?!' '!» > { ¦*, 'J . * • * t .'«' ' ' . " lit ¦ ' «¦' • yS-S.:- '1. ''' f YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY COTTON MATHEE. MAGI ALIA CHRISTI AMERICAIA; OR, THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF NEW-ENGLAND, PROM ITS PIEST PLANTING, IN THE TEAR 1620, UNTO THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 169S, IN SE.VEN BOOKS. EEVEREND AND LEAR'NED COTTON MATHER, D.D. F.R.S. AND PASTOR OF THE NORTH CHURCH IN BOSTON, NE'VV-ENGLAND. IN TWO VOLUME S. VOLUME II. AN IKTRODFCTION AND OCCASIONAL NOTES, BY THE REV. THOMAS ROBBINS, D.D. AND TRANSLATIONS OP THE HEBRE-W, GREEK, AND LATIN QUOTATIONS, BY LUCIUS F. ROBINSON, LL. B. HA RTFORD: SILAS ANDRUS & SON. 1853. ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1852, BY SILAS ANDRUS & SON, IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE OP THE DISTRICT COURT OF CONNECTICUT. Xie^ v-Z co^Y 1 FOUNDRY OF SILAS ANDRUS t SON, HARTFORD- HARTFORD. Preaa of vv. S. WiUiams. W. C. Armstrong, Typographer. SAL GENTIUM ITHE SALT OF THE JfATlOJfS.'] THE FOURTH BOOK THE NEW-ENGLISH HISTORY: CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE UNIVERSITY, FROM WHENCE THE CHURCHES OP NEW-ENGLAND (AND MANY OTHER CHURCHES,) HAVE BEEN ILLUMINATED.~ITS LAWS, ITS BENEFACTORS, ITS VICISSITUDES, AND A CATALOGUE OF SUCH AS HA'VE BEEN THEREIN EDUCATED AND GRADUATED. . WHERETO ARE ADDED, THE LIYES OF SOME EMINENT PEESONS, WHO ¦WERE PLANTS OP RENO'ffN GROWING IN THAT NURSERY. OFFERED DNTO THE JUBLIOK BY COTTON MATHER. Here, as in furnaces of boiling gold Stars dipt, come back, full as tfaeir orbs can hold Of glitt'ring light. AS. COULJEUS, de AMERICA. Jngeniitm, Pietas, Artes, ac Bellica Virtus, Hue profugiB venient, et Regna Illustra condent; Et Domina his Virtue erit, Fortuna Ministra. Fl-ANTAK. Lib. 5. ABM. COSLEY, on AMERICA. Genius, Religion, Learning, "Valor here, Though poor and exiled, shall an empire rear, Whose progeny shall bo in goodness great, Bondsmen to 'Virtue, Sovereigns over Fate. HARTFORD: SILAS ANDBTJS & SON. 1853. GEI^ERAL CONTENTS OF THE SEVERAL BOOKS. VOLUME I. BOOK I, ANTIQUITIES. — ^IN SEVEN CHAPTERS. — ^WITH AN APPENDIX. BOOK II. CONTAINING THE LIVES OF THE GOVERNORS AND NAMES OF THE MAGISTRATES OF NEW-ENGLAND — IN THIRTEEN CHAPTERS. — WITH AN APPENDIX. . BOOK III. THE LIVES OF SIXTY FAMOUS DIVINES, BY WHOSE MINISTRY THE CHURCHES OF NEW-ENGLAND HAVE BEEN PLANTED AND CONTINUED. VOLUME II. BOOK IV. AN ACCOUNT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE IN NEW-ENGLAND — IN TWO PARTS. PART I. CONTAINS THE LAWS, THE BENEFACTORS, AND VICISSITUDES OF HARVARD COLLEGE, "VnXH REMARKS UPON IT. PART U. THE LIVES OF SOME EMINENT PERSONS EDUCATED IN IT. BOOK T. ACTS AND MONUMENTS OF THE FAITH AND ORDER IN THE CHURCHES OF NEW-ENGLAND, PASSED IN THEIR synods; "WITH HISTORICAL REMARKS UPON THOSE VENERABLE ASSEMBLIES, AND A GREAT VARIETY OF CHURCH-OASES OCCURRING AND RESOLVED BY THE SYNODS OF THOSE CHURCHES. — IN FOUR PARTS. BOOK TI. A FAITHFirL RECORD OF MANY ILLUSTRIOUS, WONDERFUL PROVIDENCES, BOTH OF MERCIES AND JUDGMENTS ON DIVERS PERSONS IN NEW-ENGLAND. — IN EIGHT CHAPTERS. BOOK VII. THE WARS OF THE LORD — BEING AN HISTORY OF THE MANIFOLD AFFLICTIONS AND DIS TURBANCES OF THE CHURCHES IN NEW-ENGLAND, FROM THEIK VARIOUS ADVERSARIES AND THE WONDERFUL METHODS AND MERCIES OF GOD IN THEIR DELIVERANCE. IN SK CHAP TERS. TO WHICH IS SUBJOINED, AN APPENDIX OF REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES ¦WHirH NEW-ENGLAND HAD IN THE WARS -WITH THE INDIAN SALVAGES, FROM THE YEAR 1688 TO THE YEAR 1698. CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. THE FOURTH BOOK, k! 377 An Appendix, containing an History of Criminals, executed for Capital Crimes ; with their Dying Speeches, 403 CHAPTER VI. The Triumphs of Grace ; or, a Narrative of tho Success which the Gospel hath had among the Indians of New- England, 432 ft An Appendix, relating Things Greatly Remarkable, fetched from one little Island of Christianiz'd Indians, 440 CHAPTER VII. Tliaumatographia Pneumatica, Relating, the Wonders of the Invisible World, in Pretumatural Occurrences. It contains fourteen abtonishing, but well-attested Histories, ...... 446 THE SEVENTH BOOK, uNTiTnLmn, ECCLESIARUM PRiELIA; OR, A BOOK OF THE WARS OF THE LORD. It contains the Afflictive Disturbances which the Churches of New-England have suffered from their various adversaries ; aud the Wonderful Methods and Mercies, whereby the Churches have been delivered, . 4U7 THE INTRODUCTION. C H A P T E R 1. Mitle JVocendi Artes ; or, some General Heads of Temptation, with which the Churches of New-England have been exercised, ........ .... 490 CHAPTER II. Little Foxes; or, the Spirit o/ Rigid Separation in one remiirkable zealot, vexing the Churches of New-Eng land, and the Spirit of Giddy Familism in another; and some lesser Controversies arising upon sundry occasion?, ............. 495 CHAPTER III. Hydra Decajiitato ; or, the First Synod of New-England, quelling a Storm of Antinomian Opinions ; and many Remarkable Events relating thereunto, ........ ^ 5(jy CHAPTER IV. Ig}ies Fatui ; or, the Molestations given to the Churches of New-England, by that odd sect of people called Quakers ; and some Uncomfortable Occurrents relating to a sect of otiier and better people . 500 CHAPTER V. Wolves in Sheeps' Cloathing; or, an History of several Impostors, pretending to be Ministers, detected in the Churclies of New-England. With a Faithful Advice to all the Churches, emitted' by some of the Pastors, on that occasion, .......... ' cw CHAPTER VI. Arma Virosque Cava ; or, the Troubles which the Churches of New-England have undergone, in the Wai-s which the people of that country have had with the Indian Salvages, . . , --^2 , A p p E .1 D I X . Drcetmiiim Luctuosimi; or, a History of Remarkalilo Occurrences, in the War which New-England had with Indian Salvages, from the year 1688, to the year 1698, .... ro,. THE FOURTH BOOK. THE HISTORY OF HARYARD-COLLEDGE INTRODUCTION. If there have been Universities in the world, which a Beza would call Flabella Satance,* and a Luther would call Cathedras Pestilential and anlichristi luminaria,j and a third ven tures to style Synagogas perditionis and puteos Abyssi;^ the excellent Arrowsmith has truly observed, that it is no more tq be inferred from hence that all are so, than that all books are to be burnt, because the Christians did burn the magical (uies at Ephesus. The Nevv-Englanders have not been Weigeliuns; or the disciples of the furious fanatick, who held forth [Reader, let it never be translated into English !] Nullam esse in universe Ter- rarum Orbe Academiam, in qua Christus inveniatur; in Academiis ne ianiillam quidem Christi cognilionem reperiri posse: Noluisse Christum Evangelicum prcedicari per Diaholos; ergo nan per Academicos.\ Lest all the Hellebore of New-England (a country abounding with Hellebore) should not suffice to restore such dreamers unto their wits, it hath produced an University also, for their better information, their utter confutation. Behold, an American University, presenting herself, with her sons, before her Europaean mothers for their blessing — an Univerisity which hath been to these plantations, as Livy s.aith of Greece, for the good of literature, there cultivated, Sal Gentium; an University which may make her boast unto the circumjacent regions, like that of the orator on the behalf of the English Cambridge, Fecimus {absit verbo invidia, cui abesi Falsilas) ne in Demagoriis lapis sederii super lapidem, ne deessent in templis theologi, in Foris Jurisperiti, in oppidis medici; rempublicam, ecclesiam, sedatam, exparatis, quo magis eruditi fuerint:\\ Finally, an University which has been what Stangius made his abbey, when he turned it into a Protestant CoUcJge; T^f &eoyvu(fiot.g ifaidsurripiov xa! -vl/u^uv Si^aixcCksToiv Aoyi'xuv.lT And a river, without the streams whereof, these regions would have been meer unwatered places for the devil ! • Satan's fans. t Seats of pestilence and beacons of Antichrist. X Synagogues of perdition and sinks of hell. § That there is no institution of learning in the world, where Christ is to be found ; in such institutions, not a particle of the knowledge of Christ can be obtained : Christ was unwilling that the gospel should be preached by devils ; consequently, he ia unwilling that it should be preached by scholars. I We have provjded, (and let envy be as far removed from this declaration as is falsehood,) that in popular assemblies stone should not talk to stone— that the church should not lack priests, or the bar, jurists, or the com munity, physicians : we have supplied the government, the chm-ch, the senate, the army, with accomplished men, who are the better qunlifled to serve the public interest in proportion to the superiority of their acquirements. f A seminary of the Imowledge of God, and a school for logical minds. 8 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMERICANA. PART L ITS LAWS, BENEFACTORS, VICISSITUDES, AND ITS GRADUATES. .§ 1. The nations of mankind, that have shaken off barbarity, have not more differed in the languages, than they have agreed in this one principle, that schools, for the institution of young men, in all other liberal sciences, as ¦well as that of languages, are necessary to procure, and preserve, that learning amongst them, 'which Emollit mores, nee sinit esse feros.* To relate the thousandth part of the brave things, ¦which have been done by the nations of Asia, in former, or the nations of Europe, in latter ages, pursuant to this principle, would be to fill huge folio volumes, -with trans cribing from Hospinian or Meddendorpius, from Alsted, from Junius, and from Leigh, and from very many other authors. America is the part of the world whereto our history is confined ; and one little part of America, where the first academy that ever adorned any English plantation in America was erected ; and an academy which, if majores nostri academias signato vocabulo appellavere Universitates, quod TJniversarum Divinaruyn Humanarumque Rerum Cognitio, i% ijs, ut Thesauro conservato aperiatxtr,\ it may, though it have otherwise wanted many priviledges, from the very foundation of it pretend unto the name of an University. , The primitive Christians were not more prudently careful to settle schools for the education of persons, to succeed the more immediately inspired ministry of the apostles, and such as had been ordained by the apostles; (and the apostle Julian truly imagined that he could not sooner undo Christianity than by puttino- of them down!) than the Christians in the most early times of New-England were to form a CoLLEDGE, wherein a succession of a learned and able min istry might be educated. And, indeed, they foresaw that without sucli a Y>T!OY\&\oxifov a. sufficient ministry, the churches of New-Eno-land must have been less than a business of one age, and soon have come to nothing: the other hemisphere of the world would never have sent us over Men enouo-h to have answered our necessities ; but without a nursery for such Men among ourselves "darkness must have soon covered the land, and gross darkness the people." For some little while, indeed, there were very hopeful effects of the pains taken by certain particular men of great worth and skill, to bring up some in th,eir own private families for public services • but much of uncertainty and of inconveniency in this way was in that little while discovered; and when wise men considered the question handled by Quintilian, Utilius ne sit domi, aique, intra privates Parietes siudentem con- * Chastens the manners and the soul retlnes, + Our forefathers called academies by the significant name of Universities, because in them aro revealed liln, a hidden treasm-e, the universal stores of knowledge, both in divine and human things. OR, THE HISTORY OF NE'W-ENGL AND. 9 tinere, an freguentioe scholarum, et velut puhlicis prceceptoribus tradere?* they soon determined it as he did, that set-schools are so necessary, there is no doing without them. Wherefore a Colledge must now be thought upon : a Colledge, the best thing that ever New-England thought upon ! As the admirable Voctius could happily boast of it, that whereas there are no less than ten provinces in the Popish Belgium, and there are no more than two Universities in them, there are but seven provinces in the reformed Belgium, and there are five Universities therein, besides other academical societies; thus the first Possessors of this protestant and puritan country were zealous for an University, that should be more significant than the Seminaries of Canada and Mexico ; New-England, compared with other places, might lay claim to the character that Strabo gives of Tarsus, the city of our apostle Paul's first education; "they had so great a love to Philosophy," [rotfauT*] rfirs^Tj it-potf Ti ipiXoifoipiav,] and all the liberal sciences, that they excelled Athens, Alexandria, and if there were any other place worth naming where the schools, and disputes of philosophy, and all humane arts are maintained." And although this country did chiefly consist of such as, hj the difficulties of subduing a wretched wilderness, were brought into such a condition of poverty, that they might have gone by the title by which the modestly-clad noblemen and gentlemen that first petitioned against the Inquisition in the low countries were distinguished, namely, "a troop of beggars," yet these Gueux were willing to let the richer colonies, which retained the ways of the Church of England, see "how much true religion was a friend unto good literature." The reader knows that in every town among the Jews, there was a school, whereat children were taught the reading of the law ; and if there were any town destitute of a school, the men of the place did stand excommunicate until one were erected: besides and beyond which, they had Tnidrashoth, or divinity-schools, in which they expounded the law to their disciples. Whether the churches of New- England have been duely careful or no, about their other schools, they have not been altogether careless about their midrctshoth; and it is well for them that they have not. § 2. A General -Court, held at Boston, September 8, 1630, advanced a small sum (and it was then a day of small things), namely, four hundred pounds, by way of essay towards the building of something to begin a Col ledge ; and New-Town being the Kiriath Sepherf appointed for the seat of it, the name of the town was for the sake of somewhat now founding here, which might hereafter grow into an University, changed into Cambridge. 'Tis true, the University of Upsal in Sueden hath ordinarily about seven or eight hundred students belonging to it, which do none of them live col- legiately, but board all of them here and there at private houses; never theless, the government of New-England was for having their students ? Whether it is more expedient to shut up the student at homo and in his own closet, or to send him to tho crowded school and to public teachers, + City of Books. 10 MAGNALIA CHRISTI AMERICANA; brought up in ai more collegiate way of living. But that which laid the most significant stone in the foundation, was the last will of Mr. JoHN Harvard, a reverend and excellent minister of the gospel, who, dying at Charlesto-wn of a consumption, quickly after his arrival here, bequeathed the sum of seven hundred, seventy nine pounds, seventeen shillings and two pence, towards the pious work of building a Colledge, which was now set a foot. A committee then being chosen, to prosecute an affair so hap pily commenced, it soon found encouragement from several other bene factors: the other colonies sent some small help to the undertaking, and several particular gentlemen did more than whole colonies to support and forward it: but because the memorable Mr. John Harvard led the way by a generosity exceeding the most of them that followed, his name was justly eternized, by its having the name of Harvard Colledge imposed upon it. While these things were a doing, a society of scholars, to lodge in the new nests, were forming under the conduct of one Mr. Nathaniel Eaton, [or, if thou wilt, reader, Orbiliu^s Eaton] a blade who marvellously deceived the expectations of good men concerning him ; for he was one fitter to be master of a Bridewel than a Colledge : and though his avarice was notorious enough to get the name of a Philargyrius* fixed upon him, yet his cruelty was more scandalous than his avarice. He was a rare scholar himself, and he made many more such; but their education truly was "in the school of Tyrannus." Among many other instances of his, cruelty, he gave one in causing two men to hold a young gentleman, while he so unmercifully beat him with a cudgel, that, upon complaint of it unto the court in September, 1639, he was fined an hundred marks, besides a con venient sum to be paid unto the young gentleman that had suffered by his unmercifulness ; and for his inhumane severities towards the scholars, he was removed from his trust. After this, being first excommunicated by the church of Cambridge, he did himself excommunicate all our churchesj going first into Virginia, then into England, where he lived privately until the restauration of King Charles the II. Then conforming to the cere monies of the church of England, he was fixed at Biddiford, where he became (as Apostata est Osor sui Ordinis) — a bitter persecutor of the Chris tians that kept faithful to the way of worship, from which he was himself an apostate; until he who had cast so many into prison for conscience was himself cast into prison for debt; where he did, at length, pay one debt namely, that unto nature, by death. § 3. On August 27, 1640, the magistrates, with the ministers, of the colony, chose Mr. Henry Dunstar to be the President of their new Har- vard-Colledge. And in time convenient, the General Court endued the Colledge with a charter, which made it a corporation, consisting of a Pres ident, two Fellows, and a Treasurer to all proper intents and purposes: only with powers reserved unto the Governour, Deputy-Governour and * Money-lover, OR, THE HISTORY OF NEW-ENGLAND. H all the magistrates of the colony, and the ministers of the six next towns for the time being, to act as overseers or visitors of the society. The tongues and arts were now taught in the Colledge, and piety was maintained with so laudable a discipline, that many eminent persons went forth from hence, adorned with accomplishments, that rendered them formidable to other parts of the world, as well as to this country, and persons of good quality sent their sons from other parts of the world for such an education as this country -could give unto them. The number of benefactors to the Colledge did herewithal increase to such a degree of benefits, that although the President were supported still by a salary from the Treasury of the colony, yet the Treasury of the Colledge itself was able to pay many of its ex- pences ; especially after the incomes of Charlestown ferry were by an act of the General Court settled thereupon. To enumerate these benefactors would be a piece of justice to their memory, and the catalogue of their names and works, preserved in the Colledge;, has done them that jus tice. But as I find one article in that catalogue to run thus, "a gentle man not willing his name should be put upon record, gave fifty pounds;'' thus I am so willing to believe, that most of those good men that are men tioned were content with a record of their good deeds in the book of God's remembrance, that I shall excuse this book of our church history from swelling with a particular mention of them : albeit for us to leave uninen- tioned in this place MouLSON, a Saltonstal, an Ashurst, a Pennoyer, a Doddridge, an Hopkins, a Web, an Usher, an Hull, a Eichards, an HULTON, a GuNSTON, would hardly be excusable. And while these made their liberal contributions, either to the edifice or to the revenue of the Colledge, there were other that enriched its library by presenting of choice books with mathematical instruments thereunto, among whom Sir Kenelm Digby, Sir John Maynard, Mr. Eichard Baxter, and Mr. Joseph Hill, ought always to be remembered. But the most considerable accession to this library was, when the Eeverend Mr. Theophilus Gale, a well known writer of many books, and owner of more, bequeathed what he had unto his New- English treasury of learning; whereof I find in an Oration of Mr. Increase Mather, at the commencement in the year 1681, this commemoration: — "lAbris quamplurimis iisqiie Lectu dignissimis Bibliotheca Harvardina Locu- pletatur, quos Theophilus Galeus, (o (/.axapsll^js) Theologus nunquam satis Laudatus, legavit; quosque Novanglorum Moses, Dominum Gulielmum Stougt- onum volo, procuravit, eoque se primarium Hujus Academics Guratorem prce- buit, atque Harvardinos omnes sibi in perpetuum Devinctos habet."'^ Indeed this library is at this day, far from a Vatican, or a Bodleian dimension, and sufiiciently short of that made by Ptolomy at Alexandria, in which Fame hath placed seven hundred thousand volumes, and of that made by * The library of Harvard College is enriched with a great number of books, and those such as are best worlh reading — selected by Theophilus Yale, (of blessed memory) who has never yet received his full meed of praise as a theologian ; also, by William Stoughton, the Moses of the New Englandei-s, who was the flrst benefactor of this institution, and has bound all true sons of Harvaid to himself iu bonds of everlasting gratitude. 12 MAGNALIA CHRISTI AMERICANA; Theodosius at Constantinople, in which a more certain fame hath told us of ten myriads: nevertheless 'tis I suppose the best furnished that can be shown any where in all the American regions; and when I have the honour to walk in it, I cannot but think on the satisfaction which Heinsius reports himself to be filled withal, when shut up in the library at Leyden ; Plerumque in ea simukw pedem posui, foribus Pessulum obdo, et in ipso ^ter- nitatis Qremio, inter tot illustres Animas sedem mihi Sumo : cum ingenti qui dem Animo, ut subinde Magnatum me misereat, qui Fodicitatem hanc ignorant* § 4. When scholars had so far profitted at the grammar schools that they could read any classical author into English, and readily make and speak true Latin, and write it in verse as well 2iB prose; and perfectly decline the paradigms of nouns and verbs in the Greek tongue, they were judged capa ble of admission in Harvard-Colledge ; and, upon the examination, were accordingly admitted by the President and Fellows; who, in testimony thereof, signed a copy of the Colledge laws, which the scholars were each of them to transcribe and preserve, as the continual remembrancers of the duties whereto their priviledges oblidged them. While the President in spected the manners of the students thus entertained in the Colledge, and unto his morning and evening prayers in the hall joined an exposition upon the chapters; which they read out of Hebrew into Greek, from the Old Testament in the morning, and out of English into Greek, from the New Testament in the evening ; besides what Sermons he saw cause to preach i n publick assemblies on the Lord's day at Cambridge where the students have a particular gallery allotted unto them; the Fellows resident on the place became Tutors to the several classes, and after they had instructed them in the Hebrew language, led them through all the liberal arts, ere their first /oMT- years expired. And in this time, they had their weekly declama tions, on Fridays in the Colledge-hall, besides publick disputations, which either the President or the Fellows moderated. Those who then stood candidates to be graduates, were to attend in the hall for certain hours on Mondays, and on Tuesdays, three weeks together towards the middle of June, which were called "weeks of visitation;" so that all comers that pleased might examine their skill in the languages and sciences which they now pretended unto; and usually, some or other of the overseers of the Colledge would on purpose visit them, whilst they were thus doing what they called "sitting of solstices:" when the commencement arrived— which was formerly the second Tuesday in August, but since, the first Wednes day in July— they that were to proceed Bachelors, held their act publickly in Cambridge; whither the magistrates and ministers, and other gentle men then came, to put respect upon their exercises: and these exercises were, besides an oration usually made by the President, orations both ••Generally, as soon as I set foot in it, 1 bolt tho door, and seem to repose on the verv ho,nm r ¦ mind, among so many illustrious spirits: with a sense of delight so exalted, that I nitv even nrir,7 "' """""a' know this happmess. ^ ' ™ prmces, who do not OE, THE HISTORY OF NE"VP-ENGLAND. I3 salutatory and valedictory, made by some or other of the commencers, wherein all persons and orders of any fashion then present, were addressed with proper complements, and reflections were made on the most remark able occurrents of the prseceding year; and these orations were made not only in Latin, but sometimes in Greek and in Hebrew also; and some of them were in verse, and even in Greek verse, as well as others in prose. But the main exercises were disputations upon questions, wherein the respondents first made their theses: for according to Vossius, the very es sence of the Baccalaureat seems to lye in the thing: Bacoalaureus being but a name corrupted of Batualius, which Batualius (as well as the French Bataile) comes a Batuendo, a business that carries beating in it: So that, " Batualii/MerMWi vocati, quia jam quasi Batuissent cum adversaria, ac Manvs conseruissent; hoc est, Publice Disputassent, atq^w ita Peritice. suce .specimen dedissent* In the close of the tiay, the President, with the formality of delivering a book into their hands, gave them their first degree: but such of them as had studied three years after their first degree, to answer the Horation character of an artist, Qui Siuiiis Annas Sepiem dedii insenuitque Libris et curis.f And besides their exhibiting synopses of the liberal arts, by themselves composed, now again publickly disputed on some questions, of perhaps a little higher elevation; these now, with a like formality, received their second degree, proceeding Masters of Art. — " Quis enim doctrinam amphc- titur ipsam, proemia si tollisT^X The words used by the President, in this action, were : FOR THE BATOHELOURS. Admitto te ad Primum Gradum in Artibus, scilicet, ad respondendum questioni, pro more Academiarum in Anglia. Tibique Trado liunc Librum, una cum potestate puhlici pralegendi, in aliquA artium (quam projiteris) quotiescunque ad hoc munus evocatusfueris.^ FOE THE MASTERS. Admitto te ad Secundum Gradum in Artibus, pro more Academiarum in AngUA. Tradoque tibi hunc Librum, und cum potestate proftendi, ubicunque ad hoc munus public^ evocalus fueris.\\ § 5. Mr. Henry Dunster, continued the President of Harvard-Colledge, until his unhappy entanglement in the snares of Anabaptism fiU'd the * They were called Battailers, because they had battled as it were with an antagonist— that is, had engaged In a public controversy or discussion, and thus given a specimen of their proficiency. + Who seven long^years has'spent in studentrtoil. X For who would seek even learning itself, if you should strip it of ita rewards ? § I admit you to the first degree in Arts, that is to say, to the privilege of responding in debate, according to the custom of the English Universities ; and I deliver to you this book, with the privilege of reading in public, in such profession as you shall select, as often as you are summoned to that duty. I I admit yon to the second degree in Arts, according to the custom of the English Universities ; and I deliver to you this book, with the privilege of practising a profession, whenever you shall be called upon to do so. 14 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMERICANA; overseers with uneasie fears, lest the students, by his means, should come to be ensnared: Which uneasiness was at length so signified unto him, that on October 24, 1654, he presented unto the overseers an instrument under his hands; wherein he resigned the Presidentship, and they accepted his resignation. That brave old man Johannes Amos Commenius, the/«me of whose worth hath been trumpetted as far as more than three languages (whereof every one is indebted unto his Janua) could carry it, was indeed agreed withal, by our Mr. Winthrop in his travels through the low coun tries, to come over into New-England, and illuminate this Colledge and country, in the quality of a President : But the solicitations of the Swedish Ambassador, diverting him another way, that incomparable Moravian became not an American. On November 2, 1654, Mr. Eichard Mather and Mr. Norton were employed by the overseers to tender unto Mr. Charles Chancey the place of President, which Vas now become vacant; who, on the twenty-seventh day of that month, had a solemn Inauguration thereunto. A person he was, of whom 'tis not easie to say too much; but let it here be enough to recite the words of Mr. Increase Mather (who now succeeds him) in one of his orations: "CI. Ille Chancseus, quem Carolum magnum, jure opiimo nominare possumus: Fuit ille senex venerandus, linguarum et artium prasidiis instructissimus, gymna- siarcha praclari doctus ; qui infiliis propheiarum erudiendis Jidelem navavit operam omnemque diligeniiam adhibuit. Abitus et obiius tanti viri, Collegium quasi trun- catum, ac tantum non enecatum reliquerunt."