drinks no strong drink, but is much grieved at those of his Country-men who do err by means of it. If it please GOD to continue his Life, he is like to prove a good Instrument; but being lately fallen into a Languishing Distemper, I fear what the issue of it may be.

The number of Communicants, both Men and Women, in this Church, is about 110. The most of these are Inhabitants of Martha's-Vineyard, but not all; there being a few that have joyned themselves there unto, not only from Elsabeth's Islands, but from the Main Land also, lying next unto the Vineyard.

The Lord's Supper is ordinarily Administredin that Church about 7 or 8 times in a Year, and Discipline is in some measure kept up in it. Unto this End, besides other Church Meetings, there is constantly on the Thursday or Friday before that Sacrament is Administred, a Meeting of the Church, wherein such are suspended from the Lord's Table as having been over-taken in any fault, have not given due satisfaction. At this Meeting also there is ordinarily a Sermon Preached suitable to the occasion.

It must be acknowledged, that as the Indians are many of them much addicted unto strong drink; so some of the Members of the Indian Church have been sometimes found very faulty, on this account; yet it is also true, that such as these have generally appeared very Penitent. And tho' some have fallen quite away, and so have been cut off by the Sword [Page]of Discipline; yet others thro' the G [...]ace of GOD, have been so far recovered out of the Sins into which they have fallen, as that it may be hoped they will not again return to them; and there have all along been, and still are, a considerable number, whose Conversation is, so far as I can understand, very blameless, and who may be justly looked upon as Exemplary Christians; what ever such English Men as are filled with Prejudices against the Indians, may say to the contrary.

Some Years after I first began to Preach to the Indians, the Church on Martha's Vineyard, did on a day of Fasting & Prayer appointed for that End, solemnly renew their Covenant with GOD, engaging to endeavour to forsake those Sins with which they confessed they were too easily beset; and there was after this, for a Time, some Reformation: but I observed that two or three of the Brethren that could not be perswaded to joyn in the Action, soon after fell into Scandalous Misdemeanours.

I also observed, That after the Church had thus renewed their Covenant, the Means of Grace offered unto the Indians, seemed for a time to be attended with more of the Presence of GOD, and the Influences of His Spirit, than they were before, or have been since.

It was then frequent to see Persons at the Hearing of Sermons, very much affected, and some times as soon as Sermon was ended, there would stand up several, one after another, and make very Penitential Confessions of their Sins, with Promises to endeavour to Live new Lives: desiring also the Prayers of the People of GOD for them.

About this time there joyned in full Communion [Page]unto that small Church on the Vineyard, in one Year, at least 30 Persons, the behavour of many of whom did very much resemble that of the Jailor, at his Conversion, Acts 16. GOD shewing us herein that He can make the Indians as well as Others a willing People in the Day of His Power.

There is an Increase of Knowledge among these Indians, tho' it must be confessed that their progress herein is but slow, by reason of the want of a Learned Ministry constantly to Instruct them. Their ordinary Preachers having but little Learning, and are not so able to seed them with Knowledge & Understanding as is to be desired; yet some of these have Gifts not to be despised in a day of small things.

These Indian Ministers as they are Members in full Communion of the Church on the Vineyard, so they do not engage in the work of the Ministry without the Consent & Approbation of that Church, as well as of the English Ministers that Preach unto the Indians, and have an Inspection over them.

Having now Preached to the Indians upward of 25 Years, I have never yet had any special charge of any one single Congregation committed to me; but have visited the several fore mentioned Assemblies alternately, as I have thought most necessary; Preaching ordinarily, unto some or other of them every Lord's Day, and on working days once a Fortnight; constantly also attending their Church-Meetings, to assist & direct them.

The Indians when they are Sick, generally send for their Ministers, and sometimes other Christians with them, to visit them, and Pray with, and for them. I have some times been with them on such occasions, and heard them profess a great concern [Page]about their Souls; declaring that they did not regard any thing in this World, so they might obtain an Interest in GOD's Favour; and I have known many of them who have professed a good hope thro' CHRIST in their Death, and who have behaved themselves on all accounts as does become dying Saints; nor have I any doubt, but that many of them have died in the Lord.

The Rev. Mr. Jo [...]ah Torrey, Pastor of the English Church in Tisbury on the Vineyard, has also for many Years past Preached as a Lecturer unto the Indians on that Island, having for that End learned their Language. He Preacheth in some or other of their Assemblies once a Fortnight, and goes frequently to their Church-Meetings, to advise & assist them; so that the Indians have a Sermon every Thursday Preached to them, either by Mr. Torrey, or my self: And we strengthen the hands of one another, by going together to these Weekly Exercises.

The Rev. Mr. Samuel Wiswall Pastor of the Church in Edgartown, has also now almost learned the Indians Tongue, with a design to do what Service he can among that People.

The Indians on Martha's-Vineyard & the adjacent Islands, do hitherto understand the Indian Tongue much better than that of the English; and therefore complain much for want of Indian BIBLES, having now but very few among there. Nor are there any to be had; the last Edition being now gone. These Indians are therefore very desirous of mother Impression of the BIBLE, if it might be obtained; and divers of hem have told me, as well as some of those on Nantucket, (whom I have divers times visited) that they should be willing according to their capacity, to contribute to it.

