six eighths of the population of the globe, to whom the gospel has not been preached. This is the fact. In view of this command and of this fact, how ought you to decide? Eighteen hundred years ago, Christ gave this perpetual command; and to quicken his disciples in the obedience of it, he gave them the most consoling assurances of assistance, and promises of unbounded reward. But from century to century, so remiss have been his disciples in obeying the command, so unwilling to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, that, may we not with propriety, consider the Holy Trinity as saying, "Whom shall we send, and who will go for us?" Is it your duty to reply, "Here am I, Lord, send me?" This is the inquiry, and how simple! What have protracted researches to do with such a decision? When the apostles first received their commission, was it an extensive knowledge of the population, religions, manners and customs of the various nations, to whom they were bid to go, which led them to obey the command? Was it a retrospective view of the former success of religion in this guilty world, or was it the prospect of an easy entrance unto the heathen, and a secure and comfortable residence among them, which made them so ready to go forth, at the command of their Redeemer? No: it was their love to Jesus, and their reverence for his authority, which forced them to exclaim, "Wo is unto me if I preach not the gospel," as I have been commanded. It is when missionaries form their decisions on the same ground, that they eminently glorify Christ, and build upon a foundation which no storms can shake. I have been led to these remarks, from an apprehension that there are young men, who are pursuing missionary inquiries in a too general way, with a kind of indefinite expectation, that by and by something may transpire, some further knowledge of countries or events may be acquired, or the subject may be presented in some new attitude, which will render their decision easy and safe. Any such expectation, it appears to me, tends only to darken the mind, and to confuse and enervate its operations. The subject is more plain and easy of decision at the present day, if possible, than at any former period. What has been found and acknowledged a truth in England, and in some of the other European states, is now found by exGod has periment to be true in America. promised, that he that watereth, shall be watered also himself. This gracious promise he has verified, by uniformly causing religion to flourish among nations at home, in the same proportion in which they are active in promoting missions abroad. The whole subject, then, is brought into this narrow compass:-The great mass of mankind have not yet heard the gospel preached;-the standing command of Christ to his disciples is, "go and evangelise all nations;" and to prompt them to a full compliance, he gives the assurance, both by his promise, and its fulfilment, that by their exertions for the salvation of the heathen, they do most effectually labor for the salvation of their own countrymen. In this simple form, let it come to the reason, the conscience, and the feelings of every one, who is looking forward to the gospel ministry. How can the conviction be resisted? How can the decision be doubtful? Dear brethren, bear with my freedom. Placed as I am, in the midst of so many millions of perishing heathen, and knowing from the promise of Jehovah, (Prov. xi. 25,) "The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth, shall be watered also himself," that your coming forth would tend to promote religion at home, surely I have a claim on your indulgence. Allow me, then, to speak freely. To me, it appears unaccountable, how so many young men, by covenant devoted to Christ, can delib erately and prayerfully inquire, whether it is their duty to become missionaries, and yet so few feel effectually persuaded that it is their duty to come forth to the heathen! It tends greatly to the discouragement of those who are already in the field. While so great a proportion of those, who examine this point of duty, deliberately decide that it is not their duty to engage in the missionary work, what are we to think? In general, those who excuse themselves from the work, must do it for general reasons, which would be as applicable to others as to themselves, and which would excuse those who have gone forth to the work, as well as themselves. Therefore, must not those men who thus excuse themselves, think either that those who engage in the missionary work do wrong, or that themselves who decline it, do wrong? Here it would ill become the solemnity of the subject, to cavil and quibble, and say: "What! shall we all go to the heathen? Then what will become of our own countrymen?" Let such quibblers beware how they mock the faithfulness of God. When thousands have gone forth to the heathen, and God has failed to fulfil his promise, that he that watereth, shall be watered also himself, or when he shall not have caused religion to flourish among the people at home, in proportion as they labor for the heathen abroad, then, and not till then, let the objection be heard. Some seem to speak as though a man must have some secret or special call before he can decide in favor