POSTHUMOUS INFLUENCE.
Mr. Judson did not live to complete the Burmese dictionary. He finished
the English and Burmese part, but the Burmese and English was left in an
unfinished state. In accordance with his desire, expressed only a few
days before his death, Mrs. Judson transmitted his manuscripts to his
friend and associate in missionary toil, Mr. Stevens, upon whom
accordingly the task of completing the work devolved. Mrs. Judson thus
wrote to Mr. Stevens:
“MAULMAIN, _September_ 4, 1850.
“MY DEAR MR. STEVENS: Parting with the manuscripts which were every
day before my eyes during three happy years, almost carries me back to
that sad morning in April when _he_ passed from the door never again
to return. But I well know that my heavenly Father is ordering all
these things, and I have nothing to do but submit—nothing to say but
‘Thy will, O God, be done!’
“A few days before Mr. Judson went away, he told me, if he should
never return, to place the dictionary papers in your hands, and it is
in compliance with that request that I now send them. I suppose that
he would not have improved the English and Burmese part very
essentially while carrying it through the press; and the second part,
the Burmese and English, is, as far as he had advanced, equally
complete. The last word he defined was ——, and the corresponding
initial vowel ——.
“The only request he made was that there might be some distinct mark,
both in the dictionary and grammar, to indicate where his work ended
and yours commenced. The grammar was intended to preface the Burmese
and English portion of the dictionary, but is complete only as far as
through the cases of nouns—thirty-two manuscript pages. I believe this
grammar was on a somewhat different plan from the old ‘Grammatical
Notices’; but I send a printed copy of that, in which he has marked
several errors, as it may be of some service to you. In addition to
the finished parts of the dictionary, you will find the two old
manuscript volumes which he had in use ever after his first arrival in
Burmah; and these I beg to have returned to me when the work is
completed. Interlined and erased as they are, you will have great
difficulty in deciphering them, and will no doubt find some parts
quite illegible. I think I mentioned to you the plan of having Moung
Shway-loo make out, from the old printed dictionary and his own
memory, a list of words more or less synonymous, and I send the books,
which, although not to be implicitly relied on, are, I believe, quite
valuable.
“There is one bound volume which I do not recollect having seen
before; but I think it must be a vocabulary arranged from an original
Burmese one, as I have heard Mr. J. speak of having such a work. The
remaining papers, consisting of two or three little vocabularies, and
the like, are, I suppose, of no great value; but I thought it best to
send everything in any way connected with defining words. I also put
in with the rest the old proof-sheets, as he sometimes had occasion to
refer to them.
“And now, may the blessing of God rest upon this work—on you, or
whoever else may finish it—on all who, for Christ’s sake, study it,
and upon poor Burmah, in whose behalf so much time and labor have been
expended.
“Very affectionately, your sister,
“EMILY C. JUDSON.”
During the long winter of our Northern States, sometimes a mass of snow
accumulates, little by little, in the corner of the farmer’s meadow.
Under the warm rays of the spring sun the dazzling bank gradually melts
away, but leaves upon the greensward which it has sheltered a
fertilizing deposit. It now remains for us to ask what stimulating
residuum this great life which we have attempted to describe left behind
it upon the surface of human society.
Mr. Judson’s achievements far transcended the wildest aspirations of his
youth. During the early years in Rangoon, when the mighty purpose of
evangelizing Burmah began to take definite shape in his mind; even
before the first convert, Moung Nau, was baptized; when indeed the young
missionary was almost forgotten by his fellow-Christians at home, or
merely pitied as a good-hearted enthusiast—the outermost limit reached
by his strong-winged hope was that he might, before he died, build up a
church of a hundred converted Burmans and translate the whole Bible into
their language. But far more than this was accomplished during the ten
years in Rangoon, the two years in Ava, and the twenty-three years in
Maulmain. At the time of his death, the native Christians (Burmans and
Karens publicly baptized upon the profession of their faith) numbered
over seven thousand. Besides this, hundreds throughout Burmah had died
rejoicing in the Christian faith. He had not only finished the
translation of the Bible, but had accomplished the larger and the more
difficult part of the compilation of a Burmese dictionary. At the time
of his death there were sixty-three churches established among the
Burmans and Karens. These churches were under the oversight of one
hundred and sixty-three missionaries, native pastors, and assistants. He
had laid the foundations of Christianity deep down in the Burman heart
where they could never be washed away.
This achievement is the more startling when we consider that all divine
operations are slow in the beginning, but rush to the consummation with
lightning speed. Many long days elapse while the icy barriers are being
slowly loosened beneath the breath of spring. But at last the freshet
comes, and the huge frozen masses are broken up and carried rapidly to
the sea. The leaves slowly ripen for the grave. Though withered, they
still cling to the boughs. But finally a day comes in the autumn when
suddenly the air is full of falling foliage. It takes a long time for
the apple to reach its growth, but a very brief time suffices for the
ripening. Tennyson’s lark
“Shook his song together as he neared
His happy home, the ground.”
Nature is instinct with this law, and we may well believe that though
the processes are slow and inconspicuous by which the ancient structures
of false religions are being undermined, yet the time will come when
they will tumble suddenly into ruins, when a nation shall be converted
in a day, when, “As the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden
causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord will
cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.”
In the baptism of ten thousand Telugus in India within a single year, do
we not already see the gray dawn of such an era of culmination?
“We are living, we are dwelling
In a grand and awful time,
In an age on ages telling;
To be living is sublime.
Hark! the waking up of nations,
Gog and Magog to the fray.
Hark! what soundeth? ’Tis creation
Groaning for its latter day.”
But it was Mr. Judson’s lot to labor in the hard and obscure period of
the first beginnings. And not only so, but he undertook the task of
planting Christianity not among a people, like the Sandwich Islanders,
without literature and without an elaborate religious system, but rather
in a soil already preoccupied by an ancient classical literature and by
a time-honored ritual which now numbers among its devotees one-third of
the population of our globe. The difficulties of such an attempt are
well described in one of his sermons, from which Mrs. Stevens has
preserved a striking illustration:
.... “In comparing labors among a people without a national religion
to labors among idolaters or Mussulmans, Dr. Judson used a figure
which ought to be published in the _Macedonian_ in reply to some
things which have appeared there and elsewhere, to the import that
difference of success among Burmans and Karens is owing to difference
of labor performed among them. He supposed a man offering to fill two
jars, one of which stands empty, the other filled with earth oil. Now,
the force of the illustration will not appear to you as to us, because
we are so familiar with this oil; and you are not, as we are, obliged
to make frequent use of it; but you can judge of its character by a
translation of the Burman name for it, ‘stinking water.’ The smell of
it can not be extracted from a jar which has been emptied of it,
except by burning. I should never think of using a vessel which had
once contained it for any other purpose. To return to the
illustration. A man goes to the owner of the empty jar, and asks if he
may fill it with pure and sweet water. ‘O, yes, I shall consider it a
favor.’ So the Sandwich Islander, so the Karen receives the truth, the
benefits of a written language, and instruction in books, and the
elevation that follows, as favors conferred; and as there are no
stains of ancient superstitions, they are better Christians than
converts from heathenism. When I say _no_ stains, of course
comparatively is meant.
