christianity in the courfe of common conversation with those who are plainly worldly and irreligious, or to detail matters of christian experience to thofe who have no apparent fenfe of the importance of religion at all, would certainly be highly imprudent, however good the intention might be. Yet we contend for the liberty which the chriftian has, regulated by prudence and by a due regard to time and place, to "bring forth out of the treasure of the heart good things." Nay, a chriftian's converfation, if he would act confiftently, will often differ even upon common topicks, from that of the world, lying in wickedness. He will not make the fame references to cuftom, to fashion, or to the way of the world, as if these could juftify any thing which the, law of God and the religion of Jefus Chrift condemned. If he has not for the time loft fight of his principles and rules, and unless he is unluckily betrayed into temporary conformity to the world, he will not be heard uttering this pernicious fentiment, which we hear fo often from the mouths of nominal chriftians; namely, that fuch and fuch things may, nay must be complied with, because they are commonly practifed, and it would be thought Strange if we did not conform, although the fpirit of christianity, and the practice of the best and moft exemplary chriftians, are plainly against them. The chriftian, in fhort, can never be juftified, or even excufed, in making mean compliances, that he may appear to the unprincipled, what is termed a man of liberality of fentiment. By this bafe conduct he may indeed, for a time, keep in terms with the irreligious and profane, perhaps, procure from

them the honourable title of a liberal man; but he will never thus be able to convince gainfayers, or win them over to the Saviour; becaufe the difference betwixt him and thofe, whom he flatters himfelf he may be fuccefsful in reclaiming, appears in this way, to be very infignificant.

Still it may be faid, Is not religion a matter betwixt God and our own fouls, in which the world is not at all concerned; and does not our Saviour himself command us to pray to our Father in fecret, condemning the Pharifees for oftentatious devotions? It is true indeed, that the devotional feelings are to be exercifed chiefly in fecret, that the life of the chriftian, in its fpring, and alfo in many of its exercifes, is hid with Chrift in God, and that a ftranger does not intermeddle with the communion he enjoys with the Father and with his fon Chrift Jefus. Yet ftill true piety has its proper outward expreffions, infeparable from its exiftence in the heart and its operations in fecret. A good tree bringeth forth good fruit. He who is inwardly pious, will never be, to appearance, careless and indevout.

He who walks with God in fecret devotion, will also have his converfation ordered aright. He who fears God will always fpeak reverently of his name, and will alfo reverence his fanctuary. He will live foberly, righteoufly, and godly in the world. His light will fo fhine before men, that they feeing his good works, may glorify his Father in heaven.

2d. Regard to Chrift Jefus as his Lord and Mafter, will lead a chriftian to confefshim before men.

Many enlightened and illuftri ous perfons have appeared at different periods in the world, whofe

characters we still revere, and whofe difcoveries have been highly valuable. There is no occafion however to confefs any of them before men, to call ourselves by any of their names, or to fuffer any thing in defence of their opinions or reputation. The reafon is obvious. They do not hold any relation to us; and while we profit by their difcoveries, we do not reckon ourselves bound to ftand up for all that they faid or did. Their writings and difcoveries have little or no connection with their own perfon:l conduct. The cafe is altogether different with refpect to Jefus Chrift. He appeared not as an ordinary human teacher. He did not merely require mankind to receive his doctrines as true; but "This (faid he) is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath fent." He affumed the character and authority, not merely of a wife teacher, but of a divine perfon, and claims our allegiance as our Master and Lord. Chriftians then are concerned, not merely in the truths which the gofpel contains, but are alfo intimately connected with Chrift himself. The honour of his doctrines, and that of his perf nal character, are clofely connected. As chriftians, then, we are deeply interested in the honour of our Mafter; we muft openly avow our allegiance to him, and never be ashamed either of him elf or of his words.

