Page images
PDF
EPUB

abfolutely falfe confequently, whatever he builds upon the foundation of Mr. Tennent's bad character, amounts to nothing at all, fince he has not proved the character given of him to be true.

But fuppofe Mr. Tennent was the man he is reprefented to be, does it therefore follow that all the great and glorious work carried on in New-England, by other minifters, and in other places where Mr. Tennent and I never were, is enthufiafm and delufion? By no means; and yet this is the whole drift of the pamphlet.

Surely the writer knows not what spirit he is of. In the 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10th pages, he represents things in a most ridiculous drefs, and takes upon him to condemn all the converts, to a man, (though he could not poffibly be acquainted with the hundredth part of them,) as "Self-conceited, fuperftitious, enthufiaftic, cenforious, flanderous." At the fame time he seems to ridicule the concern which the people were under when they were brought to cry out, "What shall we do to be faved." He laughs at them for afking one another "How do you feel? have you feen CHRIST?" He boldly afferts, that "the boafted converts, not one in a hundred excepted, make religion confift, in the feeling of inward impulfes, impreffions, and in an inexplicable faith, joys, extafies, hearing of fermons, and fuch like." In fhort, he by this and the whole drift of his letter, feems to me to be far from deferving the character given of him, in the advertisement affixed to the title-page of the pamphlet.

Page the 11th, he falls foul of Mr. Moorhead, and speaks almost as freely of him as of Mr. Tennent. I cannot fay I was very intimate with Mr. Moorhead when at Boston: but the letters that have lately come from him, and from others concerning him, bespeak him to be a man of a good spirit, and one whom GOD has bleffed with abundant fuccefs. And I have

great reafon to believe that he is a man not over credulous: because I have heard from his friends here, that he did not overmuch favour the work of God that was at Northampton in New-England fome years ago, and therefore probably, would not readily favour the late work in Boston and other parts, had he not fufficient evidence that it was a work of GOD.

Page

Page 14th, The letter writer takes upon him to affert, "That a pamphlet published in Scotland, intitled, Chrift riding in the Chariot of Salvation, is ftuffed with abominable lies." As a proof of it, he urges, "That the students in Boften, got nothing by Whitefield and Tennent but enthufiafm, pride, a contempt of their betters, &c." What they got by me I know not; but I have great reason to believe they got fomething that was good, under GoD, by Mr. Tennent; for Dr. Colman, in a letter to me, which was printed in the Glasgow Weekly HiStory, No. 1, writes, "At Cambridge the college is entirely changed; the ftudents are full of GOD, will I hope come out bleffings in their generation, and I truft are so now to each other. Many of them are now, we think, truly born again, and feveral of them happy inftruments of converfion to their fellows. The voice of prayer and praise fills their chambers;· and fincerity, fervency, and joy, with feriousness of heart, fit vifibly on their faces. I was told yesterday that not seven of a hundred remain unaffected. I know how the good tidings. of this will affect and pleafe you. GOD give you like joy, every where in the fruit of your labours."

And the honourable Secretary Williard about the fame time writes to me thus: "But that which forebodes a more lafting advantage, is the new face of things at the college, where the impreffions of religion have been, and still are very general, and many in a judgment of charity brought home to CHRIST; and divers gentlemen's fons, that were fent there only for a more polite education, are now fo full of zeal for the cause of CHRIST, and of love to fouls, as to devote themselves entirely to the ftudies of divinity."

In the fame page he would fain tax Mr. Gilbert Tennent with a lie; for it was he wrote the account in the Weekly Hiflory, No. 1. Says he, "It is faid, when Mr. Gilbert Tennent preached at Marblehead and Charles-Town, his voice had like to have been drowned with their outcries." But he miftakes, it is not faid fo: for I have fearched narrowly into the pamphlet and weekly hiftory, and find no mention of an butcry, but only a great fhock given at Marblehead. It was at Portsmouth. Mr. Gilbert Tennent writing to his brother fays, "That there were at Portsmouth and Charles-Town, in time of fermon, fuch outcries that his voice had like to have been drowned."

F 3

drowned."I think Mr. Tennent is the best judge of what he heard with his own ears. Mr. A. M.'s livig near CharlesTown, and having never heard a word of this from the minifter with whom he frequently onverfed, is no proof it was not fo. It might have been fo, and yet not come into the minifter's mind to tell Mr. A. M. of it!!

1

In the fame page, he finds fault with the accounts given of fome young children who talked of the things of GOD as if they were people of 70 or 80 years. Alas! how easily are mankind deceived! How fond are they to impofe on themfelves and others! Some of thefe I have converfed with " but did he converfe with all, or with thefe mentioned in the pamphlet ? If not, how can he urge this as another lie in the pamphlet? I take Mr. Abercromby, who fent the account of the children, and who is a preacher of good character, to be a better judge of the matter than Mr. A. M. But this anonymous letter-writer, feems refolved to condemn every thing in the grofs. Indeed he speaks favourably of the church of England. I must do juftice, fays he, to the church of England," page 16. "There are three congregations of that way in Boston: they all live in love and peace; their minifters speak against enthusiasm and bigotry every day; not above three or four at most, of fome thousands that are of the epifcopal perfuafion, are taken with this new-light (as they call it); they all, fays he, ftand faft to the church, and their numbers increafe very faft."