* After the death of Mr. Chancey, which was at the latter end of the year 1701, the Alma Mater Academia must look among her own sons, to find a President for the rest of her children ; and accordingly the Fellows of the Colledge, with the approbation of the overseers, July 13, 1672, elected Mr. Leonard Hoar unto that of&ce; whereto, on the tenth of September following, he was inaugurated. This gentleman, after his education in Harvard-Colledge, travelled over into England ; where he was not only a preacher of the gospel in divers places, but also received from the University in Cambridge the degree of a Doctor of Physick. The Doctor, upon some invitations, relating to a settlement, in the pastoral charge with the South Church at Boston returned into New-England; having first married a virtuous daughter of the Lord Lisle, a great example of piety and patience, who now cross'd the Atlantick with him; and quickly after his arrival here, his invitation to preside over the Colledge at Cambridge, superseded those from the Church in Boston. Were he considered either as a scholar or as a Christian, he was truly a worthy man; and he was generally reputed such, until happening, I can • That Ohauncey, whom we may properly stylo Charles the Great, was a venerable old man most accm phshed in the fundamental principles of science and iu the use of language, most expert in the art of instm^f who devoted himself with exemplary and unfailing diligence to the instruction of the sons of the nronheu ti death of so great a man left the college crippled and well nigh crushed. • OR, THE HISTORY OF N E-^-EN GLAND. 15 scarce tell how, to fall under the displeasure of some that made a figure in the neighbourhood, the young men in the Colledge took advantage there from, to ruine his reputation, as far as they were able. He then found the Eectorship of a Colledge to be as troublesome a thing as ever Antigonus did his robe; and he could subscribe to Melchior Adams' account of it, ^' Sceptrum illud scholasticum, plus habet solicitvdinis quam pulchritudinis, plus curw quam auri, plus impedimenti quam argenti."* The young plants turned cud-weeds, and, with great violations of the fifth Commandment, set themselves to travestie whatever he did and said, and aggravate every thing jn his behaviour disagreeable to them, with a design to make him odious; and in a day of temptation, which was now upon them, several very good men did unhappily countenance the ungovcrned youths in their ungov- ernableness. Things were at length driven to such a pass, that the stu dents deserted the Colledge, and the Doctor, on March 15, 1675, resigned his Presidentship. But the hard and ill usuage which he met withal made so deep an impression upon his mind, that his grief threw him into a con sumption, whereof he dyed November 28, the winter following, in Boston ; and he lies now interr'd at Braintree: where he might properly enough have this line inscribed over him for his EPITAPH Malus celeri saucius Afrtco.i The fate of this ingenious man was not altogether without a parallel, in what long since befel Dr. Metcalf, the Master of St. John's Colledge in Cambridge; who, as Dr. Fuller has related it, was injuriously driven from the Colledge, and expired soon after his going out of his office: But I would not have my reader go too far, in constructing the remark, which the great Gains made thereupon, " Omnes qui Metcalfi excludendi autores extiterunt, multis adversce fortunce procellis, sive divina ultione, seu fata suo jactati, mortem obierunt eaxmplo memorabili."^ All that I shall farther add concerning our Doctor is, that in his time, there being occasion for the Colledge to be recruited with new edifices, there was a contribution made for it through the Colony, which, in the whole, amounted unto one thou sand, eight hundred, and ninety five pounds, two shillings and nine pence ; and of this, there was eight hundred pounds given by the one town of Bbston; and of that, there was one hundred pounds given by the one hand of Sir Thomas Temple, as true a gentleman, as ever set foot on the American strand; and this contribution, with some other assistances, quickly produced a new Colledge, wearing still the name of the old one, which old one is now so mouldered away, that • The academic sceptre is more fruitful of anxiety than of pleasure — brings more care than cash — more embarrassment than remuneration. + His masts all splintered by the driving gale. X All who favoured the disniissal of Metcalf, after suffering many advei-sities, either fi-om special divine ven geance, or the ordinary course of Providence, died in a remarkable manner. 16 MAGNALIA CHRISTI AMERICANA; Jam seges est uhi Troja fuit.* After the death of Dr. Hoar, the place of President pro tempore, was put upon Mr. Urian Oakes, the excellent Pastor of the Church at Gam- bridge ; who did so, and would no otherwise accept of the place ; though the offer of z. full settlement m the place was afterwards importunately made unto him. He did the services of a president, even, as he did all other services, faithfully, learnedly, indefatigably ; and by a new choice of him thereunto, on February 2, 1679, was, at last, prevailed withal to take the full charge upon him. We all know, that Britain knew nothing more famous than their ancient sect of Druids; the philosophers, whose order, they say, was instituted by one Samothes, which is in English, as much as to say, an heavenly man. The Celtic name, Peru for an Oak, was that from whence they received their denomination; as at this very day, the Welch call this tree Derw, and this order of men Derwyddon. But there are no small antiquaries, who derive this oaken religion and philosophy from the Oaks of Mamre, where the Patriarch Abraham had as well a dwelling as an altar. That Oaken-Plain, and the eminent OAK under which Abraham lodged, was extant in the days of Constantine, as Isidore, Jero'm, and Sozomen have assured us. Yea, there are shrew'd probabilities that Noah himself had lived in this very Oak-Plain before him; for this very place was called O-nyri, which was the name of Noah, so styled from the Oggj'an {subcineritiis panibus\) sacrifices, which he did use to offer, in this renowned Grove: And it was from this example that the ancients, and particularly that the Druids of the nations, chose oaken retirements for their studies. Eeader, let us now upon another account behold the students of Harvard-Colledge, as a rendezvous of happy Druids, under the influ ences of so rare a President: But, alas! our joy must be short lived- for on July 25, 1681, the stroak of a sudden death fell'd the tree, Qui tantum inter caput extvlit omnes. Quantum tenia solent, inter viburna cypressi.X Mr. Oakes, thus being transplanted into the better world, the President ship was immediately tendered unto Mr. Increase Mather; but his Church upon the application of the overseers unto them to dismiss him unto the place whereto he was now chosen, refusing to do it, he declined the motion. Wherefore, on April 10, 1682, Mr. John Eogers was elected unto that place; and on, August 12, 1688, he was installed into it. This worthy person was the son of the renowned Mr. Nathanael Eogers, the Pastor to the Church of Ipswich ; and he was himself a preacher at Ipswich until his disposition for medicinal studies caused him to abate of his labours in the pulpit. He was one of so sweet a temper, that the title of delicice • The harvest waves where once stood Troy. J Whose noble head towered high above the resU + Bread baked under ashes. As 'mid the reeds the cypress lifts its crest. OR, THE HISTORY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 17 humani generis* might have on that score been given him ; and his real 'piety set off with the accomplishments of a gentleman, as a gem set in gold. In his Presidentship, there fell out one thing particularly, for which the Colledge has cause to remember him. It was his custom to be somewhat long in his daily prayers (which our Presidents use to make) with the scholars in the Colledge-hall. But one day, without being able to give reason for it, he was not so long, it may be by half, as he used to be. Heaven knew the reason! The scholars, returning to their chambers, found one of them on fire, and the fire had proceeded so far, that if the devotions had held three minutes longer, the Colledge had been irrecov erably laid in ashes, which now was happily preserved. But him also a prsemature death, on July 2, 1684, the day after the Commencement, snatcht away from a society that hoped for a much longer enjoyment of him, and counted themselves under as black an eclipse as the Sun did happen to be, at the hour of his expiration. But that the character of this gentleman may be more perfectly exhib ited, we will here take the leave to transcribe the epitaph engraved on his tomb, in God's-acre, at Cambridge. It is the desire of immortality inwrought into the very nature of man, that produced the invention of epitaphs, and while some will ascribe the invention unto the scholars of Linus, who so signified their affection to their slain master, others will that it may be ascend as high as the great stone of Abel, mentioned in the first book of Samuel, which, they'll tell us, was erected as a memorial to Abel by his father Adam, with that inscription upon it, "Here was shed the blood of the righteous Abel." Now, to immortalize this their master, one of the scholars in Harvard- Colledge gave to the great stone of Eogers the ensuing lines, to be now read there for his memorial ; which, for the same cause, we make a part of our history: Mandatur huic Term et Tumulo, D. JOANNIS ROGERSII, Humanitatis Mrarium, Rogersii Doctissimi Ipsuicensis in Theologia Horreum, Nov-AngliA, Filii, Optimarum Literarum Bibliotheca, Dedhamensis, in Veteri Angliil, per Set Medicinalis Systema, Orbem Terrarum Clarissimi, Nepotis^ Integritatis Domicilium, Collegii Harvadini Fidei Repositorium, Lectissimi, ac Meritd dilectissimi Prsesidis, Christian(B Simplicitatis Exemplar, P^^rs Terrestior. , Calestior, a nobis Erepta fuit, ziK: =,"'*™' ">"" '¦•^B^" " =« >>'' luty to attend all college exercises, secular and relisiou. ,.,„,i- a private. While in the freshmen class, he must speak in public on the stage eight times TyeT "ZX^'" """^ be present at a public debate twice a week. Both bachelor and sophisters must wr to out an -ITT" ""''' branch of sacred literature : bachelors will discuss in public philosophical questions once a tor nijl, "5 "Z" supermtendence of the Pi-esident: in the President's absence, the two senior tutors will act as moderator b t"' OE, THE HISTOEY OF KEW-ENGLAND. 25 § 9. Among tlie laws of Harvard-Colledge thus recited, the reader will find the degrees of a baccalaureate and a doctoratCj in divinity^ provided for those that, by coming up to terms beyond those required in any one Euro pean university, shall merit them. Now, though there are divines in the 5. No one must, under any pretext, be found in the society of any depraved or dissolute person. 6. No one in the iower class shall leave town without express permission from tho President or tutors : nor shall any student, to whatever class he may belong, visit any shop or tavern, to eat and drink, unless invited by a parent, guardian, step-pai-ent, or some such relative. 7. No student shall buy, sell or exchange any thing without tho approval of his parents, guardians, or tutors. Whoever shall violate this rule, shall be fined by the President or tutor, according to the magnitude of the offence. 8. All students must refrain from wearing rich and showy clothing, nor must any one go out of the college- yai-d, unless in his gown, coat or cloak. 9. Every undei'-graduate shall be called by his surname only, unless he is a commoner, or the oldest son of a gentleman, or the child of a nable house. 10. Every commoner shall pay five pounds for the perpetual use of the college, before admission. 11. Every scholar in the lower class shall pay his tutor two pounds a year ; unless he be a commuiier, when he shall pay three pounds a year. 12. No person in a higher class, Tutors and Fellows of the college excepted, shall be allowed to force a freshman or junior to go on errands or do other services, by blows, threats or language of any kind. And any under-graduate who violates this i-ule, shall be punished by bodily chastisement, expulsion, or such other mode as shall seem advisable to the President and Fellows. 13. Students of all grades are to abstain from dice, cards and every species of gaming for money, under a pen alty, in the case of a graduate, of twenty shillings for each ofience; and, if the ofibuder is an under-graduate, ha shall be liable to punishment, at the discretion of the President und his tutor. 14. If any student is absent from prayers, or recitation, unless necessarily detained, or by permission of tho President or a tutor, he shall be liable to an admonition ; and, if he commit the ofi'ence more than once in a week, to such other punishment as the President or tutor shall assign. 15. No student must be absent from his studies or stated exercises for any reason, (unless it is first made known to the President or tutor, and by them approved) with the exception of the half-hour allowed for lunch, a half-hour for difmer and also for supper, until nine o'clock. 16. If any student shall, either through wilfulness or negligence, violate any law of God or of this college, after being twice admonished, he shall suffer severe punishment, at the discretion of the President gr his tutor. But in high-handed offences, no such modified forms of punishment need be expected. 17, Every student who, on trial, shall be able to translate from tho original Latin text, and logically to explain the Holy Scriptm-es, hoth of the Old and New Testament, and shall also be thoroughly acquainted with the princi ples of natural and moral philosophy, and shall be blameless in life and character, aud approved at a public exam ination by the President and Fellows of the College, may receive the flrst degi'oe. Otherwise, no one shall be admitted to the first degree in arts, unless at the end of three yeai-s and ten months from the time of his admission, 18. Every scholar who has maintained a good standing, and exhibited a written synopsis of logic, natural and moral philosophy, arithmetic and astronomy, and shall be prepai'ed to defend a proposition or thesis ; shall also bo versed in the original languages, as aforesaid : and who carries with him a reputation for upright character and diligence in study, and shall pass successfully a public examination, shall be admitted to the second, or Master's degree. 19. It is resolved, that those who pursue theology, before they receive a bachelor's degree in that depart ment, shall first obtain a Master's degree in the arts, and shall diligently apply themselves to theological and Hebrew literature, and shall devote seven years to these studies. During this time, the candidate shall hold two discussions with a bachelor of theology, and shall once be a respondent in a theological debate: he shall pronounce one oration in Latin and one in English, either in church or the college-hall. And if by this time he shall become proficient in theology, he shall, with a solemn ceremony, be made a Bachelor. However, this caution should be observed, that no one shall be permitted to pronounce the oration until five years after his admission to tho Master's degi-eo. 20. Xt is resolved, that the person who desires to be admitted into tho class of Doctors of Divinity, shall devote himself for five entire years after he has taken his bachelor's degi-ee to a course of theological reading aud study, and before his admission in this department, ho shall twice defend and once endeavoiu: to refute some theological proposition, if convenient, against a Doctor of theology. He shall pronounce one oration in Latin and one in English in a chm-ch, or the college-hall ; he shall six times publicly read and explain some portion of Scrip ture ; and after a solemn initiation, shall be obliged once in a year to propound a question in the college-hall, and to elucidate, define, and decide its ambiguities and points of doubt, as presented on both sides. 21. It is determined, that in addition to other exercises to be attended to by candidates for degrees in theology, every one of them, no matter to which degree he is looking, shall be obliged to publish, for the common benefit of the churches, and under the direction of the President and Fellows, some tract against heresy or an existing error, or dome other useful argument. 22. Academic degrees, heretofore conferred by the President and Fellows of Harvard college, shall be holden to be valid. 23. Every student shall obtain a copy of these laws, signed by the President or some one of the tutors, upon bis admission to college. 26 MAGNALIA CHBISTI AMEEICANA; country whose abilities would fully answer the terms thus proposed, yet partly from' the novelty of the matter itself, which under the former charter was never pretended unto, and partly from the modesty of the persons most worthy to have this respect put upon them, there was yet never made among us any of these promotions. 'Tis true, these titles are of no very early original; for the occasion of them first arose about the year of our Lord 1135. Lotharius the emperor, having found in Italy a copy of the "Eoman civil law," which he was greatly taken withal, he ordained that it should be "publickly expounded in the schools;" and, that he might give encouragement unto this employment, it was ordained that the public professors of this law should be dignified with the style of doctors, whereof Bulgarus Hugolinus, with others, was the first. Not long after, this rite of creating doctors was borrowed of the lawyers by divines, who in their schools publickly taught divinity; and the imitation took place first in Bononia, Paris and Oxford. But I see not why such marks of honour may not be properly given by an American university, as well as an European, to them who, by such capacity and activity for the service of the churches, do deserve to be so distinguished. Indeed, this university did present their President with a diploma for a doctorate, under the seal of the colledge, with the hands of the fellows annexed: which, because it is the first and the sole instance of such a thing done in the whole English America, I will here transcribe it: Quum gradus academicos, tam in theologid, quam in philosophid, pro more aca demiarum in Anglid, conferendi potestas, ab amplissimo guhernatore, et a summa Massachusettensis provincia curia, secundiim sereniss. Regis ac regina Gulielmi et Maria, illis concessa diploma, sit ad nobis commissa : ei quoniam vir clarissimus, D. Cbescentus Matherus, Collegii Harvardini in Novd Anglid prases reverendus, libros quam plurimos tam Anglic^ quam Latine edidit, omnigend liieraturd refertos, multisque praterea modis, non solum in Unguis et in artibus liberalibus peritissimum, verum etiam in S. S. scripturis et in theologid se ostendit versaiissimum ; atque per siudia et merita vere extraordinaria, non tantum apud Americanas, sed et Europaanas ecclesias commendatissimum se reddidit; propiered dictum D. Cres- SENTiuM Matherum, doctorali cathedrd dignum, judicamus, eumque pro authoritate nobis commissd, S. theologia doctorem, nominamus ac renunciamus. In cujus rei testimonium, academia sigillum hisce Uteris affiximus ; nos, quorum hie sunt sub. scripta nomina. Datum Cantabrigia Nov-Anglorum die Novemhris septimo, anno Domini millesimo, sexcentesimo, nonagesimoque secundo."* ' Whereas the power of confening academic degrees both in theology and philosophy, according to tho custom of the English Universities, has been confided to us by our most excellent governor and the high court of the Province of Massachusetts, according to the Charier granted to them by their Most Serene Majesties, the King and Queen William and Mary : and whereas that most distinguished man, Mr. Increase Mather, tho venerable President of Harvard College in New England, has published many books in English and in Latin, replete wllh the most vai-ied learning, and is moreover most accomplished in literature and the liberal arts, and also admirably versed in the sacred Scriptures and theological lore, and hos obtained for himself by his acquirements and extra ordinary merits a great reputation, not only in America, but in Europe : We therefore deem the said Increase .Mather worthy of tho Doctorate, and, according to the authority vested in us, pronounce and declare him a Doctor of Divinity. In testimony whereof, wo whose names are hereunto subscribed have to these presents affixed tho seal of the college. Dated at Cambridge iu New England, on the seventh day of November, A. D. 1692. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. £7 Nevertheless, whatever use he may hereafter see cause to make of this instrument, he hath hitherto been willing to wear no other title than what formerly he had in the catalogue of our graduates, which is the next thing that my reader is to be entertained withal. § 10. Eeader, the sons of Harvard are going to present themselves in order before thee. The catalogue pretends not unto such numbers as Osiander will find for us in the Academy of Tubinga, which yielded more than four thousand masters, hiter quos erant magna Nomina et Lumina;* nor such numbers as Howel reports of Paris, where there have been known at one time twenty thousand — yea, thirty thousand students; nor such numbers as Alsted reports of Prague, where the University htid at once forty-four thousand forreigners, that were students in it, besides the native Bohemians. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that here are pretty competent numbers for a poor wilderness in its infancy ; and a poor wil derness indeed it had been, if the cultivations of such a Colledge had not been bestowed upon it. In the perusal of this catalogue, it will be found that, besides a supply of ministers for our churches from this happy sem inary, we have hence had a supply of magistrates, , as well as physicians, and other gentlemen, to serve the commonwealth with their capacities. Yea, the considerable names of Stoughton and Dudley, in this list, have been advanced unto the chief place in government; nor has the country sent over agents to appear at Whitehall for any of its interests upon any occasion, for more than these thirty years, but what had their education in this nursery. It will be also found that Europe, as well as America, has from this learned seminary been enriched with some worthy men; among whom I will rather choose to omit the mention of Sir George Downing, who occurs in the first class of our graduates, than reckon him with a company so disagreeable to him as the rest, that were many of them afterwards famous ministers of the gospel in England and Ireland. Non bene conveniunt, nee in una sede morantur.f It will be likewise found, that not a few of these "Harvardians" have by their published writings been useful unto the world. That excellent man, who is the leader of this whole company, and who was a "star of the first magnitude" in his con stellation, to wit, Mr. Benjamin "Woodbridge, an eminent herald of Heaven at Sahsbury, and afterwards at Newbury in England, and (after the " act of uniformity " and the persecution following hereupon creepled him,) in several other places, as he had opportunity. He wrote several considerable treatises about justification; as, also, "against the unwarrantable practice of private Christians in usurping the ofiBce of public preaching;" and, as the scoffing "Wood acknowledges, "he was- accounted among the brethren a learned and a mighty man." After him we have had, besides those whose lives are anon to be written, many others that by writing have made theria- * Among whom were great names and great lights. t They do not agree well, and cannot stay in tho samo place. 28 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; selves to live; and not only have we had a Danforth, a Nathanael Mather, an Hoar, a Eowlandson, a Nowel, a Whiting, an Hooker, a Moodey, an Ele azar Mather, a Eichardson, a Thacher, an Adams, a Saltonstal, a Walter, the authors of lesser composures, out of their modest studies, even as with a Csesarean section, forced into light; but also we have had an Hubbard, an Isaac Chanc&y, a Willard, a Stoddard, the authors of larger composures. Yea, the present President of the Colledge has obliged the public with more than thirty several treatises of diverse matters, and figures, and in diverse languages. 'Tis true, there is one more among the sons of this colledge, that might already bring in a catalogue of more than three-score several books, which the press has had from him; nevertheless, as Eonsard the French poet, upon reading of Du-Bartas' Weeks, would say, Monsieur Du Bartas a fait plus en une Semaine, que Je rC ay fait en toute ma viie: "Du Bartas has done more in one week, than I have done in all the days of my life:" so it must be acknowledged that three composures of one writer may be more valuable than threescore of another. Nor, indeed, must be enumerated among the least blessings of New-England, that it has been, above all the rest of the English America, furnished with presses, from which it has had, a thousand ways, the benefits of that art of printing: a gift of heaven, whereof Beroaldus well sang: Quo nil Utilius dedit Vetustcts, Libros Scribere quce doces premendo.* Finally, if Harvard be now asked, as once Jesse was, "Are here all thy " sons?" it must be answered, no: for upon a dissatisfaction, about a hard ship which they thought put upon themselves, in making them lose a good part of a year of the time, whereupon they claimed their degree (about the year 1655,) there was a considerable number, even seventeen of the scholars, which went away from the Colledge without any degree at all. Nevertheless, this disaster hindred not their future serviceableness in the churches of the faithful, and some of them indeed proved extraordinary serviceable : among whom it would be criminal "for me to forget Mr. Wil liam Brimsmead, Pastor at this day to the church of Malborou<^h- and Mr. Samuel Torrey of Wegmouth, (of whose there are published three sermons, which at so many several times were preached at the anniversary elections of magistrates.) And unto these I may add Mr. Samuel Wake- man, the pastor to the church of Fairfield, of whom we have three or four several sermons published. What now remains is to look over our catalogue; and then single out some subjects for a more particular biography. Only, while I carry in mv reader to speak with them, the writa- himself (solicitous that the name which Philo Jud^us puts upon a colledge; namely, A^Sag^oCKu,, tf.;a*atf«. Aosrr.i, or "a school of all virtue," may ever and justly be the name of * Best gift of ancient times— the Press. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 29 Harvard colledge,) will take the leave to address their successors with cer tain admonitions, translated from no less than a national synod of the Protestant churches in France. The last national synod, that sat before the dissipation of those renowned churches, after the other and many cares which the former most venerable assemblies took of their universities, by their decree, earnestly exhorted the governors of the universities to exert all their power "for the suppression of abuses crept in among them, redounding to the disgrace, of religion, and opening the flood-gates to the deluge of profaneness, to break in upon the sanctuary," and under severe penalties enjoined the scholars, but most especially the students in divinity, "to keep themselves at the greatest distance from such things as are con trary to Christian modesty and sanctity, and to perfume the house of God betimes with the sweet odours of an early religious conversation, every way becoming the sacred employment whereto they be designed. Now, when we have transcribed some of the excellent words used by Monsieur Guitton, at the presenting of this decree to the university of Saumur, we will without any further delay give our catalogue leave to appear before us : "You have consecrated your labours, your time, your whole man, unto the service of the sovereign monarch of the whole vi'orld ; that Lord, who is ador'd by all the angels. Your ovpn consciences, sirs, as well as mine, must needs tell you, you cannot bring with you too much liumility, nor too much self-abasement, nor too much self-annihilation, nor too much simplicity and sincerity, when you come into His presence, whose eyes are a ' flaming fire,' and who 'searcheth your hearts and trieth your reins;' and oifer yourselves to be enroll'3 in the number of his menial servants and gospel-ministers. "To be short, sirs, you are destinatcd unto an employment in which there be no advance ments made but by prayers; and prayers are never heard nor .answered by God, further than they be sincere; and they be not in the least sincere, where the hearts are not guided and purified by the truth of God's holy word and spirit, who dictateth our prayers, and quickneth and sanctifieth our affections. Do you imagine, sirs, that God will give you his holy spirit, without whom you are nothing and can do nothing, unless you ask him of God? And are you then qualified and fitted for prayei', a most holy duty, when as your spirit is stuffed up, occupied and distracted with your youthful lusts, and replenished with the provoking objects of your vanity? Or, can you bring unto this sacred ordinance, unto this most religious exercise, that attention, assiduity and perseverance, which is needful to the getting of gracious answers and returns from Heaven, whenas the better and far greater part of your time is consumed in worldly companies and conversations? Certainly, sirs, you will find it exceed ingly difficult to disentangle yourselves from those impressions you \ia.y% first received, and to empty yourselves of the vanities you have imbibed, that you may be at liberty to reflect and meditate upon God's holy word. "My dear brethren, honour and adorn that profession whereto you are devoted, and it will rejlecl beams of honour again upon you. Consider, sirs, what is becoming you, and God will communicate what is needful for you, to ev'ry one of you. Let his name and glory be the principal mark and butt of your conditions and studies, and it will bring down the choicest and ohiefest of blessings of God upon you. Let your lives and conversations be accompanied and crowned with all the virtues and graces of reformed Christians; with that humility which becometh the servants of God; with that universal modesty and simplicity which God requireth from the ministers of his sanctuary, in their lives, actions, habits, lan guage, behaviour, and in your whole course. And then, sirs, this your sanctification will be 30 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; most acceptable unto God and saving unto yourselves; it will bring your professwn into credit and reputation; it will attract upon you the best blessings of Heaven; it will render your studies and employments prosperous, successful and edifying; the churches will be ihe better for you, and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ will be by you promoted and advanced." To these admonitions of Monsieur Guitton, I will only for a farewell, unto every scholar now address'd, subjoin that wherewith Mr. Carter took his leave of a scholar: Fuge fastum, ignavium et antichristum.* Our Catalogue is now, without any further ceremony, to be produced; a catalogue of Christian students, instructed in those, which the other day were pagan regions; a catalogue, whereof I may therefore say, as the his torian does of the temple built by Constantine, it is to 'ira.in suxrajov, y^ -ifoSsi. jxsvov Ssajjia — To all good men, a desirable spectacle. CATALOGUS, EORUM QUI IN COLLEGIO HARVIDINO, QUOD EST CANTABRIGIA NOV-ANGLORUM, AB ANNO 1642, AD ANNUM 1698. ALICUJUS GRADUS LAUREA DONATI SUNT.+ * Johannes Whiting Mr. * Samuel Hookerus Mr. Socius, * Johannes Stone Mr. Cantab. Angl, Gulielmus Thomson us. Qui ad secundum gradum admissi fuere 1655. Diet scguentis baccalavr. rei,, ad secundum gradum admissi ut maris est. 1656.$ 1G53. .^ug. 10. * Edwardus Rawsonus. • Samuel Bradstreet Mr. Soeius. • Joshua Long Mr. Samuel Whiting Mr, * Joshua Moodey Mr. Soeius, 1642. • Benjamin Woodbridge, * Georgius Downing. * Johannes Bullilaeus Mr, Gulielmus Hubbard Mr. 1648. 1649. * Joharmes Rogersius Mr. Prases. * Samuel Eaton Mr. Soeius. * Urianus Oakes Mr. Soeius, Prases. Samuel Bellingbam Mr. M. D. Ludg. * Johannes Collins Mr. Soeius. * Johannes Wilsonus Mr. * Johannes Bowers. • Henricus Saltonstall. 1650. • Tobias Bamardus. ]_Hib. Gulielmus Stoughton Mr. Oxonii. • Nathanael Brusterus. Tk. Bae. Dub. * Johannes Gloverns M. D. Aherd. 1643. • Johannes Jonesius Mr. • Samuel Matheras Mr. Soeius, * Samuel Danforth Mr. Soeius, • Johannes Allin. 1644.1645. • Johannes Oliverus. * Jeremias Hollandua. • Gulielmus Amesius. • Johannes Russellus Mr. Samuel Stow, Mr. * Jacobus Ward. • Robertus Johnson. 1646. • Johannes Alcock Mr. • Johannes Brock Mr. • Georgius Stirk. • Nathaniel White Mr. 1647. • Jonathan Mitchel Mr. Soeius. • Nathaniel Matherus Mr. Consolantius Star Mr. Soeius, • Johannes Barden. * Afbrahamus Waiver. • Georgius Haddenus Mr. • Gulielmus Mildmay Mr. Joshua Hobartus Mr. Jeremias Hobartus Mr. * Edmundus Weld. * Samuel Philipsius Mr. • Leornardus Hoar Mr, M.D, Cantabr. Joshua Ambrosius Mr. Oxonii, •Prases * Isaacus Allertonus. • Jonathan Inceus Mr, 1651. Michael Wigglesworth Mr. Soeius. * Marigena Cottonus Mr. * Thomas Dudlajus Mr. Soeius, * Johannes Gloverus Mr. Henricus Butlerus Mr. • Nathaniel Pelhnmus. • Johannes Davisius Mr. Isaacus Chauncseus Mr. * Ichabod Chauncieus Mr. • Jonathan BniTicus Mr. 1652. • Josephus Rowlandsonus. 1653. .^ug. 9. Samuel Willis. * JohaTines Angier Mr. * Thomas Shepardus Mr. Soeius. * Samuel Nowel Mr. Soeius. * Richardus Hubbard Mr. * Nehemiah Ambrosius Mr. Soeius, Thomas Crosbaeus. 1654. • Philipus Nelson. 1655. Gershom Bulklasus Mr. Soeius, Mordecai Matthewsius. 1656. * Eleazarus Mattherus, Crescentius Matherus Mr. Dubl. Hib. Soeius, Reetor. Prases, S, T, D, Robertus Painjeus Mr. * Subael Dummerus. * Johannes Haynesius Mr. Cantab, * Johannes Eliotus Mr. * Thomas Gravesius Mr. Soeius, Johannes Emmersonua Mr. 1G57. Zecharias Symmes Mr. Soeius, * Zecharias Rrigden Mr. Soeius, Johannes Cottonus Mr. Johannes Hale Mr. Avoid pride, sloth, and antichrist. t Catalogite of those who received Degrees from Harvard College, Cambridge, New-England between' Ihe years 1642 and 1698. * t Who were admitted to the second degree in 1655. On the day following, Eiichelurs were admitted to the second degree, us is usual, in 1G56. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 31 Elisha Gookteus Mr. * Johannes Whiting. • Barnubaa Ghancisus Mr, 1658, * Josephus Eliotus Mr, * Josephus Haynes. • Benjamin Bunker Mr. Jonah Fordhamus. • Johannes Barsham. • Samuel Talcot. * Samuel SbepardoB Mr. Soeius. 1659. Nathaninl SallocstalL • Samuel Alcock. P. Abijah Savagius. Samu'il IVillard Mr. Soeius, Thomas Parish. Samuel Chevenis, * Ezekiel Rogerus. Samuel Belchorus. Jacobus Nuyes. Moses Noyes. 1660. * Simon Bradstreet Mr, * Nathaniel Collins Mr. * Samuel Eliotus Mr. Soeius, * Guilieimus Wbitingham. * Josephus Cookaeus. * Samuel Carterus. * Manasseh Armitagins. * Fetrus Bulklaeus Mr. Soeius, 1661. * Johannes Bellingbam Mr. * Nathaniel Chauncseus Mr. Soeius, • EInathan Chauncffitis Mr. Israel Chauncsus Mr, * Compensantius Osborn. • Daniel Weld. * Josephus CooksBQS. Josephus Whiting Mr. Soeius, Caleb WatsonuB Mr. • Johannes Parkerus. * Thomas Johnsonus. * Bezaleel Shermanus. 1662. Johannes Holiokus. Benjamin Thumsonus. Solomon Stodardua Mr. Soeius, Moses Fiskseus Mr. Ephraim Savagius. Thomas Oakes. 1663. • Samuel Symondus. Samuel Cob bet. • Johannes Reynerus Mr. * Benjamin Blackman. * Thomas Mighil Mr. * Nathaniel Cutler. 1664. • Alexander Nowellus Mr. Soeius, * Josiah Fiintffius Mr. • Josephns Pynchonua Mr. Soeius, * Samuel Brackenburius Mr. * Johaiinus Woodbridge, Josephus Kasterbrookaeu9 Mr, Samuel Street. 1665. * Bcnjaiuin Eliotus Mr. Joffephua Dudlaeus Mr. * Samuel Bishop. * Edvardus Mitchelsonus, Samuel Mannieus. * Serantus Athertonus. Jabez Foxius Mr. * Caleb Cheeschaumuk Indus, 1666. * Joaophua Brownceus Mr. Soeius, Samuel Andrew Mr. Soeius, Jacobus Minot Timothaeus Woodbridge Mr. • Daniel Allin Mr. Johannes Emraersonus Mr, * Nathaniel Gookiu Mr. Soeius, 1676. * Thomas Shepbardus Mr, Thomas Brattle Mr. * Johannes Richardsonus Mr, Soeius. Jeremiah Gushing. Daniel Masonua. Johannes Filerus. 1667. Johannes Harriman Mr. * Nathaniel Atkinsonus. * Johannes Fosleriia. Gershom Hobartus Mr. • Japheth Hobartus Nehemiah Hobartus Mr. Soeius, Nicholaus Noyes. 1668. Adamus Winthrop • Johannes Cullick Zecharias Whitraannua Abramus Piersonua Johannes Pruddon. 1669. • Samuel Epps Mr. Daniel Epps Jeremias Shephardua Mr, Daniel Gookin Mr. Soeius Johannes Bridghamus Mr. • Daniel Russellus Mr. * Josephus Taylorua Mr. Jacobus Bay ley Mr, Josephus Currish Samuel Treat Mr. 1670, Nathaniel Higginson Mr. ¦ 1677. Thomas Chevers Mr. Johannes Danforth Mr. Soeius, Edvardus Payson Mr, Samuel Sweetman Josephus Capen Mr. Thomas Scuttow. 1678. Johannes Cottonus Mr. Soeius, Cottonus Matherus Mr. Soeius, GrindalluB Rawaonua Mr, • Urianus Oakes, 1679. • Jonathan Danforth Mr. * Edvardus Oakes Mr, * Jacobus Ailing Mr. Thomas Barnardus Mr, 1680. * Richardus Martin Johannes Loveretus Mr. Sucius Jacobus Oliver Mr. Gulielmus Brattle Mr. Soeius. * Percivallus Green Mr. 1681. • Samuel Mitchel Mr. Soeius. Johannes Cottonus Mr. Johannes Hasting Mr. Noadiah Russellus Mr. Jacobus Pierpont Mr. ^ Ammi Ruhamah Corlet Mr. Soeiua. Johannes Davie Thomas Clarke Mr. * Georgius Bun'ough. 1671. • Isaacus Fosterua Mr. Soeius, Samuel Phips Mr. Samuel Sewall Mr. Soeius, Samuel Matherus • Samuel Danforth Mr. Soeius, Petrus Thacherua Mr. Soeius, * Gulielmus Adamus Mr. Thomas Weld Mr. * Johannes Bowles Mr. Johannes Nortonus Edvardus Taylorus. 1672. 1673. Edvardus Pelhamus * Georgius Alcock Samuel Angier Mr. Johannes Wise Mr. 1674. • Edraandus Davie Jtf. £>, Padua, * Thomas Sergeant. 1675. Josephus Hanley Johannes Pike Mr. Jonathan Rusaellua Mr, * Petrus Oliverua Mr. Samuel Russellus Mr. Gulielmus Denisou Mr, Josephus Eliot Mr.' 1682. 1683, Samuel Danforth Mr, Johannes Williams Mr. Gulielmus Williams Mr, 1684. • Johannes Denison Mr. Johannes Rogersius Mr. Gordouius Saltonstall Mr, • Richardus Wenslieua Samuel Mylesius Mr. Nehemiah Walterus Mr. Soeius* Josephus Webb Mr. Edvardus Thomsonua Benjamin Rolf Mr. 1685. • Thomas Dudlseus Mr. • Warhamus Matherus Mr. * Nathaniel Matherus Mr. Eoulandus Cottonua Mr. Henricus Gibs Mr. • Thomas Berrius Mr. * Johannes Whiting Mr, Edvardus Mills Mr. Johannes Eliotus Mr. 32 MAGNALIA CHKISTI AMEEICANA: Samuel Shopardua • Petrus Ruck Isaacus Greenwood Johandes White, Mr, Soeius Jonathan Pierpont Mr. 1686. Franciscus Wainwright Benjamin Lynde Mr. Daniel Rogersius Mr. Georgius Phillipsius Mr. Robertus Halo Carolua Chancaeua * Nicolaus Mortonus, 1687. Johannes Davenport Mr, Johannes Clark Mr. Nathaniel Rogers Mr. * Jonathan Mitchel Mr. Daniel Brewci* Mr. Timotheus Stevens Mr, • Nathaniel Welsh • Josephus Dassett Mr. Henricus Newman Mr, Josias Dwight Sethus Shove Mr. 1688.1689. * Jacobus Allen Mr Samuel Moodey Mr. Gulielmus Payn Mr. Addingtonus Davenport Johannes Haynes • Gulielmus Partrigg Richardus Whittingham Mr. Johannes Emersonus Mr. Johannes Spai-hawk Mr. * Benjamin Marston Johannes Eveleth * Benjamin Pierpont Mr. Johannes Hancock Mr, Thomas Swan Mr. 1090. Paulus Dudlaeus Mr. Soeius, Samuel Matherus Mr. Johannes Willard Mr. • Daniel Denison Johanni-'s Jonesius Mr. Jo&eplius Whiting Mr, Nathaniel Clap Josephus Belcherus Mr. Nathaniel Stone Johannes Clark Mr. Thomas Buckinghamua Samuel Mensfteld Mr. Petrus Burr Mr. • Johannes Selleck Johannes Newmarch Mr. Thomas Greenwood Mr. Benjamin Wads worth Mr. Soeius. Thomas Ruggles Mr. Stephanus Mix Mr. Edmundus GoflFe Mr. NichoJseus Lynde • Benjamin Easterbrookseus Mr. 1691. Johannes Tyng Mr. Ebenezer Pemberton Mr. Soeius, • Thomas Makarty Mr. Josephus Lord Mr. Christopherus Tappan Mr. Samuel Emery Mr. • Thomas Atkinsonus Timotheus Edwards Mr. 1692. Benjamin Colman Mr, Zecharias Aldeh Ebenezer White Mr. Jacobus Townsend Johannes Mors Mr. Caleb Cushiug Mr, 1693. Isaacus Chauncaeus Mr. Stephanus Buckinghamua Henricus Flintteus Mr. Simon Bradstreet Mr. Johannes Wadfeus Mr. Nathanael Hodson Penn Townsend Nathanael Williams Mr. Georgius Denison Johannes Woodward Mr. Josephus Baxter Mr. Gulielmus Veazie Nathaniel Hunting Mr, Boujamin Ruggles Mr, Gulielmus Grosvenor Mr. 1694. Adamus Winthrop Mr. Johannes Woodbridge DudlaBua Woodbridge Eliphalet Adamus Mr. Johannes Savage Johannes Ballantine Mr. Salmon Treat Jabez Fitch Mr, Soeius. 1695. Samuel Vassal Gualterus Price Mr. Richardus Saltonstall Mr. Nathaniel Saltonstall Mr, Johannes Hubbard Mr. Simon Willard Mr. Habijah Savage Mr, Oliver Noyse Mr. Thomas Phips Timotheus Lindal Jonathan Law Ezekiel Lewis Thomas Blowers Mr, Thomas Little Ephraim Little Johannes Perkins R'r. Jedcdiah Andrews Mr. Josephus Smith Johannes Robinson Mr Josephus Green M Josephus Mora Mr. Nicolaus Webster. 1696. Georgius Vaughan Petrus Thachorus Dudlfeus Woodbridge Jonathan Remington Samuel Whitman Samuel Estabrookaeus Andreas Gardner Samuel Melyen. 1697 Elisha Cookaeus Antonius Stoddardua Antonius Stoddardua Jabez Wakeman Nathaniel Collins Samuel Bun- Johanna's Reid Samuel Moidey Richardus Brown Hugo Adams Johannes Swift Johannes Southmayd Joseph US Coit Josephus Parsonua 1698. Thomaa Symmes Josias Cottonua Samuel Matherua Josias Willard Dudlaeus Bradstreet Petrus Cutler Johannes Foxius Nathanael Hubbard Henricus Swan Johannes White Josias Torrey Oxenbridge Thacherua Richardus Billings. Jlli quorum nominibus hae hocta (•) prajigitur, e vims cesserunt* CANTABRIGIiE, NOV-ANGLORUM, SEXTO QUINTIUS.-MDCXCVIIl.t We will conclude our catalogue of the graduates in tbis coUedo-e with the elegy which the venerable Mr. John Wilson made upon its founder. * Those to whose pames an asterislt (•) is prefixed, have departed this life. + Cambridge, New-England, May 6th, 1698. OK, THE HISTORY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 83 IN PIENTISSIMUM, REVERENDISSIMUMQTJE VIRUM, JOHANNEM HARVARDUM, t SUGGESTIO SACRO CAROLOENSI AD CCELOS EVECTUM, AD ALUMNOS CANTABRIENSES' LITERATOS, POEMA. JOHANNES HARVARDUS, Ahagr.— S/ JVOJV (JiH!) SVRDA AURE, £n, mihifert animus, patroni nomine vestri (5t Bi/n, (a/i .') surdd sptmitur aure) loqui Sie ait. Mt Deus, immenso per Christum motus amore^ Ad OeIos servumjussit abire suuvi. Parebam ; monituque Dei praeunte parabatn Quicquid ad optatum sufficiebat opus. Me (licet indignum) selegit gratia Christi^ Fundarem mu^is, guipia teetapiis. (jVort quod vei chard, moricns uxore carerem, i Aut hmres alius quod mihi nuflus erat ;) Haredes vos ipse m-eos, sed linquere suasit. Usque ad dimidium sortis opumque Deus. Me commune bonum, prasertim gloria Christij Impvlit et chara posteritatis amor : Sat ratus esse mihi sobolis, pietatis amore Edueet illustres si schola nostra viros. Hcec mihi spes (oitd viorienti duleiar olim) Me recreatf Cati dum requicte fruor. At si degeneres ligueat vos esse (quod absit /) — Otia si studiis sint potiora bonis : Si nee doctrind, nee moribus estis honestis Imbuti, (fastu non leviore tamen.) Grata sit aut vobis, si secta vei haresis vlla, Vos simul injieiens, vos, dominique gregem : Hac mihi patrono quam sunt contraria vestro I Atque magis summo displicitura Deo I J'^ce tamen ista meo sie nomine dicier opto. Mens quasi promittat non meliora mihi! Oaudia Calorum vix me satiare valereitt^ Si tanta orbatus, speque, Jidegve forem. Ille Deus vobis, vestrisque laboribus, almam^ Et dedit, et parro suppeditabit opem. Ejus in obsequio, sic, O! sic,pergite cunctif Ut Jluat hinc major gloria lausque Deo, At si quis recto maU sit de tramite gressus (Quod David, et Solomon, et Petrus ipse queat.) Hie sibi ne placeat, monitus nequeferre recaset^ In reetam possint qui revocare viam. Sie grati vos este Deo ! vestrique labores Quos olim in Christo suscipietis erunt. Utque vetus meruit sibi Cantabrigia nomen. Sic nomenjiet dulee feraxque nova. JOHANNES WILSONUS. Verba Doct. Arrowsmith, in Orat. Antiweigh- LIANA. — Faxit Deus optimus, maximus, tenacettc adcS veritatis hanc academiam, ut deinceps in Anglid lupum^ in Hibcrnia bufonem, invenire facilius sit, quam aul Socinianum, aut Arminianum in Cantabrigia, [translation of the above, expressly for this edition.] to the most pious and reverend JOHN HARVARD, BORNE FROM THE SACRED DESK AT CHARLESTOWN TO THE SKIES, A POEM, ADDRESSED TO THE LEARNED ALUMNI OF CAMBRIDGE. JOHN HARVARD. Anaoram.— UNLESS WITH A DEAF EAR. Your patron's voice my eager spirit hears— Nay ! spurn it not with dull and listless ears, He speaks. God, through tiie boundless mercy of his Son, Called to my Spirit— sweetly led me on- Filled me with strength divine, and showed the way Which made life blessed to its latest day. That call I heeded : though unworthy still, I strove to do my heavenly Master's will ; Chosen of God to found, through gi'ace Divine, For Christian Learning an enduring shrine. Not that no spouse sustained my fainting head, Or loving children watched my dying bed; — These I remembered, yet a half of all \ gave to you who throng this sacred hall. The common weal, the glory of my God, The love of man— these lured me where I trod. Strong was my faith— 'twas all I asked — that ye Would shine as lights of truth and piety. This hope, in life so blessed, adds a zest To the high pleasures of this heavenly rest. But if, degenerate, ye shall ever find Sloth dearer than the riches of the mind ; If, losing virtue, nought is left beside A bloated igaorance, inflamed by pride ; Vol. II.— 3 If darling heresies delight afford, And ye deny your conscience and your Lord, How will ye spurn the path your founder trod — How tempt a covenant-keeping God I Yet blend not thoughts like these with thoughts of me ; A better fortune seem these eyes to see. Nay ! Heaven itself could scarce suffice my heart, If hope like this should languish and depart. Thus far our God each pure endeavour cheers, And will supply the strength of future years. Walk by His light, His wisdom and His will — He shall reveal a brighter glory still. And if, like David's- Peter's — from the way Of virtue any heedless foot shall stray, Yet if, like them, the wanderer shall repent, Our God doth pardon every penitent. To Him be glory ! to his glory, too. Do whatsoe'er your hands shall find to do. And as old Cambridge well deserved its name, May the new Cambridge win as pure a fame. JOHN WILSON. Words 07 Dr. Arrowsmith in his Amtiwkigb- lian Oration. — May the great and good God grant, that this college shall be so tenacious of the truth, that it will be easier to And a wolf in England and a snake in Ireland, than either a Socinian or Arminian in Cambridge! THE HISTORY OF HARYAED-COLLEDGE. PART II. THE LIVES OF SOME EMINENT PERSONS THEREIN EDUCATED. Diseant ergo rabidi adversus Christum canes, discant eorum sectatores, qui putant ecclesiam nullos philosophos et eloquentes, nullos habuisse doctorcs, quanti et quales viri earn extruxerint ei ornaverint, et desinant fidem nostram rusticcc tantum simplicitatis arguere suamqe potius imperitiam agnoscant. — Hiekon. Praef. ad Catdl. de Script. Eccles.* § 1. The great Basil mentions a certain art, of drawing many doves, by anointing the wings of a few with a fragrant ointment, and so sending them abroad, that by the fragrancy of the ointment they may allure others unto the house whereof they are themselves the domesticks. I know not how far it may have any tendency to draw others unto the religion hitherto professed and maintained in Harvard-Colledge : but I have here sent forth some of the doves belonging to that house, with the ointment of a good name upon them. And yet I should not have bestow'd the ointment of their embalm'd names, as I have done, if the God of heaven, by first bestowing the ointment of his heavenly grace upon them, had not given them to deserve it. Socrates being asked, which was the most beautiful creature in the world, answered, "A man garnished with learning." But, with his leave, a more beautiful creature is, "a man garnished with vertue." Eeader, I will now show thee ten men garnished with both. § 2. The death of those brave men that first planted New-England, would have rendred a fit emblem for the country — a beech tree with its top lopt off, and the motto ruina relinquor ;-f (which tree withers when ita top is lopt off!) — if Harvard-Colledge had not prevented it. But now, upon the lops of mortality, una avulso non deficit alter.^ We have opportunity to write the lives of another set, who indeed had their whole growth in the soyl of New-England; persons, whom I may call cedars andi fir-trees, as Jerom did Cyprian and Hilary, and other holy men, in his comment on that passage, Isa. Ix. 13: "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, and the pine-tree, to beautifie the place of my sanctuary." * Let then these rabid dogs, who rave against Christ, aud let those who follow the pack, aU seeming to sup pose that the OburcJi has embraced no philosophers, orators and scholars, understand, how great and how many ore the men who have reared and adorned hor, and let them cease to call our faith nothing better than rude simplicitr, •od let them rather aclcnowledge their own despicable ignorance.— Jeromi. t I am left a ruin. j Though one is gone, another Alls ita place. OE, THE HlSlUJiy OJ!' BEW-i; JNO LAND. 35 bJUAirXiUiU Xo FIDES IN VITA;* OR, THE LIFE OF MR. JOHN BROCK. Olim fides erat in vita, magis quam in articulorum professions. — Erasm. EpisT.t * § 1. Designustq to write the lives of some learned men, who have been the issue and the honour of Harvard-Colledge, let my reader be rather ad monished than scandalized by it, if the first of these lives exhibit one whose goodness was above his learning, and whose chief learning was his goodness. If one had asked Mr. John Brock that question in Antoninus, Ti's tfS Tj ri-xyn : " Of what art hast thou proceeded master?" he might have truly answered, 'Aya^ov sivai .• " My art is to be good." He was a good gram marian, chiefly in this, that he " still spoke the truth from his heart." He was a good logician, chiefly in this, that he "presented himself unto God with a reasonable service." He was a good arithmetician, chiefly in this, that he "so numbred his days as to apply his heart unto wisdom." He was a good astronomer, chiefly in this, that his "conversation was in heaven." It was chiefly by being a good Christian that he proved himself a good artist. The eulogy which Gregory the Great bestow'd on Stephen the Monk, erat hujus lingua rustica, sed docta vita;\ so much belong'd unto this good man, that so learned a life may well be judg'd worthy of being a written one. § 2. He was born at the town of Stradbrook, in the county of Suffolk, A. D. 1620. And from his own trial of early piety in himself, while he was yet a youth, he was qualified, in a more significant and efficacious manner, to recommend it unto young people, as he very much did, when he came to be old. When he was about seventeen years of age, he came to New-England, as to a nursery of piety, with his parents: and here, no sooner was he recovered of the small pox, wherein he was very nigh unto death, but another fit of sickness held him for no less than thirty weeks together ; whereby the hand of Heaven ordering ihe furnace, prepared him for the services that he afterwards performed. § 3. He was admitted into Harvard-Colledge, A. D. 1643, where he studied for several years, with an exemplary diligence; being of the opin ion that, as Caleb said unto his men, "I bestow my daughter upon one of you, iDut he that will have her, must first win Kiriath-Sepher ; i. e. a city of books;" thus, one is not worthy to have a church bestow'd upon him, until he hath some time lain before Kiriath-Sepher, and staid at some university. After five years lying here (as loth to be one of the sacerdotes momentandi,% or modo idiotoe, max clerici.\ sometimes by the ancients com- • Faith in the life. t Faith formerly manifested itself in the life, rather than in a profession of the articles of a creed. t-His speech was unpolished, but his life was wise. § Priestly minute-men, • \ Fools tu-day, priests to-morrow. 3g MAGKALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; plained of) he entred upon the work of the evangelical ministry; first at Eowly, and then at the Isle of Sholes. Here Scaliger might have indeed found " wisdom inhabiting the rocks," and here a spiritual fisherman did more than a little good among a rude company of literal ones. § 4. In the year 1662, he became a pastor to the church at Eeading. And here he continued in the faithful discharge of his ministry, until the time that (as the ancients expressed it) "he took his journey a little before his body into another country." He wholly devoted himself unto his beloved employment; preaching on Lord's days, and on lectures at private church-meetings, and at meetings of young persons for the exercises of religion, which he mightily encouraged, as great engines to render his moie publick labours efiectual on the rising generation. His pastoral visits, to water what had been sown in his public labours, were also very sedulous and assiduous; and in these he managed a peculiar talent, which he had at Christian conference, whereby he did more good than some abler preach ers did in the pulpit. He was herewithal so exemplary for his holiness, that our famous Mr. Mitchel would say of him, "he dwelt as near heaven as any man upon earth." § 5. About three or four years before his death, he was visited with a long and sore fit of sickness : but upon his restoration from that sickness, he enjoy'd a more wonderful presence of God with him in his ministry than ever before, and a m.ore wonderful success of it. At length, he told one in his family, that he had besought this favour of Heaven: "to live but fourteen days after the publick labours of his ministry should be fin ished:" and he was in this thing most particularly favoured. He fell sick, and after a sickness of just fourteen days, on June 18, 1688, his friends full of sorrow for their loss might use Nazianzen's words concerning him, "A(piV™™.— Ae is flown away." But their sorrow, quod talem amiserint,* was (to use the words of Jerom to Nepotian) accompanied with gladness, quod talem hdbuerint.-\ § 6. Good men, that Itibour and abound in prayer to the great God, sometimes arrive to the assurance of a particular faith for the good suc cess of their prayer. 