“A missionary,” he writes, “must guard against being cast down and dissatisfied, for this, especially here, is a poison to the body and highly pernicious to the soul, because thereby faith, love, and hope decrease, nay absolutely perish, and when the people remark that such an one is discontented, it is an impediment to the way of his labouring on their souls; from which nevertheless our comfort ought to arise. Whenever I meet with anything disagreeable I go and catechize for an hour. This employment sweets even bitter to me. No missionary must give way to complaining. We must be witnesses for our Lord and not converters merely. One could wish indeed that, as three thousand souls were converted by Peter’s sermon, a visible abundant blessing might rest on our labours. Meanwhile sowing has its season, and reaping has its season, and, moreover, it might still be a question whether, with such great success, we should hold fast humility of heart. The best way is to labour diligently and then to pray that God would bless our labour.”
He had many disappointments, as all who seek the welfare of others are bound to have, but he cherished with thankfulness the souls of those who had been given him. And not only amongst the heathen. As chaplain of the English troops he found a thrilling pleasure in gathering together little groups of soldiers and instructing them in the knowledge of God and His righteousness. He knew that a soldier’s life is such a test of character, that anything less than faithfulness and consistency would never be tolerated in the barrack room. A man who wears the King’s uniform must either be a Christian in deed or a Christian not at all. This was true then, as it is to-day. We get some very interesting glimpses of work in the ranks and of brave good men who fought a good fight in more senses than one in those days long ago.
On his seventieth birthday, Schwartz, in marking the date, 8th October, 1796, is full of rejoicing that for so long his life has been spared and that goodness and mercy have indeed followed him thus far. He looks back to the time when the call first came to him and how through a thicket of many trials and difficulties he was brought safely by the providence of Almighty God. We catch his song of praise in the lines of a letter written just about this time.
“Ebenezer! Hitherto the Lord hath helped me. To-day I entered upon my seventy-first year. O the richness of His grace, compassions, and forbearance, which I have experienced during seventy years! Praise, honour, and adoration are due to a gracious God, Father, Lord and Holy Ghost for the numerous proofs of His abounding grace. Who am I, poor, wretched sinner, that Thou hast led me till now! O, my God, forsake me not in my old age but let me record, for the encouragement of others, the mercy which has spared, pardoned, and comforted me, and may they be induced to put their trust in Thee!
“I am still able to go through the labour of instructing both young and old, without being over fatigued. This duty is so great a refreshment to me that I heartily praise God for continued health and strength to declare to heathens and Christians His name who has sent Christ as a Saviour and made Him, ‘our wisdom and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.’ Let worldlings boast as much as they please, my boast is in the Lord, from Whom alone cometh my salvation.”
It was with Schwartz a growing conviction that the hope of the work lay in the children, and he made it his business to examine them in the schools from time to time to see that they were being properly grounded in the faith. His advancing years and increasing weakness did not hinder him in this duty, and we find him again and again in his journal and letters referring to the happy times he spent with the young people of his flock. Writing to his friend, Dr. Schultze, he says:
“I have just risen from an examination of the school children, after having previously finished catechizing. Such examinations we have once a month, and it is in many respects an advantage to have them frequently, but particularly because the schoolmaster is thus encouraged to fulfil his duty faithfully. We examine their reading, writing, and arithmetic, and hear them repeat by heart the principal texts and a hymn.”
It must be borne in mind that Schwartz had ever before him the future of these children, and the possibility of these being one day catechists and schoolmasters who would be entrusted with the guidance of other minds. In this and in other directions we recognize how far-seeing was his policy, and that with the limited means at his disposal, so different from the resources of to-day, he did useful work in education and training. He tells us his plan in one of his letters:
“I have selected from the school ten lively boys, whom I daily instruct in the doctrines of Christianity and Church history, as well as the method of explaining the principal passages of Scripture. I allow them each a small sum monthly to prevent the necessity of their applying to other labour for support. Not that we expect that every one of them will be fit to be employed in Church offices, but they are thus previously instructed and their abilities as well as conduct are in the way of being proved. Those of whom we entertain hopes of usefulness we send with the catechists into the country, in order to afford them some assistance. May God endue them with His Spirit, sanctify their hearts, and make them useful to the benefit of the congregation and the glory of His name.”