“Let the missionary next go to the owner of the jar filled with earth
oil. He must first empty it, which the owner considers robbery. He
would say, ‘You are taking away my property; this is my merit, which I
have been many years gathering. You wish to deprive me of my
offerings. I will apply to the king and priests to uphold me in
clinging to my property.’ But the missionary says, ‘If you drink that
oil it will be poison to you; let me give you water, which will insure
life eternal.’ ‘O, my ancestors have all drunk of this, and I wish to
do the same; this is good for me, and yours for you. My books are good
for me, and my religion, and so yours for you.’ But, after long
argument and persuasion, he gains the man’s consent to give up his
earth oil, and he labors through the process of dipping it out, and
cleansing the jar; he rubs and washes; the man all the while begging
him not to deprive him of _all_ of it; to allow him some of his former
customs, and some of the practices of his worldly neighbors and
relatives; and often so much of the oil is left, that the water is
very offensive, and by-standers say, ‘We do not perceive that the
water is any sweeter than the oil.’ Sometimes the man himself joins
in, and says he does not know but the smell is as bad as before, and
the change has been of no use; so he upsets the jar and apostatizes.”
When these considerations are taken into account, the tangible results
which Mr. Judson left behind at his death seem simply amazing. But these
are only a small part of what he really accomplished. Being dead, he yet
speaketh. The Roman Church has preserved an old legend that John, the
beloved disciple, “did not die at all, but is only slumbering, and
moving the grave mound with his breath until the final return of the
Lord.”[71] And in a sense it is true that a great man does not die at
all. You can not bury a saint so deep that he will not sway the lives of
those who walk over his grave. The upheavals of society are mainly due
to the breath of those who have vanished from the surface of the earth
and lie beneath its bosom.
The early actions of Mr. Judson and his fellow-students at Andover
resulted in the formation of the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions. This society, representing the Congregationalists of
this country, may justly claim to be the mother of American foreign
missionary bodies. It was organized for the support of certain young men
while they were engaged in the work to which the Lord had called them.
Societies do not call men into being, but men create societies. The
society is only a convenient vehicle through which the Christian at home
can send bread to the missionary abroad, whose whole time is devoted to
feeding the heathen with the bread of life.
In the year 1880, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions received and expended over six hundred thousand dollars. It is
conducting successful missionary operations in Africa, Turkey, India,
China, Japan, Micronesia, Mexico, Spain, and Austria, as well as in our
own western land. In these different countries it has two hundred and
seventy-two churches, over seventeen thousand church members, and
sixteen hundred and eighty-five missionaries, native pastors, and
assistants.
The change in Mr. Judson’s views on the subject of Baptism led almost
immediately to the formation of a Baptist Missionary Society, now known
as the American Baptist Missionary Union. In the year 1880, there passed
through the treasury of this Board nearly three hundred thousand
dollars, given by the Baptists of the United States for the
evangelization of the heathen. This society is at work in Burmah, Siam,
India, China, Japan, and also in the countries of Europe, and it reports
nine hundred and eight native churches, eighty-five thousand three
hundred and eight church members, and twelve hundred and fourteen
missionaries and native preachers.
A few years after Mr. Judson’s departure from this country, and the
organization of these two societies, the Episcopalians and also the
Methodists of America organized themselves for the work of foreign
missions. For many years the Presbyterians joined hands with the
Congregationalists, and poured their contributions into the treasury of
the American Board. But in 1836 they organized a society of their own,
now known as the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church.
Its fields of operation are Syria, Persia, Japan, China, Siam, India,
Africa, South America, Mexico, and the Indian tribes, with an annual
expenditure of nearly six hundred thousand dollars. It supports ten
hundred and ninety-nine missionaries and lay missionaries, and reports
fourteen thousand five hundred and eighty-eight communicants, with
eighteen thousand two hundred and sixty scholars in the native schools.
All these vigorous Christian societies sustained by the missionary
conviction of the churches in America, with their vast army of
missionaries and native communicants now pressing against the systems of
heathenism at a thousand points, when they come to tell the story of
their origin, do not fail to make mention of the name of Adoniram
Judson. His life formed a part of the fountain-head from which flow
these beneficent streams which fringe with verdure the wastes of
paganism.
Not only in this country has Mr. Judson’s career of heroic action and
suffering stimulated Christian activity among all denominations, but his
influence has been an inspiration everywhere. Just as a steamer in its
course along a river generates a wave which will lash the shore long
after the disturbing force has passed, so the words and behavior of a
good man will sometimes set in motion streams of influence in the most
unlooked-for places. How many by his life and his labor have been
spurred to missionary endeavor we know not now, but shall know
hereafter. But an interesting instance of the wide-reaching character of
this influence has been preserved by Dr. Wayland. Mr. Judson had been
deeply interested in establishing a mission among the Jews of Palestine,
but to his great disappointment the enterprise proved a failure.
“It, however, pleased an all-wise Providence to render His servant
useful to the children of Abraham in a manner which he little
expected. Two or three days before he embarked on his last voyage, not
a fortnight before his death, Mrs. Judson read to him the following
paragraph from the _Watchman and Reflector_:
“‘There[72] we first learned the interesting fact, which was mentioned
by Mr. Schauffler, that a tract had been published in Germany, giving
some account of Dr. Judson’s labors at Ava; that it had fallen into
the hands of some Jews, and had been the means of their conversion;
that it had reached Trebizond, where a Jew had translated it for the
Jews of that place; that it had awakened a deep interest among them;
that a candid spirit of inquiry had been manifested; and that a
request had been made for a missionary to be sent to them from
Constantinople. Such a fact is full of meaning, a comment on the word
of inspiration: “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
withhold not thine hand; thou knowest not which shall prosper, this or
that.”’”
Mrs. Judson, in her relation of these facts, continues:
“His eyes were filled with tears when I had done reading, but still he
at first spoke playfully, and in a way that a little disappointed me.
Then a look of almost unearthly solemnity came over him, and, clinging
fast to my hand, as though to assure himself of being really in the
world, he said, ‘Love, this frightens me. I do not know what to make
of it.’ ‘What?’ ‘Why, what you have just been reading. I never was
deeply interested in any object, I never prayed sincerely and
earnestly for anything, but it came; at some time—no matter at how
distant a day—somehow, in some shape—probably the last I should have
devised—it came. And yet I have always had so little faith! May God
forgive me, and, while He condescends to use me as His instrument,
wipe the sin of unbelief from my heart.’
“‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you.’”
Indeed there are very few of those who have gone from this country as
missionaries to the heathen who are not indebted to Mr. Judson for
methods and inspiration. The writer will not soon forget a scene he
witnessed at Saratoga in May, 1880. The General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church was in session. Dr. Jessup, an eminent missionary in
Syria, then on a visit to this country, had been elected moderator. When
the session of the Assembly had ended, he entered the Convention which
the Baptists were then holding also in Saratoga. As an honored guest he
was invited to speak. There was a breathless silence through the house
as the veteran missionary arose, and with inspiring words urged the
prosecution of the missionary enterprise. He closed by saying that when
he should arrive in heaven, the first person whose hand he desired to
grasp next to the Apostle Paul would be Adoniram Judson.
A life which embodies Christ’s idea of complete self-abnegation can not
but become a great object-lesson. A man can not look into the mirror of
such a career without becoming at once conscious of his own selfishness
and of the triviality of a merely worldly life. A New York merchant in
his boyhood read Wayland’s “Life of Judson,” and laying the book down
left his chamber, went out into a green meadow belonging to his father’s
farm, and consecrated his young life to the service of God. How many
unknown souls have been attracted to Christ by the same magnetism! How
many others have been lifted out of their self-love! How many have been
drawn toward the serener heights of Christian experience by the example
of him whose strong aspirings after holiness are depicted in “The
Threefold Cord!”[73] O that some young man might rise from the reading
of these memoirs and lay down his life in all its freshness and strength
upon the altar of God, so that he might become, like Paul of old, a
chosen vessel of Christ to bear His name before the Gentiles and kings
and the children of Israel!
The memory of Mr. Judson’s sufferings in Ava will never cease to nerve
missionary endeavor. They appeared at the time unnecessary and
fruitless. He himself, upon emerging from them, spoke of them as having
been “unavailing to answer any valuable missionary purpose unless so far
as they may have been silently blessed to our spiritual improvement and
capacity for future usefulness.” But the spectacle of our missionary
lying in an Oriental prison, his ankles freighted with five pairs of
irons, his heroic wife ministering to him like an angel during the long
months of agony, has burned itself into the consciousness of Christendom
and has made retreat from the missionary enterprise an impossibility. It
is God’s law that progress should be along the line of suffering. The
world’s benefactors have been its sufferers. They “have been from time
immemorial crucified and burned.”[74] It seems to be a divine law that
those who bestow roses must feel thorns. The sufferings of Mr. Judson’s
life were as fruitful of blessing as the toils.
The graves of the sainted dead forbid retreat from the ramparts of
heathenism. It is said that the heart of the Scottish hero Bruce was
embalmed after his death and preserved in a silver casket. When his
descendants were making a last desperate charge upon the serried columns
of the Saracens, their leader threw this sacred heart far out into the
ranks of the enemy. The Scots charged with irresistible fury in order to
regain the relic. Christianity will never retreat from the graves of its
dead on heathen shores. England is pressing into Africa with redoubled
energy since she saw placed on the pavement of her own Westminster Abbey
the marble tablet in memory of him who was “brought by faithful hands,
over land and sea, David Livingstone, missionary, traveller,
philanthropist.” Until that day shall come when every knee shall bow and
every tongue confess the name of Jesus, Christian hearts will not cease
to draw inspiration from the memory of those who found their last
resting-place under the hopia-tree at Amherst, on the rocky shore of St.
Helena, and beneath the waves of the Indian Ocean.
-----
Footnote 71:
Schaff’s “History of the Christian Church,” Vol. I., p. 79.
Footnote 72:
At the house of Mr. Goodell, in Constantinople.
Footnote 73:
See Appendix C.
Footnote 74:
Goethe.
APPENDIX.
--------------
A.
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF DATES AND EVENTS.
-----------------------
BY A. JUDSON.
ADONIRAM JUDSON, sen., was born at Woodbury, Conn., June, 1752, the
youngest son of Elnathan and Mary Judson, and was married Nov. 23,
1786, to Abigail Brown, who was born at Tiverton R. I., Dec. 15,
1759, the eldest daughter of Abraham and Abigail Brown.
1788, Aug. 9, Adoniram Judson, jun., was born at Malden, Mass.
1791, March 21, Abigail Brown Judson was born at Malden, Mass.
1793, Jan. 10, the family removed to Wenham, Mass.
1794, May 28, Elnathan Judson was born at Wenham.
1796, Feb. 18, Mary Ellice Judson was born at Wenham.
1796, Sept. 12, Mary Ellice Judson died, aged 6 months and 24 days.
1800, May 22, the family removed to Braintree, Mass.
1802, May 11, removed to Plymouth, Mass.
1804, Aug 17, A. J., jun., entered Providence College, subsequently
Brown University, one year in advance.
1807, Feb. 23, closed a school of thirty pupils, taught six weeks in
Plymouth.
1807, April 30, received the highest appointment in the ensuing
commencement exercises of the class—an appointment to pronounce the
last English oration, and the _valedictory addresses_.
1807, Sept. 2, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
1807, Sept. 17, opened a private academy in Plymouth.
1808, Feb. 25, completed “The Elements of English Grammar.”
1808, July 28, completed “The Young Lady’s Arithmetic.”
1808, Aug. 9, closed the “Plymouth Independent Academy.”
1808, Aug. 15, set out on a tour through the Northern States.
1808, Sept. 22, returned to Plymouth.
1808, Sept. 29, became an assistant teacher in a private academy in
Boston.
1808, Oct. 12, entered the Theological Institution at Andover, Mass.,
one year in advance.
1808, Nov., began to entertain a hope of having received the
regenerating influences of the Holy Spirit.
1808, Dec. 2, made a solemn dedication of himself to God.
1809, May 28, made a public profession of religion, and joined the
Third Congregational Church in Plymouth.
1809, June, received an appointment to a tutorship in Brown
University, but declined it.
1809, Sept., read Buchanan’s “Star in the East,” and began to consider
the subject of missions.
1810, Feb., resolved on becoming a missionary to the heathen.
1810, May 17, received a license to preach from the Orange Association
of Ministers in Vermont.
1810, June 28, united with Messrs. Nott, Newell, and Mills, in
submitting to the General Association of Ministers, convened at
Bradford, Mass., a statement of views and desires on the subject of
missions, which originated the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions.
1810, July 28, commenced an acquaintance with Ann Hasseltine.
1810, Sept. 5, received the degree of Master of Arts from Brown
University.
1810, Sept. 24, completed my course of study at the Theological
Institution.
1811, Jan. 11, embarked at Boston on the ship _Packet_, bound to
Liverpool, to visit the London Missionary Society.
1811, Feb. 2, the ship was taken by the French privateer,
_L’Invincible Napoleon_, and myself, passengers and crew transferred
to the privateer.
