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LETTERS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. DR/BEECHER AND REV. MR. NETTLETON. 
 
 'NEW MEASURES" 
 
 IN 
 
 CONDUCTING REVIVALS OF RELIGION. 
 
 WITH A 
 
 REVIEW OF A SERMON, 
 
 BY NOVANGLUS. 
 
 If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put t(wmore strength : but wii- 
 dora is profitable to direct. Eccles. x. 10. 
 
 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets ; for God is not the author of confu- 
 sion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 1 Cor. xiv. 32, 33. 
 
 Let all things be done decently, and in order. 1 Cor. xiv. 40. 
 
 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good ; and he that hasteth with his feet sin- 
 neth. Prov. xix. 2. 
 
 The Lord was not in the earthquake. 1 Kings xix. 11. 
 
 Of some have compassion, making a difference ; and others save with fear, pulhng them out of 
 the fire : hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Jude 22, 23. 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF SEVERAL GENTLEMEN OF THE 
 CITY OF NEW-YORK. 
 
 NEW- YORK: 
 G. &. C. CARVILL. BROADWAY. 
 
 1828. 
 
Southern Dishiel o/JVen- York, st. 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the seventeenth day of January, A. D. 1G28, in the 
 fifty-second year of the Independence of the United States of -America, G. & C. Carvill, 
 of the said District, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they 
 claim as proprietors, in the Avords following, to wit : 
 
 Letters of the Rev. Dr Beecher and Rev. Mr. Nettleton, on the " New Measures" in con- 
 ducting; Revivals of Religion. With a Review of a Sermon, by Novaiiglus. 
 * If the iron be bhint and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength : but 
 ■wisdom i.s prnf.lable to direct Kccles x. '0. 
 
 And the spirits of the priiphets are subject tn the prophets; for God is not the author of con- 
 fusion, but of peace, as in all churches (if the saints. I Cor .siv. 32, 33. 
 
 Let all things be done ('ecently. and in order. 1 Cor xiv. 40, 
 
 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good ; and he that hasteth with his feet 
 sJnneth. Prov xix 2. 
 
 The Lord was not in the earthquake. I Kings xix 11 
 
 Of some have compassion, making a difference •. and others save with fear, pulling them out 
 of the fire: hating even the garment spotted by the flesh Ju(te22, 23 
 
 Published at the request of several gentlemen of the city of New-York. 
 
 In conformity to the Act of Congress of the United States, entitled, " An Act for the 
 encouragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps. Charts, and Books, to the authors 
 and proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned." And also to an Act, 
 entitled " an Act, supplementary to an Act, entitled an Act for the encouragement of Learn- 
 ing, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such 
 copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of 
 designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints " 
 
 FRED. J. BETTP, 
 Clerk qf the Southern District of Nen- York. 
 
 3. SETMOUR, PRINTER, JOHK-^TREST. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The importance of religion, in each and all of its 
 multiform relations, surpasses the comprehension of 
 mortals, as it can be fully resolved only by the intel- 
 ligence of God. Other things are known by compa- 
 rison ; but religion is so transcendent, that all other 
 things are Jess than nothing in the contrast, and 
 Avorse than nothing in the rivalry of this ! Phil. iii. 8. 
 But this view of the matter evinces its importance in 
 relation merely to men. It has also a relation to God, 
 its author, patron, and avenger : since, with religion, 
 and its advancement on his footstool, are connected 
 the development of his glory, the honour of his wor- 
 ship, and the venerableness of his name ! Precious 
 in his sight are the ark of his covenant, the lustre of 
 his mercy-seat, and the glory of his righteousness. 
 
 In this aspect of the subject, the purity of religion 
 is as important as religion itself; and for this valid 
 reason, genuine religion is, strictly speaking, the only 
 religion. So thought the apostle, when he wrote 
 on this topic to the Galatian church, in respect to the 
 influence of certain innovators, who, on pretence of 
 improving the religion of Christ, were really adulte- 
 rating and destroying it. 
 
 Every departure from the truth and order of" the 
 glorious gospel of the blessed God," is to be depre- 
 cated. It is either a corruption of the gospel, or a 
 fearful approximation towards it. Obsta principiis., re- 
 sist the beginnings, is the counsel of wisdom. God 
 would not have given so much instruction on this 
 identical point, as the bible contains, if much had not 
 
IV 
 
 been necessary. Many rays are emitted at his order 
 from the natural sun, as the means of making our 
 day ; but who, that loves the light, will deem one of 
 them superfluous ? 
 
 The importance of truth in religion, as that which 
 brightens our moral atmosphere and makes our day, 
 is perhaps more frequently admitted than the im- 
 portance of order. Truth and order are view^ed 
 as if so distinct, as to possess almost nothing in com- 
 mon. What is this, but to mistake them ? They are 
 near relations, and almost inseparable intimates ! The 
 value of truth is in subserviency to order; and sub- 
 jective religion is that influence of truth which, 
 " through the eternal Spirit," restores and establish- 
 es order in the mind. Hence a religious man is one 
 who, through the truth, becomes " sober minded ;" 
 having his thoughts, feelings^ motives, and conduct, 
 all subordinated to his divine Superior, and ordered \n 
 all relations according to the will of God. Such a 
 man, in proportion as he is religious and experienced^ 
 delights in universal order; loves it in individuals 
 and communities, in things sacred and things secular, 
 in the relations of life, domestic, social, civil, and ec- 
 clesiastical. To be the enemy of order, is to be the 
 enemy of God : and to seek the advancement of reli- 
 gion by the measures of disorder, is to misunderstand 
 its nature; to exercise zeal at the expense of godli- 
 ness; and to frustrate the end by the means we 
 adopt to promote it. Unless we w^ould justify the 
 policy of the Jesuit, and imitate the " pious frauds" of 
 the Romish propaganda^ and so forego our claim to 
 the honour of protestant Christianity, let us remember 
 that the end cannot sanctify or change the moral na- 
 ture of the means ; and that all our measures in reli- 
 
giou, are first to be sustained in the court of con- 
 science, in regard to the purity of the means and mo- 
 tives which they involve, and then carried forth into 
 performance to the glory (5f God. Otherwise, we 
 shall sin in the pursuit of the best ends ; and what is 
 worse to us, be blinded against the truth that would 
 work our correction. 
 
 The recent collisions of sentiment, concerning the 
 proper method of conducting religious revivals^ have but 
 revived a well known controversy. Not only in our 
 own times, but in all ages of the world, have its la- 
 tent principles been agitated in the visible church. 
 Since the period ofthe reformation, they have been 
 more frequent and obtrusive. In the time of Luther, 
 the spirit of disorganizing appeared, to disparage 
 the cause of truth, to vex its noble "helpers," and to 
 aid the malice of the exterior foe. The civil agita- 
 tions ofthe time of Cromwell, were but the counter- 
 part, perhaps the consequence, of a worse radicalism 
 in the church. The mounds of order were demolish- 
 ed, the friends of order were denounced; and no- 
 thing was spiritual that did not disclaim manhood in 
 understandings and enlist in a furious crusade against 
 truth and soberness. Nor have we wanted the ex- 
 periment in our own country. The times of Edwards 
 and Whitfield witnessed the currency of counterfeits, 
 and were scourged with the principles, from which, 
 as a general mint, the spurious coinage proceeded. 
 Whoever reads with attention the fourth part of Ed- 
 wards on the revivals in jYeiv-Eno-land, will be convinc- 
 ed that our present dissention is itself no novelty : 
 perhaps he will believe also, that if " truth and so- 
 berness" be with the sentiments of Edwards on this 
 subject, there is sober and just ground to suspect 
 
VI 
 
 the propriety of " means and measures," which, in 
 some respects, are rightly termed "new;" for they 
 have not, till of late, been extensively revived in our 
 times. The concluding part of the life of Brainard 
 inspires the same conviction. Recent events, for a 
 few years seem to betoken a struggle for principles in 
 this matter, to which we may be fast approaching, and 
 the catastrophe of which we may be equally unable 
 to avert or endure. In the mean time, however, it 
 becomes all parties to be cautious ; " Walking cir- 
 cumspectly, not as fools, but as wise." Let us hear 
 to the counsel of apostles, and digest \i prayerfully^ be- 
 fore we act or speak in a cause, of which the right 
 or the wrong may not be exclusively on either side. 
 "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be 
 judged." 1 Cor. xi. 31. 
 
 Our reasons for the publication of these letters in 
 their present form, are several ; a persuasion of their 
 excellence and prospective utility; a regard to the in- 
 terests of the church in future ages, to whom these do- 
 cuments may be serviceable : their greater convenience 
 in the pamphlet form for the perusal of general read- 
 ers; a demand from many quarters, where the contro- 
 versy is in some degree appreciated, or where an inte- 
 rest in its principles begins to be apparent ; an anti- 
 cipation of the possibility that there may be special use 
 for these letters in their combined state, even before 
 our age has passed away, either in the way of preven- 
 tion or of cure ; and, especially, a desire to give to all 
 our contemporaries that admonitory counsel against 
 the genius of religious extravagance, which perhaps 
 some of them need, and which these letters are deem- 
 ed peculiarly competent to afford : nor will we con- 
 ceal, among the motives that induce this publica- 
 
Vll 
 
 tion, a wi^h for the discrimination o( persons as con- 
 nected v/ith principles ; at least so far as to demon- 
 strate, on the subject of rehgious revivals, what are, 
 and what are noiy the views of such excellent and ac- 
 credited fathers in the church, as those whose names 
 occur as the writers of these letters — names that 
 will, v/e doubt not, remain when all combustible matter 
 shall have passed away, and be held " in everlasting 
 remembrance." We wish to have responsibility un- 
 derstood in relation to its proper subjects; so that 
 if these "means and measures" should still be main- 
 tained, and should finally succeed, we may know^ 
 whom to praise, under God, for the w^isdom that ap- 
 plied, and the patience that sustained, and the cou- 
 rage that defended them : and if they fail ; if they 
 induce desolation to the churches ; if their pathway 
 shall hereafter be traced by the burning of their 
 progress ; if their consequences should prove widely 
 ruinous, and confessedly wrong in the end ; if the 
 worst anticipations of these letters should be at last 
 realized, or, possibly, transcended, — that it may be at 
 least known, though our heads should then be low in 
 dust, and known by witnesses that we furnished, and 
 that shall survive and faithfully interpret us, that some 
 were not their patrons ; and especially that such names as 
 Nettleton, and Beecher, and Porter, to say nothing 
 of others, ivere not responsible for their devastation ! This 
 has been, especially with Mr, Nettleton, as we have 
 understood and believed, one great motive in all the 
 publications ; as we know that his mind felt relief, 
 and his conscience enjoyed the solace of peaceful- 
 ness, when his letters were first published to the 
 world, from the consideration that he had done an 
 important duty,— not, as we believe, without self-de- 
 
V]|1 
 
 nial and real diffidence in other respects, more than 
 would be appreciated, if declared, in the present 
 world. We have no disposition to exalt the man, 
 though we have yet to learn it if there be no differ- 
 ence between flattery and praise ; or, if it be wrong 
 to " receive him in the Lord with all gladness, and 
 hold such in reputation, or even to esteem them very 
 highly in love for their work's sake." Besides, his 
 name is now associated with principles which are 
 endeared to a large and enlightened circle of Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 For the sake of religion, we think it of great mo- 
 ment that these letters should be read from the auto- 
 graphs of their writers, or at least from printed co- 
 pies which confess their names, and can be subject- 
 ed to their scrutiny and sanction ; and especially that 
 candidates for the ministry should become thoroughly 
 acquainted with them ; lest, on the one hand, through 
 ignorance or mistake, they become prejudiced 
 against the very name of revivals ; or, on the other, 
 so wedded to incorrect principles, and that proba- 
 bly from profound ignorance of the true, that their 
 future influence shall sweep us as with the spirit of 
 the whirlwind, or the death-blast of the sirocco; till 
 all that has been dreaded, as the legitimate result of 
 erroneous principles, shall be visited upon the ruined 
 churches of our land : an evil not to be borne by our 
 children, and which ought to be foreseen, and, if 
 possible, prevented, by the wisdom, the firmness, and 
 the prayerfulness of their fathers. 
 
Copy of a httttr to the Rev. Mr, Aikm\ of Utica, 
 
 Albany, Jan. 13, 1827. 
 
 My DEAit BROTHER — Would that I had time and strength^ 
 to give you particulars on the state of religion in this region 
 and elsewhere. In Albany it is interesting. But I have 
 great fears that the disposition of some zealous Christians 
 round about us, to proclaim it abroad, and to run before their 
 own hearts and the real state of things, will run it out into 
 noise. I have already felt the evil. I find that many are dis- 
 posed to make ten times as much of the same state of things 
 as I have been in the habit of doing, though they know but 
 a small part of what I have seen in this place. I have met 
 a number 'of circles of different kinds. Some are rejoic- 
 ing in hope, and a number anxious for their souls. Various 
 reports have gone out concerning a Revival in Albany, which 
 have done us much mischief. If they would let us alone, I 
 should expect a great work in this city. But among so much 
 noise and bluster of Christians, it promises fair to end in 
 smoke. But after all, the good people here are astonished 
 at our stillness. My opinion is, that had they been ten times 
 as still, they would already have witnessed ten times as 
 much. 
 
 Seven years ago, about two thousand souls were hopefully 
 born into the kingdom, in this vicinity, in our own denomina- 
 tion, with comparative stillness. But the times have altered. 
 The kingdom of God now cometh with great observation. 
 Opposition from the world is always to be expected. It is 
 idle for any minister to expect a Revival without it. But 
 when it enters the church of God, the friends of Zion, cannot 
 but take the alarm. 
 
 There is doubtless a work of grace in Troy. Many sin- 
 ners have hopefully been born into the kingdom ; but it has 
 been at an awful expense. Many of our first ministers have 
 visited the place, to ^vitness for themselves. Such men as 
 Dr. Griffin, Dr. Porter of Catskill, Dr. Nott, Mr. Tucker, 
 Mr. Cornelius, and many more. Some of them have heard 
 a number of sermons. After giving credit for preaching 
 much truth, they uniformly say, " I never heard the names of 
 God used with such irreverence." Dr. Griffin gave me a 
 number of specimens. I do not wish to retail them. The 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 church in Troy is greatly divided. Some have taken a dis- 
 mission ; others are consulting neighbouring ministers about 
 the path of duty ; and others are beginning to attend v\^orship 
 by themselves. 
 
 But the worst is not told. The spirit of denunciation 
 which has grown out of the mode of conducting the revivals 
 at the West, is truly alarming. We do not call in question 
 the genuineness of that revival, or the purity of the motives 
 of those who have been the most active in it. You, doubt- 
 less, are reaping and rejoicing in their happy fruits. But the 
 evils to which I allude, are felt by the churches abroad; 
 members of which have gone out to catch the spirit, and have 
 returned, some grieved, others soured, and denouncing 
 ministers, colleges. Theological Seminaries, and have set 
 whole churches by the ears, and kept them in turmoil for 
 months together. Some students in divinity have done more 
 mischief in this way than they can ever repair. I could men- 
 tion names, but for exposing them. Some ministers and pro- 
 fessors of religion have been to Troy, from the surrounding- 
 region, on purpose to catch the flame, and have returned 
 home, saying, " We do not want such a revival as they have 
 in Troy." 
 
 I went down to H a short time since, and spent a 
 
 Sabbath, and there met seven or eight ministers from vari- 
 ous parts ; and you would be perfectly astonished to hear 
 them tell the troubles which have been introduced into their 
 
 churches from the western revivals. The church in H 
 
 has been in a complete turmoil all summer long, occasioned 
 by a student in divinity, who had heard Mr. Finney.* He 
 commenced operations to have a revival on the new plan. 
 He found fault with every thing the settled minister was doing, 
 and raised an angry dispute about females praying in pro- 
 miscuous assemblies. He went about trying to raise a party 
 to " break down the Pastor," as he called it. I cannot be 
 particular — only, before he came to the place, there was 
 some attention, and a few conversions. But a desperate 
 attempt to introduce the practice of females praying with 
 males, raised an angry dispute which lasted all summer. 
 And they had a revival of anger in the church, but no more 
 conversions. Tliis account I had from the lips of the minis- 
 ter of the place, his wife, and session. That you may un- 
 derstand my meaning, I have given this only as a specimen. 
 
 •■•'' Ho had been in the western revivals and adopted the new measures, 
 y-we say that he had not then heard Mr. F. Of this circumstance I was 
 nut infurmednutil after this letter was wrilUn, 
 
11 
 
 The evil is running in all directions. A number of 
 churches have experienced a revival of anger, wrath, malice, 
 envy, and evil-speaking, without the knowledge of a single 
 conversion, — merely in consequence of a desperate attempt 
 to introduce these new measures. Those ministers and 
 Christians who have heretofore been most and longest ac- 
 quainted with revivals, are most alarmed at the spirit which 
 has grown out of the revivals of the West. This spirit has, 
 no doubt, greatly deteriorated by transportation. As we now 
 have it, the great contest is among professors of religion — 
 a civil war in Zion — a domestic broil in the household of faith» 
 The friends of Brother Finney are certainly doing him and 
 the cause of Christ great mischief. They seem more anxious 
 to convert ministers and Christians to their peculiarities, than 
 to convert souls to Christ. 
 
 It is just such a contest as I have sometimes seen, in its in- 
 cipient stages, in New-England, between some young revival 
 ministers on the one side, and whole associations of minis- 
 ters on the other. The young revival ministers, wishing to 
 extend the work into all the churches, in their zeal would 
 enter the limits of settled Pastors and commence their ope- 
 rations, and plead my own example for all their movements ; 
 and so the war would begin. And all those ministers who 
 would not yield the reins and sanction their imprudences, 
 would be sure to be proclaimed as enemies to revivals. 
 Being thus defeated, these young ministers would come to 
 me to make their complaints, and to work on my mind the 
 conviction that all those ministers were enemies to myself; 
 whereas the whole evil lay in a violation of all the rules of 
 ministerial order and Christian meekness, or in the inexpe- 
 rience, ignorance, and imprudence of these young ministers. 
 I am sorry to speak thus of my best friends ; but it is due to 
 my brethren to say, that those very ministers, who had been 
 thus slandered by my young brethren, have since come to me 
 with tears, urging me to visit their flocks. There is not one 
 of them but would bid me a welcome, and would rejoice in 
 a revival ; but they would not invite these young ministers to 
 preach for them who had been so rash in their proceedings, 
 and guilty of slandering them as stupid, and dead, and ene- 
 mies of revivals. In this manner some of the most promis- 
 ing young revival ministers have run themselves out, and lost 
 the confidence of settled Pastors and Christians in general. 
 
 The spirit of denunciation which has grown out of these 
 Western revivals, seems to be owing to the implicit confi- 
 dence which has been placed in the proceedings of just such 
 young ministers as leaders. They dared not attempt to cor- 
 rect any of their irregularities, for fear of doing mischief, or 
 
9f being denounced as enemies to revivalg. This I know to 
 be the SlcU Brother Finney himself has been scarcely three 
 years in the ministry, and has had no time to look at conse- 
 quences. He has gone, with all the zeal of a young convert, 
 without a friend to check or guide him. And I have no doubt 
 that he begins with astonishment to look at the evils which 
 are running before him. 
 
 The account which his particular friends give of his 
 proceedings, is, in substance, as follows : He has got mi- 
 nisters to agree with him only by " crushing,'' or " break- 
 ing them down."* The method by which he does it, 
 is by creating a necessity, by getting a few individuals in 
 a church to join him, and then all those who will not go 
 all lengths with him are denounced as enemies to revivals ; 
 and rather than have such a bad name, one and another falls 
 in to defend him : and then they proclaim what ministers, 
 elders, and men of influence, have been " crushed" or 
 " broken down." This moral influence being increased, 
 others are denounced, in a similar manner, as standing out, 
 and leading sinners to hell. And to get rid of the noise, and 
 save himself, another will " break down." And so they wax 
 liotter and hotter, until the church is fairly split in twain. 
 And now, as for those elders and Christians, who have thus 
 been converted to these measures ; some of them are send- 
 ing out private word to their Christian friends abroad, as fol- 
 lows : " I have been fairly skinned by the denunciations of 
 these men, and have ceased to oppose them, to get rid of 
 their noise. But I warn you not to introduce this spirit into 
 your church and society." And so. Brother Finney's sup- 
 posed friends, men of influence, are sending out word to warn 
 others to beware of the evils which they have experienced. 
 I heartily pity Brother Finney, for I believe him to be a good 
 man, and wishing to do good. But nobody dares tell him 
 that a train of causes is set in operation, and urged on by his. 
 own friendsj which is likely to ruin his usefulness. 
 
 I have become acquainted with some of the young preach- 
 ers who profess to have taken their stamp from Brother Fin- 
 ney. I do not believe that there is much in them of the 
 original. I am sorry to say, that the spirit which they mani- 
 fest, and unwittingly diffuse, appears to me to resemble any 
 thir\g rather than the " wisdom which is from above," or the 
 
 ^ The phrases, " blistered," and " skinned,'* and " broken down," and 
 *' <?r«shed" were coined and are current only amongf the friends of the new 
 iW^^ures. This language I took from their own lips, and was careful to 
 give credit by inverted commas. And yet when the above was read in the 
 Oneida Presbytery, t,he language sounded so. harsh when used by others, 
 that one of these very men Femarked that " the man who wrote it wa» in- 
 stigated by the devil." 
 
13 
 
 ** fruits pf the Spirit." The minister who should exhort 
 Christians in the following strain, " Put on, therefore, as the 
 elect ot God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, 
 humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one 
 another, and forgiving one another," I fear would be de- 
 nounced as being far, " very far, behind the spirit of tho 
 times." They do cultivate, and awaken in others, what very 
 much resembles the passion of anger, wrath, malice, envy, 
 and evil speaking. This is the inevitable consequence of 
 their style of preaching. As Dr. Griffin observed, " It sounds 
 like the accredited language of profanity," or as a pious wo- 
 man of colour in Troy expressed it, " I do wonder what haa 
 got into all the ministers to swear so in the pulpit." 
 
 There is not a minister of my acquaintance, who has visit- 
 ed Troy, and heard a number of sermons, but is alarmed on 
 this subject. I have noticed, that the most pious and de- 
 voted Christians, from the revivals where I have been, are the 
 last to fellowship these men and their measures : and that 
 those professors, whose piety has heretofore been considered 
 the most superficial or doubtful, are the first to fall in with 
 both.* I except a few pious persons, who have never wit- 
 nessed a revival in any form, and are anxious for one. And 
 the reason to my mind is perfectly obvious : it requires no- 
 thing but zeal without knowledge. 
 
 Whoever has made himself acquainted with the state of 
 things in New-England, near the close of the revival in the 
 days of Whitfield and Edwards, cannot but weep over its 
 likeness to the present. It is affecting that the warm friends 
 of Zion should unwittingly betray her best interests. But so 
 was it then. The young itinerants, in their zeal to extend 
 the work, began to denounce all those settled ministers who 
 would not go all lengths with them. And then those mem- 
 bers of churches who loved their pastors would assemble 
 around to defend them ; while those who favoured the itine- 
 rants assembled around them, and imbibing their spirit, of 
 course lost all confidence in a settled ministry : And so the 
 churches were split in twain. The spirit of God took its 
 flight, and darkness and discord reigned for half a century. 
 And those preachers who had taken the lead, having cultiva- 
 ted such a spirit, began to fall into awful darkness them- 
 selves, when they saw the ruin that followed their labours. 
 Some of them made and published their recantations to the 
 world, which are now extant. But it was too late. A retri- 
 
 * This fact, so novel and mysterious to many, is easily explained. It is 
 a practical comment on the principle advocated in Mr. Finney's printed 
 
11 
 
 bution followed. Some few of the young converts were call- 
 ed to order by David Brainard, who passed through Connec- 
 ticut at that time. But after their recantations these leaders 
 were generally denounced by their own followers. Could 
 Whitfield, and Edwards, and Brainard, and Davenport, now 
 arise from the dead, I have no doubt they would exclaim, 
 " young men, beware ! beware !" 
 
 In the remarks which I have made, you will understand me. 
 I separate between the efficacy of the measures adopted in the 
 Western revivals, and the evils which have grown out of 
 those measures. Of the former, I have no doubt.* But the 
 latter are certainly calamitous, beyond any thing I ever wit- 
 nessed. Some of the subjects of these revivals, and others 
 who have been present in them, are scattered over the coun- 
 try far from those scenes of operation. The tidings of the 
 means used are told by those who have never witnessed a re- 
 vival in any other form. Now, these means are very simple, 
 and just such as every body can use, male and female. Who 
 cannot call his minister stupid and dead, and pray for him by 
 name as such ? And if he gets mad, and all the church too, 
 no matter for that ; " the more opposition the better." This 
 is certaianly the way to have a revival ; for it is Mr. Finney's 
 method : And he has the sanction of such men as Mr. Lan- 
 sing and Aikin, and others. They did not believe in such 
 measures at first ; but they have been broken down. 
 
 In this way some of our best ministers are slandered, the 
 churches divided, and the efficacy of the regular services of 
 the settled ministry destroyed. Overlooking the fact that 
 the very means employed with wonderful success in the midst 
 of a powerful revival are generally the very worst when car- 
 ried out of the field of such an excitement. Some students 
 in divinity, and others, in their attempts to imitate Brother 
 Finney, have reminded us of the conduct and success of the 
 seven sons of Sceva, who undertook to imitate Paul, in 
 Acts xix. 
 
 The practice of females praying in promiscuous assem- 
 blies is considered as absolutely indispensable, so that no- 
 thing can possibly be done without it. I am sorry to say 
 that some young men have been considered as acting " amo- 
 rously foolish" on this subject. The practice itself is very 
 taking with some real Christians, no doubt ; but still more 
 
 * These revivals would doubtless have been equal, or even far greater, 
 without the new measures. This I know to be the opinion of those minis- 
 ters at the West, whose age and experience ought to qualify thera to be 
 the most competent judges. An attempt to introduce these measures in 
 many places, has manifestly been followed with a blight. 
 
15 
 
 so with the hypocritical and disorganizing part of society. 
 Ministers have been told by such persons that they were too 
 proud to permit females to pray before them ; that they 
 never could have a revival until they were willing to come 
 down to that practice. Some of my brethren have been ab- 
 solutely insulted by females on this subject. Thus many 
 ministers and churches are tormented, and the spirit of a re- 
 vival utterly destroyed in some places, and prevented in 
 others. If our brethren at the West knew the evils that are 
 felt by settled ministers abroad, 1 know they could not but 
 weep over them. In the language of Dr. Griffin, " It is com- 
 plete radicalism,'''' The means which it is said have been so 
 successful at the West, have been so caricatured by the igno- 
 bile vulgus in religion, running before Brother Finney into 
 every city and town, far and near, that I am sure he must 
 labour under prodigious disadvantage in all these places, 
 without shifting the entire mode of his attack. The con- 
 sciences of the wicked have become more callous than ever. 
 Their language is, " I want no such religion." The hearts 
 of our best ministers, and Christians generally, are grieved 
 and exceedingly alarmed on this subject. It is owing entire- 
 ly to the disorganizing spirit which has already been intro- 
 duced into their churches, that ministers, in general, so far 
 as I am acquainted, are afraid to invite Brother Finney, or 
 any who adopt his peculiarities, to preach for them. Some 
 of Brother Finney's younger brethren and friends may at- 
 tempt to work on his mind the conviction that most of our 
 ministers and churches are enemies to revivals, and unfriend- 
 ly to himself I feel it my duty to speak in their behalf. I 
 know it to be a mistake. The best friends of revivals, as 
 they have heretofore witnessed them, are certainly the most 
 afraid to invite him into their churches, and are the most 
 alarmed at the evils that are rising. And, I must say, that 
 his friends are certainly labouring to introduce those very 
 measures, which I have ever regarded as ultimately working 
 ruin to our churches ; and against which I have always 
 guarded as ruinous to the character of revivals, as well as to 
 my own usefulness. 
 
 For example : whoever introduces the practice of females 
 praying in promiscuous assemblies, let the practice once be- 
 come general, will ere long find, to his sorrow, that he has 
 made an inlet to other denominations, and entailed an ever- 
 lasting quarrel on those churches generally. If settled pas- 
 tors choose to do it, on their own responsibility, so be it. 
 For one, I dare not assume so great a responsibihty. In this 
 way churches were once laid waste. And it is by keeping 
 out, and carefully avoiding every thing of this kind, that some 
 
16 
 
 of them have again been built, others kept orderly, and the 
 character of revivals, for thirti/ years past, has been guarded. 
 If the evil be not soon prevented, a generation will arise in- 
 heriting all the obliquities of their leaders, not knowing that 
 a revival ever did or can exist, without all those evils. And 
 these evils are destined to be propagated from generation to 
 generation, waxing worse and worse. 
 
