/A 
 
 Duty and Policy of Propagating Christianity ? 
 
 A 
 
 DISCOURSE 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 Cfrurti) Jtfltsstonarp Isoaetp 
 
 FOR AFRICA AND THE EAST, 
 
 MAY 4, 1813; 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM DEALTRY, B.D. F.R.S. 
 
 examining chaplain to the LORD DISHOP OP BRISTOL, and fellow of trinity 
 
 COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 Published, at the Request of the General Meeting. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND ROWLAND, GOSWELL-STREET ! 
 SOLO BY 
 
 t. B. SEELEY, 169, FLEET STREET; AND J. HATCHARD, PICCADILLY, 
 BOOKSELLERS TO THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY, 
 
 1813 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/dutypolicyofpropOOdeal 
 
/ 
 
 A 
 
 DISCOURSE, #c. 
 
 2 COR. v. 14. 
 
 THE LOVE OF CHRIST CONSTRAINETH US. 
 
 1 HE records of every age since the promulgation of 
 the Gospel present us with unquestionable instances 
 of Christian zeal and Christian courage. In many 
 cases, it must be acknowledged, these principles 
 have been strangely tarnished and debased : other 
 motives and other feelings than those which divine 
 wisdom would implant, have too often usurped the 
 place of her legitimate attendants. Men have 
 announced the revelation of truth, but not alwaj^s 
 in the love of it : they have preached the Gospel, 
 but not always with simplicity: and the superficial 
 observer has been led to charge upon our religion 
 itself the errors and the follies of those by whom it 
 was proclaimed. Whatever of enthusiasm can be 
 detected in the conduct even of good men, must be 
 matter of regret : whatever can be pointed out in 
 their demeanour inconsistent with sound sense and a 
 sober judgment, we mean not to defend. But 
 
 A 2 
 
4 
 
 when the largest concessions shall have been made, 
 it wdl still be found that the real disciple of Christ 
 possesses an energy of mind, an elevation of 
 inlellect, a spirit of benevolent enterprize, which no 
 difficulties can subdue, and no time can destroy. 
 Such was the character of St. Paul. His great 
 anxiety was, by unshaken fidelity and indefatigable 
 exertion, to approve himself the servant of God. 
 Under every circumstance of suffering, in afflic- 
 tions, in necessities, in distresses; under every 
 change of reputation, by honour and dishonour, 
 by evil report and good report, he still laboured, 
 striving according to the working of Christ Jesus, 
 which wrought in him mightily. When the 
 synagogues no longer received him, he taught 
 publicly and from house to house : if an oppor- 
 tunity of delivering his solemn commission were 
 presented, whether in prison or on ship-board, by the 
 sea shore or in the schools of philosophy, he em- 
 braced it with gladness. Wherever the voice of 
 Providence seemed to call for his ministrations, he 
 hastened to testify the Gospel of the grace of God. 
 For the space of thirty years, this great Apostle 
 was spared to mankind, a burning and a shining 
 light ; and the wonderful extension of Christianity 
 during that period, both in the East and in the 
 West, was, under the divine blessing, mainly owing 
 to his ardent charity and inextinguishable zeal. 
 
 Jt might have been presumed, when such an 
 example of sacred and persevering enterprize was 
 
5 
 
 placed full in the view of the Christian converts, 
 that they would have learnt to appreciate its value ; 
 but it is evident from his epistle to the church of 
 Corinth, that by some of the members of that bony, 
 the character of St. Paul was very little understood. 
 They saw that in the prosecution of his labours he 
 was impelled by no temporal considerations, and 
 they believed him to be deranged in his under 
 standing. How does he answer the charge? 
 “ Whether toe be beside ourselves , 5 it is to God ; 
 or whether we be sober, it is fur your cause. 
 It. is true that we are zealous in our profession; 
 that we occasionally seem to abandon the maxims 
 of ordinary men : we count not our lives dear unto 
 us j but we are stimulated by a noble purpose: our 
 object is nothing less than the glory of God. And 
 if at other times we appear to be governed by 
 motives of prudence, we are not without a reason : 
 it is for the benefit of those who look up to us for 
 teaching and consolation : our conduct in both 
 cases is rational and consistent — For the love 
 of Christ consfraineth us." The contemplation of 
 the great love wherewith he loved us, awakens 
 every kindred emotion of our minds. When we 
 observe him in the display of his abundant mercy ; 
 when we consider what he has effected for us “ by 
 his cross and passion, by his precious death and 
 burial, by his glorious resurrection and ascension, 
 and by the coming of the Holy Ghost,” our 
 faculties are so absorbed in the contemplation, and 
 our hearts so warmed by the heavenly theme, 
 
6 
 
 that we are absolutely constrained from henceforth 
 to live not unto ourselves, but ante him which died 
 for us and rose again ; to consecrate to his service 
 all our affections and all our powers ; to follow 
 him in his great example; to bind up the broken- 
 hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the 
 opening of the prison to them that are bound. 
 
 In proposing the example of St. Paul as a guide 
 to ourselves, every distinction is doubtless to be 
 made, which arises from difference of times, from 
 peculiarity of situation, and from the very nature of 
 the Apostolical commission. But, if we deduce 
 from these reflections an argument for indifference, 
 our reasoning is delusive, and we arrive at a 
 dangerous conclusion. It is an obvious enquiry. 
 In what manner would St. Paul have conducted 
 himself under the circumstances of the present 
 day ? And if we advert to the principle by which 
 his whole conduct was directed, the question admits 
 of an easy answer : The love of Christ constrained 
 him. And can any lapse of time change the 
 evidence of that love or diminish its power ? Were 
 the incarnation and sufferings of the Son of God a 
 subject of such inexpressible interest in the early 
 ages of the Church, and are they less so now ? 
 Have life and immortality been secured to us by 
 the awful sacrifice, and shall we be less animated by 
 the hope set before us, because a few centuries have 
 passed away since the everlasting doors were thrown 
 open to the Gentile World ? If there be a mind 
 