1811, Feb. 15, put in at Le Passage, in Spain.
1811, Feb. 23, was conveyed to Bayonne, in France, where, after a
short imprisonment, I was permitted to remain at large.
1811, April 16, arrived in Paris.
1811, May 3, crossed the English Channel from Morlaix to Dartmouth.
1811, May 6, arrived in London.
1811, May, June, visited the Missionary Seminary at Gosport.
1811, June 18, embarked at Gravesend, on the ship _Augustus_, bound to
New York.
1811, Aug. 7, arrived in New York.
1811, Sept. 19, was appointed by the American Board of Commissioners a
missionary to the East, in company with Messrs. Nott, Newell, and
Hall.
1812, Feb. 3, took a final leave of my parents in Plymouth.
1812, Feb. 5, was married to Ann Hasseltine, born at Bradford, Mass.,
Dec. 22, 1789, the youngest daughter of John and Rebecca Hasseltine.
1812, Feb. 6, received ordination at Salem, in company with Messrs.
Nott, Newell, Hall, and Rice, from the Rev. Drs. Spring, Worcester,
Woods, Morse, and Griffin.
1812, Feb. 7, took a final leave of my sister and brother in Boston.
1812, Feb. 19, embarked at Salem, with Mrs. J. and Mr. and Mrs.
Newell, on the brig _Caravan_, Capt. Heard, bound to Calcutta.
1812, June 17, arrived in Calcutta.
1812, Aug. 8, Messrs. Nott, Hall, and Rice, with Mrs. Nott, arrived in
the ship _Harmony_, from Philadelphia.
1812, Sept. 1, announced to the Secretary of the A. B. C. F. M. my
change of sentiment on the subject of baptism.
1812, Sept. 6, was baptized in Calcutta, with Mrs. J., by the Rev. Mr.
Ward.
1812, Nov. 1, Mr. Rice, on a similar change of sentiment, received
baptism.
1812, Nov. 30, fled from the arrest of the East India Company’s
government, and embarked privately with Mrs. J. and Mr. Rice, on the
ship _Belle Creole_, bound to Port Louis, Isle of France.
1813, Jan. 17, arrived in Port Louis.
1813, March 15, Mr. Rice took passage for America.
1813, April 1, completed the sermon on “Christian Baptism.”
1813, May 7, embarked at Port Louis with Mrs. J. on the ship _Countess
of Harcourt_, bound to Madras.
1813, June 4, arrived in Madras.
1813, June 22, embarked with Mrs. J. on the ship _Georgiana_, bound to
Rangoon, in Burmah.
1813, July 13, arrived in Rangoon, and joined the mission conducted by
Felix Carey.
1814, Aug. 20, Mr. Carey and family removed to Ava, and soon after
seceded from the mission.
1815, Jan. 25, Mrs. J. embarked for Madras, to obtain medical advice.
1815, April 13, returned with Emily Vansomeren, to be brought up in
the family.
1815, Sept. 5, received information of the establishment of the
American Baptist Board of Foreign Missions in March, 1814, and their
appointment of me their missionary.
1815, Sept, 11, Roger Williams Judson was born in Rangoon.
1816, May 4, Roger Williams Judson died, aged 7 months and 23 days.
1816, July 13, completed “Grammatical Notices of the Burman Language.”
1816, July 20, completed Tract No. 1 in Burman, being a view of the
Christian Religion, in three parts, Historical, Didactic,
Preceptive.
1816, Oct. 15, Mr. Hough and family arrived and joined the mission.
1817, May 20, completed a Burman translation of the Gospel of Matthew.
1817, May 22, began to compile a Burman dictionary.
1817, Aug., wrote “A Letter to the 3d Church in Plymouth, Mass.,” on
the subject of baptism.
1817, Dec. 24, embarked at Rangoon, on the ship _Two Brothers_, bound
to Chittagong.
1818, Jan. 26, the ship’s destination was changed from Chittagong to
Madras.
1818, March 18, landed at Masulipatam.
1818, April 8, arrived in Madras by land—distance 300 miles.
1818, July 20, left Madras.
1818, Aug. 4, arrived in Rangoon.
1818, Sept. 19, Messrs. Colman and Wheelock and wives arrived and
joined the mission.
1818, Nov. 1, Mr. Hough and family departed from Bengal.
1819, April 4, commenced public worship in the Burman language.
1819, April 25, commenced occupying a public zayat.
1819, May, wrote “A Letter Relative to the Formal and Solemn
Reprimand.”
1819, June 27, baptized Moung Nau, the first Burman convert.
1819, July 29, completed a revision and enlargement of Tract No. 1,
and a revision of Tract No. 2, being a Catechism in Burman by Mrs.
J.
1819, August 7, Mr. and Mrs. Wheelock departed for Bengal.
1819, Nov. 30, completed a revision of the sermon on Christian
Baptism, for fourth edition.
1819, Dec. 21, left Rangoon on a visit to Ava, in company with Mr.
Colman.
1820, January 27, appeared before the king, and was refused liberty to
propagate religion in his dominions.
1820, Feb. 18, returned to Rangoon.
1820, March 27, Mr. and Mrs. Colman embarked for Arracan.
1820, July 18, baptized the tenth Burman convert.
1820, July 19, embarked with Mrs. J. for Calcutta.
1820, Aug. 18, arrived in Calcutta.
1820, Nov. 23, embarked with Mrs. J. for Rangoon.
1821, Jan. 5, arrived in Rangoon.
1821, Aug. 21, Mrs. J. and Emily embarked for Bengal, and ultimately
America.
1821, Dec. 13, Dr. Price and family arrived and joined the mission.
1822, Jan. 20, Mr. Hough and family returned.
1822, May 2, Mrs. Price died.
1822, Aug. 21, baptized the eighteenth Burman convert.
1822, Aug. 28, left Rangoon on a visit to Ava, in company with Dr.
Price.
1822, Sept. 27, arrived in Ava.
1823, Feb. 2, returned to Rangoon.
1823, July 12, completed the translation of the New Testament in
Burmese, together with an epitome of the Old.
1823, Dec. 5, Mrs. J. returned to Rangoon.
1823, Dec. 13, left Rangoon for Ava, in company with Mrs. J.
1824, Jan. 23, arrived in Ava.
1824, June 8, was fettered and imprisoned by the king’s order, in
consequence of war with Bengal.
1825, Jan. 26, Maria Elizabeth Butterworth Judson was born in Ava.
1825, May 2, was removed from the king’s prison in Ava to the prison
in Oung-pen-la, a few miles distant.
1825, Nov. 5, was taken out of irons and reconducted to Ava.
1825, Nov. 7, was sent under guard to Maloon, the headquarters of the
Burmese army, to act as interpreter.
1825, Dec. 17, was sent away from Maloon, in consequence of the
advance of the British army from Prome.
