A Pastoral LETTER TO THE ENGLISH Captives, IN AFRICA.  
From New-England.  
Boston, Printed by B. Green, and I. Allen, in the year, 1698.   

TO THE English Captives in Africa.  
We are Distressed for you, O our BRETHREN, We are Distressed for you!  
OUR Neighbourhood is, with Bitter Anguish, pouring out the Lamentations, that were of old heard among the People of God, in Lam. 1. 18. The Lord is Righteous, for I have Rebelled against His Commandment: Hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my Sorrow; My Young men are gone into Captivity: And when we consider, what a dreadful and what a doleful, and how inexpressibly miserable, Captivity it is, that you are gone into, the Lamentations of our Sorrow, do indeed become Inexpressible. But, though we cannot Express the Agony of mind, that seizes us, when we do at our Full Tables, and in our Soft Lodgings, with all our Friends about us, call to mind, as we often do, How 'tis with you? yet we would Express a little of that Affection that we bear you, by Letting you know, That we Remember you.  
And as the Remembrance which we have of you, causes us, Without ceasing to make mention of you in our prayers, and our ardent and constant cries unto the G●d of all Grace, that you may have Grace to Help you, in your Time of Need, so, it puts us upon Writing unto you, those things, which may help to Instruct, & Strengthen, & Comfort you, in the midst of your Terrible Temptations. Jeremiah the Prophet, thought it his Duty, to Write a Letter unto those of his people, that were carried Captives, by a Bitter and Hasty Nation. And from a sense of Duty it is, that we now send a Letter unto you, for your Consolation, in that Captivity, where you are now Languishing under Bitter, and Heavy, Afflictions. Indeed, When the Israelites of old, were in the cruel and grievous Hands of their Egyptian Task Masters, we read, They harkened not unto Moses, for Anguish of Spirit, & for cruel Bondage But we hope, that all the Anguish of Spirit, & Cruel Bondage, which you suffer from worse than Egyptian Task masters, will not hinder you, from Harkening to those Admonitions which must now be given you.  
Now in the first place, We must let you know, That we are very much concerned, for your being preserved Faithful unto the Death, in that Christian Faith, which you have hitherto professed. We earnestly beg it of God for you, that whatever Miseries you undergo, you may not, in a vain Hope of Deliverance from those Miseries, Renounce the Christian Religion. Those Wretched Renegadoes, who have abandoned the Christian Religion, Expecting thereby to mend their Condition in the World, have not always had their Expectation answered; The dreadful Vengeance of God, hath sometimes filled them with confusion, by causing their Oppressors afterwards to slight them, and vex them, and more barbarously than ever to multiply Oppressions upon them. Or, if you should get any Abatement of your Daily Burdens, by becoming Apostates from the Christian Religion, yet the Jealous God can smite you with such Horror of Conscience in this World, for your Apostasy, as would be more Intolerable than all the Torments that you ever yet Endured; and He will certainly punish it with the Vergeance of Eternal Fire in the World to come, where the Smoke of your Torments will Ascend for ever and ever. We do, with a most unutterable Sympathy, feel your miseries; and we would gladly do and spend all we can, to Rescue you, from them: Nevertheless, we had rather you should Endure all manner of Temporal Miseries, than Incur Eternal Ones: We had rather a Turk or a Moor should continually Trample on you, than that the Devil should make a prey of you. The Great God hath said concerning His Christian Religion, If any man draw back from it, my Soul shall have no pleasure in him. Nor, can you do a Thing more Displeasing to our Souls, or, Destructive to your own, than to Backslide from that Holy Religion. Truly, It's being as we have called it, An Holy Religion. That one Thing is enough to give you, an Everlasting Assurance of its being, The way of Truth, and the only Religion worthy to be Embraced and Maintained, with a Reasonable man. There is nothing in that Religion, wherein you have been Educated, but what hath a Tendency to promote Virtue: it allows no such vicious Pride, and Revenge, and Selfishness, and