7 
 
 which duly appreciates the extent of its own 
 obligation to heavenly mercy, which looks with a 
 just estimate upon the benefits already conferred 
 and upon the blessings in reversion, there also will 
 be the principle of the Apostle, and there we shall 
 recognise its undoubted effects. This is a principle 
 mighty in operation. It will impel every man 
 according to his rank and condition to further the 
 great cause of evangelizing the world. Those who 
 give, will give liberally : those who have nothing to 
 offer but their prayers, have still much to offer, and 
 they will not solicit the Throne of Grace in vain. 
 Under the influence of this motive, the herald of 
 salvation will again be seen, as in the days of old, 
 encountering the perils of the desert and the sea, 
 and traversing with fearless step inhospitable shores 
 and insalubrious climates. In contemplating the 
 excellence of his high vocation, he will catch the 
 spirit of an Apostle, and display the constancy of a 
 martyr : he will learn to esteem all his afflictions 
 as light, and all his privations as unworthy of the 
 name. 
 
 Wherever this disposition shall be found to exist, 
 there can be no question that it will be productive 
 of good : but for the purpose of extensive benefit, 
 we must be careful to give it a right direction. If 
 we examine the history of St. Paul, we shall find 
 that he ran not as uncertainly ; that he endeavoured 
 in all things to follow the guidance of the Holy 
 Spirit j and whether he proceeded from Troas to 
 
8 
 
 Philippi, or remained stationary at Corinth, it was 
 under the assurance and conviction that the Lord 
 had thus called him to preach the Gospel. We pre- 
 sume not to expect that similar intimations will be 
 made to us : the precepts of the Scripture as con- 
 nected with the dispensations of Providence are our 
 • guide, and from them is the will of Heaven to be 
 collected. In pursuing this course, w 7 e follow the 
 steps of a higher power ; we seem to listen to his 
 command, and rely upon his faithfulness for a bless- 
 ing on our labours. 
 
 The Society for which I have this day the hap- 
 piness to plead, is not more distinguished, I think, 
 for its Christian zeal, than for the prudence and dis- 
 cretion, which have uniformly marked its progress. 
 Whilst it determined, with considerate caution, 
 not to build upon another man's foundation , not to 
 interfere with the pious exertions of other societies, 
 it selected, in the first instance, that portion of the 
 globe to which the finger of God seemed immedi- 
 ately to point the way. The wounds of Africa were 
 still fresh: her injuries were deep and accumulated; 
 and her cry had long ascended up to heaven. For 
 many ages she had seen her coasts depopulated, her 
 nations barbarized, her children dragged from the 
 land of their nativity to perish on a distant shore, 
 unpitied and unwept. The feet of those who had 
 heard the glad tidings of salvation, and who pro- 
 fessed to embrace it, were to be traced upon her 
 plains. But they had another errand than to publish 
 
9 : 
 
 peace : it was a march of desolation. The weapons 
 of their warfare were indeed mighty and effectual ; 
 but they were chains and slavery. The only cha- 
 racters in which the effects of Christianity could be 
 read by the miserable sons of Africa, were charac- 
 ters of blood. Their groans, ascending from either 
 side of the Ocean, seemed to mingle over the At- 
 lantic ; and, in notes of deep and solemn import, 
 called for vengeance. What good man did not 
 sympathise with their sorrows, and long to impart 
 to them at least the hopes of a future world, the in- 
 telligence of their high origin, and of their eternal 
 destinies ? What reflecting man did not feel his 
 heart chilled with fear, when he turned to those 
 memorials of former days, which mark the retribu- 
 tive justice of the Most. High ? — the history of vio- 
 lence repaid "by violence? — of aggression visited upon 
 the head of the aggressor? — of national injustice 
 terminating in national ruin ? Could the voice of 
 St. Paul have been heard in that night of legalized 
 oppression, that voice would have told you, I am 
 persuaded, in the first place to shew mercy to 
 Africa. He would have intreated you by all that is 
 lovely and of good report, by whatever there is of 
 virtue and of praise, to raise her from the dust. He 
 would have urged you by the terrors of the Lord, 
 to commiserate her sad condition, for the sake of 
 your own land ; to propitiate the fierce wrath of 
 Jehovah, lest he should call around him the minis- 
 ters of vengeance, and visit upon your heads the 
 wrongs of a bleeding continent. 
 
10 
 
 In fixing upon Africa as the first field of its be- 
 nevolent labours, the Society has done well. May 
 nothing arise to damp its expectations or to wither 
 its energies ! But he, who commissioned his dis- 
 ciples to teach all nations, would now, I think, en- 
 join you to enlarge your prospects; to lift up your 
 eyes, and to look also upon other fields, which are 
 white already to harvest. 
 
 The volume of the divine economy is gradually 
 opening before us ; and the time seems to be ap- 
 proaching, when the millions of Asia are to listen to 
 the joyful sound of the Gospel ! To this subject I 
 would venture especially to direct your attention, 
 as involving a solemn argument of imperious obliga- 
 tion, and of immense importance. 
 
 I am not ignorant that the delicacy of this ques- 
 tion asks for all the caution which experience can 
 supply ; that its magnitude requires not merely the 
 enlargement of conception which knowledge, cor- 
 rected and matured by age, can alone command, 
 but likewise that sanction of authority which arises 
 solely from rank and distinction in the Church of 
 Christ ; and I cannot but regret that it should have 
 devolved upon one, who is so little qualified, in any 
 of these respects, to engage in the discussion. The 
 circumstances of the times, however, scarcely leave 
 him the alternative of silence: and he will therefore 
 propose a few observations, rather with the design 
 of exciting the attention of others, than with any 
 hope of doing justice to the cause. 
 
