the Holy Bible should be printed in our dayes and at our cost in a Language and for a Nation which never had it to this day That this blessed and beautifull Vndertaking for the gathering in of those poor Souls who yet wander in that Howling wilderness to the Flock and fold of Christ the Great Shepherd of the Sheep may not want their compassionate and chearfull assistance who are already through grace gathered into his holy flocks and folds is the hearty desire and prayer of The 6th of the first Moneth 1659. Sirs Your affectionate friend to serve you in the Lord JOSEPH CARYL A brief Relation received from Mr John Elliott of the late Proceedings with the Indians in New England in order to their admission into Church-fellowship In the year of our Lord 1659. The fifth day of the fifth Moneth THis is the third time that the Praying Indians some of them have been called forth into publick to make open confession of the Name of Christ to come under the publick tryal of Gods people whether they be indeed Christians as fit matter for a Gospel Church Truth loveth and seeketh the light I was stirred up hereunto and quickened by Letters from England The Lord put it into the hearts of such as are honourable reverend and of eminent service to Christ in England to move mee before I moved When I moved this last time I perceived that it was the general inclination of the Spirit of the Saints both Magistrates Elders and others that at lest some of the principal of them should for a season be seasoned in Church-fellowship in communion with our English Churches before they should be Churches among themselves And when it was Objected What should the rest of the people do if the principal and most able should not keep their Sabbaths among them It was Answered That their usual Sabbath conversation should be at home among their own people only sometime to be among the English viz. for participation of the Seals the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords Supper and for any special Exercise of Discipline When it was Questioned what English Church they should joyn unto All with one mouth said that Roxbury Church was called of God to be first in that service of Christ to receive the praying Indians In the accomplishment whereof I yielded my self up to follow counsel in the Lord The Elders offered themselves on some Lecture day to meet if need were at Roxbury Lecture then to speak with the Church to perswade to an unanimous accord in receiving the Indians for a season which accordingly they did and the Lord was so effectually present in that meeting that all Objections so far as I know were silenced Soon after our Church passed a Vote for the receiving of the Indians The Elders of Roxbury called eight of them to a private preparatory Confession in order to our publick proceeding Wee gave notice of the time and place of this meeting and many were present to hear them both men and women which Confessions I shall here set down for reasons which seem to mee to have much weight and they are as followeth An Abbreviate of the Confessions of some of the Indians which they made before the Elders of Roxbury sundry Christian people being present both men and women the 15th day of the second Moneth 1659. preparatory in order to their admission into the Church Nishoâ—kou OH God of Grace and Salvation help mee by thy spirit to confesse truth and grace in the presence of God 1 I confesse that I have now learned out of Gen. 5. 1. that God made man in the Image of God and Adam lived 130 years and begot a Son in his own Image ver. 3. which then was not the Image of God but by reason of the fall was the Image of Satan and that Image of Satan hee did communicate to us so that wee are all born in sin and so I lived After wee pray'd to God about three years my heart was not yet right but I desired to run wilde as also sundry others did Then I understood that the Lord did make heaven earth sea and all creatures and also man and therefore I understood that God made mee Yet I being young I was still vain and ran about and I liked to do acts of youth and vanity and lust as others did And I went to Pawwauing among others and these things I loved throughly and they grew in my heart and had nourishment there and especially lust if I cut my hair it was with respect to lust to please women if I had long hair it was with respect to lust and all I did was with respect to lust and women when there was meetings drinkings sports they respected lust and these things I perfectly loved When the Minister came to teach us hee taught and I came to meeting but I came to look upon women I understood not what hee taught sometimes I came and understood nothing at all only I look't on women About two years after I began to understand what the Minister preached I understood that Scripture Iam. 1. Hee that doubteth is like a wave of the sea driven of the windes and tossed and if any man lack wisedom let him ask it of God This I understood yet I only understood it but it