he was
not quite sure whether she dared approach the Lord's table, feeling
still much uneasiness and displeasure in her mind; but that she would
once more in prayer cry unto our Saviour to help her, and take away
those evil things that separated her from Him. On the day following
she came again to the missionaries, and, with many tears, declared her
thanks to the Lord, that he had delivered her from her perplexing
thoughts, and granted to her his peace in her soul, and therefore
begged to be admitted to the holy communion. On the 3d of December
they partook of this heavenly feast; and it proved a time of
refreshing to them all. The season of Christmas was celebrated with
much blessing, and they rejoiced with thanksgiving in the incarnation
of God our Saviour, this amazing proof of his infinite love to the
lost human race! Again, on the 31st, they were strengthened anew by
participating in the sacred ordinance together, and closed the year
with praise and prayer, thankful to the Lord for the numberless
favours they had experienced, and particularly for his mercy to the
Esquimaux congregation.
This year the brethren had another proof of the kind and watchful
providence of God--their vessel which, on her return home, usually
took advantage of the Hudson Bay ships' convoy from the Orknies to
London, left Hopedale on the 11th of October, and in sixteen days was
within three days' sail of these islands, when strong easterly gales
drove her back and kept her three weeks longer at sea. But these
apparently adverse storms proved, by God's great mercy, the very means
of the hallowed barque's deliverance from the enemy. On the 18th
November she was chased by a French frigate, brought to, and forced to
keep her company; but the sea ran so high that it was impossible for
the frigate to get out a boat to board the Resolution, and continued
so during that night and the following day. The second night proving
extremely dark and boisterous, the Captain set as much sail as the
ship could carry, and before morning was out of sight of the frigate.
But two days after he had the mortification to meet her again, and to
be brought to a second time. Again the Lord interposed in his behalf,
the wind was so violent that the Frenchman could not put out a boat,
and during the following night, the Captain, crowding all sail,
escaped, and saw no more of the enemy.
A new epoch in the Labrador mission commenced in 1804. Amid all the
cheering reali
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