II 
 
 It might reasonably be expected that any propo- 
 sition made in a Christian country for the extension 
 of Christianity .by prudent and rational means, would 
 meet with a reception universally favourable. But 
 such is the constitution of society, and such the 
 conflict of opinions upon almost every topic, that 
 a measure even of this nature will certainly meet 
 with opposition. It will encounter the prejudices 
 of some, and the apprehensions of others. When 
 argument shall fail, the appeal will be made to our 
 fears j and the religion of order and happiness and 
 peace will be represented as the probable source of 
 incalculable mischief. Upon a subject of this mag- 
 nitude, comprizing so many interests, and said to 
 be pregnant with such alarming consequences, it is 
 right and expedient to give attention to every 
 scruple, by which reasonable men profess to be in- 
 fluenced, and to ascertain, as far as we are able, its 
 bearing and its force. 
 
 It bas been contended that our Indian Empire 
 has no need of the religion of Christ ; that the 
 natives of the East are of a character remarkably in- 
 offensive, and that it were well if we could discover 
 in Christian countries the same docility of disposi- 
 tion and gentleness of demeanour. The fact will 
 scarcely be denied, that, in every Christian coun- 
 try, numbers are to be found who are Christians 
 only by profession ; a scandal to civilized life, and a 
 reproach to the sacred name by which they are 
 called. Yet even these men, unworthy as they are^ 
 
12 
 
 derive great and signal advantages from the silent 
 operation of the Gospel. To what cause shall we 
 att ribute the general improvement of society ? What 
 authority has chased away the barbarous habits of 
 our fathers, and the disgraceful institutions of the 
 ancient world? It is the influence of Christianity. 
 If we have been rescued from the abominations and 
 cruelties of Paganism, from disgusting rites, from 
 human sacrifices, from authorised murder, from the 
 degradation of one half of the human race, and 
 from the unmerciful outrages of the other; it is not 
 to philosophy that we owe the change, but to the 
 meliorating operation of the religion of Christ. And 
 have our fellow-subjects in the East no need of reli- 
 gious civilization ? Are the public manners of the 
 natives so faultless, their public institutions so cor- 
 rect and becoming, as to be capable of no improve- 
 ment from a Divine Revelation whose characteristic 
 is purity, and which breathes peace and good-will to 
 men? Let the history of that empire answer the 
 question. It is a detail of violence and treachery: 
 it records crimes and impieties of the deepest colour; 
 not perpetrated in the shades of retirement, or in 
 defiance of general opinion ; but public and noto- 
 rious, acknowledged without scruple, and avowed 
 as necessary in the ordinary conduct of life. But 
 for an argument which shall be applicable to our 
 own times, we must refer to modern statements. 
 The testimony of our countrymen is before us ; and 
 in whatever view we consider it, the story is suffi- 
 ciently humiliating and afflicting. O what is our 
 
13 
 
 boasted reason when the mind is enslaved by super- 
 stition ! If the light that is in us be darkness, how 
 great is that darkness ! It would ill suit the dignity 
 of this sacred place, dedicated to the service of the 
 one true God, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, to 
 witness the description of those profligate abomi- 
 nations, which distinguish the temples of them that 
 are no gods. It would accord little with the feelings 
 of this Christian Assembly, if we should attempt to 
 lay open the habitations of cruelty, and to detail 
 the disgusting rites of an idolatrous people. A 
 Christian mother will not forget her sucking child : 
 a Christian son will not consign his parent to destruc- 
 tion. The voice of natural affection is not stifled 
 here, and the principles of religion unite us to our 
 kind. But there, it should seem, that some at least 
 of the social feelings are habitually suppressed: atro- 
 cities of the most fearful name are not merely sanc- 
 tioned by the sacred order, but represented as highly 
 meritorious. The morals of the people too much 
 partake of the character of their institutions, and 
 may be directly traced to their ignorance and ido- 
 latry. This is the source of the evil. It lies deep 
 in the bosom of a poisoned soil j and the whole 
 empire has been covered with its infected streams. 
 And shall we be told that India can receive no be- 
 nefit from the boon of the Gospel ? 
 
 We have hitherto spoken only of the general ef- 
 fects: but it is obvious to remark, that those who 
 
14 
 
 argue from the present improved state of the East, 
 against the introduction of Christianity, are in per- 
 fect ignorance of the nature of our religion. Its 
 tendency is not merely to reform the general cus- 
 toms of the world, but to renew the heart of the 
 individual; to change the principle of conduct.; to 
 cleanse all the springs of action. It elevates the 
 mind ; it exalts and purifies the affections. It in- 
 structs us, even while we are sojourners in the 
 world, to have our conversation above ; to travel 
 beyond the glories of this lower sky, the sun, and 
 the moon, and the stars, and to tread that pavement 
 which reflects the beams of inexpressible Majesty. 
 It teaches us to rise upon the wings of holy adora- 
 tion to the regions of the blessed, unto the city of 
 the living God, and to an innumerable company of 
 angels, to the general assejnbly and church of the 
 first -barn , which are written in heaven, and to God 
 the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made 
 perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new cove- 
 nant. Its inseparable attendants are faith, and love, 
 and joy : that power of faith, which relies upon the 
 promises of God, and appropriates the benefits of 
 the cross of Christ: that, elevation of love, which 
 carries all the affections of the soul to him that hath 
 redeemed and purified it : that joy in the Holy 
 Ghost, which has its infancy on earth, and expects 
 its fullness in the presence of the eternal. These 
 are among the triumphs of the Christian Religion ; 
 and their value will be displayed in its brightest 
 
15 
 
 lustre, when all the temples of the East, and all the 
 institutions of the earth, and all the glories of the 
 sky, shall have been swept out of existence. 
 
 In proving the great want of better principles and 
 a higher tone of morals among the subjects of our 
 Indian Empire, we have made but a small progress 
 in the argument. For another question immediately 
 arises, “ How does it appear that the diffusion of 
 Christianity is practicable ?” 
 