of being a missionary. If on rational grounds, he feels persuaded that he ought to be a minister any where, and if he feels disposed to go to the heathen, I should think that no other call than this, unless in extraordinary cases, can reasonably be required. I bave doubted whether I ought to be a missionary; but it was for the same reasons for which I ought to doubt, whether it was right for me to be a minister any where. Brethren. you see that I think there are good reasons, why you should become missionaries to the heathen. and of course good reasons why I should desire it. Certainly I do. And I greatly long to see every one of you stren uously exerting himself to diffuse the same sen timents among all the pious young men in the country. Form great plans, and execute them with great zeal and prayerfulness. Every thing that can be desired, might be done by exertion, with God's blessing. Seize every possible opportu nity for impressing the subject upon the mind of every nions youth. [Gordon Hall, to the Society of Inquiry respecting Missions, Andover. So far as experience goes it proves, that the greater the number of men who stand pledged to go as missionaries to the heathen, the easier is it to obtain the means of sending them forth. The churches of this country have never yet detained any man at home, by refusing to bear the expenses of his mission. American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD. THE twenty-third annual meeting of the Board will be held in New York city, on the third of the present month, at 10 o'clock, A. M. The Rev. Dr. Allen preaches the annual sermon before the Board, and three other clergymen have been requested to preach missionary sermons in different parts of the city, during the session. The Prudential Committee are of the opinion, after making particular inquiry, that the meeting may be attended with little or no personal risk from cholera in the city. Members and honorary members of the Board, are requested to call at the office of Mr. G. M. Tracy, agent of the Board, 143 Nassau-street, where they will learn what arrangements have been made for their accommodation during the session. SELECTIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF GOR- Bristol, R. I. Fem. so, to constitute the 50 00 12 75 25 THE REV. Horatio Bardwell, General Agent of Chillicothe, O. Coll. Dayton, O. Infant scholars, to pur. sch. GREECE. MR. King writes from Athens, under date of May 4th, that the bishop of Talanti had issued a proclamation, calling upon his people to keep the Sabbath day holy. This, together with an order from the municipal authorities at Athens, had caused the greater part of the shops to be closed on the Lord's day, and made that day no longer, as formerly, the principal market day. The constitutionalists are said to have triumphed, and Mavrocordato and Tricoupis to be again among the principal ministers of state. ORDINATION OF A MISSIONARY. On the 13th of September, Rev. BENJAMIN W. PARKER, of the Andover Seminary, was ordained at Reading, Mass. as a missionary to the heathen. Sermon by Professor Emerson of the seminary, consecrating prayer by Mr. Emerson of Salem, charge by Mr. Emerson of South Reading, fellowship of the churches by Mr. Read of Reading. Mr. Parker is expecting to embark for the Sandwich Islands during the present month. Franklin, Ms. Miss V. P. av. of a sch. for 70.00 70 00 1.00 4.00 Granville, O. Mon. con. 12 55 Hartford, O. Fem. miss, so, 5 26 Leominster, Ms. Calvin. so. 40 00 Little Compton, R. I. Fem. benev. so. 23 79 10 00 168 40 1 00 10 00 44 Middlesex, N. vic. Ms. Char so. Newark, O Mrs. W. 25c. a child, 19c. Newbury, Ms. Mon, con. in 2d chh. chih. Kingston, U. C., E. S. Ely, New Hartford, Mon. con. in presb. so. Richland, Mon. con. in presb. so. Russia, Miss M. A. Williams, dec'd, 7,38; M. Williams, 5; Sherburne, Fem. char. so. to constitute the Rev. ISAAC N. SPRAGUE an Honorary Meinber of the Board, 50; J. Lathrop, 10; S. 8. 1; Taunton and vic. Ms. H. Reed, Tr. South Coventry, I. Boynton, Total from the above Auxiliary Societies, $1,396 18 II. VARIOUS COLLECTIONS AND DONATIONS. Albany, N. Y. 4th presb. chh. 100; la. of Schenectady, N. Y. Mou. con. in Union college, Stoneham, Ms. La. miss, so. 50 00 2.00 8.00 3 24 20 00 Me. Alon. con. in 1st 12.00 18.56 5. 50 75 33 64 22 16 2 12 Underhill, Vt. Gent. and la. asso. Upper Beverly, Ms. Females, for wes. miss. Uxbridge, Ms. A lady, av. of a bible, Vergenues, Vt. Gent. asso. 15,32; la. asso. 18,32; Westford, Vt. Gent. and la. asso. Worthington and Zanesville, O. Av. of jewelry, 1,12; Mrs. V. I; Whole amount of donations acknowledged in the preceding lists, $2,884 27. III. LEGACIES. Cheapside, N. J. Mon. con. 5,50; indiv. 2.50; 8.00 Bedford, N. H., A cask, fr. ladies, for Gustavus and Kingsville, O., A box, fr. indiv. rec'd at Alaumee, Hamp. Chris. Depos. Ms. East Hampton, A box, for Payson Williston, in Choc. na. Kinsman, O. Flannel, fr. J. Andrews, rec'd at Maumee, 110 00 8.00 25 11 12 00 50 00 Middlebury, O., A bridle, fr. an indiv. for Green Bay miss. 100 mon. con. 7; East White Hall, N. Y. Miss. asso. Flatbush, N. Y. Aux. so. Fayetteville, Pa. A friend to Indians, 30 72 22 75 Monroe, O., A box, fr. fem. asso. for Mackinaw, 39.43 17 75 25.00 Newbury, 1st par. Ms. A cask, fr. fem. read. so. for Brainerd, 51 25 Georgia, Vt. Miss P. Blakeley, 3; Miss R. Blakeley, 1,50; Painesville, O. Sundries, fr. S. Pepoon 4 50 Hookset, N. H. Mon. con. 11. 