did, have maintained for so many years a character so pure and unsullied. May a succession of men, actuated by the same spirit, be raised up to extend and perpetuate that blessed work of God, of which Mr. Myles and his coadjutors have been the honored instruments !

A DISSERTATION

On the most approved method of extending Missionary Operations, by pecuniary means and otherwise.-By REV. ALFRED BRUNSON.

'Ask of me, and I shall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession,' PSALM ii, 8.

It is not necessary, at this period in the benevolent movements of the times, to plead for the introduction of missionary operations, or to show that it is an important duty of Christians to contribute to their support. These are doctrines already well established. The object of the present inquiry is, to ascertain, as far as practicable, the most approved method of extending those operations, by pecuniary means and otherwise,' so as to obtain the most means, and render them the most useful, in promoting the glory of God in the salvation of souls.

The missionary cause is emphatically the cause of God. It took its rise in the benevolence of that Being, whose love to a fallen world induced him to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' And every means used, since the deplored fall of our race, in the varied dispensations of mercy, to restore man to peace and favor with his offended Maker, are properly and truly missionary. And in every instance in which man coöperates with his Maker in this charitable enterprise, he imitates his heavenly Father, and is so far godlike.

The genius of missions, sitting in the highest seats of benevolence, contemplates the human family in its fallen, degraded, miserable, and (as to itself) helpless condition; and while she views the gloomy portrait, with the tear of compassion glistening in her eye, she reaches forth her hand, containing the proffers of the Gospel, and being commissioned by the high courts of Heaven, she urges the unhappy to receive them and live. And, as like begets like, so whoever receives this Gospel, with its attendant blessings, feels his spirit moved within him to extend its benefits to others; yea, on the same principle, the views and feelings which the Gospel inspires are usually coëxtensive with those of the Spirit from which they are received. This we take to be the desire of the Christian world; to assist in accomplishing which, we design, first, to consider the extent of the work necessary to a universal spread of the Gospel, which is the ultimate design in its propagation; which

view will enable us the better, secondly, to contemplate the most effectual measures to accomplish so great and so good a work.

In pursuing this order, then, we shall in the first place notice the work to be done. This is no less than the conversion of the world of mankind to the faith of the Gospel, as the most effectual if not the only means to rescue them from their deplorable situation. As yet, however, but a small portion of the world have heard the glad tidings of peace, and much, very much, is to be done, before the Gospel shall have taken such a universal spread as to usher in the millenial glory of the Messiah's reign.

The extent of this work will be the better understood, from a cursory view of the population of the globe, with their relative proportions. In this we cannot be exact, because of the barbarous state in which so many nations live; but we may be sufficiently correct for practical purposes. There are supposed to be about one thousand million souls upon earth, of whom not over two hundred million are called Christian; and of this number perhaps not more than ninety million come within the name or influence of the Protestant faith; the remainder being within the pale of the Roman and Greek churches, where the prospect of their conversion from a nominal to a genuine Christianity, is no better than that of the Heathen themselves, if as good. The Greek church is admitted to be rather better than the Roman; but both are so corrupt, in both doctrine and morals, that the proportion of their people who may be called pious, is not probably much greater than the proportion among the Pagans and Mohammedans, who, like Cornelius, fear God and work righteousness,' according to the best light and knowledge THEY HAVE; and who, in consequence, are accepted of Him. And it is a well known fact, that the inveterate prejudices of a bad religion are more difficult to overcome than the mere opposition of a fallen nature; of which we have ample proof, not only in the attempts to convert the Papists and Mohammedans, but even in the Indians on our frontier, who had partially embraced the Roman faith for they were more difficult to be convinced of the necessity of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,' than were those who were in a perfect Heathen state. The blind madness of the Jews, the superstition of the Papists, the unconquerable prejudices of the Mohammedans, and the delusive fanaticism of the Pagans, obtrude obstacles of the most important magnitude in the way of the universal spread of the Gospel of the Redeemer, and show more clearly the extent and importance of the work to be accomplished.

In this work we may include, then, the Jews, Pagans, Mohammedans, Papists, and Greeks; and when we consider how small a proportion of those called Protestants are truly pious, we shall probably add nine tenths of the Protestant population of the globe to the other, which will give (in round numbers) not far from nine hundred million to be converted to the genuine faith of the Gospel.

This work assumes a still more important magnitude, when we take into view the probable time allotted for its accomplishment. It has been an extensive opinion in Christendom, that the thousand years when Christ shall reign on earth, when his church shall have rest from the assaults of Satan, will be the seventh thousandth year of the world. Upon this calculation, there is but about one hundred and seventy years till that reign shall take place; and let that reign be as it may, either that Christ will reign in person, (with all the saints, sharing in the first resurrection with him,) or from the universal spread of the Gospel, that he shall reign in spirit; yet, this whole work must be accomplished before this full millenial glory can take place. And if we deduct from the above calculation one half for minors or infants, there will yet be four hundred and fifty million to be converted in the space of one hundred and seventy years; which would require the conversion of more than two million and six hundred thousand per annum, without any allowance for the increase of population. In view of this great and important work, [especially when we add the increasing population,] well may we exclaim, Who is sufficient for these things? Yet, if we believe in the millenial reign of the Redeemer, we must believe the work will [as to the population of the world at some period of its existence] be accomplished; or if we discredit such a reign, we ought to view the world in such a state of ruin with an eye of compassion, and admit the work should be done, in order to ameliorate the condition of our species, and promote the future happiness of the human soul. From either view of the subject, if we are influenced by the feelings of benevolence, we are the better prepared,

Secondly, To inquire into the means by which this important work is to be accomplished. And as to these, it would be fair to conclude, that the Founder of missions himself, who undertook the redemption of the world, the extension of whose kingdom we are now contemplating, best understood the means adapted to the great end in view. And the means instituted by him were not in accordance with 'the wisdom of the world,' by which man cannot attain a 'knowledge of God;' but it pleased God by the' (apparent) foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.'