 Imagine the same question to have been proposed 
 to the Disciples, when they were first commanded 
 to go and teach all nations. Can any undertaking 
 be considered as more fertile in difficulties, and ap- 
 parently less allied to hope ? They went as sheep 
 among wolves ; without any countenance from au- 
 thority or any influence from opinion. Yet even 
 under these circumstances the Word of God grew 
 mightily and prevailed. Churches were planted in 
 many lands ; and the voice of prayer and thanks- 
 giving was soon heard in the regions of Asia, and 
 in the farthest extremities of western Europe. No 
 language could impede the progress of Revelation. 
 No institution of superstition, no fortress of vice 
 could withstand its power. The fabrics of Hea- 
 thenism presented but a feeble barrier. The sacred 
 stream rolled onward like a torrent, and dashed 
 them to the ground. The pride of learning bowed 
 before the simplicity of the Gospel : the barbarian 
 became civilized: the philosopher learnt humility: 
 
id 
 
 the rich and the poor met together, as children of 
 the same parent and as heirs of a common inherit- 
 ance. 1 he Word of God, simple, unarmed, and 
 unassmn’-ig. subdued principalities and powers : it 
 citeered the meanness of the cottage, and illumi- 
 nate?! the paiaeeS of kings. 1 he Son of Man was 
 lifted up, and the nations were drawn to behold 
 him. 
 
 That the diffusion of Christianity was practicable 
 in those times will not be denied ; and why should 
 we doubt that the same awful power which then 
 subdued all things to itself, should operate again 
 with its commanding energy? We need not to be 
 reminded of the peculiar customs of India, of the 
 long period in which they have prevailed, or of the 
 influence which they possess in almost every part of 
 that extensive continent. All this is admitted. Few 
 countries have ever presented greater obstacles to 
 improvement, whether we refer to manners or to 
 creeds. The whole system is formed for duration. 
 It has for its ramparts the first associations of child- 
 hood, the prejudices and the passions of ignorance, 
 the prescription of antiquity, and the impressions of 
 every period of life. There are pilgrimages for the 
 devout, mortifications for the ascetic, and licentious 
 festivals for the vicious. Whatever can confirm the 
 austerity of the bigot, or inflame the imagination of 
 the voluptuary; and, above all, that adamantine 
 chain of Caste, which binds down to the ground the 
 very minds of men, and fetters all their energies. 
 
17 
 
 But experience is a better guide than conjecture ; 
 and in reasoning about the future, we should do well 
 to look at the past. The history of the last fifty 
 years will demonstrate, that usages which are con- 
 nected with the superstition of the Hindus, and 
 which have existed from time immemorial, have 
 been abolished ; that the laws of the Mahometans 
 have*in many cases been modified; and that even 
 the sacred character of the Bramin himself no longer 
 shelters him, in the provinces of Bengal, from the 
 severest sentence of the law. 
 
 These observations bear strongly upon the ques- 
 tion before us; but we have evidence still more 
 direct. If the attachment of the Hindus to the 
 prevailing superstition were perfectly invincible, 
 how are we to account for the existing state of 
 the empire ? Of the sixty millions of natives who 
 are subject to the authority of Great Britain, 
 it is stated that about fifteen millions are Maho- 
 metans. Many of these we readily allow are the 
 descendants of Mahometan invaders; and there is 
 no doubt but the ancestors of many others were 
 compelled to embrace the faith of the conquerors : 
 but a large body will still remain who deserted the 
 creed of the Hindus, when at perfect liberty to retain 
 it, and when protected by their native sovereigns. 
 And it is not unworthy of remark, that these 
 changes have been produced within the last eight 
 centuries. If the conversion either of the Hindus 
 or Mahometans be impracticable, what shall we say 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 of that powerful nation in the north of India, which 
 about four hundred years ago was founded by an 
 apostate Hindu, and consists chiefly of converts 
 from the two prevailing creeds ? If superstition can 
 thus trample upon superstition, and idolatry submit 
 to both, why may not the faith of the Gospel be 
 planted upon the ruins of them all ? Has the 
 proclamation of divine truth never been announced 
 in those lands ? Has no incense ever ascended 
 from them to the Father of Mercy ? Has no 
 favoured spot in that extensive wilderness ever been 
 visited by the light from Heaven ? Who among us 
 has not heard of the Christian Churches of Tra- 
 vancore and Malabar ? Who has not reflected with 
 delight upon the wonderful Providence which has 
 preserved for so many centuries, in the midst of 
 universal idolatry, these noble monuments of the 
 true faith ? Little did our forefathers imagine when 
 the voice of thanksgiving was heard in the as- 
 semblies of the west, that it was answered by cor- 
 responding strains in the east. Little could it be 
 supposed when the whole of Europe was sunk in 
 a night of hopeless and almost impenetrable dark- 
 ness, that the Sun of Righteousness was even then 
 directing his beams upon the plains of India. In 
 that disasterous period of the Church, when the 
 Good Shepherd seemed wholly to have forsaken 
 these regions, and the sheep were scattered abroad ; 
 a little flock was to be found on those distant shores, 
 which he led into green pastures and by the waters 
 of comfort. Persecution and oppression, the hand 
 
19 
 
 of violence and the contagion of bad example have 
 assailed these congregations in vain : and they 
 remain at the present hour an incontrovertible 
 proof, that the vine which the Lord hath planted 
 can strike its roots in the most ungenial soil, and 
 can flourish in every clime. 
 
