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PERSONAL CREED AND RESOLUTIONS.

From the Free Church Magazine. [Written in a Book by Mr. M'Culloch, Minister of Cambuslang, dated April 29, 1713.]

1. There is one living and true God, the infinitely most glorious of all beings.

2. Whatsoever the Most High God requires me to believe or perform for his glory and my happiness, is revealed in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

3. As there is one God, so there is in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

4. I was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity, and ever since I was born I bave been conceiving mischief and bringing forth vanity.

5. The Son of God became the Son of man, that the sons of men might be made the sons of God.

6. Jesus Christ lived to God and died for sin, that I might die to sin and live unto God.

7. Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, that I might rise from sin and come to him.

8. My person is only justified through the merits of Jesus Christ imputed to me, and my nature is only sanctified by the Spirit of Jesus Christ implanted in me.

9. God entered into a covenant of works with the first Adam, and into a covenant of grace with the second Adam.

10. As God entered into a double covenant, so he hath confirmed his covenant of grace to us by a double seal-baptism and the Lord's supper.

11. After a short separation, my soul and body shall be again united, to appear before the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, to be finally judged according to my works.

12. There are two worlds besides this I live in a world of misery for unbelieving sinners, and a world of glory for believing saints.

I am resolved, by the grace of God,

1. To walk by rule, and, therefore, which is necessary, to resolve upon rules to walk by. 2. To make the word of God the rule of all the rules I propose to myself.

3. As I cannot do or even think anything that is good without Divine grace, so I will not pretend to merit any favour from God by anything I am enabled to do for his glory hereafter.

4. To make Jesus Christ the pattern of my life here, so that he may be the portion of my soul hereafter.

5. To walk by faith and not by sight on earth, that I may live by sight and not by faith in heaven.

6. To be always looking upon God as always looking upon me.

7. To watch as much over the inward motions of my heart as the outward actions of my life.

8. To be as much afraid to let in vain thoughts as diligent to keep out sinful ones.

9. To be always exercising my thoughts on good objects, that the devil may not exercise them upon bad ones.

10. To review carefully my past life, and look frequently forward to death and eternity.

[A copy of the above was kept for many years hanging in the study of the late Dr. M'Culloch, of Dairsie, son of Mr. M'Culloch, of Cambuslang. It shows well the deep earnestness and spirituality of mind in both of those distinguished servants of the Lord; and it may be well for ministers in our own day to ponder the secret of their strength and usefulness.]

NOTICE TO WIDOWS.

THE Widows of our departed brethren entitled to a grant, next July, from the Funds of the Evangelical Magazine, are respectfully requested to forward their applications to the Editor, at the Publishers', on or before the 25th of June. No grant can be voted without an application from the Widow.

MISSIONARY MAGAZINE.

FIFTY-THIRD GENERAL ANNUAL MEETING

OF THE

London Missionary Society.

THE Anniversary Services of the Society, held in the course of last month, were peculiarly edifying, harmonious, and delightful. The Friends and Members of the Institution assembled in great numbers from all parts of the Empire to participate in the elevating enjoyments of our solemnities; and, by the deep interest they evinced, both on occasion of the Public Meeting at Exeter Hall, and the other more devotional services, they proved, no less than by their presence, their ardent and growing attachment to the interests and objects of the Society.

In the excellent spirit that prevailed, and the generous expressions of affection and confidence with which they were favoured, the Directors received the strongest assurance of the high position which the Society continues to occupy in public estimation; the most unequivocal pledges of the stability of its sacred interests; and the most cheering promise of its enlarged prosperity, both at home and abroad. The Head of the Church has thus set the seal of his gracious approbation on our labours and proceedings through another year; and, in grateful recognition of his unchanging love towards the cause in which we are embarked, we render to Him the tribute of our humble and adoring praise. We have great pleasure in presenting our numerous readers with the following report of the various Services :

MONDAY, MAY 10.

EPISCOPAL CHAPEL, GRAY'S INN ROAD.

The PRAYERS were read by the Rev. THOMAS MORTIMER, B.D.; and the Rev. W. W. EWBANK, Incumbent of Everton, Liverpool, preached from Acts xvii. 6.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 12.

SURREY CHAPEL.

The Rev. JAMES SHERMAN read the PRAYERS of the Church of England; after which the Rev. J. A. JAMES offered prayer.

The Rev. GEORGE SMITH, of London, preached from Numbers xiv. 21; and the Rev. JAMES STOUGHTON concluded with prayer.