00 Howard, D. C. Mrs. I. L. Woart, 2d pay. for John Breckenridge in Ceylon, Jericho, Vt. Gent. and la, asso. in 1st chh. Marietta, O. Coll. 20 00 15 57 84 00 and brother, 18; shoes, fr. J. H. Matthews, 1,75; rec'd at Statesburgh, Trenton Village, N. Y., A box, fr. la. sew. asso. for Choc. miss. Upper Beverly, Ms. A box, fr. females, for wes miss. 19 75 23.00 11 00 Martinsburgh, Va. Mon. con. 20,38, juv. fein. cent. so. 9,78; Mrs. S. P. 3,65; Mrs. N. K. 1; fem. miss. so, 12 25; Masonsville, N. Y. Mon. con. in presb. chh. and cong. Milton, Vt. La. asso. Morganton, Va. Coll. Morristown, N. J. La. frag. so. Nantucket, Ms. Men. con. in N. so. New London, Ct. Gent. asso. (of which fr. ROBERT Corr, which constitutes him an Honorary Member of the Board, 100; ded. ain't ackn. in Jan. 50;) New York city, A lady, av. of jewelry, by D. Niscaynna and Amity, N. Y. Mon. con. in ref. D. ckh Northbridge, Ms. J. Fletcher, Oxford, O Coll. 64,50; presbytery, 10,55; for Medit. miss. 47 06 12.00 21.70 1 25 50.00 37 00 50 00 2 13 8.50 1 00 75 05 DONATIONS AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS, THE following donations were received by the missionaries at the Sandwich Islands, from foreign residents and visitants, and from the natives, during the year ending April 30, 1831. The donations were in various articles for the use of the mission, and it is the valuation of those articles which appears in the list. J. Hunnewell, 11; S. S. Smith, 4; A. B. Thompson, 2; T. Shaw, 2; S. Reynolds, 1,50; Captains Stetson, of the Ship Enterprise, 20. Brayton, of the Ann, 17; Russell, of the Zone, 10; Lambert, of the Louisa, 7; Baker, of the Mary Mitchell, 7; Wood, of the Braganza, 6,75; Little, of the Diana, 6; Doninis, of the Owhy hee, 4; Morgan, of the Sir Charles Price, 3; Howland, of the Lyra, 3; Chase, of the Washing ton, 2; Gardner, of the George and Susan, 2; Clark, of the Timoleon, 1; Osborn, of the Columbus, 1; Bassett, of the Marcus, I; Barney, of the Sarah, 2; Mr. King, of do. 1; various individuals, 42; From the chiefs, and other natives, From friends in Fairhaven, Ms. a barrel of dried apples, Bombay. LETTER FROM BABJEE, A BRAHMINIC CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY, TO TWO OF HIS COUNTRYMEN. THE letter mentioned in the heading is sufficiently introduced to the reader by the following remarks from Mr. Read, dated at the new station Ahmednuggur, March 22, 1832. You have already been apprised of the conversion of Babjee, a brahmin, who has for some time been in the employ of our mission as pundit. He has been in my service since our arrival. He was before in the service of Mr. Allen. For some years he had a good knowledge of the doctrines of Christianity, and at times manifested some concern for his soul. Though long ago convinced of the fallacy of Hindooism, his abandoned habits of life kept him aloof from Christianity. He was apparently an infidel. The truth spoken by Mr. Graves, on his return from the Hills, was accompanied with the mighty power of God. He was overwhelmed under a sense of sin. After a few days of distressing anxiety, the Lord, we believe, had mercy on his soul. Shortly after he accompanied us to Ahmednuggur, where he has since given increasing evidence of a change of heart, and proved a great comfort and as sistance to us in our labors. A few days ago, on hearing of the apostacy of Appa, a Hindoo Christian in connection with the Scottish mission in Bombay, Babjee wrote the following letter to Moraba and Dajaba, of the American mission church. Appa, having loved the things of this present world, made shipwreck of the faith. The frequent occurrence in the letter of the exhortation, "Love not the world;" "love one another;" &c. will not seem surprising or needless to any one, who is acquainted with the Hindoo character, or who knows the temptations both from within and without, to which native converts are subject. The apostolic dress VOL. XXVIII of the letter shows the source from which he learnt the art of epistolary writing, as well as his ideas of identifying Christians of the present day with those who lived centuries ago. "The sisters in Bombay," are several poor women, two or three of whom have the true way of life. To hear a brahmin received baptism, and others are inquiring call women sisters, and exhort his friends affectionately to instruct them, must sound wondrously strange in a Hindoo's ear. Believing the above mentioned letter will be interesting to the friends of the Bombay mission, I send you the following translation of it. I am, dear sir, affectionately yours, The Letter. "To Moraba and Dajaba, holy and beloved brethren, and called by the gospel to be separate from the world, I, Babjee, a servant of Jesus Christ, send many salutations, and write a letter of exhortation. The supreme God has, as we hope, through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, sanctified and separated us from this wicked world. In this how great the love of God appears towards us. How ought we all, on whom God has bestowed such matchless compassion, to love our Father and God with our whole soul, mind, and strength. This commandment he has given to all his servants; 'Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, strength and soul.' Hence we ought each one to ask himself, 'O my soul, lovest thou the Lord, thy most gracious benefactor, with all that thou hast? If thus we examine ourselves, the soul will give testimony concerning itself, and according to this testimony we ought to act; that is, if the soul bear this witness, viz. 