Little more than a week has passed since Rev. Thomas Swan, late Professor of Divinity in the Baptist Missionary College at Serampore, left this city for Liverpool, after having remained with us only about ten days from the time of his arrival from Calcutta until his departure. While here he preached in several of our places of worship, with much acceptance, and became endeared to all who formed a personal acquaintance with him. He delivered a missionary discourse, by request, in the Sansom-Street meeting-house, to a large assembly, which, with the address I here with send, he was induced by the earnest desire of several to leave with us. The publick will see the former ere long. The latter on "the necessity of much personal religion in missionaries," you will please publish in your Magazine. It will prove acceptable to your readers, and is particularly seasonable at this time, when our mission stations need recruits, and others are proposed to be established,―that any who may look forward to such an engagement, and those who are to decide on their qualifications, may be aided in fixing their minds on the necessity of a high character in their piety. May the perusal of it be useful to all Christians and ministers in exciting them to seek that state of personal religion which will make them shine as lights in the world. D. ADDRESS, ON THE NECESSITY OF MUCH PERSONAL RELIGION IN MISSIONARIES, BY REV. THOMAS SWAN. Delivered in the Mission Chapel, Circular Road, Calcutta; and in the Serampore Mission Chapel. in We shall, therefore, present to our brethren in the same work, a few considerations calculated to evince the necessity of much personal religion in the missionaries of Christ. MUCH personal religion is necesChristian. All that sary every profess to know Christ, ought to be entirely devoted to his service. But if this be true in reference to Christians in general, how much more is it true in regard to the Christian And in the first place, missionaminister and the Christian mission-ries in general have been selected ary? If the former are not to re- by their Christian brethren for this main satisfied with little piety, sure- peculiar work, on the faith that ly the latter, whose very occupation they possessed a more than ordinais religion, are laid under the ry degree of personal piety. Howstrongest obligations to strive after ever careless Christians may be as being devout in the highest degree. " to their own particular attainments SEPT. 1828. 33 would have made such a choice. And this consideration, my brethren, that the people of God selected us to the great work on the faith of our possessing much personal re in religion-however little holy anxiety they may discover to please God in all things, to serve him with their spirits, or to be entirely devoted to the service of Christ-however seldom they may contemplate that per-ligion, involves a necessity that we fection of character which they are should possess it. destined finally to attain, and which 2. When a missionary devotes it should be their constant effort to himself to the work of Christ, he solattain-you will not find them emnly vows, that he will exhibit to equally careless in their ideas as to the world, that he is under the inwhat a nis ionary should be. How-fluence of a very high degree of For the truth of ever low in religion they may be personal piety. themselves, you will always find this, I may safely appeal to the exthat they think the missionary perience of every missionary now should be high in religion. They hearing me. You well remember would never select a man for a mis- your feelings, and the prevailing sionary whose attainments in seri- sentiments of your minds, on that ous godliness they did not consider important day when you were confar more elevated than their own. secrated to such a glorious service. If he were not more eminent than If, when you first believed in Christ, they in personal religion, they would you said you would be the Lord'sthink him entirely unfit for such a if, when you were first united to the sacred employment. This is the Christian church, you said you principle on which Christian mis- would be the Lord's, surely when sionaries are chosen by their breth- you were set apart for missionaries, ren; and whether they are really you said, in an equally striking and eminent in personal religion or not, impressive manner, that you would they are chosen as persons who are. be the Lord's. At that interesting They must appear to be very de- period of your existence, which vout, or they will not be selected. you will never cease to remember, It is on the faith that they really how elevated were your aims, how are what they seem, that the peo- great were the attainments in perple of God set them apart for the sonal religion which you expected, sublime service. But does not this through the grace of the Lord Jelay a necessity on the Christian sus, to realize. You then engaged missionary of being eminently holy? to become intimately acquainted Was it not on the supposition of his with yourselves; to enter, with the being so, that he was sent into the word of God as your light, into the missionary field? And if his breth- deepest and darkest recesses of your ren had imagined that he would be- own hearts, that you might become come indolent, or carnal, or vain, intimately acquainted with all their or proud, would they have fixed deceits, and plagues, and abominatheir choice on him? Would they tions. You then engaged to mornot have trembled at doing so?