'Tis not a thing that never happens, that the chil dren of God, in the midst of their supplications for this or that particular mercy, find their hearts very comfortably, but unaccountably, carried forth to a strange perswasion that they shall receive this particular mercy from the Lord; and this perswasion is not a meer notion and fancy but a spe cial impression from Heaven, upon the minds of the saints that are made partakers of it. This particular faith is not the attainment of every Chris tian, much less an endowment of every prayer. There is no real Christian but what ^mys m faith; his prayer hath a general faith in the power and wisdom, and goodness of God, and the mediation of Christ But ther" IS many a real Christian who is a stranger to the meaning of this thina^ • mat they Should have lost so good a man. t That they should have once possessed so good a m» "' OE, THE HISTOEY OP KEW-ENGLAND. 37 a particular faith for such mercies, without which a man may get safe to heaven at the last. It is here and there a Christian, whom the sovereign grace of Heaven does favour with the consolations of a particular faith : nor, if a Christian taste of these joys, may he expect more than a taste of them; they are dainties that are not every day to be feasted on: 'tis not in every prayer that the King of Heaven will admit every one to so much of intimacy with himself. Indeed, such a particular faith is not so much the duty of a Christian, as his comfort, his honour, his priviledge.^ There is spraying in faith, incumbent on every Christian in every prayer; but this particular faith for the bestowal of such and such desired mercies, is not incumbent on a Christian ; 'tis not required of him. 'Tis a vast priviledge for a Christian to be assured that the Lord will do this or that individual thing for him ; however, 'tis no sin for a Christian to break off not assured of it. But it is the Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ that, with a singular operation, does produce in a Christian this particular faith ; which indeed is near akin to the faith of m,iracles. Nor does the principal efficiency of the Holy Spirit, in these illapses, exclude and hinder the instrumentality of the holy angels in them: they are no doubt the holy angels that, with an inexpressible impulse, bear in upon the mind the particular faith wherewith some saints are at some times irradiated. The wondrous meltings, the mighty wrestlings, the quiet waitings, and the holy resolves, that are characters of a particular faith, which is no delusion, are the works of the Holy Spirit, wherein his holy angels may be instruments. Eminent was Mr. Brock for his mysterious excellency. This good man was one full of the Holy Spirit and faith. He had many of those things which we may call (as the martyr Cyprian call'd those communications from Heaven which often directed him in his exigencies) "Divine conde- scentions." And there were many notable effects of his faithful and fer vent prayers, whereof the exact history is now lost, because it was not in the proper season thereof composed and preserved. — Some few remark ables are not only still remembred, but also well attested. One Thomas Bancroft lay very sick of the small pox ; his distressed mother came drowned in tears to Mr. Brock: she told him, "she left her son so sick that she did not imagine ever to see him alive again;" he replied, "Sister, be of good cheer; the Lord has told me nothing of your .son's dying; I'll again go with his case unto the Lord." The young man recovered, and is at this day a deacon of the church in Eeading. A child of one Arnold, about six years old, lay sick, so near dead, that they judg'd it really dead. Mr. Brock, perceiving some life in it, goes to prayer; and in his prayer used this expression: "Lord, wilt thou not grant some sign, before we leave prayer, that thou wilt, spare and heal this child? We cannot leave thee till we have it!" The child sneez'd immediately. Mr, Brock then gives thanks, and breaks off. The very next day the child visited him, and carried him a present. gg MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; When Mr. Brock lived in the Isle of Sholes, he brought the people into an agreement that, besides the Lord's-days, they would spend one day every month together in the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ. On a certain day, which by their agreement belong'd unto the exercises of religion, being arrived, the fishermen came to Mr. Brock, and asked liiin that they might put by their meeting, and go a fishing, because they had lost many days by the foulness of the weather. He, seeing that without and against his consent they resolved upon doing what they had asked of him, replied, "If you will go away, I say unto you, catch fish, if you can! But as for you that will tarry, and worship the Lord Jesus Christ this day, I will pray unto Him for you, that you may take fish till you are weary." Thirty men went away from the meeting, and five tarried. The thirty which went away from the meeting, with all their skill, could catch but yowr fishes ; the five which tarried, went forth afterwards, and they took, five hundred. The fishermen after this readily attended what ever meetings Mr. Brock appointed them. A fisherman, who had with his boat been very helpful to carry a peo ple over a river for the worship of God, on the Lord's-days in the Isle of Sholes, lost his boat in a storm. The poor man laments his loss to Mr. Brock; who tells him, "Go home, honest man; I'll mention the matter to the Lord; you'll have your boat again to-morrow." Mr. Brock, now con sidering of what a consequence this matter, that seem'd so small other wise, might be among the untractable fishermen, made the boat an article of his prayers; and, behold, on the morrow, the poor man comes rejoy- cing to him, that his boat was found, the anchor of another vessel, that was undesignedly cast upon it, having strangely brought it up from the unknown bottom where it had been sunk. When K. Charles II. sent one of his infamous creatures, whose name was Cranfield, for to be governour of Hampshirfe, a northern province of New-England, one of the illegal outrages committed by that Cranfield was the imprisoning of Mr. Moodey, the minister of Portsmouth. One who then lived with Mr. Brock, seeing him*one morning very sorrowful ask'd him the reason of his present sorrow. Said he, "I am very much troubled for my dear Brother Moodey, who is imprisoned by Cranfield: but I will this day seek to the Lord on his behalf, and I believe my God will hear me!" And on that very day was Mr. Moodey, (forty miles off) by a marvellous disposal of Providence, delivered out &f his imprisonment. Multitudes of such passages, whereof these are but some few gleanings' caused Mr. John Allin of Dedham to say, concerning Mr. Brock, "I scarce ever knew any man so familiar with the great God as his dear servant Brock!" OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 39 KJ (JjJ) U>Ou JT X Jul J*b X X • FRUCTUOSUSr OR, THE LIFE OF MR. SAMDEL MATHER. Hdc easti maneant in religions nepotcs Et nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis.\ § 1. It is a thing truly and justly thought among the churches of God, Fcelix ilia anima, quce aliis est forma sanctitatis :X thrice and four times happy that man, from whose example other men may learn to be holy and happy. Now, for this happiness, not only were many among the first fathers of New-England, with the history of whose exemplary lives the faithful have been entertained, considerable, but some among the sons of those fathers also have bin so exemplary for their holiness, that their lives also deserve to fill the pages of an ecclesiastical history. One of those is now going to be set before my reader ; and one who, whether we consider his early sanctity or his fervent ministry, will appear so much of a John Baptist unto us, that I choose the confession of Josephus the Jewish his torian (who, if he were admitted into the discipline of Banus, a disciple of John, as he says he was, he might well rnake such a confession) concerning that John, to express the character of this worthy man: "he was an ex cellent man, and one that stirred up the people to piety and virtue, holi ness and purity." This was Mr. Samuel Mather. § 2. Mr. Samuel Mather was born May 13, A. D. 1626, at Much-Woot- ton Lancashire. But was the question of Saul concerning David, " Whose son is this youth?" — about the meaning of which question, there may be some wonder, because David had already been serviceable* at the court of Saul some while before; and therefore some take the meaning of the ques tion to be, "What manner of man's son is this?" It was observed that some of the notablest men in the land were of this family, and, among the rest, Joab was of it — Joab, who for. his valour was made general of the field ; Joab, who never once in his life miss'd of the victory; he was the son of Jesse's daughter. Now, Saul was inquisitive, "What manner of man this Jesse was," that all his children prov'd so eminent. If my reader, thereto excited by the figure, which this person, as well as divers of his brothers have made in the church of God, shall accordingly inquire, "Whose son was this youth?" it must be answered, that his father was the famous Mr. Eichard Mather, whose life has been already a considerable part not only in our own church-history, but also in the last volume of Mr. Clark's collec tions. Brought up and brought over by this his father, our Samuel came to New-England in the year 1635, delivered with the r^st of his family • Fniitful. t In this religion firm, unswerving, pure, X Happy the soul, which is a pattern of holiness, to others. Be our descendants, while tho worlds endure. 40 MAGNALIA. CHEISTI AMEEICANA; from as eminent danger of death as ever was escaped by mortal men, in a fierce and sore hurricane on the New-English coast. § 3. Let the silly Eomanist please himself with his Eomance of St. Eum- ald, who, as soon as he drew his first breath, cryed, three times, "I am a Christian!" and then, making a plain "confession of his faith," desired that' he might be baptized: it is most certainly true, that Samuel Mather did not suffer two times three years to pass him after his first breath, before he had, many times, manifested himself to be a Christian, under the regenerating impression of that Spirit into whose name and faith he had been baptized. The holy Spirit of God made early visits unto our Samuel, who from his childhood was devoted unto the tabernacle. He was in his early child hood an extraordinary instance of discretion, gravity, seriousness, prayer- fulness, and watchfulness, which, accompanied with a certain generosity of temper, and an usual progress in learning, wherein « « * Serum prudentia velox, Ante pilos venit ;* render'd him the delight of all that part of mankind that know him ; and as the name of Jlai^dpioyspuvf was of old given to Macarius, thus this bless ed young man was commonly called "the young old man," by those that mentioned him. E. Eliezer, the son of E. Azariah, when made president of the Jewish Sanhedrin, at sixteen years of age, was not one of a more composed behaviour. A certain Arabian commentary upon the Alchoran reports, that when John Baptist was a child, other boys asked him to play with them ; which he refused, saying, "I was not sent into the world for sport." Such great thoughts inspired our Samuel Mather, while he was yet a child! To demonstrate and illustrate this part of his character I shall only recite an extract of a letter, which he wrote from his lodging in Cambridge, to his father in Dorchester, when he was no more than twelve years of age : " Though [said he] I am thus well in my body, yet I question wliether my soul doth prosper as ray body doth; for I perceive, yet to t|iis very day, little growth in grace; and this makes me question, whether grace be in my heart or no. I feel also daily great un willingness to good duties, and the gi-eat ruling of sin in my heart; and that God is angry with me, and gives me no answers to my prayers, but, many times, he even throws them down as dust in my face; and he does not grant my continu.il requests for the spiritual bless ing 0/ the softning of my hard hmrt. And in all this I could yet take some comfort, but that it makes me to wonder, what God's secret decree concerning me may be; for I doubt whether even God is wont to deny grace and mercy to his chosen (though uncalled) when they seek unto him, by prayer, for it; and therefore, seeing he doth thus deny it to me, I think that the reason of it is most like to be, because I belong not unto the electim of grace. I desire that you would let me have your prayers, as I doubt not but I have them; and rest "Your Son, Samuel Mather." . Discernment, switt and keen, ^ Young old man Outflies the dart. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 4I Behold the language of one, more able than the famous Cornelius Mus to have been a preacher (as they say he was) when twelve years of age ! Now, albeit, such "early accomplishments" use to be threatned with Cicero's Non potest in eo succus esse diuturnus, quod nimis celeriter maturitatem est assecutus:* and with Quintilian's Ingeniorum prcpcox genius, non temeri un quam pervenit ad frugem;\ and with Curtius's Nullus est et diuturnus et praecox fructus ;X which our proverb has Englished, "soon ripe, soon rot ten;" there was no such observation to be made of our Samuel, who still continually grew in his accomplishment; and, instead of losing them, like the Hermogenes mentioned by C. Eodiginus, he kept advancing in all wis dom and goodness 'till he was found "ripe for eternal glory." § 4. In the catalogue of the graduates proceeding from Harvard-Colledge, our Samuel Mather, was the first who appears as a Fellow of that happy society ; wherein his careful instruction, and exact government of the scho lars under his tuition, caused as many of them as were so, to mention him afterwards with honour as long as they lived ; and such was the love of all the scholars to hira, that not only when he read his last philosophy-lectures, in the colledge-hall, they heard him with tears, because of it's being his last, but also, when he went away from the colledge, they put on the tokens of mourning in their very garments for it. But by this his living at Cam bridge, under the ministry of Mr. Shepard, he had the advantage to con form himself, in his younger years, more than a little, unto the spirit and preaching of that renowned man ; (of whose life he afterwards published certain memoirs unto the world,) of which thing the famous Mr. Cotton, speaking to this our young Mather, did congratulate his happiness there in ; adding, that in like manner one great reason why there came so many excellent preachers out of Cambridge, in England, more than out of Oxford, in some former days, was the ministry of Mr. Perkins in that university. Oui^ Mather being not only by notable parts, both natural and acquired, and by an eminently gracious disposition of soul, but also "by a certain florid and sparkling liveliness of expression, admirably fitted for the service of the gospel, several congregations in this wilderness applied themselves unto him for the enjoyment of his labours among them. In answer to their applications, he spent some time with the church of Eowly, as an assistant unto old Mr. Ezekiel Eogers; where the zeal of the people to have hinl settled, was the cause of his not settling there at all; but when the temptations arising from the zeal of the people caused him to choose a removal from thence, it went so near unto the hearts of some good men there, that it contributed, as 'twas thought, even unto shortning of their days in the world. Here, although in his rich furniture of learning from the schools, the lamps were lighted, before he did venture to bring his * That vital power of his cannot be lasting, hecause it reached maturity too soon. + A precocious genius hArdly ever arrives at a fruitful maturity of talent. % No fruit is at the same time premature and lasting. 42 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; incense unto the altar, yet his great learning did not make his preaching so obscure as to give the plain country-people occasion for the complaint Avhich they sometimes made of another: "This man may be a great scho lar, but he wants beetle and wedges to hew our knotty timber withal." Afterwards, a church being to be gathered in the north part of Boston, they had their eyes upon him to be their pastor, and accordingly he entertained a vast auditory of Christians with so incomparable a sermon upon the day when that people publickly embodied themselves into their ecclesiastical state, that old Mr. Cotton, with whom he then sojourned, said upon it, "Such a sermon from so young a man as this, is a matter of much more satis faction than such an one from one of us elder men ; for this young man is, SPES GREGis."* And with this people he continued the winter following; among whom he was long after succeeded by one of his worthy brethren. " § 5. Having in him the true spirit of a witness for our Lord Jesus Christ, he did, even while he was a young man, in this country set himself, with a prudent, but yet fervent zeal, upon all occasions to bear a just witness against every thing which he judged contrary unto the interests of holi ness. But there was hardly any one thing against which he used more of thunderbolt, than that "unholy spirit of Antinomianism ;" wherewith many people in those days were led aside. It was with a particular agoiiy of dissatisfaction, that he would still speak of those "ungodly men who turned the grace of God into wantonness." He would speak of them in such words as these [reader, they are of his own words, in a sermon upon "hardness of heart:"] "The same word is used for blindness and hardness (Eph. iv. 18, and Eom. xi. 7, 8), when Ahashuerus was offended with Haman, his face was covered ; and amongst us when the cloath is pulled over the face, at an execution, the wretch is presently to be turn'd off. Thus, when the eyes of the soul are covered, and the 'God of this world blinds them,' and they are 'given over to believe a lye,' this is the beo-in- ning of their utter hardness,' and eternal perdition. There are now many principles of darkness, whereby men's hearts are hardened in sin- whereof one is, 'the obligation of the moral law, as a rule of life unto a Christian-' a conceit that came out of hell, and is directly against the clearest light of Scripture-Mat. v. 17, 18, 19; and blasphemously injurious to the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; who dyed for this end, to make his people 'zealous of good works,' and therefore it makes hira to dye in vain This principle works extream hardness of heart; for when a man hath drunk m this poison, he may sin without sorrow— yea, and without anv check of conscience for it. If he be not bound to Icecp to the rule, whv should h. be troubled for brealdng of HI What are such errors but as Calvin sneaks exundnntis m mundum fxroris Dei flagella—^ the scourges of the overflowing fury of an angry God against this wicked world?' Hence, also, there come! to be such extreme blindness and blockishness, and blackness of hell u oa * The hope of the flock.' OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 43 the spirits of some, as to deny the necessity of a broken heart, and sorrow for sin, in these times. Ministers must preach old errors, and call them by the name of new lights. Why, because they are gospel times, as if it were the work of the gospel to harden mens hearts, and make them stocks or stones, or like the sturdy oaks of Bashan, before the words of tho God of Israel." Nor could he with easier terms, at any time, speak of the licentious dis position, engendered by the Antinomianism broached and rampant, at that time, among many professors of Christianity. § 6. But he that "holds the stars in his right hand," intending that a star of this magnitude, should move in an orb, where his influences might be more extended than they could have been by any opportunities to be enjoyed and improved in an American wilderness, he inspired our Mather with a strong desire to pass over into England, and by the wisdom of Heaven there fell out several temptations in this wilderness, which occa sioned him to be yet more desirous of such a removal. To England then he went, in the year 1650, where the right honourable Thomas Andrews, Esq., then lord mayor of the city of London, quickly took such notice of his abilities, as to make choice of him for his chaplain; and by the advan tage of the post, where he was now placed in that chaplainship, he came into an acquaintance with the most eminent ministers in the kingdom ; who much honoured and valued hira, and, though of different perswasions, loved, Christum habitantem in Mathero.* Here his inclination to do good, produced good and great effects ; but yet one that had like to have proved fatal unto himself: for being a man of excellent accomplishments, he was courted so often to preach in the biggest assemblies, that, by overdoing therein, he had like to have undone his friends, and lost his life. The famous Mr. Sydrach Sympson, observing this inconvenience, did with a brotherly — yea, with a fatherly care, obtain of him a promise, that he would not preach, abroad at all, except when he should give his consent ; and accordingly, when any public sermons were asked of him, he would refer those that asked unto Mr. Sympson, who, with a wise and kind con sideration of this his friend's health, would give his consent but when it should be convenient. § 7. Mr. Mather was after this invited unto a settlement in several places ; and in answer to those invitations, he did preach for a while at Graves- End, and after that at the cathedral in the city of Exeter. But having from his childhood a natural and vehement affection to a college-life, he retired unto Oxford, where he became a chaplain in Magdalen-College; and he had therewithal an opportunity, sometimes at St. Maries, to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which, for the sake of the Lord Eedeemer, whom he loved always to preach, he gladly took. And having before this, proceeded master of arts in the only Protestant college of * Christ dwelling in Mather. 4.i MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; J\.merica, he was now admitted ad eundem,* not only in the renowned university of Oxford, but in that of Cambridge also. But having been some time resident in Oxford, the English commissioners, then going into Scotland, were willing to carry with them some English ministers, whose eminent learning, wisdom, goodness and reputation, might be serviceable unto the interests of truth and peace in that nation. 'Accordingly, Mr. Mather, was one of the persons chosen for that service; and there he continued at Leigh, preaching the gospel of God our Saviour, for two years together. § 8. In the year 1655, he returned into England; and the Lord Henry Cromwel, then going over lord-deputy for Ireland, there were several min isters of great note pitched upon to go over with him, for the service of the Christian religion there, whereof was Dr. Harrison, Dr. Winter, Mr. Charnock and our Mr. Mather. When Mr. Mather came to Dublin, he was made a senior fellow of Trinity-CoUedge ; and from that university he had the offer of a baccalaureatus in theologi{t,\ but he modestly declined it, and seemed inclinable to the Jewish rule, about the rabbinate, "love the work, but hate the rabbinship," yet he that had already proceeded Master of Arts in so many universities, did here again proceed ad eundem.% Of any further degrees our Mather was ready to say, with the great Melanc thon, who would not accept an higher title than that of Master: Vides meum exemplum; nemo me perpellere potuit, ut ilium quamlibet honorificum titulum doctoris mihi decerni sinerem. Nee ego gradus illos parvifacio, sed idea, quid judico esse magna onera, et necessaria reipublicce verecunde petendos esse, et conferendos sentio.% But now, in preaching to that renowned city, and in the pastoral charge of the church there, he was joined as a col league with Dr. Winter; and here preached every Lord's-day morning at St. Nichol's church; besides his turn, which he took once in six weeks, to preach before the lord-deputy and council. A preacher he now was of extraordinary esteem and success; and as the whole kingdom took notice of him, so he did service for the whole kingdom, in the eminent station where God had placed him. The more special excellencies for which his ministry was here observed, were— flrst, a most evangelical en deavour to make the Lord Jesus Christ the scope and sum of all that he said. Secondly, a most angelical majesty, wherewith his messages were still uttered, as coming from the throne of God; and thirdly, such a clears ness of reason and method, that it was commonly remark'd Mr. Charnock's invention, Dr. Harrison's expression, and Mr. Mather's logick, meeting together, would have made the perfectest preacher in the world! And if the sloathful man in Prov. xix. 24, who "will not so much as bring his hand unto his mouth," were by the ancients understood concerning the •To the same degree. , t Bachelor's degree in theology. t To the same degree % You see what examples I have set: nothing hitherto could induce me to accept of the honourahlB .iti. „f « Doctor :" not that 1 hold such honours in light esteem, but because I consider them great burdens and to h» 1.1 ™H to aud conferred only as necessary to the State. ""'uens, ana to be aspired OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 45 unholy minister, who will not bring voci suce. vitam suam;* our Mr. Mather was ho sloathful preacher ; for besides his being a preacher who, as Mel chior Adam describes Jacobus Andreae, si quando opus erat, mera sonabat tonitrua,\ he was also a preacher very eminent for holiness, and he taught the people at' other times besides when he "opened his mouth." § 9. A certain writer who does continually serve the "Eomanizing faction in the church of England" with all manner of malice and slander against the best men in the world, that were in any measure free from the spirit of that faction, yet mentioning our Samuel Mather, in his ^'Athencc Oxonienses," gives this account of him: "Tho' he was a Congregational man, and in his principles an high non-conformist, yet he was observed by some to be civil to those of the episcopal perswasion, when it was in his power to do them a displeasure. And when the lord-deputy gave a c6mmission to him and others, in order unto the displacing of episcopal ministers in the province of Munster, he declined it; as he did after ward.