THESE words, with the im­mediately foregoing ones, exhibit an account of the promise which God made, more than three thousand years ago, to the memo­rable Patriarch, who is set forth as a pat­tern of faith to all after-generations of men: And it summarily contains the whole scheme of the divine conduct, re­specting both the nation of the Jews, and the other nations of the earth.

[Page 2]IT is obviously divisible into two parts. The former relates to Abraham himself, and his natural posterity thro' Isaac and Jacob; and may justly be e­steemed the true basis of the Jewish church, and of all the means, privileges, dignities and prerogatives, they were favoured with, distinguishing them from every other people. The latter respects the nations in common; pointing our view to Christ, and to the enlargement of God's kingdom under his administration, when there should be no more any difference between "Jew and Greek," but all kindreds, lan­guages and people under the whole hea­ven, upon their faith in the promised seed, should make one body, be fellow­heirs, and partakers in common of the same gospel-salvation.

THIS latter part of the promise, which concerns the nations of the world in ge­neral, is comprehended in the words I have selected to employ our thoughts at this time, ‘In thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed.’ An interesting promise! No one in the sacred books is more so. It was accordingly, upon se­veral occasions besides that in my con­text, expressly made to Abraham by name; [Page 3] and afterwards, in like explicit form, re­newed both to Isaac and Jacob: Nor is there a promise of God more frequently refered to by the inspired writers. This is the promise, in special, which the a­postle Paul so often takes rise from in his reasonings, particularly, in favor of the Gentile nations.

WHAT I have in view, at present, is to let you into a clear conception of the meaning, importance and extent of this divine promise; the doing of which will very obviously prepare the way for the reflections that are proper upon such an occasion as this.

THE following things then are to be considered and explained, the seed in whom this promise is made; the just import of the blessing promised; and final­ly, the extent of the object of the promise.

AS to the first of these particulars, the seed in whom the promise is made, 'tis evident we are to understand by it, not the posterity of Abraham in general, ei­ther by Isaac or Jacob; but a SINGLE PERSON proceeding from him thro' them. The word "seed" is not used here as a [Page 4] name of multitude; but as denoting ONE, by whom, as descending from Abraham, the blessing should be conveyed. Thus the promise seems to have been under­stood by Abraham himself. How else shall we explain that address of our Lord to the Jews, ^* "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and saw it, and was glad?" It was in the lively exercise of faith and hope, as grounded on the "seed" promised in my text, that he was filled with holy joy, while he looked for­ward to the time, when this glorious Sa­viour would appear in the world to be a blessing to it. And this same promised "seed" was ultimately the ground of the universal expectation there was among the Jews, particularly about the time of our Saviour's manifestation in human flesh, that a "deliverer would come out of Zion," as proceeding from Abraham.— They entertain'd, 'tis true, wrong noti­ons of this deliverer, and of the salvation he would effect: But they rightly con­strued the promise so far as they were led, in virtue of it, to expect, that some extraordinary person would, in God's time, come into the world under the character of a mighty Redeemer. To be sure, this is the construction the new-tes­tament-writers [Page 5] put upon the word, "seed," in the promise to Abraham. The apostle Paul, while treating upon this matter ex professo, has thus explained the term in Gal. 3.16. His words are, "He saith not," that is, God, in the promises he made to Abraham, saith not, "and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, to thy seed; which seed (as he goes on to assure us) is Christ." He accordingly, in the following 19th v. uses the word, seed, in this personal sense. For, speaking there of the law that was given by Moses, he says, "it was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come," that is, till the appearing of Christ, the seed it was promised should come. In agreement with this interpre­tation, Christ is represented ^† as having "took on him the seed of Abraham."— And his birth into the world is spoken of ^‡ as "the mercy promised in the cove­nant, the oath which God sware to A­braham," that is, the promise he solemn­ly made to him, and confirmed by his oath, in the words of my text. The short of the matter is, the seed here promised to Abraham is the same seed that was pro­mised to Adam soon after his fall; meaning Christ, the Saviour it pleased the all-mer­ciful God early to provide for a perishing [Page 6] world, thro' whom alone any of the race of men could be delivered from sin and wrath, and obtain salvation with eternal glory. And 'tis accordingly the truth of fact, that Christ is the glorious person, to whose mediatory undertaking, in our nature, it is every where ascribed, in the inspired writings of the new-testament, "that the serpent's head has been bruised;" or, what means precisely the same thing, that "the nations of the earth" have been, and "shall be blessed."

THUS the "seed," promised in my text, means a single person, one only, even Jesus Christ, the alone constituted saviour of men; and so I gone on, as was nextly proposed,

TO ascertain the sense in which we are to understand the blessing that is promised thro' him.

