And the honourable Secretary Williard about the same time writes to me thus: “But that which forebodes a more lasting advantage, is the new face of things at the college, where the impressions of religion have been, and still are very general, and many in a judgment of charity brought home to Christ; and divers gentlemen’s sons, that were sent there only for a more polite education, are now so full of zeal for the cause of Christ, and of love to souls, as to devote themselves entirely to the studies of divinity.”
In the same page he would fain tax Mr. Gilbert Tennent with a lie; for it was he wrote the account in the Weekly History, No. 1. Says he, “It is said, when Mr. Gilbert Tennent preached at Marblehead and Charles-Town, his voice had like to have been drowned with their outcries.” But he mistakes, it is not said so: for I have searched narrowly into the pamphlet and weekly history, and find no mention of an outcry, but only a great shock given at Marblehead. It was at Portsmouth. Mr. Gilbert Tennent writing to his brother says, “That there were at Portsmouth and Charles-Town, in time of sermon, such outcries that his voice had like to have been drowned.” I think Mr. Tennent is the best judge of what he heard with his own ears. Mr. A. M.’s living near Charles-Town, and having never heard a word of this from the minister with whom he frequently conversed, is no proof it was not so. It might have been so, and yet not come into the minister’s mind to tell Mr. A. M. of it.
In the same page, he finds fault with the accounts given of some 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 impose on themselves and others! Some of these I have conversed with:” but did he converse with all, or with these mentioned in the pamphlet? If not, how can he urge this as another lie in the pamphlet? I take Mr. Abercromby, who sent 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, seems resolved to condemn every thing in the gross. Indeed he speaks favourably of the church of England. “I must do justice, says 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 ministers speak against enthusiasm and bigotry every day; not above three or four at most, of some thousands that are of the episcopal persuasion, are taken with this new-light (as they call it); they all, says he, stand fast to the church, and their numbers increase very fast.”
One would imagine, by this, Mr. A. M. is a church of England man, and it should seem a bigoted one too: and then no wonder he speaks against the new-light. Their ministers I believe do preach against what I fear he terms enthusiasm, “The powerful feeling operations of the Holy Ghost.” But I cannot think they preach so much against bigotry. For in a conference I held with all three of those ministers 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 assert baptismal regeneration, deny perseverance, and free justification by faith without works, and seem to think of Mr. Gilbert Tennent just as this letter-writer does. No wonder then he is so friendly to them.
But why should I say more? it would be endless, as well as take up too much of my precious time to be more particular in my observations upon Mr. A. M.’s letter. There are some matters of fact mentioned in it, such as “a blind lad’s preaching in Connecticut, page 12. Mr. D——’s manner of preaching in a hot day, page 13,” and some 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 delusion. Ere long I hope to see Boston. Then I will endeavour to send an impartial account. Indeed Mr. A. M. page 17. seems not to care for my return to Boston. But I hope to have a prosperous journey to them in some months, by the will of God, and see how they do.
In the mean while, give me leave to observe, that the publishers of this pamphlet (for I believe there are more than one concerned in it) have almost saved 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 sermons preached by some of the most eminent ministers in New-England, lately printed at Boston.” But these extracts by no means contain proofs of all the facts recorded in the foregoing letter, consequently all the facts in the letter which are not proved by these extracts, we have reason to doubt of. I have not an opportunity of getting all the sermons of the reverend ministers mentioned in the title page: but it grieved me, when I saw extracts taken out of their writings to prove, that the work lately begun and carried on in New-England was enthusiasm and delusion. This was the chief reason of my writing you this letter; it will grieve them to hear that their writings have been used to so bad a purpose. The compilers of the pamphlet have dealt with their sermons, as the devil dealt with the scripture, when he tempted our Lord in the wilderness; I mean, marred and wholly misapplied them. The publishers stile them, at the head of the appendix, some of the most eminent ministers in New-England; and depend much upon their authority, to prove the facts of Mr. A. M.’s letter. And I desire no other authority than these very eminent ministers sermons, out of which the extracts are taken, to prove that the work lately begun and carried on in New-England is not enthusiasm and delusion, but a great and marvellous work of the Spirit of God.
