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a God of justice; and since all men do not receive equal justice in this world, there must be a future state of existence, in which the righteous Governor of the Universe will evi dently distinguish between those who love and practice that which is just and good, and those who do not. In this world, the best and most moral men, the very salt of the earth, are often despised and neglected; nay, they are insulted, scandalized, persecuted, imprisoned, and even put to death as the worst of human beings; while cheats, thieves, liars, adulterers, and duellists, who are murderers; nay, the very vilest and most profane and immoral men, the very offscouring of all human society, are caressed and adinired, are voted for and promoted they ride upon the high places of the earth, they walk in robes or lawn, they are adorned with a CROWN, or a MITRE, and are unmindful of their mortality or accountability. But the venerable Dr. Watts very excellently describes their situation in his paraphrase of the 73d Psalm, when he says, "Lord, what a thoughtless wretch was I To mourn and murmur and repine, To see the wicked placed on high, In pride and robes of honour shine,

But Oh, their end, their dreadful end!" &c.

In the final judgment of the world, the justice and goodness of the divine government, will be made manifest to every understanding. Then shall the innocent be protected, while the guilty are confounded. Then shall the meek, the humble, and the persecuted be exalted and rewarded, while the proud, the unjust, the malicious, and oppressive shall be brought low and punished. In that day, there will be nothing hid which shall not be made manifest, there will be no deception which shall not be detected, no injustice which shall not be rectified; and unless by faith and repentance we come to God, in the appointed means of divine grace, we shall all likewise perish. The justice of God must be vindicated, the guilty must be punished, the innocent must be protected and rewarded, or the throne of Heaven must fall. By the deeds of the law no flesh can live. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God: but in, and through him "who died for our offences and rose again for our justification,"

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every son and daughter of the human race may obtain forgiveness and be for ever happy with the Lord, and with each other.

Though from my fellow men I have not deserved the disgrace, the imprisonment, and the affliction loaded upon me, and upon my friends; yet before that God unto whom "all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hid," in other respects, I have often offended in thought, word, and deed, and as I hope and expect God, for Christ's sake to forgive me; so I feel in my heart to forgive my enemies, persecutors and slauderers, and pray God to turn their hearts. Still I feel it my duty, in the promotion of truth and justice, in the suppression of perjury, wickedness and vice, and in the conveyance of that knowledge which may be honorable to God and useful to mankind, to lay before the public the following Memoirs, which I entreat the reader to peruse with attention, and consider with candour; and to believe me his persecuted friend and humble servant in the ministry of the Gospel of peace and reconciliation in the Lord Jesus Christ.

HEBRON, OCTOBER 7th, 1823.

AMMI ROGERS.

MEMOIRS, &c.

CHAPTER I.

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MY LIFE AND

MINISTRY.

I, AMMI ROGERS, was born in the town of Branford, in. the county of New-Haven, in the state of Connecticut, on the 26th of May, in or about the year of our Lord, 1770. My father was Thomas Rogers, who departed this life in Branford, on the 23d of June, 1804, aged 79. He was the son of Josiah Rogers, who departed this life in Branford, about the year 1750, aged 86. He came from Long Island, was a son of one of three brothers who came from England and were grandsons of the celebrated John Rogers, a clergyman of the Church of England, burnt by the Roman Catholics in Smithfield, in the first year of the reign of queen Mary, 1554. My grandfather was one of the proprietors of the town of Branford; he owned and occupied the extensive farm and mills which are now owned and occupied by my brother Josiah Rogers and which have been in possession of the, family from about the earliest settlement of the town. My mother, before she was married was Rebecca Hobart, daughter of Abijah Hobart, of Stonington, in New-London county. By him, a reiation with the family of Masons is claimed; also, with the Rev. Mr. Hobart, the former minister of Fairfield, and his descendants. My grandmother Rogers was a Goodsell-my grandmother Hobart was a Bartholomew. My brothers were, Abijah, Rufus, Thomas, Josiah, Eliphalet and Hobart-my sister was Irene, who is married to Thelus Todd--and, except the false and scandalous accusations charged upon me, there never was, so far as I know or believe, a stain or even suspicion of immorality fixed upon my father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, brother or sister. Perhaps there is not in Connecticut, a family which

is and always has been more exempt from the practice of every vice, than that to which I have the honor to belong. In the year 1783, I entered the academy in Litchfield, under the tuition of Mr. Osborn, and boarded in the family of the Hon. Andrew Adams, who was related to my father's family. In the year 1786, I entered Yale College in New-Haven, under the direction of the Rev. President Stiles. Here I became more seriously impressed with the importance of religion, and the awful concerns of eternity. My parents were pious, and strict in the Congregational Presbyterian religion, and I had been brought up in that way. From my earliest childhood, I had been impressed with a sense of God, of his omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and of my own accountability. But human inability and human accountability were so contrary to the justice and goodness of God, that I sheltered myself under the doctrine of unconditional election and foreordination. This was taught in my catechism, and if that were true, I was safe; but when I became convicted of my lost and undone condition by nature, and by practice, I perceived that if God should enter into judgment with his creatures, by the deeds of the law, no man living could be justified; for cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them, and the law extends to the very thoughts of the heart, as well as to the outward actions of the body; that we were called upon to rend our hearts and not our garments, to be up and doing while the day lasts; that we were admonished, that now was the accepted time, that now was the day of salvation. I perceived that I had no power of myself, to help myself: that my sufficiency for any thing which was good and acceptable to God, must come from God, that his grace was sufficient for me and for all men ; therefore did he invite all the ends of the earth to look to him and be saved; therefore did he expostulate with his people, why will ye die, O house of Israel! The sacrifices under the law, and the atonement made by Jesus Christ under the Gospel, were sufficient for all men, even the greatest of sinners. I found my disposition changed; I found myself enlightened as to diviae and spiritual things; I found my affections, my prospects, my anticipations

and expectaions were not on predestination and fore-ordination, but on the mercy of God, through the merits and atonement of Christ. In this way became converted, and as a grateful return to the great Father of all mercies, I determined, and I thought it my duty to preach the gospel, the good news to all men-free salvation to every SOU and daughter of the human race; and the unspeakable danger to which they expose themselves, if they neglect so great salvation. I could not perceive the propriety of preaching free sal vation to all men, if it were not p ssible for all men to be saved; and if it were possible for all men to be saved, then the doctrine which I had been taught must be false. That God had, from all eternity, foreordained who should be saved and who should be damned, I could not reconcile with the truth of his word, in swearing by himself that he desired not the death of a sinner; in inviting all the ends of the earth to look to him and be saved; in saying that his mercy was over all his works; in teing the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world; in saying that this will be the cordemnation, that light has come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light; in saying that the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Now to say, that God never designed, nor intended, nor wished, nor put it in the power of all mankind to be saved, was, in my opinion, neither honorable to God, nor useful to mankind, nor did I believe it to be true. But if people will do despite the spirit of grace, if they will resist the Holy Ghost, if they will perjure themselves and pervert the cause of justice, mercy and goodness, if they do not use the means of grace, but live and die in the disposition and practice of what they know to be wrong, they will be damned, they must be miserable and wretched. Wherefore, saith the prophet, "let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." The great design of all true religion, and of all good preaching, is to change the natural