 The friends of Brother Finney are afraid to interfere to 
 correct any thing, lest they should do mischief, or be de- 
 nounced as enemies of revivals. "Brother Nettleton, do 
 come into this region xnd help us ; for many things are be- 
 coming current among us ;vhich I cannot approve. And I 
 can do nothing to correct them, but I am immediately shamed 
 out of it, by being denounced as an enemy to revivals." — 
 Thus my ministerial brethren from the West, whose views 
 accord with my own, have been calling to me, in their letters 
 during the summer past. "There is religion in it, and I 
 dare not touch it. I see the evil, and tremble at the conse- 
 quences ; but what can I do V This is the language of 
 many of his warmest friends. And so the bad must all be 
 defended with the good. This sentiment adopted, will cer- 
 tainly ruin revivals. It is the language of a novice : It is 
 just as the devil would have it. If the friends of revivals dare 
 not correct their own faults, who will do it for them ? I 
 know no such policy. I would no more dare defend in the 
 gross, than condemn in the gross. And those who adopt the 
 former practice, will soon be compelled by prevailing cor- 
 ruptions to take along with it the latter. The character of 
 revivals is to be sustained on the same principles as that of 
 churches, or individual Christians. If we would judge our- 
 selves, we shoidd not be judged. It is not by covering, but 
 by confessing and forsaking, that pure revivals are to pros- 
 per. In this manner their character has long been sustained. 
 Things have not been left to run to such lengths in our day. 
 A strong hand has been laid on young converts, old profes- 
 sors, and especially on zealous young ministers, as many of 
 them now living can testify. I have been afraid to kindle 
 fires where there was not some spiritual watchman near, to 
 guard and watch against wildness, for which I might become 
 responsible. Some students in divinity have caught and car- 
 ried the flame into neighbouring towns and villages, and no 
 doubt have been the means of the salvation of some souls. 
 But 1 am sorry to say, that some of them have run before me 
 into the most populous places, and have carried their mea- 
 sures so far, and have become so dictatorial and assuming, 
 that, in the opinion of the most judicious and influential mi- 
 nisters of my acquaintance, they have done far more mis- 
 
17 
 
 chief than good. They have pleaded my example for many 
 measures, which, as to time and circumstances, I utterly con- 
 demn. Some of the means which I have never dared to 
 employ except in the most interesting crisis of a powerful re- 
 vival, they have caricatured in such a manner, and raised 
 such prejudices against myself among strangers, that they 
 have caused me much trouble. My plans have been laid to 
 visit many towns and cities, and have been wholly defeated 
 by these students in divinity thus running before me. I have 
 been much grieved, and exceedingly perplexed on this sub- 
 ject. They assume an authority, unwittingly I allow, and 
 adopt measures, which no ordained minister could do, with- 
 out ruining his usefulness. Evils arising hence have uniform- 
 ly been arrested in their progress, by my taking the part of 
 settled Pastors among their flocks : at a great expense of 
 feeling, on the part of my young friends, no doubt ; but the 
 cause of revivals evidently required it.* 
 
 I have been anxiously looking and waiting, all summer 
 long, for such men as yourself and Mr. Lansing, and others 
 most intimately acquainted with Brother Finney, to take 
 hold, with a kind severity, and restore order ; but in vain. It 
 is not expected that a powerful revival can exist among im- 
 perfect beings without more or less irregularity and opposi- 
 tion ; but it is expected that these things will generally sub- 
 side, and leave the churches in a more peaceful, happy, and 
 flourishing state than ever. This has uniformly been the 
 case, where revivals have prevailed. But irregularities are 
 prevailing so fast, and assuming such a character, in our 
 churches, as infinitely to overbalance the good that is left. 
 These evils, sooner or later, must be corrected. Somebody 
 must speak, or silence will prove our ruin. Fire is an excel- 
 lent thing in its place, and I am not afraid to see it blaze 
 among briers and thorns ; but when 1 see it kindling where 
 it will ruin fences, and gardens, and houses, and burn up my 
 friends, I cannot be silent. 
 
 Had the evil been checked in the commencement, it would 
 
 * There is a large class of ignorant well meaning people, who in a revi- 
 val become officious, and sometimes exceedingly troublesome to settled 
 Pastors. And no evangelist can shake them off without offending them. 
 And if he does not shake them off, lie will shake off minsiters for a while— 
 and then they will shake him off. These tilings were named, not as ground 
 of complaint, but only as a clue to correct greater evils, such as owe their 
 origin entirely to a desperate attempt to introduce the new measures. 
 Some ministers at the West, however, instead of taking the hint to cor- 
 rect, have taken it only as a cover to their own incorrigible offspring, in- 
 somuch that ours too arc running to them for protection. It is certainly a 
 good riddance to us. 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 have been an act of kindness to Brother Finney, and 
 great gain to the cause of revivals. He would have found 
 ministers every where bidding him welcome. His help is 
 every v/here greatly needed. For a settled Pastor, the entire 
 confidence of other ministers would not be so important. 
 But, whoever undertakes to promote revivals, by running 
 through the world, in this age of revivals, must have the en- 
 tire confidence of settled ministers generally ; otherwise he 
 will unsettle ministers, and desolate churches, wherever he 
 goes. Without their hearty co-operation, he will certainly 
 labour at great disadvantage : as if a mariner, steering his- 
 ship in a storm at sea, in his zeal should quit the helm, and 
 ply his strength at the mast. 
 
 The practice of praying for people by name, in the closet, 
 and the social circle, has no doubt had a beneficial effect. 
 But, as it now exists in many places, it has become, in the 
 eye of the Christian community at large, an engine of public 
 slander in its worst form. I should not dare, in this solemn 
 manner, to arraign a fellow-sinner before a public assembly, 
 without his own particular request, unless my expressions 
 were of the most conciliatory kind. And no Christian minis- 
 ter, whatever his character may be, can adopt the practice 
 without awakening the indignation of the world at large, and 
 of Christians generally, against him. Much less can it be 
 done by any body, and every body, who takes it into his head 
 positively to decide the question, and to tell God and the 
 world, that such and such persons are unconverted. I do not 
 believe, whatever may be the effect upon the individual thus 
 named, that God will regard such a prayer in any other light 
 than as that of a proud, self-righteous Pharisee. 
 
 There is another interesting topic that lies near my heart ; 
 but the time would fail me to express my views and feelings 
 on the subject. That holy, humble, meek, modest, retiring 
 Form, sometimes called the Spirit of Prayer, and which I 
 have ever regarded as the unfailing precursor of a revival of 
 religion, has been dragged from her closet, and so rudely 
 handled by some of her professed friends, that she has not 
 only lost all her wonted loveliness, but is now stalkiiig the 
 streets in some places stark mad. 
 
 Some, in their zeal on the subject of the prayer of faith^ 
 are tormenting others with their peculiar sentiments, which, 
 if correct, every body sees must equally condemn them- 
 selves ; thus rendering themselves and their sentiments per- 
 fectly ridiculous. 
 
 I have given you but an imperfect sketch of my own and 
 the views of our brethren abroad on this subject ; but I as- 
 sure you, as a whole, it is not overdrawn. How to correct 
 
19 
 
 these growing evils, I cannot tell. Our brethren, far and 
 near, some of Brother Finney's best friends at the West not 
 excepted, by letter and otherwise, have long bceii urging me 
 to lay the subject fully before him. The evils which have ex- 
 isted abroad have certainly been very much concealed from 
 him and his friends. It is certainly right that he should know 
 something of the evils which have run from under him; and 
 the feelings of the friends of Zion at large. I have nothing 
 to say to him in the style of crimination or controversy. I 
 have been too long on the field of battle to be frightened 
 about little things, or to make a man an offender for a word. 
 For Zion's sake, I wish to save Brother Finney from a course 
 which I am confident will greatly retard his usefulness before 
 he knows it. It is no reflection on his talents or piety, that, 
 in his zeal to save souls, he should adopt every measure 
 which promises present success, regardless of consequences ; 
 nor, after a fair experiment in so noble a cause, to say, I have 
 pushed some things beyond what they will bear. The most 
 useful lessons are learned by experience. 
 
 I wish I had health and strength to show Brother Finney 
 my whole heart on this subject, I have long been wishing to 
 correct some of his pecuharities, that I might invite him into 
 my own field and introduce him to my friends. Aside from 
 feeble health, one consideration only has prevented me from 
 making the attempt. Some of his particular friends are urg- 
 ing him on to the very things which I wish him to drop. I 
 fear that their flattering representations will overrule all that 
 I can say. And having dropped these peculiarities, his la- 
 bours for a while might be less successful ; and then he would 
 resort again to the same experiment. But I can inform hini, 
 that the same measures which he has adopted, have beeii vi- 
 gorously and obstinately pursued in New-England, against 
 the repeated advice of settled Pastors, and that too, by one 
 of the most powerful and successful ministers that 1 have 
 ever known, until, confident of his own strength, he quit 
 them all, with this expression, "We will see who will answer 
 by fire" — a most unhappy expression, as he afterwards told 
 me with tears. The result was, he lost his usefulness in our 
 denomination. Some of his spiritual children, now excellent 
 men in the ministry, have never dared to adopt his measures, 
 but have uniformly opposed them. Others, some ministers 
 and laymen, who followed him, became disorganizers ; and 
 the leader himself turned Baptist, and soon after died. 
 
 There is another method of conducting revivals, which 
 may avoid these difficulties. Settled Pastors occupy nearly 
 the whole field of operation. They have, and ought to have, 
 the entire management in their own congregation. Fiach 
 
20 
 
 one has a right to pursue his own measures, within his own 
 limits ; and no itinerant has any business to interfere or die- 
 tate. It will ever be regarded as intermeddling in other 
 men's matters. If they do not choose to invite me into their 
 field, my business is meekly 'and silently to retire. And I 
 have no right to complain. But many young men are con- 
 tinually violating the rules of ministerial order and Christian 
 propriety in these respects. Impatient to see the temple rise, 
 they are now doing that, which, it appears to me, will tend 
 ultimately, more than any thing else, to defeat the end which 
 they wish to accomplish. They are now pulling down in 
 many places, the very things which I have been helping mi- 
 nisters to build up ; and for which I have often received their 
 warmest thanks. It is a sentiment which I have had fre- 
 quent occasion to repeat to my young brethren in the minis- 
 try, " Better forego the prospect of much present good, in 
 your own opinion, than^ to lose the confidence of settled mi- 
 nisters, without which you cannot be long and extensively 
 useful." 
 
 There is, certainly, another and a lawful point of attack on 
 the kingdom of darkness, which, when you have taken, and 
 it is seen, possesses wonderful advantages. It will give no 
 offence to the church of God. It will be sure to rally around 
 you every faithful soldier of the cross. Though it may seem 
 too slow and silent in its operation, yet, being the lawful me- 
 thod of conducting this warfare, it will secure the confidence 
 of ministers and Christians, the consciences of the wicked, 
 and a crown of glory. 
 
 And now, Brother, I have ventured to lay before you the 
 subject of my prayers and tears, and I may add, the subject 
 which brought me back to a region which I never expected 
 to visit again. If you discover any thing in this communica- 
 tion unchristian or unkind, you will pardon it. If, in your 
 opinion, it can do no mischief, or will do any possible good, 
 you are at full hberty to show it to Brother Finney, or any of 
 the friends of Zion whom it may concern. We will lay the 
 subject at the feet of our Divine Master, and there will we 
 leave it. 
 
 Yours, in the best of bonds, 
 
 ASAHEL NETTLETON, 
 
 New-York^ December 6, 1827. The above letter was writ- 
 ten sometime last December, immediately after a second in- 
 
21 
 
 terview with Mr. Finney. From personal conversation with 
 himself, but more particularly with his friends, I learned that 
 they had adopted and defended measures which I have ever 
 regarded as exceedingly calamitous to the cause of revivals. 
 This letter was written originally as an expression of my 
 own and the views of my brethren generally on this subject, 
 without intending to send it to any one. As my opinion was 
 repeatedly solicited on this subject by the friends of Mr. F. 
 I thought it best to give it in writing. Accordingly this let- 
 ter was read at different times to not less than twenty minis- 
 ters, and to some who had adopted the measures in question. 
 In this silent manner I laboured for a number of weeks, 
 hoping to persuade the latter to drop them ; but to my sur- 
 prise, I found that my own name was continually employed 
 to give them sanction ; nor was it in my power to prevent 
 this perversion, without publishing my views to the world. 
 
 It was concluded that the subject of these new measures, 
 unless they were speedily corrected, must sooner or later 
 come before the Christian public ; and as all the ministers 
 who had kindly attempted to interfere to correct them, as 
 ruinous to revivals, had so long and so often had their motives 
 impeached and misrepresented, and been denounced as cold, 
 and stupid, and dead, that they had now ceased to do it ; it 
 was also concluded, that by this time, our Western brethren 
 might possibly be ignorant of the views and feehngs of the 
 Christian community on this subject. Their long silence 
 might be misconstrued into an acquiescence in those mea- 
 sures. It was well known, however, that New-England as a 
 body, and also the Presbyterian Church as a body, as well as 
 the friends of revivals in general, would not defend the mea- 
 sures in question, nor be responsible for any of the evils which 
 they would certainly occasion. 
 
 As preparatory to publishing, and to cut off occasion for after 
 complaints, it was thought best that 1 should delay no longer 
 sending a communication to some one or more of our bre- 
 thren in the Oneida Presbytery. The above " document" is 
 one, and only a small part of what I have wTittcn to the mem- 
 bers of that body. What I have done in laying the subject 
 before them, was not done without the knowledge and ap- 
 probation of the W^atchmen of Israel — the long — the tried — 
 the acknowledged friends of Zion. 
 
 The question has often been asked, " Why did not Mr. N. 
 tell Mr. F. his views before he published them to the world ?" 
 I have done it in as gentle a manner on paper as I knew how 
 to do it. And I leave it to all the friends of Zion whether I 
 could have chosen a better method. 
 
 The report is in extensive circulation, that " Mr. F. had 
 
22 
 
 long been wising to see Mr. N., and that he was willing to sit 
 at his feet and learn." — This honour, of which I am unwor- 
 thy, I would have gladly dechned, had it been in my power. 
 If, however, his " wishing to sit at my feet and learn," was 
 not an after-device to justify himself in correcting nothing, he 
 will not say that I have not taken some care and pains to in- 
 struct him. One lesson which was given him is the above 
 letter, which, having been sent to Utica, was duly received, 
 and laid before him and a number of his friends. The pupil 
 who should tell " how willing he was to learn," and complain 
 to his neighbours that his teacher would not instruct him, 
 would excite httle sympathy with the public, if it were known 
 that he was at the same time carrying his lesson in his 
 pocket. 
 
 After consultation, some advised to conceal it. But this 
 could not be done. And now in January, for the first time, 
 Mr. F. preached his Sermon in Utica, from these words, 
 " How can two walk together except they be agreed ?" 
 
 It was afterwards preached in Troy. Some who have 
 talked and written so knowingly on the Sermon, as though 
 Troy were its birth-place, need to be informed that they have 
 travelled out of the "record." I do not state this because I 
 have adopted their opinion that the contents of a Sermon 
 professedly on the subject of vital piety, cannot be well un- 
 derstood without a knowledge of its origin. 
 
 But some who were present and heard the Sermon in 
 Utica, were simple enough to consider it as a personal attack 
 upon the author of this letter. I was immediately informed 
 by persons who were present and heard both the letter and 
 the Sermon, that probably nothing would be corrected — and 
 that arrangements would be made accordingly. 
 
 " Though Mr. F. " blazed" and " burned" in his Sermon, 
 as I was informed, yet 1 did not feel at all " offended." 
 
 But soon the mournful tidings reached my ears, " Mr. Net- 
 tleton has lost his mind" — " He is not the man he once was" 
 — " His character has sunk wonderfully" — " The lies came 
 from hell, and the smoke from the bottomless pit." How 
 these reports were set in circulation, I did not take the trou- 
 ble to ask. I can still repeat the language of my letter, ' I 
 have been too long on the field of battle to be frightened with 
 little things, or to make a man an offender for a word. For 
 Zion's sake I wish to save Brother F. from a course which I 
 am confident will greatly retard his usefulness before he 
 knows it." 
 
 Had the friends of the new measures been kind enough to 
 inform us of their determination not to renounce them, it 
 might have saved their brethren much painful anxiety and 
 
1>3 
 
 many fruitless exertions. But let them no longer use the 
 names of their brethren to sanction measures which they 
 have always utterly condemned. They have full liberty to 
 introduce them in their own names and on their own respon- 
 sibility. 
 
 For one I feel bound by all the solemnity attached to the 
 ministerial office, to declare to the Watchmen of Israel my 
 views of the danger of these measures, and in this public and 
 decided manner to clear my conscience from lending my 
 name to sanction their past, their present, or their future ca- 
 lamitous consequences. And the friends of these new mea- 
 sures are invited and earnestly solicited to come out with 
 their names and their defence in this same public and decided 
 manner. 
 
 I had long since a copy of this letter corrected for the 
 press. But to cut ofl' occasion for complaint, 1 publish it en- 
 tire without those corrections. It has been publicly charged 
 in the Western Recorder with containing false statements. 
 As this is a little out of order, the pubhc will excuse me for 
 not replying to an unknown charge brought by an unknown 
 " Traveller." 
 
 He complains, that " the public have been kept in dark- 
 ness long enough." I think so too. There are a number of 
 such " Travellers" for whose sake I send out this letter,, 
 hoping to shed some light on their path. 
 
 A. N. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Oneida County^ Sept, 6, 1827. 
 
 Mr. Finney's sermon, according to the best information I 
 have, was preached at Utica last winter, soon after the re- 
 ception of Mr. Neitleton's letter to Mr. Aikin. In that let- 
 ter Mr. Nettleton had pointed out, in a very friendly manner, 
 certain irregularities, which he described as running out from 
 under Mr. Finney into various parts of the country, and 
 which Mr. Nettleton and ministers generally, consider as ca- 
 lamitous in their tendency, and adapted to do great injury to 
 the cause of revivals. The object of the letter did not ap- 
 pear to criminate Mr. Finney, of whom it speaks kindly, and 
 for whom it apologises, but to point out to himself and his 
 most influential friends, in order to their being corrected, 
 such things as, if suffered to proceed, must greatly injure his 
 usefulness. Many ministers and Christians in this region had 
 
24 
 
 seen things of the same general nature as those mentioned 
 in that letter, and had occasionally made them the subject of 
 animadversion, in private conversation, but of no direct pub- 
 lic discussion from the press, previous to the publication of 
 the sermon. It was well understood, however, that there 
 were many things accompanying the revivals in this region, 
 of which ministers and Christians, as well as others, were dis- 
 posed to complain ; for which complaints, those ministers 
 and Christians had been arraigned before the world in the 
 Western Recorder, and severely censured, as for their cold- 
 ness and opposition, and taking sides with the enemy. The 
 sermon was afterwards preached in Troy, I am informed, 
 while a complaint was before the Presbytery there, and yet 
 undecided, which related to similar things which were mat- 
 ters of difficulty in that place. The preaching and printing 
 of the sermon, under these circumstances, when taken in 
 connexion with its contents, cannot leave a doubt, I think, 
 on the mind of any impartial reader, that it was designed as 
 a vindication of the things complained of, and such a vindica- 
 tion too, as, if judged sufficient, would and must condemn 
 all those ministers and Christians who complained, as being 
 like the impenitent in their moral feelings, " walking with the 
 ungodly^ because they are agreed^ It being considered that 
 these circumstances were all well known to Mr. Nettleton 
 when he wrote his remarks, and that the sermon pronounces 
 so severe a condemnation upon the great body of revival mi- 
 nisters in our country, and gives such advice to their people 
 to " shake off their sleepy ministers," as is adapted to encou- 
 rage every disorganizing measure which any enthusiast might 
 be disposed to adopt, it seems strange to me that any friend 
 of pure revivals should be backward to acknowledge his ob- 
 ligations to Mr. Nettleton for those remarks, or to consider 
 them as unduly severe. And I am especially surprised that 
 any who know these circumstances should represent them as 
 an unprovoked personal attack, or consider them in any other 
 light than as the temperate and appropriate defence of a 
 large majority of the ministers and Christians of our country 
 against the unfounded and injurious charges contained in that 
 sermon, by the lucid exposure of the false principle on which 
 the whole of them are built, and by which they are attempted 
 to be supported. 
 
 I think that those who are for stopping the discussion, are 
 in a mistake respecting the true policy in the case. I think 
 much of Cotton Mather^ s warning : " There was a town call- 
 ed Amyclae, which was ruined by silence. The rulers, be- 
 cause there had been some false alarms, forbade all people, 
 under pain of death, to speak of any enemies approaching 
 
25 
 
 them : 80, when the enemies came indeed, no man durst 
 speak of it, and the town was lost. Corruptions will grow 
 upon the land, and they will gain by silence. It will be so 
 invidious to do it, no man will dare to speak of the corrup- 
 tions ; and the fate of Amycloe will come upon the land." 
 
 Remarks of Mr. Nettleton on a Sermon hy Rev. Mr. Finney. 
 
 The following remarks were communicated in a letter 
 from Mr. Nettleton to the Rev. Dr. Spring, of New-York, 
 and published in the Observer. They appear somewhat se- 
 vere, but we have such confidence in the prudence and bet- 
 ter judgment of the writer, that we have no doubt that he 
 thought them necessary. 
 
 Durham, N. Y. May 4th, 1827. 
 
 My dear Brother — I have read Brother Finney's sermon 
 from the words, " How can two walk together except they 
 be agreed ?" The principle on which it rests, is contained in 
 the following sentences : 
 
 " If any thing, even upon the same subject, that is far 
 above or below our tone of feeling, is presented ; ^and if 
 our affections remain the same, and refuse to be enlisted and 
 brought to that point, we must feel uninterested, and perhaps 
 grieved and offended. If the subject be exhibited in a light 
 that is below our present tone of feelings, we cannot be in- 
 terested until it come up to our feelings ; if this does not 
 take place, we necessarily remain uninterested. If the sub- 
 ject be presented in a manner that is far above our tone of 
 feeling, and our affections grovel and refuse to rise, it does 
 not fall in with and feed our affections : therefore we cannot 
 be interested ; it is enthusiasm to us, we are displeased with 
 the warmth in which our affections refuse to participate; 
 and the farther it is above our temperature, the more are we 
 disgusted. These are truths to which the experience of 
 every man will testify, as they hold good upon every subject, 
 and under all circumstances, and are founded upon principles 
 that are incorporated with the very nature of man." 
 
 Now all this, so far as Christians and true religion are con- 
 cerned, I take to be false in theory, contrary to fact, and 
 dangerous in its consequences. Present to the mind of the 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 Christian, whose holiness and flaming zeal shall equal that of 
 Paul, the least degree of holiness in any saint, and he will 
 not be offended, but interested. He would be greatly delight- 
 ed with even " babes in Christ.'' And the higher the tone of 
 his piety and holy feeling, the greater will be his delight even 
 " upon the same subject." Now raise the tone of pious feel- 
 ing up to that of the spirits of just men made perfect, and 
 holy angels, and still they will not lose their interest, " even 
 upon the same subject." They will rejoice even over one 
 sinner that repenteth, far more than will those whose feel- 
 ings fall to the level of the penitent himself 
 
 Nor is it true that Christians are always better pleased 
 with those, whose tone of feeling is on a level with their 
 own. The least saint on earth loves holiness in others, and 
 rejoices in their growth in grace. And he loves those most 
 whose tone of holy feeling is raised farthest above him ; and 
 for the same reason he loves the Saviour more than all. 
 Every child of God, who reads his bible, is far better pleased 
 with the high-toned piety of Job and Daniel and David and 
 Isaiah and Paul, than he is with that of other saints, whose 
 piety falls below theirs, or to the level his own. What Chris- 
 tian can read the memoir^ of Edwards and Brainard without 
 deep interest ? I know of no Christian that does not read 
 them with far greater interest than he would have done had 
 they exhibited far less of the spirit of Christianity. And 
 though Christians feel condemned by their high-toned piety, 
 yet for this very reason they are not " oftended and grieved," 
 but love them the more. Though Christians are not up to 
 the tone of piety exhibited by David and Paul, Edwards and 
 Brainard, yet they are highly delighted, and could walk to- 
 gether with them. 
 
 Again : take the example of our Saviour. No Christian 
 on earth is better pleased with any other. Though many of 
 his friends Irave died and gone to heaven whom he still loves, 
 yet the Christian can say, " Whom have 1 in heaven but 
 thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside 
 thee." The tone of the Saviour's pious and holy feeling is 
 certainly raised far above that of all his followers. Hence, 
 according to the sentiment of the sermon, he could have had 
 no followers while on earth, and can have none now. All 
 his disciples must have been '• displeased with his warmth." 
 And the higher it rose " above their temperature, the more 
 they must have been disgusted.'''' 
 
 Present to the mind of the Christian the holy character of 
 God. Is not this subject far above the tone of the feelings 
 of any man ? Now, according to the sentiment of the ser- 
 mon, if our affections are not "brought to that point, we must 
 
27 
 
 feel "uninterested — grieved and offended.'" According to 
 the principle of his own sermon, Brother Finney and his 
 friends cannot walk with God, for tliey arc not agreed. It 
 must be acknowledged that God has an hihnitely higher tone 
 and degree of holy feeling than Brother Finney. He is 
 not " up to it." Consequently, on his own principles, they 
 cannot be agreed. God is displeased with him, and he 
 with God. Brother Finney must " neccssaniif be dis- 
 pleased with that high and holy zeal in his Maker, which 
 so infinitely transcends his own : — and the '' farther it 
 is above his temperature, the more he w^ill be disgustecV 
 " These are truths," he observes, " to which the experience 
 of every man will testify, as they hold good upon every sub- 
 ject and under all circumstances, and are founded upon prin- 
 ciples that are incorporated with the very nature of man." 
 
 Besides : it will follow from his own reasoning, that Bro- 
 ther Finney and those Christians whom he denounces as 
 " cold, stupid, and dead," actually agree better than himself 
 and his Maker. For the tone of his own feelings is more on a 
 level with that of these stupid Christians, than with the holiness 
 of his Maker. Hence, as he more resembles, he must be bet- 
 ter pleased with stupid Christians, than with the Holy Lord 
 God. Hence, too, he must love them more than his Maker ; 
 that is, he must love the "• creature more than the Creator, 
 who is over all, God blessed for ever." 
 
 On the principle of this sermon, it is impossible to love 
 God supremely. The Christian will love those imperfect be- 
 ings best, who most resemble himself; angels still less, and 
 God the least of all. So much for the foundation of this ser- 
 mon. 
 
 On the principles of the Gospel, the following is strictly 
 true : It is an acknowledged fact that Christians love God 
 supremely, the infinite disparity between the tone of their holy 
 and pious feelings notwithstanding. Hence, secondly, Chris- 
 tians will love those Christians most, who have the most of 
 holiness and true zeal : for, the more there are of these, the 
 more they see and admire the image of God in them. 
 Hence, thirdly. Christians will love those revivals best, which 
 have the most of God and true Christian zeal in them ; for 
 true zeal can never rise higher than holy love, and a due pro- 
 portion and exercise of all the Christian graces. Hence, fourth- 
 ly, the more pure revivals are, the more they will unite the 
 hearts of all the true disciples of Christ ; for the more pure 
 revivals are, the more lively will be the exercise, and the more 
 just the proportion of the Christian graces ; and consequent- 
 ly, the greater the fellowship among the saints. Hence, 
 fifthly, Christians who are really awake to the worth of souls» 
 
28 
 
 and whose graces &re in lively exercise, will be extremely 
 careful not to excite needless opposition among saints and 
 sinners ; lest they should divide the former, and drive the lat- 
 ter to a returnless distance from the Gospel. The wakeful 
 preacher will be extremely solicitous to give to the work a 
 pure and lovely character, to enstamp the image of Christ — 
 
 And make bis lineaments divine 
 
 In thought and word and action shine. 
 
 He will not dash on, regardless of remote consequences ; birt 
 his vigilance and extreme caution will resemble that of the 
 painter when he said, " T am painting for eternity." 
 
 What gives this subject a pecuhar interest in my mind is 
 this consideration, — that the parties named in the inspired 
 text on which the sermon is founded, are not saints and sin- 
 ners, nor warm and cold hearted Christians. But the text 
 itself means, primarily, God and man. How can a holy God 
 and sinful man walk together except they be agreed ? 
 Though God is infinitely holy, and man a vile worm, yet 
 they can so agree as to walk together on earth. This is 
 commanded : " Walk before me, and be thou perfect" — - 
 " What doth the Lord require of thee, but to walk humbly 
 with thy God V Now this would be impossible for man or 
 angels, on the principle] of the sermon. " Enoch walked 
 with God," and so does every saint and babe in Christ ; but 
 not on the principle that the tone of his holiness is up to that 
 of his Maker. The Bible enjoins growth in grace, and re- 
 cognises different degrees of holiness in the saints on earth. 
 Now, on the principle of this sermon, they cannot walk to- 
 gether. Those who bear the most fruit must separate them- 
 selves from all others, because they are not up to their stan- 
 dard ; and so they must all be divided, according to their 
 standing. For how can two walk together except they come 
 up to the same tone of feeling ! On Brother Finney's princi- 
 ple, it is impossible to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond 
 of peace. There is no union betv/een Christ and his mem- 
 bers, and no fellowship of the Spirit. But according to the 
 Bible, true religion is the same in all. That " Wisdom which 
 is from above, first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be 
 entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiahty and 
 without hypocrisy," is justified of all her children. " But if ye 
 have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and 
 lie not against the truth." " This wisdom descendeth not 
 from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish." " For where 
 envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." 
 It does not require the same tone of holy feeling to produce 
 harmony in the household of faith. There may be chords in 
 
29 
 
 music, though some notes fall far below others. " And truly 
 our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 There is fellowship among Christians, and unity of the 
 Spirit, while some are far more holy and humble than others. 
 This is correct in theory, and accords with fact. Even the 
 Son of God, with all his burning zeal, never preached or 
 prayed in such a manner as to oft'end one of his little chil-- 
 dren. (Luke xvii. 1, 2.) 
 