^? to do the like matter in Dublin; alledging, that he was called into that country ' to preach the gospel, and not to hinder others from doing it.' He was a religious man in the way he profest, [this author confesses] and was valued by some who differ'd from him as to opinion in lesser and circum stantial points of religion." Thus one of themselves, even a bigot of their own, has reported, and his report is true! For which cause, when the storm of persecution fell upon the non-conformists in Ireland, Mr. Mather, in his address to the lord-chancellor for his liberty, used these, among many other passages: "I can truly say, I desire no more, not so much favour for myself now, as I have showed unto others formerly, when they stood in need of it. But I will not say how much cause I have to resent it, and to take it a little unkindly, that I have met with so much molestation from those' of that judgment, whom I have not provoked unto it, by my exam ple, but rather have obliged by sparing their consciences, to another manner of deportment. For, indeed, I have always thought that it is an irJcsome work to punish or trouble any man, so it is an 'evil and sinful work, to trouble any good man with temporal coercions for such errors in religion as are consistent with the foundation of faith and holiness. It is no good spirit, in any form, to fight with carnal weapons ; I mean, by external violence, to impose and propagate itself, and seek by Such means the sup pressing of contrary ways, which by argument it is not able to subdue." — But let the merits of Mr. Mather have bin what they will, he could not avoid the hardships, which the historian proceeds to relate in these terms : "After his majesty's restauration, he was suspended from preaching, 'till his majesty's pleasure should be known, for two sermons, which were judged seditious." Thus writes the veriest Zosimus that ever set pen to paper; even that Zosimus the younger, who cannot mention any well- wisher to the reformation of the church of England, without giving one • His life into conformity with his preaching. + Uttered thunder, when expediency required it. 46 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; occasion to think on Dr. Howel's observation upon the old Zosimus: "We know it to be the practice, in all reformations, of those who are addicted unto the old way, to render infamous such as have bin instruments in the alteration; and, by a prejudice against the persons, most ridiculously to insinuate an ill opinion of the thing or cause itself." ' § 10. One principal character upon the spirit of Mr. Mather, and one remarkable in the studies and sufferings of his life, will be given to my reader, in an account of the two sermons which were the pretended occa sions of his being silenced. Know, then, that the Episcopal party in Ireland, immediately upon, the king's restauration, hastning to restore their spiritual courts, and summon the ministers of tJ"J gospel to appear before them, and submit unto those unscriptural impositions, which many years had bin laid aside ratione belli (as they expressed it) rahieque hceretico- rum et schismaticorum ,* and answer for the breach of canons, which (as the others answered) " We bless God, we have never kept, to his praise we speak it, and we hope, through his grace, we never shall:" it was thought necessary on this occasion that a publick testimony should be born against the revival of those dead superstitions. Accordingly Mr. Mather, being the fittest person on many accounts to be put upon that service, he did, in the capital city of the kingdom, in a great auditory, preach two sermons upon K. Hezekiah's breaking in pieces the brazen serpent, and calling it Nehaustan, and thence advance this assertion, "That it is a thing very pleasing in the sight of God, when the sin of idolatry, and all the monu ments, all the remembrances and remainders of it are quite destroyed and rooted out from among his people:" wherein his note upon the text was indeed but the very same with what his adversaries, who are usually great admirers of every thing said by Grotius, might have read in the comment ary of that admirably learned (though frequently Socinianizing, and at last Eomanizing) interpreter, upon the very same text ; Egregium documen- tum regibus, ut quamvis bene instituta, sed non necessaria, ubi i-xl 16 *oXu, male usurpantur, e conspectu tollant, ne ponant offendiculum cacis.f In the prosecution of this assertion, he offered many arguments, why the cere monies of the Church of England, which were but the old leaven of human inventions and popish corruptions remaining in the worship of a church, whose doctrine he yet approv'd, as generally owned by good men, should not be reassumed, and by the old cruel methods of poenal laws, rein forced. Against the ceremonies in general, he argued, that the preface to the common-prayer-book, expressly declared them to be mystical and significant, and so they differed nothing from sacraments, but that they wanted a divine institution; and, said he, "The promoters of them do pretend only the authority of the church ; but if the second commandment * On account of the existing war and the rage of heretics and schismatics. t A most excelent hint to sovereigns, to remove all unnecessary impositions, however well contrived thev may be, and avoid placing tho least stumbling-block in the way of the blind and unimelligent among their subjects. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 47 was given to the church, 'Thou shalt not make any graven image, or form of worship to thyself;' they are a manifest breach of that command ment." He added, that, as they were the monuments of the old papal and pagan idolatry, and men did therein, but symbolize with idolaters, thus, by the greater weight almost perpetually laid upon them, than upon greater things, they were still made further idols. Particularly, he argued against the surplice, "That it was a continuation of the superstitious garments, wherein the false worshippers did use to of&ciate; That the Aaronical garments being typical of the graces attending the Lord Jesus Christ, they are by his coming antiquated ; That the Scriptures give not the least inti mation of any garments, whereby ministers are to be distinguished." He added, "That among the ^rsi reformers, the most eminent were in their undistressed judgments, against the vestment; and that when the canons of 1571 forbad the 'gray amice, or any other garment defiled with the like superstition,' the sequity of that canon would exclude this also." He argued against the sign of the cross in baptism, that whatever was to be said against oyl, cream, salt, spittle, therein is to be said against the cross, which indeed never had bin used, in the worship of God, as oyl had been of old: that there is as much cause to worship the spear that pierced our Lord, as the cross which hanged him, or that it were as reasonable, to scratch a child's forehead with a thorn, to shew that it must suffer for him who wore a crown of thorns: that the cross thus employed is a breach of the second commandment in the very letter of it, being an image in the service of God of man^s devising, and fetch'd, as Mr. Parker says, i'from the brothel-house of God's greatest enemy." He argued against kneeling at the Lord's-Supper, that it is contrary to the first institution, which had in it .none but a table-gesture : that it is a gross hypocrisie to pretend unto more devotion, holiness, and reverence, in the act of receiving, than the apostles did, when our Lord was there bodily present with them; that it countenanced the error of the papists, who kneel before their breaden god, and profess, that "they would be sooner torn in pieces than do it, if they did not believe that Christ is there bodily present:" and that, since it was a rule in the common-prayer-book, set forth in K. Edward's time, 1549, "As touching kneeling and other gestures, they may be used or left, as every man's devotion serveth," it was a shameful thing to be so retro grade in religion, as now to establish that gesture. He argued against "bowing at the altar, and setting the communion-table altarwise," that the communion-table is in the sacred oracles called a tahle still, and, no where, an altar; and if it were an altar, it would imply a sacrifice, which the Lord's Supper is not: yea, it would be greater and better than the Lord's Supper itself, and sanctifie it; that if it were an altar, yet it should not be fasten'd unto the wall, dresser-fashion; but so stand, as that it might be " compassed about ;" that the placing of it at the east-end of the church, with steps going up to it, and especially the setting of images, or other 48 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; massing appurtenances over it, smells rank of paganism; and that, whereas, in the very beginning of the reformation, this abuse was one of the first things put down, it were a most Eomish vergency now to conjure it up again. He argued against "bowing at the name of Jesus," that the phrase of bowing iv 75 ovo|Uia7i,* in the text, wrested unto his purpose, is but vei-y uutowardly translated, "at the name of Jesus," instead of "in the name;" and it were as proper to speak of "baptizing at the name of the i'ather, Sou and Holy Spirit," and of "believing at God the Father, and at Jesus Christ his Son our Lord, and at the Holy Ghost." That by the " name of Jesus," is not meant the sound of the syllables in the word Jesus, but the power, majesty, dominion and authority of the person of the Lord Jesus; and it is a piece of cabalistical magic, to make an incui-vation at the sound of this name, without paying the like respect unto other names of the blessed God, or particularly the name Christ, which is more distin guishing for our Lord, than that of Jesus; or why not at the sight as well as the sound? That the apostle speaks of such a name, to be acknowledged with bowing, as was given to our Lord after his resurrection, and as the effect and reward of his humiliation, which the name Jesus was not ; it is the name of Christ exalted, or Christ the Lord; and by "bowing the knee," is meant the universal subjection of all creatures unto his Lordship, especially at the day of judgment. He argued against the stated holydays, that being feasts which the Jeroboam of Eome had devised of his own heart, yea, some of them, especially the December-festival, an imitation of an heathenish original, if the apostle forbad the observation of the Jewish festivals, because they were a "shadow of good things to come," it could not but be amiss in us, to observe the popish ones, which.were ethnic also; that it was a deep reflection upon the wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ our lawgiver, the Lord of time, and of the sabbath, to add unto his appoint ments, and it is an infringement of our Christian liberty ; that an occasional designation of time for lectures, for fastings, for thanksgivings, which are duties required by God, is vastly difterent from the stating of times for holy, so that the duties are then to be done for the sake of the times. He added, the wish of Luther, then sevenscore years ago, in his book "Be Bonis Operibus;\" that there were no other festival days among Christians but only the Lord's-day:" and the speech of K. James to a natTonal assem bly in Scotland, wherein, "he praised God that he was king in the sincerest church in the world; sincerer than the Church of England for their service was an ill-said mass in English; sincerer than Geneva itself for they observed Pasche and Yoole—that is Easter and Christmas— and (said the king) what warrant have they for that?" Against "holiness' of places," he argued, that they were the standing symbols of God's presence which made stated holy places under the law, and those places were holy because of their typical relation to the Lord Jesus Christ, and there was a * 1" ""^ '"'""'• t On Good Works. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 49 further institution of God, which did make them to be -parts of his worship, and vOays and means of men's communion with himself, and to sanctifie the persons and actions approaching to them ; which cannot be said of any places under the New-Testament, God has declared himself to be, both no respecter of persons, and no respecter of places ; and our meeting-places are no more sacred than the ancient synagogues : that some excellent men of the episcopal way itself, have been above the conceit of "any difference in places;" Dr. Usher more particularly, who says, "in times of persecution, the godly did often meet in barns, and such obscure places, which indeed were public, because of the church of God there; the house or place availing nothing to make it public or private; even, as wheresoever the prince is, there is the court, although it were in a poor, cottage." He added, that yet the churches (as they were metonymically, and almost catechrestica.lly called) in the English nation, were not for the sake of old abuses to be demolished, as were the temples of the Canaanites, inasmuch as they were built for the worship of God ; and those places are no longer polluted, when they are no longer so abused. He argued against organs and cathedral music, that there was a warrant of Heaven for instrumental music in the service of God under the law, when also this was not a part of their synagogue-worship, which was moral, but of their ceremonial temple-worship, whereas there is no such warrant under the gospel: that the instrumental music under the law, was intended for a "shadow of good things to come," which being now come, it was abolished; that even Aquinas himself, as late as four hundred years ago, pleaded against this instrumental music, as being used among the Jews, quia populus erat magis durus et carnalis:* the Church of Eome itself, it seems, had not then gen erally introduced it, as he says, ne videatur judaizare.j; Finally, against the book of common-prayer, he argued, that it is a setting of men^s posts by God's, to introduce into the public worship of God, as a standing part thereof, and impose by force, another booh, besides the books of God ; nor is there auj precept or prorriise in the book of God, for the encouragement of it, nor any example that any ordinary church-officers imposed any stinted liturgies upon the church: that K. Edward VI. in his declaration acknowl edged, "it seemeth unto you a new service, but indeed is no other but than the old, the self-same words in English that were in Latin, saving a few things taken out, which were so fond, that it had bin a shame to have heard them in English :" yea, some of the bishops themselves have re ported, that Pope Paul IV. did offer Q. Elizabeth to ratifie it by his authority, ut sacra hic omnia, hoc ipso, quo nunc sunt apud nos modo, pro- curarifas esset. -^ now, inasmuch as the Church of Eome is the " mother of harlots," let any Protestant judge, whether it be fit for us to fetch the form of our 'worship from thence, and indeed a great part of the form from that • Because they were a more stiff-necked and carnal-minded people. t Lest it should appear to be Judaizing. t That it might be canonical to follow all the ritual observances in the exact form now adopted by us. Vol. IL- 50 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; old conjurer Numa Pompilius: that for ministers, instead of using their own ministerial gifts, to discharge the work of their ministry, by the pre scriptions of others, is as bad as carrying the ark upon a cart, which was to have bin carried upon the shoulders of the Levites; and it is a sin against ths spirit of prayer, for ministers in these days to be diverted from the primitive way of praying, which was, according to Tertullian's account, sine monitore, quia de pectore,* in opposition to the prsescript forms of prayer amongst the pagans. He also touched upon the corruptions in the very matter of the common-prayer ; the grievous preference therein given unto the apocryphal above the canonical writings; the complementing of the Almighty "to give us those things, which for our unworthiness we dare not presume to ask;" the nonsense of calling the lessons out of the prophets, epistles; and many more such passages, which he but briefly touched, though, he said, "it would fill a volume to reckon them." He concluded these discourses with an admonition to the bishops and episcopal party, that they would not now revive, or, at leait, not impose, the super stitions of the former times: but among many things which he spake in his exhortation, I shall only transcribe these words: "When you have stopt our mouths from preaching, yet we shall pray; and not only we, but all the souls that have bin converted, or comforted and edified by our ministry, they will all cry to the Lord against you for want of bread, because you deprive them of those that should break the bread of life unto them. Now, I had rather be environed with armies of armed men, and compassed round about with drawn swords and instruments of death, than that the least praying saint should bend the edge of his prayers against me, for there is no standing before the prayers of the saints. Yea, I testifie unto you, that as the saints will pray, so the Lord himself will fight against you, and will take you into his own revenging hand: I speak it conditionally, in case you persecute, and I wish all the bishops in Ireland heard me ! For in the name, and in the love of Christ, I speak it to you, and I beseech you so to take it. I say, if once you fall to the old trade of persecution, the Lord Jesus will never bear it at your hands, but he will bring upon you a swift destruction. And your second fall will be worse than the first: for Dagon, the first time, did only fall before the ark of God; but when the men of Ashdod had set hira up in his place again the second time, then he 'brake himself to pieces' by his second fall, inso much that there was nothing but the stump of Dagon left. Persecution is a very ripening sin; and therefore if once you superadd the sin of per secution, to the sin of superstition, you will be quickly ripe for final ruine • and in the day when God shall visit you, the guilt of all the righteous blood that hath bin shed upon the face of the earth,- from the blood of Abel to the blood of Udal, and unto this day, will come down the hill upon your heads, even upon the persecutors of this generation. The • Without n monitor, because from the heart. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 5I Lord Jesus, when the 'day of vengeance is in his heart,' and when the 'year of his redeemed is come,' which is not far off, he will then require all that blood, and revenge it all upon your heads, if you justifie the ways of former persecutors, by walking in the same steps of blood and violence." Mr. Mather having thus faithfully born his testimony, his persecutors yet let hira live quietly for more than five months after it; but then they thought it their time to call these two sermons (though there were not one word therein, directly or indirectly against the King or his government) "seditious preaching;" and thereupon they silenced him, though with so much noise, that both English and French Gazets took notice of it: but all the notice, which he took of that charge himself, was to say, "If it be sedition to disturb the Devil's kingdom, who rules by his Antichristian ceremonies, in the kingdom of darkness, as the Lord Jesus Christ' doth by his own ordinances, in his Church, which is the kingdom of heaven, I may say, ' I did it before the Lord, who hath chosen me to be a minister, and if this be to be vile, I will yet be more vile than thujs.' Indeed, there belong'd unto him the character once given of Erasmus Sarcerius: " Luce- batin hoc viro commemorablis Gravitas et Constantia; non Minos, non Exilia, non ullam ullius hominis potentiamt/iut vim pertimescebat ; pcene dixeram, solem facilius de Cursu dimoveri potuisse, quam Matherum a Veritatis Professione.* § 11. Mr. Mather being so silenced by those "dwellers on the earth, who had bin thus tormented" by him, he did, with the consent of his Church, in the latter end of the year 1660, go over to England; where he con tinued a publick preacher in great reputation, at Burton- Wood, in Lan cashire, until the general death upon the ministry of the non-conformists, at the black Bartholomew day, August 24, 1662^— the act of which day doubtless made the Presbyterians think on the Bartholomew day which had been in another kingdom ninety years before ; after which, the deputies of the reformed religion treated with the French King and the Queen mother, and some others of the Council, for a peace, and articles were on both sides agreed; but there was a question upon the security for the perfbrraance of those articles; whereupon the Queen said, "Is not the word of a King a sufficient security ?" but one of the deputies answered, "No, by St. Bartholomew, madam, it is not!" Mr. Mather being one of the twenty hundred ministers expelled from all public places, by that act which was compleated by the "active concurrence" (as that excellent and renowned person. Dr. Bates, has truly observed) "of the old clergy from wrath and revenge, and the young gentry from their servile compliance with the court, and their distast of serious religion ;" his Church in Dublin * In this man were exhibited remarkable dignity and constancy. He feared neither threats, nor banishment, nor any power of man, nor any form of violence. I had almost said, that it would be easier to tum the sun from ite course than Mather from the open profession of truth. 52 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; sent unto him to return unto his charge of them ; having by this tune opportunity to use that argument with him, for his return, " the men are dead that sought thy life." Accordingly, he spent all the rest of his days with his church in Dublin; but he preached only in his "own hired house," which, being a very large one, was well fitted for that purpose. And there was this remarkable concerning it, that although no man living used a more open and generous freedom, in declaring against the corrup tions of worship reintroduced into the nation, yet such was his learning, his wisdom, his known piety, and the true loyalty of his whole carriage towards the government, that he lived without much further molestation ; yea, the God of heaven recompensed the integrity of this his faithful servant, wherein he exposed himself, above most other men, for the truth, by granting him a protection, above most other men, from the adversaries of it;- for which cause he did, in the year 1668, thus write unto his aged father in New-England: "I have enjoy'd a wonderful protecting Provi dence in the work of my ministry. I pray remember me daily in your praj^ers, that I may walk worthy of this goodness of God, and be made useful by him for the good of the souls of his people. If any had told me in April, 1660, that I should have exercised the liberty of my ministry and conscience, either in England or Ireland, and that without conforming to the corruptions of the times, and this for seven or eight years together, I should not have believed it; I should have thought it next to an impos sibility : but with God all things are possible." § 12. Although Mr. Mather was full of zeal against "corruptions in the worship of God," and in that just zeal he also wrote a treatise containing reasons against stinted liturgies, and the English one in particular, and answers to the lamentable concessions which a reverend person (whose name, for honor's sake he yet spared) had made, in his disputations, for them ; nevertheless, like the Apostle John, whom he had long before imi tated, when he was a young disciple, upon other accounts, he was full of love towards the persons of good men, that were too much led away with those corruptions. — Hence he carried it with all possible respect unto godly and worthy men of that way which he so much disliked — the Episcopal; however, while they excluded the Scripture from being the rule of Church- administrations, and made unscriptural Eites, with promiscuous admissions to the Lord's table, and the denial of Church -power unto the proper pastors of the Churches, to be the terms of communion, he thouo-ht it impossible for non-conformists to coalesce in the same Ecclesiastical com munion with them. Albeit he had the union of charity and affection with all pious conformists, of whom his words were, "There is Christian love and esteem due to such, as personally considered, and we should be willing and ready to receive them in the Lord:" yet for the union of an Ecclesi astical combination, with men that were of such principles, and by such principles became the authors of a schism, he said, "Unto their assembly OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 53 my glory, be not thou united;" aiid he added, "the best way for union with them is to labour to reduce them from the error of their way." Nevertheless, Mr. Mather, beholding that they who appeared studious of reformation in the nations were unhappily subdivided into three forms, or parties, comraonly known by the name of Presbyterians, Independents, and Antipoedo Baptists, he set himself to endeavour an union among all the good men of these three perswasions. To this purpose he did compose a most judicious Irenicum (afterwards printed) wherein he stated the agree ment of these parties: he found, that they were agreed in all the funda mental points of the Christian faith, and rules of a Christian life; that they were agreed in the main acts of natural worship, namely, prayer and preaching, and hearing of the word; and in the special time for publick worship, namely, the Lord's days; that as tc matters of institution, they were agreed in declaring for the Scriptures, as the direction of all; they were agreed that the Lord hath appointed a ministry in the Church, who are bound by office to publish the Gospel, and in his name therewith to dispence Sacraments, and the disciplines of the Gospel, and that all igno rant and ungodly persons are to be debarred from the Holy mysteries; and finally, that the humane inventions used and urged in the service of the Church of England, are unlawful. He proceeded then to consider the articles of difference which were betwixt them ; and he found those articles to be mostly so raeerly circurastantial, that if the several sides would but patiently understand one another, or act according to the concessions and confessions which are made in their most allowed writings, they might easily walk together, wherein they were of one mind, and wherein they were not so, they might willingly bear with one another, until God reveal unto them.— Only such as unchurch all others besides theraselves, he found by the severity of their own disuniting principle, rendered uncapable of coming into this union : But unto all the societies of these Christians, that m&de union and communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, the foundation of Church communion, he did, with a most Evangelical spirit, offer, first, that they should mutually give the right hand of fellowship unto each other, as true Churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, That they should kindly advise and assist each other in their affairs, as there should be occasion for it : Thirdly, That they should admit the members of each other's congregations unto occasional communion at the table of the Lord. In this uniting scheme of his, as there was a due tenderness towards various apprehensions, without scepticism in religion, so there was a blessed essay to remove the greatest stumbling-blocks of Christianity. Indeed, such a generous largeness of soul there was in our Mather, that he could, with the excellent-spirited Mr. Burroughs, have written it as the motto upon his study-door, Opinionum varietas, et opinantium unitas, nonfunt 'Atfuffa™.* § 13. While Mr. Mather was fulfilling his ministry in Dublin, as one * A difference of opinions is not incompatiblo with the perfect unity of those who cherish such opinions. 