 Should it be contended that the example of the 
 Syrian Church, which has existed ever since the 
 primitive ages, does not demonstrate the prac- 
 ticability of extending Christianity at present, we 
 may descend to modern times. Has no effect been 
 produced by the Roman Catholic Missions ? — The 
 annals of the 1 6th and 1 7th centuries are full 
 and decisive upon the question. Whatever esti- 
 mate we may form of the principles adopted by 
 these converts, this at least is indisputable, that they 
 changed their religion. But the history of our 
 own Societies affords a testimony still more recent, 
 and perfectly unexceptionable. The Missionaries 
 of Tranquebar, under the protection of Denmark, 
 assisted by the Society established in this country 
 for promoting Christian Knowledge, have during 
 the last century, preached the Gospel in the south of 
 India with great success. Idolaters have not only 
 professed to renounce the superstitions of their 
 fathers, but numbers have walked worthy of their 
 profession. The pride of Braminical distinction 
 itself has fallen prostrate before the cross of Christ ; 
 and the pious Missionary, with no arms but his 
 Bible, with no earthly protection but his character, 
 
 b 2 
 
20 
 
 and no recommendation but zeal for his God, has 
 extorted from all classes a degree of respect 
 and admiration of which the world has seen few 
 examples. The memory of the just is blessed : 
 the name of Swartz has been embalmed in the tears 
 of his grateful followers, and idolaters themselves 
 have paid to it the willing homage of respect. 
 
 Nor are we left without witness if we turn to 
 Bengal. The Baptist Missionaries in that quarter 
 have established the fact, that the bond of Caste, even 
 there is not invincible : in that province, as well as 
 in the south, Bramins themselves have relinquished 
 their idols, and have turned from dead works to serve 
 the living God. 
 
 It is impossible to dwell on measures of this 
 character without adverting, in some degree, to their 
 political effect. We are contemplating a great 
 change in the condition of an empire ; a change 
 which affects many of the customs of the inha- 
 bitants, and all their principles. “ Is there no 
 danger in the attempt ? is it wise or politic to 
 incur the risk ? — Your empire is an empire of 
 opinion : if the natives once entertain the idea that 
 you wish to subvert their faith, their indignant feelings 
 will drive them into rebellion, and they will chase 
 you for ever from their shores.” In reference to these 
 and similar objections, I would certainly admit that 
 if those who anticipate political convulsions from 
 the extension of the Christian Religion could establish 
 
21 
 
 their cause by argument, their warnings would be 
 entitled to most serious attention. If insurrection 
 and rebellion are to be the necessary or even the 
 probable result of every judicious attempt to evan- 
 gelize India, it might then be expedient to consider 
 whether the period ordained in the divine counsels 
 for the accomplishment of this great work, had 
 arrived. The love of Christ, which constraineth us 
 to promote the eternal interests of our perishing 
 brother, is still in its operation consistent with the 
 acknowledged rules of discretion and prudence. 
 But, in reply to much of the reasoning adopted by 
 those who are hostile to the religious improvement 
 of India, it may be proper to observe, that Bishops 
 of the Roman Catholic, Greek, and Armenian 
 Churches, have existed for many ages in that 
 country without exciting the slightest alarm ; and 
 that although Protestant Missionaries have been 
 labouring for a century in different parts of the 
 empire, and are engaged in the same work at the 
 present moment, no part of the evils anticipated 
 has ever occurred. If the work of an Evangelist be 
 performed in the right spirit ; if the truths of Chris- 
 tianity be proposed with mildness, and prudence, and 
 moderation, without intemperance of language or 
 indecorum of behaviour, no apprehension will be 
 excited; and t lie terrors of rebellion will exist only 
 in the imagination of those who fear the wrath of 
 man more than the wrath of God. 
 
 The authority of Britain is said to be an au- 
 
22 
 
 thority of opinion. Would it not therefore be 
 politic to strengthen that opinion, and to secure 
 the general affection of the natives? Numbers are 
 
 o 
 
 grateful for the civil privileges which they derive 
 from your bounty: give them stronger motives of 
 gratitude. Many of them have learned to reason 
 and reflect : furnish them with right principles of 
 reasoning. If you would preserve their allegiance 
 to your government, supply them with an interest 
 in its welfare. If you would attach them by the most 
 powerful obligation, secure them by the brotherhood 
 of Christianity, and intruct them in the principles 
 of your faith. Let it be supposed for a moment, 
 that some portion of the natives had, through your 
 means, embraced the profession of the Gospel ; 
 would they not look to this country as in an 
 eminent degree their guardian and protector? and 
 might we not turn to them, under any emergence^ 
 with the most perfect reliance upon their active 
 co-operation ? The ambitious projects of Hyder 
 Ali and Tippoo Sultan, appear to have met with 
 very serious obstruction from the Christians of 
 Travancore, who always espoused the cause of the 
 English. Ten thousand native Christians are re- 
 ported to have fallen in one war. 
 
 The argument is good even in the mere view of 
 worldly expedience. But in expressing my con- 
 viction that the stability of our Indian Empire is 
 very intimately connected with the diffusion of 
 Christian Knowledge, I would take my stand on 
 
23 
 
 higher ground ; and, from that eminence, I would 
 look down on the narrow and reptile policy, which 
 would deliberately do evil, that good may come ; 
 which, for the purpose of easier controul, would 
 chain down the immortal spirit in a dungeon of 
 darkness, and exclude it for ever from the light of 
 Heaven. The Christian should act upon a more 
 liberal and a nobler policy ; upon a policy which 
 tends not merely to please men, but God ; not to 
 flatter the passions of an idolater, but to conciliate 
 that overruling Providence, which alone confers 
 empire, and which alone can take it away. Sound 
 policy would direct us to secure the favour of him 
 who made and governs the world. If God be for 
 us, zi'/io can be against us? But if, upon a principle 
 of sordid speculation, we wilfully oppose ourselves 
 to that great purpose of his will, the civilization 
 and conversion of mankind, our days are numbered 
 and our greatness is in swift decay. No earthly 
 wisdom can arrest the right hand of Omnipotence. 
 Our armies may assemble, but they will melt before 
 him. Our fleets may ascend over the wave, but the 
 breath of the Lord will scatter them. If God 
 rebuke them, they will flee afar off; they zvill be 
 chased as the chaff of the morning before the zoind, 
 and like a rolling thing before the zohirlzcind. The 
 order of the divine dispensations may be learnt 
 from the history of all ages, as illustrated by the 
 Records of Truth : and they who, in questions of 
 empire, would overlook every thing that is noble 
 and exalted, and from mistaken views of earthly 
 
21 - 
 
 policy would barter the present happiness and 
 eternal welfare of millions of immortal beings, are 
 of all men the most desperate in policy and the 
 most depraved in judgment. They may profess to 
 be alarmed at the inconsiderate rashness of some, 
 who contend, at all hazards, for the extension of 
 Christianity ; but I tremble and am amazed at the 
 disastrous boldness of those, who would fix the 
 foundation of their country’s greatness upon the dis- 
 pleasure of the Almighty, or demand in their own 
 favour a violation of those eternal rules which direct 
 the usual march of the Providence of God. 
 
