condition must have inspired. But how hostile soever these ob stacles might appear in the sight of man, they were no obstacles to God. Their souls enslaved to every vice, and their bodies enslaved by man, their prejudices arising from inveterate habits, sanctioned by custom and guarded by native ignorance, were trifles of no account in the sight of God. That divine power which had raised the dead, and cleansed the lepers, was able to quicken their mortal bodies, and to raise their souls from a death of sin to a life of righteousness; and to bring them into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, when they came unto him by faith.

The power of God which we thus view in theory, has been realized in fact. His grace has actually accomplished what his promises had taught his followers to expect. In opposition to every intervening obstacle, he has instituted means, through which his blessed gospel has reached the distant shores of their habitation, has triumphed over every impediment; and, what is of infinitely greater importance, has changed the hearts of thousands, who willingly followed "the drawings of the Father," and yielded to the operations of converting grace.

To work through the instrumentality of means, or without the medium of such subordinate agents, is exactly alike to God. The end for which he acts is his; and the way and manner through which that end is to be accomplished, are his also. In peculiar cases known only to himself, he conducts himself with out the concurrence of any visible agent; but his ordinary mode of dealing with the sons of men, is through the medium of some instruments, which he selects. In his economy towards mankind we are not overpowered with an irresistible blaze of Omnipotence; but he condescends to reason with us, and to adapt his conduct to the understanding which he has bestowed. To act upon us with an irresistible impulse, would without doubt display his power; but in proportion as his power became conspicuous, his justice would be eclipsed, and his wisdom would be concealed. He must, in these cases, counteract the primary constitution of our natures, and destroy the probationary state of man; and, under these circumstances, obedience would cease to be an excellency, and impenitency to be a crime.

But in the conversion of these insulated heathens, God has made use of his ordinary methods. Had he acted in a different manner, many questions of considerable difficulty might have been raised, even though all were to admit "that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach except they be sent ?" From this train of interrogatives

we may safely conclude that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom x. 13-17.)

The instruments which God has selected for this purpose, were adapted by himself for the important work in which he called them to engage. Neither deeply read in the abstruse sciences, nor critically versed in the liberal arts, without being adepts in philosophical disquisition, or pretending to those embellishments which gain access in polished life; they were men raised up by God himself, and instructed from on high, to dis-: pense those blessings which had been previously communicated to their own souls.

Acquainted with the scriptures, and fully satisfied that their call was from above; and experiencing those truths which they were about to deliver, they possessed all those internal qualifications which were necessary for the accomplishment of their arduous task. The fact is proved beyond the possibility of contradiction; because God has owned their labours, and blessed their endeavours, and added through their instrumentality to his church, thousands that we have every reason to believe will be eternally saved. Neither their "speech nor their preaching was with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and with power, that the faith of those who heard should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." Knowing in whom they had believed, and feeling the powers of the world to come, they were enabled to speak with a becoming boldness, and to testify that Christ the Saviour of the world has power on earth to forgive sins.

Not dealing "in the false commerce of a truth unfelt," they spoke what they knew, and testified what they had seen; and thousands of those who attended their ministry received their testimony; and are now living witnesses to the verity of these accounts. Burning with holy fervour, and not counting their lives dear unto themselves, these servants of the most high God have gone forth in the midst of dangers to encounter difficulties, and to be exposed to perils in a variety of forms. Relying on the protection of that God, who upholds and directs all things by the word of his power, the pestilence which of late years has ravaged these occasionally insalubrious climates, has not been able to quench their sacred zeal. Though individuals have fallen victims to that fatal disease, the hearts of others have been moved to quit their Christian brethren; to take leave of their native country, and that perhaps for ever; to cross the vast Atlantic ocean; to enter into a burning zone, without any other prospect before them than that of hoping to be rendered useful to the negroes in the salvation of their souls; and without any

other expectation of reward than that which they hope to receive "in the resurrection of the just."

To what cause can we attribute such distinguishing effects? On rational principles we cannot account for them; and yet they cannot be denied. As facts, the evidence is unquestionable; but if we look no further than man, the cause lies quite concealed. According to our modes of calculation, such conduct is totally unaccountable; but all is clear, decisive, and explicit, when we apply to the word of God.

In this view they were "made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. In the sight of men, they were fools for Christ's sake; but the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." It pleased him, who giveth to no one any account of his ways, to make use of these messengers of Heaven, as instruments in his hands, that he, "through the foolishness of preaching, might save them that believe," and bestow spiritual liberty on those who were in bondage and in chains. Without entering into any minute explanation of doctrines; or amusing their illiterate hearers with the ceremonies and trappings of religion, these servants of the living God confined their sermons to those topics which were calculated rather to affect the heart, than impart theories to the head. They represented God as a being infinite in his mercies, but inexorable in his justice; ready to save, but able to punish those who had sinned against him. They described him as inaccessible to mortals who had violated his commands, and only approachable through the efficacy of a mediatorial sacrifice. Without that sacrifice they held forth God as a consuming fire, as one who could not look on sin with the least allowance, much less with any degree of approbation, but who would shortly enter into judgment with all offenders, and finally punish the incorrigible with endless woe.