 The standard which Brother Finney has erected by which 
 to judge of the propriety of measures, is that saying of Ed- 
 wards, to " do what he thought proper in his best frames.'''' 
 Before he can plead the example of Edwards, Brother Finney 
 must make the same distinction which Edwards has done, 
 between true and false zeal — true and false affections, — lest 
 himself and his hearers should make a fatal mistake by se- 
 lecting the ivorst frames of the Christian or hypocrite as their 
 example. This mistake has often been made. It was made 
 by Davenport and his followers, as he afterwards confessed. 
 According to the Bible and Edwards, the Christian's " best 
 frame," is when he has the most exalted views of God, and 
 the lowest of himself; when he has the most of the graces of 
 the Spirit in harmonious and lively exercise ; — when he has 
 the most of the " spirit, the meekness and gentleness of 
 Christ ;" — when he has the least of " God, I thank thee," and 
 the most of " God, be merciful unto me a sinner." Again : 
 the " best frame" of a preacher^ according to the Bible and 
 Edwards, is when he has the most of the same graces in live- 
 ly exercise, and is most " vigilant," most " gentle unto all 
 men," and most willing to " become all things to all men, if 
 by all means he might save some," — " in meekness instruct- 
 ing those that oppose themselves," — " and when he combines 
 most of the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of 
 the dove." 
 
 " Ministers should be like lions to guilty consciences, but 
 like lambs to men's persons. The amiable, Ciirist-like con- 
 versation of such ministers, in itself would terrify the con- 
 sciences of men. If there had been constantly and univer- 
 sally observed such a behaviour as this in itinerant preachers^ 
 it would have terrified the consciences of sinners ten times as 
 much as all the invectives and censorious talk there has been 
 concerning particular persons for their opposition, hypocrisy, 
 delusion, and Pharisaism." These, according to the Bible 
 and Edwards, are the " best frames" of the preacher. But, 
 on the principle that the tone of his holiness must equal that 
 of his Maker, no man can think himself to be in a " good 
 frame," without having very low thoughts of God, or very 
 
30 
 
 exalted thoughts of himself, or both. This, according to the 
 sermon, is the " best frame." According to his own sermon. 
 Brother Finney must have very low thoughts of God's holi- 
 ness, or very high thoughts of his own, or both ; or he must 
 think himself in a very '' bad frame ; for " How can two 
 walk together except they be agreed ?" Is this the scale on 
 which Brother Finney is labouring to raise others to the tone 
 of his own feeHngs / 
 
 Were not the subject too solemn, I would ask Brother Fin- 
 ney how high he has ascended, and how many he sees above, 
 and how many below him, and at which company he feels 
 the most "grieved and offended." This scale is no new 
 thing. [See 2 Cor. x. 12.] From such a frightful measure- 
 ment, Paul and his company stood aloof On this principle, 
 every real Christian must give up his hope, and none but hy- 
 pocrites, or those much inflated with spiritual pride, would 
 dare take the comfort of the sermon to themselves ; and it 
 can never be made to vindicate any thing but false zeal, false 
 affections, and spurious conversions of every kind. Brother 
 Finney's heart must be better than his head, or he is labour- 
 ing under an awful delusion. 
 
 The sermon in question entirely overlooks the nature of 
 true religion. It says not one word, by which we can dis- 
 tinguish between true and false zeal, true and false religion. 
 Indeed it does not seem to hint that there can be any such 
 thing as false zeal and false religion. If the tone of feeling 
 can only be raised to a certain pitch, then all is well. The 
 self-righteous, the hypocrite, and all who are inflated with 
 pride, will certainly be flattered and pleased with such an 
 exhibition ; especially if they be very self-righteous and very 
 proud. False affections often rise far higher than those that 
 are genuine : and this every preacher, in seasons of revival, 
 has had occasion to observe and correct. And the reason of 
 their great height is obvious. There are no salutary checks 
 of conscience — no holy, humble exercises, to counteract them 
 in their flight. And they court observation. " A Pharisee's 
 trumpet shall be heard to the town's end, when simplicity 
 walks through the town unseen." If the preacher is not ex- 
 tremely careful to distinguish between true and false aflfec- 
 tions, the Devil will certainly come in and overset and bring 
 the work into disgrace. False zeal and overgrown spiritual 
 pride will rise up and take the management, and condemn 
 meehiess and humility^ and trample upon all the Christian 
 graces, because they are not " up to it." 
 
 Matters of fact which have passed under my own observa- 
 tion, might serve as illustration. I have often seen it ; and 
 
31 
 
 the preacher who has not been tried with this subject, and 
 learned to correct it, has not got his first lesson. 
 
 Leaving out of the question the nature of true religion, as 
 Brother Finney has done out of his sermon, there is a sense 
 in which his theory perfectly accords with experience and 
 matters of fact. So far as false zeal and false affections are 
 concerned, the principle of the sermon is correct. A. and B. 
 are very zealous, and extremely self-righteous ; and being 
 equally so, they can walk together, for they are agreed. 
 Both having come up to the same tone of feeling with Bro- 
 ther Finney in his sermon, — now they are all agreed, and all 
 pleased, having done all that the preacher required. Now 
 the zeal of A. "strikes far above the tone of feeling" in his 
 fellow, and both are "displeased, grieved, and oifended." 
 B. does not come to the tone of A. and " therefore he cannot 
 be interested ; it is enthusiasm — he is displeased with the 
 warmth in which his affections refuse to participate ; and the 
 farther it is above his temperature, the more he is disgusted." 
 The Christian and the hypocrite may come up to the same 
 tone of feeling j and yet they cannot walk together, for 
 other reasons. The character of their affections differs as 
 widely as light and darkness. And the higher their affections 
 rise, the wider the distance between them. And no tone or 
 degree of feeling can possibly bring them together. Every 
 effort of the preacher to unite them by raising the tone of 
 feeling, will only increase [the difficulty. This, too, accords 
 with experience and matters of fact. Hence, those who 
 adopt the same creed, and belong to the same communion, 
 can have no fellowship. Though they are up to the same 
 tone of feeling, and feel deeply^ yet they cannot walk toge- 
 ther, for they do not feel alike. Feelings which are not 
 founded on correct theology cannot be right. They must 
 necessarily be spurious, or merely animal. 
 
 Without great care and close discrimination, the preacher 
 will unwittingly justify all the quarrels and divisions in our 
 churches. The church at Corinth valued themselves on their 
 great spirituality, and high attainments in religion. Now on 
 the principle of the sermon in question, their divisions and 
 quarrels could be no evidence to the contrary, but much in 
 their favour. Each one esteeming others worse than himself, 
 would conclude that the whole difficulty lay in their not com- 
 ing up to the tone of his own feelings. And this sermon 
 would have confirmed them all in their good opinion of them- 
 selves. But Paul told them that the very contrary was true. 
 " For whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and di- 
 visions, are yet not carnal, and walk as men." Without the 
 same care, the preacher will condemn others for keeping the 
 
3^ 
 
 unity of the spirit in the bond of peace ; and for *' being of 
 one accord and of one mind." T/m? peace, and harmony, 
 and order, in which Paul so much rejoiced, will be disturbed 
 and broken and trampled upon, by disorganizing spi- 
 ritual pride, under a pretence that all are " cold, and carnal, 
 and stupid, and dead, and not up to the spirit of the times." 
 All who are thus inflated, will take the advantage of this ser- 
 mon, and be sure to construe all opposition to their own dis- 
 organizing movements and measures, into an evidence of 
 superior piety in themselves. And all false converts, and 
 others inflated with spiritual pride, will join them if great 
 care be not taken to discriminate between true and false zeal, 
 and to give the distinguishing marks of both. Spiritual pride 
 will often court opposition, and glory in it, and sometimes 
 adopt the sentiment, "The more opposition the better." 
 
 A number of examples might be given as illustration. One 
 man has been for some time past under process of disci- 
 pline for the followi-ng offence : In his great zeal for a revi- 
 val, at a public meeting, among other things, he called his 
 excellent pastor the "head Achan," and said that " his cha- 
 racter was as black as hell.'''' Though he has nothing against 
 his minister, yet he justifies himself entirely on the principle 
 of the sermon in question ; and says that " he did it to have 
 a revival," — not even suspecting that there can be any such 
 thing as false zeal and overgrown spiritual pride, leading him 
 to adopt measures which every humble Christian and all the 
 true friends of revivals will certainly condemn. The result 
 is an unanimous vote of excommunication. 
 
 In the course of the trial this fact has been clearly deve- 
 loped : that the character of the religious excitement which 
 he wishes to promote, is just such as all the church and all 
 the revival ministers of my acquaintance, would deplore as 
 the greatest calamity. 
 
 All who are acquainted with the history of facts on the 
 subject, know that it was on the principles of the sermon in 
 question, that the revival was run out in the time of Edwards, 
 and in Kentucky and Tennessee rising of twenty years 
 since. And all those ministers who do not discriminate be- 
 tween true and false zeal, true and false affections, in their 
 preaching and conversation, and make that difference and 
 hold it up to the view of the world, if possible, clear as the 
 sun, heartily approving of the one, and as heartily and pub- 
 licly condemning the other, will turn out to be the greatest 
 traitors to the cause of revivals. They become responsible 
 not only for the sentiment in question, but also for all the 
 corruptions which prevail in consequence of this neglect. 
 The neglect of ministers to correct these evils for fear of do- 
 
33 
 
 hig mischief, or of being denounced as carnal and cold-heart- 
 ed, or as enemies to revivals, is extremely puerile and wick- 
 ed. On the same principle they must not attempt to correct 
 intemperance and profane swearing in church members, lest 
 they should be ranked among the wicked as infidels and en- 
 emies to Christianity. The sentiment in question would, if 
 carried out into all its consequences, defend every abomina- 
 tion in religion that could be named. It would soon come 
 to this : that the only evidence that ministers are cold, and 
 carnal, and stupid, and dead, is, that they cannot approve of 
 every art, and trick, and abominable practice in laymen, wo- 
 men, and children, in their attempts to promote a revival. 
 And their approbation of all these abominations, would be 
 taken as a good sign and as an evidence that they are awake. 
 Whereas none but carnal and cold-hearted ministers would 
 be influenced by such mean motives. It is only a trick of 
 the Devil, to frighten the watchman of Israel from his post, 
 that he may get possession of it himself; or, what he would 
 like still better, by such base motives to entoil and enlist him 
 in his service, by compelling him to adopt his own measures. 
 So did not Paul. His two epistles to the Corinthians con- 
 tain little else than an humbling disclosure of abominable 
 practices and quarrels about men and measures in promoting 
 a revival. So did not Edwards. Though he was denounced 
 at first, he could not be frightened ; but frightened his de- 
 nouncers, some of them at least, into a public recantation. 
 A denouncing spirit is that with which i^eal Christians have 
 no fellowship, and are bound to shun. 
 
 Without regard to the admonition, "take heed to thyself,' 
 the preacher will be in danger of trampling upon the Divine 
 direction, " In meekness instructing those that oppose them- 
 selves." 
 
 " The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle 
 unto all men." Be kindly aflectioned, be pitiful, be courte- 
 ous." He will be in great danger of condemning the 
 " meekness and gentleness of Christ," under the names of 
 " carnal policy" and " hypocritical suavity of manner." The 
 preacher should be extremely cautious what he says against 
 " wisdom and prudence," as a mark of " puffing up" in his bre- 
 thren ; lest he trample upon the authority of his Divine Mas- 
 ter, in the precept given him upon the same point : — " Behold 
 I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves : be ye 
 therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves." His pre- 
 cept is founded on the fact that wicked men may become 
 more offended with what is wrong in manner, than with what 
 is right in matter. Hence the preacher may lose their con- 
 sciences, and the Devil has gained the victory. If the wick- 
 
 5 
 
34 
 
 ed will oppose, it becomes us to be careful how we furnish 
 them with successful weapons against us. If we regard the 
 direction of Christ, even though they rage, we may still keep 
 our hold upon their consciences ; and so long as we can do 
 this, we need not despair of the victory. But when the 
 preacher has lost the wisdom of the serpent and the harmless- 
 ness of the dove, the contest will end in a sham-fight, and the 
 sooner he quits the field the better. 
 
 Paul would allow none to be teachcFs but those of " full 
 age, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to dis- 
 cern both good and evil." Hence he would not license 
 young converts to preach. '• Not a novice, lest being lifted 
 up with pride he fall into condemnation, reproach, and the 
 snare of the devil.'' So far as his message was concerned, 
 the apostle himself went forth, " saluting no man by the way" 
 — ^^ not as pleasing men." Aside from the simple truth of 
 that message, no man was ever more yielding and flexible in 
 manner and measures. " Give no offence, neither to the 
 Jews, neither to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God." 
 " Even as / please all men in all things— tha-t they may be 
 saved." " I am made all things to all men, that 1 might by 
 all means save some." Was this " carnal policy ?" and 
 was Paul " in a very cold state when he wrote that ?" 
 
 The wisdom of the measures adopted and recommended 
 by Paul, appear from the fact that sinners may be more 
 ofiended with what is ivrong in manner, than with what is 
 right in matter. If the preacher does not hold a balance 
 between conscience and depravity, he can do nothing. The 
 very fact that the unrenewed heart is so opposed to God and 
 the Gospel, has by some been assigned as a reason for stirring 
 up all its opposition. Whereas, aside from the simple exhi- 
 bition of divine truths Paul adopted a method directly the op- 
 posite. If the vigilance of human depravity should exceed 
 the vigilance of the preacher in his manner and measures, 
 by this very means he will quiet the consciences of his hear- 
 ers. Regardless of his manner, Paul v/ould have lost his hold 
 on the consciences of sinners, and needlessly and wickedly 
 have sent his hearers to a returnless distance from the Gos- 
 pel. This made him exceedingly careful " lest he should hin- 
 der the Gospel of Christ." Since mankind will oppose, we 
 should be careful not to put weapons of successful defence 
 into their hands. While they oppose, we should be careful 
 to keep their consciences on our side. 
 
 A powerful religious excitement badly conducted, has ever 
 been considered by the most experienced ministers and best 
 friends of revivals, to be a great calamity. Without close 
 discrimination, an attempt to raise the tone of religious feel« 
 
35 
 
 ing will do infinite mischief. This was the manner of false 
 teachers. " They zealously affect you, but not well.'" It will 
 be like that of Paul before his conversion, and like that of 
 the Jews who were never converted, " a zeal of God but not 
 according to knowledge.^' The driving will become like the 
 driving of Jehu, " Come see my zeal for the Lord." The 
 storm, and earthquake, and fire, are dreadful : but God is 
 not there. 
 
 The design of these remarks is to show the infinite impor- 
 tance of distinguishing between true and false zeal, — true 
 and false affections. 
 
 On reading the sermon in question, I was rcnnnded of the 
 repeated complaints which for some time past I have heard 
 from the most judicious, experienced, and best revival minis- 
 ters in the West ; the substance of which is as follows : 
 " There are various errors in the mode of conducting revi- 
 vals in this region, which ought to be distinctly pointed out. 
 That on the prayer of faith. This talking to God as a man 
 talks to his neighbour, is truly shocking — telling the Lord a 
 long story about A. or B., and apparently with no other in- 
 tent than to produce a kind of stage effect upon the indivi- 
 dual in question, or upon the audience generally. This 
 mouthing of words ; those deep and hollow tones, all indi- 
 cative that the person is speaking into the ears of man, and 
 not to God. I say nothing of the nature of the petitions of- 
 ten presented ; but the awful irreverence of the manner ! 
 How strange that good men should so far forget themselves, 
 as evidently to play tricks in the presence of the great God." 
 
 " I have often been struck with this circumstance in the 
 mode of preaching, that nothing was heard of the danger of 
 a spurious conversion. For months together, the thought 
 never seemed to be glanced at, that there was any such thing 
 as a Satanic influence in the form of religion, but only as 
 openly waging war against all religion. Such a character as 
 an enthusiastic hypocrite, or a self-deceived person, seemed 
 never to be once dreamed of. The only danger in the way 
 of salvation was coldness^ deadness, and rank opposition. 
 On no occasion did the eye ever seem to be turned to ano- 
 ther quarter in the heavens." 
 
 The last paragraph contains the thought to which I allude. 
 The sermon in question bears striking marks of the same 
 character. It is an important part of a preacher's duty in 
 a season of powerful revival, to discriminate between true 
 and false conversion. Without this, every discerning Chris- 
 tian knows that the work will rapidly degenerate. The most 
 flaming spiritual pride will be taken for the highest moral ex- 
 cellence, and will rise up and take the lead. 
 
36 
 
 Preachers who have not guarded well this avenue in sea- 
 sons of powerful excitement, have always done more to ar- 
 rest, and disgrace, and run out revivals, than all the cold- 
 hearted professors and open enemies of religion together. It 
 was this neglect in some zealous preachers, that run out the 
 revival in the days of Edwards, and which led him to write his 
 Treatise on the Religious Affections. 
 
 Edwards observes, " It is by the mixture of counterfeit re* 
 ligion with true, not discerned and distinguished, that the 
 Devil has had the greatest advantage against the kingdom 
 of Christ. By this he prevailed against New-England to 
 quench the love and spoil the joys of her espousals, about an 
 hundred years ago. By this the Devil has prevailed against 
 the late revival in New-England, so promising in its begin- 
 ning.* By this he has foiled us, and the daughter of Zion 
 now lies on the ground, I have seen the Devil prevail in the 
 same way against two revivals in this country."" 
 
 " After religion has revived in the church of God, and en- 
 emies appear, people that are engaged to defend its cause, 
 are commonly most exposed where they are least sensible of 
 danger. While they are wholly intent upon the opposition 
 that appears openly before them, to make head against that, 
 and neglect carefully to look all around them, the Devil comes 
 behind them, and gives them a fatal stab unseen ; and has an 
 opportunity to give a more home stroke, and wound the 
 deeper, because he strikes at his leisure, and according to his 
 pleasure, being obstructed by no guard or resistance." 
 
 " And so it is likely ever to be in the church whenever reli- 
 gion revives remarkably, till we have learned to distinguish 
 between true and false religion^ between saving affections 
 and experiences, and those manifold fair shov»^s, and glisten- 
 ing appearances, by which they are counterfeited ; the con- 
 sequences of which, when they are not distinguished, are of- 
 ten inexpressibly dreadful. By this means, the Devil grati- 
 fies himself, by bringing it to pass, that that should be ofiered 
 to God, by multitudes, under a notion of a pleasing, accept- 
 able service to him, that is, indeed, above all things abomi- 
 nable to him. By this means he deceives great multitudes 
 
 * He means the revival in 1740, and one about T637. It is worthy of 
 remark, that ever since the time of Lnther, tiicre has been, once in about 
 80 or 100 years, a violent assault of this kind npon the churcii, whicl) has 
 proved successful to a considerable extent. That period is just about suf- 
 iicient for thop.e who have witneised one such event to pass off the stage, 
 vvitn their children who have heard their fathers tell it, and a g-eneration 
 to arise iofnorant of Satan's devices, against whom they may be again suc- 
 cessfuiiv put in practice. 
 
37 
 
 about the state of their souls ; making them think they are 
 something, when they are nothing ; and so eternally undoes 
 them ; and not only so, but establishes many in a strong con- 
 fidence of their eminent holiness, who are in God's sight some 
 of the vilest of hypocrites. By this means Satan brings it 
 to pass, that men work wickedness under a notion of doing 
 God service, and to sin without restraint, yea^ with earnest 
 forwardness and, zeal., and with all their might. By this 
 means he brings in even the friends of religion, insensibly to 
 themselves^ to do the work of enemies., by destroying religion 
 in a far more effectual manner than open enemies can do, 
 under a notion of advancing it. By this means the Devil 
 scatters the flock of Christ, and sets them one against ano- 
 ther, and that with great heat of spirit, under a notion of 
 zeal for God ; and religion by degrees degenerates into vain 
 jangling. And in the midst of this confusion, the Devil has 
 great opportunity to advance his own interest, and make it 
 strong in ways innumerable, and get the government of all 
 into his own hands, and work his own will." Thus much for 
 Edwards. 
 
 If ever there was a call for close discrimination between 
 true and false zeal, true and false conversion, the subject of 
 the sermon in question demanded it. And without this dis- 
 crimination, the preacher could not touch the spirit of his 
 text, nor accomplish any important object. For, the least 
 spark of grace, the lowest tone of right feeling or true love, 
 is in unison with the feelings of all the saints on earth, in hea- 
 ven, and with those of God himself. And possessing that 
 love, they can all walk together. Whereas, whatever of 
 eloquence or flaming zeal he might possess without it, Paul 
 would pronounce himself " nothing ;" and with it, the least 
 saint on earth an heir of everlasting salvation. 
 
 It is of the highest importance that the preacher present 
 to his hearers the distinguishing marks of true religion, the 
 graces of the Spirit, in all their native loveliness ; and at the 
 same time, that he detect and expose every counterfeit. 
 Having done this, he may labour with all his might to bring 
 them up to the highest possible tone. He may exhort them 
 to the exercise of " Love, joy, peace, long-sufiering, gentle- 
 ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance ; and to be kind- 
 ly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love, in honour 
 preferring one another. That they walk with all lowliness 
 and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in 
 love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the 
 bond of peace. That they let nothing be done through 
 strife, or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem 
 others better than themselves. Let all bitterness, and wraths 
 
38 
 
 and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away 
 from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, 
 tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for 
 Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Likewise ye younger, sub- 
 mit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject 
 one to another, and be clothed with humility." He may 
 exhort them to " put on, as the elect of God, — and be cover- 
 ed all over with these shining graces, — bowels of mercies, 
 kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, for- 
 bearing one another : even as Christ forgave you, so also do 
 ye. — And above all things, put on charity, which is the bond 
 of perfectness." He may set their hearts all on fire with that 
 heavenly Form — " so pure, so peaceable, so gentle and easy 
 to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without parti- 
 ality and without hypocrisy :" — that is so " long-suffering, so 
 kind, envieth not, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself un- 
 seemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked ; think- 
 eth no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the 
 truth ; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all 
 things, and never faileth." These are the prevailing charac- 
 teristics of a revival of religion. Their absence cannot be 
 compensated by flaming zeal. 
 
 Nor is it sufficient that these and all other Christian 
 graces be exhibited, and their counterfeit exposed in theory 
 alone. For so hypocrites will claim them all as their own* 
 Profession is not principle. '' By iheir fruits ye shall know 
 them." " Who is a wise man ? Let him show out of a good 
 conversation his works with meekness of wisdom." 
 
 " Easy indeed it were to rench 
 A mansion in the courts above, 
 If watery floods and fluent speech, 
 Mi^ht serve instead of faith and love." 
 
 The most important part of the preacher's duty is, to ex- 
 hibit the evidence of their existence in the heart, by corres- 
 ponding actions in the life. And this, too, by being " ensam- 
 ples to the flock ;" and by carefully copying the example 
 of his Divine Master, " beseeching them by the meekness and 
 gentleness of Christ." 
 
 As the time would fail me to complete the subject, Ed- 
 wards may, in part, supply this deficiency in Brother Fin- 
 ney''s sermon. I w^ould therefore take this opportunity to re- 
 commend to all young converts a careful perusal of his ac- 
 count of the revival in New-England, fourth part ^ and what 
 he says on the marks of true humility and spiritual pride, of 
 which the following is a brief abstract : 
 
 Spiritual pride disposes to speak much of the faults of 
 
39 
 
 others, and with bitterness, or with levity and an air of* 
 contempt. Pure Christian humility rather disposes to be si- 
 lent about them, or to speak of them with grief and pity. 
 Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others ; an humble saint 
 is most jealous of himself. The spiritually proud person is 
 apt to find fault with others that are low in grace, and to be 
 much in observing how cold and dead they be, and crying 
 out of them and sharply reproving them for it. The humble 
 Christian has so much to do at home, with his own heart, 
 that he is not apt to be very busy with the hearts of others, 
 and is apt to esteem others better than himself, and to take 
 most notice of what is good in them, while he takes most no- 
 tice of what is wrong in himself. In his clearest discoveries 
 of God's glory, and in his most rapturous frames, he is most 
 overwhelmed with a sense of his own vileness, and feels the 
 deepest self-abasement. 
 
 It is a mark of spiritual pride, when any are disposed to 
 speak of what they see amiss in others, in the most harsh, 
 severe, and terrible language ; saying of their opinions, or 
 conduct, or advice, of their coldness, their silence, their cau- 
 tion, their moderation, and their prudence, that they are from 
 the devil^ or from hell ; that such a thing is devilish, or hellish, 
 or cursed, and the like ; so that the words devil and hell are 
 almost continually in their mouths. And especially, when 
 such language is used towards ministers of the gospel, and 
 others whose age or station entitles them to particular respect. 
 Humility leads the Christian to treat others that are in fault 
 with meekness and gentleness, as Christ did his disciples, and 
 particularly Peter, when he had shamefully denied him. 
 
 Spiritual pride disposes to affect singularity in manner and 
 appearance, for the purpose of attracting observation. Hu- 
 mility disposes the Christian to avoid every thing which is 
 likely to draw upon him the observation of others, and to be 
 singular only where he cannot be otherwise without the neg- 
 lect of a plain and positive duty. Spiritual pride common- 
 ly occasions a certain stiffness and inflexibility in persons, in 
 their own judgment and their own ways. Humility inclines 
 to a yielding, pliable disposition. The humble Christian is 
 disposed to yield to others, and conform to them, and please 
 them, in every thing but sin. 
 
 Spiritual pride disposes persons to stand at a distance from 
 others, as better than they. The humble Christian is ready 
 to look upon himself as more unvvortiiy than others, yet he 
 does not love the appearance of an open separation from vi- 
 sible Christians ; and will carefully shun every thing that 
 looks like distinguising himself as more humble, or in any 
 respect better than others. 
 
40 
 
 The eminently humble Christian is clothed with lowliness, 
 mildness, meekness, gentleness of spirit and behaviour, and 
 with a soft, sweet, condescending, winning air and deport- 
 ment. Humility has no such thing as roughness, or con- 
 tempt, or fierceness, or bitterness, in its nature, which things 
 are marks of spiritual pride ; as are also invectives, and cen- 
 sorious talk concerning particular persons for their opposi- 
 tion, hypocrisy, delusion, phari'saism, and the hke. 
 
 Spiritual pride takes great notice of opposition and inju- 
 ries that are received, and is often speaking of them. Hu- 
 mility disposes a person rather to be, like his blessed Lord 
 when reviled, dumb, not opening his mouth. The more 
 clamorous and furious the world is against him, the more 
 silent and still Vv^ill he be. 
 
 Spiritual pride leads those who are reproached to be 
 more bold and confident, and to go greater lengths in that 
 for which they are blamed. Humility leads to improve the 
 reproaches of enemies as an occasion of serious self-exami- 
 nation. 
 
 Spiritual pride leads to a certain unsuitable and self-confi- 
 dent boldness before God and man. Humility leads to the 
 opposite. 
 
 Assuming is a mark of spiritual pride : putting on the airs 
 of a master, to whom it belongs to dictate. Humihty leads 
 the Christian to take the place of a learner, to be " swift to 
 hear, slow to speak." The eminently humble Christian 
 thinks he wants help from every body, whereas he that is 
 spiritually proud, thinks every body wants his help. Chris- 
 tian humility, under a sense of others' misery, entreats and 
 beseeches ; spiritual pride affects to command and warn with 
 authority. 
 
 If young ministers had great humility, it would dispose 
 them especially to treat aged ministers with respect and re- 
 verence, as their fathers, notwithstanding that a sovereign 
 God may have given them greater success than they have 
 had. 
 
 It is a mark of spiritual pride to refuse to enter into dis- 
 course or reasoning with such as are considered carnal men, 
 when they make objections and inquiries. Humility would 
 lead ministers to condescend to carnal men, as Christ has 
 condescended to us, to bear with our unteachableness and 
 stupidity, and still follow us with instructions, line upon fine, 
 precept upon precept, saying, " come let us reason together ;" 
 it would lead to a compliance with the precept, " Be ready 
 always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a rea- 
 son of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." 
 
 Such are some of the marks of spiritual pride and true 
 
41 
 
 humility pointed out by President Edwards. The abstract 
 IS given as much as possible in his own words. The whole 
 of what he says on the subject deserves the most serious con- 
 sideration. 
 
 The friends of religion have been so much gratified with 
 that beautiful hymn by Newton, that I shall venture to insert 
 It in my letter : 
 
 TRUE AND FALSE ZEAL. 
 
 Zeal is that pure and heavenly flame 
 
 The fire of love supplies ; 
 While that which often bears the name, 
 
 Is self in a disg-uise. 
 
 True zeal is merciful and mild, 
 
 Can pity and forbear ; 
 The false is headstrong, fierce and wild, 
 
 And breathes revenge and war. 
 
 While zeal for truth the Christian warms. 
 
 He knows the worth of peace ; 
 But self contends for names and forms, 
 
 Its party to increase. 
 
 Zeal has attained its highest aim, 
 ^ Its end is satisfied, 
 If sinners love the Saviour's name, 
 Nor seeks it aught beside. 
 
 But self, however well employed. 
 
 Has its own ends in view ; 
 And says, as boasting Jehu cried, 
 
 •* Come, see what I can do.'» 
 
 Dear Lord, the idol self dethrone, 
 
 And from our hearts remove ; 
 And let no zeal by us be shown, 
 
 But that which springs from love. 
 
 Your affectionate brother, 
 
 ASAHEL NETTLETON. 
 
 V 
 
 Rev. Dr. Spring. 
 
42 
 
 FROM THB KE\r-TORK OB9ERVEB.. 
 