AND it means, without all doubt, the same thing with gospel-salvation. Abraham entertained this thought of it. I don't say, that he had so full and distinct an idea of the salvation by Christ as we have, whose lot it is to live in the world since the incarnation of the son of God, [Page 7] and the clear discovery he has made of the counsels of heaven with reference to the great affair of man's redemption, as grounded on the merit of his life and death: But he was led, in consequence of this promise, into an expectation of good things far more excellent than temporal ones, and as designed for other nations besides the Jewish, who could boast of having him for their head and father ac­cording to the flesh. Hence our Saviour speaks of him ^§ as having by faith, "seen his day," the day of his appearing, the gos­pel day. And hence the author of the epi­stle to the Hebrews declares, ^‡ that Abra­ham "looked for a city which hath foun­dations, whose builder and maker is God." The same city is here meant which the apostle John calls "the new Jerusalem," and saw in his visions, "coming down from God out of heaven." Nor could Abraham have looked for such a city as this in any way but that of faith, taking rise from the promise God had now made to him.

AND 'tis abundantly evident, that the new-testament writings do every where understand this BLESSING, which was to be conveyed thro' the seed of Abraham, [Page 8] in the above spiritual sense. Hence Zacharias, in his prophetic song, ^* makes "God's granting to us to serve him in holiness and righteousness" one thing in­cluded in "the mercy promised in the covenant with Abraham." Hence the apostle Peter tells the Jews, ^§ that "the mission of Christ to bless them by turning them from their iniquities," was compre­hended in those words of God to Abra­ham of old, "in thy seed shall all the kin­dreds of the earth be blessed." Hence the apostle Paul declares, ^† that "the gospel was preached to Abraham," when it was said to him, "in thee shall all nations be blessed;" and again, ^‡ that "the inheri­tance," the incorruptible, undefiled and eternal inheritance, as it is sometimes cal­led, was "given to Abraham by promise," that is, the promise in my text. Hence the author of the epistle to the Hebrews speaks of God ^‖ as "not ashamed to be called their God," the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, "because he hath prepared for them a city," the same city of which he had before ^* said, "whose builder and maker is God." In fine, it was because this, and the similar promises, looked beyond the present world, enga­ging [Page 9] blessedness in some future one, that our Saviour argues therefrom in proof of the resurrection from the dead. His words are, ^* "that the dead shall be rai­sed, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he called the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living." 'Tis certain, from these passages, if we may rely on the au­thority of the new-testament writers, that the blessing promised through the seed of Abraham was virtually, seminally and implicitly, that same salvation which has since, as the apostle Paul speaks, ^† "been made known, according to the command­ment of the everlasting God, to all nations for the obedience of faith."

BUT besides this salvation, wherein the blessing promised principally consists, the way and means of its bestowment are included also; such as the manifestation of Jesus Christ in our flesh, as proceeding from Abraham; his sufferings and death; his resurrection from the dead; ascention to heaven, and exaltation at the right hand of God; and that settlement of God's visible kingdom, in consequence hereof, which now takes place in the world, with [Page 10] him at it's head. Not that Abraham, or any of his posterity in former ages, were led, by these general words, "in thy seed shall all nations be blessed," into a parti­cular knowledge of these things. 'Tis probable, neither he, nor they, under­stood any more by them than this, that some glorious personage, springing from him, should, in God's time, in ways un­tho't of by them, be the instrument in spiritually "blessing all nations of the earth." But still, the whole work of Christ, as Saviour of the world, was virtu­ally contained in this promise, that is to say, all that he was to be, to do, and to suffer, while on earth; and, all that he was afterwards to transact in heaven, in order to his bringing into effect the de­sign of his mediatory undertaking for sin­ners. The inspired writers certainly teach us to conceive thus of the matter. Hence they speak of the incarnation of Christ, which was an essential preparative in the plan of God in order to the salvation of men, as an accomplishment, in part, of this blessing promised in the covenant with Abraham. Thus Mary, the mother of our Lord, is introduced in her prophe­tic song. ^* as "rejoicing in God" upon his birth into the world, and for this spe­cial [Page 11] reason, "because he had helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mer­cy, as he spake to our fathers, to Abra­ham, and to his seed forever." And Ze­charias, upon this same occasion, being "filled with the Holy Ghost" is brought in opening his lips in those words of praise, ^† "blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and raised up an horn of salvation for us, in the house of his servant David,—to perform the mercy promised to our fa­thers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swear to our father Abraham." And as the incarnation of Christ, so his obedience in our nature even to the death of the cross, which ought always to be esteemed the true and only moral ground of the bestowment of spiritual and heavenly blessings, is parti­cularly and expressly represented as that by which also the promise to Abraham was in part fulfilled. Hence that passage in the apostle Paul's epistle to the Gala­tions, ^* "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, — that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles thro' Jesus Christ." In like manner, the resurrection of our Lord, the first step to his exalted [Page 12] state in heaven, and sometimes put in scripture for the whole of it, is directly mentioned as effected to make good the promise to Abraham. Hence those words in Paul's speech to the men of Antioch, ^† "We declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise, which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again." In fine, that ad­vantageous state of things, under the gospel-dispensation, which was set up by Jesus Christ, and has him for its supreme director and Lord, was likewise included in this promise: So tho't the great apostle of the Gentiles; for one of the main things he had in view, especially in his epistles to the Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, was to illustrate and prove this point.