3. It is, befide, the exprefs command of Chrift that we should 'confefs him before men.

He does not give his followers permillion to deny him when danger threatens, that when the danger is over, they may again ftand forth as the advocates of his caufe. He does not permit any fuch time ferving. "When they perfecute

you in one eity flee to another," faid he to his difciples, thus, giv. ing them full permiffion, by all prudent means, confiftent with duty, to avoid danger. Yet when they fhould be brought before councils, before governours, and kings, they were not permitted to fay, we know not Christ, that they might be fet at liberty. They were boldly to teftify concerning him, to declare the important facts relating to him; and in that way of well doing to commit themfelves into the hands of that God whofe caufe they ferved. Chriftians are ftill called to follow their Mafter, though it fhould be to fuffering; to hold faft the profeffion of their faith without wavering, to make no unlawful conceffions, in order to preserve liberty of life.

Jefus foretold that one of his chofen difciples, fhould deny him : he predicted it to make it the more obferved; and it ferves as a folemn warning to believers in all fucceeding times. Simon Peter actually denied his master to avoid fuffering along with him. Afterward, however, he faw his fin he repented, wept bitterly, never repeated the offence, nay, difcovered fuch boldness, that the Jewifh rulers took knowledge of him that he had been with Jefus. Let us imitate Peter, not in denying, but in confeffing our Mafter; and fay with becoming zeal, trufting in divine grace, "Lord, I will never forfake thee."

4th. To the duty of confeffing Christ, love and gratitude will naturally lead all the true difciples of Jefus.

We are naturally led to speak in terms of commendation of the perfon to whom we are strongly attached, and for whom we feel a lively eflcem. A grateful fenfe

of favours received, naturally inclines us to describe to others the extent of the benefit, and the genuine manner in which it was conferred. If then we love the Saviour, we shall dwell with pleature on his unmerited kindness, and magnify the riches of his grace. Gratitude will prompt us to keep up the honour of his name, to obferve frequently, and with pleafure, the memorial of his dying love, and to make no fecret of it, that we glory in his crofs. Animated by love and gratitude, we will profefs his religion, not merely when it is accounted honourable, but when it expofes to contempt and perfecution: we will follow Jefus not only through good report, but also through bad report; we will go forth as his foldiers not only in the funfhine, but alfo in the dark and cloudy day; not only when all is quiet and fafe, but even when danger threatens, and the enemy advan

ces.

pected to come down from heaven to explain and recommend the religion of Chrift: but those mult do it in their respective spheres, who have themselves experienced its power and been made partakers of its bleffings. If the first believers had kept their faith to themselves, had concealed their principles to avoid fuffering, the glorious truth must have been loft. We could not have heard its glad tidings. The memory of what Jefus Christ hath done muft in this cafe have perished.

To us, however, the word of salvation hath been sent. For us Paul counted not his life dear unto himself, that he might testify the good news of the grace of God. For our benefit, many have confeffed Chrift in troublesome times, and have not denied their Lord. Let us not conceal from our pofterity the praises of the Lord and his ftrength, and the wonderful works he hath done. While we live, let us give thanks unto him who hath wrought out for us a great falvation. Having received by the inftrumentality of men, the bleffing of a pure and heavenly religion; equity and generosity feem to confpire in prompting us to ufe every means for imparting the fame bleffing to those who are at prefent deftitute of it. muft own ourselves debtors both to the Greek and the barbarian, both to the wife and to the unwife. We muft hail the aufpicious period, and use our endeavours for haftening it, "when the earth fhall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord; when in the wildernefs water fhall fpring up, and ftreams in the defert; and the ends of the earth fhall fee the fal vation of our God."

We

W. B. D.

INTERESTING

ACCOUNT

SOCIETY IN

OF

THE SCOTLAND FOR PROPAGATING CHRISTIAN

KNOWLEDGE.

[Continued from page 120.]

IT would be tedious and occupy too much of your time to trace the history of the society through its successive stages, the enlargement of its funds, and consequent increase of its schools to the present time. Suffice it in general to state that there are now maintained upon its establishment above three hundred teachers of schools beside missionary ministers, catechists, and pensionary students of divinity having the Gaelick language, and that the expense of their salaries amounts to the average sum of about 3600 per annum. The whole of the society's annual revenue is but about £4000; so that only £400 per annum remains for supplying their schools with books, (Bibles, New Testaments, Spelling Books, &c.) and for the necessary unavoidable expense of carrying on the business of so large an establishment.