'I do not love the Lord with all my faculties,'-then we must, in the name of God the Son, supplicate God the Father, for the wisdom and guidance of God the Holy Ghost. But if the soul witness concerning itself, 'I do, through faith in the blood of Jesus, love 44* God with my whole heart and life,'-then ought we on this account abundantly to thank, praise, worship, and glorify God for his unspeakable goodness. 'Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.' "Beloved brethren, what think you concerning yourselves? Do you love God with all your powers of body and mind? If you reply, 'Yes, we do thus love him;' then take heed to yourselves. Brethren, if you love the world, you cannot love God. For, no one can love the world and at the same time love God. Therefore I desire that you continue not in love with the things of this world. For whosoever sets his affections on the world, shall assuredly feel eternal condemnation. This ought to be understood. You have before you the example of Appa. He once professed to be a true Christian; but having placed upon the things of the world that love which he should have placed upon God only, he has fallen into sin. He has set at naught the authority of God, despised his Son, and done despite to the Holy Spirit. For worldly gain he has uttered falsehood, practised deceit, and cast off all fear of God. "How seemeth it to you, brethren;-is God pleased with those who love the world? This cannot be. If any man thinks to become a Christian while his affections are set on worldly good, his heart is full of gross darkness. Now Appa became a Christian; but he was not a true Christian. His mind became darkened through a love of the world. That your minds may not be thus darkened, is my desire and prayer to God. "Brethren, Dajaba and Maraba, how does it appear to you? Did Appa ever love God? No one will believe that he loves God now. Let us therefore take heed to ourselves that we stand in the true faith. See to this. 1 love you; therefore I desire that you may love God fervently, and stand firm in the faith. I thus exhort you because God has given this commandment, that as we love ourselves so ought we to love one another. Loving myself, I pray God again and again in the name of Jesus, that I may at the last day stand firm in the faith before the Judge of the world. As I love myself and ask for spiritual things for myself, so I love you, and therefore pray that you may examine whether you are in the faith. In my prayer I ask for those things which are needful for the next world. That which is altogether of a worldly nature, I ask not; for I know this, that whosoever loves the world, is of the world, and under the power of satan-a willing servant of the devil. He understands not, that the goodness of God leadeth to repentance.' The goodness, the mercy, the forbearance, and authority of God, he sets at naught. Knowing this, I desire to cast off all hope of the world, and endeavor to seek and pray for that which is spiritual. Try yourselves, and know what you are. If by any means you forbear to are of the world and not of God. I most "We who are born of the Triune God, are especially brethren. We ought therefore the more to love one another. And if we love one another, we shall exhort and instruct one another. Therefore you must affectionately instruct our sisters who are in Bombay. Brethren, we must do all in our power for the instruction of our people. The command of Christ is, that the gospel be preached to every creature. In obedience to this command the missionaries are toiling for our good. From them let us learn the Christian Scriptures. Brethren, we have need to study the word of God much. Before I became a Christian I read the Christian Scriptures, and thought them easily comprehended. But now I find in them a bottomless, inexhaustible fountain of wisdom, and many things hard to be understood. Let us never forget to search the Scriptures. "Finally, brethren, farewell! Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. The missionaries at Ahmed nuggur salute you. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.' Mr. Read adds I recently visited sixteen of the neighboring villages south of this place. Babjee was with me. We preached much. The common people heard gladly. The brahmins in several places reviled. Happy indeed are we to hear you are about to send us a reinforcement. We want two more in Ahmednuggur and its vicinity, three at Junnur, and I suppose they would say ten at Bombay. We have also received a circular from the American Tract Society offering us aid, which we are glad to accept. Sandwich Islands. EXTRACTS OF A JOINT LETTER FROM HON. OLULU, DATED JAN. 17, 1832. Changes in the Mission-Accessions to the Church. A few weeks after the general meeting, |