54 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; who might justly have claimed the name of the Spanish Bishop, Fructuo-, sus, there were many salleys to the doing of good, which he added unto the weekly and constant services of his ministry; whereof one was this: A certain Eoman Catholick having published a short but subtil discourse entitled " Of the one, only, Catholic and Eoman faith," whereby the faith of sume uncatechised Protestants was not a little endangered, Mr. Mather was desired by persons of quality to give the world an answer to this dis course. And in answer to their desire, he composed and emitted a most elaborate, pertinent, and judicious, though brief treatise, entitled, "A Befence of the Protestant, Christian Religion against Popery, wherein the man ifold Apostasies, Heresies, and Schisms of the Church of Pome, as also the Weakness of their Pretensions from the Scriptures and the Fathers are briefly laid open.'' But there was another thing which gave the studies of this learned and holy man a considerable exercise. There was one Mr. Valen tine Greatreats, who felt a vehement impression, or suggestion upon his mind, of this import: ["I have given thee the gift of curing the evil!"] in compliance with which impulse, he stroked a neighbour grievously afflicted with the King's evil, and a cure succeeded. For about a twelve-month he pretended unto the cure of no other distemper; but, then, the ague being rife in the neighbourhood, the same sort of impulse told him ["I have given thee the gift of curing the ague ! "] After which, when he laid his hand on people in theii- fits, the ague would leave them. About half a year after this, the impulse became yet more general, and said ["I have given thee the gift of healing,"] and then our stroker attempted the relief of all diseases indifferently: but frequently with such' violent rubbing, as from any one would have had a tendency to disperse pains arising from flatulencies. All this while, he doubted whether there were any thing more in the cause of the cure that followed this friction, than the strong fancy of the feeble people that addressed him ; wherefore, to convince his incredulity, as he lay in his bed, he had one hand struck dead, and the usual impulse then bid him to make a trial of his virtue upon himself; which he did with his other hand, and immediately it returned unto its former liveliness : this happened for two or three mornings together. But after this there were thousands of persons who flockt from all parts of Ireland unto this gentleman, for the cure of their various maladies ; amono- whom there were some noble, some learned, and some very pious persons, and even ministers of the gospel ; and although it was observed that a cure seldom succeeded without reiterating touches; that the patients often relapsed; that sometimes he utterly fail'd of doing any thing at all, espe cially when there was a decay of nature; and that there were 'many distempers that were not at all obedient unto the hand of this famous practitioner; nevertheless, his touches had thousands of wonderful effects. There were some philosophical heads, who refer'd all this virtue in the hand of our new sort of Chyrurgion, unto a particular complexion in him or a OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 55 sort of sanative or balsamic ferment, which was in the spirits of the man; and who conceived the impulse upon him to be but a result of his temper, and like dreams, that are usually according to our constitution ; or perhaps there might be something of a genius, they thought, also in the case. But Mr. Mather apprehended the "hand of Joab in all this;" and a plot of Satan, that MupioT£j(viT>is, Generis humani hostis,* lying at the bottom of all. Mr. Greatreats had confessed unto hira that, before these things, he had bin a student in Cornelius Agrippa, and had essay'd the cure of disteraperg, by his Abrakat Abra;-\ and Mr. Mather now feared that the devil, with whom he had bin so far familiar, did not only now impose upon the man himself, but also design upon multitudes of other people. Wherefore, to rectifie the thoughts of people about the danger of unaccountable impulses, which had precipitated Greatreats into his present way of cures ; and about the nature and intent of real miracles, whereof 'twas evident there were none in the cures by Greatreats pretended unto ; and moreover, to prevent the superstitious neglect of God, and of means, which people were apt, on this occasion, profanely, to run into; and finally, to prevent the hazards which might arise unto our sacred religion by our popular apotheising of a blade who made scepticism in religion one part of his character; Mr. Mather drew up a discourse relating thereunto. This discourse, being shown to some of the King's privy-council in Ireland, was approved and applauded, as most worthy to be printed; but the primate's Chaplain at lasf obstructed it, because, forsooth, the Geneva notes and Dr. Ames were quoted in it, and it was not convenient that there should be any book printed wherein any quotations were made from such dangerous fanaticks. However, God blessed this manuscript for the setling of many unstable minds, and the stopping of mischiefs that were threatened. § 14. It is reported in the life of Mr. Eothwel, that being advised by a clergy-man, more great than wise, to forbear raedling with the types, as themes not convenient for hira to study upon, he made that very prohibi tion but as an invitation to expect something of an extraordinary concern ment in them; and accordingly, falling upon the study of the types, he found no part of his ministry more advantagiously employed for himself or others. Our Mr. Mather, on the other hand, was earnestly desired by the non-conformist ministers in the city of Dublin to preach upon the types of evangelical mysteries, in the dispensations of the Old Testament; in compliance with which, he had not proceeded very far, before he saw cause to write unto one of his (brothers, "the types and shadows of the Old Testament, if but a little understood, how full are they of gospel-light and glory ! Having gone through diverse of them, I must acknowledge, with thankfulness to the praise of the freeness of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that I have seen more of hira than I saw before." With much labour and judgment, at. length, he finished his undertaking, and in a • Author of a thousand wiles— enemy of the human race. t Magical word. 56 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; course of sermons, from March, 1666, to February, 1668, on first the per sonal types, and then the real ones, whether first, the more occasional types, and then the more perpetual ones. And his church, after his death, calling another of his worthy brothers- — ^naraely, Mr. Nathanael Mather — to suc ceed him, that brother of his, in imitation of what Ludovicus Capellus did for his brother, and what Mr. Dyke, Mr. Culverwel, and others have done for theirs, in publishing the profitable works of the deceased, published this course of. sermons unto the world; with some judicious discourses against modern superstitions intermixed. Here, the waxen combs of the ancient and typical cells being melted down, is (as one expresses it) "rolled up into shining tapers, to illuminate the students of those mysteries in finding out the honey that couches in the carcase of the slain lion of the tribe of Judah." All the talents which Cato spent in erecting a tomb of Thracian marble for his dead brother Ceepio, turned not unto so much account as the care used by Mr. Nathanael Mather thus to bring into the light the meditations of his excellent brother Samuel; upon a subject wherein but few had ever waded before him. And if there be a truth in that opinion of some divines, "that the glory and gladness of the saints in heaven receives additions, as the good effects of what they formerly did on earth are there increasing; his action herein was yet more worthy the relation of a brother. BuJ Mr. Mather did not so converse with one more obscure part of the sacred Scripture, as to leave another uncultivated with his industrious and inquisitive studies thereupon : the difficulties in the prophetical part of the New-Testament, as well as in the figurative part of the Old, were happily assail'd by his learned contemplations. When he had made a considerable progress herein, he wrote unto his youngest brother, who was then a minister in New-England, and since President of the Col ledge there — "I must needs tell you how much I do rejoice that it hath pleased God to stir up your spirit to search into the prophetical parts of the Scripture; of which I have often thought, and still do, that it is great pity they are so little minded and seen into by many, both ministers and others, who do deprive themselves of much satisfaction, which they might receive thereby. It is not good to despise any part of the mind and coun sel of God, revealed in his word ; there are unknown treasures and plea sures there stored up, more precious than gold and silver; and shall we not, in the strength of his spirit, search for them?" And as the brother to whom he thus wrote gave in sundry treatises, in diverse languages, unto the church of God, several happy fruits- of his enquiries into the inspired prophecies, which "blessed are they that read and hear," so our Mr. Mather himself arrived unto such attainments, herein, that he had no cause to make the confession (tho' such was his modesty that he was ready enough to do it) of some eminent persons, nullus sum in propheticis* When 'tis said, "Blessed are they that keep the things written in th'ia • I am not profound in the interpretation of prophecy. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 57 prophecy," a mathematician will tell us that what we render keep, is rather to be render'd observe, or watch, or mind; for 7»ipsiv, is used by the Greeks as a term of art, expressing the astronomical observation of eclipses, plan etary aspects, and other "coelestial phsenomena. Mr. Mather accordingly counted it his blessedness to take an observation of what fulfillment the divine books of prophecy already had received, aud thence make compu tation of the times that were yet before us, and of the things to be done in those times. But of all his apocalyptical explications, or expectations, I shall here take the liberty to insert no more than this one, which may deserve perhaps a little thinking on: "That whenever God sets up in any of the ten kingdoms, which made the ten horns of the Papal empire, such an establishment, sovereign and independent, wherein antichrist shall have neither an E^xtfia, nor a Auvafjiis, neither power of laws, nor force of arms, to defend him aud his corruptions; doubtless, then, the witnesses of our Lord are no more trodden down, to prophecy in sackcloth, any longer. Then therefore expires the 1260 years, and since that such a kingdom well may be called the Lord's, then will the seventh trumpet begin to sound. Which, that it is near, even at the door, I may say, through grace T doubt not." §. 15. While Mr. Mather was thus employ'd, it pleas'd the God of heaven, to "take away,from him the desire of his eyes." He had in the year 1656 married a most accomplished gentlewoman, the sister of Sir John Stevens, by whom he had four or five children, whereof there lived but one, which was a daughter. But in the year 1668 this gentlewoman fell into a sick ness, that lasted five or six weeks; all which time she continued full of divine peace and joy, and uttered many extraordinary expressions of grace, wherewith her pious friends were extreamly satisfied. When she drew near her end, her husband, seeing her in ranch pain, said, "you are going where there will be no more pain, sighing or sorrow." Whereto she answered, "Ah, my dear, and where there will be no more sin!" And her sister saying to her, "You are going to heaven," she answered, "I am there already!" So she went away, having those for her last words, "Come, Lord, come. Lord Jesus!" "Not very long after this did Mr. Mather fall ill himself, of an impostume in his liver: but as in the time of his health and strength, he had maintained an "even walk with God," without such raptures of soul as many Christians have bin carried forth unto, so now, in the time of his illness, he enjoyed a certain tranquillity of soul, without any approaches toward rapturous extasie. He never was a man of words, but of a silent and a thinking temper, a little tinged with melancholly ; and now he lay sick, he did not speak much to those that were about him ; yet what he did speak was full of weight and worth, nor will his friends ever forget with what solemnity he then told them, "that he had preached unto them the truths of the great God, and that he now charged them to * To watch. t A sovereignty founded in law. X The sovereignty of physical force. 58 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; adhere unto those truths, in the firm and full faith whereof he was now entering into glory : and that he did particularly exhort them to wash every day in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by faith apply his perfect and spotless righteousness unto' their own souls." It has indeed bin commonly observed, that children " who honour their father and their mother," according to the first commandment in the second table of the law, which has a peculiar promise annexed unto it; have the recom pense of a long life upon earth. And I take notice that, in the command ment, what we translate, "that thy days may be long," is to be read, "that they may prolong thy days;" that is, thy father and thy mother, they shall prolong thy days, by blessing of thee, in the name of God, if thou carry it well unto them. But when the Sovereign Providence of heaven makes exceptions unto this general rule, we may believe that what is not fulfilled in the letter, is fulfilled in the better: and some, that "live long in a little time," also have their days prolonged in the enjoyment of life with the Lord Jesus Christ, our life throughout eternal ages. Thus, our Mr. Mather had bin as dutiful a Joseph as perhaps ever any parents had; and by his yearly and costly presents to his aged father, after he came to be a master of possessions in Ireland, he continued the expressions of his dutifulness unto the last; nevertheless, he now died, October 29, 1671, when he wanted about six months of being six and forty years old: and yet, as they who have gone to prove Adam a longer-lived person than Methuselah, use to urge that Adam was to be supposed fifty or sixty years old, being in the "perfect stature of man" at his first creation, so, if it be consider'd how much of a man our Mather was while he was yet a child, and if it be further considered how much work he did for the Lord Jesus-Christ after he came, to the "perfect stature of man," he must be reckoned, "an old man full of grace, though not full of days;" and that epitaph which was once the great Jewel's, may be written on his grave, in the church of St. Nicholas, in the city of Dublin, where his ashes lie covered. Div, vixit. licet non diu fuit.* BUT NOW Gone where the wicked cease from troubling, and wher«^ the weary are at rest. • He lived a long life, and yet did not live long. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAN^. 59 U Jii, Xi, ii S, ^ ii XXjLo THE LIFE OF MR. SAMUEL DANFORTH. § 1. Most Christian and candid is the speech of a certain author, who yet writes himself, " A beneficed minister, and regular son of the Church of England," when he says, "I never thought them good .painters, who draw the pictures of the dissenting brethren with dirt and soot, but I, kncjwing them to be unlike those pictures, have with just offence beheld theii- inju ries, and would have been pleased to have seen them described by some impartial and ingenious master, as fit to adorn the palaces of Princes." Eeader, I am going to draw the picture of another minister, who was a non-conformist unto Emendables, in the Church of England; wherein tho' I ara not ingenious, yet I will be impartial, and therefore, instead of the dirt and soot, which the persecuting bigots for a few ceremonies would employ upon the memory of such men, I will, with an honest and modest report of his character, cause hira to be remembered next unto the first fellow of that Colledge, whereof he was the next. § 2. This was Mr. Samuel Danforth, son to Mr. N. Danforth ; a gentleman of such estate and repute in the world, that it cost hira a considerable sum to escape the knighthood, which K. Charles I. imposed on all of so much per annum ; and of such figure and esteem in the Church, that he pro cured that famous lecture at Fraralingham in Suffolk, where he had a fine mannour; which lecture was kept by Mr. Burroughs, and many other noted ministers in their turns ; to whom, and especially to Mr. Shepard, he prov'd a Gains, and then especially when the Laudian fury scorched them. This person had three sons, whereof the second was our Samuel, born in September, in the year 1626, and by the desire of his mother, who died three years after his birth, earnestly dedicated unto the "schools of the prophets." His father brought him to New-England in the year 1634, and at his death, about four years after his arrival here, he committed this hopeful son of many cares and prayers, unto the paternal oversight of Mr. Shepard, who proved a kind patron unto him. His early piety answered the pious education bestowed upon him; and there was one instance of it somewhat singularly circumstanced : when he was reciting to his tutor, out of the heathen poets, he still made some ingenious addi tion and correction upon those passages which ascribed those things unto the false gods of the gentiles, that could not without blasphemy be ascribed unto any one but the "Holy One of Israel:" his tutor gave hira a sharp reprehension for this, as for a raeer impertinency ; but this conscientious child reply'd, "Sir, I can't in conscience recite the blasphemies of these wretches, without washing my mouth upon it!" Nevertheless, a fresh (?0 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; ¦ occasion occurring, his tutor gave him another sharp reprehension for his doing once again as he had formerly done; but the tutor, to the amaze ment of them all, was terribly and suddenly seized with a violent convul sion-fit; out of which when he at last recovered, he acknowledg'd it as an hand of God upon him, for his harshness to his pupil, whose conscientious ness he now applauded. § 3. His learning, with his virtue, ere long brought hira into the station of a tutor ; being raade the second fellow of Harvard-Colledge, that appears in the catalogue of our graduates. The diary which, even in those early times, he began to keep of passages belonging to his interior state, give great proof of his proficiency in godliness, under the various ordinances and providences of the Lord Jesus Christ; the watchfulness, tenderness and conscientiousness of aged Christianity accompained him, while he was yet but young in years. His manner was to rise before the sun, for the exercises which Isaac attended in the evening ; and in the evening like wise he withdrew, not only from the conversation then usually maintained, which he thought hurtful to his mind by its infectious levity, but from supper it self also, for the like exercises of devotion. Although he was preserved free from every thing scandalous, or immoral, yet he seem'd, as Tertullian speaks, Nulli rei natus nisi poenitentice ;* and the sin of unfruii- fulness gave as much perplexity to him, as more scandalous and immoral practices do to other men; for which comprehensive sin, keeping a secret fast, once before the Lord, the Holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ so powerfully and rapturously comforted him, with those words, "he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; without me ye can do nothing;" that the remembrance thereof was all his days afterwards comfortable unto him. § 4. Mr. Welds returning for England, the church at Eoxbury invited Mr. Danforth to become a Colleague to Mr. Eliot, whose evangelical em^- ployments abroad among the Indians made a Colleague at home to be necessary for him. The pastoral charge of that church he undertook in the year 1650, and no temptations arising, either from the incompetency of the salary allow 'd him to support an hospitable family, or from the^row- cation which unworthy men in the neighbourhood sometimes tried him withal, could perswade hira to accept of motions, which were made unto hira, to remove unto more comfortable settlements; but keeping his eye upon the great man's motto prudens qui patiens,\ he continued in his Eoxbury station, for three years more than thrice seven together. All this time, as he studied use, by endeavours to do good, not only in that partic ular town, but with influences more general and extensive, so he did en deavour to signalize hiraself by studying of peace, with a moderating and interposing sort of teraper, in rising differences; being of the opinion that usually they have little peace of conscience, who do not make much con- • Fruitful in nothing but penitence. :, He is wise who is patient. • OB. THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND gi science of peace." And when he then came to dye, spending one whole .sleepless night in a survey of his past life, he said, "he could find no remarkable miscarriage (through the grace of Christ) in all this time to charge himself withal, but that with Hezekiah he had served the Lord with a perfect heart all his days." § 5. The sermons with which he fed his flock were elaborate and sub stantial; he was a notable text-man, and one who had more than forty or fifty scriptures distinctly quoted in one discourse; but he much recom mended himself by keeping close to his main text, and avoiding of all remote excurtions and vagaries; and there was much notice taken of it, that though he were a very judicious preacher, yet he was therewithal so affectionate, " that he rarely, if ever, ended a sermon without weeping." On the Lord's days in the forenoons, he expounded the books of the Old Testament; in the afternoons, he discoursed on the body of divinity, and many occasional subjects, and some chapters in the Epistle to the Eomans, until the year 1661; and then he began to handle the "harmony of the four Evangelists," proceeding therein to those words of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Luke xiv. 14, "Thou shalt be recompenced at the resurrection of the just:" On which, having preached his last sermon, it proved indeed his last; and from thence he had no more to do, but now "waits all the days of his appointed time, until his change come," at that resurrection, when our Lord Jesus Christ shall call, and he shall answer that call, and the Lord shall have a " desire to the work of his hands." He also preach'd a monthly lecture, and on many private occasions, at meetings of Chris tians, in the families of the faithful. But instead of ever venturing upon any extemporaneous performances, it was his manner to write his sermons tvjice over; and it was in a fair long hand that he wrote thera. His utter ance was free, clear, and giving much in a little time; his memory very tenacious, and never known to fail him, though he allow'd it no assistances. And unto all the other commendable things observed in the discharge of his ministry, he added that of a most pastoral watchfulness over his flock. Hence he not only visited the sick as a messenger from heaven to them, "one among a thousand," but when he met persons recovered from sick ness, he would, at this rate accost them: "Well, you have been in God's school; but what have you learnt? what good have you got?" And not able were the effects of these his applications. Hence also he took much care that none should keep an "house of public entertainment" in his town, but such as would keep good orders and manners in their houses; and the tavern being in view of his own study-window, when he saw any town- dwellers tippling there, he would go over and chide them away. Hence likewise he would animadvert upon miscarriages that came in his way, with all watchful and zealous faithfulness, and one instance of his doing so had something peculiar in it. A "day of humiliation" was to be attended, and a man of another town, by unseasonable driving a cart through the 62 MAGNALIA CHEISTi AMEEICANA; street, caused this good man to come out and reprove him for the affront he thereby put upon the devotions of the people in the neighbourhood: the man made him an obstinate and malapert answer, but when he came home, he found one of his children suddenly dead; upon this he could have no rest in his mind, until he came to this "reprover in the gate," with humble and many tokens of repentance. § 6. After his "contraction," according to the old usage of New-England, unto the virtuous daughter of Mr. Wilson (whereat Mr. Cotton preached the sermon) he was married unto that gentlewoman in the year 1651. Of twelve children by her, there are four now at this day surviving; whereof two are now worthy ministers of the gospel. When his wife was under discouragements at any time, through domestick straits, he would reply, "Ben't you discouraged; if you undergo more difficulties than other gentlewomen, still we have the Lord's part, and at last you shall have an ample recompence, a prophet's recompence!" As his end approached, he had strong apprehensions of its approach; and the very night before he fell sick, he told his wife he "had been much concerned how she with her children would subsist, if he should be removed ; but now he had got over it, and firmly believed in the covenant of God for them, that they should be, by the Divine Providence, as well provided for as they could be if he were alive:" which has been since accornplished unto admira tion! Immediately after this, he fell sick of a putred fever, occasioned by a damp, cold, nocturnal air, on a journey; and in the space of six days passed from natural health to eternal peace, November 19, 1674. Of his dying prayers for his consort, one of the most lively was, that her daughter (now the wife of Edward Bromfield, Esq.) might be made a rich blessing and comfort unto her; and this also hath not been without its observable accomplishment! But if we now enquire after an epitaph, to be inscribed on the tomb where his ashes now lye, with those of our govern our Dudley, for whose honourable family he always had a great friendship, I know not whether one might not be taken out of the words of his ven erable old Collegue Mr. Eliot, who would say, "My Brother Danforth made the most glorious end that ever I saw !" or from a poem of Mr. "V^eld's upon him, which had a clause to this purpose: Mighty in Scripture, searching out the sense. All the hard things of it, unfolding thence : He liv^d each truth ; his faith, love, tenderness, None can to th^ life, as did his life express : Our minds with gospel his rich lectures fed ; Luke, and his life, at once are finished : Our new-built Church now suffers too by this. Larger its windows, but its liffhis are less. § 7. The least pupils in astronomy cannot now, without some diversion reflect upon the astronomy of the ancients, when we read them declaiming against the sphoerical figure of the heavens: the many passages to this purpose in Justin Martyr, and Ambrose, and Theodoret, and Theophylact, and the great Austin himself, I wiH not recite, least, reader, we should before we are aware, play too much with the beards of the Fathers: nor OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. gg would we lay aside our value for good old Chrysostom's theology, because we find him in a confident and a triuraphing manner upbraiding the world with such an opinion as, nS 'Jitfiu oi (^(paipos^j) xpavov eiva/ a iro(j3aivo(i.svoi : "Where are those men that imagine that the heavens have a sphoerical form ?" — since the Scripture saith, "God stretched forth the heavens as a curtain, and he spread them as a tent to dwell in," which are not sphoerical. We will not call them fools for these harangues; but leave it unto one of them selves, even Jerom, to pass his censure upon them, est in Ecclesia stultilo- quiuin, si quis Cadum putet fornicis modo curvatum, Esaice, quem non intelligit, sermone deceptus: "'Tis foolish speaking in the Church, if any, through misapprehension of the words of Isaiah, shall affirm that the heavens are not round." The divines of the latter ages are (though, to our surprize, the voluminous Tostatus was not!) better astronomers than those of the former; and among the divines, that have been astronomers, our Mr. Sam uel D-anforth comes in with a claim of some consideration. Several of his astronomical composures have seen the light of the sun; but one especially on this occasion. Among the "four hundred and odd comets," the histo ries whereof have been preserved in the records of learned men, a special notice was taken of that which alarumed the whole world in the year L664. Now, although our Danforth had not the advantages of Hevelius, to discover how many odd clots, compact and lucid, there were in the head of that blazing-star, with one thicker than the rest, until it was grown to twenty four minutes diameter, nor to deterraine that it was at least six- times as big as the earth, and that its parallax rendered it at length as remote from the earth as Mars himself, nevertheless, he diligently observed the motions of it, frora its first appearance in Corvus, whence it made a descent, crossing the tropick of Capricorn, till it arrived unto the main top-sail of the ship, and then it returned through Canis Major, and again crossed the tropick of Capricorn, passing through Lepus, Eridaraus, and the Equinoctial, and entered into the mouth of the Whale, and so into Aries; where it retired, not leaving any philosopher able to fulfil the famous prophecy of Seneca, in predicting the new appearance of it. He therefore published a little treatise, entitled, "An Astronomical Descrip tion of the late Comet, with a brief Theological Description thereof," in which treatise he not only proves, that a comet can be no other than a "ccelestial luminary moving in the starry heavens," whereof especially the "largeness of' the circle" in which it moves is a mathematical and irrefrag able demonstration, but also he improves the opinion of a comet's being portentous endeavouring, as it became a devout preacher, to awaken man kind by this portent, out of a sinful security. Now, though for ray own part, I am sometimes ready to say, with a learned man, tcedet me divina- tionis in re tam incerta;* yet when I consider, how many learned men have made laborious collections of remarkable and calamitous events, to render • I am tired of drawing portents from so uncertain a thing. £4 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; comets ominous, I cannot reproach the essays of pious men, to perswade us, "that when the hand of Heaven is thus writing mene tekel, it is not amiss for us mortals to make serious reflections thereupon." But besides this, there are two other discourses of this worthy man printed among us. One is, "The Cry of Sodom, enquired into, or, a testimony against the sins of uncleanness," which, with much wonder and sorrow, he saw too many of the rising generation in the country carried away withal. Another is, "A Eecognition of New-England's Errand into the Wilderness," or a ser mon preached unto the ¦ general assembly of the colony, at their anni versary election; the design of which was to remind them of what he summarily thus expresses: "You have solemnly expressed, before God, angels and men, that the cause of leaving your country, kindred, and father's houses, and transporting yourselves, with your wives, little ones, and substance over the vast ocean, into this waste and howling wilderness, was your liberty to walk in the faith of the gospel with all good con science, according to the order of the gospel, and your enjoyment of the pure worship of God, according to his institution, without humane mix tures and impositions.'' EPITAPHIUM. Non dubium est, quin ed iverit, qud stellae eunt, ^ Danforthus, qui stellis semper sc associanit.