CHURCH MISSIONARY

GLEANER.

No. 3.

MARCH, 1842.

VOL. II.

CONSISTENCY, A MOTIVE TO MISSIONARY EXERTION.

THE hour of prayer is one of the most solemn as well as the most privileged seasons in the Christian life. Admitted into the presence of Him who trieth the reins and the heart, it surely becomes us to weigh our expressions, to scrutinize our thoughts, and to watch over our conduct, lest we be guilty of the fearful hypocrisy of making use of words with our lips which we do not feel in our hearts.

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Prayer, without the use of means," observed Bishop Hall, “is a mockery of God." Our consistency must be proved, and our sincerity manifested, by a diligent employment of the methods which have been ordained for the attainment of the object of our petitions. Under a deep impression of the truth of this sentiment, the attention of our readers is called to the following passage, from the Sermon preached before the Society, at its Fourth Anniversary, by the Rev. T. T. Biddulph :

In our daily use of the second petition in the Lord's Prayer, we beseech God that His kingdom may come; that is, that the kingdoms of this world may become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, that He may reign for ever and ever. In our Funeral Service, we pray that God would accomplish the number of His elect, and hasten His kingdom. And on our great Day of Atonement, when we assemble to commemorate the sufferings of Christ, as the VOL. II.

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26 CONSISTENCY, A MOTIVE TO MISSIONARY EXERTION.

propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world; we take advantage of that solemn season, when the Lamb of God is presented, as it were, newly slain before the Throne, to offer intercession for the conversion of the whole world to the faith of Christ Crucified. For we then look up to that "Merciful God, who hath made all men, and hateth nothing that He hath made; who would not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live ;" beseeching Him to "have mercy on all Jews, Turks, Infidels, and Heretics, to take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of His word; and so to fetch them home to His fold, that they may be saved among the number of the true Israelites, and be made one fold under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord." In praying thus, we do well. But upright prayer will always be accompanied with corresponding activity. And forasmuch as the miraculous operations of the Holy Spirit have been withdrawn from the Christian Church, and to the accomplishment of every end God hath in His wisdom ordained the application of proportionate means, we shall feel ourselves constrained to demonstrate the sincerity of our supplications, by the benevolence of our exertions, and particularly to assist this Society in supporting the weight of that large expenditure, which their noble plan of humanity has devolved upon them, by our munificent contributions.

In addition to the passages cited from the Liturgy in the above extract, the following may be mentioned:

"That it may please Thee to have mercy upon all men.' "We humbly beseech Thee for all sorts and conditions of men, that Thou wouldest be pleased to make Thy ways known to them, Thy saving health unto all nations."

And especially in the first two verses of the 67th Psalm, which is occasionally used after the Second Lesson in the Evening Service, we pray for pardon, blessing, and comfort for ourselves, IN ORDER THAT they may be made known to others. How appropriately may it be remarked of the members of our beloved Church, "They have well said all that they have spoken. Othat there were such an heart in them!"!

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THEOLOGY AND CRUEL SUPERSTITIONS OF THE IBOS.

IN the Rev. J. F. Schön's Journal of his voyage up the Niger, we are furnished with the following particulars on this subject:

It appears to be but too true, that human sacrifices are offered by the Ibo people, and that in a most barbarous manner. The legs of the devoted victim are tied together, and he is dragged from place to place till he expires. The person who gave me this information told me that one man had been dragged about for nearly a whole day before his sufferings terminated in death: the body is afterward cast into the river. Interment is always denied them: they must become food for alligators or fishes. Sometimes people are fastened to trees, or to branches close to the river, until they are famished. While we were at anchor inside the Bar, the body of a young woman was found on the sandbank, having been dead, apparently, only a few hours; and as no external marks of injury were observed, except those produced by a rope fastened around her loins, she may have been sacrificed in this manner.