1825, Dec. 29, reached Ava and was recommitted to prison.
1825, Dec. 30, was released from prison and put under charge of the
North Commandant of the palace.
1826, Feb. 21, left Ava, with Mrs. J. and Maria, for the British camp
at Yantabo.
1826, Feb. 24, the treaty of peace was signed by the British and
Burman Commissioners.
1826, March 6, left Yantabo for Rangoon on the _Irrawaddy_ gun-boat.
1826, March 21, arrived in Rangoon.
1826, March 31, left Rangoon, on a visit to Martaban, with the Civil
Commissioner, Mr. Crawford.
1826, April 6, landed at Hyaikamee, where the Commissioner selected
the site of a new town to be called Amherst.
1826, April 10, arrived in Rangoon from Amherst.
1826, June 29, embarked with Mrs. J. and family on the _Phœnix_, bound
to Amherst.
1826, July 2, arrived in Amherst.
1826, July 5, left Mrs. J. and family at Amherst, and re-embarked on
the _Phœnix_ for Rangoon.
1826, July 9, arrived in Rangoon.
1826, Sept. 1, left Rangoon for Ava with the Envoy, Mr. Crawford.
1826, Sept. 30, arrived in Ava.
1826, Oct. 28, the Embassy removed to Chagaing.
1826, Nov. 24, heard the news of Mrs. J.’s death at Amherst, Oct. 24,
1826, in the 37th year of her age.
1826, Dec. 12, left Chagaing on return to Rangoon and Amherst.
1827, Jan. 24, arrived in Amherst, and joined the family of Mr. and
Mrs. Wade, who arrived Nov. 23, 1826.
1827, April 17, Mr. and Mrs. Boardman arrived in Amherst.
1827, April 24, Maria died at Amherst, aged 2 years and 3 months.
1827, May 28, Mr. and Mrs. Boardman removed to Maulmain.
1827, July 11, heard of the death of my father, Rev. Adoniram Judson,
sen., at Scituate, Mass., Nov. 25, 1826, in the 75th year of his
age.
1827, August 10 and 11, left Amherst and joined the Boardmans at
Maulmain.
1827, Nov. 14, Mr. and Mrs. Wade also and the native Christians
removed to Maulmain.
1827, Dec. 28, finished translating thirty psalms, begun July 16.
1828, Jan. 11, commenced occupying a public _zayat_ in Maulmain.
1828, March 29, Mr. and Mrs. Boardman removed to Tavoy.
1828, May 9, renounced the title of D.D., conferred on me by the
corporation of Brown University, Sept., 1823.
1828, May 29, gave away my private property to the Board.
1828, Oct. 24, removed to the Hermitage.
1829, Feb., wrote “The Threefold Cord” in English.
1829, March, wrote “The Golden Balance,” Tract No. 3, in Burmese.
1829, Nov. 14, finished revising the New Testament, the epitome of the
Old, and the Septenary, or Seven Manuals, in Burmese.
1829, Dec. 15, heard of the death of my brother, Dr. Elnathan Judson,
at Washington, D. C., May 8, 1829, aged 35 years.
1830, Jan. 14, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett arrived in Maulmain.
1830, Feb. 21, Mr. and Mrs. Wade removed to Rangoon.
1830, April 26, left Maulmain.
1830, May 2, arrived in Rangoon.
1830, June 11, arrived in Prome.
1830, Sept. 25, returned to Rangoon.
1831, July 19, finished the translation of Genesis, twenty chapters of
Exodus, Psalms, Solomon’s Song, Isaiah and Daniel.
1831, July 31, arrived in Maulmain from Rangoon.
1831, Oct., wrote the Letter on Female Dress.
1832, May 21, retired to the rooms adjoining the native chapel, with a
view to prosecuting the translation of the Old Testament.
1832, Nov. 27, Mr. and Mrs. Wade sailed for America.
1832, Dec. 15, sent to press the last sheet of the New Testament in
Burmese.
1833, Jan. 1, Mr. and Mrs. Hancock and others arrived from America.
1833, Sept. 8, baptized the one hundredth Karen convert north of
Maulmain, the first fourteen of whom were baptized by Mr. Wade.
1834, Jan. 31, finished the translation of the Old Testament.
1834, April 1, left Maulmain for Tavoy.
1834, April 10, was married to Mrs. Sarah H. Boardman, who was born at
Alstead, N. H., Nov. 4, 1803, the eldest daughter of Ralph and Abiah
O. Hall; married to George D. Boardman, July 4, 1825, left a widow
Feb. 11, 1831, with one surviving child, George D. Boardman, born
Aug. 18, 1828.
1834, April 16, arrived in Maulmain from Tavoy.
1834, Dec. 7, the _Cashmere_ arrived from America, with Mr. and Mrs.
Wade, Mr. and Mrs. Osgood, and several other new missionaries.
1834, Dec. 13, George D. Boardman embarked on the _Cashmere_ for
America.
1835, Jan. 4, the Wades removed from Maulmain to Tavoy.
1835, Sept. 26, finished the revision of the Old Testament.
1835, Oct. 31, Abby Ann Judson was born in Maulmain.
1835, Nov. 29, baptized the one hundredth member of the Burman Church
in Maulmain.
1835, Dec. 29, sent to press the last sheet of the Old Testament.
1836, Feb. 21, the _Louvre_ arrived from America with Mr. Malcom,
agent of the Board, and several new missionaries.
1836, May 23, moved into the new chapel.
1836, Nov., visited the Tavoy station in company with Mrs. J. and Mrs.
Vinton.
1837, Jan. 31, finished a new revision of the New Testament.
1837, March 22, sent to press the last sheet of the revised New
Testament.
1837, April 7, Adoniram Brown Judson was born in Maulmain.
1837, April 30, Mr. and Mrs. Howard arrived from Rangoon, and joined
the Maulmain station.
1837, Nov. 18, finished “A Digest of Scripture,” in Burmese.
1837, Nov. 27, the Hancocks removed from Maulmain to Mergui.
1838, Feb. 19, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens arrived from America, and joined
the Maulmain station.
1838, July 15, Elnathan Judson was born in Maulmain.
1839, Feb. 19, embarked for Calcutta.
1839, March 9, arrived in Calcutta.
1839, March 30, embarked for Maulmain.
1839, April 13, arrived in Maulmain.
1839, Oct. 27, began to preach in the native chapel, after an interval
of ten months.
1839, Dec. 31, Henry Judson was born in Maulmain.
1840, Oct. 24, finished the revision of the quarto edition of the
Burmese Bible.
1841, March 8, Luther Judson was still-born.
1841, June 26, embarked with Mrs. J. and family for Bengal, on account
of their health.
1841, July 11, arrived in Bengal.
1841, July 30, Henry Judson died at Serampore, aged 1 year, 27 months.