 Whatever can be effected by a Christian govern- 
 ment and a Christian people, consistent with mode- 
 ration and sound judgment, ought certainly to be 
 atchieved : but ’the attempt should be made in the 
 spirit of perfect toleration, with a reasonable atten- 
 tion to existing prejudices, and with a discretion 
 which will not unnecessarily offend. Independently 
 of the facilities which the legislature may possibly 
 afford by some public sanction and ecclesiastical 
 authority, there are four modes of extending the 
 blessings of the Gospel, all within the means of this 
 Society, and which cannot fail to produce in time a 
 powerful effect. 
 
 1. The first is the simple dispersion of the word 
 of God. The quiet distribution of the Scriptures 
 will offend no prejudices and excite no alarm. The 
 Bible will make its way in silence and in peace j and 
 
25 
 
 wherever it is received in a teachable spirit, it will 
 assuredly give light and understanding. The benefits 
 which will result from this measure to the native 
 Christians alone, are incalculable. 
 
 2. A second method of extending the knowledge 
 of divine truth has been suggested by the peculiar 
 customs of the East, and it has already received the 
 approbation of this Society. Public readers of the 
 Koran and the Shasters are to be found in many 
 parts of India : the people listen without offence, 
 and no opposition is excited. If the Christian Scrip- 
 tures should be publicly read in the same manner, 
 by persons appointed expressly for the purpose, it 
 is reasonable to expect a beneficial result. Some of 
 the seed might possibly fall by the way side, and 
 some among thorns or upon stony ground ; but 
 other seed would fall on good ground, and spring 
 up and increase, and bring forth, thirty or sixty, or 
 a hundred fold. 
 
 3. But the circulation and public reading of the 
 Scriptures in heathen lands, however important, will 
 not fully meet the exigency of the case : and not- 
 withstanding the very high authority for an opposite 
 opinion, the cause of religion will, in India as well 
 as in other countries, be greatly promoted by the 
 zeal of intelligent Missionaries. It has pleased God 
 in every age of the Church, by the foolishness of 
 preaching , to save them ivhich believe. The very 
 profession of a Missionary is calculated to engage 
 
26 
 
 regard ; and if he have any portion of that spirit 
 which rested upon the primitive teachers, the 
 superstitions of Heathenism will awaken all his 
 charities, and call forth all his powers. To men 
 of philosophical speculation he will begin by ad- 
 dressing himself with a due respect to their attain- 
 ments : he will convince them by argument, that 
 neither the principles nor the effects of their false 
 worship are worthy of the Supreme Being; that the 
 evidence upon which it rests is utterly inconclusive, 
 and that the legends by which it is supported are 
 idle and incongruous. To the ignorant and the 
 poor, he will state at once the simple truths and 
 promises of the Gospel ; he will appeal to their 
 consciences : he will shew to them their need of a 
 Redeemer, and lead them to him, who came to seek 
 and to save that which is lost. And to all men he 
 will be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in 
 him. Many whom his arguments do not convince, 
 will be gained by his example : they will observe 
 his chastised demeanour and irreproachable conduct, 
 and testify that God is with him of a truth. They 
 will see his good works, and glorify his Father which 
 is in Heaven. Should we refer merely to the Apos- 
 tolic age, in confirmation of the mighty effects 
 which the preaching of the Gospel is calculated to 
 produce, it might be objected that the Missionaries 
 of our days are destitute of the powers which were 
 conferred in primitive times ; and that the doctrines 
 of the Gospel will excite little attention in Heathen 
 countiies, when deprived of miraculous agency. But 
 
27 
 
 did not the great author of our faith, when he com- 
 missioned his disciples to teach all nations, impart 
 also the promise that he would never forsake them? 
 Lo ! / am with you always , even to the end of the 
 zvnrld. The age of miracles soon passed away; 
 but the minister of salvation still continued to 
 preach Christ crucified: Multitudes were astonished 
 at his doctrine, and took upon them the yoke of 
 their Saviour. It was the influence of the Holy 
 Spirit, which, in the first as well as in later ages, 
 imparted repentance towards God and faith towards 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. It was this, which accom- 
 panied the preaching of the Gospel, and completed, 
 by its operation upon the heart, that conviction 
 which miracles could produce only upon the under- 
 standing. Whether it may please God, on extra- 
 ordinary occasions, still to display his power by ex- 
 traordinary means, we presume not to decide; but 
 this we know, that his worship will be one day uni- 
 versal ; that the Gospel of the kingdom shall be 
 preached in all the zvorld for a zvifness to all nations; 
 and that the preaching of the cross of Christ is 
 among the chief means, by which he will accomplish 
 that grand purpose of his will. 
 