Filthiness, and Sensuality, as is countenanced in all other Ways of Worship▪ If men would live in all things according to that Religion, which you have had the Happiness to be acquainted withal, they would be Angels rather than Men; and they are Bruits rather than Men, that would not count them so. It is impossible, that any but God, should be the Author of such an Holy Religion. And, What Religion else can you meet withal, that makes any such Reasonable Provision for the Reconciliation of a Sinner to the God, whom he hath offended by Sin? The Superstitions practised among the desolate Nations of the Earth, to obtain the Pardon of Sin, are so Idle, so Absurd, so Ridiculous, that it is an admirable Enchantment on any part of mankind, which has made them contented with such practices▪ But now, when you see the Methods for the Pardon of Sin, in that Religion, wherewith you have been Illuminated; when you see the Son of God, becoming a Man, and this God man, gloriously Living, and Dying, and Rising again, for to furnish poor Sinners Believing on Him, with a Righteousness, which will Entitle us unto Everlasting Blessedness, you cannot but say, There is a wonderful Majesty in this way of Reconciling a Sinner unto God; and the Glories of the most High, are therein displayed unto the Height. If you should be so Foolish, as to forego your Blessed Religion, for the sake of any other, you will by that Folly leave yourselves, without all Hope of a Pardon for your Sins; for none other will put you into any way for a Pardon, that you can justly think sufficient or agreeable. 'Twere better a thousand times to Die, with such an Hope of a Pardon for Sin, as your Glorious Religion sets before you, than to Live in all the pleasure of Sin, under the Blackness of Darkness, which every other must Leave upon you. But God hath done enough, & enough, to satisfy you in the Truth of the Christian Religion, by what was done for & by the Illustrious JESUS, the Author of this Religion. The Resurrection of our dear JESUS from the Dead, is an Incontestable Demonstration, That this His Religion, must be the way of Truth, and the Truth of God. There were many Irrefragable proofs, of our Lords being the Messiah, whom God had promised for to be the Redeemer of the World. Our JESUS Came, when the Messiah was to Come: Our JESUS Did all the Messiah was to Do; The Characters of the Messiah were fully answered in our JESUS. But His Resurrection from the Dead, This most of all effectually proved our JESUS to be the Messiah; This Declared Him to be the Son of God with power. Now, that our Lord Jesus, Rose from the Dead, you must needs own; because He showed Himself alive after it, by many Infallible proofs. After His Resurrection, He Exhibited Himself, unto those Good men, who Saw Him, Herd Him, Felt Him, and convinced all their Senses, that i● was Herald This He did, no less than Ten several Times, and unto no less than Five Hundred at a Time; & the Witnesses thereof, went over the Earth, ass thing it, in such a manner, that the most Judicious Examiner's of their Testimony, could not but acknowledge, that they were neither Deceivers nor Deceived, in the Thing which they Asserted. Yea, our Lord, since His Ascension into the Heavens, and as a Fruit and a Proof of His Ascension, sent His Church a Letter, (which we have in the Book of The Revelation,) wherein He foretold a Thousand Things, that we have seen exactly come to pass; but He particularly foretold, The Rising of the Mahometan Religion; it's being propagated by the Arabian Arms; it's obscuring the Christian Religion, with an horrid Smoke, and its Tormenting the Professors of the Christian Religion, after the Union of the Four Turkish Kingdoms in the one Ottomian Family, for Three hundred & Ninety seven years together. Besides all this; The First Publication of the Christian Reagion was attended, which the Mahometan Religion has never been, with Miracles, that were a Demonstration given by the Holy Spirit of God unto it. Astonishing Miracles were done by our JESUS, before His Retiring from us, into the Heavenly Regions. Those Astonishing Miracles are so undeniable, that the Writings both of the Jews, and of the Turks, do at this day confess them; nor were the Pagans, of the First Ages, in the Volumes which they wrote against Christianity, still Extant, able to deny them. And the