him that he may very gladly glory in infirmities, and may take pleasure in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, and in distresses for Christ's sake; and that the power of Christ, in all his journeyings, may overshadow him and perpetually rest upon him.

Finally, brethren, farewell! Glory not in the supposed "dignity of human nature," but "glory in Christ." "Be perfect, (i. e. complete as a Christian church,) be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you."

"Let me hear my Saviour say,

Strength shall be equal to thy day,'
Then I rejoice in deep distress,
Leaning on all-sufficient Grace.

I glory in infirmity,

That Christ's own power may rest on me;
When I am weak, then am I strong,
Grace is my shield, and Christ my song."

HINTS

ON THE

MEANS REQUISITE TO PROMOTE CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

ON TEACHING ALL NATIONS.

1

"Then the eleven disciples went away into a mountain, and Jesus came and spake unto them saying, 'All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth; go ye therefore and (μaInTevσate tavтa ra εvn) teach, or disciple, all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; (didaσкovтes) teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”—Matt. xxviii. 18-20.

TO BRITISH CHRISTIANS.

THAT it is the duty of the disciples of Jesus to teach the Christian religion to the whole world, is a principle that has been felt and acted on in the United Kingdom, within a few years past, more than at any former period. But that the duty is felt by the churches, to the degree which it ought, cannot yet be affirmed; nor has the Christian intellect of this land as yet engaged in the performance of the acknowledged duty, in a manner that is at all suitable to the disciples of that Master whose claims are admitted to be divine. The spirit of persecution, which has so much disgraced our common humanity, even under the Christian name, gave occasion to a strong feeling, in the minds of many, against all interference in matters of religious belief. The history of past ages in Christendom, affords a reason of the most convincing character against the appli

cation of physical force, or pains and penalties, in matters of religious belief; but no history furnishes aught against the use of intellectual weapons: such as a lucid exhibition of truth; or even a contest for the truth, conducted by the pen and the press. There is a conflict going on in the world between truth and error, virtue and vice, piety and irreligion, the cause of the "God of heaven," and of the "spirit of this world." It is a moral conflict-a conflict of mind, a conflict of free agents in a rebellious world. Heaven chooses so to consider it; for were it a conflict of power, there is an arm that could crush the wicked, and not stay till mercy reasoned with them.

Jesus Christ the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. He did this by the sacrifice of himself; and by teaching those truths which arise out of that great transaction, and are contained in the Gospel; and he has made it the duty of his disciples to follow up the design, by teaching to others all those things which he taught to them. To diffuse Christian knowledge is the duty of all Christ's disciples, to the extent of their capabilities; and this must be done in the way which times and circumstances may direct, in different periods, and in different places.

In the apostolic age there existed no press; and, theréfore, to convey knowledge to the multitude by printed papers or books, was not practicable; and oral teaching was of necessity the only method that could be employed; for manuscript letters, and books, could not be multiplied rapidly, and unexpensively enough to scatter them amongst the mass of mankind. And there are now regions where the people cannot read, and there, of course, the living voice alone can be the medium of conveying knowledge. The habits of various people also render different methods of conveying knowledge to the mind less or more applicable to them. In China, and the surrounding countries, where no Sabbath is observed, people will not leave their work and their secular avocations to listen to a preacher; but they will individually, or in groups, read, at their leisure, and in their own house, a tract or a book which interests

them. They read it, and converse about it; or dispute or approve, or mock and ridicule it, and excite the attention of the family and of the neighbourhood, to the things stated in the book, or tract; and the leaven spreads, perhaps more widely and durably than when the same truths are communicated by the living voice, for then the sounds pass away, and their meaning is forgotten.

To a reading people the press is, to say the least, as efficient a method of conveying Christian knowledge, as the system of oral lecture; and in many parts of the world it is more easily employed. A few living teachers, aided by the press, can convey knowledge as widely as many times the number of living teachers, without it. Christian books form the ground-work of domestic native instruction, and of schools, and can be referred to again and again, and year after year, and generation after generation.

Christian books can be carried round the world, and from region to region, and find their way into kingdoms, and the houses of the opulent, and the palaces of governors, and of monarchs, where no living teacher can obtain access. Were there a due degree of attention paid, by Christian scholars and Christian patrons, to the living languages of mankind, it is perhaps practicable to prepare Christian books for Pagan lands, without the writers quitting the metropolis of the United Kingdom. And were efforts made to cultivate the several principal languages of the world, Christian teachers might be qualified for the work of Christian tuition before they quitted British shores. The complaint of Missionaries, from the celebrated Brainerd's day, down to the Birman Missionary, Mr. Judson, has been, that they were for a long period but ill qualified to teach Christianity, from not being thoroughly versed in the language, and mythology, and false theories of the heathen; and in such learning as the heathen possessed. There is not, even up to this hour, a combination of Christian intellect to assail the false theories with which the deluded votaries of idolatry and superstition are fortified. Individual zeal and solitary efforts are not to be checked nor despised, but in such a

cause they should not certainly be rested in; when the Christian talent of this United Kingdom can with ease afford that a considerable portion should be turned exclusively into the channel of associated efforts, to transfuse the Gospel of God our Saviour into all the living languages of mankind.

To propose the study of all the living languages of mankind, appears to some persons, on the first mention of it, as altogether Utopian. But if acquisition of these languages be Utopian, the hope of "teaching all nations" the things which Jesus has commanded must also be so, unless some miraculous change shall take place; for without language it is not possible to teach.

That it is possible to associate so much Christian talent in this land, as to cultivate all the known languages of mankind, cannot be doubted; the question can only be whether or not the object to be gained is worth the expenditure of time and money; whether these languages, when acquired, can be applied in such a manner, as to subserve the final object. That the object, viz. the spiritual illumination of mankind, is one which all sincere disciples of Jesus will acknowledge to be worthy of the greatest possible effort; and that it can be applied with considerable effect, may be anticipated from several considerations.

(1.) Amongst the reading population of mankind, a supply of suitable Christian books can be prepared, without the risk and expense of the writers taking long voyages, and residing in climates to them insalubrious.

(2.) Missionaries may be prepared for actual service, and enter on their work as soon as they arrive in pagan countries, and so escape that tedious, and often injurious labour, which they must undergo, where, in hot climates, the helps of acquiring languages are not supplied.

(3.) Candidates for missionary labours, who cannot acquire pagan languages, will be prevented going abroad, and so the expense of their long voyages, and their useless services, be saved.

The teachers and students of the various living lan