1841, Aug. 16, embarked with my family on the _Ramsay_, Capt. Hamlin,
bound to the Isle of France.
1841, Oct. 1, arrived at Port Louis.
1841, Nov. 1, re-embarked on the _Ramsay_ for Maulmain.
1841, Dec. 10, arrived in Maulmain.
1842, Feb. 21, moved into the new house.
1842, July 8, Henry Hall Judson was born in Maulmain.
1842, Aug. 29, heard of the death of my mother at Plymouth, Mass.,
Jan. 31, 1842, in the eighty-third year of her age.
1843, Dec. 18, Charles Judson was born in Maulmain.
1844, Dec. 27, Edward Judson was born in Maulmain.
1845, Feb. 15, Mrs. J. left Maulmain on a voyage down the coast, for
the benefit of her health.
1845, April 3, Mrs. Judson returned.
1845, April 26, embarked with Mrs. J. and the three elder children on
the _Paragon_, bound to London.
1845, May 3, sailed from Amherst.
1845, July 5, arrived from Port Louis in the Isle of France.
1845, July 23, embarked on the _Sophia Walker_, Capt. Codman, bound to
the United States.
1845, July 25, sailed from Port Louis.
1845, Aug. 26, arrived at St. Helena.
1845, Sept. 1, Mrs. J. died at 3 A.M., was buried at 6 P.M., and we
sailed from St. Helena in the evening.
1845, Oct. 15, arrived in Boston.
1845, Nov. 13, parted with my children, leaving Adoniram and Elnathan
at Worcester, and sending Abby Ann to Plymouth.
1845, Nov. 28, heard of the death of little Charlie at Maulmain,
August 5, 1845, aged 1 year and 7½ months.
1846, Jan. 5, commenced an acquaintance with Emily Chubbuck.
1846, April 6, removed Abby Ann from Plymouth to Bradford.
1846, June 2, was married at Hamilton, N. Y., to Emily Chubbuck, born
at Eaton, N. Y., Aug. 22, 1817, the daughter of Charles and Lavinia
Chubbuck.
1846, July 4, took leave of Adoniram and Elnathan at Worcester.
1846, July 9, took leave of Abby Ann at Bradford.
1846, July 11, took leave of George D. Boardman, the Lincoln families,
the Colbys, the Gillettes, Anne Maria Anable, and numberless other
friends, and embarked with Mrs. Judson, Miss Lillybridge, the
Beechers, and the Harrises, on the ship _Faneuil Hall_, Capt.
Hallet, bound to Maulmain.
1846, Nov. 30, arrived in Maulmain.
1847, Feb. 15, embarked with my family for Rangoon.
1847, June 1, Mrs. J. finished the memoir of the late Mrs. J.
1847, Aug. 31, re-embarked for Maulmain.
1847, Sept. 5, arrived in Maulmain.
1847, Dec. 24, Emily Frances Judson was born in Maulmain.
1848, Feb. 25, removed into the old house.
1849, Jan. 24, finished the English and Burmese dictionary.
----------
B.
MR. JUDSON’S FIRST TRACT FOR THE BURMANS.
There is one Being who exists eternally; who is exempt from sickness,
old age, and death; who was, and is, and will be, without beginning, and
without end. Besides this, the true God, there is no other God. The true
God is diverse from all other beings. Uniting three in one, God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, these three are one God.
God is a spirit, without bodily form. Although omnipresent, it is above
the heavens that he clearly discovers his glory. His power and wisdom
are infinite. He is pure and good, and possessed of everlasting
felicity. Before this world was made, God remained happy, surrounded by
the pure and incorporeal sons of heaven. In order to display his
perfections, and make creatures happy, God created the heavens, the sun,
moon, and all the stars, the earth, the various kinds of brute
creatures, and man. The first man and woman, at their original creation,
were not liable to sickness or death; they were exempt from every kind
of evil, and their mind was upright and pure. Afterwards, because, by
violating the command of God, they transgressed against their
Benefactor, the sum of all perfections, beyond compare, the light of the
divine countenance disappeared, and those two, together with all their
posterity, became darkened, and unclean, and wicked; they became
subject, in the present state, to sickness, death, and all other evils;
and they became deserving of suffering, in the future state, the
dreadful punishment of hell. Above four thousand years after mankind was
thus destroyed, God, being moved with compassion for man involved in
misery, sent to the earth, the abode of man, God the Son, the second
yadana among the three _yadanas_ [anything superlatively excellent—in
the present application it conveys no additional idea, but is requisite
in Burman to the intelligibility of the sentence]. The circumstances of
his being sent were thus:—God the Son, uniting the divine and the human
natures, without destroying or confounding them, in the land of Israel,
and country of Judea, in the womb of a virgin, was conceived by the
divine power, and was born. This God-man, who is named Jesus Christ,
being man, endured in our stead severe sufferings and death, the
punishment due to our sins; and being God, is able by virtue of having
endured those sufferings, to deliver all his disciples from the
punishment of hell, redeeming them with his own life, and to instate
them in heaven. On the third day after Jesus Christ suffered death, his
soul re-entered his body, and he lived again. For the space of forty
days he remained, giving instruction to his disciples, after which he
commissioned them thus—“Go ye into all countries on earth, and proclaim
the glad news to all men. He that believeth in me, and is baptized,
shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned, or shall suffer
endless punishment in hell.” Then, in the presence of many of his
disciples, he ascended to heaven, and took up his abode in the place
where God displays his glory. According to the final command of Jesus
Christ, his disciples, beginning with Judea, travelled about through
various countries and kingdoms, and proclaimed the glad news; and many
believed, and became disciples of Jesus Christ. The true religion
afterwards spread into the countries of the west; and now to this
country of Burmah, among the countries of the east, a teacher of
religion, from the country of America, has arrived, and is beginning to
proclaim the glad news. About one or two hundred years hence the
religion of Boodh, of Brahma, of Mahomet, and of Rome, together with all
other false religions, will disappear and be lost, and the religion of
Christ will pervade the whole world; all quarrels and wars will cease,
and all the tribes of man will be like a band of mutually loving
brothers. [_End of Part 1._]
A disciple of Jesus Christ is one that is born again; the meaning of
which is, that the old nature, which is successively inherited from the
first man and woman, begins to be destroyed, and the new nature, which
is implanted by the Holy Spirit, is obtained. The unrenewed man loves
himself supremely, and seeks his own private interest. The renewed man
loves the true God supremely, and desires that the divine glory may be
promoted. He loves all others, also, as himself, and seeks their
interest as his own. The desire of the unrenewed man is to enjoy sensual
pleasure, worldly wealth, fame, and power. The renewed man contemns
sensual pleasure, etc. His desire is to be pure in mind, to be replete
with grace, to be useful to others, to promote the glory of God, and to
enjoy the pure and perpetual happiness of heaven. The unrenewed man,
influenced by pride, hates the humbling religion of Jesus Christ. When
seized with alarm, he endeavors to perform meritorious deeds in order to
make atonement for his sins, and obtain salvation. The renewed man,
knowing surely that man, having sinned against God, and contracted great
guilt, can not perform meritorious deeds, firmly fixes in his mind that
it is on account of the God-man, Jesus Christ alone, that sin can be