One would imagine, by this, Mr. A. M. is a church of England man, and it fhould feem a bigoted one too: and then no wonder he speaks against the new-light. Their minifters I believe do preach against what I fear he terms enthufiafm, "The powerful feeling operations of the Holy Ghoft." But I cannot think they preach fo much against bigotry. For in a conference I held with all three of thofe minifters in Boston, the head of them, to prove that we ought all to be of the church of England, brought this text, "That they may be all one, even as thou O father and I are one." They affert baptifmal regeneration, deny perseverance, and free juftification by faith without works, and feem to think of Mr. Gilbert Tennent juft as this letter-writer docs. No wonder then he is fo friendly to them.

را

[ocr errors]

But

But why fhould I fay more? it would be endless, as well as take up too much of my precious time to be more particular in my obfervations upon Mr. 4. M's letter. There are fome matters of fact mentioned in it, fuc), as a blind lad's preaching in Connecticut, page 12. Mr. D's manner of preaching in a hot day, page 13," and fome other things, which I cannot take upon me to make replies to, and which, if true, will by no means prove the late work of God in New-England to be only enthusiasm and delufion, Ere long I hope to fee Boston. Then I will endeavour to fend an impartial account. Indeed, Mr. A. M. page 17. feems not to care for my return to Boston. But I hope to have a profperous journey to them in fome months, by the will of GoD, and fee how they do. In the mean while, give me leave to obferve, that the pub

W

lifhers of this pamphlet (for I believe there are more th

L

[ocr errors]

one concerned in it) have almoft faved me the trouble, and have taken an effectual way to confute themselves. For they have annexed to this letter, an "Appendix, containing proofs for the facts in the foregoing letter, extracted from fermons preached by fome of the most eminent minifters in New-England, lately printed at Boston." But thefe extracts by no means contain proofs of all the facts recorded in the foregoing letter, confequently all the facts in the letter which are not proved by these extracts, we have reafon to doubt of. I have not an opportunity of getting all the fermons of the reverend minifters mentioned in the title page: but it grieved me, when I faw extracts taken out of their writings to prove, that the work lately begun and carried on in New-England was enthufiafm and delufion. This was the chief reafon of my writing you this letter; it will grieve them to hear that their writings have been used to fo bad a purpofe. The compilers of the pamphlet have dealt with their fermons, as the devil dealt with the fcripture, when he tempted our LORD in the wilderness I mean, marred and wholly mifapplied them. The publishers file them, at the head of the appendix, fome of the moft eminent minifters in New-England; and depend much upon their authority, to prove the facts of Mr. A. M's letter. And I defire no other authority than thefe very eminent minifters fermons, out of which the extracts are taken, to prove that the work lately begun and carried on in New-England is not en

[ocr errors]

के

F 4

thufiafm

[ocr errors]

thusiasm and delufion, but a great and marvellous work of the Spirit of God.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

The compilers, indeed, in order to make the world believe they had been impartial, have, publifhed at fentence or two, wherein Dr. Colman has written favourably of the Orphanhouse in Georgia, and fays, "the order of it is admirable, &c.' but this is only a difguife. For they have been far from acting fair in this refpect. The Doctor complains in the P. S. of that letter, page 44. that "fome of my friends have made too free with my letters in printing only part of them, and mixing them with parts of others without diftinction." I think it is my duty to take all the blame from off my friends, upon myself, as to printing only parts of his letters; for I was the only perfon concerned; but as for mixing them with others, without diftinction, I know nothing of it. The letters were fent to me from the Doctor. I thought it would be improper to publish any other parts of the Doctor's letters than what refpected the fuccefs of the glorious gospel, and that I thought he would gladly have published: but if the Doctor found fault with my friends; I am fure he justly may blame these compilers who have published only part of this letter of his. One would have thought they fhould have taken a caution from this very P. S. But they were afraid, as it would feem, of the contents of it; for a friend who has feen and read the whole letter, fends me the following extract out of it. I hope we are retrenching our fuperfluity and luxury; our young people have thrown by much of their finery and gaiety, and feem to have eye and heart on things fpiritual and heavenly; and if GOD build them up into families, with their prefent prudent pious difpofitions, it promifes greatly for the next generation, that glory will dwell in our land, and his work appear to children's children." And in that very part of it they have printed, the Doctor fays enough to overthrow the whole design of the pamphlet, page 42. "All this notwithstanding, there has been a great and glorious work of GOD going on among us, from the day of Mr. Whitefield's vifit to us." I have a fermon of the Doctor's now before me, intitled," The word of GOD magnified by him," preached April 22, 1742, wherein his teftimony is humbly given for the great and wondrous work of Gop's grace manifeft in many parts of

the

« PreviousContinue »