* In December 1659, the (until then unknown) malady of "bladders in the windpipe," invaded and removed many children; by opening of One of them, the malady and remedy (too latfe for very many) were discovered. Among those many that thereby expired, were the three children of the Eeverend Mr. S. D., the eldest of whom (being upward of five years and a half; so gracious and intelligent were her expressions and behaviour, , both living and dying, and so evident her faith in Christ) was a luculent commentary on that marvellous prophecy, that the child should dye an hundred years old. How the sorrowful father entertained this solemn. providence may be partly gathered from what he expressed unto such as came to attend his branches unto their graves; of which may be said, as was said of Job, "in all this he sinned not." He saw meet to pen down the minutes of what he spake, and they are faithfully taken out of his own manuscript: "My Friends: If any that see my grief should say unto me, as the Danites unto Micih, 'What aileth theel' I thank God I cannot answer as he did, 'They h.ave taken away my gods.' My heart was indeed somewhat set upon my children, especially the eldest; but they were none of my gods, none of my portion; my portion is whole and untoucht unto this day. To understand myself, and to communicate unto my hearers; the spiritual meaning and compass of the law and rule, and the nature of gospel obedience, hath been my deSign and work, upon which I have employ'd much reading and study, and what faith, hope, love, patience, &c., the glorious wisdom, power and mercy of God do oblige us to render. I have endeavoured lo * His name is wedded to th-.' stars ; and even | Hi» home and theirs are one in yonder heaven. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 55 sot forth before you, what if God will now try whether they were meer notions and specu- h.tions that I spike, or whether I believed as I spake, and whether there be any divine spark in my heart? I remember him that said to Abraham, 'Hereby I know that thou fearost me, in that thou hast not with-held from me thy son, thine only son.' It is the pleasure of God th It (besides nil that may be gain'd by reading, and studying, and preaching) I should learn and teach obedience by the things that I suffer. The holy fire is not to be fetched for you, out (if such a flint as I am, without smiting. Not long before these streaks lighted upon us, it pleased God marvellously to quicken our hearts (both mine and my wife's) and to stir up in us most e.trnest desires after himself: and now he hath taken our children, will hc accept ns unto freer and fuller communion with himself, blessed be his holy name! I trust the Lord hath done what he hath done in wisdom, and faithfulness, and dear love; and that in taking these pleasant things from me, he exerciseth and expresseth as tender affection unto me, as 1 now express towards them in mourning for the loss of them. I desire, with Ephi-aim, 'to bemoan myself,' &c. Jer. xxxi. 18, 19. O that I might hear the Lord answering me as he did ver. 20! It is meet to be said to God? 'We have born chastisement, we will not offend; what we see not, teach thou us; and if we have done iniquity, we will do so no more.' We know, and God much more knows enough in us, and by us to justifie his repeated stroaks, tho' we cannot tax ourselves with any known way of disobedience. My desire is, th'it none may be overmuch dismayed at what hath befallen us; and let no man by any means be oflFended. Who may say to the Lord, 'What dost thou?' I can say from my heart, tho' what is come upon us is very dreadful and amazing, yet I consent unto the will of God th.it it is good. Doth not the goldsmith cast his metal into the furnace? And you husband men, do you not cause the flail to pass over your grain, not that you hate your wheat, but that you desire pure bread? Had our children replyed when we corrected them, we could not have born it; but, poor hearts, they did us reverence; how much rather should wo be subject lo the Father of spirits, and live ? You know that, nine years since, I was in a desolate condition — without father, without mother, without wife, without children : but what a father, and mother, and wife have been bestow'd upon me, and are still continued, tho' my children are removed. And, above all, although I cannot deny but that it pierceth my very heart to call to remembrance the voice of my dear children, calling 'father, father!' a voice now not heard: yet I bless God it doth far more abundantly refresh and rejoyce me to hear the Lord continually calling unto me, 'My son, my son! my son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint thou when thou art corrected of him.' And blessed be God, th.at doth not despise the affliction of the afiiicted, nor hide his face from him. 'Twas the consideration that God had sanctify'd and glorify'd himself, by striking an holy awe and dread of his majesty into the hearts of his people, that made Aaron hold his peace : and if the Lord will glorify himself by my family, by these awful stroaks upon me, quickning parents unto their duty, and awakening their children to seek after the Lord, I shall desire to be content, though my name be cut ofi": and I beseech you be earnest with, the Lord for us, that he would keep us from sinning against him; and that he would teach us to sanctifie his name, and tho' our dear branches have forsaken us, yet that he that hath promised to be with his children in six trou bles and in seven, would not forsake us. My heart truly would be consum'd, and would even dye within me, but that the good will of him that dwelt in the burning bush, and his good word of promise, are my trust and stoj." Vol. II.— 5 m MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; CEAPTEH IT. ECCIESIASTES;* THE IIPE OP THE REVEEEND AND EXCELLENT JONATHAN MITCHEL: A Pastor of the Church and a Glory of th^ Colledge, in Cambridge, New-England. WKITTEN BY COTTON MATHER. Simul et jucunda et Idonea dicere vital, Lectorem delectando simul atque monendo.i THE SECOND EDITION. THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. To the Church at Cambridge in New-England, and to the Students of the CoUedge there. Eight Woeshipful, Eeverend and Dearly Beloved: There have been few churches in the world so "hfted up to Heaven," in respect of a succession of super-eminent ministers of the gospel, as the church in Cam bridge has been. Hooker, Shepard, Mitchel, Oakes, (all of them yours)- were great lights. You know that if light has been brought into a room, when it is removed, the place becomes darker than if never any, such Dr. Tuckney'sEp^tie, prefixed hght had bccu thcrc. A Icamcd pen in an. "epistle toMr.cottononEcciesiastes. (Jcdicatory '' to thc inhabitants of Boston in Lincoln- ¦ shire, puts them in mind what an happy people they once were, while under the teaching of Mr. Cotton, who was from thera reraoved to plant churches for Christ in the American Desart : And prays them to consider, "That as empires and kingdoms, so particular churches have had their periods. Bethel has prov'd a Beth-haven: in after times, we find young profane mockers in Bethel, and scornful neuters in Penuel, go to Shiloh; think of the sometimes glorious churches in Asia, says he. And he adds, that he had on purpose visited some places, where God had before planted his church, and a faithful ministry, to see if he could discern any foot steps and remembrances of such a mercy, and 'lo, they were all overgrown with thorns, and nettles had over-covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof is broken down.' And as he further well observes, when the Lord has been provoked to remove the candlestick, he is very hardly induced to restore it again. The Ark never returned to the same place from whence it was in a way of judgment removed, and the 'glory of thc Lord,' which, after its gradual removes, was at last quite gone from the * The Preacher. t His life, in virtue great, with genius bright. Yields two-fold fruit, instruction and delighu OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. g7 first temple, was not restored in the second, till Christ's first coming, nor will it be in this their rejection, till his second." Mercy forbid that such things as these should be verified in New-England, or in Cambridge! That this may not be your case, it concerns you not wantonly to play or fi^ht by the light yet remaining, but to make the best improvement of your present advantages, giving all i due encouragement to that worthy person who is now over you in the Lord. Concerning your famous pastor, Mitchel, I confess I had the happiness of a special intimacy with hira, in his life time, nor do I know any one death (that of natural relations excepted) that ever has been so grievous and afilictive to my spirit, as was his. By reason of his eminent parts and piety, he had an happy influence on all these churches. Many of them fare the better at this day, because the preachers whom they are now instructed by, whilst students at the colledge, lived under his min istry. The colledge, Cambridge, New-England, may glory that ever such an one had his education there 1 As for the description of his life, by my Son emitted herewith, I have nothing to say concerning the writer, or this endeavour of his, because of my relation to him; only, that it is what he could collect, whether by information from those that kne,w that excellent man, or frora his private manuscripts, which he had the perusal of it. It is not without the Providence of Christ, that it should be com mitted to the PRESS, at such a time, when there are agitations about some disciplinary questions amongst yourselves. What the judgment of that man of God was, you have in the subsequent relation of his life presented to your view. The original manuscript, written by Mr. Mitchel's own hand, I have by me. Whether he committed his thoughts to writing, with any design of publication, or for the satisfaction of some persons in a more private way, I know not; but it is now evident, that when his spirit was inclined thereunto. Heaven designed his meditations should be brought into pub lick view. Whilst he was living, you that were of his flock had (and, considering his great worth and wisdom, it would have been a reproach to you if you had not had) an high esteem of his judgment. "Being dead he yet speaketh to you," out of his grave. Those of you that retain a living remembrance of him, in your hearts, will easily discern something of Mr. Mitchel's spirit in the way of his arguing. He does therein (according to his wonted manner) express himself with great caution and prudence, avoiding extreams, in the controverted subject. It cannot be denied but that there has been an error in some churches, who have made this or that mode to be a "divine institution'' which Christ has not made to be so: and that there has been an unjustifiable severity in imposing circumstantials not instituted, whereby some truly gracious souls have been discouraged frora offering themselves to joyn in fellowship with such churches. Thus it has been, when an oral declaration of faith and repent- 68 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; ance has been enjoyned on all communicants, and that before the whole congregation; when as many an humble pious soul has not been gifted with such confidence. So likewise has it been, when the exact account of the time and manner of conversion has been required: whenas there have been multitudes of true believers (such especially as have been advantaged with a religious education) that the seed of grace has sprung Mr. Baxter of Infant Bap. "P iQ their souls "they kuow not how," Mark iv. 27. Mr. tism,p.i29,i33. Baxter relates, that he was once at a meeting of many Christians, as eminent for holiness as most in the land, of whom divers were ministers of great fame; and it was desired that every one should give an account of the time and manner of his conversion, and there was but one of them all, that could do it. And (says he) "I averr, from my heart, that I neither know the day nor the year when I began to be sin cere," For churches, then, to expect an account of that from all that they receive into their fellowship, is unscriptural and unreasonable. Neverthe less, it concerns them to beware of the other extream of laxness in admis sion unto the Lord's holy table. You know that your pastor MiTCHEL had a latitude in his judgment as to the subject of baptism, (as also Dr. Ames, Mr. Cotton, and others of the congregational perswasion, had) but as to admissions to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, I know no man that was more conscientiously careful to keep unqualified persons from partaking therein than was he. As for this or that mode in examining of persons that offer themselves to be communicants in our churches, whether it shall be by a more continued relation of the work of grace in their hearts, or by questions and answers, (as was practised in the church at Hartford in Mr. Hooker's time, and which may possibly be as edifying a way as the former,) or whether the persons designing to partake in the Lord's Supper, shall declare their experiences orally or in writing, are prudentials, which our Lord has left unto churches to determine as they shall find most expedient for their own edification. Nevertheless, the substance of the thing (viz: "either a relation, as 'tis called, or an equivalent") ought to be insisted on. Churches are bound in duty to enquire, not only into the knowledge and orthodoxy, but into the spiritual estate of those whom they receive into full communion in all the ordinances of Christ. Some have thought that such qualifications are not to be expected from children born in the church, as from strangers; but they never had that opinion out of the Scripture, which says expressly concerning them that would eat the passover, that, "there is one law to him that is home-born, and to the stranger" — Exod. xii. 49; Numb. ix. 14. Wherefore in the platform of capt. 12. discipline it is said, "the like trial is to be required of such members « '¦ of the church as were born in the same, or received their member ship, and were baptized in their infancy or minority, by virtue of the cov enant of their parents, when being grown up to years of discretion, thev shall desire to be made partakers of the Lord's table, unto which because OE, THE niSTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. (59 holy things are not to be given to the unworthy, therefore it is requisite that those as well as others should come to their trial and examination, and manifest their faith and repentance by an open profession thereof, before they are received to the Lord's Supper, and otherwise not to be admitted thereunto;" these are the words in the "platform of discipline," agreed unto by the elders and messengers of the churches in the synod at Cambridge; in which synod were Mr. Cotton, Mr. Eogers, Mr. Norton, learned and aged divines, besides many others of great eminency. It is not the opinion of men, but the Scripture which must decide the contro- versie. Nevertheless, the judgment of those eminent divines who had deeply searched into these matters is not to be slighted. Nor is the pri vate sentiment of this or that person to be laid in the balance with the judgment of a synod, consisting of persons of far greater authority than any younger ones pretended to be of a contrary opinion. Nor is there weight in that allegation, that when a man declares his own experiences, he " testifies concerning himself," and therefore his testiraony is of no validity. By the same reason it may be said churches are not to examine those that essay to joyn themselves to them, about' the soundness of their faith. For they may (as Arius did) profess that they believe articles of faith, which God knows they do not believe, nor is there any thing but their own tes timony to prove that they do believe as they profess. But, above all, their notion is to be rejected, a,s a church-corrupting principle, who assert that the sacrament is a converting ordinance. Papists, Erastians, and some others, whom I forbear to mention, have so taught; but their hete rodoxy has been abundantly refuted, not only by congregational writers, such as Mr. John Beverly against Timpson, but by worthy authors of the Presbyterian perswasion, particularly by Mr. Gelapsy in his " Aaron's Pod;" Dr. Drake in his answer to Mr. Huraphrys, and Mr. Yines, in his treatise of the Lord's-Supper. If the sacrament were appointed to be a converting ordinance, then the most scandalous persons in the world — yea, heathen people — ought to have it administered unto them; for we may not with hold frora them the means appointed for their conversion. The Scripture says, "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread," 1 Cor. xi. 28, which clearly intimates that if, upon examination, he finds himself in a state of sm and unregeneracy, he ought not to "eat of that bread." Blessed Mr. Mitchel would frequently assert that, if it should pass for current doctrine in New-England, that all persons "orthodox in judgment," as to the matters of faith, and " not scandalous in life," ought to be admitted to partake of the Lord's-Supper, without any examination concerning the " work of grace in their hearts," it would be a real apostacy frora former principles, and a degeneracy from the reformation which we had attained unto. I am willing upon this occasion to bear my testiraony to the present truth, and to leave it upon record unto posterity; not knowing how soon 70 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; the Lord Jesus may by one providence or other (of which I have had several warnings) remove me from my present station among these churches. The arguments which have induced me to believe and testifie, as now I do, are such as these: 1. Time was when churches in New-England believed there was clear Scripture proof for the practice we plead for. Particularly that scripture, Psal. iv. 10, "I have not hidden thy righteousness from the great congre gation;" and that, Psal. Ixvi. 16, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and will declare what he has done for my soul." And that scripture, 1 Pet. iii. 15, "Be ready always to give an answer to every man, that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you," does by just consequence intimate as much as we assert. Some have been bold to say, that since the apostle in the place alledged, speaks of believers apologizing for their hope before persecutors, it is an abuse of Scripture from thence to infer that any thing of that nature ought to be done for the satisfaction of churches. But renowned Mr. Hooker, in a manuscript which I have seen, answering the objections of sorae who disliked the practice of these churches, in exarain- ing and inquiring into the spiritual estate of their communicants, especially their requiring an account from the children of the church,) argues judi ciously that if Christians are bound to give an account of the grounds of their hope to persecutors, much more to churches that shall desire it. So Mr. Shephard, the faithful and famous pastor of the church in Cambridge, in his answer to Mr. Ball. And to the same purpose, in the platform of discipline, it is inferred that men must declare and shew their repentance, and faith, and effectual calling, because these are the reason of a well- grounded hope. Now, for any man to charge these worthies of the Lord, and the platform of discipline, with abusing Scripture when they made such an inference, is a very unbecoming presumption. It was formerlv thought that Scripture examples are not wanting to warrant the practice of our churches in this matter, -since John required those whom he admit ted to his baptism, to make a confession of their sins. And the apostles expected a declaration of their repentance from such as they admitted into the primitive church — Acts ii. 88. And Philip examined the eunuch concerning the sincerity of his faith — -Acts viii. 37. 2. "That principle which tends to bring persons not duly qualified to partake in holy things, must needs be displeasing to the holy Lord Jesus Christ."— He would have his servants to "distinguish betwixt the precious and the vile"— Jer. xv. 19. And to turn away from such as have only "the form, and not the power of godliness" in them — 2 Tim. iii. 5: they that have only a doctrinal knowledge, and an external conversion free from scandal, without regeneration, have no more than a form of godliness. If Christians should not make such persons theiv familiars, certainly they ought not to admit them to their sacred communion. It is a very solemn wend, which the Lord has spoken, saying, "You have brought into my OE, THE HISTOEY OP NEW-ENGLAND. 7-1 sanctuary uncircumoised in heart, to be in my sanctuary to pollute it; even in my house, when you offer the bread and the blood. No stranger uncircumoised in heart, shall enter into my sanctury." — Ezek. xliv. 7, 9. That man does but defile the sanctuary of the Lord, that bas not the " water of separation [the blood of Christ through faith] sprinkled upon hira" — Numb. xix. 20. But this principle or position, that persons are tq be admitted to the table of the Lord without enquiring into their regenera tion, tends to bring the "uncircumoised in heart" into the sanctuary. If churches should neglect all examinations concerning the orthodoxy of those they receive into their communion, would not that have a natural tendeiicy to bring heterodox, and it raay be heretical persons into their communion? By a parity of reason, the omitting all enquiries, as to the spiritual experience of them that come to the table of the Lord, has a tend ency to fill the sanctuary with those who never had any experiraental knowledge of the things of God. 3. "The church ought to know, as far as raen can judge, that the per sons whom they admit to the Lord's Table are fit, and have a right to be there." — Now, none are meet to partake of the Lord's Supper, excepting such as have experienced a "saving work of grace." They must be such as can and will examine themselves — 1 Cor. xi. 28. And therefore must have the matter of self-examination, which is faith, repentance, and love, and other graces. Thus it was in the primitive apostolical church — Acts ii. 47: "The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Churches are to receive such as the "Lord has received" — Eom. xiv. 1, 2, 3. Such as are "united to Christ"— 1 Cor, xii. 27; 1 Thess. i. 1: "Living stones" must be in that building — 1 Pet. ii. 5 — Made ready by a work of divine grace on and in them, before they are laid there; of which the "prepared materials" in Solomon's' temple were a type — 1 Kings vi. 7. They ought to be saints and "faithful in Christ Jesus" — Eph. i. 1. How , shall the churches know that the persons who offer themselves to their communion are such, unless they pass under their trial — Eev. ii. 2. If a man claim right to a privilege, and yet showeth no sufScient reason, he ought to be debarred until he can some way or other prove his claim. It is true, the judgment of churches is fallible: grace being a secret thing, hid in his heart: only Christ seeth it: churches cannot always discern the tares from the loheat. Nevertheless, they may not willingly receive in hypocrites. Ballarmine himself is fain to confess as much as that coraes to. When such were found in churches in the apostolical tiraes, it is said, that they "crept in privily and unawares "—Gal. ii. 4; Jude v. 4; which intimates unto us that they did not willingly admit such into their fellow ship. When the enemy sowed tares in the field, a culpable sleeping in those that should have been more watchful was the cause of it— Math. xiii. 25. They who object that we are bound in charity to believe that the persons who offer themselves to our communion are regenerate, with- 72 M AGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; out ever making any enquiry into their spiritual estate, may with as goofi reason affirm that we are bound in charity to believe that they are "sound in the faith," without examining them about the matter. A rational charity, grounded upon evidence, and not a blind charity, is the rule according to which churches are to proceed. 4. "That practice, which Christ has, owned with his special blessing and pi-esence, ought not to be decryed as an human invention, but rather owned as a divine institution." — Was not the Lord's blessing Aaron's rod an effect ual demonstration that his ministry had a divine approbation? Is not Paul's culling to the ministry, and Peter's also, proved from this argument, that God owned and blessed them both?