THE sum of the matter is, by the blessing promised thro' the seed of Abra­ham, we are to understand spiritual and eternal salvation, together with the way and means of its communication; Christ's becoming a partaker of flesh and blood in the fulness of time, thro' the loins of A­braham; his dying to make reconciliation for iniquity; his rising from the dead, [Page 13] and going up to heaven to sit there at the right hand of God's power; and in con­sequence of this, his erecting a kingdom, wisely and mercifully furnished with all desirable means, motives, and advanta­ges, in order to deliver the nations from the power of sin and Satan, and to form them to a meetness in this world for the glory, honor and immortality of the co­ming better world.

WE go on, in the last place, to consi­der the OBJECT of the promise; which is nobly extensive, taking in "all nations," yea "all families of the earth," as it is elsewhere expressed. Not that "all na­tions and families," viewed either as col­lective bodies, or individuals, shall be blessed in Christ, whether they are be­lievers in him or not. Such an interpre­tation would be contrary to the truth of fact, as well as scripture: But the mean­ing is, that in Christ, the promised seed, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile; between one nation and ano­ther; but in every nation under the whole heaven, whoesover believe in the only begotten Son of God, they are "heirs of the promise, and shall be savingly "blessed with faithful Abraham."

[Page 14]THE apostle Paul expressly assures us,^* that the nations of men, which "some­times were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ; for he is our peace," the common peace of Jews and Gentiles, "having broke down the wall of partiti­on between us, and reconciled us both to God in one body by the cross:" In con­sequence whereof believing Gentiles "are no more strangers and foreigners, but fel­low-citizens with the saints and houshold of God." Accordingly, that is his doc­trine, ^† There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call up­on him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And again, ^‡ "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus: And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

CONSONANT hereto was the commis­sion our Lord gave his apostles to preach the gospel, the glad tidings of the accom­plishment of the "blessing promised to Abraham." That was their order,^§ "Go [Page 15] ye, and teach ALL NATIONS, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." It is elsewhere ^† worded, "Go ye into ALL THE WORLD, and preach the gospel to EVERY CREATURE," the whole human race. And it is in fact true, that they preached the gospel, salvation by Jesus Christ, not to the Jews only, but to the Gentiles also, without discrimination, that is, to all nations and families of the earth, so far as they were able, making no dif­ference.

THE Jewish nation, 'tis true, were to have the precedence. The gospel was first to be preached to them; but not to the exclusion of the other nations. They also were comprehended, yea, expressly mentioned, in the promise to Abraham: And, in fulfilment of this promise, the gospel ought to be, and actually was, preached to them. A specimen of this we meet with immediately upon the Spi­rit's being poured out upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost; for "devout men, out of every nation under heaven," being now at Jerusalem, the "blessing," contained in the "promise to Abraham," was offered to them in the name of Jesus ^* [Page 16] Christ. And it is evident, from the preaching, especially of the apostle Paul, that no distinction was made between one nation and another, between one man and another; but in all places, and to all persons, as there was opportunity, the way to salvation by Jesus Christ was impartially made known.

THE language, in which the actually blessed by Jesus Christ, the promised seed, are spoken of in scripture, is a further ob­servable proof, that the nations, in all cor­ners of the earth, in all ages, without dis­tinction or limitation, are the object of the promise in my text. They are intro­duced in the book of the Revelation,^* "Singing a new song to Jesus the lamb of God," and saying, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou hast redeemed us to God, by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto God kings and priests." And the apostle John "beheld in vision.^† and lo, a great multitude of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,—and cried with a loud voice, say­ing, Salvation to our God, — and unto [Page 17] the Lamb." And no wonder this is the representation; for the "blessed in Jesus Christ," in the coming state, will be a collection of all sorts and conditions of men, out of all nations, in all parts and ages of the world, even from the days of Adam, till time shall be no more. It is accordingly to be remarked here, the "blessing" promised to "all nations" looks backwards as well as forwards; ta­king in all believers, like Abraham, from the beginning of the world to that day, as well as from that day to the end of the world. Hence Christ, the promised seed, is spoken of, in the revelation to John, ^* as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," that is, in the purpose, and according to the counsel of God; and so as that obedient believers of all nations of the earth, even from the day that God promised and said, "the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," might be admitted to the benefit of "redemption thro' his blood, the for­giveness of their sins, according to the riches of God's grace."

THUS gloriously extensive is the OB­JECT of the blessing thro' the promised seed. 'Tis not confined to the nation of [Page 18] the Jews in distinction from the Gentiles; neither is it limited to some Gentile-nati­ons to the exclusion of others: But "all nations of the earth," from the beginning of the world to the end of it, are compre­hended in it.