expiated, and the happiness of heaven obtained; and therefore, through
supreme love to Jesus Christ, and a desire to do his will, endeavors to
avoid evil deeds, and to perform good deeds only, according to the
divine commands. Sometimes, when through the assaults of the remaining
old nature he slides and transgresses the divine commands, he repents
that he has sinned against his superlatively excellent and lovely Lord,
and, trusting only in the death of Christ, he humbly confesses the sin
he has committed, and begs pardon of God. He who is unrenewed, and
therefore is not a disciple of Christ, in the present life obtains no
true wisdom; his sins are numerous and heavy. And because he has no
regard to the Lord, who can deliver from sin, he will, in the present
life, obtain no refuge or resting place; but soul and body will fall
into hell, as his sins deserve; and having transgressed against an
eternal God, he must accordingly forever suffer eternal misery. He who
is renewed and becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ, in the present life,
is acquainted with true wisdom, and attains the state of a _Thautahpan_
[one that has acquired a new and excellent nature, which will issue in
final salvation]. And when he changes worlds, his soul having obtained
the pardon of sin through the death of Christ, will, through the grace
of God, enter into the divine presence. The body, also, though it be
burnt with fire, or consumed in the earth, and thus destroyed for a
time, will, at the end of the world, by the power of God, with whom
nothing is impossible, live again; and thus, soul and body united, will
forever enjoy eternal happiness in the presence of God. [_End of Part
2._]
The commands of Jesus Christ are as follow:—Repent, or be changed in
mind; that is, extirpate the old nature, and cultivate the new. Have
faith in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Love God supremely. Love
others as yourself. Set not your heart on worldly goods and riches; but
look forward to, and long for, those riches which are free from
defilement, and eternal in the heavens. Suppress haughtiness, pride, and
insolence, and cherish an humble, meek, and lowly mind. Return not evil
for evil, but have a disposition to forgive the faults of others, and to
bear injury with patience. Love your enemies, and pray for them. Be
compassionate to the poor and needy, and give alms. Covet not the
property of others; therefore, take not by violence; steal not; defraud
not in trade; trespass in no manner on the property of others. Speak no
falsehood. Bear not false witness. Without being invested with
governmental authority, take not the life of man. Drink not intoxicating
liquor to excess. Despise not marriage, whether of a teacher of
religion, a ruler, or a private person. Beside your own husband or wife,
have no desire for any other man or woman. Honor parents, and willingly
assist and support them, according to your ability. Listen reverently to
the instructions of religious teachers, and make offerings for their
support. In regard to rulers, whether disciples of Christ or not, honor
them, pay them tribute, pray for them, and obey their lawful commands.
Pray to God always. On the first day in seven, assemble to worship God,
and hear his word. On becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, receive
baptism in water. Afterwards, in memory of his flesh and blood, which he
gave for the sake of his disciples, reverently, from time to time, eat
bread and drink wine. Use all diligence that your relations, and
neighbors, and countrymen, who are not disciples of Christ, may be
converted. With a compassionate mind, use all diligence that the
inhabitants of towns, and countries, and kingdoms, that are in darkness,
not having obtained the light of the knowledge of the true God, may
become disciples of Christ. The above are commands of Jesus Christ.
[_End of Part 3._]
The teacher who composed this writing, seeing the great evil which is
coming on the Burmans, left his own country from compassion, and from an
immense distance has arrived, by ship, to this, the country of Burmah.
He desires neither fame nor riches. Offerings and gifts he seeks not.
The disciples of Christ in his own country, moved with compassion for
the Burmans, make offerings sufficient for his use. He has no other
motive but this: Being a disciple of Christ, and therefore seeking the
good of others as his own, he has come, and is laboring that the Burmans
may be saved from the dreadful punishment of hell, and enjoy the
happiness of heaven.
In the year of Christ, 1816; in the Burman year, 1178; in the 967th day
of the lord of the Saddan elephant, and master of the Sakyah weapon; and
in the 33d year of his reign; in the division Pashoo; on Tuesday, the
12th day of the wane of the moon Wahgoung, after the double beat, this
writing, entitled, _The Way to Heaven_, was finished. _May the reader
obtain light. Amen._
----------
C.
THE THREEFOLD CORD.
ECCLES. iv. 12.
_Written by a Missionary in Burmah._
YOU hope, my dear brother, that you have repented of sin, and put your
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You now desire, above all things, to
grow in grace, and attain the perfect love and enjoyment of God. But you
find yourself perplexed about the way, amidst the various directions of
various classes of the Christian world; and you ask for a short manual
of advice, plain to the understanding and convincing to the heart. I
present you, therefore, with _the threefold cord_. Lay hold of it with
the hand of faith, and be assured that it will draw thy soul to God and
to heaven.
The first is the cord of _Secret Prayer_. Without this the others have
no strength. Secret prayer is commonly considered a duty which must be
performed every morning and evening, in order to keep a conscience void
of offence. But do not, my dear brother, entertain an opinion so
defective. Consider secret prayer as one of the three great works of thy
life. Arrange thy affairs, if possible, so that thou canst leisurely
devote two or three hours every day, not merely to devotional exercises,
but to the very act of secret prayer and communion with God. Endeavor,
seven times a day, to withdraw from business and company, and lift up
thy soul to God in private retirement. Begin the day by rising after
midnight, and devoting some time, amid the silence and darkness of the
night, to this sacred work. Let the hour of opening dawn find thee at
the same work; let the hours of nine, twelve, three, six, and nine at
night witness the same. Be resolute in this course. Make all practicable
sacrifices to maintain it. Consider that thy time is short, and that
business and company must not be allowed to rob thee of thy God. At
least, remember the morning, noon, and night seasons, and the season
after midnight, if not detrimental to thy health.
Dost thou ask how to pray? There is One who is able and willing to teach
thee. Whenever thou intendest to pray, draw towards Calvary; kneel at
the foot of the mount; lift up thine eyes, tremblingly and in tears, to
thine incarnate God and Saviour dying on the cross; confess that thou
art the guilty cause; implore his forgiveness; and, believe me, my dear
brother, that the Holy Spirit will quickly come and teach thee how to
pray.
The second is the cord of _Self-denial_—rough, indeed, to the hand of
sense, and so abused in the Roman Catholic church that Protestants have
become afraid of it, and thrown it away. But lay hold, my brother, with
the hand of faith. It is one of the three; and without it the other two,
although they may do some service, will not have firmness and
consistency.