TABERNACLE.

The Rev. A. JACK, of North Shields, read the SCRIPTURES and prayed; the Rev. JAMES PARSONS, of York, preached from Acts xvii. 23.; and the Rev. D. T. CARNson, of Preston, concluded with prayer.

FRIDAY, MAY 14.

POULTRY CHAPEL.

The Rev. J. E. ASHBY offered prayer; the Rev. SAMUEL MARTIN, of Westminster, preached to the JUVENILE FRIENDS of the Society, from Psalm xlv. 16; and the Rev. E. PROUT Concluded with prayer.

MONDAY, MAY 17.

SACRAMENTAL SERVICES were held at Sion Chapel; Craven Chapel; Falcon-square Chapel; Surrey Chapel; Claremont Chapel; St. Thomas's-square, Hackney; Stockwell Chapel; Maberly Chapel; Tottenham Court-road Chapel; Hanover Chapel, Peckham; Trevor Chapel, Chelsea; Greenwich Tabernacle; Westminster Chapel.

**The Collections made at the several ANNUAL MEETINGS, and on LORD'S DAY, May 16, will be stated in our next Number.

VOL. XXV.

2 c

THURSDAY, MAY 13.

THE ANNUAL PUBLIC MEETING,

EXETER HALL.

The Fifty-Third Annual Meeting was held at Exeter-hall, on Thursday morning, the 13th of May. The intense interest felt in the proceedings was manifested from the early hour at which the hall began to be crowded. At ten o'clock, the hour appointed for taking the Chair, the Secretaries and several of the Directors appeared on the Platform, and were loudly cheered. Sir E. N. BUXTON, Bart., having taken the Chair, in which he was supported by Sir C. E. EARDLEY, Bart., and Dr. R. W. HAMILTON,

The proceedings were commenced by the Rev. J. J. FREEMAN, Home Secretary, giving out the 33rd Hymn of the Missionary Collection

"Rise, gracious God, and shine

In all thy saving might," &c.

And the Rev. J. ELY, having implored the Divine presence and blessing,

The CHAIRMAN rose, and, after adverting to the catholic principles and Missionary successes of the Society, said:Those who belong to this Institution must, I think, look back with strong satisfaction to those great names, who are, indeed, your property-such names as Morrison of China, and Williams of Polynesia. Others there are in which I feel a more particular interest, especially that great man, Smith, of Demerara, who, while he served God in the damp prison of that country, was unconsciously pulling down the first stone of the miserable structure of Slavery, and of whom it might truly be said, that, while he stood and waited, he served the Lord. It is a source of great satisfaction to me to feel that my honoured father had the pleasure and the gratification, though he never saw him, of fighting side by side with that great man. Then I turn to another man, who has done the greatest service, in many ways, to the cause of humanity in South Africa- the Rev. Dr. Philip. I cannot, standing here, forget that for years my father fought with him-and felt it his privilege to do so-the cause of humanity, liberty, and religion. I do believe that the services of that man to the human race have been great, and that though he never can expect, and would not desire such a triumph as I have mentioned, yet in the great day it will be found that he has been a high benefactor to man, and I feel assured that his name will be written in heaven. These glorious recollections, I trust, will produce an appropriate effect upon the Meeting, and upon the Constituency of this Society: they will not induce you to relax your labours, or to feel that your work is done, for God knows it is hardly yet commenced; but, animated by the example of these illustrious men, you will be stirred up to greater exertions, feeling that the door

is opened, and the world all before you-a world which has still to be converted: looking to these heroes, I trust you will follow them as they followed Christ.

Rev. A.TIDMAN, Secretary of the Society, on rising to read the Report, was received with reiterated bursts of applause. That document was of a highly-interesting character, forming a condensed and perspicuous statement of the proceedings of the Society, both at home and abroad, in the past year. It contained numerous features of powerful interest, alternately painful and encouraging, chiefly in reference to the foreign labours of the Society in Polynesia, China, India, Africa, and the West Indies; concluding with a brief Statistical Summary of the several Missions, which was nearly the same as reported in the year preceding, viz., number of Stations and Outstations supported by the Society in different parts of the world, 460; Churches, 150; 165 European Missionaries; and 700 European and Native Assistants. Number of Printing Establishments, 15. In the past year the Directors had sent forth to various parts of the world Missionaries, with their families, amounting, exclusive of children, to 15 individuals.