I HAVE now said what may be tho't sufficient to illustrate the promise in my text. It remains to make what has been offered useful, by calling your attention to some suitable reflections. And,

THE first thing obviously perceivable is, that the blessing mankind in Jesus Christ was the aim of God, and what he has been prosecuting, all along from the beginning of the world. This was at first suggested only in general promises and predictions, and these so worded as that Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and the Prophets, had not a clear and comprehen­sive understanding of the things virtually and really intended by them. And, per­haps, it would not have consisted with the grand intermediate step in the affair of man's salvation, the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, to have spoken more ex­plicitly upon the matter, till this had been accomplished. But still, so much was [Page 19] said in the promises of God to Adam and Abraham, and in the prophesies he inspi­red his prophets to deliver, that it was known in general, that some great design of mercy, by some extraordinary person that should be born of a woman, and pro­ceed from Abraham, was in prosecution; tho' they could not particularly say, what this mercy was, or how it would be ac­complished thro' this "seed of the wo­man," and "of Abraham." The clear and full knowledge of these things was reserved to after-times, and has according­ly been revealed in these "last days." And to us, who are able to view the scheme of God, as it has been explained by the birth, life, death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ, and the settle­ment of the gospel-kingdom in the world, with its means, motives, and advantages, in order to effect men's salvation, it very evidently appears to be one uniform con­sistent design, begun in the days of Adam, and carried on thro' the times of Abraham, Moses, and the prophets, till the coming of Jesus Christ; who, in consequence of his humiliation to death, went up to heaven, and sets there at the right hand of God, cloathed with all power, that he might finish this plan, and finally bring it into [Page 20] effect. And it is, with me, one of the strongest evidences of the truth of the gospel, and the revelation contained in it, that the promise to Abraham, as well as that to Adam, and the other similar pro­mises and predictions, are so expressed as that the scheme of salvation by Jesus Christ, as unfolded in the new-testament writings, is very obviously, however summarily, pointed out in them; inso­much that a sober enquirer can scarce fail of being satisfied, that one and the same plan has been in prosecution from the beginning; which plan, however dark to former ages, as to it's particulars, is now, in the times of the gospel, made sufficiently manifest to all men.

IT is likewise natural to expect, from what has been said, that great multitudes will be blessed in Jesus Christ. For the blessing thro' him is promised to "all na­tions and families of the earth." And can it be supposed, when the promise is thus gloriously extensive, as to its object, that a few only will be blessed in conse­quence of it?

WHETHER we understand by this blessing, gospel means and advantages, [Page 21] under the administration of God's visible kingdom by his Son Jesus Christ: or the end these means are designed to effect, the bringing men to heavenly happiness: —it will not be confined to a small num­ber, but comprehend a vast multitude.

THE gospel has already been preached to, and the kingdom of the Son of God in fact settled among, a great many na­tions of the earth: insomuch that if we reckon the individuals that now constitute these collective bodies of men, and have been their constituent parts thro' the se­veral successive ages, since Christ was made known to them, they will be vastly numerous: And the account will still in­crease, and rise almost beyond imagina­tion, if we carry our thoughts to those numberless individuals who may yet be brought into existence, and form these communities in all future ages.

AND the number of those, who have not only had the kingdom of God among them, but [...] in them to their being made meet for the heavenly kingdom, and actually admitted into it will be vast­ly great likewise. To this purpose "the redeemed to God, by the blood of Christ, [Page 22] out of every kindred, and tongue, and nation," is said, in the book of the Re­velation,^† to be "ten-thousand times ten-thousand, and thousand of thousands." And the individuals out of "all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," who shall finally "stand before the throne, and cry, salvation to our God and to the Lamb," are again represented ^* as "a great multitude which no man can num­ber." From which sacred declarations we have full warrant to say, that the blessed by Christ the promised seed of Abraham, considered as one collective body, made up of all the individuals that will be saved, out of all nations, and in all ages from the days of Adam, will be an inconcei­vably great multitude! Nor is this any other than the fulfilment of the word, which God spake of old to his servant Abraham, when, upon bidding him "look towards heaven, and tell the stars if he were able to number them," he said, ^‡ "SO SHALL THY SEED-BE."

IT may pertinently also be recommen­ded to us, from the preceding discourse, to exert ourselves, in all proper ways, that the barbarous nations, inhabiting these American lands, may become partakers [Page 23] of the salvation by Jesus Christ.—This sal­vation is the subject-matter of my text, the blessing it promises; and it is justly applicable to these tribes of men. As they are comprehended in the "all nati­ons" who shall be "blessed in the seed of Abraham," they constitute a part of the OBJECT of this divine engagement, and as truely so as any other communities of the human race. And, it may be, they were particularly ranked, in the counsels of God, among the nations that should eventually be blessed thro' the seed here promised; though it was not till after-ages that they were bro't into actual existence. We have such an observable passage as that in the book of Psalms, ^* "Have respect unto the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." The words may be looked upon as a prophetic prayer, looking forward to the times of Christ, when the covenant-promise to Abraham should be fulfilled: And the argument enforcing the prayer is, that there were places in "the earth covered with dark­ness," whose inhabitants were, in a singu­lar sense, "barbarous and cruel." Per­haps, no places in the earth were ever more dark, and at the same time more [Page 24] given to cruelty, than these American regions, as possessed by the ab-originals. The Spirit who spake thro' David might have in view the nations in these parts of the earth, and, upon the foresight of their deplorably sad condition, pray God to "respect the covenant," his covenant with Abraham, which promised a blessing to these, among the other nations; a blessing that would "turn them from darkness to light," and of savage and cru­el, make them the peaceable, kind and tender-hearted disciples of the meek and compassionate Jesus. And these nations also might be especially meant in that grant to the Son of God and seed of Abra­ham, ^‡ "I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the UTTER­MOST PARTS OF THE EARTH for thy possession." It may be, the epithet, UT­TERMOST, can be applied to no parts of the earth with more propriety, than to these American lands. But whether they are particularly intended, or not; 'tis as certain the tribes of men inhabiting here are included in the promise to Abraham, as that they are nations existing on the earth; for the promise extends to all such without limitation.