The object in the establishment of missions is, to ameliorate the condition of the ignorant and wretched in this life, and particularly to promote their happiness in the world to come. As for civilizing the Heathen, or even moralizing those called civil, without the efficient and practical effects of the Gospel, long experience has proved this to be impracticable. The Pagan Greeks, and Romans, in their highest state of improvement in the arts of civil life, were not to be considered moral; and even the semblance of truth found among them, is acknowledged to have been derived from the sacred books of the Jews. And though the Indians had been taught in schools, and instructed on farms and in workshops, yet they were Indians

still. But as soon as the word of God took effect with them, they yielded the chase, handled the plough, and submitted to the discipline of the workshop, with all the apparent delight and prospects of a civilized and Christian community.*

But the Gospel, to produce these happy effects, must be believed; 'but how can they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how can they hear without a preacher? and how can he preach (to profit) except he be sent ? It appears, therefore, that the means instituted of God for the salvation and happiness of a fallen world, and which are also contemplated in missionary operations, are the preaching of the Gospel, with its attendant auxiliaries and support. But it is equally evident that the 'preacher,' to be successful, must be sent' of God, and every measure adopted as an auxiliary should be in accordance with the example of the Apostles, and the spirit of the Gospel.

A missionary then should, First, be soundly converted to God himself; for it needs no argument to prove the impropriety of sending an unconverted man to convert others! In all sciences, the teacher is supposed to be acquainted with the subject in which he instructs others; otherwise, it would be 'the blind leading the blind.' And as 'the natural man discerneth not the things of the Spirit,' so it is impossible for one to teach others the things of the Spirit,' who himself is not spiritual.' Secondly, he should evince the truth and soundness of his conversion by a holy life and upright conversation, by which the people may see in him the fruits of the religion he preaches to them. This will give them confidence in the truth of his doctrine, and the sincerity of his motives, without which, his preaching to them would be of no more use than 'a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.' Thirdly, it would be presumption in any man to take upon him the office and duties of the Gospel ministry, unless conscious of being moved thereunto by the Holy Ghost.' Without this, he cannot be 'sent' of God; and 'no man taketh (or ought to take) this honor to himself, save he that is called of God, as was Aaron.' And, Fourthly, as a proof of such a call, he should have souls converted to God through his instrumentality; this is necessary, that the people may be satisfied that he is sent' of God. And without this satisfaction, the people will be unwilling to submit to his ministrations. The Apostle knew this when his right to the Apostleship was disputed, which right he claimed on the above ground, saying, 'Ye are the seals of mine Apostleship.'

In addition to these characteristics of a true minister of Jesus

* During the sitting of the Ohio annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Zanesville, in 1824, one of the Wyandot chiefs, in addressing the congregation on the effects of the Gospel in his nation, said, 'Once we were wild, but the word of God has tamed us. Once we were afraid of you, and you were afraid of us, but now we meet as friends,' &c. What gave these remarks the greater force, at that time and place, was the fact that the Indian wars, in which this chief had participated, were still fresh in the remembrance of a considerable portion of the assembly.

Christ, he should possess certain qualifications, without which he cannot expect to succeed in winning souls to Christ. First, he should have a good natural understanding, and a tolerable gift of utterance, so as to be capable of understanding and explaining the Gospel system to the best advantage. Indeed, it is doubtful whether any man is called of God to the ministry, who has not naturally these abilities. For they are certainly necessary. But we are not authorized to expect a miraculous gift of them; therefore, to call a man to the ministry destitute of them, would be to thwart the design of the call itself. Secondly, he should have (and if he is called of God to the work, he will have) such an enlightening influence of the Holy Spirit as wilf enable him to understand the practical and experimental parts of the sacred Oracles, and give an unction to his ministrations in these respects. This we conceive to be implied in the idea of being called of God,' or being moved by the Holy Ghost to take this office and ministry;' but we understand it in a sense adapted to our present age. And, Thirdly, he should so improve the gifts of nature and grace by study, as to render himself'a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.'

The too common practice of sending men upon missions, who are not properly qualified, merely because their abilities are too small to be required in a more improved state of society, is one of the fatal reasons why so many missions have proved abortive. It is well known that our unlettered Indians often raise queries and objections to Christianity, which it requires able divines to answer; and certainly more serious difficulties may be expected in more lettered countries. A missionary, therefore, to fill his station with honor to himself and his Divine Master, and usefulness to the people, should be not only a man of piety, but also of talents and of deep and constant study.

When a man thus qualified for a mission can be obtained, one who feels impelled by a sense of duty to enter upon this arduous undertaking, and one whom the church approves, it is admitted that he is entitled to a reasonable support; for thus it is written, They that preach the Gospel shall live of the Gospel.' But it cannot be expected that a Heathen or unconverted people, who know nothing of the benefits of the Gospel, nor of the advantages of religious instruction, should contribute to its support, until they receive and know how to appreciate those benefits. Some ministers depend upon their own funds or resources, as St. Paul did, when he laboured with his own hands,' for his temporal sup. port. Others have rendered considerable assistance to the cause of Christ, in the capacity of local preachers, while pursuing their usual worldly concerns for their support, as did the first Methodist preachers who emigrated to America, and many others who have introduced the Gospel into new and destitute places in a similar way. But what may be termed a regular ministry, who spend their VOL. II.-October, 1831. 33