CHAPTER II.

Mission to Switzerland.

A. D. 1819-1821.

THE following letter is the only document relative to his Genevan Mission, that I am acquainted with. It will, I should think, be a sufficient answer to all questions that may be raised on the subject of missionaries, or against the propriety of countenancing them. I cannot but wonder at, and admire, this first production of the pen of Neff; for almost without intending it, he furnishes us in this letter, with a detail of his sentiments with respect to missions; and with a chain of animated and convincing answers to all those who disapprove of this species of ministration.* I trust that those of my readers, (especially those of

* It is to be regretted that the Author has so strictly confined himself to the letters of Felix Neff, as to give his readers no particulars of the events to which they refer. The translator hopes that the following extract from the Rev. Dr. Gilly's Memoir, will throw some little light on the letters contained in the present chapter:-" There is a practice in the Protestant Churches of Switzerland and France, which is extremely beneficial to candidates for ordination. The theological student, after having passed certain examinations, is received as a proposant into the confidence of some of those who exercise the pastoral office, and is employed as a lay helper, or catechist, in their parishes. * * These probationers are not allowed to put their hands to the ark, or to perform services strictly sacerdotal; but they instruct the young, and visit the sick, and even preach from the pul

*

Geneva,) who are zealous advocates for the established churches, will not take umbrage at the character of this first effusion of the young Missionary; while the impartial reader, I am convinced, will admire the scriptural knowledge and clear reasoning which it exhibits.

Letter to a Pastor of the Canton of Geneva.

REVEREND SIR,

'You will perhaps be surprised at receiving a long letter from me, but intending only to enter upon subjects which concern the salvation of souls, I venture to hope you will patiently bear with me to the end, showing towards me that forbearance and charity, which are the characteristics of a true Christian. I entreat you to pardon any freedom of expression into which I may be betrayed; you have yourself invited me to deal openly with you, and you will, I trust, act towards me in like manner; if therefore, I sometimes express myself with warmth, it will be, I beg you to believe, unaccompanied with animosity or bitterness of feeling.

The first thing I heard, on my arrival last Saturday at C. was, that you wished to see me. I immediately waited upon you, and had no sooner arrived, than you questioned me on the subject of my visits to your parish. I made no remark on the nature of your question, being fully persuaded, that

pit, at the discretion of the pastor, in whose parish they are then making their advance towards the ministry.

'Neff seems to have put on his spiritual armour and essayed to go in it, in 1819, in the neighbourhood of Geneva; and in the two following years, in the Cantons of Neufchatel, Berne, and the Pays de Vaud. It was at a trying crisis, that he officiated in the character I have described, in the latter Canton. Lausanne, and many of the towns and villages of the Pays de Vaud, were then divided by religious controversies, which were carried on with much indiscretion and bitterness on both sides. But Neff endeavoured to pursue a course, which spoke well for his Christian temper and wisdom.'

it was dictated only by the interest you felt in the welfare of souls: but contented myself with the true and simple statement of the case; namely, that solely actuated by the feeling which induces believers to associate together for their mutual edification, and mutual assistance in their pilgrimage through this life of difficulties and trials, I came in the first instance to visit my friend P., for whom you yourself had expressed much esteem; that afterwards, having by his means, become acquainted with many others, who delighted to converse on the great affair of salvation, I had also become attached to them; and that after his departure, not seeing any just cause for breaking off such friendships, I took a pleasure in now and then joining my voice to theirs; exhorting them at the same time, to "abound more and more in the work of the Lord," and to " persevere unto the end," that they might "be saved." You did not appear quite satisfied with my answer, at least I concluded so, when I heard you declare, 'I will not have two churches here, I will allow no schisms.' I then endeavoured to explain myself more clearly, solemnly protesting that I had done nothing which tended to create a division: but that, on the contrary, I had been careful to exhort my friends to an assiduous attendance on public worship, encouraging them to love and respect their pastor, and to exercise charity towards all men. I added, that far from seeking to be at the head of a schism, I always told those who questioned me on the subject, that they must consult their own consciences on such an affair, and that above all, in a parish possessing an evangelical minister, I should be far from attempting to draw away the people from public worship. As in a previous interview you had communicated to me your fears respecting the conduct of R., I promised that I would neglect no opportunity of exhorting him to prudence, informing you at the same time, of the

steps I meant to take, in order to induce others to' address similar cautions to him. You expressed your satisfaction with these explanations, begging me to believe, that the public tranquillity required you to ask these questions, and that, in the whole affair, you had done violence to yourself in putting these interrogations to me.

'I doubted not your sincerity, and begged of you in return to place implicit reliance on my declarations; I could do so with perfect truth, and I now again call God to witness their exact veracity. When you suggested to me that our little re-unions' might produce ill effects on those who did not attend them, and who had formed erroneous ideas of them, I did not reply in a manner in any way calculated to excite your apprehensions. You requested me to provide a remedy against this supposed evil; I assured you the remedy was more in your own power, than in that of any other person, since you had only to fulfil the promise you had already given to your parishioners, when you exhorted them to establish family worship; namely, that those who desired your presence at these private 're-unions' had only to send to you, and that you would with the utmost pleasure join in their prayers, and help them in their search after truth, always presiding in the assembly, whenever you attended. After this, no other explanation seemed necessary; such of your parishioners as had formed false notions of these assemblies, imagining that they were opposed to the established worship, would thus have been undeceived. Irepeated my declaration that I only wished for peace, and you assured me that you would do all in your power to promote it. I then left you, in the full persuasion that we were mutually satisfied, and I immediately put my hand to the work. Having assured my friends of the purity of your intentions and views, and convinced them that as a pastor and a Christian, it

was your duty to prevent divisions, I passed the rest of the evening in exhorting them to humility, charity, and prudence, applying myself especially to strengthen their esteem and affection for you. I told them that you were disposed sometimes to come amongst them, and preside at their 're-unions,' which pleased them greatly. I also read and expounded the 4th and 5th chapters of 1st Thessalonians. I endeavoured to convince them that there is no merit in any acts of devotion for that if we are disposed to read and meditate on the word of God, it is a gift of His free grace, in which no glory attaches to us; and that we have therefore no right to think ourselves better than others, since God can impart the same gift to them, when we least expect it. I reminded them, that God's aim in our salvation being our sanctification, we must carefully search out the corruptions of our own hearts, and pray with David: "Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me," for he has promised to take away "the heart of stone," and give unto his people "a heart of flesh." I insisted on these points as much because they are the very root of evangelical piety, and cannot be too often referred too, as because you seemed to think we entertained very different sentiments; I also took care to warn those of whose imprudence you had reason to complain.

At the same time however, I was careful to warn them against walking in that broad and crowded road which "leadeth to destruction;" merely for the sake of peace and quietness in the world. On this subject, I had the satisfaction of knowing that you agreed with me; for I remembered, I had said to you that those who would follow Christ, must not hope to escape tribulation and persecution; and that it is impossible to prevent those, who, according to our Lord's directions, pass the Sabbath, and their other leisure hours in devout meditation, or in