people in America, viz. false religion, counterfeit conversions, and the want of a genuine renovation of the spirit of their minds. I say as to many of them, not to condemn all in the gross. The spirit seems to be exactly the same with what appears in many, who apparently, by their own account, have had a false conversion.

I am

a great enemy to censoriousness, and have opposed it very much in my preaching and writings. But yet I think we should avoid that bastard, mischievous charity, by which Satan keeps men asleep, and hides their eyes from those snares, and crafty works of his, which it is of the utmost consequence to the church of God to discern and be aware of; and by which, for want of their being discovered, the devil has often had his greatest advantages against the interest of religion. The Scriptures often lead us to judge of true religion, and the gracious sincerity of professors, by the genius, the temper and spirit, of their religion: Jam. iii. 17. Eph. v. 9. Gal. v. 19, 25. 1 Col. xiii. 4, etc. Rom. viii. 9. 1 John iv. 16. John xiii. 35. 1 John ii. 10. 1 John iii. 14 and 18, 19, and 23, 24. chap. iv. 7. v. 12, 13, and very many other places. I have been greatly grieved at a spirit of censoriousness; but yet I heartily wish that some sorts of charity were utterly abolished.

"The accounts you give of Archbishop Herring, of the moderate, generous, truly catholic and christian principles appearing in him, and some other of the dignified clergy, and other persons of distinction in the Church of England, are very agreeable. It is to be hoped that these things are forerunners of something good and great to be brought to pass for the church of God.

"I have seen some accounts in our public prints, published here in America, of those conversions and baptisms in the Russian empire, which you mention in your last letter; and should be glad of further information about that matter. We have had published here, an extract of a letter, written by Dr. Doddridge to Mr. Pearsall of Taunton, in Somersetshire, and transmitted by him to Boston, in a letter to Mr. Prince; giving a surprising account of a very wonderful person, a German by nation, a preacher of the Gospel to the Jews, lately in London; whom he, (Dr. Doddridge,) saw and conversed with, and heard preach (or rather repeat) a sermon there; who had had great success in preaching to those miserable people in Germany, Poland, Holland, Lithuania, Hungary, and other parts; God having so blessed his labours that, in the various parts, through which he had travelled, he had been the instrument of the conversion of about six hundred Jews; many of whom are expressing their great concern to bring others of their brethren to the knowledge of the great and blessed Redeemer, and beseeching him to instruct their children, that they may preach Christ also. I should be glad, if you hear any thing further of the affair, to be informed of it by you. I think such things may well be improved to animate and encourage those who have engaged in the Concert

for Prayer, for the Reviving of Religion. I rejoice to hear what you write of some appearances of awakening in Mr. Gillies' church in Glasgow, and if it continues should be glad to be informed.

"I am very glad to hear of what Mr. McLaurin informs me of the encouragements likely to be given from Scotland to New Jersey College; a very hopeful society; and I believe what is done for that Seminary is doing good in an eminent manner. Mr. McLaurin tells me of some prospect of your being removed to a congregation in Edinburgh, which I am pleased with, because I hope there you will act in a larger sphere, and will have more opportunity to exert the disposition that appears in you, to promote good public designs for Zion's prosperity.

"I thank you for the concern you manifest for me under my difficulties and troubles, by reason of the controversy between me and my people, about the terms of christian communion.

in the

"This controversy has now had that issue which I expected; it has ended in a separation between me and my people. Many things have appeared, that have been exceedingly unhappy and uncomfortable in the course of this controversy. The great power of prejudices from education, established custom, and the traditions of ancestors and certain admired teachers, and the exceedingly unhappy influence of bigotry, has remarkably appeared in the management of this affair. The spirit, that has actuated and engaged my people in this matter, is evidently the same, that has appeared in your own people in their opposition to winter communions, but only risen to a much higher degree; and some of the arguments, that have been greatly insisted on here, have been very much of the same sort with some of those urged by your people in your affair. There have been many things said and done, during our controversy, that I shall not now declare. But would only say, general, that there has been that prejudice, and spirit of jealousy, and increasing engagedness of spirit and fixedness of resolution, to gain the point in view, viz. my dismission from my pastoral office over them, upheld and cherished by a persuasion that herein they only stood for the truth and did their duty, that it has been an exceedingly difficult thing for me to say or do any thing at all, in order to their being enlightened, or brought to a more calm and sedate consideration of things, without its being misinterpreted, and turned to an occasion of increasing jealousy and prejudice; even those things wherein I have yielded most, and done most to gratify the people, and assuage their spirits, and win their charity. I have often declared to the people, and gave it to them under my hand, that if, after all proper means used and regular steps taken, they continued averse to remaining under my ministry, I had no inclination to do any thing, as attempting to oblige them to it. But I looked on myself bound in conscience, before I left them, (as I was afraid they were in the way to ruin,) to do my endeavour, that pro

