tablished and enlarged, till you shall be prepared to be dwellers and worshippers in a house that hath foundations, eternal, in the

heavens.

Finally, brethren, may the Lord bless you, and keep you! The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. The Lord prosper your work, and give you to see the end of it in humble joy and thanksgiving. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all our spirits!

The Evangelical Missionary Society in Massachusetts held its annual meeting in Boston, on Thursday, October 3d, in the vestry of the church in Federal Street. After the transaction of the usual business, the society attended religious services in the church in Federal Street, where prayers were offered, and the annual discourse was delivered by the Rev. John Bartlett, of Marblehead, from Romaus x. 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved.' A collection was afterwards made. The following is the substance of the Report, which was offered to the society by the Trustees. The Trustees submit to the society the following Report of their proceedings for the year past, and of the labours of the Missionaries, who have been employed in the service of the society.

The situation of Brooklyn in Connecticut is already known to the society; and has continued to receive, as it appeared to demand, the particular attention of the Trustees. In the course of February last, a committee from their society was sent to communicate with the board, and from the information given of their state and prospects, and the strong desires they expressed of continued aid, the Trustees had no doubt of the propriety of continuing the assistance hitherto granted. Mr. Samuel J. May, whose services among them have been highly acceptable, and whom they have been desirous of establishing in the ministry, has, at their request, been ordained by a council in Boston, and has now for several months been labouring among them in the word and ordinances. The strong interest they express in his services, and their unanimity amidst the difficulties with which they have been called to contend, give them an additional claim to the sympathy, and as far as possible, to the co-operation of the society.

The Rev. Silas Warren has continued his labours at Jackson; and as the best evidence of his acceptance and usefulness, the numbers and means of his society have been enlarged, particu

larly during the past year. They are about erecting a place of worship at their own expense; and they hope that in a short time they shall be enabled to support the ministry wholly among themselves. But with the additional burdens, which the building of their church may impose, they solicit the continuance of our aid for two or three years more. In the letters recently received from the committee of their society, they express their very sincere thanks for the countenance granted them in years past, 'without which,' they say, we should probably have been destitute of the enjoyment of the means of the Gospel.'

The schools which have been formed under the direction and influence of Mr. Warren are in a flourishing state; and the Trustees have the satisfaction to believe his pious and indefatigable efforts in that region have been followed with a distinguished blessing. The society for the propagation of the Gospel having however since the last annual meeting appointed him one of their missionaries, and taken upon themselves part of his compensation, the Trustees have appropriated to him for the present year half of the sum hitherto voted.

The Rev. Freeman Parker, of Dresden, has been authorized to continue his labours in behalf of the society for two months in Dresden and its vicinity, or in Camden, in both which places the destitute and divided state of the societies had required aid. The following is an extract of a letter just received from Mr. Parker, from which the society may infer the fidelity and acceptance with which this mission has been fulfilled.

In pursuance of my appointment as your Missionary, I spent the whole of the months of July and August in Dresden. During that term I preached twenty sermons, and in addition to the stated services on the Lord's day, had a third meeting for social prayer, reading, &c., and attended two church prayer meetings. 1 made as many family visits as I was able, visited the sick and the summer schools, twice administered the Lord's Supper, and an general, performed the usual routine of parochial duty. The Jast spring the Congregational society organized as the first parish, and voted one hundred and fifty dollars towards my support for the present year the first regular tax for the support of the Gospel, which has been voted and assessed since the dissolution of my connexion with the town in 1816. Several families of influence withdrew from the Methodist society, and annexed themselves to the first parish. In consequence of these exertions and the earnest desire of the church and parish, I thought it my duty to give them the whole time assigned me by the society."

In consideration of the representations frequently given of the destitute and decaying state of many societies in the Common

wealth, from the want of seasonable aid and encouragement, no less than from the immediate inroads of sectarianism, and from the fact, that a spirit of inquiry was rapidly advancing, more especially in the western part of the Commonwealth, it was deemed expedient by the Trustees to employ a Missionary at large for the purpose of obtaining information as to the spiritual necessities and prospects of such societies within the Commonwealth; and the Rev. Dan Huntington was accordingly authorized to commence a missionary tour of one month, in such portion of the state as might seem most expedient. It was thought that a correspondence might be opened with influential men in such towns, and that an interest might be awakened or increased in the leading objects of the society. The Trustees have the satisfaction to state, that their views in this mission have been fully answered.