[Page 25]AND it has, in fact, with respect to some of these tribes of men, been happily fulfilled. The "glad tidings of joy to all people," salvation by Jesus Christ, has been made known to, and embraced by, them. It is freely owned, neither our fathers, who came over to this Ame­rican wilderness for the sake of enjoying themselves, and transmitting to their pos­terity, the gospel-worship in its purity and simplicity; nor we their children have exerted ourselves, as we might and ought to have done, to propagate the knowledge of the one true and living God, and his only begotten Son, among the ignorant and savage people in these "regions of the shadow of death:" Yet, something has been done both by them and us, tho' more from abroad, to effect this blessed purpose: Nor have these do­ings for the Lord been wholly in vain. The sacred books of the old and new-tes­tament have, by the skill and labor of the memorable ELIOT, been translated into the Indian language, and charitably put into their hands, for their instruction in the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and of Christ: And thro' his as­siduous endeavours, with those of the re­nowned MAYHEWS, and other worthies, [Page 26] a considerable number of churches, under the divine blessing, have been gathered, consisting of Indian members, many of whom have given proof of the reality of their conversion, by their walking in the faith and order of the gospel, so as to "adorn the doctrine of the Saviour Jesus Christ." And some of these churches are remaining to this day, with English or Indian pastors at their head; tho' they are, it must be confessed and lamented, in a declining state. And, in truth, the Indians, within this and the neighbouring colonies of Connecticut, Rhode-Island, and New-Hampshire, are strangely dimi­nished. A few only are left; and it looks as tho', in time not far distant, their race would be extinct.^*

[Page 27]THEY are more numerous, and at the same time more savage, on our northern [Page 28] and eastern borders; for which reason, about nine and twenty years ago, three missionaries, under the influence, and at the charge, of the honorable society in Scotland for propagating christian know­ledge, in concurrence with the honorable general assembly of this province, were employed to use their best endeavours to convert them to the faith of Christ. They were "separated to their work," and "commended to the grace of God," in this house, in the presence of a great mul­titude of pious good people. But, upon trial, they found themselves unable to serve the ends of the gospel among these Indians; as they had been previously corrupted by p [...]pish priests: Nor may it be expected, that any attempts to indoc­trine them in the principles of pure and undefiled religion will meet with success, while they are so deeply tinctured with romish superstition, and absolutely gover­ned by Jesuits sent to them from Canada.

THE Indian tribes, in our western parts, are yet more numerous and considerable, and as they are in heathen darkness, un­mixt with popish corruption, there is reason to hope, if suitable means are used with them, that they may, under the di­vine [Page 29] influence, be savingly enlightned in "the knowledge of the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, whom to know is life eternal."

AND the providence of God, by so succeeding his Britannic Majesty's Arms as to put Canada into English hands, seems evidently to point our view to these tribes of Indians, making it our duty to endea­vour to carry the gospel to them; since that, which has all along been the "let," is now "taken out of the way." And may I not say, that the Spirit of grace concurs with divine providence in calling upon us to exert ourselves in all wise methods, within our respective spheres, that "God's King in Sion" may have these "uttermost parts of the earth for his possession?" To what else can we so justly attribute the serious concern, relative to the spread­ing the gospel among these Indians, which has been so generally awakened in the minds of people, upon occasion of the marvellous victories the right hand of the most high has given us over our French enemies, subjecting their country to the crown of England? Never did there ap­pear before so strong and general a dis­position to encourage the sending "the word of salvation" to them.

[Page 30]'TIS in consequence of this good dis­position, and the charitable effects of it, that we have now two Missionaries in the MOHAWK-country; one, the worthy pastor of the church at Brookfield, who is gone for a time only: The other, a promising young man, who went with a view to spend his life in the service, if God should be pleased to give any com­fortable prospect of success. We have lately heard from them, and the news they send us is such as will give joy to all who truly love the Redeemer, and dispose them to open their lips in praises to God.

THEY write, ‘that, soon after their arrival at Onoquage, they assembled the chief men of the tribe in this place, informing them of their business, and by whom they were sent: That, with great solemnity, they returned their hearty thanks to the honorable commissioners, and to them for under­taking so difficult and arduous a work. — But, as three of their principal men were absent, they concluded with say­ing, they spake and acted only for themselves and families; adding, that when these three should return, they would meet again, when they should [Page 31] be glad to hear again of this matter, and would return a more compleat answer. Upon the whole, they all ap­peared very cordial as well as thankful.’

