self, but it was light all around him, so that he could see through men, and knew the thoughts of their hearts. These depths of Satan I leave others to fathom or to dive into as they please, and do not pretend, for my own part, to know what ideas to affix to such terms, and cannot well guess what conceptions of things these creatures have at these times when they call themselves all light. But my interpreter tells me, that he heard one of them tell a certain Indian the secret thoughts of his heart, which he had never divulged. The case was this the Indian was bitten with a snake, and was in extreme pain with the bite; whereupon the diviner, who was applied to for his recovery, told him, that at such a time he had promised, that the next deer he killed, he would sacrifice it to some great power, but had broken his promise. Now, said he, that great power has ordered this snake to bite you for your neglect. The Indian confessed it was so, but said he had never told any body of it.

"These things serve to fix them down in their idolatry, and to make them believe that there is no safety to be expected, but by their continuing to offer such sacrifices. The influence which these powaws have upon them, either through the esteem or fear they have of them, is no small hindrance to their embracing Christianity.

"To remove this difficulty, I have laboured to show the Indians, that these diviners have no power to recover the sick, when the God whom christians serve, has determined them for death; that the supposed great power who influences the diviners has himself no power in this case; and that, if they seem to recover any by their magic charms, they are only such as the God I preached to them, had determined should recover, and who would have recovered without their conjurations. When I have apprehended them afraid of embracing Christianity lest they should be enchanted and poisoned, I have endeavoured to relieve their minds of this fear, by asking them, Why their powaws did not enchant and poison me, seeing they had as much reason to hate me for preaching to them, and desiring them to become christians, as they could have to hate them in case they should actually become such? That they might have an evidence of the power and goodness of God engaged for the protection of christians, I ventured to bid a challenge to all their powaws and great powers to do their worst on me first of all, and thus laboured to tread down their influence.

"Many things further might be offered up on this head, but thus much may suffice for a representation of their aversion to, and prejudice against Christianity, the springs of it, and the difficulties thence arising.

II." Another great difficulty which I have met with in my attempts to christianize the Indians, has been, to convey divine

truths to their understandings, and to gain their assent to them as such.'

"In the first place, I laboured under a very great disadvantage for want of an Interpreter, who had a good degree of doctrinal as well as experimental knowledge of divine things: in both which respects my present Interpreter was very defective when I first employed him, as noted in the account I before gave of him. And it was sometimes extremely discouraging to me, when I could not make him understand what I designed to communicate; when truths of the last importance appeared foolishness to him for want of a spiritual understanding and relish of them; and when he addressed the Indians in a lifeless, indifferent manner, without any heart-engagement or fervency; and especially when he appeared heartless and irresolute about making attempts for the conversion of the Indians to Christianity, as he frequently did. For although he had a desire that they should conform to Christian manners, as I elsewhere observed; yet, being abundantly acquainted with their strong attachment to their own superstitious notions, and the difficulty of bringing them off, and having no sense of divine power and grace, nor dependence upon an Almighty arm for the accomplishment of this work, he used to be discouraged, and tell me, It signifies nothing for us to try, they will never turn.' Thus he was a distressing weight and burden to me. Here I should have sunk scores of times, but God in a remarkable manner supported me; sometimes by giving me full satisfaction that He himself had called me to this work, and thence a secret hope that some time or other I might meet with success in it; or if not, that my judgment should notwithstanding be with the Lord, and my work with my God;' sometimes by giving me a sense of his almighty power, and that his hand was not shortened ;' sometimes by affording me a fresh and lively view of some remarkable freedom and assistance with which I had been repeatedly favoured in prayer for the ingathering of these heathens some years before, even before I was a missionary, and a refreshing sense of the stability and faithfulness of the divine promises, and that the prayer of faith should not fail. Thus I was supported under these trials, and the method God was pleased to take for the removal of this difficulty, respecting my Interpreter, I have sufficiently represented elsewhere.

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"Another thing which rendered it very difficult to convey divine truths to the understandings of the Indians, was the defect of their language, the want of terms to express and convey ideas of spiritual things. There are no words in the Indian language to answer our English words, Lord, Saviour, salvation, sinner, justice, condemnation, faith, repentance, justificaVOL. X. 43

tion, adoption, sanctification, grace, glory, heaven,' with scores of the like importance.

"The only methods I can make use for surmounting this difficulty, are, either to describe the things at large designed by these terms, as if I was speaking of regeneration, to call it the heart's being changed' by God's Spirit, or the heart's being made good;' or to introduce the English terms into their language, and fix the precise meaning of them, that they may know what I intend whenever I use them.