 4. There is yet a fourth mode of communicating the 
 blessings of religion, which, however slow in its ope- 
 ration, is of incalculable moment : I allude to the in- 
 struction of children. To this system the Homan 
 Catholics and the Mahometans have alike been in- 
 debted for much of their influence. No single 
 
28 
 
 method can be devised more simple, more easy, 
 more unexceptionable, or more certain in its re- 
 sults : and the spirit with which it has been adopted 
 by this Society on the coast of Africa, may war- 
 rant the hope that it will not be neglected by us 
 in the East. The anxiety which is said to prevail, 
 not only in the Peninsula *, but at Calcutta, 
 for the acquisition of English literature, must be 
 considered as a circumstance peculiarly favor- 
 able. It has been urged as a reproach to Chris- 
 tianity, that its converts are chiefly of the lowest 
 condition ; but the establishment of schools for 
 the promotion of English literature would soon 
 do away even the excuse for this disingenuous 
 and unfriendly charge. There is no doubt that 
 children of the highest Castes would be glad to 
 attend them ; and can it be believed that their 
 familiarity with the English language and with 
 European literature, would leave their minds in the 
 fetters of superstition and the darkness of Hea- 
 thenism ? It is by the confinement of the intellect 
 that idolatry maintains its sway. If we open to them 
 our fields of science, if we lead them to our schools 
 of philosophy, if we travel with them in our varie- 
 gated walks of morals and of taste, they will, in 
 due time, find their way to our temples. The in- 
 fluence of the Christian Religion on the higher 
 orders, will be felt through all the inferior classes of 
 
 * See the very interesting pamphlet of the Rev. Dr. John, 
 Senior of the Royal Danish Mission at Tranquebar, just 
 published by Rivingtons. 
 
29 
 
 the population. The circulation of the Scriptures 
 and the labours of Missionaries will come power- 
 fully in aid of this progressive improvement, and 
 superstition will be etfectually assailed in all her 
 strong-holds. 
 
 In recommending the consideration of measures 
 which are to operate with such extensive influence, 
 
 I would by no means forget that improvement is 
 slow and gradual. The accomplishment of this 
 work may require the lapse of ages. Neither would 
 I forget that the first claim upon your notice is 
 urged by those who acknowledge, though generally 
 in much ignorance, the same Lord and Master with 
 yourselves. Can it be possible that 900,000 native 
 Christians in Ceylon and Hindostan are in want of 
 the Bible ? The appeal is irresistible. If you wish 
 to do good unto all men, do it especially unto those 
 who are of the household of faith: raise them from 
 their abject condition : let them see the real nature 
 of their profession and the hope of their calling. 
 Here, at least, you can offer the right hand of fel- 
 lowship : here you will find hearts expanding for 
 instruction, and spirits struggling to emerge into 
 the liberty of the Gospel. By the renovation of 
 their state, you will cause the glory of the Lord to 
 shine upon these churches again ; and the Gentiles 
 shall come to their light, and Kings to the brightness 
 of their rising. You will build a city upon a hill 
 which cannot be hid : its symmetry and its mag- 
 nificence will be seen from afar ■, and idolaters them- 
 
30 
 
 selves will be compelled to exclaim, This is none 
 oilier but the house of God, and this is the gate of 
 Heaven ! 
 
 Whoever will employ himself in contemplating, 
 with the feelings of a Christian, the present con- 
 dition of the world, and the relation which we bear 
 to many countries widely remote from one another, 
 will readily acknowledge, that, since the promulga- 
 tion of our religion, there never has been opened 
 to the spirit of sacred enterprise a field so glorious as 
 that which is now presented to the United Church. 
 Upon her exertions at this crisis may depend the 
 best interests of many millions of men, who ought 
 to be dear to our affections, and partakers in our 
 happiness. She has passed secure through many a 
 storm ; but never had she an opportunity of fixing 
 her greatness upon so broad a basis. Common 
 policy is calculated only for common occasions. 
 Where the duties are arduous we must learn to 
 meet them like men, who are determined to rise to 
 the level of the emergency. The relig on which 
 we profess must stamp its characteristic mark upon 
 all our proceedings. While others are doubting 
 whether, in the mere view of earthly objects, it be 
 practicable or politic to obey the commands of 
 Christ, or to imitate the example of his followers, 
 let us shew by our bearing and countenance that 
 the love of Christ constraineth us; that we are ani- 
 mated by a principle which will carry us far above 
 the grovelling flight of ordinary apprehension, and 
 
unite us in feeling and in practice with the disciples 
 of elder days. If the love of Christ constrain us 
 to begin this glorious career, it will also enable us 
 to proceed. It is not a momentary passion : it is 
 not an enthusiastic impulse : it is a steady and un- 
 changeable rule of action ; which expects difficulty 
 and surmounts it ; which calculates upon opposition 
 and meets it ; which looks for disappointment and 
 perseveres, hoping even as against hope. The re- 
 ception which St. Paul experienced from the Phi- 
 lippians was stripes and a dungeon: yet he had 
 been admonished by a vision to go over and help 
 them. The malevolence of the faction at Corinth 
 might have shaken the vigour of a less ardent mind : 
 yet had God much people in that city. The dis- 
 couragements which may befal us, are perhaps in- 
 tended as a trial of faith and a test of obedience. 
 The Apostle of Christ has need at all times to bear 
 in recollection, that the cause which he maintains is 
 the cause of God ; and that the same power, which 
 commanded the light to shine out of darkness, can 
 convert even the most afflicting dispensations of 
 Providence to the furtherance of his holy will. If 
 such reflections be proper at any time, they are 
 peculiarly necessary now. Not many months have 
 elapsed since we were called to lament the loss of one 
 of our Brethren *, who had long borne in the East a 
 faithful testimony for the Church of England, and 
 whose name was associated and almost identified 
 
 * The Rev. David Bkown, Senior Chaplain of the Company 
 at Calcutta. 
 
