POMARE’'S CONTRITION. 97 
engaged with avidity in the bloody and murderous 
rites of idol worship. In addition to this, he had 
been nurtured amid the debasing and. polluting 
immorality, for which his country, ever since its 
discovery, had been distinguished; and although 
his ideas of the moral perfections of the true God 
might be but mdistinct, and his views of the purity 
required by the gospel but partial, yet it might 
naturally be expected, that the convictions of guilt 
in such an individual, when first awakened to a 
sense of the nature and consequence of sin, would 
be deep and severe. That this was actually the 
case, appears from several letters which he wrote 
to the Missionaries soon after his arrival in Tahiti, 
as well as from the conversation they had with him 
on the subject. 
In a letter, dated Tahiti, September 25, 1812, 
he thus expresses himself: ‘‘ May the anger of 
Jehovah be appeased towards me, who am a 
wicked man, guilty of accumulated crimes,—of © 
regardlessness and ignorance of the true God, and 
of an obstinate perseverance in wickedness! May 
Jehovah also pardon my foolishness, unbelief, and 
rejection of the truth! May Jehovah give me his 
good Spirit to sanctify my heart, that I may love 
what is good, and that I may be enabled to put 
away all my evil customs, and become one of his 
people, and be saved through Jesus Christ, our 
only Saviour! [ama wicked man, and my sins 
are great and accumulated. But O that we may 
all be saved, through Jesus Christ.”” Referring to 
his illness about this time, he said, ‘“‘ My affliction 
is great; but if I can only obtain God’s favour 
before I die, I shall count myself well. But Oh! 
should I die with my sins unpardoned, it will be 
ill indeed with me. O! may my sins be pardoned, 
Ot H 