But the disadvantage which the Indians are under thro' the Scarcity of BIBLES is some what helped by the Care of the Honourable Commissioners to supply them with other useful Books in their own Language, viz. The N. England Confession of Faith; Several Catechisms; [Page]The Practice of Piety; Mr. Shepard's Sincere Convert; Mr. Baxter's C [...]ll to the Unconverted. And several Sermons of Dr. Mather's, &c. besides the Psalter, & the Gospel of JOHN, Printed in the Year 1709. And the Indian Primer Printed this Year, in Indian and English. All which Books are now very useful unto them.

As to their Civil Government, the Indians in Dukes County, (as well as in other Places) are wholly under the English; But because their State does yet somewhat differ from that of their English Neighbours, there are several Laws made by the General Court of this Province, with a particular regard to the Indian Inhabitants of the same: And there are some English Justices especially Commissionated to take care of the Indians Inhabiting the several Counties of it: and these are directed to Nomainate and Appoint several Officers among the Indians themselves, to assist under their regulation, in the Government of that People.

There are yet but few Indians on Martha's. Vineyard that have Houses of the English fashion, tho' the number of these is of late increased; but in respect of their Apparel, they are generally Cloathed as the English are, & they by degrees learn the English way of Husbandry: Several of them have good Teams of Oxen, with which they Plough and Cart, for themselves & Neighbours, as the English do. Many of them have also Horses, Cows, Sheep & Swine. They have also among them some that have learned Trades; as at Martha's-Vineyard there are several Weavers, One or two House-Carpenters, One Wheel-wright, who is so good a Work-man, as to be frequently employed by his English Neighbours. There are several Tailors, & one if not more Shoe-makers, and one Black smith, who not only took his Trade himself, but also made his Bellows, & other Tools; and one Cooper, viz. William Charles, who is a good Workman. And tho' some of these may not be so accurate as our English Trades-men, yet this shews that as the Indians are capable of Learning such Callings as English Men follow; so they begin to come to it.

June 2d. 1720.

FINIS.

Corrigenda.

[Page]

PAge 33. line 11. read Outer. p. 65. l. 20. r Incaepta. p. 66. l. 10. r. Purgatum. p. 67. l. 9. r. quas. p. 68. l. 16. r. praedicatus. p. 72. l. 9. r. Antichristum. p. 74. l. 15. r. Haec. p. 76. l. 8. r. praeter. l. ult. r. trahunt. p. 77. l. 19. r. donis. p. 78. l. 7. r. juventuti. p. 80. l. 20. r. patientur. p. 81. l. 11. r. proponimus. l. 19. r. excitemus. p. 82. l. 10. r. demon [...]di.

Information about this book

Title statement

India Christiana. A discourse, delivered unto the Commissioners, for the Propagation of the Gospel among the American Indians : which is accompanied with several instruments relating to the glorious design of propagating our holy religion, in the Eastern as well as the Western, Indies. : An entertainment which they that are waiting for the kingdom of God will receive as good news from a far country. / By Cotton Mather, D.D. and F.R.S.

Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728.

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI :

Date

2009-10.

ID [DLPS]

N01899

ID [TCP]

N01899

ID [STC]

Evans 2246

ID [NOTIS]

APX3754

ID [IMAGE-SET]

2246

ID [EVANS-CITATION]

99020523

Availability

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 2246.

Notes

(Evans-TCP ; no. N01899)

Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 2246)

Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 2246)

Source

— India Christiana. A discourse, delivered unto the Commissioners, for the Propagation of the Gospel among the American Indians : which is accompanied with several instruments relating to the glorious design of propagating our holy religion, in the Eastern as well as the Western, Indies. : An entertainment which they that are waiting for the kingdom of God will receive as good news from a far country. / By Cotton Mather, D.D. and F.R.S., Mather, Cotton, 1663-1728., Gruendler, Johann Ernst, 1677-1720., Ashhurst, Robert, dedicatee., Mayhew, Experience, 1673-1758. Discourse shewing that God dealeth with men. Selections., Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the Parts Adjacent in America..

Extent

[2], ii, 51, 52-55, 52-55, 56-61, 62-87, 62-87, 88-94 p. ; 16 cm. (8vo)

Printed by B. Green.,. Boston in New-England: :: 1721.. (Running title: The joyful sound, reaching to both the India's.) (Dedicated to Robert Ashhurst.) ("Corrigenda" slip mounted on free endpaper.) ("Notitia Indiarum."--p. 49-51; list of members of the Company.) (Mather's Maxims of piety, p. 52-55. Parallel texts in English and Algonquian dialect on opposite pages with duplicate numbering.) (Letter from Mather to Rev. Bartholomew Ziegenbalgh in Malabar, with a response from John Ernest Grundler, p. 62-87. Parallel texts in English and Latin on opposite pages with duplicate numbering.) (Extract from Experience Mayhew's Discourse shewing that God dealeth with men, p. 88-94.)

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