The total amount of receipts during the past year, had been 76,3191. 78. 1d.; the expenditure, 75,7241. 6s. 11d.

The Rev. Dr. ALEXANDER, of Edinburgh, in proposing the first Resolution, said: I come from one of the extremities of your Missionary body in this country; and I am here to declare to this large meeting, that, throughout the whole of that extremity, as far as I know it, missionary zeal flows with unabated ardour, and the warmth of attachment to this great Society was never greater than it is at the present moment. The Resolution which I have the honour of submit

ting to this meeting is to the following effect:

"That the Report, of which an Abstract has been presented, be approved and adopted, and that it be printed and circulated by the Directors at the earliest practicable period; that the manifold and striking proofs which it supplies, of the Divine sanction graciously given to the labours of the Society's faithful Missionaries, demand from this meeting devout thankfulness and humble joy, while the evidence it gives, that the cause of Christian Missions is entirely dependent for prosperity on the grace of God, should constrain the Churches of our country to the exercise of more earnest and persevering prayer, that he would multiply the number of well-qualified Agents for this sacred service, and crown with augmented success the labours of those already in the field.”

It is fortunate for me that this is a Resolution which needs no support at my hands. I am perfectly sure that the friends present will promptly adopt it as soon as they have heard it from the Chair. With regard to the Report, an abstract of which we have just heard, I think we may say that its best advocate is itself, and that its eulogy is furnished by its contents. But let us not content ourselves with the mere form of adopting it, and of passing this Resolution; let us not adopt it merely with the outward homage of the hand or of the foot; let us give it the assent of our hearts; let us feel that it lays upon us a deep obligation to go forward with increased alacrity in this good cause; let us adopt it with devout gratitude to Almighty God for the grace he has vouchsafed to this Society during another year; that he has sustained our operations unabated and unimpaired during a year of unexampled national distress and straitness; that he has sent home to us from every part of the Missionary field so much delightful, encouraging, and elevating intelligence; that he has preserved our faithful Missionaries; that he has kept up our Missionary Churches; and that he has enabled the Directors of this Society so to conduct its affairs during another year, that they stand up before the huge assembly of their Constituents, gathered, I believe, from every part of the Empire, to thank God and to take courage. And this they can do without any painful misgivings in their hearts -without the retractation of any of their measures-without any apology for any of their doings-and without any shade of shame resting upon their brow.

The Report which has been submitted to you presents somewhat of a chequered scene: it has its bright spots and its dark; its occasions for gladness and its occasions for regret; but what is this but to say that it possesses the features which characterize the progress of every good cause in this world of calamity and sin? The walk of every good man, the advance of every good cause, throughout the earth, is like the mid

day walk under the foliage of trees-now a streak of gold lying across our path, and now a deepening shade. This diversity is in the condition of all good things here below. A scene all darkness belongs to that kingdom which we seek to destroy; and a scene all brightness will be found only in that place whither our labours tend, and where we shall receive our reward.

With regard to China, the first thing that strikes every one is the vast field which there demands our operations. Grand, solemn, almost to overwhelming, is the scene presented to the Christian Philanthropist by that country, with myriads of human beings passing hastily through their brief course of mortality, and rolling, with incessant stream, into an awful eternity. How thankful we should be that God, in his providence, has brought that vast country within reach, in part at least, of our Missionary and Evangelical Operations. Three hundred and sixty millions of living, intelligent, accountable, immortal creatures! what a congregation to be gathered together! not, indeed, within the reach of one voice, for that is impossible, but, to a very great and delightful extent, brought under the teaching of one book-the Book that maketh man wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Since we cannot, as yet, pour into that field our hundreds of men, it is a matter of thankfulness that we can pour into it the Word of God, and scatter amongst its people those leaves which are emphatically for the healing of the nations. What evidence, if evidence were needed, does that Report supply of the destitution of China-of the need which its population has of such teaching as the Bible alone can convey. The field is open. The cry is urgent: China with its millions is before you! Men and brethren, in the name of the Lord God of Hosts, go up and possess the land! and, as the Directors pray you for men and for means, let neither be want- " ing; but, if we are suffered to assemble again at the close of another year, let them have to tell their Constituency that they have succeeded in sending out a double number of efficient Missionaries into that field.