32 
 
 with all those enlarged projects of benevolence, 
 which have recently been extended to that portion 
 of the world. To the zeal, which was required for 
 the origination of great measures, he added the gra- 
 vity and caution and experience which were wanted 
 to bring them to perfection; and multitudes will 
 have reason to bless the day which carried to their 
 shores that messenger of mercy. Scarcely had we 
 begun to console ourselves with the reflection that, 
 although one Servant of the Cross had been removed, 
 many still remained to witness a good confession 
 before the natives of India, when another message 
 of sorrow arrived. How mysterious is the Provi- 
 dence of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments ! 
 In adverting to this new source of affliction, I 
 speak of a Christian Minister, well known to many 
 of you, and dear to all that knew him. If it may 
 be permitted to one who formerly walked with him 
 to the house of God, and shared with him the inter- 
 course of private life, to pause for a single moment 
 over the tomb of Martyn, recollection would dwell 
 with melancholy pleasure upon that candour of 
 mind, that sweetness of disposition, that spirit of 
 love, that constancy of zeal, that simplicity of pur- 
 pose, that exaltation of heavenly-mindedness, which 
 distinguished him alike in the privacy of retire- 
 ment, and in the walks of public occupation. If it 
 be asserted, that learning and ability are seldom 
 combined with a supreme regard for religion, let 
 me produce one instance for the credit of literature, 
 where talents of the first order, and attainments of 
 
33 
 
 no vulgar fame, were ennobled by fervent piety, and 
 zealously employed in the best of causes. His 
 days were few ; but, if we measure life by the at- 
 chievements effected rather than by the lapse of 
 years, they will seem neither few nor inglorious. 
 He has bequeathed to his successors great and dur- 
 able monuments of successful labour : he has left an 
 example, which may guide the ardour of youth, 
 and rouse the dormant energies of age. The Lord 
 gave, and the Lord hath taken away: but let us 
 not imagine that Heaven will want means for the 
 accomplishment of its ends, or that the purpose of 
 God shall fail. Some of the last moments of our 
 departed brother seem to have been cheered by the 
 consolation, that the circumstance of his death 
 would in nowise retard the diffusion of the Gospel. 
 In a letter addressed to a friend in England, at a 
 time when there was little hope of recovery, he ob- 
 serves, “ If I sink into the grave, my place in India 
 will be supplied a hundred fold.” 
 
 And if it be the intention of Divine Providence to 
 carry on this great work in the present day, shall 
 we stand by merely as spectators ? I would call on 
 you to look around and observe the zeal and assiduity 
 which prevail among all sects and parties for the ex- 
 tension of Christianity ; and then I would say, not 
 in a spirit of jealous rivalry, but of sacred emulation, 
 let no man outstrip you in the race of glory ; let no 
 man take your crown. The trust, which has been 
 committed to you, is a most awful and sacred depo- 
 
 c 
 
34 
 
 sit. Let the members of the United Church of En- 
 gland and Ireland prove that they feel it to be such, 
 and act with the resolution of men who are deter- 
 mined to discharge it. If we be true to our prin- 
 ciples and awake to the occasion, on us more 
 especially will devolve the honour of building a 
 temple, which may open wide its portals for all the 
 kindreds of men, that they may all enter into its 
 gates with thanksgiving and into its courts zvith 
 praise. 
 
 Will it be suggested that our zeal is misplaced 
 and that our labours are premature ? This has 
 ever been the language of worldly policy ; but let 
 us hear the Prophet : Thus speakelh the Lord of 
 Hosts , saying : This people say. The time is not 
 come , the time that the Lord's house should be built. 
 Is it time for you, O ye, to dzvell in your deled 
 houses and this house lie zvaste ? — Go up to the 
 mountain and bring wood and build the house , and I 
 will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith 
 the Lord. — Be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the 
 Lord ; aud be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech 
 the High Priest ; and be strong all ye people of 
 the land, saith the Lord , and zvork j for I am zvith 
 you, saith the Lord of Hosts. — And who shall say 
 that this rebuke and this promise are not equally 
 applicable to ourselves ? Is it time for you, whose 
 merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the 
 honourable of the earth, to accumulate around you 
 the treasures of the world, and shall this house lie 
 
35 
 
 waste? Expect not that the temple will be built 
 without hands : Be strong, all ye people of the land , 
 and work. Think not that you shall fail in the 
 enterprise, or that the God of your fathers will for- 
 sake you: I am zvithyou, saith the Lord of Hosts ; 
 my Spirit remaineth among you : fear ye not. 
 
 My brethren be strong in the Lord, and in the 
 power of his might. In such a cause, I cannot be- 
 lieve that you will want either patronage orco-adju- 
 tors. It is surely impossible that the sacred flame, 
 which is now lighted on the altar of the Established 
 Church, should soon become extinct. It will burn 
 in the hearts of her rulers : it will kindle the nobler 
 feelings of her priesthood and her laity ; it will ex- 
 pand and dilate itself, till, like the fire which came 
 down from Heaven and consumed the sacrifice of 
 the Prophet, and the wood, and the stones, and the 
 dust, and licked up the very water in the trench, it 
 shall have caused every obstacle to disappear. A 
 new race of Missionaries shall enter into the labours of 
 those, who have been called to their eternal reward 
 and whilst they reflect honour upon our own Church, 
 will confer benefit upon the Universal Church of 
 God. That Venerable Establishment, under whose 
 shadow we sit with great delight, will thus become 
 the parent of a numerous progeny. It may be, 
 that the light which is now shining upon England 
 shall be withdrawn : it may be, that this and all our 
 other sacred fabricks, which now echo the praises of 
 Jehovah, shall be levelled with the dust : but other 
 
36 
 
 spires will attract the eye of the worshipper in 
 distant lands ; and the Church, which may have dis- 
 appeared in this island, will rise from her ashes, to 
 bless the myriads who live in regions far remote, and 
 generations which are yet to come. A long line of 
 children, whose languages have not yet been con- 
 secrated to the service of God, will be seen to press 
 forward to her hallowed courts, — to walk in her 
 light,' — to bend in her sanctuary, — to chaunt that 
 solemn ritual, and to present that same sacrifice of 
 adoration and prayer, which we have, with one 
 heart and one voice, united to offer this day. Be 
 strong then , all ye people of the land , saith the 
 Lord , and work ; for I am with you , saith the Lord 
 of Hosts : my Spirit remaineth among you : Fear ye 
 not. 
 
 Whittingham and Rowland, Printers, 
 Goswell Street, London.