Infanticide of a peculiar nature is likewise practised by them. Twins are never allowed to live: as soon as they are born, they are put into two earthen pots, and exposed to beasts of the forest; and the unfortunate mother ever afterward endures great trouble and hardships. A small tent is built for her in the forest, in which she is obliged to dwell; and she is never again permitted to sit down with other women, in the same market, or in the same house. To give birth to twins is therefore considered to be the greatest misfortune that can befall a woman of the Ibo Nation. If any person wishes to annoy an Ibo woman, he lifts up two fingers, and says, "You gave birth to twins," which is sure to make her almost mad. If a child happen to cut its top teeth first, the poor infant is likewise killed: it is considered to indicate, that the child, were it allowed to live, would become a very bad person. To say to any person, "You cut your top teeth first," is therefore as much as to say, "Nothing good can be expected from you: you are born to do evil: it is impossible for you to act otherwise." The Ibos are, in their way, a religious people. The word “Tshuku,” God, is continually heard. Tshuku is supposed to do every thing. When a few bananas fell out of the

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THEOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE IBOS.

hands of one in the water, he comforted himself by saying, "God has done it." Their notions of some of the attributes of the Supreme Being are in many respects correct, and their manner of expressing them striking. "God made every thing; He made both white and black," is continually on their lips. Some of their parables are descriptive of the perfections of God. When they say, for instance, that God has two eyes, or two ears; that the one is in heaven and the other on earth; I suppose the conclusion, that they have an idea of God's omniscience and omnipresence, cannot be disputed. On the death of a person who has, in their estimation, been good, they say, "He will see God;" while of a wicked person they say, "He will go into fire." I had frequent opportunities of hearing these expressions at Sierra Leone; but though I was assured that they had not learned them from Christians, I would not state them before I had satisfied myself, by inquiring of such as had never had any intercourse with Christians, that they possessed correct ideas of a future state of reward and punishment.—Truly God has not left Himself without witness!

BAPTISM OF TWO BRAHMIN YOUTHS IN BOMBAY.

GOD has been pleased, ordinarily, to allow Missions in modern times to be carried on for many years without much fruit;-in some cases, without any. He thus tries the faith of His servants. But ultimately He rewards the faithful Missionaries, who have planted and watered, by giving the increase.

This has been the case in the Western-India Mission. For more than ten years, Missionary labours have been carried on, under peculiar discouragements, in Nassuck, a town about 100 miles from Bombay. This town contains about 30,000 inhabitants, is the resort of numerous pilgrims, and is the chief seat and centre of Brahminism in Western India. The following communication, however, which was received from Bombay in the early part of last year, was calculated to encourage hope and call forth prayer.

We are thankful to say, that two Brahmin Youths, in connexion with the Nassuck School, have applied for

BAPTISM OF TWO BRAHMIN YOUTHS IN BOMBAY,

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baptism. They are at present under probationary trial, by direction of the Lord Bishop; and, as their conduct has been consistent with their profession, though most severely tried by persecution, every hope exists of their proving worthy members of our Holy Apostolic Church, and useful and devoted Servants in their Master's cause. Attempts were made to poison them at Nassuck, by administering some deleterious substance in their food; the fatal consequences of which, by timely medical aid, were providentially averted.

In consequence of these iniquitous attempts against their lives, it was considered advisable to remove them to Bombay, where they received daily religious instruction from the Rev. G. M. Valentine. Since that time, information has been received, that Dajee, the elder of the two Brahmin Youths, was baptized by the Rev. J. S. S. Robertson, in Christ Church, Byculla, on the 7th of March 1841. Mr. Valentine was one of the sponsors. It was deemed advisable to delay the baptism of Ram Krishna; as he had not completed his sixteenth year, the age at which, according to established Hindoo usage, youths are considered competent to act for themselves. He was, however, admitted into the Church, by that sacred ordinance, on the 2d of May.

REMARKABLE INTRODUCTION AND RAPID EXTENSION OF THE GOSPEL IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF COOK'S STRAITS,

NEW ZEALAND.

ABOUT six years ago, the Missionaries in the Bay of Islands received a Letter from Rauparaha-a noted chief and warrior residing in Kapiti, an island situated in Cook's Straits-containing an urgent request that Teachers might be located in that district. To this appeal, however, the Missionaries were then unable to respond.

Some time afterward, in September 1839, two young Chiefs, sons of Rauparaha, landed at the Bay of Islands, having undertaken a voyage of about 500 miles with the view of personally urging a compliance with their father's solicitation. To the astonishment