MR. FORBES writes in another letter, ‘The Indians appear very cordial and well-disposed. The last sabbath [the sabbath preceding the 29th of June] we had a very full and attentive assem­bly, as devout as ever I saw, and pro­perly raised with a well-tempered zeal. The whole assembly was moved — many discovered a deep sorrow for sin, and were all attention to the word spoken. Some wept and covered their faces. In short, it seemed as if God was moving by his Spirit upon the whole assembly. On monday we visi­ted most of the families in town, con­versed with the heads of them upon the things of religion, and exhorted the youth and children to the practising early piety. We found several under a very serious concern about their souls and the future world, and very desirous to know what they should do to be sa­ved. Others we found [it is to be re­marked here, Mr. Hawley had spent some time with this tribe of Indians [Page 32] before the war] well established in the christian faith, and zealously engaged in the practise of sober godliness.—Eve­ry thing looks encouraging here on the part of the beneficent design of our mission: and I can't but think, (if we are not greatly wanting) that great things may be effected in favor of the Redeemer's kingdom.’

He writes in another letter still, The Indians ‘desire to have a church gathe­red, and to have the sacrament of the Lord's supper administred before I leave them. I have discoursed with a num­ber with this view, and find that several are well-established in the essential doc­trines of christianity, and have a uni­form practical sense of religion upon their minds.—We have set up a school here, ^‖ at which we are instructing the [Page 33] children in the knowledge of the En­glish language. We have had about a dozen a day for about twenty days, and find the children are very much pleased with it, and give their constant and seasonable attendance, without any constraint from their parents. Some of them make surprising proficiency, pronounce the whole alphabet well, and know each letter; and four have got to pronunce distinct syllables pro­perly. They appear to be, in general, [Page 34] very promising children. The inha­bitants are vastly pleased, that two of our lads ^* are come to be with them to learn their language; and have, of their own accord, offered three of their's, whom they would send to New-Eng­land to learn our language; but I told them, I must wait the pleasure of the commissioners, before I could give any encouragement to take them with me.’ ^‡ [Page 35] He adds, ‘We have got all our matters ripe to make proposals to the Indians, and wait only the return of Adam, their chief, who is now expected. The In­dians are of a very obliging disposition, and well-disposed toward religion. — Thomas King made a speech in the name of two or three, (who had not been present at any of their former councils) in which he expressed a very grateful sense of the care the commis­sioners have taken of the most impor­tant interest among them, and, for his own part, he greatly rejoiced that [Page 36] they were once more likely to enjoy the gospel. He was ready to promise all that lay in his power, that the glo­rious design should meet with success.— He wanted some more effectual mea­sures might be taken to prevent the sin of drunkeness; and hoped, till some way was found out, we would pity and pray for them; for they were so addicted to that sin, that they could not refrain when Rum was brought a­mong them. — All the Chiefs are desi­rous, that some effectual way may be taken that no Rum be brought among them; for they say, they plainly see, that Rum is destructive both to soul and body.’

[Page 37]LET me digress here a moment to la­ment the excessive love and immoderate use of strong drink, so universal among the Indians. And is it not to be lamented also, and more bitterly, that RUM, which is so bewitching to them, should be put into their hands, in such quantities, by Christians, so called, while they know, at the same time, the mischief it does among them. Shall men, professing christianity, for the sake of a little sordid gain, be in­strumental in destroying both the bodies and souls of those, who, in common with themselves, are the off spring of God? How great is their guilt! They may just­ly expect being doomed to the forest punishment, when Christ, the judge, shall "come in the glory of his father, and of the holy angels, to render to every man according to his deeds." If neither love to God nor their neighbour will restrain these Traders with the Indians from this great wickedness, 'tis pity but it should be put out of their power to go on any longer in the practice of it. It may be, no effectual restraints can be laid upon them but from HOME; and it would not be below the dignity of the BRITISH MONARCH to devise some expedient, and carry it into effect, that would powerfully tend to save this unhappy people from [Page 38] this "snare of the Devil." We might then hope for success in our endeavours to settle the gospel among them: Other­wise, there may be reason to fear, that the good end proposed by our missions to them will be, in a great measure, de­feated. — But to return,

He further writes, ‘it will be best Mr. Bowman (the missionary here present) should come as soon as he can, and that he be ordained that he may administer the ordinances here.’

IN compliance with this desire, and in consequence of the encouraging pros­pect there is of doing good among the Indians, we judged we were called of God to send Mr. Bowman to them. We also tho't it proper he should first be or­dained, that he might be qualified to act, in all respects, as a gospel-minister among them. And it is to separate him to the service of Christ, more especially among these Indians, that we are now in the house of the Lord.

WE rejoice, Sir, that you find within your self a willingness to engage in this self-denying work; and would hope it has been excited in you by the God of all [Page 39] grace, in compassion to the souls of many who are perishing in the darkness of heathenism.