 June 19th, 1827, 
 
 Messrs. Editors,^ — The following communication from the 
 Rev. Dr. Porter, of Catskill, is designed to correct some re- 
 ports which have, of late, been in circulation in this region, 
 as well as to express his sentiments in relation to certain 
 measures which have been introduced into some of our west- 
 ern revivals. Dr. Porter consents to its pubhcation, and 
 others have advised to the measure. 
 
 Catskill, June 14, 1827. 
 
 Dear Sir, — In a communication recently received from the 
 West, to my great surprise, I have derived the following in- 
 telligence ; to all which I feel it a duty I owe to the public 
 and to myself, to make a reply. You say, " I have received 
 information that a great revolution has taken place in the 
 East in favour of Mr.- Finney. It is said that Mr. Benedict, 
 of Chatham, has pledged himself to Mr. Finney to support 
 him ; that at an interview with myself, Mr. Benedict won me 
 over to Mr. Finney's side ; and that Mr. Benedict is now 
 gone to New-York to create a sentiment in Mr. Finney's fa- 
 vour ; and it is moreover added, that I have been to Durham 
 to convince Mr. Williston that Mr. Finney is right." 
 
 As to the great revolution at the East, 1 have nothing to 
 answer ; and as to Mr. Benedict he can best speak for him- 
 self. From the interview I had with you at Durham, and in 
 the stage to Catskill, and at my house, you know my senti- 
 ments perfectly. Since that time I have not seen Mr. Bene- 
 dict in Hudson, nor been at Durham, nor seen Mr. WiUiston, 
 nor communicated to him a single syllable on any subject 
 whatever. Besides, I have had no occasion to change my 
 mind on the matters in question, since I saw you ; and after 
 re-perusing Mr. Finney's sermon and Mr. Nettleton's remarks, 
 and what 1 have seen in the papers, my opinion is precisely 
 the same as I expressed it to you, when we were together. 
 Whatever might have been Mr. Finney's design, it is perfect- 
 ly clear to my understanding, that the principle laid down 
 and advocated in his sermon, opens the door for the intro- 
 duction of all those extravagances so often witnessed in reli- 
 gious conferences and prayer meetings ; and that Mr. Nettle- 
 ton's remarks on said sermon are in point, and that they have 
 no severity beyond the demands of sober truth. Mr. Nettle- 
 ton has done what a faithful minister of the gospel, and a 
 
43 
 
 friend to revivals of religion, and one who has had so much 
 experience in them, was in duty bound to do. 
 
 When he wrote his remarks, as you very well know, being 
 present, he was expecting to go, in a few days, before his 
 Judge ; yet his remarks speak for themselves, and to me they 
 afford convincing proof, that his mind was never more clear, 
 and acute, and vigorous, than when he indited to his amanu- 
 ensis those remarks. I know the views of many of the ablest 
 ministers on the stage, and who have had the longest expe- 
 rience in religious revivals, and that they, with unanimous 
 voice, condemn the measures in question, and to which so 
 many facts testify as deleterious, and a calamity to be de- 
 precated, and to be guarded against as one of the sorest evils 
 Avhich can befall the church in this or any other age. Among 
 all my acquaintance, whether personal or by reputation, I 
 know not of a single minister of our denomination, whether 
 Congregational or Presbyterian, in whom I have reposed con- 
 fidence, and whose praise is and has been for a long time, 
 say for thirty years, in all the churches, but is opposed to 
 many of the measures which have prevailed in Oneida coun- 
 ty, Troy, and some other places. And here I am willing to 
 mention some names, — names which I venerate. Drs. Hyde, 
 Shepard, Griffin and Richards, and younger men of eminence 
 for piety, talents, and success in the ministry, as Drs. Beech- 
 er, Humphreys, Spring, McAuley ; and of Troy Presbytery, 
 Messrs. Tomb, Prime, Lyman, Rogers, and also Dr. Blatch- 
 ford of that body, — are united in the same mind and in the 
 same judgment, in disapproving and condemning measures 
 which have been adopted and pushed to an alarming- extremi- 
 ty^ as an assemblage of facts testify beyond all contradiction ^ 
 having transpired before many witnesses. In respect to Mr. 
 Nettleton's remarks on Mr. Finney's sermon, "Dr. Griffin is 
 willing it should be said and published, that he considers the 
 remarks Jms^ ivhat they should be^ 
 
 The subject has now been before me more than a year. 
 These extravagances are not new. They made their appear- 
 ance before, and in, and after, the days of Edwards. They 
 were followed with the most baneful consequences. They 
 well nigh ruined the character of religious revivals in the es- 
 timation of the best ministers and the best Christians. It 
 took the church half a century to repair the loss she had sus- 
 tained. I have long been alarmed and distressed at what 
 has been in progress of extravagance, and scarcely opened 
 my lips. I am now constrained to express my mind with de- 
 cision and without reserve. And I believe it as certain as my 
 existence, that if a stop is not put to the extravagances and 
 anti-scriptural measures, such as females of all ages praying 
 
44 
 
 in social meetings when there are males assembled, and for 
 persons by name, and in a style irreverent and shocking to 
 the humble and contrite spirit, and so contrary to all scriptu- 
 ral example recorded in the Bible, revivals of religion will 
 lose their character. If these things are introduced into re- 
 vivals of religion, piety will revolt ; it does revolt. These 
 things throw our Theological Seminaries and Colleges into 
 the back-ground. I consider the remarks of Mr. Nettleton 
 as the development of a principle, the practical illustration 
 of which is now portrayed before the eyes of the public by 
 matters of fact. 
 
 1 have much more in mind than I have time to write. 
 You can make such use of this letter as you please. It is 
 written in great haste, — but I have no fear arising from its 
 publicity. Yours, &;c. 
 
 DAVID PORTER. 
 
 FROM THE ALBANY CHRISTIAN REGISTER. 
 
 Mr. Editor, — The Review which I herewith send you, was^ 
 written immediately on the appearance of the sermon. 
 Events, however, occurred about that time, which encou- 
 raged the hope that its publication would be unnecessary ; 
 and it would not now appear, had not a Review of Mr. Net- 
 tleton's Remarks, and some other kindred publications, re- 
 cently evinced a disposition on the part of the friends of the 
 new measures, to defend and sustain the sentiments of the 
 sermon. 
 
 NOVANGLUS. 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 A Sermon preached in the Presbyterian Churchy Troy^ 
 March 4, 1S27, by the Rev. Charles G. Finney^ from 
 Amos 3. 3. Can two walk together except they be agreed? 
 
 The revivals in Oneida county and the vicinity, during the 
 past year, have attracted much attention. They have been 
 hailed by many as the commencement of a new era in revi- 
 vals ; and the measures understood to have had the most 
 prominent place in their promotion, have been denominated 
 
45 
 
 the new measures, and been thought by many to be a won- 
 derful improvement. Some have mtimated that the mea- 
 sures which were successful in promoting revivals in the days 
 of our fathers, had now lost their efficacy, and would no 
 more be blessed to that end : and others have gone so far as 
 to say, our fathers did not know how to promote revivals, 
 they did not know how to pray, nor did ihey know how to 
 preach. Others again, have thought that they saw nothing 
 new in these measures, nothing but what they had seen 
 among other denominations in their own times, and had read 
 of frequently in the history of the church in past ages. They 
 have recognised, or thought they recognised, in these new 
 measures, all the leading features of those which were pur- 
 sued by Davenport and others, during the revival in New- 
 England, in the days of President Edwards, and which are 
 pointed out, in his Thoughts on Revivals, as among the 
 things which are to be avoided. The author of this sermon 
 has been considered the most promfhent agent in the intro- 
 duction of these new measures, so that they are often called 
 by his name ; though it is known by many that they had be- 
 gun to be used in that region, among Presbyterians, in some 
 degree, before he entered the ministry. These measures 
 have not, indeed, been adopted in every place in that vici- 
 nity, where there have been revivals during the 'past year. 
 It has been understood that some ministers and churches 
 have been opposed to them, and have endeavoured to keep 
 them out, as far as possible ; and that others have admitted 
 them only in part. And this backwardness of ministers and 
 Christians to admit them, has been the subject of much ani- 
 madversion, both from the press and otherwise. It is well 
 known that some of the old and tried friends of revivals in 
 that region have been much blamed on this account, and 
 have been represented as opposed to revivals, hindering the 
 work of the Lord, and strengthening the hands of the enemies 
 of religion. Yet it is believed that they have generally borne 
 these reproaches in silence, and have been backward to pro- 
 claim their objections. Indeed, some of them have been so 
 backward to make known their objections, that their friends 
 abroad have not known that they felt any, and in some cases 
 have been led to believe that they had adopted the new mea- 
 sures in full. The friends of revivals abroad have at length 
 become alarmed at the evils which have begun to reach them 
 from the West, and have begun to communicate their fears, 
 and to state their objections in letters to their friends on the 
 subject. But so persuaded are some that these new measures 
 must be right, and that all the real friends of revivals must 
 approve of them, that they are ready to conclude that those 
 
46 
 
 who are the known friends of revivals abroad must have been 
 misinformed, and grounded their objections on exaggerated 
 reports which have been put in circulation by the enemy. 
 And though those gentlemen expressly say that they have 
 derived their information from the friends of the new mea- 
 sures themselves, and from what has come under their own 
 personal observation, this does not free those in that region 
 who have been known to disapprove, from the suspicion and 
 the charge of being the source of that misinformation. From 
 the best information I can obtain, I conclude that those mi- 
 nisters and Christians who have not approved of the new 
 measures, have been the most silent on the subject of any 
 class of people in the vicinity ; and I fully believe, that, when 
 the truth shall be known, it will be found, that the friends of 
 the new measures have themselves done more to spread the 
 knowledge of them abroad, than all other classes put toge- 
 ther. Some that did not approve have been silent, lest they 
 should be thought to speak against the work of God, and be 
 proclaimed as enemies to revivals ; and some have thought 
 that the prejudices of many were so strong, and there was so 
 little disposition to make distinctions, that if they should at- 
 tempt to correct any evils, their intentions would be misun- 
 derstood, and they should only lessen their own usefulness, 
 without the prospect of accomplishing any important good. 
 But those who have not approved are beginning to condemn 
 themselves for the silence they have maintained, and to ac- 
 knowledge it as an error that when they have seen the evil, 
 they have suffered any considerations to deter them from 
 raising the warning voice. It is to be hoped that the publi- 
 cation of this sermon will relieve them from any remaining 
 scruples they may feel, and lead the way to a full discussion 
 of the subject. It is certainly creditable to the author, that 
 he has thus publicly taken the field, and given so fair a chal- 
 lenge to those who object to his measures. No objection can 
 henceforth be made by their friends, if they are made the 
 subjects of the closest scrutiny ; for the sermon is so open 
 and direct an attack upon all those ministers and Christians 
 who do not approve of the new measures, that it will be as- 
 cribed to coivardice, or to the consciousness of guilty if they 
 do not speak in their own defence. 
 
 The object of the sermon evidently is, to account for the 
 opposition which is made to the new measures, by ministers 
 and Christians, as well as others, in such a way as to make 
 that opposition a proof that those measures are right, and 
 that all who oppose them are wrong ; and especially that 
 those ministers and professed Christians who oppose them. 
 
47 
 
 ^ive evidence by their opposition that the state of their hearts 
 is the same as that of the impenitent world. 
 
 The sum of the argument is this : Sinners must be most op- 
 posed to that which is nearest right : But they are more opposed 
 to these new measures than they are to those which others 
 use : therefore these measures must be nearest right. And, 
 
 If ministers and professed Christians oppose the same 
 things that sinners do, and make the same objections to them, 
 they must feel just as sinners do ; but ministers and professed 
 Christians do oppose these new measures ; therefore the state 
 of their hearts is the same as that of impenitent sinners, and 
 they are either hypocrites, or so cold hearted and dead, that 
 there is no present difference in moral character between 
 them and the impenitent world, and they ought to be so con- 
 sidered, and treated accordingly. 
 
 This appears through the whole discourse, and will be seen 
 in the following extracts : Page 6. " We see why lukewarm 
 professors and impenitent sinners have the same difficulties 
 with means in revivals of religion. We often hear them com- 
 plain of the manner of preaching and praying. Their objec- 
 tions are the same, they find fault with the same things, and 
 use the same arguments in support of their objections. 
 The reason is, that at that time, their affections are nearly 
 the same ; it is the fire and the spirit that disturbs their frosty 
 hearts. For the time being, they walk together, for in feel- 
 ing they are agreed." Page 7. " We see why ministers and 
 Christians visiting revivals, often, at first, raise objections to 
 the means used, and cavil, and sometimes take sides with 
 the wicked." " While their hearts remain wrongs they will, of 
 course, cavil ; and the nearer right any thing is, the more 
 spiritual and holy, so much the more it must displease them, 
 while ihe'ir affections grovcV P^gc 12. "That excitement 
 which does not call out the opposition of the wicked and 
 wrong-hearted, is either not a revival of religion at all, or it 
 is so conducted that sinners do not see the finger of God in 
 it." " The more pure and holy the means are that are used 
 to promote a revival of religion, so much the more, of neces- 
 sity^ will they excite the opposition of all lorong hearts.'''' 
 " If the matter of preaching is right, and the sinner is pleased, 
 there is something defective in the manner. ^^ Page 13. 
 " The more right and holy feeling there is, the more wrong 
 and unholy feehng there will be, of course." Page IG. " If 
 we walk with the lukewarm and ungodly, or they with i/5, it 
 is because we are agreed ; for two cannot walk together ex- 
 cept they he agreed.'''' Page 9. " We see why ministers are 
 sometimes unsettled by revivals." He supposes the minister 
 may awake, while the church will not, or that the church 
 
4S 
 
 may awake, while the minister will not. Page 10. " In either 
 of these cases, they may find themselves unable to walk to- 
 gether, becaifse they are not agreed. In the former case, let 
 the minister obey the command of Christ, and ' shake off the 
 dust of his feet for a testimony against them.' In the latter, 
 let the church shake off their sleepy minister ; they are better 
 without him, than with him." 
 
 These extracts I think clearly show, that the object of the 
 discourse is as before stated, to prove that the new measures 
 are nearest right, because they are most opposed ; and that 
 those ministers and Christians who oppose them, thereby give 
 evidence that they are agreed in heart with the impenitent 
 world, and should be treated accordingly. 
 
 The whole argument is highly sophistical, and the main 
 conclusions of the discourse entirely unwarranted ; yet the 
 prejudices of many readers are no doubt so strongly enlisted in 
 favour of the author's system, that they will think it a finished 
 piece of sound reasoning, and the conclusions supported by 
 irrefragable arguments. A few words might suffice to expose 
 its sophistry to those whose minds are unbiassed ; but a more 
 extended examination is doubtless expedient, for the sake of 
 such as are predisposed to embrace any thing the author may 
 advance. 
 
 And perhaps it may tend to convince some that the rea- 
 soning is unsound, even though they should not be able to 
 discover wherein, to let them see a few other conclusions 
 which the same kind of reasoning would equally support. — 
 Take the following : 
 
 Some impenitent sinners are greatly displeased with the 
 new measures for promoting revivals ; some professed Chris- 
 tians and ministers are greatly displeased with them also : 
 therefore, it is concluded, they are walking together, because 
 they are agreed^ and are both equally wrong. This is the 
 author's argument; but it will prove the contrary, just as 
 well. For, 
 
 Some impenitent sinners are much taken with the new 
 measures, and are very anxious to have them introduced ; 
 some professed Christians are also much taken with them, 
 and are as anxious to have them introduced : therefore, they 
 are walking together, because they are agreed, and are both 
 equally wrong. 
 
 Again, some professed Christians are pleased to hear a 
 man preach, who treats his subjects in a clear, argumenta- 
 tive manner, though he is not very forcible in his delivery ; 
 some impenitent sinners are also pleased to hear him : there- 
 fore, it is concluded, they are walking together, because they 
 are agreed, and are both equally wrong. But, 
 
49 
 
 Some professed Christians are displeased when they hear 
 such a preacher, and complain of him as " a dull man ;" 
 some impenitent sinners are also displeased, and make the 
 same complaint : therefore, they are walking together, be- 
 cause they are agreed^ and are both equally wrong. 
 
 Again, some professed Christians wish to have the doctrines 
 of the gospel fully and clearly preached, and are best pleased 
 with such preaching ; some impenitent sinners also wish the 
 doctrines preached, and are best pleased with such preach- 
 ing : therefore, it is concluded, they are walking together, 
 because they are agreed^ and are both equally wrong. But, 
 
 Some professed Christians are very unwilling to have the 
 doctrines of the bible dwelt upon, and are always displeased 
 with such preaching ; some impenitent sinners are also un- 
 willing to have those doctrines dwelt upon, and are always 
 displeased with such preaching : therefore they are walking 
 together, because they are a^ree^,and are both equally wrong. 
 
 These examples may suffice to show how the method of 
 argumentation adopted in the sermon will support opposite 
 conclusions equally well. A few other examples will show 
 how the same method of reasoning will support some con- 
 clusions which would be as offensive to the friends of the 
 new measures, as some of these which are drawn in the ser- 
 mon are to others. Take the following : 
 
 Impenitent sinners always pray for their own salvation 
 taithout submission ; it is an essential ingredient in the pray- 
 ers of some at this day, that they be made without submission : 
 therefore they walk together, because they are agreed. 
 
 Some individuals now venture to predict certain future 
 events, in consequence of impressions which they suppose 
 have been made on their minds by the Holy Spirit ; Stork, 
 Munzer, and their associates, in the days of Luther, did the 
 same ; therefore they walk together, because they are 
 agreed. 
 
 Stork, Munzer, and their associates, denounced Luther and 
 Calvin as carnal, unconverted men, and strangers to the in- 
 fluences of the Spirit, because they opposed their wild and 
 extravagant notions and practices ; some, in these days, do 
 the same, in respect to those ministers who are most like Lu- 
 ther and Calvin, in their sentiments and practice ; therefore 
 they walk together, because they arc agreed. 
 
 Some fanatical sects have been in the habit of encouraging 
 outward bodily expressions of feeling, and attaching great 
 importance to them, such as groaning aloud in time of prayer, 
 falling down, rolling about, and the like, and speaking of 
 them as evidences of the special and powerful influences of 
 
 7 
 
60 
 
 the Spirit ; some in these days do the same : therefore they 
 walk together, because they are agreed. 
 
 Some fanatical and disorderly persons in former times, 
 have thought it highly meritorious, to crowd themselves into 
 the parishes of settled ministers, and introduce such mea- 
 sures as were adapted to promote discord and strife ; some 
 in these days think the same ; therefore they walk together, 
 because they are agreed. 
 
 The Pharisees prayed long and loud, so as to attract the 
 notice of men in the streets ; some in these days do the same : 
 therefore they walk together, because they are agreed. 
 
 The Pharisees compassed sea and land to make proselytes 
 to their pecuHarities ; some in these days do the same : there- 
 fore they walk together, because they are agreed. 
 
 A person under the influence of an evil spirit followed 
 Paul and his company, with the cry, " these men are the ser- 
 vants of the most high God ;" some follow certain preachers 
 now with the same cry : therefore they are under the influ- 
 ence of the same evil spirit, and walk together, because they 
 are agreed. 
 
 Such deductions as these, are made after the method of 
 reasoning pursued in the sermon ; and they might be multi- 
 plied to an indefinite extent. If these examples should serve 
 to convince any that the method of reasoning is unsound, 
 and will equally support truth and falsehood, and equally 
 prove both sides of a contradiction, my purpose will be an- 
 swered. I am not weak enough to suppose that such argu- 
 mentation will fasten any of these conclusions upon the 
 friends of the new measures ; my object is to show them the 
 fallacy of the reasoning by which the conclusions of the ser- 
 mon are attempted to be fastened upon others. 
 
 But the foundation of the author's argument must be ex- 
 amined. It is assumed that the reasons why ministers and 
 Christians oppose the new measures, are the same as the rea- 
 sons why the impenitent oppose them. He says, " their ob- 
 jections are the same^ they find fault with the same things, and 
 use the same arguments in support of their objections." " It 
 is the fire and the spirit that disturbs their frosty hearts*. 
 For the time being, they walk together, for, in feelings they 
 are agreed." — So important a part of the argument as this, 
 and one on which the conclusions so essentially depend, 
 should not have been taken for granted, nor have been left 
 to depend upon the naked assertion of any man. It should 
 have been proved, beyond the possibility of doubt, that the 
 objections of Christians and the objections of the impenitent 
 are precisely the same ; and are not only supported by the 
 same arguments ostensibly, but must and do arise from the 
 
51 
 
 isame state of heart. Ministers and Christians should not 
 have been thus classed with the openly irreligious, while there 
 is any room to suppose they maij have difterent reasons for 
 their opposition ; or while the impenitent may have any good 
 reasons for theirs. 
 
 It should not be thought, that the single fact, if it were a 
 fact, of their being opposed to the same things, is sufficient 
 proof. Men are often opposed to the same things, for very 
 different reasons. A man may be a candidate for the office 
 of chief magistrate of our nation, and have great numbers 
 of individuals opposed to him, for reasons widely different 
 from each other. One may think he has injured him, and be 
 opposed from personal resentment. Another may think he 
 has personal advantages to expect from the elevation of his 
 competitor. Another may think his competitor will pursue 
 measures more for the interest of the particular section of the 
 nation in which he resides. Another may think the candi- 
 date is incompetent in point of talent and experience. Ano- 
 ther may be displeased with some vicious habits he believes 
 him to indulge. And a Christian may be opposed because 
 he thinks him a man void of religious principle, and not hav- 
 ing the fear of God before his eyes. Many other reasons 
 might be mentioned, by which those numerous individuals 
 are influenced to unite in their opposition to the same candi- 
 date. The fact, then, that they agree in opposing the same 
 candidate, is no proof of any likeness of character between 
 themselves, unless they are opposed for the same reasons. 
 
 Are the impenitent, then, and many ministers and Chris- 
 tians, opposed to the new measures for promoting revivals, 
 for the same reasons ? This is asserted ; and they have been 
 abundantly classed together, by the friends of the new mea- 
 sures, on this very ground. It should not be concluded that 
 the fact, if it were a fact, of their using " the same arguments 
 in support of their objections,'' is a sufficient proof that the 
 reasons why they are opposed are the same ; nor, if some of 
 them are the same, that they arc all the same. They may 
 have more reasons, in their own minds, than they think it ne- 
 cessary to give, on every occasion. For instance, an impe- 
 nitent sinner may feel opposed in heart to the doctrine of to- 
 tal depravity. That doctrine may be exhibited to him in a 
 manner that is peculiarly and unnecessarily offensive. He is 
 displeased at the doctrine itself, and he is displeased also at 
 the offensive manner in which it was presented. He may not 
 choose to complain of the doctrine itself, but only of the 
 manner. A Christian who heard it, though he cordially re- 
 ceives the doctrine, might think the manner highly improper, 
 and make the same complaint. Does the fact, in this case, 
 
52 
 
 of their making the same objection, prove a likeness of cha- 
 racter between them ? Such a conclusion would certainly 
 be unfounded. It ought first to be proved that the manner 
 was right, or that the Christian was as really offended with 
 the doctrine itself, as the sinner was, before such a conclusion 
 can be drawn. Suppose a sinner is conversed with, who as- 
 sents to the truth of all the doctrines of the gospel, but ac- 
 knowledges himself an impenitent sinner : and he is told, 
 " he is as orthodox as the devil," but " his character is as 
 black as hell," and " if he does not repent to-day he will be 
 in hell to-morrow;" he will probably be displeased, and 
 make objections to this treatment. And what objections 
 will he state ? He will probably object, that such language 
 is harsh, unkind, not expressive of benevolent feehng, and 
 savouring of profaneness ; and that, in the prediction, the 
 man is telling more than he knows. And if a Christian, who 
 should hear it, should make the same objections, would it 
 prove him to be of the same character as the impenitent sin- 
 ner ? If I should tell a child, " not to follow his ungodly pa- 
 rents, who were leading him to hell ; not to listen to their in- 
 structions, which will destroy his soul ; that his parents are 
 so wicked, he had better leave them, and live with me, and I 
 will take him with me to heaven ;" the parents would proba- 
 bly be displeased, and make objections to such treatment. 
 And what objections would they state ? They would proba- 
 bly object, that it would be more proper to tell parents their 
 own faults, than to tell them to their children ; that such 
 treatment is adapted to alienate the afiections of children 
 from their parents, break up families, and teach children to 
 disregard the fifth commandment, which requires children to 
 love and honour their parents. And if a Christian, who 
 should hear all this, should make the same objections, would 
 it prove him to be of the same character as the impenitent 
 sinner? If an impenitent sinner should be prayed for by 
 name, at a public meeting, and the occasion should be em- 
 braced to hold him up to public notice, as an uncommonly 
 odious and abandoned character, and to tell God and the 
 world all the bad things that have been known or thought 
 about him, it would probably give offence to him and his 
 friends. And what objections would they state? They 
 would probably say, that such treatment was abusive and 
 defamatory, and not adapted to do the individual any good. 
 And if a Christian should happen to feel and express the 
 same opinion of it, would that be a conclusive proof that he 
 is of the same character with the impenitent ? If a minister 
 of the gospel should happen to be such an one as Paul re- 
 quires all to be, having " a good report of them which are 
 
53 
 
 without," and one that, by a long Hfe of uniform piety, had 
 commanded the respect and confidence even of the uncon- 
 verted part of his congregation ; and he should be publicly 
 prayed for, by some stranger, as " an old grey-headed apos- 
 tate, who was leading souls to hell," or as " the head Achan 
 in the camp of the Lord ;" it is probable some of the uncon- 
 verted would be offended at it, as well as some of the church ; 
 and that both would complain that their aged pastor should 
 be treated with such indignity ; and if it should happen, that 
 " their objections should be the same," and that they should 
 " use the same arguments in support of them," would it cer- 
 tainly prove that they were all alike in their moral character ? 
 If a preacher should, in a public assembly, in the presence of 
 ministers and others, exhort the females to lead in prayer, 
 and represent them as grieving the Spirit by refusing ; and 
 not prevailing by arguments, should drop on his knees and 
 tell the Lord how proud they were, because they would not 
 comply, and then repeat his exhortations ; and if the fear of 
 resisting the Spirit, or of being thought proud, should prevail 
 with some to comply, the whole transaction would probably 
 be objected to by their impenitent friends. And what would 
 they say ? They would be likely to quote the apostolic pro- 
 hibition, " Let your women keep silence in the churches ; for 
 it is not permitted unto them to speak." And if it should so 
 happen that some Christians too should think the practice 
 was forbidden, and should quote the same direction of the 
 apostle, would it certainly prove that they were of the same 
 moral character with those impenitent friends ? 
 
 It is evident, then, that if ministers and Christians did 
 " find fault with the same things, and use the same argu- 
 ments in support of their objections" that the impenitent do, 
 it would not be sufficient to prove a likeness of character be- 
 tween them, unless it were first proved that the things ob- 
 jected to are right, and that all the reasons why both classes 
 objected were the same. Let it first be shown that the mea- 
 sures objected to are right, and that there can be none but 
 sinful objections made against them ; and then let it be 
 shown that the objections which ministers and Christians 
 make are the same in all respects, not only as those which 
 the impenitent avow, but as those which they inwardly feel ; 
 and something will be done towards laying a foundation for 
 the conclusion that there is some likeness of character be- 
 tween them. 
 
 But I am disposed to question the fact, that the objections 
 which ministers and Christians make to the new measures 
 arc, in general, the same as those which the impenitent 
 make. To many of them, I have no doubt they are, in part, 
 
54 
 
 the same. For wherever the impenitent discover any thing 
 in professors of rehgion vv^hich is really v^^rong, they can, if 
 they please, bring solid objections against it, and support 
 them bv sound arguments both from reason and scripture. 
 Some of the unconverted are men of good sense, and have 
 sufficient acquaintance with the scriptures to form a pretty 
 accurate judgment whether the conduct of Christians is con- 
 sistent with their profession or not. And some of them are 
 men of good breeding, and are disgusted with whatever vio- 
 lates the common rules of propriety, wherever they see it. 
 If, therefore, in some things, their judgment should accord 
 with that of ministers and Christians, it is no sufficient rea- 
 son why reproaches should be cast upon either. 
 
 A brief statement of the most common objections which I 
 have heard made, by both classes, against the new measures, 
 will show how far they agree. Those out of the church have 
 complained of harsh and uncivil treatment in conversation, 
 being called by hard names, and provoking epithets, and ad- 
 dressed with coarseness and vulgarity, and in a manner which 
 they deemed insolent, overbearing and insulting. They have 
 complained of being spoken of to others in terms which they 
 consider defamatory and abusive. They have complained 
 that their children were unreasonably frightened, by being 
 threatened with immediate and inevitable damnation, and 
 told that there was no help for them. Tiiey have complained 
 that their children should be told such things about their pa- 
 rents as were adapted to alienate their affections, and lead 
 them to be disrespectful towards their parents. They have 
 found fault with the personality of public preaching, by which 
 the attention of the congregation was directed to particular 
 individuals, as persons of an uncommonly odious character. 
 They have complained of being prayed for by name in a 
 manner which they considered slanderous and abusive. 
 Some have taken offence at what they considered an irreve- 
 rent use of the name of God, and a familiar use of the words 
 devil^ hell, cursed^ damned, and the like, in a manner which 
 they thought resembled the more vulgar sort of profane 
 swearing. Some have been disgusted with what appeared to 
 them an irreverent boldness and familiarity with God in 
 prayer, which shocked their feelings. Some have objected 
 that the subject of religion should be so much urged upon 
 them. And some have complained that the doctrines of 
 Calvinism should be so vehemently pressed, and especially 
 that of total depravity ; and that so little charity should be 
 expressed for other denominations. The principal reasons 
 they have given why they objected to these things, have 
 been, that they felt themselves unreasonably crowded upon 
 
55 
 
 and ill-treated, that their sense of propriety was outraged, 
 and that they thought these things improper. And it has 
 been said, " If this is religion, I want no such religion." 
 