like Miracles were continued among the Apostolical Preachers of the Christian Religion, after our Lord's Departure from us, for Two hundred years together: They spoke with Tongues, which they had never Learned before; they Helped the Blind, they Healed the Sick, they Raised the Dead, and they Cast out the Devils from the Possessed. No History can be True, if This be not so. Now these things are Seals from God, unto the Christian Religion. I beseech you, Do not harbour the least suspicion of a Religion, so Sealed by the God of Heaven, with Ungainsayable Confirmations. But if any Mahometan Tempter's do assault you, Let the words of their own Alcoran serve to Answer them; The words of the Alcoran, (or Turkish BIBLE) are; The Spirit of God hath given Testimony, to CHRIST, the Son of Mary; He is the Messenger of the Spirit, and the Word of God: His Doctrine is perfect. And Mahomet, in this his Alcoran, calls the Gospel expressly, The Right way to Fear God; & says, That God sent the Gospel for no other end, but that they might obtain by it, the Love and Grace of God. Let the Mahometans now know, That you cannot forsake your Christ, because the Spirit of God hath given Testimony to Him; and that you cannot forsake His Doctrine, because it is perfect; and that you cannot forsake His Gospel, because 'tis the Right way to Fear God; as They Themselves have confessed. My dear Friends, The Lord preserve your Souls chaste unto Him▪ and make you Faithful to the Death, and give you a Crown of Life! May you be able to say, Lord, Tho' thou hast sore broken us in the place of Dragons, yet have we not forsaken thee, nor dealt falsely in thy Covenant.  
But, while you hold fast the Profession of the Christian Religion, it is of infinite concern for you, to Experience also the Power and Practice of it. And it may be, the dismal Affliction of your present Captivity, is come upon you, to Convince you of, and Convert you to those things in Religion, whereof you were too insensible, when your heard them dispensed unto you, in the Ordinances of the Gospel, which you sometimes Enjoyed. Yea, 'twill be an happy Captivity, that is now come upon you, if the Ears of your Souls be now open to the Discipline of Christianity, of which it may be, the Lord from Heaven says unto you, I stake unto thee in thy Prosperity, and thou wouldst not hear me. You have been particularly told, of your Misery by reason of your Slavery to your Interior Adversaries; being, Sold under Sin, and being, Taken Captive by the Devil at his Will. But, alas, alas, have you hitherto been deeply sensible of that Misery? You were in the worst sort of Slavery, before ever the Corshires of Africa Siezed upon you; Every Sinful Child of Adam, is by Nature so. It is an horrible thing, to be continually at work for Satan, Tempted and Blinded by him, and held fast in the Chains of Lust: And it is of more than a Million Times greater Consequence to be Redeemed from this cursed Slavery, than from that other, wherein Turks, and Moors, do now trample upon you. Your Slavery to the Monsters of Africa will be but short, and you may Serve God under it, and See God after it: But your Slavery, to the Powers of Darkness, whereinto you are by your Fall from God, precipitated; This alienates you, from the Knowledge and Favour of God, and Eternal Confusions in another World, will be the Wages of it. And that which has left you, in this Condition of Slavery, is, The Justice of the Holy God, which hath arrested you, in dreadful Bonds, for the Wrongs that your Sins have done, in Denying, & in Defying of His Majesty. Methinks, It should fill your Hearts with wonderful Joy, to have the Tidings & Offers, of a Redemption from that your Spiritual Slavery. This Letter now brings them to you. The Lord JESUS CHRIST is that Strong Redeemer, who is, Able to Save you unto the uttermost, and who has Engaged, Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. This gracious Lord, hath paid a Sufficient Ransom unto the Justice of God, for the Souls of His Chosen; His very Life, even the Life of that Man, who is God as well as Man, and therefore One of infinite Value, has been given by Him, as a Ransom for them▪ They, to whom the Virtue of this Ransom, is actually applied, are set at Liberty, from the Hellish Thraldom, wherein the Enemies of their Souls have Enslaved them; The Prey is taken