The economy with which the business is conducted, is great beyond what can easily be conceived by strangers. Three salaries only are paid to the officers of the society; the Treasurer; the Bookholder, and Clerk; each of them having departments of great importance and labour, and the sum allowed to each of them is but £25 per annum. These salaries were fixed many years ago, and have never been increased. The Secretary, Librarian, Comptroller, and Accountant have no salary, nor pecuniary emolument whatever; theirs are labours of love.

But still in spite of all our econ

omy, the unavoidable annual expense of such an establishment far exceeds our income; and were it not for the occasional and annual subscriptions and donations of the charitable and benevolent, among whom with the deepest sense of gratitude, we number the gentlemen whom I have now the honour to address, it were impossible to maintain it, and the number of our schools must of necessity be reduced.

But in making up the scheme of our schools, &c. for each successive year, and proportioning it to our ways and means, we are accustomed to count upon your long experienced liberality, and we have never been disappointed.

A taste for literature and intellectual improvement has gradually diffused itself even to the remotest districts of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Many petitions for more schools are annually poured in upon us. Not a few have been transmitted to me since I came to London. These with deep regret, we find ourselves obliged to refuse, merely because our funds do not enable us to grant their desire.

Our schoolmasters too are objects of our sincerest commiseration. Though I know no class of men more meritorious or better deserving of their country, than they as a body are, (and I know them all,) yet their salaries, (almost their sole dependence their school fees being next to nothing,) are by far too small to enable them to live with any degree of comfort. They do not exceed at an average £13 per annum. Even this sum, small as it is, in remote and cheap countries, was in former times adequate to the expense of living.

Of late, as every body knows and feels, things have undergone a wonderful change. The necessaries of life have advanced to a double price in every part of the empire, not excepting the most remote districts. Earnestly do we wish to increase the salaries of our worthy schoolmasters: but this we cannot do, without either diminishing their number or receiving an increase to our funds. To abridge the number of teachers, when so many more are wanted and earnestly petitioned for, is a measure which no friend to religion, to his country, or to humanity, would wish to see put in practice. Much depends upon you, gentlemen, to whom God hath given the means, and, I trust, the hearts, to prevent its necessity.

To one other object, which at present is matter of great solicitade to our society, I beg leave for a moment to call the attention of this large and most respectable company; and that is, a proposed new edition of the Bible in the Gaelick language. Gentlemen, I will not enter into the question, how far the preservation of that ancient dialect of the Celtick, the language of our forefathers, the primitive inhabit ants of this Island, is an object of just desire.

It is the earnest wish of many wise and good men, that the whole inhabitants of Great Britan and Ireland should speak in he same tongue, and be perfectly understood by one another in their nutual intercourse; my sentiment on this point differs not rom theirs. But surely while The Celtick, whether in the Irish, Welsh, or Gaelick dialects, is the xisting language of great bodies remote and ignorant people, no ise and good man will refuse to ive them the means of instruc

tion in the only language in which they are capable of receiving it. And of all the means and modes of conveying instruction and improvement, in religion, in morals, and civilization, the scriptures are without doubt, the best and most effectual.

Proceeding upon this idea, our society as soon as publick and pri vate benevolence enabled them to do so, translated and published the Holy Scriptures in the Gaelick language. But this they could not do at once; the work was great and expensive. They published the Bible at different periods and in detached portions : in the year 1767, the New Testament in Gaelick by itself; and in various successive years, and in separate volumes, the several books of the Old Testament.

In 1796, the first edition of the New Testament being exhausted, they published another, consisting of twenty thousand copies. And now, some of the first printed volumes of the Old Testament are so much reduced in number, that they will scarcely supply the urgent demands of the Highlands in general, and of our own schools in particular, till a new edition can be printed.

The society have it much at heart to furnish to their countrymen in the Highlands this much desired work: but their own funds, as may easily be collected from what I have already said, are utterly inadequate to the expense. The new impression, it is proposed, shall consist of twenty thousand copies: the calculation of the expense, of which in printing and paper given in by the Printer, amounts to 2284. 168. The members and officers of the society have contributed according to their ability, and were their subscriptions to be made known, there are few who would not