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they, "the time that the Lord's house should be built. More should be done for ourselves, before we attempt great things for the heathen."

To all this worldly wisdom, we are bound to reply in the spirit of Nehemiah,

We are engaged in a GREAT WORK,-and it must NOT BE SUSPENDED. In considering these two branches of the text, I would observe;

I. The missionary cause is GREAT; great in its object, in the numbers to which its benefits are to be extended, in the difficulties which it must encounter, in the divine influence which may be expected to rest upon it, in the means which are necessary to its success, in the rewards which it offers to its friends and supporters.

1. It is great in its object. It aims at delivering the heathen world from the gross darkness which covers it; and spreading over it, the splendor produced by the pure light of Christianity. The fundamental principle from which all the abominations of heathenism proceed, is a departure from the true and living God. When a nation has closed its eyes upon the light of heaven; when it has shut out from its thoughts the Being who sustains the universe; when it has sought to find other objects of its highest confidence and adoration; no power of imagination can fathom the depths of baseness and wretchedness, to which it is liable to sink. It matters not, whether it pays its devotions to the host of heaven, or the stock of a tree; whether it sacrifices to an ox, a serpent, or a stone. They are all infinitely too low to be objects of trust. They are alike degrading, in their influence upon their worshippers. As the knowledge of God is the foun

dation of all true religion; idolatry must be expected to be fruitful in every thing which is base and grovelling, in the human character. But on this subject, there is no occasion for theorizing. The record of facts goes far beyond the anticipations of speculative moralists. The accounts of the religious barbarities of the heathen, their impure and impious rites, their authorized murders, have been poured in upon us, till we are ready to repel the conviction that they are realities. If we seemingly admit the facts, the frequency of their occurrence produces an insensibility to their enormity. Like the horrors of the slavetrade we have come to consider them as matters of The darkness is so deep, and widely spread, that a few gleams of light engross our attention, and even excite our admiration.

course.

Crimes which are not of so deep a die, as others with which they are compared, are, for distinction sake, exalted to the rank of virtues. But where are to be found, among them, the virtues which give a title to a place in the heavenly mansions? These heathen, as well as ourselves, must die. They must rise, and be gathered before the throne of their judge. When they stand at his bar, will they be acquitted, on the ground that they had never acknowledged his authority? that they had grown up under a system of religion which knew not Jehovah? In every nation, "he that feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." But what is to become of those who are filled with all unrighteousness? "who are without excuse, for changing the glory of the incorruptible God, into an image made like to corruptible

men?" To what purpose is it to inquire whether there may possibly be here and there, a virtuous heathen, when the multitude are confessedly sunk in the depths of corruption. Will the eternal law of righteousness be suspended, in favor of those who have not chosen to retain God in their knowledge? Will they be tried by the laws which they have made for themselves, in defiance of the authorty of heaven? Will the African tribes, who wage war upon each other, for the sole purpose of obtaining captives for the slave-ships, be judged by the principles which regulate this horrible traffic? Will the savage of the West be justified, in his vindictive and murderous deeds, because revenge is the law of his nation? Will the Hindoo mother, who casts off her infant, and leaves it to perish, be treated as guiltless, because the act is authorised by the superstition of her country?

Upon what ground, are the crimes of the heathen to be pardoned? Will their robes be made white, by the ablutions of the Ganges? Will they be prepared for the holy society of heaven, by expiring under the wheels of an idol's car? "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?" Will the human sacrifices of the heathen, procure for them admittance to the paradise above? "Shall they give their first-born for their transgression, the fruit of their body, for the sin of their soul? There is no other name given under heaven, whereby they can be saved, but by Jesus Christ." It is through his name, that missionaries endeavor to recover them from the dominion of the prince of darkness. It is through the power of his grace, that

regions which have been desolate for ages, are to be converted into the garden of God.

2. The missionary cause is great, when considered in reference to the numbers, to which its influence is to be extended. On how small a portion of the earth, has the Sun of righteousness yet risen! Three fourths of its inhabitants, are still covered with the shadow of death. Year after year, multitudes from the nations, and kindreds, and people, are passing to the world of retribution, without even the hope of admission to the new Jerusalem; to the assembly of those who sing the praises of God and the Lamb.

The friends of missions, if they regard the command of their Savior, will not rest, till they have gone into all the world, and preached the Gospel to every creature. They will not cease their labors, till the tribes of the wilderness rejoice in his salvation; till every island of the sea has received his law; "till Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God;" till the myriads of Asia shall unite in ascriptions of praise to the Redeemer. Nor is one generation alone to be included in the estimate. The effects of the preaching of Paul, have extended from that day to the present. In consequence of the conversion of the Gentiles, by his labors, multitudes, in each successive age, have gone from the earth, to unite with him, in swelling the song of the redeemed in heaven. And if the nations which are now given to idolatry, should be converted to Christianity; their children and children's children, to remote generations, would, in great numbers, we have reason to believe, be gathered to the assembly of the blessed.

What accessions to the kingdom of glory may there hereafter be, in consequence of the instructions of those who are now striving, in heathen lands, to make known the salvation of the cross!

What other pursuit is to be compared with this great enterprize of Christian benevolence? What are the triumphs of earthly potentates, in comparison with the sway which the Prince of peace is extending, over the hearts and lives of those who receive his salvation? How far are the most splendid commercial arrangements exceeded in importance, by the plan which proposes to carry the message of divine mercy, to every corner of the earth! What are the sublimest discoveries of science, compared with the lustre of that heavenly truth, which is dispelling the darkness that now covers the nations?

3. The missionary cause will be seen to be great, if we consider the difficulties which lie in the way of its progress. To have access to the heathen, in all their dwelling places, oceans must be traversed, deserts must be penetrated; climates filled with disease and death must be visited. When the missionary arrives at his station, he finds that a long course of preparation is necessary, before he can hope to see the fruit of his labors. The fallow ground must be broken up, the field must be sown, the early and the latter rain must be received, before he can put in the sickle to the harvest. The languages of the various nations and tribes, must be learned. Into each of these, translations of the Scriptures must be made. Children and adults must be put to school, to enable them to read what is then brought to their hands.

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