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The consolations of some were weaker, of others stronger: in some they rose to joys; in some few to joy unspeakable and full of glory, as the Apostle speaks; though I never saw one either in town or country, in what some wrongly call a vision, trance, or revelation. And where those few instances have happened in some places, appeared but a little while, and vanished;* by what I have heard I apprehend that where they were unfeigned, they were only natural effects of an extraordinary intense exercise of soul; though a Divine influence might be the original of the exercise. Nor do I apprehend such effects a sign either of the person's being unsanctified or sanctified: sanctification being to be judged of by the frame of the whole soul and nature of its exercises when awake, and not by such dreaming ideas: yea, though it were possible they should be inspirations, they would be no more signs in themselves of sanctification than the genuine visions of Balaam and Belshazzar. And I know of none but is of the same opinion with

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their conviction towards the depths of humiliation; while their souls were quarrelling with the holiness, justice, law, wrath, curses, truth, and sovereignty of GoD, so as to throw them into the utmost tumult; they have been at length, and sometimes suddenly subdued, so as to yield, submit, and resign into the sovereign hands of CHRIST: upon which their quarrels and tumults ceasing, a Divine and wondrous calm and pleasure have immediately and genuinely succeeded.

2. Some from a lively view of the exceeding number and heinousness of their sins and vileness of their hearts, whereby they thought themselves the worst of sinners; and seeing the all-sufficiency of CHRIST in every thing but willingness to save such horrid wretches, were in great distress; but upon seeing his willingness to save even them in particular, have been overcome with joy at the view, and with such joyful views fled into his arms.

3. Some finding themselves under the love and power of sin, in wretched bondage to their lusts, to horrible suggestions, temptations, oppositions, and utter impotence to free themselves and serve the LORD with pleasure; being unexpectedly delivered, and brought into the glori ous liberties of the sons of God; they have been like those in Psal. cxxvi, When the LORD turned. again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream: then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing: the LORD hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.

4. Some laboring under such

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blindness of mind, that they could see nothing of the personal and perfect loveliness of CHRIST, have been exceedingly troubled; when they came especially on a sudden to see his perfect and transcendant loveliness, it has raised them to a transport.

5. Some who have found their hearts as hard as a rock, that they could not mourn in the least as they could perceive for their horrid sins and sinfulness, and were in the way of despair; upon their hearts dissolving with godly sorrow for their piercing CHRIST, and even the smallest sins and heart impurities, have been greatly affected with pleasure and gladness.

6. Some after all their genuine changes, their exercise of faith in CHRIST, of love unto Him, repentance, and other graces, have not yet been able to see whether these have been any other than superficial changes and common graces, and been in great perplexity; until the SPIRIT of CHRIST has shone so clearly on them as to give them joyful satisfaction.

7. Some having all the likely marks of conversion, and event some of their graces in some exercise, though very faint and łow, and their hearts exceeding cold, flat, and deadened, have been greatly discouraged; but ere they were aware, their souls have been made as the chariots Aminadib, to their great rejoicing.

8. Some have been so greatly troubled with their lamentable distance and estrangement from the blessed Jesus, as they could enjoy no rest; until he has taken them into his banquetting house, exalted them to sit in heavenly

places with Him, and so shown his glories and love unto them (his banner over them was love) as have most powerfully drawn out their hearts to an holy and transporting intimacy with Him; that in the believing views of CHRIST and sensation of this communion, they have rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory. I here write what many holy souls who had communion with CHRIST, by their experience well understand: and by sensation I mean in the like spiritual sense as when CHRIST speaks of his supping with believers and they with Him. Rev. iii, 20.

As for spiritual pride and rash judging-some lately wrought upon, especially in hours of temptation, have grievously exceeded; yea, some whom we judged to be effectually called, as well as many more who had been under very powerful and far advanced, but ineffectual operations; and who ought not to be blended with, as is the way of the prejudiced, but distinguished from the other. Yet some of the hopefully renewed are freer than others from those excesses; and I never knew the most grown, humble, and prudent saint on earth wholly with out them; for if I had, I should hold perfection in the present state: much less can we expect the new-born convert to be so humble and wise as those who have been growing in grace and knowledge for several years. Alas! every soul renewed has remains of the same corruptions (though not reigning) as before; they mix with all our graces; unbelief with faith, pride with humility, precipitant zeal or pase

sion with wisdom, rash judging of others with condemning ourselves: and he seems to be little acquainted with his own heart who sees not in himself a bent to be proud even of his own humility; and who feels not the risings of pride, especially while grace is young, even in his highest enlargements and enjoy ments, as well as in his best performances and the applauses of those about him. Even the apostle Paul himself, though one of the greatest mortification and sanctity; yet being favored of GOD with abundant revelations, found himself so strongly inclined to be above measure exalted, that if there had not been given him a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him, he would have been carried away by the natural bias; 2 Cor. xii. And what wonder is it at first to see some undue elations mix with the joys of young and little experienced Christians, before they have much time to grow in the sad, surprising, and abasing views of their remaining corruptions; which at the first sense of their change, their first joyful views of the love and glory of CHRIST, and first elevations of their faith and affections to him, they could scarce perceive, and were therefore ready to think by his blood and Spirit to be almost entirely purged away.