The compilers, indeed, in order to make the world believe they had been impartial, have published a sentence or two, wherein Dr. Colman has written favourably of the Orphan-house in Georgia, and says, “the order of it is admirable, &c.” but this is only a disguise. For they have been far from acting fair in this respect. The Doctor complains in the P. S. of that letter, page 44. that “some of my friends have made too free with my letters in printing only part of them, and mixing them with parts of others without distinction.” 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 person concerned; but as for mixing them with others, without distinction, I know nothing of it. The letters were sent to me from the Doctor. I thought it would be improper to publish any other parts of the Doctor’s letters than what respected the success of the glorious gospel, and that I thought he would gladly have published: but if the Doctor found fault with my friends; I am sure he justly may blame these compilers who have published only part of this letter of his. One would have thought they should have taken a caution from this very P. S. But they were afraid, as it would seem, of the contents of it; for a friend who has seen and read the whole letter, sends me the following extract out of it. “I hope we are retrenching our superfluity and luxury; our young people have thrown by much of their finery and gaiety, and seem to have eye and heart on things spiritual and heavenly; and if God build them up into families, with their present prudent pious dispositions, it promises 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 says 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 visit to us.” I have a sermon of the Doctor’s now before me, intitled, “The word of God magnified by him,” preached April 22, 1742, “wherein his testimony is humbly given for the great and wondrous work of God’s grace manifest in many parts of the land.” The last paragraph of that sermon begins thus, “I close with giving glory to God, for the great and good work of his grace which he hath so visibly begun, spread, and is carrying on in every part almost of our provinces.” This very sermon I believe has been in the hands of the compilers of this pamphlet. How then could they be so bare-faced, and so injurious, to the good man’s character, as to print any part of his letter, to subserve so base a design? I believe they will not have the Doctor’s thanks for this.
The like treatment they have given the Rev. Mr. Turell, another of the eminent ministers, from whom they have taken extracts to prove the facts of Mr. A. M.’s letter. I am persuaded Mr. Turell will be much concerned to find any part of his sermon thus misused; and how the compilers of this pamphlet could dare to make this use of his writing, I cannot imagine; for, in the very first page of the preface to that very sermon, out of which they have taken their extracts, he speaks of himself “as one of the friends and zealous promoters of the good work:” nay he begins his preface with these words, “the occasion of my publishing this brief direction to my people, is partly to vindicate my character, which has been injured by a report spread, that of a zealous promoter of the glorious work of God’s grace and Spirit appearing, I am become an opposer:” which shews, that Mr. Turell would not care to be represented as an opposer of that work, and consequently would not chuse, that his writings should be produced to prove the principal facts in this letter of A. M.’s, who would represent the whole as enthusiasm and delusion.
What opinion Mr. Turell had of persons of this gentleman’s spirit, is evident from the fourth page of the same preface, which the compilers of the pamphlet could not but see. His words are these, “As for the profane triumphs of the opposers, (of such I mean) who attribute the whole of this glorious scene to the devil, or wild enthusiasm, a heated imagination, &c. I detest their opinion, though I am far from judging their state. I am confident that of the many that I have discoursed with under the common impressions (two or three excepted) they have been all wrought upon in a way agreeable to the gospel: and just as I should have desired some years ago. And I must testify, to the glory of God, and his sovereign rich grace, that I do behold the distinguishing marks of God’s spirit on many. My brethren, let us pray for the preservation, revival, progress, and universal spread thereof.” In page 14. of his directions, he says, “I charitably believe, some scores in this place have been seriously wrought upon; and the far greater part of them have declared, God has made me the happy instrument of their awakening.” And, page 18, says he, “the names of Whitefield and Tennent (though liable to err) I have once and again mentioned to you with honour; they have been raised by God to do abundance of good.” How does this agree with the account Mr. A. M. gives of the spirit raised by us, and with that scandalous character he gives of Mr. Tennent in particular; and when these quotations are parts also of one of the treatises, out of which one of the extracts mentioned in the appendix is taken, and are written by one of those eminent ministers whose writings are referred to, to prove the principal facts recorded in Mr. A. M.’s letter.
But what surprises me most of all is, that they should extract any thing from Mr. Parsons to prove Mr. A. M.’s matters of fact. Indeed, in the passage cited from him, page 41 of the pamphlet, to use the words in the Glasgow Weekly History, No. 35. I see only a warning against rashly concluding persons to be in a converted state; because, some who have been thus well judged of do afterwards fall away into errors, or appear to be deluded, or turn out impostors; and the warning enforced by an instance, and indeed but by one instance, of a person who was a visionary. Mr. Parsons’s caution to others against concluding too rashly that people are converted, is a presumption, that he is cautious in that matter himself; yet in this very sermon of Mr. Parsons’s, out of which the extracts mentioned in the appendix are taken, he says, page 44, “I hope not less than an hundred and fifty souls are converted in about nine months past:” though his parish is small, consisting only of 120 families. I could heartily wish that the whole sermon was printed; it is directly levelled in many parts of it against persons of Mr. A. M.’s spirit and sentiments, and is intended as a needful caution for those lately converted, to avoid extremes, and take care to walk consistently. He has all along been a great promoter of this work: in a letter dated December 16, 1741, to Dr. Colman, and which is printed in the Weekly History, he mentions a most wonderful effusion of the Holy Ghost in his congregation. In that letter he makes an honourable mention of Mr. Tennent: “I have reason, says he, to bless the Lord that he sent him for our help; and indeed by an enquiry since, I find his labours were blessed to give a more general shock than appeared at the very time.”