It is an acknowledged principle, that every faculty of the body and
mind is strengthened and improved by use, weakened and impaired by
disuse. It is needless to produce proofs or illustrations; they are to
be met with in every day’s experience. Self-love, or the desire of
self-gratification in the enjoyment of the riches, the honors, and the
pleasures of this world, is the ruling principle of fallen man. In the
new-born soul this principle, though wounded to death, still lives.
And the more it is indulged, the stronger it becomes. But
“The love of God flows just as much
As that of ebbing self subsides;
Our hearts, their scantiness is such,
Can not sustain two rival tides.
Both can not govern in one soul;
Then let self-love be dispossessed;
The love of God deserves the whole,
Nor will she dwell with such a guest.”
And the way to dispossess self-love is to cease indulging it; to regard
and treat self as an enemy, a vicious animal, for instance, whose
propensities are to be thwarted, whose indulgences are to be curtailed,
as far as can be done consistently with his utmost serviceableness; or,
in the language of Scripture, to deny self and take up the cross daily;
to keep under the body, and bring it into subjection; to mortify the
members which are upon the earth; to cease from loving the world and the
things of the world.
Alas for those whose days are spent in pampering their bodies, under the
idea of preserving their life and health; who toil to lay up treasures
upon earth, under the idea of providing for their children; who conform
to the fashions of the world, under the idea of avoiding pernicious
singularity; who use every means to maintain their character, and extend
their reputation, under the idea of gaining more influence, and thereby
capacity for serving the cause! How can such enter the kingdom of
heaven? “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto
life; and few there be that find it.” Wouldst thou, my brother, belong
to the happy few? Wouldst thou subdue that inordinate self-love which
has hitherto shut out the love of God from thy heart, and impeded thy
progress in the heavenly way? Adopt a course of daily, habitual
self-denial. Cease gratifying thy appetite; be content with the plainest
diet; reject what most pampers the palate; fast often; keep thy body
under. Cease adorning thy person; dress in coarse and poor apparel;
discard all finery; cut off the supplies of vanity and pride. Occupy a
poor habitation; suffer inconveniences, yea, prefer them ever to
slothful ease and carnal indulgence. Allow no amusements; turn away
thine eyes from the pleasant sights, and thine ears from the pleasant
sounds, of this vain world. Engage in no conversation, read no book,
that interrupts thy communion with God; nor indeed any that has not a
devotional tendency, unless it be necessary in thy calling. Get rid of
the encumbrance of worldly property; sell what thou hast, and give to
the poor, especially those who are in spiritual poverty. As to
character, that last idol and most deadly tyrant of poor fallen man,
follow the advice of that eminent saint, Archbishop Leighton: “Choose
always, to the best of thy skill, what is most to God’s honor, and most
like unto Christ and his example, and most profitable to thy neighbor,
and most against thy own proper will, and least serviceable to thy own
praise and exaltation.” And again: “Not only be content, but desirous,
to be unknown, or, being known, to be contemned and despised of all men,
yet without thy faults or deservings, as much as thou canst.”[75]
Finally, renounce all terms with this world, which lieth in the arms of
the wicked one; renounce all thy worldly projects and pursuits, except
what is absolutely necessary for thine own sustenance and that of those
dependent on thee; avoid, as much as possible, the contaminating touch
of worldly things; and by shutting the avenues of thy soul against the
solicitations of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, endeavor to weaken that deadly and tremendous influence
which the world has gained over thee, and of which thou art scarcely
suspicious.[76] And when thou hast done all thou canst, remember that on
account of the hesitation with which thou didst admit the light; the
reluctance with which thou didst enter on thy duty; the carnal
reasonings which at every step thou hast indulged; the readiness which
thou hast sometimes felt to give up the effort; and the unfaithfulness
which has marred, the sin which has polluted thy best performances—thou
deservest nothing but hell.
Art thou ready, on reading these pages, to say in despair, Alas for me!
bound by a thousand chains, and loaded with a thousand burdens, how can
I ever live a holy life of self-denial? Remember that there is One who
is able and willing to help thee. It is commonly, if not always, the
case with young converts, that the Holy Spirit draws them towards the
path of self-denial. We can all, perhaps, remember the time when we had
such a sense of our unworthiness that we were desirous of denying
ourselves of every indulgence; when we had such a sense of the danger of
temptation, and the dreadful power of sin, that we were willing to
renounce all things in order to live a holy life. But in the Protestant
church we were frightened by the phantoms of Romish austerities,
self-inflicted mortifications, overmuch righteousness, religious
enthusiasm, etc.; we shut our eyes to the dawning light, turned away our
ears from the heavenly call, the Spirit ceased to strive, and we have
been swept away with the tide.
Return, O mistaken soul, to thy first love. God is still waiting to be
gracious. Dost thou not feel a latent impulse, as thou readest these
lines? a secret conviction that this is the truth? an incipient desire
to comply? Yield thyself to the heavenly influence. Make an immediate
beginning. Wait not till thou seest the whole path clearly illumined;
expect not meridian brightness, while thy sun is yet struggling with the
dark, malignant vapors which rest on thy earthly horizon, the confines
of a still darker world. The path of self-denial is, to carnal eyes, a
veiled path, a mystery of the divine kingdom. While thou hesitatest at
the first sacrifice required, expect no further admonition, no further
light. But if thou wilt do what thy hands find to do this hour, if thou
wilt, in childlike simplicity and humble obedience, take the first step,
thou shalt see the second, which now thou seest not; and as thou
advancest, thou shalt find the path of self-denial open most wonderfully
and delightfully before thee; thou shalt find it sweet to follow thy
dear Lord and Saviour, bearing the cross, and shalt soon be enabled to
say,—
“Sweet is the cross, above all sweets,
To souls enamored with thy smiles.”
The third is the cord of _Doing good_. This imparts beauty and utility
to the rest. It is written of the Lord Jesus that _he went about doing
good_. Art thou his disciple? Imitate his example, and go about doing
good. DO GOOD. Let this be thy motto. Do good—all the good in thy
power—of every sort—and to every person. Regard every human being as
thine own brother; look with eyes of love on every one thou meetest, and
hope that he will be thy loving and beloved companion in the bright
world above. Rejoice in every opportunity of doing him any good, either
of a temporal or spiritual kind. Comfort him in trouble; relieve his
wants; instruct his ignorance; enlighten his darkness; warn him of his
danger; show him the way of salvation; persuade and constrain him to
become thy fellow-traveller in that blessed way. Follow him with all
offices of kindness and love, even as thou wouldst be pleased to have
another do to thee. Bear with all his infirmities. Be not weary in well
doing. Remember that thy Saviour bore long with thee, and is still
bearing with thee, beyond all conception, and covering thy pollution
with the robe stained with his own blood, that the wrath of God may not
strike thee. And when he thus forgives thine immense debt, canst thou
not bear with thy fellow-debtor?