 Now, is it certain that these complaints have been made 
 by the unconverted solely from their dislike of the religion of 
 the gospel ? Has there been no other foundation for any of 
 them ? Have they been made solely because the holy, hea- 
 venly temper of the gospel has been so clearly exhibited be- 
 fore them, in all its native loveliness, as it appeared in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, breathing good will to man, and express- 
 ing all the meekness, and gentleness, and kindness, and for- 
 bearance towards them which is required in the sermon on 
 the mount, and elsewhere ? The fact that such objections 
 are made by the impenitent against the new measures, more 
 than against the measures previously in use, will not be al- 
 lowed to be, of itself, a sufficient proof that the new mea- 
 sures are the nearest right. 
 
 But it is not my present purpose to show that these com- 
 plaints are, or are not, made on good grounds. It is simply 
 to show, that the complaints of the unconverted and those of 
 Christians and ministers, have not been all the same, and 
 made for the same reasons. 
 
 Ministers and Christians have, indeed, complained of some 
 of the things above mentioned. They have complained of a 
 harsh and overbearing treatment of the unconverted, not only 
 because they thought it improper, but because they thought 
 it adapted to harden them, and shut up the way of access to 
 their consciences. They have not been unwilling to have 
 children and youth conversed with on the subject of religion, 
 and made to see their true state and character ; but they 
 have thought a great and sudden excitement of their fears 
 not likely to lead them to such an attention to the state of 
 their own hearts, as would be adapted to do any permanent 
 good ; and especially when it was produced by unwarranta- 
 ble declarations of immediate and inevitable damnation, 
 which a few days might suffice to show them were not true : 
 and they feared that such things would lead them to treat the 
 sober warnings of the scriptures with contempt. They have 
 thought that it was wrong, under the colour of performing 
 any other religious duty, to teach children to disregard the 
 fifth commandment. They have been oflended at an irreve- 
 rent use of the Divine name, because they thought it a breach 
 of the third commandment ; and have been displeased with 
 the familiar use of other common terms of profaneness, be- 
 cause they thought it must produce some of the same effect 
 that profane swearing does. They have been disgusted with 
 the appearance of irreverent boldness, and the afi'ectation of 
 
56 
 
 familiarity with God in prayer, because they thought it in* 
 consistent with proper feelings of respect towards him, and 
 that awe of the Divine Majesty which holy beings express. 
 They have not been afraid that the subject of religion would 
 be too much urged upon men, if it were only done with that 
 kindness of feeling which would leave the door open for its 
 being repeated. They have not complained that the doc- 
 trines of Calvinism were too much or too clearly preached, 
 nor that too much importance was attached to them, nor that 
 too little charity was expressed for such as understandingly 
 and cordially reject them. On the contrary, it has been a se- 
 rious objection with many, that those doctrines have not been 
 preached so clearly and fully as they thought important. 
 They have been grieved that those who did urge them plainly 
 and fully, should be charged with hindering revivals by 
 preaching them ; and that orthodoxy should be made a term 
 of reproach. They have objected, that people were not suf- 
 ficiently instructed ; that the distinction between true and 
 false experience should be overlooked, or little thought of; 
 and that the disposition to make a distinction between genu- 
 ine and spurious revivals, should be frowned upon as a mark 
 of being in a cold and stupid state. They have complained 
 that the most uniform and consistent Christians should be 
 pronounced cold, and stupid, and dead, because they did not 
 alter as much as others ; and that, too, in many cases, by 
 those who had as yet had no opportunity from personal ex- 
 amination to know any thing of the state of their minds. 
 They have been grieved that the best friends of revivals, as 
 they have hitherto witnessed them, should be denounced as 
 enemies because they did not fall in with the new measures, 
 and that those whose age and experience had given them op- 
 portunity to be most and longest acquainted with revivals, 
 should be put down, by the converts of a few days old, as to- 
 tally ignorant on the subject. They have complained that 
 aged ministers, of tried and approved piety, should be pub- 
 licly prayed for, by young men and boys, as old hypocrites 
 or apostates, who were "leading souls to hell." Some 
 have objected to female prayer and exhortation in mixed as- 
 semblies, because they thought it forbidden in the scriptures, 
 and adapted to destroy that silent, unobtrusive influence 
 which it is so desirable that the female members of the church 
 should exert, and which can be best exerted in the sphere 
 in which God has placed them. Some have objected to the 
 confidence which appeared to be placed in impulses and im- 
 pressions, especially as connected with the supposed prayer 
 of faith, because they thought it contrary to the scriptures, 
 and adapted to open a wide door to the delusions of Satan. 
 
57 
 
 Some have thought the young were put forward, to their own 
 injury, and the older members of the church, whose age and 
 experience quahfied them to lead, were too manifestly put in 
 the back ground ; and that old people in general were often 
 treated with great disrespect, in direct violation of the Di- 
 vine command, " thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, 
 and honour the face of the old man." Some have complain- 
 ed of the disposition of those who adopted the new measures 
 to crowd them into every place, regardless of the divisions 
 and contentions to which they seemed likely to give rise ; 
 and of the disposition of some to intermeddle in the concerns 
 of other churches to which they did not belong. Some have 
 complained of the stress which was laid upon the posture m 
 prayer, while so little regard appeared to be paid to the culti- 
 vation of that meek, humble, modest, retiring spirit, which is 
 so essential to the right performance of that duty. Some 
 have complained that secret prayer should be made so loud 
 as to attract the notice of people in the streets, because they 
 thought it too much hke that praying in the streets which our 
 Lord reproves. Some have thought it wrong to pray that indi- 
 viduals might be converted or removed, and especially, that 
 " God would seal the damnation of sinners this night." Some 
 have objected to the principle that the feelings ought to con- 
 trol the judgment ; and that because any measure contribu- 
 ted to produce very pleasant feelings in us, it was therefore 
 right. Some have thought it wrong to consider success an 
 evidence of Divine approbation, lest it should lead us to prac- 
 tise deception, as Jacob did, in order to secure a good ob- 
 ject. Some have been disgusted with the ostentation, and 
 boasting, and self-conceit^ which they have witnessed, be- 
 cause they thought them utterly inconsistent with the spirit of 
 the 'gospel. Some have complained, that when evils were 
 pointed out, there was no regard paid to their warnings, but 
 the same things were repeated, and carried to greater lengths 
 than before. And some have been distressed at the appear- 
 ance they saw of a disposition to have some men^s "persons 
 in admiration," as if they only were the instruments through 
 which any good could be expected from Divine ordinances, 
 and the only medium through which the Holy Spirit could 
 be communicated ; and the apparent determination to deny 
 or justify every thing for which they were complained of, let 
 it be what it might. But the principal complaint, and one 
 which has embraced all the rest, has been, that the whole 
 system of measures appeared to be adapted to promote false 
 conversions, to strengthen and cherish false hopes, and pro- 
 pagate a false religion ; and thus, besides destroying the 
 souls of those who should be the subjects of it, these mea- 
 
 8 
 
5S 
 
 sures should tend ultimately to bring all true religion, and all 
 pure revivals into contempt, and increase the number of er- 
 rorists and scoffers on every side. 
 
 Such are some of the principal objections to the new mea- 
 sures which I have heard among ministers and Christians, 
 And it is easy to see that they are very far from being pre- 
 cisely the same objections, and founded upon precisely the 
 same reasons, as the objections of the impenitent. No ; they 
 are grounded on the love of the truth, or a regard for the 
 honour of God, and the good of souls, and on a most anxious 
 solicitude for the permanent good character and influence of 
 revivals, and the advancement of the cause of Christ in the 
 earth. And nothing can be more unjust and injurious, than 
 because they make these objections, even if they are in a 
 mistake in making them, to class them with the ungodly 
 world, and represent them as walking together, because they 
 are agreed. 
 
 Having made these remarks upon the general object of the 
 sermon, and having shown the fallacy of the main point as- 
 sumed, that the objections which ministers and Christians 
 make to the new measures are the same as those of the im- 
 penitent, and grounded on the same reasons, and having thus 
 exposed the unsoundness of the argument, and shown that 
 the main point to be supported is Vvithout foundation, and 
 that there is yet no proof of a likeness of character between 
 the two classes of objectors to the new system, I proceed to 
 a more particular examination of the several parts of the 
 sermon. 
 
 That which may be styled the doctrinal part of the ser- 
 mon is the author's illustration of the declaration of the text, 
 that two cannot walk together except they be agreed. He 
 thinks it is an agreement in feeling. And though the text 
 means God and man, his purpose requires him to consider it 
 as spoken of one man walking with another. — The following 
 extracts will give his view of it : 
 
 Page 3 — 6. " All pleasure and pain — all happiness and 
 misery, belong to the mind — all sin and holiness have their 
 seat in, and belong to the heart or afiections. All the satis- 
 faction or dissatisfaction, pain or pleasure, that we feel in 
 view of any truth or thing presented to our minds, depends 
 entirely upon the actings of our affections at the time, and 
 consists in these actings. If it fall in with, and excite, and 
 feed, pleasurable affections, we are pleased of course ; for 
 in these pleasurable affections our pleasure or happiness con- 
 sists. The higher, therefore, these affections are elevated by 
 the presentation of any thing or truth to our minds, the 
 greater our pleasure is. But if the thing or truth do not fal 
 
59- 
 
 in with our affections, it cannot please us ; if it be aside from 
 our present state of feeling, and our affections refuse to fol- 
 low^ we shall either view it with indifference, our affections 
 being otherwise engaged, or if it press upon us, we shall turn 
 from and resist it." " If the subject be exhibited in a light 
 that is below our present tone of feeling, we cannot be inter- 
 ested, until it comes up to our feelings / if this does not take 
 place, we necessarily remain uninterested ; and if the sub- 
 ject, in this cooling, and to us, degraded point of view, is held 
 up before our mind, and our affections struggle to maintain 
 their height, we feel displeased, because our affections are 
 not fed, but opposed. If the subject be presented in a man- 
 ner that strikes far above our tone of feeling, and our affec- 
 tions grovel, and refuse to rise, it does not fall in with and 
 feed our affections, therefore we cannot be interested ; it is 
 enthusiasm to us, we are displeased with the warmth in 
 which our affections refuse to participate ; and the farther it 
 is above our temperature, the more we are disgusted. These 
 are truths to which the experience of every man will testify, 
 as they hold good on every subject, and under all circum- 
 stances ; and are founded upon principles incorporated with 
 the very nature of man." " A refined musician is listening 
 almost in rapture to the skilful execution of a fine piece of 
 harmony — throw in discords upon him, he is in pain in a 
 moment. Increase and prolong the dissonance, and he 
 leaves the room in disgust. — You are fond of music ; but you 
 are at present melancholy — ^you are in great affliction — you 
 are inclined to weep — the plaintive tones of an JEolian harp 
 light softly upon your ear, and melt around your heart — your 
 tears flow fast — but now the din of trumpets, drums, and 
 cymbals, and the piercing fife, in mirthful quick-step, breaks 
 upon your ear, and drowns the soft breathings of the harp — 
 you feel distressed — you turn away and stop your ears. The 
 harp touched and melted your weeping affections, it fell in 
 with your feelings ; therefore you were gratified. The mar- 
 tial music opposed your state of feeling, you was too melan- 
 choly to have your affections elevated and enlivened by it : 
 it therefore necessarily distressed you.'''' " Your heart is 
 glowing with religious feeling — you are not only averse to 
 the introduction of any other subject at that time, but are un- 
 interested with any thing upon the same subject that is far 
 below the tone of your affections. Suppose you hear a dull 
 man preach or pray: while he remains dull, and you are 
 warm with feeling, you are not interested, you cannot be, for 
 your affections are not fed and cherished, unless he comes 
 up to your tone ; if this does not happen, you are distressed 
 and perhaps disgusted with his coldness. This is a thing of 
 
60 
 
 course." ** Suppose you are lukewarm, and carnal, and 
 earthly, in your affections : you hear one exhort, or pray, or 
 preach, who is highly spiritual, and fervent, and affectionate ; 
 if your affections will not rise — if, through prejudice, or pride, 
 or the earthly and sensual state of your affections, they re- 
 fuse to enkindle, and to grasp the subject, although you be- 
 lieve every word he says, yet you are not pleased. He is 
 above your temperature, you are annoyed with the manner^ 
 and fire, and spirit of the man. The higher he rises, if your 
 affections grovel, the farther apart you are, and the more you 
 are displeased. While your heart is wrongs the nearer right 
 he is, the more he burns upon you, if your heart will not en- 
 kindle, the more you are disgusted." 
 
 Here, then, we have the theory of the sermon before us ; 
 and, as I think, also the theory of the whole system of the 
 author's measures for promoting revivals. Some of his lan- 
 guage would lead us to infer that he meant to embrace what 
 is called the exercise scheme^ that all sin and holiness con- 
 sists in voluntary exercises ; but from other expressions it ap- 
 pears he does not, unless, indeed, he supposes that all the 
 sensations and emotions of the mind are voluntary exercises, 
 which would be indeed an entire new theory of the mind. 
 He says, " all the satisfaction or dissatisfaction, pain or plea- 
 sure, that we feel, depend entirely upon the actings of our af- 
 fections at the time, and consists in these actings.''^ Accord- 
 ing to him, then, all the pleasurable or painful emotions of 
 the mind are affections, whether they are voluntary or invo- 
 luntary. These constitute our feehngs. And all sin and 
 holiness consist in these also. And he uses feeling and heart 
 as synonymous terms. Does he mean, then, that all the plea- 
 surable and painful emotions we have are of a moral nature, 
 and either sinful or holy ? Does he mean that holiness is the 
 same thing as happiness, and sin the same thing as misery ? 
 Does he mean that all warm, lively, and happy feelings are 
 holy affections ? If he does not mean so, this was the place 
 to inform us, and to make the distinction. And it was in- 
 cumbent upon him to make it clearly, and let us see the dif- 
 ference between those warm feelings that are holy, and those 
 that are not. I can scarce think that he believes all warm 
 and happy feelings are holy ; but I have looked in vain for 
 any information to the contrary. — " Your heart is glowing 
 with religious feeling." What is religious feeling? It was 
 all important that he should tell us, because all his conclu- 
 sions were based upon it ; and a mistake here would lead us 
 entirely astray. Does he suppose it impossible to mistake, 
 and that the man who thinks he is awake, and full of religious 
 feeling, is of course right, in thinking so ? How can a church 
 
61 
 
 know when it is their duty to " shake off their sleepy minis^ 
 ter," without being informed what it is to be awake, and 
 what it is to be asleep ? Or is it impossible to mistake? Is 
 the consciousness of being warm in our feelings on the sub- 
 ject of rehgion, certain evidence that we are in a right state 
 of mind ? And if a minister does not so preach and pray, 
 that " our affections are fed and cherished," is that certain 
 evidence that he is " sleepy," and ought to be " shaken off?" 
 Is religious feehng so much of the nature of the inspiration of 
 the prophets, that those who have it know certainly that they 
 are right exactly, without " trying the spirits" by any rule ? 
 Or is the grand rule by which every man is to be judged, and 
 his spiritual state determined, the single question of his 
 agreement or disagreement with the new measures ? I con- 
 clude this will be the rule adopted in practice, and if this is 
 the rule intended, it should have been more distinctly avowed. 
 The whole drift of the discourse, however, is to establish this 
 rule, though that object is not distinctly avowed. 
 
 But, is there nothing said in the discourse, to show that all 
 kinds of feeling are not religious feeling ? Yes. On page 10 
 the author rejects animal feelings as forming no part of reli- 
 gious affection. What, then, does he mean by animal feel- 
 ing ? He gives us no definition ; but from what he says of it, 
 it would appear to be that tender sensibility which inclines us 
 to weep, when it is skilfully touched. His language is, 
 " adopt a strain of exhortation or preaching that is calcu- 
 lated to awaken mere sympathy and animal feeling, and you 
 will soon see that there is a perfect community of feeling 
 amongst cold and warm hearted Christians, and sinners ; 
 they will all weep and seem to melt, and no one will be of- 
 fended ; and, I may add, no one will be convicted or con- 
 verted." I conclude, then, that by animal feeling he means 
 emotions of the tender and weeping kind, such as the music 
 of the iEolian harp is adapted to excite, and which the intro- 
 duction of martial music would greatly disturb. Such feel- 
 ings as these may be excited in view of religious objects, 
 when presented in a particular attitude, and are, no doubt, 
 often mistaken for religious affections. But they are the re- 
 sult of mere tragic painting, and ought to be carefully distin- 
 guished from holy affections. There is, however, another 
 class of animal feelings, such as are excited by " the din of 
 trumpets, drums, and cymbals, and the piercing fife, in mirth- 
 ful quick-step, breaking upon the ear." This class is doubt- 
 less excited by religious subjects, as well as the other ; and 
 no reason appears why they should not be carefully distin- 
 guished from holy affections. Yet, no notice is taken by the 
 author, in this discourse, of this class of feelings, as animal 
 
63 
 
 feelingS) which should not be mistaken for true religion. On 
 the contrary, while he expressly excludes the other class, 
 there is much in his language on the subject of religious feel- 
 ing, which leads me to conclude that he considers this class 
 of feeling, when excited by religious subjects, to be the very 
 height of holy affection. And this I take to be the Jiey to his 
 whole discourse, and to his whole system of measures. 
 
 That there are these two classes of animal feeling, each of 
 which consists in emotions of the mind which are involunta- 
 ry, and are neither sinful nor holy, I think cannot be reason- 
 ably questioned. The existence of the class of tender sym- 
 pathies, which lead us to weep at the sight of distress, is ad- 
 mitted. And is not the existence of the other class equally 
 evident ? What are those emotions which are excited by 
 martial music ? Why does the sight of a military pageant 
 attract the attention of the multitude, and kindle, in so many 
 minds, the thirst for military glory ? Why does the sound of 
 the fife and drum wake up all the energies of children ; and 
 why do we see them, in imitation, marching and counter- 
 marching, with their paper caps, and their weapons of wood ? 
 call it enthusiasm, if you will, it is feeling ; and feeling, too, 
 of a lively and animated kind ; it is a feeling that is full of 
 fire, and spirit, and life, a feeling that blazes and burns upon 
 you, till you sympathize in it, and burn and glow in like man- 
 ner, or till you are greatly annoyed by it, and compelled to 
 flee. This feeling sometimes strongly seizes the female 
 mind ; and wherever it does, it effects a wonderful transform- 
 ation. Let a nation be invaded ; let their energies be roused 
 for defence ; let the genuine war spirit be waked up, and all 
 ages and sexes will participate, in a greater or less degree. 
 Let our wives, and mothers, and daughters, be filled with 
 this spirit, and they no longer appear like the same beings. 
 The softness and delicacy so natural to the sex is exchanged 
 for masculine boldness. Those fine sensibilities, that tender- 
 ness, and gentleness, and kindness, for which we so much ad- 
 mired them, is laid aside. Every nerve is braced ; every 
 movement is quick and violent ; every look threatens ; every 
 eye flashes fire ; every word breathes defiance. And some, 
 when dangers press, and help is needed, disregarding that 
 unfitness for rough and hardy enterprises which results from 
 their delicate frame, will fly to arms, and rush upon the foe. 
 And some will outrun their more tardy and phlegmatic hus- 
 bands and brothers, and be foremost in the field of contest. 
 Such things have been seen. And what is it ? It is animal 
 feeling, no doubt, of a peculiar kind ; and when it gains pos- 
 session, it drives out all the animal feelings of the tender 
 class, all the soothing sensibilities and weeping sympathies of 
 
63 
 
 our nature, and frowns upon them where they appear in 
 others at such a time, as objects of ineffable scorn. 
 
 Now change the subject. Let rehgion be presented in 
 such an attitude, and with such accompaniments, as are 
 adapted to affect the nervous system in the same way. Will 
 not the same class of feelings be excited ? and will they 
 not burn, and blaze, and glow, in like manner ? and will 
 they not produce the same effects upon those who are the 
 subjects of them ? Have we not examples in the past histo- 
 ry of the church ? and are there not present examples be- 
 fore our eyes ? And why should it be thought there is any 
 more holiness in this class of animal feelings, than in the ten- 
 der class ? 
 
 If the conclusion to which I have come is correct — that by 
 the fire, and spirit, and warmth, which glow, and blaze, and 
 burn upon us through this discourse, nothing more is meant 
 than mere animal feeling, of the martial kind, applied to the 
 subject of religion, the principle will doubtless apply to the 
 leading positions taken in the sermon, and satisfactorily ac- 
 count for them. — Let us make the experiment. 
 
 Page 5. " Suppose you hear a dull man preach or pray ; 
 while he remains dull, and you are warm with feeling, you 
 are not interested, you cannot be, for your affections are not 
 fed and cherished, unless he comes up to your tone." This 
 is exactly so, if your feeling is mere animal feeling; but far 
 from it, if it is that holy affection which consists in the love of 
 the truth. If the truth is clearly presented, though it should 
 be done by a dull man, who does not appear to feel it him- 
 self, still that truth would feed and cherish your holy affec- 
 tions. And the degree in which your affections would be fed, 
 would depend upon the truth presented, and not upon the 
 feeling of the speaker. — Satan might be the medium of an- 
 nouncing to the angels in heaven that another sinner has re- 
 pented, and the tidings would fill them with holy joy, though 
 Satan should appear to have no pleasure in the message him- 
 self But in the sermon, it all depends upon the degree of 
 feeling manifested by the preacher. If that is below your 
 tone, "you are not interested, you cannot be." The feeling 
 in you is fed only by the feehng in him, and not by the truths 
 he exhibits. And being so, it is animal feeling. For, no- 
 thing is plainer, than that the feeling in one which is fed by 
 feeling in another, is mere sympathy, and animal feeling. It 
 cannot be any thing else. 
 
 So also with the converse ; in which I conclude he means 
 to suppose one who is in the exercise of Christian feelings, 
 though in a low degree. He applies some terms to him, 
 which, as I should understand them, denote the opposite of 
 
64 
 
 Christian feelings ; but as he probably means to make an ex- 
 act contrast, I pass over these. Your affections are low — 
 you hear the ardent man pray or preach — " if your affections 
 will not rise, if they refuse to enkindle ; although you be- 
 heve every word he says, yet you are not pleased. He is 
 above your temperature ; you are annoyed with the manner^ 
 and fire, and spirit of the man. The higher he rises, if your 
 affections grovel, the farther apart you are, and the more 
 you are displeased. While your heart is wrongs [that is, of 
 low temperature,] the nearer n^/i^ he is, [that is, the higher his 
 temperature,] the more he burns upon you, if your heart will 
 not enkindle, the more you are disgusted." Exactly true 
 again, if it is mere animal feeling, of the kind which has been 
 described. The state of my nervous system is such, as to be 
 pleasantly affected only with the soft tones of the harp ; but 
 he pours upon me " the din of trumpets, drums, and cym- 
 bals," and I am pained and disgusted. But, very different 
 is the case, if it is Christian feeling. Though my Christian 
 feelings, which consist in the love of the truth, are in a low 
 degree, yet if he makes a clear and vivid exhibition of that 
 truth which I love, I am pleased. And with respect to the 
 manner of the preacher, if it is the eloquence of holy love, 
 and I am a Christian, I cannot fail of being delighted with 
 it, though ever so much above the tone of my own feelings. 
 Christians are not unfrequently in a state in which their holy 
 affections are low ; but never, I believe, in that state in which 
 the exhibition of that truth which they love does not please 
 them. And while that truth which they love is exhibited, 
 they are not displeased but delighted at the appearance of 
 a high degree of love to it in the preacher. I have never 
 known an instance of^the contrary, in the circle of my Chris- 
 tian friends. And among the revival ministers of my ac- 
 quaintance, 1 have never known one who was not pleased at 
 the exhibition of a high degree of holy feeling in another, 
 even though his own feelings should not come up to the same 
 temperature. The remarks may hold good, as far as animal 
 feelings are concerned ; but will not apply to Christian ex- 
 perience. 
 
 Again, page 6, he says, " We may learn why persons dif- 
 fering in theory upon doctrinal points in religion, and belong- 
 ing to different denominations, will often, for a time, walk 
 together in great harmony and affection. It is because they 
 feel deeply^ and feel alike. Their differences are in a great 
 measure lost or forgotten, while they fall in with each other's 
 state of /eeZm^." It has often been noticed that those, be- 
 tween whose professed doctrinal views there is the greatest 
 difference, do sometimes thus harmonize. Some have won- 
 
65 
 
 dered at it ; but others have understood it well. The true 
 reason is here given, if by feeling is understood animal feel- 
 ing. But if their feeling consisted in the love of what they 
 respectively consider as truth, there would be no such agree- 
 ment ; and the more of that kind of feeling each had, the far- 
 ther asunder they would be. But, let two persons, thus dif- 
 fering from each other in their doctrinal views, be filled with 
 the kind of animal feeling which has been mentioned, that is, 
 the martial kind, and let their religion consist chiefly in this, 
 and their difterences are easily forgotten, for neither will at- 
 tach much importance to them. They can meet together, 
 and readily join in the same ma7i7ier of expressing their feel- 
 ings. They can sigh, and groan, and vociferate, in perfect 
 harmony ; they can think a noisy and tumultuous meeting a 
 great excellence, and an evidence of the peculiar presence of 
 the Holy Spirit ; they can cry out, and fall down, and have 
 *' the power," and speak and pray, all at once, males and fe- 
 males, old and young, and find a perfect unison o^ feeling in 
 it all. " It is because they feel deeply, smidfeel alikey And 
 this accounts for what some have wondered at, that some 
 nominal Calvinists have thought it a high commendation of 
 the new measures, to say, they were so much like those prac- 
 tised by the Methodists ; and that some Methodists have 
 said the new converts made under these measures were re- 
 ally Methodists, and it was not fair to hurry them into Cal- 
 vinistic churches, before they had time to discover their pro- 
 per home. 
 
 Again, page 6. " We see why young converts love to as- 
 sociate with each other, B.nd with those older saints who have 
 most religious feeling ; these walk together, because they 
 feel alike.'' Young converts have been often spoken of, in 
 these days, as being much nearer right than old Christians ; 
 and it is doubtless true, if to have the most of this kind of 
 animal feeling is to be nearest right. Old Christians, who 
 have grown in the knowledge of the scriptures and of them- 
 selves, know well, that when they were young converts, they 
 had much more of that kind of animal feeling, and much less 
 of that feeling which consists in the love of the truth. Their 
 knowledge of the truth was then very small, and they could 
 not love any more than they knew. With their increasing 
 knowledge of the truth, that feeling which consists in the 
 love of the truth, has increased, but their animal feeling has 
 diminished. Young converts having much animal feeling, 
 and but little else, of course harmonize most with each 
 other, and with such old Christians as have not grown in 
 knowledge nor in the love of the truth, but have always 
 made their religion to consist chiefly in animal feeling. 
 
 9 
 
66 
 
 The fact is correctly accounted for, if it is animal feeling 
 that is meant. 
 
 Again, page 6. " We see why lukewarm professors and 
 impenitent sinners have the same difficulties with means^ 
 in revivals of religion. We often hear them complain of 
 the manner of preaching and praying. Their objections are 
 the same : the reason is, that their affections are nearly the 
 same. It is the fire and the spirit that disturb their frosty 
 hearts.*" By lukewarm professors understand those whose 
 feeling is not up to the required temperature, those who have 
 not imbibed this martial spirit. By the manner of preaching 
 and praying, of which they complain, understand that ma7i' 
 ner which is expressive of this kind of animal feeling, at its 
 high temperature. It is the spirit of war. It attacks impe- 
 nitent sinners, and those professors who do not come up to 
 the required temperature, with the same abrupt, harsh, re- 
 proachful, and provoking language. Such professors, being 
 cool, and not having their judgment biassed by passion, re- 
 gard such treatment as improper, and inconsistent with the 
 meek, and mild, and gentle, and benevolent temper of the 
 gospel ; and if they say any thing on the subject, they express 
 this judgment. And those impenitent sinners who are dis- 
 pleased on this account, or on any other account, will be 
 most likely to make the same objections. The fact that they 
 make the same objections is very far from proving a likeness of 
 moral character between them, as has been already shown. 
 But the fact that they are alike " annoyed by the warmth 
 and spirit" with which they are fiercely attacked, does prove, 
 I am willing to admit, that they neither of them enter into 
 this kind of feeling, and have not the same spirit enkindled 
 within them. They are alike destitute, for the time, of this 
 class of animal feeling. But, if the feeling spoken of, were 
 the love of the truth, it would produce very different effects 
 upon the impenitent, and upon those Christians whose affec- 
 tions are low. The impenitent would probably be displeased 
 with the truth exhibited, if they felt it at all ; and they might 
 complain that it should be urged with so much warmth. But 
 Christians would not be displeased with that truth which they 
 love ; nor would they be displeased to sec others love it in a 
 very high degree ; nor would they complain that it was urged 
 with too much warmth, provided it were done with decorum, 
 and in the spirit of meekness. 
 
 Again, page 7. " We see why ministers visiting revivals, 
 often, at first, raise objections to the means used, and cavil, 
 and sometimes take sides w^ith the wicked :* the praying, 
 
 * Mark this : " Ministers often can"/, and sometimes take sides with the 
 wicked." Those who make any objections are denounced without cere- 
 mony. 
 