-tify every evil temper and dispositrembled at sending into the holy work of Christ an unregenerate son of perdition instead of one born from above? instead of one desirous to engage in the great work, impelled by the love and filled with the spirit of Christ? instead of one desirous to live in the cultivation of every heavenly virtue and grace? Surely they would. They never tion, and to live constantly under the influence of the love of Christ, loving your fellow-Christians as brethren, and all men as partakers of the same nature with yourselves, and as objects of the same divine compassion. You then solemnly renounced all the pomps and vanities of the world, and promised "not to be conformed to the world, He will, besides, meet with many superficial scoffers at all religion. Men whose minds are so destitute of all just ideas of things, that they are capable of nothing superior to low jest, vulgar wit, or profane ribaldry. These ignorant and wicked men will contenin both him and his glorious object, and his unwearied labours; and if they can render these the occasion of a little vain mirth, their empty minds will be completely gratified. Now these three different classes of men, both those who are humane, well-educat but transformed by the renewing of God. It were well, in one sense, your minds." You then resolved if the number of such liberal phi"not to lay up treasures on earth, lanthropists were greatly enlarged; but in heaven;" and you plainly for, although a missionary may be declared, in a sense somewhat dif- injured by such men, yet they are ferent from other Christians, that not his greatest enemies. He will you were strangers and pilgrims" meet with many formal professors on earth; you vowed in the strength who are too ignorant duly to appreof your God, to be the devoted ser- ciate missionary labours as means vants of Christ alone, and to show of education, and too destitute of yourselves so in every situation, by real piety to care for all his efforts to a diligent performance of its duties. turn the heathen "from darkness to Now, what did these solemn en- light, and from the power of Satan gagements involve on your part? to God." Did they not involve a necessity of your realizing, as far as possible, the fulfilment of them, both as to your inward and as to your outward man? Certainly they did. And happy will it be for us all, my brethren, if we recal to our minds these solemn engagements every day of our lives, that we may endeavour, by the constant performance of them, to glorify Him who hath redeemed us, and who hath permitted us to devote ourselves to so holy a service. 3. Without much personal reli-ed, and philanthropic; and those gion, a missionary will be in danger of being improperly affected by the opposition of ungodly men. The true missionary is not to imagine, that every one feels and thinks concerning missionary work as he does. His mind, as far as he is spiritual, glows with high fervour, every time he contemplates the grand object of all legitimate missionary exertion, namely, the conversion of the world to Christ. But he is greatly mistaken if he imagine, that all will feel and think in sympathy with him, that the ideas of all men will be the same as his own. He will meet with many men of enlarged minds, and of humane and benevolent hearts, who will indeed approve of his labours in so far as they tend to enlighten the understandings, and civilize the manners of the heathen; but these will have no sympathy whatever with his ardent desires, that the heathen should repent, be converted, and turn to who are hypocritical and formal; In no trusts to broken reeds. These, in themselves, will never support him or carry him through. Nothing but confidence in God, sincere devotedness to his service, and a spirit of universal charity, will enable him to overcome his enemies, and to go on perseveringly in his work. These, therefore, are what we should earnestly endeavour to attain strong faith in God, ardent devotedness to his service, and fervent love to all men, even to the enemies of God's righteous cause, for whose conversion and everlasting salvation we should daily pray. Under the influence of these alone can we hope for final victory over every species of opposition. 4. Without much personal religion, a missionary will be in danger of being seduced into the paths of error. The missionary is not merely exposed to the latent evil of his own deceitful heart, which no one can perfectly know but the eternal God himself-he is not merely exposed to the evil agency of invisible malignant spirits, whose anxiety for the ruin of his soul are ever discovered by constant molestation he is not merely exposed to the temptations arising from a world that lieth in wickedness; but he is also exposed, as well as his fellow-christians around him, to the seducing influence of those characters who have "left the paths of uprightness that they may walk in the ways of darkness," who have turned aside from the holy commandment delivered unto them," and for whom it had been better that they had not even partially known the way of righteousness. We do not now refer to those who have left religion entirely-those who, from being mere professors, have become openly wicked, and malignant enemies to the truth, and to all the genuine disciples of the truth, but we refer more particularly to those who, from their never having been really convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and