THE service you are going upon is dif­ficult. It will call you to give up your ease, to undergo hardships, and to endure tryals of various kinds: Nor would it be strange, if you should meet with opposi­tion from "the powers of darkness," while you are labouring to "enlighten those in the knowledge of Christ," who have long been "alienated from the life of God thro' the ignorance that is in them, by reason of the blindness of their minds." But you have no reason to be discouraged. The cause you are engaged in is nobly great and good. It is the cause of God; it is the cause of Christ; it is the cause, the promoting of which lies in "shewing men the way of salvation," through the atoning blood of the once crucified, but now exalted and glorified Jesus. The design of your mission nearly resembles that of the apostles of our Lord. You are "set," as they were, "a light to the "Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the ends of the earth;" you are to go, as they did, to nations whose "minds the god of this world hath blind­ed, that the light of the glorious gospel of [Page 40] Christ, who is the image of God, might shine unto them." And you may hum­bly hope, Christ will be with you, as he was with them, by the special influences of his Spirit, to comfort your heart, to invigorate your faith, to animate your zeal, to strengthen your resolution, and, in a word, to enable you to surmount all the difficulties that may attend the execu­tion of the trust to be committed to you.

LET your dependance be on Christ.— Seek to him, in the ways of his appoint­ment, for those measures of knowledge, prudence, fortitude, and all that grace and strength, the service you are called to may make necessary.

AND you should be encouraged to trust in him both for help and success, when you remember and consider, that the tribes of men you are going to, make a part of "the nations," concerning whom the divine promise is, that they "shall be blessed in the seed of Abraham," our Lord Jesus Christ. And as the chief de­sign of your mission is, that "this blessing" may be extended to these people, in ac­complishment of the promise of God, will he be wanting in any thing proper, on his part, in order to your being succeeded [Page 41] in a design so beneficial in it's nature, and that tends so much to the glory of his name, and the enlargement of the king­dom of his dear Son? It cannot be sup­posed. It may rather be hoped, that he will fulfil in you that which is written, ^* "Behold, thou shalt call a nation thou knowest not; and nations that know not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord thy God; for he hath glorified thee."

AND if this should be the happy effect of your mission to the Indian nations, how signally would you serve your coun­try, as well as your God and Saviour? What honor would it reflect on you; what a blessing would you be to these lands, if you should be the chosen instru­ment in subduing the Savages of the wil­derness to our Lord Jesus Christ, making them his willing and obedient subjects? Your service herein would be far more important than the victories over them in war, which have cost so much blood and treasure; as they would now be good neighbours to us, and dwell by us in love and peace, being, in common with our­selves, heirs of the same hope of eternal life.

[Page 42]I CANNOT, in consideration of such service, however important, ensure you an adequate reward from men; but as this service done for them will, at the same time, be a service done for God and Christ, "great shall be your reward in heaven." Having, by your faithful labours, under the influence of the Spirit of grace, turned these heathen people from "darkness to light," you shall "shine in the kingdom of your father, as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars forever and ever." Yea, should the design of your mission fail of being answered; should "you labour in vain, and spend your strength for nought and in vain;" yet, if you are faithful, you shall "in no wise lose your reward." Even in case of fruitless labour, "your judgment is with the Lord, and your work with your God;" and he will render to you, at the appear­ing of Jesus Christ, not according to the success you have met with, but according to the integrity of your heart, and the greatness of the trials you have gone thro' in your upright endeavours to promote the good of perishing souls. And, having "been faithful to death," he will, of his rich grace, thro' the merits of the Re­deemer's blood, bestow upon you "the [Page 43] crown that fadeth not away," a glorious immortality in the heavenly world.

I NOW turn myself to this great assem­bly, and would bespeak your prayers for "this man of God," who is about to de­vout himself to the service of Christ among a people of a "strange speech and hard language," and who, at the same time, are invelop'd with gross darkness. "Bre­thren, pray for him," and for his "com­panion also in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ," gone before on this dif­ficult business, that "the word of the Lord," dispensed by them, "may have free course, and be glorified" among the Indian nations, as it has been among us, and much more abundantly: Pray for them, that "utterance may be given to them," so as "that they may open their mouths boldly to make known the myste­ry of the gospel" to these ignorant Gen­tiles: Pray for them, that God would "cause them to triumph in Christ," while they "make manifest the favour of his knowledge in every place" they may be called to; and that they "may be unto God a sweet savour of Christ, a savour of life unto life" to many who, at pre­sent, are "dead in trespasses and sins." And "pray with all prayer and suppli­cation [Page 44] in the Spirit, watching thereunto with all perseverance." Pray and cease not, "always making mention of them in your prayers," that they may be strengthned with all might, according to God's glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering, with joyfulness" in beholding these unhappy people "delive­red from the power of darkness, and tran­slated into the kingdom of God's dear Son."

AND together with your prayers, let me invite you to give of your substance for their bodily support and comfort. Some of you, thanks be to God, have very liberally subscribed towards a FUND that is intended, if the Lord pleases, to yield a perpetual income for the service of Christ among the Indians; as also towards bearing the expence we may be called to in our endeavours, for the three or four first years, to carry the gospel to them: But, as the subscription towards the FUND will not take place till the late INCORPO­RATING ACT shall receive the ROYAL SANCTION; and as the temporary sub­scription, tho' kindly assisted by the com­missioners from the LONDON-SOCIETY, and by the CORPORATION OF HAR­VARD-COLLEGE, who are intrusted with the disposal of Dr. WILLIAMS's legacy [Page 45] for the instruction of the Indians: I say, as this temporary subscription, with the aids afforded to it, is for the present, in­sufficient to answer the necessary demands, we think it our duty to call upon those, who have not yet had opportunity there­for, to express their regards to Christ by now offering freely to promote his cause.

