hopeth all things, believeth all things, and ENDURETH all things. Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of your Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift. Thus may, you expe& to perform your arduous labours with comfort to yourfelf, and with usefulness to the fouls of men.

In the fecond place, While you exercise a folicitous care over your own heart, ftudy to deliver to the poor heathen the plain, genuine and unadorned gospel of Chrift. We charge you before God, that you know nothing among them, fave Jefus Chrift, and him crucified. Never fuffer yourself to fubftitute human devifes for the fimplicity of evangelical truth. Believe it, my brother, if ever you fucceed in converting the heathen from fin to holiness, and from Satan to the living God, it must be by the pure gofpel of the Saviour. This is the harp two-edged fword, which pierceth even to the dividing afunder of foul and fpirit, and of the joints and marrow; and which difcerneth the thoughts and intents of the heart. This is the weapon which is mighty through God, to the pulling down of strong holds, and which bringeth every thought into captivity to the obedience of Chrift. Diligently endeavour, then, in your public preaching, and in your private conferences, to imprefs upon their rude minds, that all have finned and come fhort of the glory of God-that by the works of the law no flesh living can be justified—that finners are juftified, freely by God's grace, through the redemption that is in Chrift Fefus-and that his blood cleanfeth from all fin.-Do not waste your time in doting about queftions and frifes of words; or in difcuffing the fubtilties of polemic divinity. Do not imagine that you will be able to remove all the objections which the carnal mind may make to evangelical truth; and therefore do not dwell on thefe, but rather imitate the conduct of the apoftles, who infift much on the fall and depravity of man; on the incarnation, the humiliation, the atonement, and the glory of Jefus Chrift. Endeavour often to give fimple and affecting recitals of his love, his fufferings, his death, his refurrection, and his afcenfion to glory; and the obligations we are under to the un

fearchable riches of his grace-Take every opportunity of impreffing these truths on their minds; deliver them with plainnefs, with pungency, and with affection— not in the enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonAtration of the Spirit and of power-And for this purpofe, let the fcriptures of truth be your daily study, and the great standard of your preaching. This facred volume contains at once your commiffion and your inftructions-Keeping clofe to this, as the rule of your miniftry, and living near to the Lord Jefus, as the Captain of your falvation, you may fafely truft him for the fruits of all your labours.

Once more, Let your example among the heathen correfpond with your preaching-let your converfation be a living comment on the pure gofpel, which you recommend to them-teftify to them every day, that the religion which you preach has its proper effect on your own heart and life-and that you are by grace yourself what you would perfuade them to be. If they fee you violating thofe precepts of uprightness, temperance, purity and univerfal holinefs, which you will of courfe deliver to them, it will difgrace your character and deftroy your usefulness. An immoral minifter of the gospel is every where an odious and a mischievous character; but an immoral miffionary, an unholy meffenger of falvation to the benighted heathen, is peculiarly odious, and is likely to be an hundred fold more mifchievous: For while the uncultivated favage is oftentimes fhrewd and difcerning, and is foon fhocked with the inconfiftency of fuch a character, he is deprived of thofe advantages, which, if enjoyed, might take away, in fome measure, the force of fuch fatal example-and thus he is left to all its deftructive influence-and is hereby tempted to loathe and fhun a religion which has fuch profeffors. Be careful then, to walk worthy of your high calling, in all lowlinefs and meeknefs-letting your light fo fhine before the heathen, that they may fee your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

And here I would, in an efpecial manner, enjoin it

upon you, to exhibit to the favage tribes among whom you may labour, upon all occafions, that frank, open and difinterested character, that is always impreffive, even on the minds of barbarians. Never give them cause to fufpect you of mercenary motives, or of hidden and difengenuous defigns. All experience proves that the moment any thing of this kind is difcovered, your influence will be at an end. Let your diligence, your zeal, your felf-denial and mortification to the world, convince them, that you feek not THEIRS, but THEMthat the governing end of all your labours is to promote their temporal and eternal happiness. Accommodate yourself, as far as the purity of the gofpel will admit, to their customs and their prejudices-and let your apoftolic zeal be tempered with that apoftolic prudence, which became all things to all men, that he might gain fome. Be wife as a ferpent, and harmless as a dove.