of their own sin in particular, or from the native pride of their understandings having obtained the ascendency over them, or from their ignorance of the very narrow limits within which the human mind, in its aspirings after knowledge, either human or divine, is confined, have rejected that awfully mysterious yet bright system of truth in which they once professed to glory, and in its place, have substituted a miserable system of error-a system, which is the production of their boasted yet wofully blinded and perverted reason; which owes its strength, and must owe its fugitive existence to subtilty and quibble; which gives the lie to almost every page of revelation; the ultimate prevalence of which were dishonouring to God, and destructive to the present happiness and future prospect of man. Now, how is the faithful missionary to contend with enemies like these, whose very society is pernicious, whose words are poison, and the imbibement of whose spirit were destructive at once to his own soul, and the souls of his perishing fellow-men? Is he to enter the lists of argument with them? waste his precious time in listening to their subtle reasonings, or answering their profane quibbles, in admiring them as the only men of sense, and the only christians who deserve the name of rational? Is he to act as if his faith were founded on perverse disputation, and to give to heretics, who rob the Saviour of his glory and the sinner of the only foundation of human hope, the credit of being able to understand all mysteries and all knowledge, which elevation in intellect above their fellow-sinners they are so anxious to be thought entitled to? By no means. He must be anxious to feel the religion of the Bible more, and to live more constantly under its influence. This will do infinitely more than the ablest arguments, and in this way he will much better promote the Is he to cause which is dearer to him than || Their faith will become more life. In this way, also, he will un- strong, their hope more lively, their derstand the Scriptures better, and charity more fervent. They will explain them to others in a clearer be more and more devoted to their and abler manner. It is personal work. For 66 as one sinner desholiness, which ensures to a man troyeth much good," so one emithe brightest illuminations of relig-nently holy man, even in a very deious knowledge; and without that, the human understanding, however strong it may naturally be, becomes darker and darker till it be finally overwhelmed in the blackness of darkness forever. For our Saviour himself hath said, " If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." generate community, will be the instrument of God's blessing in raising the tone of true piety. Of the truth of this remark, the history of the church in former ages affords ample proof. We should therefore strive, in the strength of Christ, that our spirit and conduct, our words and action, may be such, that our beloved brethren, instead of taking offence, and being weakened by our disorderly walking, may rather be stimulated and encouraged in their course by the uniform loveliness of our spirit, and the unimpeachable rectitude of our conduct. We 5. Without much personal religion, the missionary will yield little encouragement to his christian brethren engaged with him in the same work. Those who have engaged in this work, need every encouragement that can be afforded them, in order that they may 6. Without much personal relicontinue to go on, notwithstanding gion, a missionary is not warranted the many difficulties with which to expect success in his work. they must contend. They have do not pretend to say but that many quite enough to discourage them, who have been officially engaged independently of the carnality and in religion, with very little personirreligion of those engaged with al piety, have been very successful them in the same employment. in turning men to God; nor do we They have enough of opposition deny, that many a holy minister or from their own hearts, from the missionary, has appeared to spend evil spirit, and from a wicked his strength in vain and his labour world. These sources of opposi- for nought. The Eternal giveth tion are sufficiently numerous, not any account of his matters; and without the addition of any other, he will make those whom namely, the inconsistency of chris- pleases the instruments of commutian brethren. But nothing will nicating to men his sovereign merafford more encouragement to truly cy. But we humbly conceive it sincere missionaries, than lively a general rule on the part of God, and flourishing personal religion on that he renders those who are most the part of their brethren It will devout the most useful in his cause. be a comfort to them next to their If this be true, then that missionsense of an interest in God's favour. ary who is not anxious to live near It will give an existence to religion to God-who is not conscious that, before their eyes; and it will ap- whatever may be his failings or pear a religion worth communicat- short comings, he is desirous to being to others. The pious conduct come more like Christ, and to be of even one truly consistent mis- more devoted to his service, cansionary will do more good to his not upon just grounds, expect brethren than tongue can tell. much success in his work. But They will be stimulated by it, nothing will more depress the they will be encouraged by it. mind of the sincere servant of he |