6t 
 
 preaching, and conversation are above their present tempe- 
 rature.^' It appears not to be the truth which is exhibited, 
 that disturbs them, but the temperature. They often object 
 to this, " at first," which iniphes, that they often afterwards 
 fall in. Now, this is exactly descriptive of the eftcct of this 
 kind of animal feeling. Animal feeling in one has a tenden- 
 cy to produce the same kind of animal feeling in another, by 
 mere sympathy ; and it often does. So that those who were 
 not aftected by it ''^ at first, "^^ may come into it afterwards. 
 At first they judged with coolness, and disapproved, because 
 what they witnessed was not according to the law and the 
 testimony. But afterwards, when they began to come under 
 the influence of the same animal feeling, their passions over- 
 came their judgment, and their scruples of conscience, and 
 they were prepared to fall in. Many instances of this have 
 no doubt occurred ; and they are easily accounted for, if it 
 is animal feeling. They objected, at first, because it was 
 contrary to their settled judgment, deliberately formed from 
 the study of the scriptures, and the experience of themselves 
 and others, and their acquaintance with the history of revi- 
 vals. But they fell in afterwards, because their animal feel- 
 ings were moved by sympathy, till they were carried away. 
 And the less spiritual they were, the more readily they were 
 brought to fall in, because they had less holy affection, and 
 less of the force of conscience to be overcome. 
 
 Again, page 7. " We see why ministers and private Chris- 
 tians differ about prudential measures.'''' And " we see the 
 same person having very different notions of prudence, and, 
 consequently, practising very differently at different times." 
 The idea seems to be, that the man whose feeling is at the 
 high temperature, will judge differently as to what is prudent, 
 from the man whose feeling is at the low temperature. And 
 that the man who is at the low temperature, is not, and cannot 
 be, qualified to judge what is right, in point of prudence, for 
 the man to do, who is at the high temperature. It is doubt- 
 less true, that the man who suffers his animal feelings to con- 
 trol his judgment, will judge differently when most under the 
 influence of his passions, from what he does when least under 
 their influence. And while passion reigns, he will be very 
 likely to think it right so to do ; but when passion cools, and 
 reason resumes her sway, and conscience and the bible are 
 again suffered to speak, he will be convinced he was wrong 
 in thinking so. 
 
 Again, page 8. "We may learn how to estimate the opin- 
 ions of ministers and Christians, and our own opinions, when 
 our affections are in a bad state." By had state, understand 
 the low temperature, when passion has the least influence, and 
 
68 
 
 we have the meaning of the rule. The man who is under 
 the influence of passion, approves of what his passions in- 
 dine him to do ; but the man who is least under the influ- 
 ence of passion, and judges by the known rules of the word 
 of God, will condemn him for so doing. The meaning in- 
 tended, doubtless, is, that the former is right ; but every sober 
 Christian, who means to follow his bible, must say, that the 
 latter is right. The whole paragraph might be assented to, 
 and the conclusion drawn be exactly the reverse of what the 
 author evidently intended. So with the resolution of Ed- 
 wards here quoted, " that he would always act as he saw to 
 be most proper when he had the clearest views of the things 
 of religion." All would assent to the resolution ; but every 
 considerate man would apply it directly to contradict the sen- 
 timents of the sermon. The clearest views, are not those 
 which we have when our animal feelings are most excited, 
 but when they are the least so, when the mind looks at di- 
 vine things with the greatest calmness and dehberation. 
 
 Again, page 9. " We learn why churches are sometimes 
 convulsed by revivals of religion." " As those who are 
 awake become more engaged, more spiritual and active, the 
 others, if they will not aivake, will be jealous and offended, 
 and feeling rebuked by the engagedness of others, will cavil, 
 and find themselves the more displeased, as those that are 
 more spiritual rise farther above them. The nearer to aright 
 state of feeling the engaged ones arrive, the farther apart 
 they are ; and as they ascend on the scale of holy feeling, if 
 others will Jiot ascend with thern^ the almost certain conse- 
 quence will be, that these will descend^ until they really have 
 no community of feeling, and can no longer walk together, 
 because they are not agreed." He is speaking of real Chris- 
 tians, whom he supposes an eminently pure revival of religion 
 thus to drive asunder, till there is nothing in cowwo^z between 
 them. Is it so ? Do not real Christians feel complacency in 
 the image of Christ wherever they see it ? And does not 
 their complacency increase, as more of that image becomes 
 visible ? If they see others have more of it than themselves, 
 does it displease and off'end them ? The divisions and dis- 
 tractions of churches, 'which the new measures have so of- 
 ten occasioned in these days, as similar measures did in the 
 days of Davenport, doubtless rendered it of great importance 
 to endeavour to account for those divisions and convulsions, 
 in a way that should prove that the new measures are right ; 
 and that those measures for promoting revivals are wrong, 
 which have been so long and so successfully used in New- 
 England, by the most distinguished promoter of revivals in 
 our age, and which are so different from these, and have pro- 
 
69 
 
 duced so different an effect upon the churches, leaving them 
 generally united, and happy, and strengthened, instead of 
 being divided, distracted, and wretched, and weak. The au- 
 thor accounts for it, perhaps, in the way which best meets 
 his views. But it would have been better adapted to instruct 
 others, if he had given us some rule by which to judge when 
 people are awake, and when they are not. As he gives us 
 none but the general one of the high and low temperature, 
 the degree of feeling, and not the kind^ and as it has been 
 shown that the kind intended must be the animal feeling of 
 the martial class, there is no difficulty in accounting for its 
 producing such effects. Some Christians will imbibe it, and 
 under its influence will '•'• glow, and blaze, and burn," on all 
 around them ; that is, they will, with true martial fire and 
 spirit, fall upon those who do not come up to the same tem- 
 perature, and greatly anoy them with their denunciations and 
 reproaches, calhng them cold, and stupid and dead, and it 
 may be hypocrites and apostates, and perhaps publicly pray- 
 ing for them by name as such, till they are more and more 
 disgusted, pained, and distressed, and the church is rent in 
 pieces. Not so with a revival of true religion, which in- 
 creases the spirit of the gospel, the spirit of meekness, and 
 kindness, and gentleness, and brotherly affection. If a por- 
 tion of the members of the church have an increase of this, 
 and some others have not, it will lead those who have, to treat 
 such as have not, in a manner that tends to win them, rather 
 than to displease and enrage them. This is on the supposi- 
 tion that both classes are real Christians, who love the same 
 truths, and differ only in their degree of holy feeling. Church- 
 es have sometimes been convulsed, through the opposition of 
 some of their members to the truths of the gospel, which 
 were more forcibly and plainly exhibited at such a time, and 
 the view of which they could not bear, because they did not 
 love them. But this is a case entirely different from the one 
 exhibited in the sermon before us. 
 
 Again, page 9. " We see why ministers are sometimes un- 
 settled by revivals." He supposes that a minister may 
 awake, and that many of his people will not; in which case 
 he concludes the minister " will most assuredly press them 
 with truth, and annoy them by his spirit, and pungency, and 
 fire, until he offends them." " Another case may occur, 
 where the church and people may awake, while the shepherd 
 sleeps, and will not awake. This will inevitably alienate 
 their affections from him, and destroy their confidence in 
 him." " In the former case, let the minister obey the com- 
 mand of Christ, and ' shake off the dust of his feet, for a tes- 
 timony against them.' In the latter, let the church shake off 
 
70 
 
 their sleepy minister ; they are better without him than with 
 him." Here, as in many other places, there is a semblance 
 of truth in what is said ; and if it had been correctly explain- 
 ed, and carefully guarded, it might pass. But, with the in- 
 terpretation which the general tenor of the discourse re- 
 quires, and with the meaning which hearers and readers 
 generally would understand, in its connexion, and under the 
 circumstances in which it was preached,"^ it is a bold attempt 
 to carry the new measures out into all their legitimate con- 
 sequences. It has the semblance of truth : because a minis- 
 ter may give ofience by the clear and faithful exhibition of 
 the doctrines of the bible ; or he may displease the soundest 
 members of his church by refusing to exhibit them. But it 
 is not the preaching of the doctrines which is here intended. 
 Plain preaching, and preaching the truth, in the vocabulary 
 of those who adopt the new measures, do not mean preach- 
 ing the doctrines clearly and abundantly ; with which ofience 
 I believe they ought not to be charged. It has reference to 
 the manner in which people are addressed, " the spirit, and pun- 
 gency, and fire," with which the preacher "glows, and blazes, 
 and burns upon them." It has reference to that of which 
 people complain as harsh and abusive treatment. Those 
 who are the best friends of the plain exhibition of the doc- 
 trines of the gospel, and those who have been long known as 
 the best friends of revivals, have complained of this ; and 
 here is an attempt to assign the reason. It is because they 
 " will not enter into the spirit of a revival ;" that is, they do 
 not enter into the new measures, they do not give way to 
 this class of animal feeling, nor suffer their judgment to be 
 overborne by the violence of passion. And the minister who 
 does, and cannot bring his people " up to it,"" must leave 
 them. But if the church enter into this spirit, and the minis- 
 ter does not, " let them shale off their sleepy minister.''^ This 
 is certainly taking a bold stand ; and is going one step far- 
 ther than Davenport and the old Separates. They only 
 withdrew, and separated themselves from those they de- 
 nounced as "cold and sleepy ministers" in their way. But, 
 times have altered ; and it is much easier now to " shake off" 
 a minister that is disliked, than it was then. So that this is 
 the first thing to be attempted ; and if this attempt should not 
 succeed, they may then separate themselves, as a last resort. 
 If an individual awakes, that is, if he adopts these new mea- 
 
 * It was when the Presbytery were about attending- to difficulties 
 which had grown out of the introduction of the new measures, at the place 
 where they were met, and where the discourse was preached. 
 
71 
 
 sures, and gets full of that kind of animal feeling which they 
 promote, he must try to bring his minister into the same spi- 
 rit ; and if he cannot succeed, he must go about and try to 
 raise a party to ^' shake him off.'' I have heard of such ad- 
 vice being given privately to individuals, in particular cases, 
 but this is the first time 1 have ever known it to be publicly 
 preached and printed, as serious advice in all cases. And 
 what is the rule by which individual church members may 
 know when it is their duty to set about his work, and try to 
 " shake off their sleepy minister ?'' No rule is given in this 
 immediate connexion; but perhaps one is found on the 12th 
 page: "If the matter of preaching is right, and the sinner is 
 pleased^ there is something defective in the manner.'''' If the un- 
 converted part of the congregation are generally satisfied with 
 the minister, it is a certain indication that he is a " sleepy mi- 
 nister," and ought to be " shaken off." Individuals, then, have 
 only to ask whether the congregation are generally in peace, 
 and satisfied with their minister ; and if they are, it is their 
 duty to commence measures to drive him away. For ad- 
 vising less than this, in Boston, Davenport was indicted by 
 the grand jury, as a disturber of the peace, and acquitted on 
 his trial, solely on the ground of being insane at the time. 
 And when he afterwards " came to himself," he made and 
 pubhshed a confession of it ; which, though it had a good ap- 
 pearance as it regarded his own piety, did not stop the pro- 
 gress of those evils which his disorderly measures had intro- 
 duced, and the permanent effects of which remain to this 
 day. And instances are not wanting, in our own times, of 
 those who have acted upon the principles of this sermon. 
 
 Some have already arisen to " shake off their sleepy mi- 
 nisters," and have succeeded in their attempts. Others have 
 endeavoured to do it, and have failed. One case has occur- 
 red in Durham, in the church under the care of the Rev. Seth 
 Williston, whose character as an active and successful pro- 
 moter of revivals has been long established, and is well 
 known. The story is, in substance as follows : A young con- 
 vert from the West made his appearance there, saying, that 
 he " knew all about how to conduct revivals," and pointing 
 to the meeting-house, told of the " abominations that were 
 portrayed on those walls." He talked insolently to the mi- 
 nister, and then to the people against him. And after an 
 evening lecture which Mr. W. preached, he dropped on his 
 knees, and told the Lord a long story about Mr. W., and how 
 he had talked to him, and what he had said in his sermon 
 that was false, and so tried to convince the people and the 
 Lord that Mr. W. was a liar, and going down to hell if he 
 did not repent. Upon Mr. W's. trying to calm the people, 
 
72 
 
 by putting the most charitable construction upon his con- 
 duct, that of his not being in his right mind, his brother, who 
 was a member of the church, arose, and told the people that 
 Mr. W. was " the head Achan in the camp," and that " his 
 character was as black as hell," &;c., upon which some went 
 and tried to still them, while the minister and others retired. 
 For his conduct that evening, this member was laboured with 
 by the brethren, and justified himself on the principles of this 
 sermon. He said he had nothing against Mr. W., but he 
 " did it to have a revival." And so strongly was he per- 
 suaded that he was in the way of his duty, in thus endeavour- 
 ing to wake up or " shake off his sleepy minister," that every 
 efibrt to convince him of his fault was utterly fruitless, and 
 the church felt compelled to proceed to excommunication, 
 Had not this church been more understandingly and decided- 
 ly attached to the cause of pure revivals than is common, 
 and had not their minister been a man of singular piety and 
 prudence, it seems very probable that he would have been 
 " shaken oft'" and dismissed in consequence of these things, 
 as, it is believed, several have been in consequence of simi- 
 lar measures. One instance of the latter kind, is that which 
 occurred in Stockholm, where the Rev. Moses Parmlee, a 
 known and decided friend to revivals, was publicly denoun- 
 ced, both in direct declarations and in prayer, as *' a hireling 
 — an Achan — in the gall of bitterness — in such a state that 
 the Lord could not convert sinners in his presence," &c. In 
 this case, those who made the attempt succeeded in " shaking 
 oft" their sleepy minister," as appears from the result of the 
 council which dismissed him, published at Potsdam, April, 
 1827. It may be said, that these cases occurred before the 
 publication of the sermon. This is true ; but when those 
 who were concerned in them shall read the sermon, I think 
 they will not fail of feeling confirmed and strengthened in 
 their proceedings, by the principles and advice it contains. 
 
 Again, page 10. "We may see that carnal professors and 
 sinners have no diflftculty with animal feeling y Page II. 
 " Adopt a strain of exhortation or preaching that is calcula- 
 ted to awaken mere sympathy and animal feeling, and you 
 will soon see that there is a perfect community of feeling 
 among cold and warm hearted Christians and sinners ; they 
 will all weep, and seem to melt, and no one will be oflfend- 
 ed." " But change your style, and become more spiritual 
 and holy in your inatter^ and throw yourself out in an ardent 
 and powerful manner^ in direct appeal to the conscience and 
 the heart — their tears will be dried, the carnal and cold 
 hearted will soon become uneasy, and soon find themselves 
 offended." I think this is not exactly so, even if explained 
 
•according to the key before mentioned. Let us paraphrase 
 It. The class of animal feeling condemacd, is the tender, 
 weeping class. What is called spiritual and holy feeling, is 
 the martial class. More tragic painting will excite the one 
 class ; " they will all weep, and seem to melt, and no one 
 will be offended."" But, different constitutions have this kind 
 of sensibility in different degrees ; and ihose who are full of 
 the martial kind of animal feeling, have, for the time, very 
 little of this, and are often displeased to see it. Let an as- 
 sembly, however, be deeply affected with this disposition to 
 weep ; and then " change your style, and become more" 
 martial " in your matter, and throw yourself out in an ardent 
 and powerful manner^ in direct appeal to" the other class of 
 animal feeling, that is, the martial class, " their tears will soon 
 be dried ;" those who enter into this spirit will not weep, 
 they will burn and blaze. Those who do not enter into it, 
 " will become uneasy, and soon find themselves offended." 
 But those who have the war spirit, will be offended at the 
 tragic painting, which was addressed to the weeping sensi- 
 bilities, and with which the other class are gratified, as much 
 perhaps as those who have the tender kind of animal feeling 
 are offended at the martial fire, in this case. And both on 
 the principles illustrated by the effects of the two kinds of 
 music mentioned on the 5th page of the sermon. In this 
 place I see not how to reconcile the author with himself, any 
 better than with facts. 
 
 Again, page IL "We learn how to estimate apparent re- 
 vivals where there is no opposition from the wicked." 
 
 Page 12. " That excitement which does not call out the 
 opposition of the wicked and wrong hearted, is either not a 
 revival of religion at all, or it is so conducted that sinners do 
 not see the finger of God in it." And farther, " Those means 
 and that preaching, both as to matter and manner, which call 
 forth most of the native enmity of the heart, are nearest 
 right." Here, again, is some appearance of truth, but so 
 exhibited as to make a v\^rong impression. The clear exhi- 
 bition of the doctrines of the bible is adapted to excite the 
 enmity of the carnal heart, and often does, in a high degree. 
 But it is not the clear exhibition of the doctrines of the gos- 
 pel, that this discourse is designed to defend ; it is something 
 very different. The new measures have excited much oppo- 
 sition ; and that opposition is to be accounted for, in such a 
 way as to make it prove that the new measures are nearest 
 right. And the impression is also to be made, that these re- 
 \ ivals which are taking place without the new measures, arc 
 wrong, because they excite less open and violent opposition. 
 The truth, doubtless, is, that in some places, the doctrines of 
 
 10 
 
T4 
 
 the gospel have been so long and so clearly preached, that 
 the congregation in general have the conviction that they 
 are true, and that they are the appointed means of the con- 
 viction and converson of sinners. Their selfish desire of be- 
 ing happy hereafter leads them to wish to have those doc- 
 trines preached, by means of which alone they have any hope 
 that they shall ever be saved. And when they are so far 
 awakened, and have so much conviction of sin, as to fill them 
 with deep distress, and make those doctrines painful to them, 
 they yet wish to have them kept before their minds, on the 
 same principle that a man wishes to have the surgeon apply 
 his probe or his amputating knife to a diseased limb, as the 
 means of saving his life. In such cases, where the right 
 means are used with the greatest fidelity, but yet with the 
 tenderness and kindness which the gospel requires, no open 
 opposition is to be expected. And it is to me a pleasant cir- 
 cumstance, when I read an account of a revival in a place 
 where I think the people have correct instruction, to find it 
 stated that there is no open opposition. I infer, that the 
 consciences of the impenitent are so kept on the side of truth, 
 that they are disposed to give it a favourable hearing ; and 
 that there is consequently some reason to hope it will yet 
 be made effectual to their conviction and conversion. In- 
 stead of concluding " it is not a revival of religion at all, or 
 that it must be so conducted that sinners do not see the fin- 
 ger of God in it," as the author does, I draw the contrary 
 conclusion, and am led to hope for its longer continuance, 
 its better permanent effects, and its being followed by a less 
 injurious reaction when it has passed by. As it is the great 
 object of the sermon, however, to justify the new measures, 
 and to turn the objections which are made against them into 
 proof of their being right ; all those measures for promoting 
 revivals which are not thus opposed must be condemned as 
 wrong ; and all those revivals, Avhich are now taking place 
 without the new measures, and without the opposition they 
 excite, and without " making a great deal of noise in the 
 world," under such measures, as have been in use for the 
 last thirty years, and sanctioned by the name of a man who 
 is deservedly dear to all the friends of pure revivals, must be 
 put down, as "no revivals of religion at all, or so conducted 
 that sinners do not see the finger of God in them." 
 
 The remainder of the discourse is principally directed to 
 this object, and especially what is said of the preaching of 
 Christ and his apostles, and the opposition which it excited. 
 A cursory reader, who did not carefully attend to his bible, 
 would be led to suppose that the preaching of Christ and the 
 apostles was always " opposed with great bitterness," and 
 
75 
 
 that if any preachers now are not thus opposed, it proves that 
 they are not Hke Christ and the apostles. And the compari- 
 son is not obscurely made between those " professors of reli- 
 gion," who were then " often leaders in the opposition, the 
 religious teachers and learned doctors" of that day, and the 
 professors of religion and ministers of this day who oppose 
 the new measures. And the idea is plainly communicated, 
 that the complaints against the advocates of the new mea- 
 sures, of being " imprudent ; their preaching too overbear- 
 ing and severe," and there being " something wrong in their 
 management of revivals," might have been as justly made 
 against Christ and the apostles ; and are rather to be consi- 
 dered as evidence of a striking likeness between these men 
 and Christ and the apostles. And there is a very offensive 
 insinuation of " great spiritual pride," and the study of " car- 
 nal policy and management," and a " hypocritical suavity of 
 manner," made against some of the most experienced pro- 
 moters of revivals, at the present day, in consequence of what 
 they have said about " the theory of revivals being better un- 
 derstood now" than in the days of Davenport, and the prefe- 
 rence they have given to measures which are mild and gentle 
 in their nature, and silent and still in their operation, over 
 those which are ostentatious and noisy, and adapted to stir 
 up opposition ; as if they pretended to be more prudent and 
 wise than the apostles, instead of merely claiming, as they 
 do, to understand the management of revivals better than 
 Davenport and his insane followers. And the concluding 
 sentences are, " let us not be puffed up, and imagine that 
 we are prudent and loise^ and have learned how to manage 
 carnal professors and sinners, whose ' carnal mind is enmity 
 against God,' so as not to call forth their opposition to truth 
 and holiness, as Christ and his apostles did. But let us know, 
 that if they have less difficulty with us, and with our lives and 
 preaching, than they had with theirs, it is because we are less 
 holy, less heavenly, less like God, than they were. If we 
 walk with the lukewarm and ungodly, or they with us, it is 
 because we are agreed : for two cannot walk together except 
 they he agreed. 
 
 The principle upon which all this is founded, is, that an 
 impenitent sinner could not be pleased with the preaching or 
 conduct of the Lord Jesus Christ, nor with any preaching or 
 conduct that is right. If a Christian lives as he ought, and 
 if a minister preaches as he ought, it cannot fail, according 
 to this theory, to give offence. The author says, " If the mat- 
 ter of preaching is right, and the sinner is pleased, there is 
 something defective in the manner^ And not only must 
 right preaching give offence to some sinners, but it must give 
 
76 
 
 offence to all sinners. And it must not only give offence to 
 every sinner at some times, but it must give offence to every 
 sinner at all times. For, whenever the sinner is pleased with 
 any thing in the Christian, it proves that that thing is wrong. 
 If any exception is admitted to this rule, it will destroy the 
 whole discourse, and defeat its object entirely. A few ex- 
 amples will suffice to show its fallacy ; and any child, who 
 reads his bible, can find others in abundance. 
 
 " Herod heard John gladlif and was induced by what he 
 said to " do many things." What was the defect in John's 
 preaching ? Was it wrong in matter^ or wrong in manner^ 
 that Herod was pleased ? Afterwards, when he was disposed 
 to put John to death, to gratify a wicked woman, he feared 
 the multitude, because they counted John as a prophet. 
 John had gained so strong a hold on the affections of the 
 multitude that Herod was afraid his putting him to death 
 would excite an insurrection. Will it be said, the multitude 
 were saints, or that John had been unfaithful ? When Christ 
 asked the chief priests and scribes about the baptism of John, 
 they were afraid to say it was of men, and this was the rea- 
 son, "If we say, of men, all the people will stone us.'' Ac- 
 cording to the principle of this discourse, John must have 
 been a very bad man, very unfaithful, to have excited such 
 feeling in his favour among the mass of the people, that the 
 chief priests and elders were afraid of being stoned, if they 
 should say a word against him. To those very Jews who 
 were seeking his life, Christ said of John, " He was a burn- 
 ing and a shining light ; and ye were willing for a season to 
 rejoice in his light." What was the .fault of John, which 
 they were pleased with, and rejoiced in ? No fault at all ; 
 they rejoiced in his liglit. John was austere in his manners, 
 and eminently faithful in the ministry ; yet the expressions of 
 being pleased with him and his preaching, which we find on re- 
 cord, are much more numerous than those of a contrary na- 
 ture. The scribes and pharisees were displeased ; but the 
 common people, the great mass of the nation, though uncon- 
 verted, were very much in his favour. 
 
 They were pleased also with the Lord Jesus Christ. Great 
 multitudes followed him, and pressed upon him to hear him, 
 so that he was frequently so thronged as not to find time to 
 take food or rest. The scribes and pharisees were displeased, 
 but " the common people heard him gladly." He taught in 
 the synagogues of Galilee, "being glorified of all." Ac- 
 cording to our author, there must have been something wrong 
 in his preaching. Which was it, " defective in matter or de- 
 fective in manner ?" When he passed over the sea to the 
 country of the Gadarenes, the people of the other side wait- 
 
77 
 
 ed for his return, and received him gladly. On one occa- 
 sion, he was compelled to withdraw from the multitude, to 
 prevent their taking him by force and making him a king. 
 When he came openly to Jerusalem, for the last time, " much 
 people that were come to the feast, took branches of palm 
 trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried Hosannah ; 
 blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord.'' And when the Pharisees saw it, they said among 
 themselves, " Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing ? behold, 
 the world is gone after him." We read, very often, that the 
 chief priests and scribes sought how they might take him by 
 subtlety, and put him to death ; and were in great difficulty 
 how to accomplish it, for fear of the people. 
 
 " But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an up- 
 roar among the people." So strongly were the great mass 
 of the people, though a race of impenitent sinners, prepos- 
 sessed in his favour, that his enemies were obliged to hire Ju- 
 das to betray him in the night, in the absence of the multi- 
 tude, and then to fasten upon him the charge of blasphemy, 
 before the chief priests, and obtain the consent of the Roman 
 governor to his death. How is all this to be accounted for ? 
 Had he been unfaithful in his dealing with the common peo- 
 ple ? Had he walked with them, or they with him, because 
 they were agreed in their moral character ? No. Yet the 
 number of those that were pleased appears to have been 
 much greater than the number of those that were displeased. 
 And it was only by craft and subtlety, and false accusations, 
 that his enemies could find how to accomplish their designs. 
 
 The same appears to be true of the apostles, and of their 
 ministry. Read the Acts of the Apostles through, and you 
 will find abundant evidence of this. In all cases of persecu- 
 tion against them, it was stirred up by the few ; while the 
 many, if they had been let alone, were inclined to favour 
 them, or at least to treat them with respect. The revival on 
 the day of Pentecost overcame all opposition, for a time ; so 
 that it is written of the disciples, " and they, continuing dai- 
 ly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from 
 house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and sinple- 
 ness of heart, praising God, and having favour iciih all the 
 people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as 
 should be saved." When on the occasion of the healing of 
 the lame man, Peter and John were apprehended, and 
 brought before the rulers, they did not dare to pnnish them, 
 "because of the people." When they were apprehended 
 again, the officers were afraid to offer any violence to them, 
 lest they themselves should have been stoned by the multi- 
 tude. There was no danger of their being stoned by those 
 
78 
 
 who were converted, but by those who were unconverted^ 
 who were strongly inchned to favour and protect the apos- 
 tles against their persecuting rulers. In several places where 
 Paul and his companions suffered persecution, they were fa- 
 vourably received and well treated by the multitude, till cer- 
 tain designing individuals came from other places, and by 
 their intrigues raised a persecution against them. Paul 
 abode on the island of Mehta three months, without the least 
 appearance of opposition that we read of, but, on the contra- 
 ry, was " honoured with many honours." 
 
 Do these things prove that John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, 
 and the apostles, walked, in all these cases, with the ungodly, 
 or the ungodly with them, because they were agreed in their 
 moral character ? No ; it cannot be pretended. 
 
 Will the ungodly world, then, be generally pleased with 
 the exhibition of Christianity in its purest form? and if so, 
 what becomes of the doctrine that " the carnal mind is en- 
 mity against God ?" The answer is not difficult. Men of 
 sense, though unconverted, can and do see, that the Chris- 
 tian character, in its perfect form, is excellent and lovely ; 
 and it commands their respect and admiration, when viewed 
 in its true light, and secures their consciences in its favour. 
 And though the hearts of men are naturally selfish, and sel- 
 fishness is the opposite of the Christian temper, yet men can 
 see that it is for their advantage to have others live like 
 Christians, and treat them as the gospel requires. Their own 
 selfish feelings are gratified, in many instances, by having 
 others do justly, love mercy, and walk circumspectly. It is 
 only when the temper of the gospel is expressed in a way 
 which crosses their path and thwarts their selfish wishes, that it 
 rouses their opposition. And this is the reason why the clear 
 exhibition of the doctrines of the gospel is so peculiarly of- 
 fensive, particularly the divine sovereignty, in disposing of all 
 creatures and all events as is for the greatest good, and the 
 necessity of self-denial, in order to be Christ's disciples. 
 These things will give oftence, if they are felt at all, unless 
 those on whom they are urged are so convinced of their truth 
 and importance, that their selfish regard for their own safety 
 silences their opposition, as has been observed. But the op- 
 position which is made to the new measures is not on this 
 ground. The advocates of them are complained of, for not 
 preaching those doctrines which are considered so pecuharly 
 offensive to the unrenewed heart, so much, so plainly, and so 
 powerfully, as other revival ministers have done. The op- 
 position is on far different grounds ; and in view of what has 
 been observed, is plainly no evidence at all in their favour. 
 Nor is it safe to conchide, that the want of opposition to 
 
79 
 
 other measures for promoting revivals is any evidence against 
 them, without taking into view the circumstances of the case, 
 and finding proof from them that it is the want of faithfulness 
 in the exhibition of truth, or in the urging of duty. We 
 must not adopt a rule of judging, in this matter, that would 
 condemn the Lord Jesus and his inspired apostles, as well as 
 those at this day whom we may wish to condemn. 
 