was very hard to believe Afterward I heard out of Gen. 6. that God spoke concerning man I will destroy man whom I have made because God saw that the way of man was corrupt before him and this troubled mee And again in the same Chapter it is said That God saw that the iniquity of man was great upon the earth and that every imagination of the thought of his heart is only evil continually this troubled mee for I saw the roots of sin in my heart yet it was hard to believe Again in that 6. of Gen. God rebuked that sin in man which was my sin and then my heart was troubled Sometime my heart said it is better to run wilde as I did before then to pray to God for if now I sin or commit lust I shall be punished or put in prison but if I run wilde I have liberty to sin without danger but I was ashamed of such thoughts and repented but yet I doubted After half a year I heard the Minister preach this That Christ his death is of infinite value but our death is little worth God is satisfied with the death of Christ and promiseth to pardon our sins for Christ his sake if wee believe in Christ wee deserve to die but Christ standeth in our stead and dyeth for us and so saveth us from death Next time the Minister came hee asked what I remembred of this I now spoke of and I did remember it and do remember it to this day and I desire to pray to God as long as I live I believe Christ dyed for sinners but I doubted concerning my self Then I heard this promise If you repent and believe
as other youths did at all these things because thereby did original sin grow in me and hard it was to root it out and hard to believe After this I heard still and more I understood I heard Gen. 16. that the people were full of sin lust and all other sin and therefore the Lord destroyed them and I knew that I had the same sins and therefore I was afraid but I feared only this bodily life and not for my Soul After this my heart did a little desire to pray to God because God found Noah righteous and did save him therefore I desired to pray but again I laid it by and I said it is vain to pray for if I pray and should commit sin I shall be punished or imprisoned but if I pray not I may commit what sin I will and have no punishment for it About a year after I heard the Minister teach another word that the Death of Christ is precious and our death is nothing worth therefore God promiseth pardon of all sins for Christ his sake he bid us remember this against next time When he came again he asked me and I did remember it and do to this day but I confess I did not believe only I did remember it and answered when I was asked And then again I desired to pray to God and would not go away but it was because I loved our place and dwelling I prayed but I believed not I considered not Eternal Life but only this worldly life And thus I went on till they chose Rulers at Natik they chose me and I refused because I believed not After that my Wife and Child died and I was sick to death but lived again and being well I thought I could not pray I was a Child and therefore could not I put off praying to God my Relations died and why should I pray but then I considered why does God thus punish me yea the Minister spake to me about it and said it may be it was because I refused to do Gods work as Moses when he first refused God was patient but when he persisted in his refusal God was angry and then my heart saw my sin and then my heart almost believed I desired to do right and to keep the Sabbath for I further heard in the 4th Commandment Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy and Psa. 101. I will walk wisely in a perfect way Also in Isay 58. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath and do not thy own works nor find thy own pleasure nor speak thy own words therefore my Soul desired to keep the Sabbath then the Souldiers came upon us on the Sabbath day while we were at meeting and took away our Guns and caused us to bring them as far as Roxbury that night my heart was broken off my heart said God is not the Sabbath is not it is not the Lords Day for were it so the Souldiers would not have then come then my heart cast off praying then we came before the Magistrates and Cutshamoquin asked Why they came on the Sabbath-day It was answered that it was lawful but I did not understand it That day I being very thirsty did drink too much and was brought before the Magistrates and was ashamed I came to Roxbury to the Minister and there I was ashamed also because I had greatly sinned then I cried to God for Free-mercy because precious is the Death of Christ oh pardon this my sin Yet again I had temptations to drinking and then I considered what a great sinner I was even like a beast before God Then I heard that word Mat. 5. He that breaketh the beast of Gods Commands and teacheth others so to do shall be the least in the Kingdome of Heaven My heart said Lord such an one have I been for I have been an active sinner yet I cried again for mercy O Lord freely pardon my