from the Mighty, and the Lawful Captive is delivered. Come then, my Afflicted Friends; In your Captivity, let it be your first Care, to Commit your Enslaved Souls into the Hands of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, With whom there is Plenteous Redemption, for He will Redeem His People from all their Iniquities: And Cry unto God, that through the Ransom, which the Lord JESUS CHRIST hath paid for you, even that Blood, which is more Precious than Silver and Gold, and all the Corruptible things of this World, you may have your Souls Redeemed, from all the Destruction, and Slavery, that Sin has brought upon them. When you have Sincerely thus, Believed on the Lord JESUS CHRIST, than you may Joyfully Sing, I know that my Redeemer Lives! Though you Die in your African Captivity, yet you may Die, Praising of God, for Saving you, from your Spiritual Captivity. Yea, 'tis possible, that you may Live to see us again, in this World, and Bless God with us, that ever you were sent into such a sad part of the World, as Africa; for if you Seek First, the Redemption of your Souls, the other will the sooner be Added unto you  
Especially, if you go on, more particularly to Express that Repentance, with which a True Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, will be accompanied. It is one of the Oracles in the Word of our God; If they Confess their Iniquity, & that they have walked Contrary unto me, and I also have walked Contrary unto them, and have brought them, into the Land of their Enemies, if then their Uncircumcised Hearts be Humbled, and they then accept of the Punishment of their Iniquity, then will I remember my Covenant. My Distressed Friends; Now you are in the Land of your Enemies, 'tis Time for you, Humbly to Confess unto the Lord, all that Iniquity, which He is Punishing, in this your Captivity; For the Lord, in His Oracles also forewarned His People, Because thou Servedst not the Lord thy God, with Joyfulness, Therefore shalt thou Serve thine Enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee, in Hunger, and in Thirst, and in Nakedness, and in the want of all Things. It may be said, Who gave you to the African Pirates? It was the Lord, against whom you had Sinned. Have you forgotten the Story of Menasseh? Of Menasseh the Story is famous; That his Enemies took him, and bound him with Fetters, and carried him to Babylon: and when he was in Affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly, and Prayed unto Him, and He was Entreated of him, and heard his Supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem. Truly, my Brethren; your Enemies have taken you, and bound you, and Carried you to Africa: Now, in your Affliction, if you will Beseech the Lord your God, and Humble yourselves greatly, who can tell, what He may do for you? It was a Good proposal, made by the poor Captives of old, among their Lamentations; Let us Search and Try our Ways, and Turn unto the Lord▪ Solomon said, Captives are to Bethink themselves, and Repent! I advise you, To set before yourselves the Commandments of God and what is Required and what is Forbidden, in every one of the Commandments; and very Deliberately Examine, how far you have in your own Conversation, Omitted what is Required, and Committed what is Forbidden; and Loath & Judge yourselves before the Lord, for all the Evil that has been in all your ways. It may be your Conscences, will now (as it was with Joseph's Brethren, when they saw themselves becoming Prisoners) accuse you, with a more special Remorse, for your Unthankfulness, and Perhaps Discontentment, under the Mercies of God, that formerly Surrounded you, and for your Unfruitfulness and Misbehaviour under the means of Grace that once Enriched you; or, perhaps, for some Singular Acts of Wickedness against God, or Injustice towards your Nighbours. Bewayl it all, before that God, who Forgives Iniquity, Transgression & Sin; and fly to the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, as a Fountain set open for Sin and for Uncleanness. Do not imagine, That it is too late for you, to obtain the Pardon of your Sins, now the Judgement of God has overtaken you for them; for it is not so: You may yet, through a CHRIST, come to Sing, Who is a God like unto thee, that Pardons Iniquity? He retains not His Anger for ever, because He delighteth in Mercy?  