 Perhaps an apology is necessary for giving to this dis- 
 course a review of such a length. Neither the talents nor 
 standing of the author, nor any thing in the discourse itself, 
 if it had been published under ordinary circumstances, would 
 have induced me to bestow so much attention upon it. But 
 the system of measures with which it is connected, and of 
 which it is a defence, is so calamitous in its tendency, and is 
 urged on by its advocates with so much ardour and perse- 
 verance, the discourse, from the semblance of truth which it 
 wears, and the different interpretations which may be given 
 it, when objected to, is so well adapted to produce the impres- 
 sion intended on the minds of those who follow their feelings 
 more than their judgment, and has been multiplied and cir- 
 culated with so much zeal, that there appears to me to be 
 great cause of alarm. Though professedly a discourse upon 
 the subject of Christian experience and revivals of religion, it 
 is so destitute of any correct distinctions, and so well adapted 
 to justify false zeal, false affections, and spurious conversions, 
 and so capable of being apphed to sanction every species 
 and degree of enthusiasm and fanaticism, and to condemn 
 all sober revivals, and all those measures for promoting revi- 
 vals which have stood the test of ages, that the importance of 
 the subject appears to me to justify, and call for still more at- 
 tention than has been paid to it. And if such a discourse 
 shall be circulated by thousands in every direction, and be 
 admired by many, and the watchmen of Israel should regard 
 it with apathy, I should consider it as a most alarming indica- 
 tion that false religion and spurious revivals were about to 
 have a far wider spread than our country has ever witnessed. 
 
 I cannot think, however, that the author of this discourse 
 can obtain the countenance and support of ministers and 
 Christians generally, and especially of the friends of revivals, 
 till he shall publicly retract the erroneous sentiments it con- 
 tains, and make a confession before the world for the injuri- 
 ous charges it labours to establish against all who disapprove 
 of the new measures ; and especially for giving such advice 
 to '' shake off their sleepy ministers," as all disorganizers will 
 consider a full warrant for any disorderly measures they may 
 be inclined to pursue to accomplish that end. And I be- 
 lieve the Christian public must and will hold responsible for 
 
80 
 
 these errors any who shall continue to give the author their 
 countenance and support, so long as he shall refuse to make 
 such a retraction. 
 
 In conclusion, I cannot do justice to my own feelings with- 
 out solemnly calhng upon the author of this discourse to re- 
 examine his own experience, and see whether there is any 
 thing in it of a different nature from what he here urges upon 
 others. When a man preaches and publishes a sermon upon 
 a subject so highly experimental as this, it is to be expected, 
 that, if he understands himself, he will disclose the nature of 
 his own experience, and require that of others to be as good 
 as his own. But if there is nothing in the experience of the 
 author, better than what appears in this discourse, I cannot 
 but have the most serious fears that he has deceived himself, 
 and will find, at last, that he has made a fatal mistake, and 
 that for eternity. 
 
 NOVANGLUS. 
 
 TO THE EDITORS OF THE KEW-YORK OBSERVER. 
 
 Dr. Beecher'^s Letter to Mr. Beman. 
 
 Boston, Dec. 15, IS27. 
 
 Gentlemen, — The letter I now send you, has been often 
 requested for publication. Until the present time I have 
 never been entirely convinced that it was best to publish it. 
 But recently circumstances to which I need not allude, have 
 brought me to the conclusion that it is my duty to consent to 
 its publication. Indeed from the principles contained in Mr. 
 Finney's Sermon, and from what I know concerning revivals 
 which have taken place under his immediate auspices, I am 
 sure that the " new measures," as they are justly called, though 
 not unattended with some good, do nevertheless introduce 
 into revivals another spirit, of whose nature and general in- 
 fluence those who countenance these measures seem not to 
 be aware. 
 
 It is a spirit of fanaticism, of spiritual pride, censorious- 
 ness, and insubordination to the order of the Gospel, which, 
 if not met by the timely and decided disapprobation of minis- 
 ters and churches, threatens to become one of the greatest 
 evils which is likely to befall the cause of Christ. 
 
 In this opinion I am confirmed by all I have seen or heard 
 from the commencement of these evils to the present day. 
 
81 
 
 For many who differ from me I have cherished sentiments of 
 high estimation and do still cherish them, with the exception 
 of what appears to me a dangerous mistake in respect to the 
 " new measures'' for promoting Revivals of Religion. 
 
 Nor is it my wish to limit the usefulness of Mr. Finney. 
 My constant desire is, that he may be more useful in time to 
 come : and I have no doubt he may become more useful than 
 ever, if he will cease from and disavow those peculiarities 
 which have not been the cause of his usefulness, and by ren- 
 dering good men justly afraid of him, have constantly thrown 
 impediment in the way of his success. 
 
 I am respectfully yours, 
 
 LYMAN BEECHER. 
 
 Boston^ January^ 1827. 
 
 Dear Brother, — It is some time since 1 have been rejoicing 
 in the revivals of the West, — as I had hoped, the beginning 
 of a new era in revivals, in respect to rapidity and universal- 
 ity. I had begun to anticipate as the result, such a power of 
 moral sentiment in the West, as, in alliance with New-Eng- 
 land and other parts of the church, might ere long raise a 
 rampart around the sabbath, and check the burning tide of 
 intemperance, and the progress of heresy and error. 
 
 It is not until recently that a rumor has floated on the 
 breeze to excite solicitude. But first by a paragraph in the 
 Christian Register, I was alarmed ; and since, by unquestion- 
 able information from eye-witnesses and friends of the work, 
 my fears have been greatly increased, that Satan, as usual, 
 is plotting to dishonour a work which he cannot withstand. 
 Far be it from me, at this distance, to write a letter of advice, 
 much less of reproof I can only pour out my thoughts, from 
 my heart, into your bosom, upon such general topics as seem 
 to be in^the neighbourhood of danger, and ask your candid 
 and prayerful attention to the subject ; and I feel the more 
 emboldened to hope that my motives will be duly apprecia- 
 ted and my suggestions regarded, from the consideration 
 that I have not heretofore fallen under the imputation of a 
 temporising policy, nor been suspected, I believe of cow- 
 ardice. 
 
 Allow me then, with as little circumlocution as possible, 
 to speak my thoughts upon several topics : — I have confi- 
 dence in the piety and talents of brother Finney, and have 
 no doubt that he brings the truth of God to bear upon the 
 conscience with uncommon power, and in a manner highly 
 calculated to arouse the public mind, and awaken, and con- 
 
 11 
 
82 
 
 vince of sin. I am aware too, that jninisters and churches in 
 their ordinary state, compared with the spirit of a revival, are 
 deplorably lukewarm, and often need strong measures, to 
 bring them up to the point of even prudent zeal, and such as 
 is indispensable to a powerful work of divine grace. I also 
 fully believe, that means adequate to this end, though ever 
 so prudently applied, must be such as sometimes will oftend 
 hypocrites and cold hearted professors, who are not reclaim- 
 ed by them. I can perceive also, that ministers, from a vari- 
 ety of causes, are liable to perform their duty less faithfully 
 towards men of wealth, honour, and high stations, than with 
 reference to persons in a more humble condition ; and I am 
 aware that more directness and plainness may in most and 
 probably all cases be employed, than is employed to affect 
 that class of the community, whose influence would be so sal- 
 utary to the cause of Christ. 
 
 I have no doubt that the promises of God, in respect to 
 prayer, includes much more than has commonly been appre- 
 hended, and that a chief means of promoting those revivals 
 which are to bring down the mountains, and exalt the valleys, 
 and introduce the Millennium, is to be found in more compre- 
 hensive and correct views concerning the efficacy of prayer. 
 Yet still 1 am satisfied, that there is no subject on which 
 ardent minds are more liable to adopt hasty, and to some ex- 
 tent, false opinions, which may lead to pernicious effects. I 
 am sure, that nmch has prevailed on the subject of the prayer 
 of faith, as being in accordance ivith my views<j which I should 
 disavow and exceedingly disapprove. I am persuaded also, 
 that the truths of the Gospel may be commended to the 
 consciences of all men, both from the pulpit and in general 
 addresses, with more directness and power than they are 
 wont to be by ministers generally ; and I am sure that 
 during a revival they can be pressed with a closeness and 
 pungency that would not be endured, and might be inexpe- 
 dient, in any other circumstances. I am sensible also, that 
 the truth cannot be brought to bear simultaneously upon the 
 conscience of an extended community, without producing 
 great emotion, and producing and justifying extraordinary 
 eflforts to obtain and to communicate religious instruction by 
 meetings of increased frequency, and 1 am not afraid of 
 poverty or famine from any efforts which men ivill make to 
 save their souls. 
 
 I am persuaded too, from the close alliance between the 
 moral and social movements of our nature, that some degree 
 of imperfection and indiscretion may be as inseparable from 
 a sudden and powerful revival of religion, as it is from every 
 other sudden and powerful movement of human feeling ; and 
 
83 
 
 I am utterly fearless of any of the ordinary defects of a re- 
 vival on which the enemy hang all their hopes of successful op- 
 position. We might as well object to commerce or agri- 
 culture, until the entire business of a nation shall be by 
 every man performed with perfect discretion, as to condemn 
 revivals of religion, because imperfect and sinful beings, 
 when strongly and justly excited, are not perfect in discre- 
 tion. 
 
 No man appreciates more highly than 1 do, the importance 
 of ardent, powerfid, and fearless preaching, as a means of 
 promoting revivals ; or would deprecate more than I should, 
 a cold-hearted, timid prudence, which would extinguish zeal 
 and weaken the power of holy men when they are constrain- 
 ed by the love of Christ and the terrors of the Lord. 
 
 But the more important revivals of religion are, the more 
 should we deprecate all needless repellences in the manner 
 of conducting them ; and the deeper the wave of public 
 feeling which is rolled up by the breath of the Almighty, the 
 greater is the danger, and the more injurious the effect of 
 mismanagement. The ship pressed by mighty winds upon the 
 mountain wave, needs a keen eye and a vigorous arm, as a 
 slight movement of sail or helm may produce instantaneous 
 shipwreck. Besides, revivals usually include but a small 
 part of the entire community, and however well conducted, 
 are destined to meet a re-action when they have passed away. 
 The world will attempt to re-gain its lost dominion, and with 
 a disposition to take ample vengeance for past annoyance 
 and self-denial ; with little injurious effect however, if the re- 
 vival has not materially overstepped the bounds of real pro- 
 priety, but with tremendous re-action if it has. 
 
 In the indiscretion of Davenport may be traced not only 
 the suspension of the revival in this city 80 years ago, when 
 he came here and began to denounce the ministers as uncon- 
 verted men; but those indelible prejudices against revivals 
 which made old Calvinists formal, Semi-calvinists Arminians, 
 Arminians Unitarians, and Unitarians Universalists. The 
 great Eastern defection was produced by the indiscretions of 
 friends of the revivals, as much as by any one cause. 
 
 There are in this city and region now, orthodox churches 
 in which there has not for 80 years been a common evening 
 lecture, and cannot be, owing solely to the extravagance of 
 revivals which took place almost a century ago. 
 
 The following are the subjects, upon which I would sug- / 
 gest a few thoughts : 
 
 I. The hasty recognition of persons as converted upon 
 their own judgment, without interrogation or evidence. Re- 
 vivals may become so great and rapid, as to make it proper 
 
84 
 
 that those experiencing a change, in the course of a day, 
 should meet in one place not to be recognised as converts, 
 but to be examined, cautioned and instructed ; for the more 
 powerful and rapid is the work of grace in a community, 
 the more certain is the existence of sympathy and all the 
 causes of self-deception ; and the more imperious the ne- 
 cessity of caution, unless we would replenish the church with 
 hypocrites, to keep her agitated by discipline or covered with 
 shame by the neglect of it. 
 
 II. Severe and repelling mode of preaching and convers- 
 ing with stupid and awakened sinners, giving a predomi- 
 nance to the awful and terrific traits of the divine character 
 and administration. It is a partial exhibition of the divine 
 character and of the Gospel, and though it may be connect- 
 ed with success, it is because God in his mercy works by 
 means of great relative imperfection, and not because it is 
 the " more excellent way." It has a tendency to produce a 
 defective and unlovely state of Christian feeling, a state of 
 predominant severity instead of compassion and kindness. 
 The human mind is more affected by kindness than by seve- 
 rity ; and though I have preached much the terrors of the 
 Lord, it has been always with, little effect, only as the justice 
 of God, and his mercy, and the sinner's obduracy and ingra- 
 titude, have been exhibited in close alliance. I have not 
 found naked terror to do much execution, either as the means 
 of awakening men, or producing submission. It is the Law 
 in the hands of a Mediator. It is the uplifted sword of jus- 
 tice, while Jesus invites and entreats and draws with the 
 bands of love, which alarms, convinces of sin, and subdues 
 the heart. 
 
 III. Assuming without sufficient evidence, that persons are 
 unconverted. We may not possess any evidence that a per- 
 son is pious, and it may be highly probable that he is not ; 
 but probabilities do not render it expedient to assume the 
 fact as certain. Because we enter on ground which we can- 
 not maintain, and assume the appearance of censoriousness, 
 calculated needlessly to awaken prejudice, and augment the 
 phalanx of opposition. It is also wholly a superfluous evil. 
 For why should we incur the responsibility of pronouncing 
 a man unconverted, when a few questions, respectfully propos- 
 ed, would obtain the data requisite for a close apphcation, 
 with deeper conviction, and less repellency. 
 
 IV. The application of harsh and provoking epithets, 
 which, though they may be true in some theological sense, 
 are, as they would naturally be understood, a violation of 
 civihzed decorum and of Christian courtesy. The applica- 
 tion to men, of all the epithets which their character in the 
 
85 
 
 sight of God might justify, would constitute a hell upon earth. 
 It would be the action and re-action of provocation and in- 
 sult ; it would prostrate all the valuable distinctions of society, 
 and violate all the requisitions of the Gospel, of rendering 
 honour to whom honour is due, and of being kindly affection- 
 ate, and gentle, and courteous. It would render the mem- 
 bers of the same family, and the members of the same com- 
 munity, hateful and hating one another. Should pious pa- 
 rents address their unconverted offspring as serpents and a 
 generation of vipers, or pious children assail the ears of their 
 unconverted parents with the epithets of atheists, rebels, 
 enemies of God, children of the devil ; any, but the sons of 
 peace, might be expected to dwell in the family ; and should 
 such provoking epithets be hurled at each other by members 
 of the same community, it might qualify them sooner for 
 Billingsgate than for the church of God. Should an unsettled 
 minister of the Gospel, powerful in talents and zeal, and aid- 
 ed by success, carry himself sword in hand through the com- 
 munity in this overbearing style, we are not to suppose that 
 settled ministers can with impunity do the same, or that any 
 man, can do it permanently with impunity. For, embolden- 
 ed by success, either he will be lifted up of pride and fall 
 into the snare of the devil, or venturing on from one impro- 
 priety to another, the sensibilities of the community, goaded 
 to desperation, will make a stand, and re-act, and sweep him 
 away. 
 
 V. Another evil to be deprecated by such unusual treat- 
 ment of mankind, is its tendency to produce imitators, who 
 without the moral power, will offer the same provocation, 
 and be treated by an indignant community as the seven sons 
 of Sceva were treated by the unclean spirits. — " Jesus we 
 know, and Paul we know, but who are ye ?" 
 
 There is nothing in the example of our Saviour, or of the 
 apostles, to authorize an address so calculated to exasperate. 
 Did our Lord call the young ruler an atheist or a devil ? It 
 was only when a course of open opposition to truth and evi- 
 dence had indicated desperate wickedness, and produced re- 
 probation, that our Lord assumed the language of severe 
 rebuke, and terrific denunciation : and even in this, he acted 
 as the Omniscient Judge, and not as a mere man. Generally 
 his intercourse with sinful men is marked with compassion- 
 ate dignity ; and even were his address direct and severe, it 
 would not follow, that we might safely imitate. It was pre- 
 dicted of him, that he should not lift up his voice nor cry ; a 
 bruised reed shall he not break, nor quench the smoking 
 flax, until he shall bring forth judgment unto victory, i. e. he 
 should deal so kindly and tenderly with awakened sinners, as 
 
86 
 
 would neither discourage nor enrage them, but carry on the 
 work to salvation. The example of Paul is fraught with in- 
 struction on this subject. For though the man never lived 
 who possessed more moral courage, or struck home with 
 more directness and power upon the conscience, yet no one 
 ever manifested more dexterity or care to avoid the repel- 
 lences of prejudice, or rousing up aginst himself the irrita- 
 tion of unsanctified feeling ; and whenever it became indis- 
 pensable to administer reproof, he forbears to smite, until by 
 every possible preparation of kindness, he had insured its 
 salutary influence and prevented injurious re-action. If he 
 must smite, it is not until he had bound the culprit with cords 
 of love, and even then the chastisement is applied with so 
 much regret as is calculated rather to break the heart of the 
 sufferer than to enrage it : and in this he consulted the dic- 
 tates of a sound philosophy, as much as he did the dictates 
 of his benevolent heart. It is certainly a new discovery, that 
 prejudice and hatred and anger have become the salutary 
 causes in pre-disposing the mind of a sinner for the recep- 
 tion of the truth ; and if notwithstanding hard names and 
 provoking buffettings, he is awakened and converted, how 
 much more certainly might the same event have been looked 
 for, had these repellences been allowed to sleep, while the 
 same amount of merciful directness and parnestness had been 
 applied to his conscience and his heart. 
 
 Nor are we to suppose that the sovereignty of God may be 
 relied on alike in the neglect, as in the use of the most suit- 
 able means of interesting and affecting the human mind ; 
 for sovereignty consists in rescuing men without reference to 
 legal or moral desert ; but not in doing it without means, or 
 in a way that supersedes the necessity of discretion, and does 
 violence to all the laws of the human mind. He can save 
 and does save by means of great relative imperfection : but 
 it is by that which is good in them, and not by that which is 
 defective, and affords no evidence that still greater good 
 might not have been expected, had means been more wisely 
 adapted and better applied. 
 
 The laws of the human mind are not to be outraged in 
 preaching tiie Gospel, or the depravity of the heart needlessly 
 roused and brought out into virulent action against man and 
 God •, and though those who themselves were exercised in 
 this dreadful manner, are apt to imagine that all must feel 
 just as they felt, and to preach with reference to the produc- 
 tion of such horrid feelings, it is both needless and injurious 
 to do it. There is impediment enough in man while the 
 rage of his enmity sleeps, to forbid the exciting of its extreme 
 violence, and enough to inspire compassion for the sinner, 
 
87 
 
 without involving him in new disabilities by arraying against 
 him the exasperated power of his depravity; and if some are 
 saved notwithstanding, there is no reason to doubt that many 
 are destroyed by such treatment, who might otherwise have 
 been saved. 
 
 The following may serve as specimens of the Apostle's 
 mode of preaching the Gospel and dealing with men. At 
 Ephesus he served the Lord for three years with all humility 
 of mind, and ceased not to warn every one night and day, 
 with tears. At Athens, he reasoned with the philosophers on 
 Mars' Hill, in a way that was neither harsh nor abrupt, but 
 courteous and yet direct and powerful. To the Corinthian 
 church, which had sinned greatly, he says, " I write not these 
 things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. 
 Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye followers of me." And in 
 his second epistle, " Out of much affliction and anguish of 
 heart I wrote unto you, with many tears not that ye should 
 be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have 
 more abundantly unto you, and though 1 made you sorry with 
 a letter, 1 do not repent, though I did repent." 
 
 His care to allay and to avoid exciting prejudice, and to 
 conciliate favour by a watchful accommodation of truth to 
 the character, capacity, and condition of his hearers, is 
 beautifully described in 1 Cor. iv. 9 — 21. Because the Gos- 
 pel was true and all were sinners, he did not treat them all 
 alike ; " Though I be free from all men, yet have I made my- 
 self the servant of all, that I might gain the more." The 
 same treatment would not answer for all : " To the Jews I 
 became as a Jew, to them without law as without law, to the 
 weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I am 
 made all things to all men, that I might by all means save 
 some ; and this I do for the Gospel's sake." To the Gala- 
 tians, endangered by false teachers, he says, " My little chil- 
 dren of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed 
 in you." The directions to Timothy, who was a young man, 
 are, " Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and 
 the younger men as brethren, the elder women as mothers, 
 the younger as sisters with all purity." He had no notion 
 that a young man, even as eminent as Timothy, should under- 
 take to break down ministers. " And the servant of the Lord 
 must not strive, but be gentle unto all, apt to teach, patient, 
 in meekness instructing them that oppose themselves, &c." 
 The epistle of Paul to Philemon displays a consummate know- 
 ledge of the human heart, and is an unrivalled specimen of 
 the most dexterous, delicate, and touching application of 
 moral power ; and illustrates perfectly the precept, " be ye as 
 wise as serpents and harmless as doves." When the Apos- 
 
88 
 
 tie used pointed and severe expressions, it was only in despe- 
 rate cases. As inspired men, they were authorised by God 
 to inflict disease and death, and to utter the most awful im- 
 precations of divine vengeance, but they recognise them- 
 selves always as the mere agents of the Holy Ghost, and not 
 as speaking themselves, or expressing their own feelings. 
 Thus Ananias was struck dead for having hed unto the Holy 
 Ghost. The Apostles being the medium through whom the 
 Holy Ghost spake, and Paul " being filled with the Holy 
 Ghost," denounced Elymas the sorcerer, and inflicted blind- 
 ness upon him. When other men are filled in like manner 
 with the Holy Ghost, and can work miracles in attestation 
 of it, they may address, when God directs, individuals in the 
 same manner. The martyr Stephen in the early part of his 
 address was kind and conciliating. It was not until their 
 incorrigibleness was manifest, and " he filled with the Holy 
 Ghost," that he uttered the fearful denunciations with which 
 his speech closes. The same may be said of |the bold 
 address of Peter and John to the Jewish Sanhedrim, Acts iv. 
 10, 11, "Being filled with the Holy Ghost, Peter said," &;c. 
 i. e. spoke as directed by heaven. Paul also in his impreca- 
 tion of destruction upon Alexander the coppersmith, is to be 
 understood as denouncing the just judgment of God upon 
 him, under the special guidance of the Spirit, and not as ex- 
 pressing his own vindictive feelings ; and the same may be 
 said of the imprecations recorded in the Psalms, and in the 
 Prophets. In common cases, these men were kind and gen- 
 tle, and more given to expostulation and tears, than to de- 
 nunciation ; and when they speak in this manner, are only 
 the organs employed by heaven to denounce judgments upon 
 the reprobate. God surely has a right to denounce judg- 
 ments upon the wicked, and to select his own instruments, as 
 he had to exterminate the Canaanites : and sometimes the 
 holy men who pronounce these imprecations expressly say 
 that they are authorised by God to do his " strange work," 
 and yet they do it in " bitterness of spirit," and only because 
 "the hand of the Lord was strong upon them." They 
 therefore executed only a specific commission, in given cir- 
 cumstances ; and their conduct furnishes no authority to un- 
 inspired ministers to apply to their unconverted hearers gene- 
 rally, the same fearful language which was by heaven direct- 
 ed to be pronounced upon reprobates. 
 
 Long have infidels and scoffers triumphed in these impre- 
 cations, as the supposed ebullition of unhallowed feeling in 
 good men : and if they were recorded as an example to be 
 adopted by ministers in addressing unrenewed men generally, 
 they do breathe any thing rather than peace on earth and 
 
89 
 
 good will to men, and would give to the infidel the entire 
 and unanswerable force of his objection. 
 
 The general principle then is this : — men who hate and re- 
 ject the truth, and conduct as those did whom God denounced, 
 have reason to fear that the judgments of reprobation will 
 come upon them, and the ministers of Christ may warn and 
 entreat men to take heed. But until certified by a revela- 
 tion, that an mdividual or a class of men are reprobates, he 
 has no authority to apply to them, merely as ordinary sin- 
 ners, the language of denunciation which is peculiar to re- 
 probates ; and whoever observes will perceive, that so far 
 from doing this, where there is a serious mind, and an anx- 
 ious desire, and earnest seeking, they are addressed in the 
 language of compassion, exhortation, warning, and entreaty.* 
 Jf 1 might refer to a livmg instrument of good to men in the 
 conversion of souls, of all modern men most successful, and 
 who if the humility of any man was equal to the temptation 
 of being called a reformer, might be called such, having done 
 more to reduce to a science the mode of applying truth to 
 the human mind, and conducting revivals, than all who pre- 
 ceded him, 1 should refer to one, who of all men watched 
 with most critical carefulness to avoid needless provocation, 
 and availed himself most carefully of every circumstance 
 which might remove hindrances, and give to truth the most 
 unobstructed efficacy, and who, at the same time, approach- 
 ed the conscience with great directness and power. 
 
 V. Female prayer in promiscuous assemblies. — First, it is 
 no where commanded. Secondly, it is no where aurtiorized, 
 either by precept or example. There is no instance in the 
 patriarchal age, of a woman offering sacrifice as an act of 
 worship, and a symbol of prayer ; and none in the tabernacle 
 or temple service. On the contrary, when on account of 
 great judgments, it was enjoined on females to pray, it was 
 the wife apart, and the husband apart. Thirdly, jfemale pray- 
 
 * The position that all men, because sinners, are therefore to be treated 
 alike by the ministers of the gospel, without respect to ag'e, office, or sta- 
 tion in society, is as much a violation of common sense, as it is of the plain 
 directions of the apostle, which exact reverence for ag-e, and honour to 
 whom honour is due; especially for those who rule over men : and if in 
 monarchical governments the recognition of such distinctions was a Chris- 
 tian duty, where the arm of power could punish delinquents, how much 
 more in republican governments, where public opinion is the only law, 
 and a levelling of all distinctions of society would be the sure presage of 
 anarchy and absolute destruction. Such as in France existed for a time, 
 when the sun, moon, and stars were cast to the ground, and fish-women 
 and courtezans formed the mob, and directed the overwhelming tempest of 
 Tvrath. 
 
 12 
 
90 
 
 er in promiscuous assemblies for worship is expressly forbid- 
 den. " I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority 
 over the man ; but to be in silence." The apostle is speak- 
 ing concerning the order of public assemblies of Christians, 
 and concerning prayer. '' I will, therefore, that men pray 
 every where." It is concerning the dress of women in pub- 
 lic assemblies that he speaks in the same connexion, that 
 they be clothed in modest apparel, and with delicacy and so- 
 briety. He then twice enjoins silence, and positively prohi- 
 bits speaking. Again, 1 Cor. xiv. 34, ••' Let your women 
 keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them 
 to speak : and if they will learn any thing, let them ask their 
 husbands at home, for it is a shame for a woman to speak in 
 the church." I know that these texts have been explained 
 away ; but so have the proof texts which teach the divinity 
 of Christ, the depravity of man, the reality of the atonement, 
 and the necessity of regeneration. Any thing can be ex- 
 plained away by those who are determined to obey their own 
 will instead of the bible. With respect to 1 Cor. xi. 3 — 16, 
 which may be thought to imply that women did pray in 
 Christian assemblies, I answer, 
 
 1. It is not so plain that they did, as it is in the fore cited 
 passages, that they are forbidden ; and the plain is to control 
 the obscure, and not the obscure the plain. 
 
 2. If they did pray, it must be supposed therefore that 
 it was under the special guidance of the Spirit ; a preterna- 
 tural impulse, which amounted to inspiration ; for none but 
 the Lawgiver himself can make exceptions to his own laws ; 
 and this considered, the example, if allowed, no more proves 
 that women, undirected by such influence, should speak, than 
 the example of Balaam proves that all unrenewed men should 
 set up for prophets of the Lord. If women did pray, it was 
 a case exempted from the general prohibition, by divine and 
 not by human direction. 
 
 3. And if the reasoning were even less conclusive, it would 
 suffice to render the lawfulness of female prayers doubtful, 
 and of course to exclude them under the rule, that if we are 
 doubtful whether a thing is lawful, it is sinful in that state of 
 uncertainty to do it. As he that doubted the lawfulness of 
 eating meats, was condemned if in that state of mind he pre- 
 sumed to eat. But if no command had been given on this 
 subject, I am of opinion that nature itself, as the apostle 
 says, is decisive on the subject. There is generally, and 
 should be always, in the female character, a softness and de- 
 licacy of feeling which shrinks from the notoriety of a public 
 performance. It is the guard of female virtue, and invalua- 
 ble in its soothing, civilizing influence on man ; and a great- 
 
91 
 
 er evil, next to the loss of conscience and chastity, could not 
 befall the female sex, or the community at large, than to dis- 
 robe the female mind of those ornaments of sensibility, and 
 clothe it with the rough texture of masculine fibre. But no 
 well educated female can put herself up, or be put up, to the 
 point of pubhc prayer, without the loss of some portion at 
 least of that female delicacy, wiiich is above all price ; and 
 whoever has had an opportunity to observe the efiect of female 
 exhortation and prayer in public, will be compelled to remark 
 the exchange of softness and delicacy for masculine courage, 
 so desirable in man, so unlovely in woman; and if we need 
 farther testimony, the general character of actresses is a 
 standing memorial of the influence of female elocution be- 
 fore public assemblies. 
 
 VII. Bold, or imprudent expressions in the ardour of 
 preaching, or under the provocation of opposition, or in the 
 delirious exultation of spiritual pride. — The pre-eminent im- 
 portance of religion and the soul, may tempt a man to pour 
 contempt on all carefulness about style and well selected epi- 
 thets ; but if negligence in this respect may destroy souls as 
 well as save them, then the more important the soul, the 
 more important it is that in none of these respects we offend 
 and destroy those for whom Christ died. 
 