They described man as a reasonable creature; originally coming from God in a state of rectitude, but now fallen and degraded; unfit for happiness, and unworthy of it; and exposed to miseries beyond the reach of calculation. They pointed out the present life as but a small portion of man's existence; they considered him as an inhabitant of a state of being which lies beyond the grave, in which the righteous and the wicked shall meet their just reward; they taught that the actions of mankind here below, have an intimate connexion with the rewards and punishments of an hereafter; and that every one shall be rewarded according to his works. Defiled and polluted without a title to heaven, or a qualification for the enjoyment of it, they represented man as being naturally depraved, and on that account exposed to punishment; and as having added is actual trans

gressions to that original depravity; and by that means riveted his doom, and rendered his condemnation sure. Debilitated through sin, which held dominion over him, they held him forth as utterly unable to return to God without supernatural aid; to recover himself from that condition in which he was involved; or to escape that misery to which he lay exposed. In fine, they described him as dead in trespasses, and dead in sins, destitute of all power to retrieve himself; and without an inclination to " flee from the wrath to come."

From these views in which they represented both God and man, they inferred the necessity of a Saviour; through whom man might have access to God, and be reconciled unto him, notwithstanding his past offences. From the relation in which man stood to God, they inferred the necessity of an expiation; of a vicarious sacrifice which should be equal to the claims of justice; and from hence they led them to "behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world."

By pointing out the Saviour in all his glorious offices, the affections of the poor negroes through accompanying grace became enkindled, their native ferocity was softened through the efficacy of dying love; and from a full conviction of the excellencies of this Saviour, and of the absolute necessity of obtaining an interest in him, they were led to call upon God for mercy; and to venture by faith on that sacrifice which the adorable Jesus had made: By thus venturing on him, they soon knew in whom they had believed; and by feeling in their own souls the witness of his Holy Spirit, they were enabled to set to their seal that God is true.

Being thus justified by faith, they had peace with God through our common Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and were led into the peaceable fruits of righteousness to the honour and glory of God. By this they demonstrated that their faith was genuine ; by this they proved the sincerity of their attachment to him in whom they believed; and gave evidence by their words and actions, that their faith was wrought of God. In this happy state thousands are now to be found in our West India Islands, who feel the powers of the world to come, and in the midst of temporary distresses can rejoice in hope of the glory of God. In servitude of the basest kind they are enabled to triumph in a freedom from condemnation; they can boast of liberty, while they feel the galling chain; and look with pity and compassion on their unhappy brethren who know not God. The losses which they have sustained on their native coast, they can reflect on with but comparatively small regret; since they have found a more than ample compensation for all in God. And though called to move under a gloomy dispensation of divine providence,

which they cannot comprehend, yet they have learned to trust God where they cannot trace him, and to walk by faith and not by sight.

Such are the blessed effects which have resulted from preaching the everlasting gospel in the "isles of the sea!"

When we survey the barbarous state of those to whom Christ has been thus preached; the deep-rooted prejudices, which they must, from a variety of circumstances, have had against Christianity; when we consider their hereditary ignorance; the contractedness of their views; and the influence of those corruptions which predominated in their hearts; and when to these we add the sources of temptation, which local circumstances must have presented before them, to question the justice of that God in whose mercies they were called by the gospel to confide; when we unite all these incidents together, we can hardly avoid exclaiming, "It is the Lord's doing, but it is marvellous in our eyes." And when to the above we also subjoin the instruments which God selected for these important purposes; the holy zeal which they have manifested on these occasions; the difficulties which they have encountered and finally overcome; together with that extraordinary success which has attended their ministry, and accompanied those simple truths which they have delivered, who can withhold the tribute of exultation, and avoid saying, "What has God wrought!"

But while the gospel of Jesus Christ shines forth with such irradiating lustre in these sultry regions, it must be acknowledged that the providence of God stands eclipsed, and appears enveloped with clouds which we can hardly penetrate. A thou sand questions may probably be asked in different forms, why God, who is infinitely just in all his ways, permits those shadows to enclose his actions and conceal his moral government from he scrutiny of mortals, in permitting the sons of Africa to move in chains. To this we can only answer, that his ways are high as the heavens, and we cannot comprehend them, neither can any man by searching find out God.

We see but a small part of his ways, and have not faculties sufficiently expanded to trace through all their intricacies the different parts of the economy of God. The utmost exertion of human efforts can discover no more than a single point, without being able to follow those connective links which unite together the remotest extremes: but, when the present system of things shall dissolve, and we shall commence inhabitants of another; when the mysteries which now surround the divine dispensations shall be unravelled, and we shall see him eye to eye, and face to face, and shall know as we are known; then, those obscurities which are now so prominent in his moral conduct, will disap