AND were our views, in this matter, confined to this world only, there would not be wanting powerful inducements to prompt us to liberality. We should here­by attach the Indians to our interest; at least, we should do that which would happily tend to answer so good a purpose. Had we, in times past, been at the ex­pence that was necessary in order to their instruction in the things of God and Jesus Christ, instead of "snares and traps to us, scourges in our sides and thorns in our eyes," they might have been our fast friends, and maintained a correspondence with us to our advantage as well as their own. The French nation have taught us this to our sorrow as well as cost.— They have all along made it a point to support missionaries among the Indians, wherever they could; and to this chiefly it is owing, that they have had such pow­er over them. By the pains they have [Page 46] taken to convert them, not to the faith of Christ, but to the religion of Rome, they have been able to use them as in­struments in bringing into effect their mis­chievous designs against us; and by them they have committed those barbarities we should never have felt, could they not have excused themselves by transferring the shame of them to these savages in al­liance with them. And as there are nu­merous tribes of them untainted as yet with Romish superstition, would it not be wise policy to use all proper endeavours to bring them to the faith, not "of a lie," but "of the truth as it is in Jesus?" Would not this, in the end, be the least expensive method to make and keep them our good friends and peaceable neighbours?

BUT there are much higher motives to excite in us a zeal to promote the interest of Christ among the Indian tribes, and much nobler principles to act from in the charitable expressions of it. — We should be constrained from gratitude to God; that God, who, by crowning the British arms, in these American lands, with suc­cess beyond even our biggest expectations, has opened a wide door for sending the gospel to the Gentiles inhabiting here. And in what more proper way can we [Page 47] manifest the sense we have of our obliga­tions to the supreme Ruler, than by taking occasion from the signal victories he has given us to contribute to the enlargement of the kingdom of his son Jesus Christ? If our MOTHER-COUNTY, and HE THAT SWAYS THE SCEPTRE THERE, should, by pious donations, encourage such measures as are wisely concerted to spread the religion of Jesus in these distant and dark corners of the world, would it be an unsuitable acknowledgment to "the King of Kings" for the great things he has done for them, as well as us? May we not rather say, thus "to do good and communicate" would be "an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God"?—Love to Christ should likewise open our hearts and hands upon this occasion. 'Tis in his cause, and to promote the honor of his name, that we are urged to bountifulness: And how powerfully is this motive adapted to work upon us? Shall we pretend an affection to the Saviour of men, and not exert our­selves, as we are able, and have oppor­tunity, to spread the knowledge of his religion, and extend the borders of his kingdom? If we hang back, or discover a niggardly disposition, "how dwelleth the love of Christ in us"? It may be [Page 48] feared, it does not "in deed and in truth," tho' it should "in word and in tongue." —Love also to the souls of our fellow­men, blinded by the God of this world, and perishing in the darkness of ignorance and sin, should move our hearts. Who among the sons of Adam are more proper objects of our christian compassion? And how should it operate, if not in charitable endeavours, that they may be "transla­ted into the light of the glorious gospel"? With what face of truth can we profess religious kindness towards them, if we cannot find without ourselves a disposition to be at some small expence to encourage the use of means to prevent their being "hurt of the second death"?

THERE are, I trust, a good number here present, who "love Christ that first loved them," and those also who are "ungodly and without strength," as they were themselves when Christ died "for them." And will such be straitned in their own bowels, when they have a fair opportunity to assist in enlarging the in­terest of Christ, and saving the souls of those who are in a lost condition? They will rather exert themselves with all chear­fulness and liberality in carrying so noble a design into execution.

[Page 49]I CANNOT wish any thing better for the people here assembled, or for the people in this town, and throughout the land, than that Christ and immortal souls may be precious to them, as they are to those that believe. They would not then spend their money in that furniture for their houses, or attendance on their persons, or ornament to their bodies, which the distinction God has made between them and others does not call for, but is the fruit of pride and vain-glory: they would not spend it in supporting criminal amuse­ments and inglorious pastimes, which dis­sipate the mind, and indispose it to the ex­ercises of piety and devotion; and are be­sides greatly hurtful to society: much less would they spend it in that luxurious in­temperate way of living, which tends to pamper lust, and render it headstrong and impetuous. They would rather be inclined, not only to refrain from these extravagancies, but to deny themselves, at least for a time, and in some instances, as there might be occasion, even the conveniences of life, that they might be better able to distribute to the purposes of charity, especially to the souls of men: Nor should we, if this love to Christ and souls was generally prevalent, be at any [Page 50] loss for a sufficiency to prosecute the great and good design that is now happily begun.

MAY it be abundantly prospered, and in the hands of those who are, at present, employed in carrying it on! And may the time be hastened, when the Son of God, and Saviour of men, "shall have domi­nion from sea to sea," and be "King over all the earth"! when "men shall be blessed in him, and all nations shall call him blessed"!

"BLESSED be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doth wondrous things: And blessed be his glorious name forever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory: AMEN, and AMEN"