From information communicated relative to the condition of the society in Shirley, the Trustees have aided the efforts of the people in that place for the re-settlement and support of the ministry; and they are happy to learn that the prospects in that place are encouraging, and that with the aids afforded from our funds, the people are now enjoying the benefits of regular preaching; and it is hoped may soon be united under a pious and useful ministry.

The Trustees have received an urgent application from a committee of the first Congregational society in New Bedford, which was formerly under the care of Rev. Dr. West; and at their request Mr. Wiswall and Mr. Tracy have in succession beenlabouring among them. This society has, for some time past, been in a doubtful and feeble state; but they express great satisfaction in the assistance they have received, and earnestly request that it may be continued. In this and in every other instance in which appropriations have been made, or assistance rendered by the Trustees, it has been invariably on the supposition and express condition of the co-operation of the people. One half of the compensation has usually been contributed by the societies to whom missionaries have been sent. And the assistance granted has frequently called forth efforts, which might of themselves have been ineffectual, or have never been attempted.

The Trustees in this Report have thought it necessary to exhibit only a simple statement of their proceedings during the past year. The design and modes of operation of the society they presume to be understood; and the particulars of the situation and needs of those places, to which their attention has been chiefly directed, have been, as well as the grounds on which

the Trustees have proportioned their aids, fully exhibited in preceding reports. The experience of more than fifteen years may have abundantly convinced the friends of the society of the sound judgment as well as benevolence with which the plan was originally formed, and of the encouraging success which has attended its progress. They believe, that with the blessing of heaven, which they would gratefully acknowledge, much good has already been accomplished. In some instances, destitute and decaying churches have been revived and established; and many, who, from long habit, had become indifferent and careless, have been led to a grateful and diligent attendance on the means of religion. In others, new societies have been formed, and the Gospel preached, where, in its public instructions at least, it had not been heard. We have already been permitted to see some fruits of our endeavours in the increasing knowledge, harmony, and seriousness of many to whom we have sent; and we may humbly hope, that still more abundant fruit may hereafter appear, which shall be by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God.'At the same time, and notwithstanding the increasing interest which has been excited towards us, we must lament the inadequacy of our resources. Many applications are made, which we are unable to answer; and it will sufficiently appear from this statement, that in many instances, in which the urgency of the call would not permit us to withhold our assistance, it has of necessity been very limited. We solicit, therefore, the aid of the pious and the charitable. We believe that the objects of this society, and the mode in which it proposes to accomplish them, will approve themselves to an enlightened benevolence; and we trust that the friends of rational and practical christianity, while they are slow to contribute to what may seem a distant or uncertain good, will not incur the reproach of indifference or forgetfulness to the spiritual wants and interests of their brethren at bome.

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The list of donations for the last six months will be given in the next number.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

G., and H. O. N., and a communication without signature, have been received. As the next number will complete the present volume, it is requested that all articles designed for publication, may be given in at latest, by the 10th day of De

cember.

THE

CHRISTIAN DISCIPLE.

NEW SERIES-No. 24.

November and December, 1822.

THOUGHTS ON THE RELIGION OF THE MIDDLE AGES.

FOR THE CHRISTIAN DISCIPLE.

THAT there is a decline in nations, and a period of semi-barbarous repose following the decline, is a fact of awful interest, whose causes are not fully explained. When Egypt and Arabia, Greece and Italy have exchanged that elevation to which they had been raised by wealth, literature, and the arts, for a state of abject ignorance, I know that adequate causes have been assigned for this final ruin. Perhaps a conqueror supplanted the polished society with barbarous invaders, and actually exterminated the refinement of the country. Perhaps the luxury that waits upon wealth corrupted public virtue, until faction convulsed and ambition enslaved the people. This is accounted a sufficient explanation; but I go up higher, to ask the cause of this submission of a powerful nation to a savage horde, and of mind and virtue to moral and intellectual depravity. There does not appear any natural necessity that civilization should succumb to barbarism. On the contrary, it is a maxim which is true of the ways of Providence, that to him who hath much, much shall be given; it is likewise true that the arts of a refined nation do more than supply the probable deficiency of physical courage; as, in a combat with beasts the advantage always rests on the side of man. I should rather regard the downfal of a mighty empire before the puny force of wild and disunited savages,as a special interposition of God's power, designed to produce some novel phenomena in human history. Yet, there is a plausible analogy which likens the progress of a nation to the progress of man's life, whose youth is hardily reared in necessity and toil, so that the New Seriesvol. IV.

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