great sins Again I confess I am very weak even like a very child and I so walk and know not what to do if I die I fear I shall die in my sin yet I cried again O God pardon me for Christ his sake Again further I confess that when I was troubled about our wants poverty and nakedness I considered that text Foxes have holes and Birds have nests but the Son of man hath not whereon to lay his head And again Mat. 6. The Birds plough not and the flowers spin not and yet God doth both feed and cloath them and therefore be not over-much troubled about these things yet I desire to follow labour with my hands because Gen 1. God gave Adam dominion over the creatures and commanded him to Till the ground And Gen. 2. He set him in the Garden and commanded him to dress it and keep it Also Gen. 3. he said Thou shalt eat thy bread in the sweat of thy face all thy dayes till thou returnest to thy dust When I remember these things my heart doth bow to labour also I heard that riches were the root of all evil and Dives with his fine apparel and dainty fare was in hell and poor Lazarus was in heaven When my heart is troubled about our Land â—nd about riches I quiet my heart with these meditations Also I further heard when my heart was troubled about Salvation and doubted I heard that there is no means of Salvation but Christ not any thing in the world can carry us to heaven only Christ which I did believe by Gen. 28. where Iacob dreamed a dream and he saw a Ladder which stood on earth and the top reached up to heaven and that Ladder is Christ who is Man and so toucheth the earth and God and so is in heaven and by believing in him we ascend to heaven as by a ladder This helped me almost to believe and I cried Oh Christ be thou my Ladder to heaven Again Ioh. 14. Christ saith None cometh to the Father but by me therefore I believe nothing can carry me to God but only Christ if I penitently believe in him Again I confess I do still find my self very weak to resist sin for if I read and teach on the Sabbath I teach indeed but I do not as I ought and therefore that Word of Christ doth rebuke me Mat. 23. Hear and do what they say but do not as they do When I do among others reprove sinners that Word of Christ reproveth me Thou hypocrite first cast the beam out of thine own eye and then thou mayest see clearly so cast the moat out of thy brothers eye Again when I pray I find hypocrisie in my heart to do it to be seen of men and that Word of Christ reproveth me Mat. 6. They pray to be sâ—en of men verily they have their reward and then I cryed mightily to God O Lord help me pardon me what shall I do Again I heard Mat. 9. The Son of Man hath power to pardon sin on earth and therefore me O Lord then
word Mat. 12. The unclean spirit being cast out of a man he walketh about seeking rest and findeth none then hee returneth and bringeth 7 other spirits with him worse then himself and the end of that man is worse then his beginning When I heard this my heart feared I thought now I repent of my many sins for verily I am a great sinner I have offended I am 7 times worse then before I prayed then I repented Again I heard that Word He that penitently believeth shall be saved and then my heart did desire to repent and believe then I thought that men will not forgive me and therefore it is not good to abide in this place but I remembred that I had learned to read the Word and if I should forsake my friends I should lose the Word of God Then I heard that Word Repent for the Kingdome of Heaven is at hand my heart said ô let it be so and then my heart rested but yet quickly it was unquiet again Then I did strongly desire to repent of my sinnes I heard that Word that God Sowed good seed but evill seed was sowen by the Enemy and such were in my heart and as in my field there were many roots and weeds which spoyled the corne and I plucked them up and cast them out my heart said verily just so is my heart the Word is but a little in my heart and there be many ill roots in me and therefore God may justly cast me out from among his people because of my many sinnes Then my heart said I desire to pray to God as long as I live and now I forsake my sins who have been a great sinner Now I beg of Christ O give me thy spirit that I may confess my sins before God and not only before men again I remember that I cannot pardon or help my self but only Christ must help me Again I heard that Word All manner of sin shall be forgiven to a man but the sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven in this world nor in the world to come Then my heart feared because many and great were my sins since I prayed to God and I cried to God for mercy and pardon and then I thought I will pray to God as long as I live But verily I am a sinner for I am guilty not only of Adams sin but of my own sins also and they are many I remember that in Catechisme I learn that God made a Covenant of works with Adam Do the Commands and thou shalt live and thy seed also but if thou sin thou shalt