 VIII. Language of unbecoming familiarity with God 
 in prayer. — Such a thing is possible in good men, but 
 it is piety degenerated and mingled commonly with carnal 
 affection or spiritual pride. A just sense of ourselves and of 
 God, will produce any thing rather than irreverent familiari- 
 ty. If in heaven pure spirits veil their faces and adore, shall 
 not mortal man, whose eye by faith seeth God, abhor himself? 
 The difference between humble and presumptuous boldness 
 is immense ; and no frequency of real spiritual access and 
 communion with God, can possibly breed irreverent familia- 
 rity. For a man, then, to talk to his Maker about men and 
 things in the dialect more familiar and divested of reverence, 
 than a well-educated child would adopt in addressing an 
 earthly parent, is utterly inadmissible. 
 
 IX. Coarse, blunt, and vulgar expressions. — These, if in- 
 dulged by good men, indicate, or infallibly produce, the want 
 of that delicacy of feeling, which, next to conscience and pi- 
 ety, is our greatest safeguard against impropriety ; and when 
 coupled with religion, adorns the doctrines of God our Sa- 
 viour ; and though some ears may not be offended, there are 
 always, in every assembly, some that v^^ill be ; and though 
 some souls may not be injured by it, why should it be indul- 
 ged, when these might be as much benefited by other lan- 
 guage, while many may be offended and perhaps destroyed 
 
92 
 
 by it 1 Say not it is their own fault : for though it may be 
 that they ought not to have been so offended as to have re- 
 jected the truth, yet if we, knowing the habihty of men to be 
 thus offended and injured, proceed wilfully to create the of- 
 fence, the wo may belong to them by whom the offence co- 
 meth, as really as to those who are criminally offended. My 
 own observation has taught me, that there is a critical state 
 of the mind in the experience of almost every sinner, when 
 small causes may turn the scale the wrong way ; and if a mi- 
 nister, careless of his language or conduct in dealing with 
 men, shall save many, the day of judgment may disclose the 
 appalling fact, that he was the means of destroying more 
 souls than he saved. And besides all this, human nature 
 needs elevation and refinement ; it is of itself prone enough 
 to sink down to coarseness and indelicacy ; and the evil must 
 be immense, of sending religion, the great purifier of man, 
 through the nation in a style which will be calculated to in- 
 crease the obtuseness of feeling, and the roughness of civil- 
 ized intercourse. Let grossness characterise the church, and 
 refinement the world, and you throw a large portion of man- 
 kind into hopeless opposition to the gospel. 
 
 X. A harsh and severe mode of addressing sinners. — 
 Whatever language a man uses, it tends to beget in him the 
 style of feeling of which it is characteristic. If an awakened 
 sinner, to conceal his impression, shall affect lightness of 
 language and manner, he will soon become what he affects 
 to be, a careless sinner. On this principle it is, in my judg- 
 ment, no minister can adopt a severe, harsh, and censorious 
 manner with sinners, and not become, toksome extent in spi- 
 rit, what he seems to be in language. We must, at times, 
 use the language of severity and terror ; but if this becomes 
 the unvarying or common mode, it will be unhappy : nor can 
 the language of denunciation and threatening, such as 'cur- 
 sed,' ' hell,' 'damnation,' and the like, be made frequent and 
 familiar in the pulpit, without bringing up the association of 
 similar language, from profane lips, in far different places ; 
 or without producing, if not as much, yet some degree of the 
 bad influence of profane swearing. In the time of Daven- 
 port, they used to address men from the pulpit as " cursed 
 sinners," and talk about their being " damned to hell ;" which 
 made some people wonder what had got into ministers to 
 swear so, 
 
 XL New era in revivals — reformers — reformation always 
 opposed, even by good men, &c. — Such ideas, cherished, 
 bring to the naughty and deceitful heart of man no small 
 danger, and have ruined many ; for though multitudes have 
 thought they were raised up to be reformers in the church. 
 
 I 
 
93 
 
 but a small number of men have been in reality such ; and 
 as to opposition from good men, the facts generally have been 
 the other way. The opponents of Luther and Calvin were 
 not pious men, but the legions of Antichrist-, and so long as 
 enemies only lifted the lance against them, the reformation 
 advanced ; but from the time the reformers began to lift it 
 one against the other, it stopped. The chief opponents of 
 Whitfield in England were the hierarchy ; and in this coun- 
 try, the cold-hearted Arminians and formal Calvinists. But 
 the ministers who held the doctrines and maintained the 
 views of revivals, which now pervade New-England and the 
 West, were his most ardent friends : And there is no instance 
 upon record, of a great evangelical reformation which was 
 opposed strenuously by the best of men, and carried sword 
 in hand by denouncing and breaking down the most active, 
 experienced, and successful ministers of Christ and members 
 of his church. Whitfield and the Tennants strengthened 
 the hands of good ministers, and were terrible only to the 
 Arminian and lukewarm ; and while their counsels prevailed, 
 the revivals went on. It was reserved for Davenport and his 
 followers to stop it, by setting up a new mode of preaching 
 and conduct, which good men could not adopt ; for this they 
 were denounced, and separations encouraged, whose delete- 
 rious effects a whole century will not obliterate. 
 
 Xll. A self sufficient and daring state of mind, which is 
 reckless of consequences, and incorrigible to argument or 
 advice. It may be the result of confidence inspired by suc- 
 cess ; of the magnifying effect of intense interest on one sub- 
 ject, which throws every thing else out of the circumference 
 of vision, and into relative insignificance; of nervous excite- 
 ment which quickens all the sensibilities of the soul, and mag- 
 nifies objects of interest ; and, at last, of a settled state of 
 perverted feeling, the product of the preceding causes, 
 which, in the estimation of the subject, becomes absolute 
 knowledge, and pours contempt on argument or advice, and 
 can no more be stopped in its career, than the foaming cata- 
 ract, or the resistless whirlwind. For why should a good 
 man stop, who knows certainly that he is right exactly, and 
 that all men are wrong in proportion as they differ from him ? 
 This unquestionably was the state of mind to which Daven- 
 port and his followers came. He and they, upon the subject 
 of promoting revivals, were undoubtedly the subjects of a reli- 
 gious nervous insanity. They mistook the feeling of certain- 
 ty and confidence produced by nervous excitement, and per- 
 verted sensation, for absolute knowledge, if not for inspira- 
 tion ; and drove the whirlwind of their insane piety through 
 
94 
 
 the churches with a fury which could not be resisted, and 
 with a desolating influence which in many places has made 
 its track visible to the present day. It was this '^ know-cer- 
 tain-feehng,^' which emboldened Davenport to chastise aged 
 and eminent ministers, and to pray for them, and denounce 
 them as unconverted, and to attempt to break them down by 
 promoting separations from all who would not conform im- 
 plicitly to his views, — by setting on fire around them the wood, 
 hay, and stubbie, which exist in m.ost communities, and may 
 easily be set on fire, at any time, by rashness and misguided 
 zeal ; and so far as my observation extends^ the man who 
 confides exclusively in himself, and is inaccessible to advice 
 and influence from without, has passed the bounds of sound 
 reason, and is upon the confines of destruction. 
 
 XIII. Whatever the code of public opinion has adopted 
 which is sinful, must be rejected ; but there are a multitude 
 of things which belong to man as an intellectual and social 
 being, which cannot be disregarded, without destroying alike 
 civilization and Christianity. There are some things which 
 adorn, and some which disgrace religion, and should we 
 therefore in our zeal strip religion of the mildness, and kind- 
 ness, and courtesy of civilized decorum, and exhibit her in al- 
 hance with all the repellences and roughnesses of uncultiva- 
 ted humanity, as well might the bodies in the valley of vision 
 have been animated and sent forth in all their unsightly na- 
 kedness before the skin came upon ihem. True religion 
 makes men courteous, and produces those salutary rules of 
 civilized intercourse which distinguish Christian from savage 
 nations. Nor with all these restraints, and grace beside, is 
 there any danger that men, in the interchange of social inter- 
 course, will treat each other with more respect and courtesy, 
 than would naturally result from each man's loving his neigh- 
 bour as himself 
 
 XIV. Success an evidence that all which is done in revi- 
 vals is right. No mode of reasoning is so safe as matter-of- 
 fact reasoning, if properly conducted ; and none perhaps is 
 so liable to be perverted to purposes of sophistry. The 
 grounds of deception are two: 1. Drawing general conclu- 
 sions from particular premises ; inferring that because some 
 preacher's mode of address or action has been useful in some 
 circumstances, it is applicable to all circumstances. As if a 
 physician, on discovering a remedy for some disease, should 
 make it his standing and universal prescription in all cases ; 
 as if the shipmaster, who had once been driven out to sea 
 before boisterous winds, without anchor, or compass, or 
 chart, or rudder, and who reached by miracle his port in safe- 
 ty, should return to denounce henceforth these means of safe- 
 
95 
 
 ty, and insist that nothing was needed to conduct auspicious- 
 ly the commerce of the whole world but a direct course, and 
 mountain waves, and all sails standing, and a hurricane for 
 a breeze. 2. Judging from hmited views and immediate ef- 
 fects, without regarding genera) and permanent results. The 
 world, both material and intellectual, is governed by general 
 laws, and though the violation of them may produce a tem- 
 porary good, the certain result, on the great scale, will be 
 more than a balance of general evil. Now the importance 
 of the soul and of eternity is such, as that good men in a revi- 
 val are apt to feel no matter what is said or done, provided 
 sinners are awakened and saved. But it ought to be remem- 
 bered, that though the immediate result of some courses of 
 conduct may be the salvation of some souls, the general and 
 more abiding result may be the ruin of a thousand souls, de- 
 stroyed by this conduct, to one saved by it ; and destroyed by 
 it as instrumentally in the direct and proper sense of the 
 term, as any are saved by it. The sovereignty of God is not 
 to be relied on in violation of the great laws of the moral 
 world, but in accordance with them. When the thousands 
 were to be sealed, the four angels were commanded to hold 
 the winds, and keep back the judgments which they should 
 afterwards execute, because war and distress would impede 
 his work of mercy. Hence our Saviour introduced the gos- 
 pel dispensation gradually, as the mind of man could bear 
 it ; not putting new wine into old bottles : and hence, too, 
 Davenport, disregarding the general consequences of his con- 
 duct, and intent only on its immediate result, though he saved 
 a few, doubtless entailed moral desolation, and darkness, 
 and death, upon thousinds of uabbrn generations. In a sin- 
 gle hour, in this city, he said and did what had the effect to 
 interrupt in the midst an auspicious revival, and commenc- 
 ed a captivity which has continued for more than seventy 
 years. Insomuch, that were not the compassion of God, 
 through Christ, infinite, and repentance available, good had 
 it been for that man, and for New-England, if he had never 
 been born. Beside, the limited success of a given course, 
 whose general result is injurious, is no evidence of divine ap- 
 probation ; for God, as a sovereign, works by means of great 
 relative imperfection ; and that there may not be evil only, 
 makes the truth effectual which is preached, even though the 
 manner may be in some respects so reprehensible, as to de- 
 serve the dereliction of the Holy Ghost. Success in this 
 case only proves that men are not so outrageously impru- 
 dent, as to make it seem necessary to heaven, to withhold 
 the influence of the Spirit from the truth. No evidence 
 then is furnished by success, to show that things which good 
 
96 
 
 men regard as exceptionable, produce this success ; or that 
 characteristic excellencies, without these peculiarities, would 
 not render the same men still more eminently successful. 
 If revivals could be achieved in but one way, and that attend- 
 ed by much reaction of evil, such is the vanity of lime and 
 the worth of the soul, that the sacrifice should be made ; but, 
 when revivals, great, and frequent, and glorious, can be con- 
 ducted in a manner which strengthens the hands of pastors, 
 and unites the churches, and disarms the world of prejudice, 
 and brings increasing power of truth on the public con- 
 science, and^aises up the foundations of many generations, 
 and repairs the wastes of the revivals of other ages, there can 
 be no excuse for conducting them in a manner which shall 
 reverse this order, and let out a civil war in the church, 
 arousing ministers against ministers, and dividing and dis- 
 tracting the churches by wrath, and strife, and endless divi- 
 sions. The revivals in the West do not- in my judgment, 
 owe their existence to a single arm, and it is too much to be 
 taken for granted, that both their immediate and ultimate re- 
 sults would not have been much better, if they had been at- 
 tended by fewer novelties and peculiarities. For though 
 such revivals as 1 have described, promoted by itinerant mi- 
 nisters only, would be dreadful, the same kind of preachmg 
 and conduct adopted by settled ministers would unquestion- 
 ably displace three-fourths of the settled ministers in the 
 United States, and instead of building up the desolations that 
 now exist, would multiply them a thousand fold. 
 
 To some of the consequences of a revival, conducted un- 
 der such auspices as 1 have described, 1 beg leave now to 
 call your attention. 
 
 It will become more and more exceptionable. Urged by- 
 circumstances, men will do things, which, if in the beginning 
 they had been predicted, they would have said, "Are thy 
 servants dogs, that we should do these things ?" By degrees, 
 however, all landmarks will be removed, and what was once 
 regarded as important will be set at nought, and what would 
 once have produced horror will be done fearlessly. There 
 is nothing to which the minds of good men, when once pass- 
 ed the bounds of sound discretion, and launched on the 
 ocean of feeling and experiment, may not come too. But 
 the evil, which may flow from those who commence these 
 aberrations, is but a drop of the bucket in the ocean of dis- 
 order and misrule to which they may open the door. There 
 is nothing so terrible and unmanageable as the fire and whirl- 
 wind of human passion, when once kindled by misguided 
 zeal, and sanctioned by conscience, and the idea of being re- 
 viled and persecuted for doing God service. Like the cave 
 
m 
 
 of iEolus, or the gate of Pandemonium, a single arm may 
 suffice to lei out the storm. But when once the atmosphere 
 is put in motion, no human power can stop it, until it has ex- 
 hausted its fury in works of moral desolation. They who 
 did the deed may repent of it early, and stretch out impotent 
 hands to stay the evil ; and weep over the desolation with- 
 out being able to repair it. The restoration of Davenport 
 to sanity, and his subsequent confession, did not repair 
 the moral desolation which his conduct and principles had 
 made. 
 
 Another of the evils to be apprehended, is opposition on 
 the part of good men, and the consequent disunion of 
 the churches by a civil war. The peculiarities of the system 
 I have recognised, cannot go through the churches without 
 opposition. Splendid by its early power, many have yielded 
 to it who disapproved for fear they might quench the Spirit : 
 and many have been silent, because they feared that they 
 might speak against a work of God. But when the work 
 shall have given out its distinct character, and put off the na- 
 tures of love and gentleness, &c. and put on those of wrath 
 and strife : when other reformers shall hasten on to new dis- 
 coveries, and surpass their predecessors as much as these 
 surpassed others : and denounce them as they denounced 
 those who could not go with them ; when stripling imitators 
 of pious men, having nothing in common with them but their 
 imprudence, without thoir age and moral power, shall go out 
 to outrage humanity and caricature revivals of religion, 
 then will these irregularities be met, and then the collision 
 will be keen and dreadful. For, in every church, there is 
 wood, hay, and stubble, which will be sure to take fire on the 
 wrong side. All your periodical Christians, who sleep from 
 one revival to another, will be sure to blaze out now ; while 
 judicious ministers and the more judicious part of the church, 
 will be destined to stand, like the bush, in the midst of the 
 flames ; while these periodical Christians will make up, by 
 present zeal for their past stupidity, and chide as cold heart- 
 ed formalists, those, whose even, luminous course sheds re- 
 proof on their past coldness and stupidity. The converts 
 too will catch the same spirit ; and go forth to catechise aged 
 Christians ; and wonder why old saints donH sing, and make 
 the heavenly arches ring, as they do ; — and that shall come 
 to pass, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, as the des- 
 truction of human society and the consummution of divine 
 wrath upon man, when children shall be princes in the 
 church, and babes shall rule over her, and the child shall 
 behave hinself proudly against the ancient, and the base 
 against the honourable. 
 
 13 
 
98 
 
 Another evil to be feared is, that it will unavoidably array 
 a large portion of the unrenewed part of the community 
 against revivals and religion ; and produce infidels, scoffers, 
 Unitarians, and Universalists, on every side — increasing the 
 resistance seven fold to evangehcal doctrine ; withdrawing 
 in proportion, the voluntary support of the Gospel ; and 
 consigning the precious cause of Christ, which ought and 
 might govern public opinion, to the hands of a feeble, despis- 
 ed, dispirited few, who watch the holy fire upon the deserted 
 altar of God. All forms of error will grow rank from the 
 aliment of such violence done to the laws of humanity and 
 to the laws of God. The extravagances of the pious in the 
 time of Cromwell threw back the cause of vital piety in 
 England for two centuries, to a state of imbecility and scorn, 
 and has furnished topics to grace the pages of infidel histo- 
 rians, poets, and orators, through every succeeding genera- 
 tion. 
 
 Another effect to be deprecated is, that it will prevent the 
 great evangelical assimilation, which is forming in the Unit- 
 ed States, and paralyze general efforts as much as private 
 churches. The rumour of extravagance would soon begin to 
 press hard upon the friends of revivals in New-England ; 
 who could not and would not take the responsibility of justi- 
 fying what they disapproved, and would be compelled in self- 
 defence, publicly to clear themselves, ns havmg no part nor 
 lot in such matters. Thprc is also n large portion of the 
 church out of New-England, which is evangelical, but which 
 is acquainted with revivals more by the hearing of the ear, 
 than by eyesight and experience ; and who, between doubt 
 and fear, are approaching the happy day, when the breath 
 of the Lord may breathe upon them. Upon all these, a revi- 
 val of extravagance and disorder would exert a deadly influ- 
 ence, and for one generation, at least, protract the form 
 without the power of religion. While all the enemies of 
 evangelical doctrines and of revivals, would keep a jubilee, 
 that these days of hated light had gone by, and given place to 
 the reign of reason and formality. 
 
 Another thing to be feared is, that meeting in their career 
 with the most determined opposition from educated minis- 
 ters, and Colleges, and Seminaries, all these in succession 
 would be denounced, and held up as objects of popular odi- 
 um, and a host of ardent, inexperienced, impudent young 
 men be poured out, as from the hives of the North, to oblit- 
 erate civilization, and roll back the wheels of time to semi- 
 barbarism ; until New-England of the West shall be burnt 
 over, and religion disgraced and trodden down as in some 
 parts of New-England it was done 80 years ago : when lay- 
 
99 
 
 men and women, Indians and negroes, male and female, 
 preached and prayed and exhorted, until confusion itself be- 
 came confounded. — There is nothing so powerful as the 
 many waters of human passion, and nothing so terrible as 
 the overflowing of such a scourge : and a dispensation so 
 calamitous would be more intolerable, as it is so utterly 
 needless, and would come so unexpectedly in the very dawn- 
 ing of a bright day. The nature of the Gospel, and of the 
 human mind, and the mode of exhibiting truth and conduct- 
 ing revivals, have been developed, and practised with such 
 success, that in New-England, and to a great extent through 
 the nation, the conviction is established, that they are the 
 work of God, and most benign in their moral influence upon 
 the present as well as the future life. Extensively opposition 
 is silenced, and the public mind is fist preparing to come 
 under the influence of faithful preaching, and the Holy 
 Ghost. In New-England revivals are becoming more fre- 
 quent in the same places, and more general in their extent. 
 There seems to be a joyful and rapid spread of the work of 
 God : but one overflowing of a violent, ungoverned revival 
 would snatch the victory from truth, and throw revivals back 
 at least fifty years. It would be the greatest calamity that 
 could befall this young empire. The perversion of the popu- 
 lar taste, and the extinction of the popular prejudice against 
 learning, and a learned ministry, where an enlightened pub- 
 lic sentiment, coupled with enlightened piety, is our all, 
 would be to us, nearly, what the incursions of the northern 
 barbarians were to the Roman Empire. It would stop all 
 our improvements, and throw us back in civilization, science, 
 and religion, at least a whole century. It would constitute 
 an era of calamity never to be forgotten, and be referred to 
 by future historians as the dark age of our republic. There 
 are parts of our nation, to which I might refer you, which 
 were burnt over by such a revival some 20 years ago, where 
 the abiding evils may still be seen in the state of society 
 which has followed. And there too, with all their extrava- 
 gances of falling, and groaning, and laughing, and jumping, 
 and dancing, were regarded by many, and by some very good 
 men, as a new dispensation of the Spirit, — a new mode of 
 conducting revivals with power ; and those, who rode on the 
 foremost waves, thought themselves to be, and were thought 
 to be, raised up to be reformers in their day, oh, my brother ! 
 if a victorious army should overflow and lay us waste, or if 
 a fire should pass over and lay every dwelling in our land in 
 ashes, it would be a blessing to be coveted with thanksgiving, 
 in comparison to the moral desolation of one ungoverned 
 
100 
 
 revival of religion ; for physical evils can be speedily repair- 
 ed, but the desolation of moral causes is deep and abiding. 
 
 I have only to add, that the evil may, with perfect ease, be 
 avoided, without diminishing the true spirit and power of a re- 
 vival ; but in every respect shall increase it. There is no 
 need of praying as if God and man were deaf, or of wallow- 
 ing on the floor, and frothing at the mouth, as if filled with 
 hydrophobia, instead of the Spirit of God ; nor any harm in 
 kindness and gentleness ; nor any benefit in harsh and severe 
 epithets. The state of man may be explained to him so that 
 he shall believe and feel, better than by calling him a devil, a 
 viper, or a serpent. There may be as great directness as is 
 needed, or as is possible, without indecorum ; and the gospel 
 may be preached faithfully, and attended with the power of 
 God, without groaning in prayer, and crying " Amen," and 
 without female prayers and exhortations, and without that 
 spiritual pride, which never fails to attend pressing the mass 
 of the community out of their place, and shaking together in 
 one chaldron of effervescence, all the passions of all the class- 
 es in human society. I would not, brethren, on any account, 
 deter you from the propagation of revivals ; and I believe if 
 brother F. will take counsel, he may be an invaluable bless- 
 ing. The thing which I have wished to accomplish is, to en- 
 able you so to perceive the defects and dangers of your mode 
 of conducting revivals, as that you shall be induced to part 
 with its unseemly warts and excrescences, without diminish- 
 ing at all the energy and warmth of the healthful pulsation of 
 their hearts, or abating the moral courage or humble bold- 
 ness with which you pray and preach, or the directness and 
 power with which you address the consciences of men. In 
 short, that revivals, conducted under your auspices, may be 
 so conducted, as that, surpassing in power any you have seen, 
 all good men may hail their approach, and give you their un- 
 divided countenance, and none but wicked men and hypo- 
 crites fear and tremble. 
 
 Dear brethren in Christ; you must not, for a moment, sup- 
 pose that I do not fervently love you : or that I ascribe to 
 you, in extenso^ all the defects to which I have alluded ; but 
 that 1 have drawn the outlines of a moral chart, which such 
 a disastrous revival, as your present course could not fail to 
 lead to, would amply fill up, I have not a doubt. That you 
 will appreciate my motives, and not be offended, I cannot but 
 believe ; and I have equal confidence that you will appreci- 
 ate the considerations which I have suggested, and will, as 
 fast and as far as possible, supersede our fears, by a course 
 that all good men will approve and rejoice in. 
 
 The happiness and strength of New-England consists in 
 
101 
 
 the fact, that, with few exceptions, none of us ride hobby- 
 horses, or set up for reformers upon our own simple stock of 
 wisdom or moral power, but with great harmony and love, 
 consult, and give and take advice. This makes the church 
 terrible as an army with banners to her foes. 
 
 I cannot ask you to reply particularly to so long a letter, 
 but it is my earnest request that you will reply to it early, and 
 let me know how it strikes you; whether it is plain, and di- 
 rect, and strong enough, — so as to be up to the mark - and 
 if in any respect you would Hke discussion, that you will give 
 me opportunity of retracting, if I am wrong ; or of convinc- 
 ing you, if I am right. 
 
 I beseech you, brethren, to consult good men around you, 
 and especially brother Nettleton, whose judgment and long 
 experience in revivals, and knowledge of human nature, can- 
 not be safely disregarded. 
 
 But, if at length you should be verging to the conclusion 
 that you must go on as you have done, I must beseech and 
 entreat, you will halt and pray, until there can be time for a 
 meeting of a few Christian brethren with you, in which, viva 
 voce, we may kindly, but thoroughly and prayerfully, talk 
 over the entire subject ; and see if we cannot bring matters 
 to a state in which we can all act as one. 
 
 I am, affectionately, your brother, 
 
 LYMAN BEECHER. 
 
 Rev. Nathan S. S. Beman, 
 
103 
 
 FROM THE NEW-rORK OBSERVER. 
 
 Boston, Nov. 8, 1827. 
 It having been represented to some of the subscribers, that 
 we disapproved of the proceedings of the Rev. Mr. Nettle- 
 ton, in reviewing a sermon preached at Troy, March 4, 1827, 
 and in opposing the sentiments and practices which it seem- 
 ed intended to vindicate and extend, we regard ourselves as 
 called upon by a sense of duty to say, that the proceedings 
 of Mr. Nettleton appear to us to have been cliaracterised by 
 uncommon intellectual vigour, correct and comprehensive 
 views of the interests of the church, and by distinguished 
 wisdom, fidelity, firmness, and benevolence, well adapted to 
 promote the interests of pure religion throughout the land. 
 Signed, 
 Lyman Beecher, Jnstin Edwards, 
 
 A. S. Norton, Heman Hiimpkrey, 
 
 Wm. R. Weeks, C. J. Tenney, 
 
 H. R. Weed, J. Hawes. 
 
 Catskill, July U, 1827. 
 Some of the reasons which the Rev. Mr. Nettleton assign- 
 ed to his brethren in New-England, for not attending the 
 convention. He was afterwards prevailed on to attend, from 
 the consideration that great advantage would undoubtedly 
 be taken of his absence, and for the sake of reading his cor- 
 respondence, to show them what had been done : — 
 
 1. Feeble health, &;c. 
 
 2. 1 have been compelled by ministers to talk and exhaust 
 all my strength, and to spend nearly all my time, for about 
 eight months, on this subject. I have done all that I can ; 
 and have been greatly blamed by many for what I have done. 
 I have resigned the subject entirely to the management of 
 settled pastors, whose business alone it is to determine the 
 question, what measures shall be introduced into their 
 churches. 
 
 3. Every thing I have said or done has been so perverted, 
 and my motives so impeached, that I choose henceforth to 
 be silent. 
 
 4. I know not who have been invited, or whether they ex- 
 pect to attend. 
 
103 
 
 5. It has been reported at the West, that the convention 
 was originated by myself; in Troy, and elsewhere, that I am 
 opposed to it ; so that, whatever the result may be, I have 
 discovt red a determination to throw the consequences of the 
 meeting on myself. 
 
 G. No ministers will be bound by the decisions of such a 
 convention. 
 
 7. Tiiose who convoke the convention are making too 
 much noise, without any prospect of lessening the evils, and, 
 consequently, will give the subject a new importance. I 
 should greatly prefer a silent convention, on some public oc- 
 casion like that of a commencement, where the views of bre- 
 thren who differ may be privately discussed ; and in case they 
 should come to any important results, they might be publish- 
 ed to the world ; otherwise the public mind need not be dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 8. The convention may now be considered as having ta- 
 ken the same business into their own hands, and as having 
 m.ade pubHc, what 1 have long been wishing to settle as "si- 
 lently as possible : hence I ought to be excused. 
 
 9. I have never desired a convention on any other ground, 
 than to give directions and support to the proceedings of the 
 presbytery of Troy, or of some regularly organized body. 
 
 10. Every attempt which has hitherto been made to cor- 
 rect any irregular practice, has been construed into coldness, 
 deadness, and called persecution. 
 
 11. 1 never yet, to my recollection, have fallen out with 
 settled pastors, and I fear I cannot act my own judgment and 
 conscience without crossing theirs. 
 
 12. I have no controversy with any man on the subject, 
 and I fear, if I attend, it will be construed into a personal 
 controversy, and that it will be impossible to avoid it. 
 
 13. I fear that settled mmisters at the East and South have 
 not yet felt enough of the evils, to appreciate what has al- 
 ready been done ; and that these ministers will be obliged to 
 experience more of these evils, before they will take a deci- 
 sive stand ; and the sooner 1 withdraw, and leave the whole 
 responsibility on them,' the better. 
 
 14. Every body wishes to take neutral ground as long as 
 he possibly can : it w^as so with myself. 
 
 15. The plea of Mr. Finney, that he wished to sit at my 
 feet and learn, 1 believe was an after-device to justify himself 
 in not correcting any thing. No complaint was ever hinted 
 at the time. Indeed, after my last interview with Mr. Finney, 
 the friends of the new measures continued to report that N. 
 and F. are one ; and this report continued in circulation until 
 my letter to Aikin could be concealed no longer. 
 
104 
 
 16. The judgment, and counsel, and consciences of so 
 many ministers and Christians have been trampled upon, that 
 I fear there has been great sin. 
 
 17. 1 fear to have any fellowship with such a spirit. I fear 
 a retribution. From my long and intimate acquaintance 
 with many ministers who have been denounced, and from my 
 slight acquaintance with their denouncers, 1 greatly prefer 
 to rank myself with the former. 
 
 18. 1 have reasons in my own mind, which prudence for- 
 bids me to name to the world, and yet am willing to give 
 them to some of the eastern brethren, should they attend. 
 
 19. Finally. To prevent misunderstanding, 1 am willing 
 that my friends should attend, and do all in their power to 
 prevent the evils feared. But I have no evidence that the 
 principles on which these men acted are in the least altered. 
 On the contrary, 1 shall be disappointed if they do not at- 
 tempt to vindicate them, and justify all they have done. 
 
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