"What renders it much more difficult to convey divine truths to the understandings of these Indians, is, that there seems to be no foundation in their minds to begin upon;' I mean, no truths which may be taken for granted, as being already known while I am attempting to instil others. As divine truths have such a necessary connexion with, and dependence upon each other, I find it extremely difficult in my first addresses to Pagans, to begin and discourse of them in their proper order and connexion, without having reference to truths not yet known,— without taking for granted such things as need first to be taught and proved. There is no point of Christian doctrine but what they are either wholly ignorant of, or extremely confused in their notions about. Therefore it is necessary that they should be instructed in every truth, even in those which are the most easy and obvious to the understanding, and which a person educated under gospel-light would be ready to pass over in silence, as not imagining that any rational creature could be ignorant of

"The method which I have usually taken in my first addresses to Pagans, has been to introduce myself by saying, that I was come among them with a desire and design of teaching them some things which I presumed they did not know, and which, I trusted, would be for their comfort and happiness, if known, desiring they would give their attention, and hoping they might meet with satisfaction in my discourse. Thence I have proceeded to observe, that there are two things belonging to every man, which I call the soul and body. These I endeavour to distinguish from each other, by observing to them, that there is something in them that is capable of joy and pleasure, when their bodies are sick and much pained; and, on the contrary, that they find something within them, that is fearful, sorrowful, ashamed, &c. and consequently very uneasy, when their bodies are in perfect health. I then observed to them, that this which rejoices in them, perhaps at the sight of some friend who has been so long absent, when their bodies are sick and in pain, this which is sorrowful, frighted, ashamed, &c. and consequently uneasy, when their bodies are perfectly at ease,this I call the soul. And although it cannot be seen like the other part of the man, viz. the body, yet it is as real as their

thoughts, desires, &c. which are likewise things that cannot be

seen.

"I then further observe, that this part of the man which thinks, rejoices, grieves, &c. will live after the body is dead. For the proof of this, I produce the opinion of their fathers, who, as I am told by a very aged Indian now living, always supposed that there was something of the man which would survive the body. If I can, for the proof of any thing I assert, say, as St. Paul to the Athenians, As certain also of your own sages have said,' it is sufficient. Having established this point, I next observe, that what I have to say to them, respects the conscious part of the man; and that with relation to its state after the death of the body; and that I am not come to treat with them about the things that concern the present world.

"This method I am obliged to take, because they will otherwise entirely mistake the design of my preaching, and suppose that the business I am upon, is something which relates to the present world; having never been called together by the white people upon any other occasion, but only to be treated with about the sale of lands, or some other secular business. I find it almost impossible to prevent their imagining that I am engaged in the same, or such like affairs, and to beat it into them, that my concern is to treat with them about their invisible part, and that with relation to its future state.

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"But having thus opened the way, by distinguishing between soul and body, and showing the immortality of the former, and that my business is to treat with them in order to their happiness in a future state; I proceed to discourse of the Being and Perfections of God, particularly of his cternity, unity, selfsufficiency, infinite wisdom, and almighty power.' It is necessary, in the first place, to teach them that God is from everlasting, and so distinguished from all creatures; though it is very difficult to communicate any thing of that nature to them, they having no terms in their language to signify an eternity a parte ante. It is likewise necessary to discourse of the divine unity, in order to confute the notions they seem to have of a plurality of gods. The divine all-sufficiency must also necessarily be mentioned, in order to prevent their imagining that God was unhappy while alone, before the formation of his creatures. Something respecting the divine wisdom and power seems necessary to be insisted upon, in order to make way for discoursing of God's works.

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Having offered some things upon the divine perfections mentioned, I proceed to open the work of Creation in general, and in particular God's creation of man in a state of uprightness and happiness, placing them in a garden of pleasure; the means and manner of their apostacy from that state, and loss

of that happiness. Before I can give a relation of their fall from God, I am obliged to make a large digression, in order to give an account of the original and circumstances of their temper, his capacity of assuming the shape of a serpent, from his being a spirit without a body, &c. Hence I go on to show, the ruins of our fallen state, the mental blindness and vicious dispositions which our first parents then contracted to themselves, and propagated to all their posterity; the numerous calamities brought upon them and theirs by this apostacy from God; and the exposedness of the whole human race to eternal perdition. Hence I labour to show them the necessity of an Almighty Saviour to deliver us from this deplorable state, as well as of a divine Revelation to instruct us in, and direct us agreeable to the will of God.

"Thus the way, by such an introductory discourse, is prepared for opening the gospel scheme of salvation through the great Redeemer, and for treating of those doctrines which immediately relate to the soul's renovation by the divine Spirit, and preparation for a state of everlasting blessedness.

"In giving such a relation of things to Pagans, it is not a little difficult, as observed before, to deliver truths in their proper order without interfering, and without taking for granted things not as yet known; to discourse of them in a familiar manner, suited to the capacities of heathen; to illustrate them by easy and natural similitudes; to obviate or answer the objections which they are disposed to make against the several particulars of it; as well as to take notice of, and confute their contrary notions.

"What has sometimes been very discouraging in my first discourses to them, is, that when I have distinguished between the present and future state, and shown them that it was my business to treat of those things which concern the life to come, they have mocked, and looked upon these things of no importance; have scarce had a curiosity to hear; and perhaps walked off before I had half done my discourse. In such a case, no impressions can be made upon their minds to gain their attention. They are not awed by hearing of the anger of God engaged against sinners, or of everlasting punishment as the portion of gospel-neglecters. They are not allured by hearing of the blessedness of those who embrace and obey the gospel. So that to gain their attention to my discourses, has often been as difficult as to give them a just notion of the design of them, or to open truths in their proper order.

"Another difficulty, naturally falling under the head I am now upon, is, that it is next to impossible to bring them to a rational conviction that they are sinners by nature, and that their hearts are corrupt and sinful,' unless one could charge them with some gross acts of immorality, such as the light of