1

per means should be used to bring them to a suitable temper, and SO to a capacity of proceeding considerately and with their eyes open; properly, and calmly, and prayerfully examining the point in controversy, and also weighing the consequences of things. To this end I have insisted much on an impartial Council, in which should be some of the elderly ministers of the land, to look fully into our state, and view it with all its circumstances, with full liberty to give both me and them such advice as they should think requisite and proper. And therefore I insisted, that the Council should not wholly consist of ministers and churches, that were professedly against me in the point in controversy; and that it should not consist wholly of ministers and churches of this neighbourhood, who were almost altogether in opposition to me; but that some should be brought from abroad. This I also insisted on, as I thought it most likely an impartial Council would do me justice, in the public representation they would make of our affairs, in their result. The people insisted that the Council should be wholly of the neighbourhood: undoubtedly because they supposed themselves most sure, that their judgment and advice would be favourable and agreeable to them. I stood the more against it, because in this country we have no such thing as appeals from one Council to another, from a lesser to a larger; and also, because the neighbouring ministers were all youngerly men. These things were long the subject matter of uncomfortable troubles and contests. Many were the proposals I made. At last they complied with this proposal, (after great and long continued opposition to it,) viz. That I should nominate two churches to be of the Council, who were not within the bounds of this county. And so it was agreed that a Council of ten churches should be called, mutually chosen; and that two of my half should be called from abroad. I might have observed before, that there was a great and long dispute about the business of the Council, or what should be left to them: and particularly, whether it should be left to them, or they should have liberty, to give us what advice they pleased for a remedy from our calamities. This I insisted on, not that I desired that we should bind ourselves beforehand to stand to their advice, let it be what it would; but I thought it absurd to tie up and limit the Council, that they should not exercise their own judgment, and give us their advice, according to their own mind. The people were willing the Council should make proposals for an accommodation; but that, if they did not like them, the Council should be obliged immediately to separate us, and would not have them have any liberty to advise to wait longer, or use any further means for light, or to take any further or other course for a remedy from our calamities. At last a vote was passed in these words, "That a Council should be called to give us their last advice, for a remedy from the calamities arising from the present unsettled, broken state of the church, by reason of the controversy VOL. I.

52

But others

here subsisting, concerning the Qualifications for full communion in the church: and, if upon the whole of what they see and find in our circumstances, they judge it best that pastor and people be immediately separated, that they proceed to dissolve the relation between them." Accordingly a Council was agreed upon, to meet here on this business, on June 19th. I nominated two out of this county, of which Mr. Foxcroft's church in Boston was one. were nominated provisionally, in case these should fail. Those that came, were Mr. Hall's church of Sutton and Mr. Hobby's church in Reading. One of the churches that I nominated within the ✓ county, refused to send a delegate, viz. Mr. Billing's church of Cold Spring. However Mr. Billing himself, (though with some difficulty,) was admitted into the Council. The people, in managing this affair on their side, have made chief use of a young gentleman of liberal education and notable abilities, and a fluent speaker, of about seven or eight and twenty years of age, my grandfather Stoddard's grandson, being my mother's sister's son, a man of lax principles in religion, falling in, in some essential things, with Arminians, and is very open and bold in it. He was improved as one of the agents for the church, and was their chief spokesman before the Council. He very strenuously urged before the Council the necessity of an immediate separation; and I, knowing the church, the most of them, to be inflexibly bent on this event, informed the Council that I should not enter into the dispute, but should refer the matter wholly to the Council's judgment; I signified, that I had no desire to leave my people, on any other consideration, than their aversion to my being their minister any longer; but, they continuing so averse, had no inclination or desire that they should be compelled; but yet should refer myself to their advice. When the church was convened, in order to the Council's knowing their minds with respect to my continuance, about twenty-three appeared for it, others staid away, choosing not to act either way; but the generality of the church, which consists of about 230 male members, voted for my dismission. My dismission was carried in the Council by a majority of one voice. The ministers were equally divided; but of the delegates, one more was for it than against it, and it so happened that all those of the Council, who came from the churches of the people's choosing, voted for my dismission; but all those who came from the churches that I chose, were against it, and there happening to be one fewer of these than of the other, by the church of Cold Spring not sending a delegate, (which was through that people's prejudice against my opinion,) the vote was carried that way, by the vote of one delegate. However, on the 22d of the last month, the relation between me and this people was dissolved. I suppose that the result of the Council, and the protestation of some of the members are printed in Boston by this time. I shall endeavour to procure one of the printed accounts, to be sent with this letter to

you, together with one of my books, on the point that has been in controversy between me and my people. Two of the members of the Council, who dissented from the result, yet did not sign the protestation, viz. Mr. Reynolds and his delegate, which I suppose was owing to Mr. Reynolds' extraordinarily cautious and timorous temper. The last sabbath I preached my farewell sermon. Many in the congregation seemed to be much affected, and some are exceedingly grieved. Some few, I believe, have some relentings of heart, that voted me away. But there is no great probability that the leading part of the church will ever change. Beside their own fixedness of resolution, there are many in the neighbouring towns to support their resolution; both in the ministry and civil magistracy; without whose influence I believe the people never would have been so violent as they have been.

"I desire that such a time of awful changes, dark clouds, and great frowns of heaven on me and my people, may be a time of serious consideration, thorough self-reflection and examination, and deep humiliation with me. I desire your fervent prayers for me, and for those who have heretofore been my people. I know not what will become of them. There seems to be the utmost danger, that the younger generation will be carried away with Arminianism, as with a flood. The young gentleman I spoke of, is high in their esteem, and is become the most leading man in the town; and is very bold in declaiming and disputing for his opinions; and we have none able to confront and withstand him in dispute; and some of the young people already show a disposition to fall in with his notions. And it is not likely that the people will obtain any young gentleman of Calvinistic sentiments, to settle with them in the ministry, who will have courage and ability to make head against him. And as to the older people, there never appeared so great an indifference among them, about things of this nature. They will at present be much more likely to be thorough in their care to settle a minister of principles contrary to mine, as to terms of communion, than to settle one that is sound in the doctrines of grace. The great concern of the leading part of the town, at present, will probably be, to come off with flying colours, in the issue of the controversy they have had with me, and of what they have done in it; for which they know many condemn them.

"An end is put, for the present, by these troubles, to the studies I was before engaged in, and my design in writing against Arminianism. I had made considerable preparation, and was deeply engaged in the prosecution of this design, before I was rent off from it by these difficulties, and if ever God should give me opportunity, I would again resume that affair. But I am now, as it were, thrown upon the wide ocean of the world, and know not what will become of me, and my numerous and chargeable family. Nor have I any