In a word, my dear brother, you have every reafon to expect that you will meet with many trials, and even formidable difficulties. You will have to contend with the perils of the wilderness, and with the numerous inconveniences of barbarous life. You will have to encounter the obftacles arifing from the ferocious temper, the roving difpofition, the fuperftitious prejudices, and the profound ignorance of the heathen tribes to which you are going. In addition to the numerous difcouragements which ordinarily befet the ambaffador of Chrift, you will have many peculiar to your fituation as a miffionary among the heathen. These are confiderations which, were there nothing to counterbalance them, would appal the ftouteft heart.

But let none of these things move you. Remember the divine commiffion, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And remember the gracious promife with which it was accompanied-" Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Go in the name, and in the ftrength, therefore, of the mighty God of Jacob! Endure hardness as a good foldier of Fefus Chrift. Count not even your life dear unto you, that y

may finish your courfe with joy, and fuccessfully accomplish the great ends of the miniftry you have received from the Lord Jesus. Happy and honoured indeed will you be, if God fhould make you an instrument of haftening on the glorious period, when the defert fhall re-. joice and bloffom as the rofe-when those who are afar off Shall be brought nigh by the blood of Chrift-when the heathen fhall be given to him for an inheritance, and the uttermoft parts of the earth for a poffeffion-and when all the ends of the earth fhall fee the falvation of our God. Go in peace! May you have grace to be faithful unto death! and when the chief Shepherd fhall appear, may you receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away! Amen.

Paftoral Letter from the General Assembly of the Prefbyterian Church in the United States of America to the Churches under their care.

Dear Friends, and Brethren,

BEING, by the favour of Divine Providence, con

ftitutionally convened, in General Affembly, for the purpose of deliberating upon those affairs which respect the welfare and intereft of that branch of Chrift's church more immediately under our care and fuperintendance, and having made particular inquiry into the present state of the religious focieties and churches within our limits, and of practical religion among them, together with the probable means of promoting the profperity, and increafing the fpirit and power of vital piety and godliness throughout our country; we efteem it our duty to communicate to you the refult of our inquiries and deliberations on thefe important fubjects; to fuggeft to you thofe duties which we fuppofe particularly incumbent on you, and fuch confiderations as may feem beft calculated, in a proper manner, to affect and influence you.

Know then, dear brethren, that notwithstanding there is ftill caufe to deplore the great prevalence of vice and immorality; to lament that the duties of religion are not attended to as they ought to be; or that its facred inftitutions and ordinances are not duly revered, nor accompanied, in general, by thofe influences of the fpirit of God, which are neceffary to give them their defired efficacy; yet that, amidft this generally unfavourable afpect, there are feveral particular circumftances peculiarly comforting and encouraging. It appears, alas! that in fome parts of our churches, there is a prevailing luke-warmnefs and formality in religion; that the wife virgins are flumbering and fleeping with the foolish; that through the abounding of iniquity, the love of many is waxen cold; and that thofe pernicious principles which tend to fap the very foundation of religion and morality, to deftroy our prefent peace and comforts, and to blaft the hopes of a bleffed and glorious immortality, have, in various inftances, been imbibed, and produced their unhappy effects. But we have heard from different parts, the glad tidings of the out-pouring of the fpirit, and of times of refreshing from the prefence of the Lord. We have heard from feveral parts of our churches, and elsewhere, of the late hopeful converfion of many. From the Eaft, from the Weft, and from the South, have thefe joyful tidings reached our ears. Yes, of the triumphs of the power and grace of the Redeemer, in bringing feveral determined and avowed infidels into fubjection to himself, and making them the willing captives of his crofs, have we heard. And in various other places, where the effects are not fo powerful and great, we are happy to learn that there is an evident increased respect for the institutions of religion, and attention to its important concerns.

The favourable reports of our miffionaries upon our Northern and Weftern frontiers, of their labours and fucceffes, during the last year, afford rational ground to believe that the appropriations of the voluntary contributions of our Chriftian brethren, for the benevolent