But with the common mixture of their remaining infirmities and corruptions, I have generally seen attending their joys, high, humble, and affectionate admira tions of the wonderful grace of GOD, and astonishing pity and condescension of the Son of his love, in becoming incarnate, dying to save them, bearing so

long with them while they have been spitting and trampling on him; and after all their abuses, sending them his embassadors and tenders of grace, employing his SPIRIT, overcoming their hearts, and opening his arms to receive them: and with these joys I have also seen all the proper expressions of their lively gratitude, love, praise, devotion to GOD their Savior, zeal for his glory; love to his word, truths, ordinances, and those in whom the meek, humble, and holy image of CHRIST appears, and concern for others. And as they soon found the activity of their love subsiding, the fountain of corruption in them rising, and their spiritual impotence in a sad degree returning; the HoLY SPIRIT has given them further views of their remaining vileness; and they have generally grown more humble and jealous of themselves, more sensible of their depending on CHRIST continually, and more meek and tender in their carriage to others.

And thus successfully did this Divine work as above described go on in town, without any lisp, as I remember, of a separation either in this town or province, for above a year and a half after Mr. Whitefield left us, viz. the end of June, 1742; when the Rev. Mr. Davenport of Long Island came to Boston. And then through the awful Providence of the sovereign GoD, the wisdom of whose ways are past finding out, we unexpectedly came to an unhappy period, which it exceedingly grieves me now to write of, though with all convenient brevity.

Friday evening, June 25, he came to Charlestown. Lord's

Day forenoon, he attended the public worship, and at the Lord's Table there: but the afternoon staid at his lodgings from an ap prehension of the minister's being unconverted, which greatly alarmed us. Monday afternoon he came over the ferry to Bos ton: which the associate pastors in this town and Charlestown, then at their stated course of meeting, hearing of, sent to signify, that we should be glad to see him; whereupon he present ly came, and we had long and friendly conferences with him about his conduct, on this and the following day.

On Thursday, July 1, we thought ourselves obliged to publish a declaration of our judgment concerning him: wherein we owned, "That he appeared to us to be truly pious, and we hoped that GOD had used him as an instrument of good to many souls; yet we judged it our duty to bear our testimony against the following particulars, 1 His being acted upon by sudden impulses. 2 His judging some ministers in Long Island and New England to be unconverted; and his thinking himself called of GOD to demand of his brethren from place to place an account of their regenerate state, when or in what manner the HOLY SPIRIT Wrought upon and renewed them. 3 His going with his friends singing through the streets and highways, to and from the houses of worship on Lord's Days and other days. 4 His encouraging private breth ren (i. e. who are not probationers for the ministry) to pray and exhort (i. e. like ministers) in assemblies gathered for that purpose. We judged it therefore

our present duty not to invite him into our places of public worship, as otherwise we might have readily done." And we concluded thus "And we take this opportunity to repeat our testimony to the great and glorious work of God, which of his free grace he has begun and is carrying on in many parts of this and the neighboring provinces; beseeching him to preserve, defend, maintain, and propagate it, in spite of all the devices of Satan against it of one kind or other; that however it may suffer by the imprudence of its friends, or by the virulent opposition of its enemies, yet it may stand as on the Rock, and the gates of hell may never prevail against it." Boston, July 1, 1742.

William Welsteed,
Benjamin Colman,
Joshua Gee,
Joseph Sewall,
Hull Abbot,*
Thomas Prince,
Mather Byles,
John Webb,

Thomas Prentice,*
William Cooper,
Ellis Gray,
Thomas Foxcroft,
Andrew Elliot,

Samuel Checkley,

Upon publishing this declaration on Friday, many were of fended: and some days after, Mr. Davenport thought himself obliged to begin in his public exercises to declare against us also; naming some as unconverted, representing the rest as Jehosaphat in Ahab's army, and exhorting the people to separate from us: which so diverted the minds of many from being concerned

*Messrs. Abbot and Prentice of

Charlestown, the rest of Boston.

about their own conversion, to think and dispute about the 'case of others; as not only seemed to put an awful stop to their awakenings, but also on all sides to roil our passions and provoke the HOLY SPIRIT in a gradual and dreadful measure to withdraw his influence.

Now a disputatious spirit most grievously prevailed among us: and what almost ever attends it, much censoriousness and reflection; which had a farther tendency to inflame and alienate, and whereof many of every party were sadly guilty. It was indeed a lamentable time; wherein we seemed to fall into such a case as the Christian Church of Corinth in the apostle's days: which had shared such a large effusion of the HOLY SPIRIT, that the apostle calls them sanctified in CHRIST; and thanked his GoD always in their behalf for the grace of Gop which was given

them by JESUS CHRIST, that in every thing they were enriched by him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of CHRIST was confirmed in them, so that they came behind in no gift: and yet he complains there were risen among them contentions, envying, strife, divisions, one saying, I am of Paul, another I am of Apollos-And they were carnal, and walked as men, &c. 1 Cor. i & iii.

And now a small number from some of our churches and congregations,* (some had been communicants formerly, and some added lately) withdrew and met in a distinct society: whereof four males and two or three females were of our communion.

(To be concluded in our next.)

• N.B. There were ten Congregational churches in town, two Presby terian, and one Baptist; besides three Episcopal congrégations.

REVIEWS.

XXIX. A Sermon delivered Jan. 19, 1812, at the request of a number of Young Gentlemen of the city of New York, who had assembled to express their condolence with the inhabitants of Richmond, on the late mournful dispensation of Providence in that city. By SAMUEL MILLER, D. D. Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in the city of New York. New York. T. and J. Swords.

THE solemn and distressing event, which occasioned this discourse, has excited the sorrow of the whole country. It was an Vol. IV. New Series.

event rarely equalled, and scarce. ly ever surpassed, in all the cir cumstances of terror and suffering. It was an awful dispensation of Providence, which not only calls for condolence with the afflicted, but ought to awaken all classes of persons, espec ially the young and thoughtless, to a serious preparation for death, the approach of which is often so unexpected, and the manner of which may be so terrible. A number of young gentlemen in the city of New York justly thought, that some extraordinary religious services would be a suitable and profitable notice of

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