4thly, Nor is it less wonderful    how God was pleased to provide a remedy for my want of skill and    freedom in the Indian language, by remarkably fitting my    interpreter for, and assisting him in, the performance of his    work. It might reasonably be supposed I must needs labour under a    vast disadvantage in addressing the Indians by an interpreter; and    that divine truths would unavoidably lose much of the energy and    pathos with which they might at first be delivered, by reason of    their coming to the audience from a second hand. But although this    has often, to my sorrow and discouragement, been the case in times    past, when my interpreter had little or no sense of divine things,    yet now it was quite otherwise. I cannot think my addresses to the Indians ordinarily    since the beginning of this season of grace, have lost any thing    of their power or pungency with which they were made, unless it    were sometimes for want of pertinent and pathetic terms and    expressions in the Indian language; which difficulty could not    have been much redressed by my personal acquaintance with their    language. - My interpreter had before gained some good degree of    doctrinal knowledge, whereby he was rendered capable of    understanding and communicating, without mistakes, the intent and    meaning of my discourses, and that without being confined    strictly, and obliged to interpret verbatim. He had likewise, to    appearance, an experimental acquaintance with divine things; and    it pleased God at this season to inspire his mind with longing    desires for the conversion of the Indians, and to give him    admirable zeal and fervency in addressing them in order thereto.    And it is remarkable, that when I was favoured with any special    assistance in any work, and enabled to speak with more than common    freedom, fervency, and power, under a lively and affecting sense    of divine things, he was usually affected in the same manner    almost instantly, and seemed at once quickened and enabled to    speak in the same pathetic language, and under the same influence    that I did. And a surprising energy often accompanied the word at    such seasons; so that the face of the whole assembly would be    apparently changed almost in an instant, and tears and sobs became    common among them.
He also appeared to have such a    clear doctrinal view of God's usual methods of dealing with souls    under a preparatory work of conviction and humiliation as he never    had before; so that I could, with his help, discourse freely with    the distressed persons about their internal exercises, their    fears, discouragements, temptations, &c. He likewise took    pains day and night to repeat and inculcate upon the minds of the    Indians the truths I taught them daily; and this he appeared to    do, not from spiritual pride, and an affectation of setting    himself up as a public teacher, but from a spirit of faithfulness,    and an honest concern for their souls.
His conversation among the Indians    has likewise, so far as I know, been savoury, as becomes a    Christian and a person employed in his work; and I may justly say,    he has been a great comfort to me, and a great instrument of    promoting this good work among the Indians: so that whatever be    the state of his own soul, it is apparent God has remarkably    fitted him for this work. - And thus God has manifested that,    without bestowing on me the gift of tongues, he could find a way    wherein I might be as effectually enabled to convey the truths of    his glorious gospel to the minds of these poor benighted    pagans.
Tuesday, October 19
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