With regard to Tahiti, what can I say that will correspond with the feelings of this meeting? Alas! there all the scene almost is dark. But who can fail to recognise, in the conduct of the Christian part of the Refugees, a noble evidence of the power of Christianity over the hearts and minds of men? Look at that Sabbath scene amongst the mountains-behold that harassed and persecuted remnant-see how, over their assembly, there has descended the calmness of holy repose and the smiles of a heavenly host! Behold there the evi

dence of a peace which passeth all understanding, which the world cannot give and cannot take away-and then look down upon that town possessed by a so-called civilized people. Mark those scenes of horrid debauchery-listen to those sounds of revelry and blasphemy-see the orgies of infidelity there rampant-and tell me, ye sages, ye philosophers, that dream of the perfectibility of the human species! ye men that long for the emancipation of your race from what is bad! which is the savage and which is the civilized? which is the Heathen and which is the Christian? And if you give your suffrage, as I think you must give it, in favour of the patriots on the hills, then I claim from you your suffrage and support in behalf of the great cause which has been the instrument, in the hand of God, of teaching these once degraded, infuriated savages, to keep holy the Sabbath, and to give a lesson to the highest civilized nation of Europe.

The tone of the Report, with regard to the prospects of Tahiti, is somewhat sombre and mournful. I fear that there is for this but too good ground, and yet will the meeting sympathize with me when I say I am not disposed to give up that cause. I look

back upon the history of my own country, and I find there was a time when the people of God there were a poor and a persecuted remnant, when their cause seemed as dark and as desperate as that of the patriots of Tahiti. They were driven from their sanctuaries and their homes-their old men, their wives, their children, who could not follow them to the mountains, were seized by the brutal soldiers who traversed the country, and were murdered in cold blood. Men had to seek their spiritual food at the peril of their lives -they had to maintain their retreats by continual conflict-they had to worship their God with the sword at their side, and the musket in their hand-to spread the elements which commemorated a Saviour's dying love under the broad eye of heaven; and to perform their sacred services in the open air. All seemed dark, and, as the year went on, every day seemed darker than the preceding. To the human eye everything seemed lost and hopeless; but the men of the Covenant were men every inch of them. The time of their deliverance came, and after the darkness there was the dawn, and the enemy retreated before them, partly vanquished by their valour and partly ashamed of himself; and then they came forth from their hidingplaces, with that old banner torn and soiled, but not dishonoured, in their hands. Now, when I think of these things, I am not disposed to despond of Tahiti and Tahitian Patriots. I remember their cause-it is the cause of truth, and virtue, and freedom;

and I lay to heart that this is always, sooner or later, the winning cause. Am I too sanguine? Perhaps I am. But how can we give thee up, oh, Tahiti?-the land of so many prayers-the scene of so many successes the cause of so many thanksgivings unto God--the land which we have been permitted to point to as the great triumph of our Missionary work, as the great pyramid of our Missionary operations -the land, part of whose dust belongs to Heaven, and is destined to shine in immortality.

The Rev. J. BURNET said: In rising to second the Resolution, I cannot help expressing my high gratification at the appearances presented this day. Everything seems to indicate that this meeting is determined to take up the pledges that our friend has offered for our acceptance. The day itself seems propitious to us. We see some of Dr. Alexander's golden tints coming even here into the heart of this vast assembly, to cheer us at our anniversary; and we have none of the dark shadows of which he has been speaking, to cast the least tint of gloom over our proceedings. I like to see the Missionary Ship, and once more stand upon its deck, though for half a century its flag has braved the battle and the breeze, from the rising to the setting sun. I can see in the hardier faces around me and before me an expressive resolve, that, although she has put into port for this day, it is not to be paid off and dismissed, but rather to have the assurance that she shall not lack a crew of good and worthy seamen to work her through another year. I think I see in the softer faces before me the assurance that our lady-passengers are not afraid to sail with us. We go out, therefore, once more upon our voyage, and, whilst we find that our crews are ready to work the vessel, and whilst we find that lady-passengers are willing to sail in it, we must obtain from the landsmen and women-the gentlemen and ladies we leave behind-the assurance, before we go on board, that they will provide the supplies. Sailors, it is true, are wanted, and there can be no fleet without them; but miserably would that fleet fare if there were no landsmen to support it. There are no waving harvests on the sea, and, consequently, the land and the sea must work together in this high and important service. I need not ask whether the meeting are prepared to stand by their obligations to keep the vessel sailing. They have already shown that they are prepared to do this-they have enthusiastically shown it, and they never can be too enthusiastic in so great and holy a cause.

Looking to the Report, in connection with the statement of Account, what do I find? This speaks well for the Missionary

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