This therefore is the Fourth, and a Great Thing to be pressed upon you: PRAYER, Prayer without Ceasing. Your fierce Masters, lay heavy Burdens enough upon you; The Things, which we now lay upon you, are Burdens indeed unto an Unregenerate Heart, but they are to Ease your Burdens. I am sure, Prayer will do it marvellously. Our Bible mentions one, who was of a Sorrowful Spirit; but it is added, Having poured out her Soul unto the Lord, she was no more sad. Oh! Let not the Angels of God, who are the Spectators of your Sorrows, and of your Actions under your Sorrows, have cause to make that Complaint of you, that the Prophet made of the People, that had been Slaves to the Babylonians, All this Evil is come upon them, yet they have not made their Prayer before the Lord their God. You cannot now make your Moans, to your Consorts, to your Parents▪ to your tender hearted Relations; You wish, Oh! that I could! But you may make your moans to God in the Lord JESUS CHRIST, before whom, there comes, the Sighing of the Prisoner. Oh! Get alone, as often as you can, to pour out your Souls, and Spread all your Wants, all your Griefs, all your Fears, before that God, who is, The Hearer of Prayer. And, when you are at Prayer unto God, in the Lord Jesus Christ, I know, you will Importunately Cry to Him, for your Deliverance out of your doleful Captivity. We, a great way off, adjoin our, AMEN, to that Prayer of yours. But then, to assist it, I counsel you, to look out, Suitable Promises of God, in His Word, for to plead with Him, in your Prayer, till your Faith be raised, even unto some Assurance. I hope, you will do all that is possible, to preserve your Bibles, and prise them, and love them, and Read them, as much as ever you can; and find in them those Delights, that will not let you Perish in your Affliction. Now, in your Bibles, make such Passages as these, the Food of your Meditations, the Force of your Supplications.  Psal. 107. 10. 
Such as sit in darkness, and in the shadow of Death, because they Rebelled against the words of God,— therefore He brought down their Heart with Labour,— They cried unto the Lord in their Trouble, and He saved them out of their Distresses, He brought them out of Darkness, and broke their Bands in sundor.  Deut. 30. 2. 
When thou shalt Return unto the Lord thy God, Then the Lord thy God will turn thy Captivity, & have Compassion upon thee— If any be driven out, unto the utmost parts of Heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee.  Jer. 29. 14. 
Ye shall Seek me, and Find me, when ye shall search for me, with all your Heart: And I will Turn away your Captivity, and gather you from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord.  
Plead such Promises as these, with that God, whose prerogative it is, to Turn the Captivity of His people, and to Lose the Prisoners. Don't Rely on the Endeavours of your Friends, to Deliver you: but say, My Soul, wait thou only upon God, for my Expectation is from Him. Surprising Salvations have been sometimes wrought for Captives, in answer to Prayer thus prosecuted: The Lord has Turned their Captivity, and made them sing, The Lord has done great Things for us! Only be sure to plead the Blood of the Lord JESUS CHRIST, as the Ransom for this Deliverance also: It must be by that Blood of the Covenant, that you are brought out of the Pit: The Lord JESUS CHRIST, is the Temple of God, with an Eye to whom, if you make your Supplication, unto God, in the Land of them that have Carried you Captives, God will Hear your Prayer, in Heaven. His Dwelling place, and forgive you.  
In the mean Time; your Prayer will obtain this for you, That God, who hath the Hearts of all in His own Almighty Hand, will give you Compassion, before them, who have carried you Captives: as we read of some, in Psal. 106 46 He made them to be pitied of all those who carried them Captives. Yea, if you carry yourselves, patiently, and Honestly, and Faithfully, and Industriously, as well as Prayerfully, in the Hard Service, which is by the Providence of God put upon you, the Lord may not only Incline your Masters, to favour you, (as joseph's did him, in his Captivity!) but may also make use of you, to do an unknown deal of Good, where He hath now appointed your uneasy Stations. One poor Prisoner once, was the Occasion and Instrument, of bringing a whole Kingdom, to Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you carry it well, [and, Oh ! pray, that you may carry it well,] in all Respect, under your Tedious Hardships, you may Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ exceedingly.  
Now, that being All, that I can farther do for you, I do with Fervent Zeal for your Welfare, humbly put you over into His Blessing, and Saving, and Powerful, and ever glorious Hands, and Subscribe myself,  
Yours in Him, Cotton Mather.