die and thy seed also therefore by that I know I am a sinner and have deserved to die Then I crie to God O God have mercy upon me and pardon me Again I heard of the mercy of God but I am forgetfull and cannot remember Gods mercies to me God made a Covenant with Abraham and said I will be thy God and the God of thy seed after thee then my heart said O let it be so to me O Lord And now Abraham is in heaven who believed and kept Gods Covenant So I if I believe and keep Gods Covenant God will have mercy on me I remembred the Covenant of Circumcision to him and all his family and such a Covenant I desire for me and mine Again I heard Mat. 3. In those daies Iohn baptized in Iordan saying Repent for the Kingdome of God is at hand When I heard this my heart said the same is now with us not Abrahams signe but baptisme and therefore I desire to repent and Confess before God and before the Church and I desire not only to confess but to have repentance and faith that I may have grace mercy and pardon and such repentance as workes obedience Again the same Word saith vers. 6. They were baptized confessing their sins So I desire to do I do confess before God and desire to cast off and forsake my sins and to go to Christ The promise of pardon is to them that penitently believe and rest on Christ In the same Baptism of Iohn he said I baptize you with water but he that cometh after me is mightier then I he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire Now this Baptism I desire and not to receive the signe in vain I desire to purge out evill thoughts and therefore I confess these sins before God that they may be purged and I desire the spirit of God may dwell in me for ever to turn me to Christ I cannot of my self do any of these things but only Christ Jesus can by his spirit in me Again I heard another word As the Eagles are about a carkass so believers come to Christ then my heart said So be it Oh Lord when I receive the Covenant of God I am like the Eagles when I come to Christ I desire not to come in vain but if I feed not I shall die my soul will die Then I greatly begged that I might feed my soul on Christ and Oh Christ send thy spirit into my heart that I may not only know but do the Word of God Again Christ near his death took bread and blest it and broke it and gave it to his disciples and said Take yee eat yee this is my Body which was broken for you And so also he did the Cup and said Drink yee of it this is the Cup of my blood in the New Testament which is shed for the remission of sins Now this believers in Christ must do not only to eat Bread and to take the Sign but soul food therefore Christ sending his spirit and helping me I desire to receive the Sign not in vain but to help my faith When I had read this Confession in the Assembly we called upon the witnesses as before wee did whose answer was to the like purpose as before Wutasakompauin He was next called forth who thus spake HElp me Oh Jesus Christ to confess before the Lord Oh I am full of sin because Adams sin made mine and so was a sinner in my mothers womb When I was a youth I found many sins and after I was grown up I did the same alwaies all the daies of my life I lived in sin After the English came I went to their houses they would teach me about God but I hated it and went out I did not love such teaching Afterward the Minister taught and at first Waban perswaded me to pray and taught us I did not at first like it yet afterward I did Four years the Minister came to Noonantam I came but I only came I lost all he taught After I considered one word the Minister said That God sent him to teach us then I thought surely there is a God therefore I must believe and pray a little I believed but when I heard I did only outwardly hear After my wife and children died and then I almost cast off praying I had another wife and she died also
and then my heart said Surely God is angry with me who doth thus afflict me Then I heard that word Mat. 22. God made a Feast and invited his Guests and they would not come and therefore God was angry with them So did I for I came not to the Word of God when he called me I cared not for the Feast of Christ Again after many of my friends were destroyed I thought it was because they prayed not to God therefore I feared that God is angry with me also because of his punishments I fear I believe not Christ and my heart feareth because of my sins daily I break Gods Commands Another Word I heard Mat. 5. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be satisfied this is the Word of Christ and I desire to hunger for Christ and begged O Christ help me Again I remembred that Word Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God my heart saith O Christ help me to be so that cleane may be my heart Again I heard that Word Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called the Children of God then my heart thought O that I had peace with God in Christ that I might have that blessing and therefore I now confess my sins before God and I beg mercy from God in Jesus Christ When I had read this short confession for the day spent and brevity was called for we called upon the witnesses who spake as formerly Monotunkquanit He was next called who thus spake I Have heard the word and prayed to God several yeares And I confess that before I prayed I was full of sin and yet I do not know my sins I thought they were all good waies and therefore I did them I knew not the Sabbath nor Lecture daies nor any good only I knew wild Actions daily I desired falshood vile actions singing Indian songs these things I desired to do but all good things I was ignorant of and very much I sinned daily Then I heard of praying to God I came to Cohannit at Dorchester from Nipmuk where I lived but my heart laughed at praying and said its a vain action only those actions that I was bred up in I liked and esteemed but these new things I derided The Sachims disliked it and therefore so did I The rich men disliked it and therefore so did I I believed not that God is I went to Cohannit not for praying but to gather clams When I came thither they exhorted me to pray and said The Minister cometh to morrow to teach it is lecture day I desired to see him he came they met together I went and carried my son Samuel I saw the Minister he called my son asked him Who made you they bid him say God but I had not so taught him He asked whose son he was they said mine he said do you pray to God I said no for I am a poore man and naked they that pray are cloathed Therefore I will not pray can poore men pray Therefore I would not pray I went home Then Waban and Totherswamp came to my house and taught me to pray They intreated me now pray to God My heart liked it not They said God is a great God and made all the World I said who is witness of that They said the Minister will answer you Again they taught me the Commandments of God but I did not believe Totherswamp promised to come again he did so and said now pray to God because God is good I thought it a teadious thing to pray to God Then he strongly intreated me I said I will try but not for praying but in vain Then my kindred said praying is a vain thing why will you pray therefore returne again then I went and prayed When I first came Waban taught that Word The night is farre spent the day is as hand therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the Armour of light My heart asked what are dark workes They answered sianes and what is day they answered praying to God and the wisdome of the Word is light And this is now almost come unto us Then my heart smile I will pray to God Again I heard the Minister who said these words Thou shalt have no other Gods but me thou shalt not make to thy selfe any graven Image nor the likeness of any thing in Heaven above in the earth below in the waters under the earth thou shalt not bow down to them nor worship them Then my heart said that I did worship many false gods therefore if I pray it may be God will kill me but they said no he is a good God then I prayed and then my kindred hindred me Therefore my heart said If my kindred pray then I will pray Then I was taught more and I did heare the Word that God made Adam of the dust and made him sleep and took out a rib and made a woman and thus God made man My heart said It may be God made English men but not us poore naked men as we are of a strange language and therefore I doubted to pray Then I heard of Nimrod his building of Babel and that God was angry made strange to each other their language and brake their work Then my heart said Surely so it is as I did believe Again I heard that God found one man just Noah and saved him in his Ark and did drown the world then my heart said I desire that God may find many just persons with us therefore I pray to God then I more prayed Again I heard that God made a Covenant with Abraham and his seed to be their God My heart said so let it be I desire to be in this Covenant of God and to pray so long as I live I thought if I do well God will pardon all my sinnes the Minister said no If you do all good as perfectly yet God will not pardon God will pardon only for Iesus Christ his sake Then I believed Iesus Christ was both God and man and made peace betwixt God and man Christ did for us all the Commandments of God and died for us he payed death for us and therefore for his sake God will pardon us if we believe in Christ I heard that which Mat. 7. Ask and ye shall have seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened c. Then my heart said I will pray as long as I live and knock at heaven dore Again I heard that word Enter in at the streight gate c. My heart said Sure it is so narrow and hard is the way to Heaven broad and easy is the way to hell I desire to walk in the narrow way to heaven Again Christ died for us and thereby saveth us and saith Come to me all that are weary and I will give you rest Then my heart said Great is my weariness for many are my sinnes and I desire rest in Christ