— 1 Cor. ix. 1, 2; Gal. ii. 7, 8, 9. That Christ has owned his churches, in their enquiries into the spiritual estate of such as they admit into their communion with his special gracious presence, is most certain. Have not some been converted by hearing others give an account of their conversion? How many have been com forted, and how many edified thereby! which proveth that this practice is lawful and laudable, and that to stigmatize it so, as some have done, is not pleasing to the Lord. 5. "To use all lawful means to keep church communion pure, it is a duty incumbent upon all churches, and most eminently on churches in New-England." — It is known to all the world, that church reformation, and purity as to all administrations therein, was the thing designed by our fathers, when they followed the Lord into this wilderness: and therefore degeneracy in that respect would be a greater evil in us than in any people. We shall not act like "wise children," if we seek to "pull down with our hand" that house (or any ^i7Zar-principle whereon it is founded) which our wise fathers have built. The "debasing the matter of particular churches" must needs corrupt them. A learned and renowned author owe,..Ti,eoi. Lii.. has cviuccd," that the letting go this principle, that particular 6. Cap. 8. churches ought to consist of regenerate persons, brought in the great apostacy of the Christian church." The way to prevent the like apostacy in these churches, is to require an accoimt of those that offer themselves to communion therein, concerning the work of God on their souls, as well as concerning their knowledge and belief. If once this practice and principle of truth be deserted, "a world of unqualified per sons" will soon fill, and pester and corrupt the house of God, and cause him to "go far off from his sanctuary." We may then justly fear, that tliese "golden candlesticks" will be no longer so, but become dross and tin and reprobate silver, until "the Lord has rejected them." Let us dread to have an hand in causing it to be so! It is a solemn passage which Mr. Cotton (whom Dr. Goodwin calls "the apostle of this age") has in his judicious treatise of Tlie Holiness of Church Members," p. 60: "Methinks [says he] the servants of God should tremble to erect such a state of the visible church, in hypocrisie and formal profession, as whose very found- OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 73 ation threateneth dissolution and desolation." True it is, that we may not "do evil," that "good may come of it." We raay not use any "unlaw ful practice" to prevent irapurity, as to the matter of our churches. But no man can say that the practice we plead for is sinful. If, then, the use of it may (by the blessing of Christ) be a means to keep our churches and communion pure, why should it be laid aside? Mr. Mitchel, in a manu script of his, which I have seen, has these weighty words: "The over- enlarging of full communion or admission of persons thereunto, upon slight qualifications, without insisting upon the practical and spiritual part Of religion, will not only lose the power of godliness^ but in a little time bring in profaneness, and ruine the churches these two ways: 1, Election of ministers will soon be carried by a formal, looser sort; 2, The exercise of discipline will by this means be rendered impossible. Discipline fall ing, profaneness riseth like a flood; for the major part, wanting zeal against sin, will foster licentiousness. It is not setting down good rules and direc tions that will salve it: for the specifi,cation of government is from raen, not frora laws. Let never so good a forra of government be agreed upon, it will soon degenerate, if the instruments (or men) that manage it be not good." — Blessed Mitchel ! these are thy words ; this was thy spirit ! 6. "In the primitive and purest times of the church, there was great strictness used in examining such as were admitted to sacrament, concern ing the sincerity of their repentance towards God, and their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." — There are who pretend that this is a new practice, begun by a few separatists in Amsterdam, not an hundred years since. But such persons discover their ignorance, and that they are unacquainted and unstudied in ecclesiastical story. Justin Martyr (who lived an hun dred and fifty years after Christ), in his second apology for the Christians, writeth, that they did "examine such as were admitted to their communion, whether they were able to conform themselves in all things to the word and will of God." If we would know what things were practised by the churches in the primitive times, the writings of Tertullian and Cyprian (as learned Usher has truly observed) give us the clearest discovery thereof. It is evident frora them that, in those days, there was rather too much rigidity than too much laxness in their admission to sacraments. They would keep men, who were catechumens and competentes* a long time, before they did receive them into full comm'union in the church. They required not only a profession of faith, and a confession of sins, but a submission to a severe scrutiny concerning their sincerity therein: Plant scrutinia,-ut scepius explorentur, an post renunciationem Satance sacra verba datce ^^^^^^ fidei radicitus corde defixerint.\ They were to be examined again and again, to find out whether the words of the faith they professed, were indeed fixed in their hearts. Cyprian, in his third epistle, says, Mihi labor * Suitable candidates. + They require renewed scrutiny, to ascertain whether, after renuancing Satan, their hearts are fundamentally lixf d on the sacred truths of the faith they profess. 74 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; est persimdere fratribus ut recipiendis consentiant: vix plebi persuadeo, ut tales- patiantur admitti, quia nee cum vera poenitentia venerant.* That they could not easily persuade the brethren in churches to consent to the admission of such persons to their communion, of whose sincere repentance there was any doubt. Origen declares as much as that amounts to. When, in after ages, churches degenerated, Chrysostom complains that, by admitting ungodly men into the church, they had "filled the temple with beasts," and he professed that he would sooner choose to have his right hand cut off" than administer the sacrament to a known wicked man. It is well known that the Waldenses, amongst whom religion was preserved during the reign of popery, were strict in this matter. And so were the Bohemian brethren: Commenius testifies concerning them, that they used a "diligent Ratio Discipun. Fratrum. cxploration " cohccming the faith and repentance of their sotoB.tp.44, in part, in part may err. Though fdit/L be one, all do not seeH. Yet raay we once the rest obtain, In everlasting bliss above. Where Christ with perfect saints doth reign. In perfect light and perfect love : Then shall we all like-minded be, Faith's unity is there full-grown ; There one truth all both love and see, And thence are perfect made in one. There Luther both and Zuinglius, Ridley and Hooper there agree ; There all the tmly righteous, Sans feud, live to eternity. But there was a special design of Heaven in ordering these trials to befal our Mitchel thus in the beginning of his ministry. He was hereby put upon studying and maintaining the doctrine of infant-baptism; and of defending the visible interest of the children of the faithful in the cov enant of grace, under the new administration of it, as well as under the old, wherein we all know the infants of believers enjoyed the seal of being made righteous by faith. In the defence of this comfortable truth, he not only preached more than half a score ungainsayable sermons, while his own church was in some danger by the hydrophobic of anabaptism, which was come upon the mind of an eminent person in it; but also when after wards the rest of the churches were troubled by a strong attempt upon them from the spirit of anabaptism; there was a publick disputation appointed at Boston two days together, for the clearing of the faith in this article, this worthy man was he who did most service in this disputa tion ; whereof the effect was, that although the erring brethren, as is usual in such cases, made this their last answer to the arguments which had cast them into much confusion: "Say what you will, we will hold our mind!" Vol. IL— 7 98 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; [Concurrat veterum licet in te turba, potes tu, Hac omnes una virwere voce, Nego:*] Yet others were happily established in the "right ways of the Lord." Nor was this all the good and great work for which this rare person was marvelously prepared by these temptations : there is a further stroke of our church history to be here briefly touched, though elsewhere more fully to be given. § 11. New-England was a wilderness planted by a people generally so remarkable in their holy zeal for the ordinances belonging to the house of God, that, for the sake of enjoying the administrations of those ordi nances with scriptural purity, they had undergone the severe persecutions which at last exiled them into that American wilderness: and hence there were few people of any significancy in the transplantation, but what, at their first coming over, joyned themselves unto the full communion of the churches in all special ordinances, though many of them had (I say not, justifiably) made the terms of their communion so strict, that it might justly have been reckoned a difficult thing for some sincere Christians of smaller attainments in Christianity to come up unto them. For this cause, although several of our seers did so far see the state which our matters would ere long devolve into, that they laboured much to have the prin ciples of truth concerning "the church state of the children born in the church" declared and asserted in the "platform of church discipline," among the "first principles of New-England," nevertheless, many worthy men were slow to make any synodical decision of those principles, until there should arise more occasion for the practices that were to be deduced from them. This occasion did in twenty or thirty years time come on with some importunity and impetuosity, when the country began to be filled with the adult posterity of the first planters; among which there were multitudes of persons, who by the good effects of a pious education under the means of grace observable upon thera in their profession of the faith, not contradicted by any thing scandalous in their life, deserved another consideration in the churches, than what was allowed unto Pagans; and yet were not so far improved in all the points of experimental godliness, that they could boldly demand an admission unto the mysteries at the table of the Lord; the conditions whereof confined it unto persons that were sensi bly "grown in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." The most of the ministers then, and before then, in the land were desirous to have the thus qualified posterity of the faithful, acknowledged in the churches, as the nursery from whence a successive supply of communicants was to be expected; and it was their desire that this nursery might be watered with baptism, and pruned with discipline, as well as otherwise dressed by the ministry of the word. Yea, they thought that, besides the internal benefits of the new covenant unto the elect of God, the sealing of • Though the whole Une of ancient sages assail your judgment, you can overcome them all with this simnle phrase: "I deny it," ^ OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 99 that covenant unto them that were visibly the right subjects of it, would be an assurance from God that when these persons grew up to years of discretion, he would infallibly make them the offer of his covenant, and so continue the gospel of it among them : whereas if they and theirs were no other accounted of than heathens, there would not pass many genera tions, before the sacred religion of Christ would, through the just wrath of Heaven, be lost among them in utter heathenism. However, all men did not then see all things ! When the church of Eoxbury, particularly in the year 1653, was put upon doing what was their duty in this respect, our Mitchel was yet (he said) "in the dark about it:" he wished and* wrote, "that it raight not yet be pressed;" and added, "the Lord teach me humility, modesty, and wisdom in these things!" Many a day did this excellent man spend now in praying with fasting before God ; and when he was thus engaged in the exercises of a sacred and secret fast, I find him inserting this, as not the least cause of his being so engaged: "The case of the children of the church in regard of the doctrine and practice about it. — Oh ! that God would shew me his mind and way clearly in those things : enable me to teach them convincingly, and set upon the practice thereof: and that the whole country might be guided aright therein: that Abraham's commanding power might have its due exercise ?.s to the children of our churches. And that all the remaining knots and difficulties about church- discipline, and the manageraent of Christ's visible kingdom, might once be resolved according to the word. Lord, humble me, and prosper my poor studies, and teach me to know and do thy noble will herein! as Ezek. xliii. II." And at another time : " The points about church-discipline I have been long aiming to look more thoroughly into. Lord, help and guide me therein! and grant that I may be kept from extreams (the great undoing of the world) : both from immoderate rigidness on the one hand, either in principles, spirit or practice; and on the other hand, from wronging either truth, or con science, by any sinful compliance." To these devotions, he joyned indefatigable studies upon the great question then agitated; and the determination of the question, at last, was more owino- unto him than unto any one man in the world: for he was a great part in that renowned synod, that met at Boston in the year 1662. The result of the synod, afterwards published, was chiefly of his com posure; and when a most elaborate answer to that result was published by some very worthy persons, that were then dissenters, the hardest service in the defence was assigned unto him. In fine, our Lord Jesus Christ made this great man, even while he was yet a young man, one of the greatest instruments we ever had of explaining and maintaining the truths, relating to the church-state of the posterity in our churches, and of the church care which our churches owe unto their posterity: and I have hiid before the reader one of the most extensive and expensive labours that exhausted his life, when I have mentioned "the propositions of the synod about the subject of baptism." All that remains necessary to illus trate this paragraph of our history, is to describe, in a line or two, the 100 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; disposition which our Mitchel did prosecute this grand concern withal : and I will therefore only transcribe a little from a judicious letter of his to Mr. Increase Mather upon that subject, which that reverend person after wards printed unto the world ; with an unanswerable vindication of these first principles of New-England, both from the imputations of apostacy, by some ignorantly cast upon them, and from whatever other objections might be advanced against them. " As for the substance of the cause wherein we have engaged, [saith he,] I am daily more jtnd more confirmed that it is the cause of truth and of Christ, and that wherein not a little of the interest of Christ's kingdom, and of the souls of men, is laid up. We have been reflected upon by sorae, as seeking ourselves, and driving on, I know not what design: though I cannot re.idily imagine what self-interest or self-end we here should be led by in this matter; sure I am, that for my own part, I prejudice myself much, as to name, interest, and ease, for my appearing in this cause: neithef was I so unsensible as not to feel it from the first. I know myself to be a poor, vile, sinful creature, and I can with some feeling say, 'chief of sinners,' and 'least of saints:' but in this particular matter, I have often said, '] wish my brethren could see through me;' for I know not any design or desire I have in it in all the world, but only that the will of God might be done among us, his kingdom be advanced, these churches settled on right bases, and flourish in the ways of truth, purity and peace, and that the good of the souls of men might be promoted both in this and after gen erations. Touching the matter itself, that hath been in debate, please to consider at leisure these three propositions: " First, The whole visible church, under the New Testament, is to be baptized. " Secondly, If a man be one in the church, (whether admitted at age or in infancy) nothing less than censurable evil can put hira out. " Thirdly, If the parent be in the visible church, his infant child is so also. "Whether the persons described in the fifth proposition of the synod should be baptized, as a catholick or in a particular church-state, is another question: and I confess myself not altogether so peremptory in this latter, as I am the thing itself: [viz : that they ought to be baptized,] yet still I think, when all stones are turned, it will eome to this, that all the bap tized are and ought to be under discipline in particular churches." And now 'tis more than time for us to dismiss this part of our Mitchel- lian portraiture from any further elaborations. § 12. Mr. Mitchel's desire had been, "to be kept from extreams;" and indeed there was nothing raore observable in his temper, than such a study of a temper in all difficult matters, as renders a person amiable, wherever 'tis observable. I remeraber I have met with a note of a very famous preacher, who, in the midst of many "temptations on both hands," relieved himself by interpreting from the context that passage in Eccles. vii. 18: "He that feareth God shall come forth frora thera all," to be meant of a deliverance out of all extreams. "The fear of God," in our Mitchel had this effect and reward: and his "wise coming forth from all extreams" was no where raore conspicuous than in those points of church-discipline for the clearing of which he had been (I raay say extreamly) exercised' Had the sweet, charitable, amicable spirit, that signalized this good man been expressed by all good men as much as it was by him, a great part of the ecclesiastical differences in the worid had been evaporated and it had OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. JQl not been so long before the names of Presbyterian and Congregational, had been melted down into that one of United Beethren. It was the wish of our Mitchel to have those two things in the state of the church, livelily represented unto the sense of the world: first, the grace, and then at the same tirae the holijiess of the Lord Jesus Christ, the king of the church ; and for the obtaining of such a representation, he thought nothing more effectual, than the middle way; for the children of the faithful to be taken within the verge of the church, under the wings of the Lord Jesus Christ in his ordinances, and under church care, discipline, and government, and to be iu a state of initiation and education in the church of God, and con sequently to have baptism, which is the seal of initiation : but that they shall not come up to the Lord's Table, nor be admitted unto an equal share with the communicants in the management of church affairs peculiar to them, until, as a fruit of the aforesaid helps and means, they attain unto such qualifications as may render their admission fair, safe, and comforta ble, both to themselves and others. His words were, "We make account, that if we keep baptism within the compass of the non-excommunicable, and the Lord's Supper, within the corapass of those that have (unto charity) soraewhat of the power of godliness (or, grace in exercise) we shall be near about the right raiddle-way of church reforraation." And hence, when he had pleaded with as irresistible reason, as indefatigable study, for the grace of the iingdom of heaven to be exhibited in our churches, by adrainis- tring the baptisra of the Lord unto the persons and infants of all who "understand the doctrine of faith," and "publickly profess their assent thereunto," and "are not scandalous in life," and "solemnly own the cov enant of grace bfefore the church, and subject themselves and theirs unto the Lord in his church:" he then set himself to plead for the holiness of that kingdom, to be exhibited in the churches, not. only by censuring the baptized when they fell into scandalous evils, but also by requiring further degrees of preparation in those that they received unto the Supper of the Lord. Nothing was more agreeable unto him than such a notion of things as Polanus had, when writing of the Lord's Supper, he had these words : Nee ad cam admittendi sunt ulli, nisi prius pastoribus ecclesice explor- atum sit, eos veram fidei doctrinam recte tenere et profiteri, ac intelligere quid in sacra coena agatur, quove fine, et seipsos probare possent, an sint in fide — Quocirca etiam catechumeni aut imperiti, e vulgo, tamdiu differendi donee de fide, et vita eorum pastoribus probe constet.* Now, because, it ma.y be a sin gular service unto the churches to lay before them the j udgment of so eminent a person, upon a concern of some curious and critical contestation in them, I shall reckon it no digression from the story of his hfe to recite * Nor are any to be permitted to partake of it, unless it has flrst been ascertained by the pastors of the churches, that they rightly hold and profess the true doctrine of faith, and understand the import and object of The Sacra ment at Supper, and are capable of demonstrating that they are in the faith— wherefore catechumens, or igno.-aiit persone of the common rahlc, ought to be kept baclc, until the pastor is fully satisfied concerning their faith md purity of life. 102 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; the result of those meditations, in the digesting of which no little part of his life did roll away. He thus wrote for his own satisfaction, on January 4, 1664, and I shall be glad if it may now be for my reader's: PBOPOSITIOJrS. "I. It is a necessary qualification, in worthy receivers of the Lord's Supper, that they examine themselves, and discern the Lord's body. — 1 Cor. xi. 28, 29. "II. Those whom the church admits to the Lord's Supper, must be such as she in chsrity judgeth that they can and will examine themselves, and discern the Lord's body; because she must admit none but such as are in charity (or visibly) worthy receivers, and they only are in charity worthy receivers, who in charity have the necessary qualifications of sucli. Either she must give it only to visibly worthy receivers, or she may give it to visibly unworthy receivera, wliich were to profane and pollute it. We must dispense ordinances, unto fit and proper subjects, as Christ's faithful stewards. — I Cor. i. 1, 2. "in. None can be such self-examining and discerning Christians without some experience of a work of grace, (or without grace in exercise) so as to have an experiraental savoury acquaintance with the essentials of effectual calling, viz : conviction of sin and misery by nature, illumination in the knowledge of the gospel, and conversion of heart, by repentince towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. 1, Self-examination implies both, that there is the grace of faith and repentance, (or of vocation) the matter to be examined: and also an ability to reflect upon that grace that is and hath been wrought in us ; to prove it, and find it to be approved, at least by a preponderating hope. 2, Discerning the Lard's body, the shewing forth or annunciation of his death, imports some acquaintance with, and actual eying of the main and more spiritual mysteries of the gospel, concerning Christ, his death, righteousness, redemption, and all the benefits thereof; and those as exhibited in this ordinance of the Supper. 3, That a lively or special exercise of grace, by reviving and renewing our faith, repentance and love) is required in preparation for, and participation of the Lord's Table, is abundantly evident, both by the sense of the expressions aforesaid, and by the scope of this ordinance, which is to seal not only union, but actual communion and fruition. — 1 Cor. x. 16. By the active use of all the outward senses, in receiving the sacra ment, implying that there must be an actual and active use of exercised senses, in reference to the inward part of it. " IV. None can appear unto rational charity to have the qualification aforesaid, without holding forth the .same in some way or other. Man can judge of internal qualifications no way but by external signs. Invisible grace is made visible to us by some outward tokens and manifestations. Here, esse, et apparere, non esse, et non apparere,* are all one. " V. Besides a doctrinal^ knowledge of the principles of religion, there are two things required to the holding forth of grace in exercise (or of an experimental savoury acquaint ance with the essentials of effectual calling) viz: 1, A gracious conversation. 2, Gracious expressions. By a gracious conversation, I mean, not only freedom from notorious scandal and obstinacy therein, but a conversation wherein some positive fruits of piety do appear, so as they that know the parties, can give a positive testimony for them. Gal. v. 6; Jam. ii. 18, 26. " Gracious expressions" or words are, when a person can so speak of the essentials of eifectual calling, as doth signifie not only a doctrinal, but a practical or spiiitual acquaint ance therewithal. That these are necessary to shew gr.ace in exercise, appears: because— 1, "Good words" are in Scripture made the great sign of a "good heart."— Mat. xii. 34 35. 37 ; Prov. x. 20. And if it be so in ordinary conversation, much more may this sign be expected, when a man comes to hold forth, and give evidence of the grace that God has bestowed upon him, in order to partaking of the Lord's Table. 2, "Confession with the mouth" is that- by which faith evidences itself to be saving and effectual.— Rom. x. 9 10. * To be and to appear, and not to be and not to appear. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. JOS 3, It cannot bo imagined how a person can have had experience of a work of grace, and that unto a comfortable discerning thereof in himself, but that he can speak of it, in some way or other, after a savoury manner. "VI. Hence, either a relation of the work of conversion, such as hath been- ordinarily used in most of our churches, or somewhat equivalent thereunto, is necessary in order unto full communion, or to admission unto the Lord's Table. There Is an equivalent thereunto. 1, When an account of the essentials of conversion is given in way of answers, unto questions propounded thereabout. 2, In a serious, solemn, and savoury profession, or confession, de prxsenti, i. e. when a person doth, with understanding and affection, express and declare hiraself sensible of his sin and misery, and absolute need of Christ, his believing or casting himself on Christ in the promise, for righteousness and life, and his unfeigned purpose and desire, through the grace and strength of Christ, to renounce every evil way, and walk with God in the ways of new obedience; pointing also to sorae special truths, considerations or Scriptures, that have or do affect his soul with reference to these things, though he do not relate the series of former passages and experiences. 3, When a person is eminently known to excel in gifts and grace, (as a long approved minister of the gospel, or other eminently holy Christian,) this is more than equivalent to such a relation. " The sum is, the modus agendi* may be various and mutable, and much therein left unto the prudence of church-offioers; but the thing is necessary, viz : to hold forth, in one way or other, experience of a work of grace, or a practical acquaintance with the essentials of effectual calling. The reason is, because without this they cannot shew themselves able to examine themselves, and discern the Lord's Body, which is essentially necessary to worthy receiving, and hence the appearance of it necessary in a subject of orderly admission to the Lord's Table. A man must make a relation to himself, viz: by reviewing of his faith and repentance, or at least an equivalent present renewing thereof in preparations for the Lord's Table: i. e. to give himself a comfortable regular admission thereunto. And should he not declare and manifest such a thing to the church or officers thereof, to give them a comfort able ground to admit him? " Ob/ed. But why may it not suffice for a man publickly to say, 'I believe on Christ, or do unfeignedly repent of my sinsV Or to consent to such expressions being read, or pro pounded unto him, without any more adoe? " Answ. I, He that can groundedly so say, or profess before God, angels and raen, that he hath, (yea, knows that he hath) unfeigned faith and repentance, can say somewhat more particularly to show the reality of his acquaintance with those things. And if he cannot say it, groundedly, it is not meet to put him so to say. "2, He that either cannot, or will not say any more than so, (especially in tiraes of suet light and means as we live in) he renders the truth of his faith and repentance suspicious, so as thjit rational charity cannot acquiesce in it. For all raen know that faith is not dropt into men's hearts out of the clouds, without previous, concomitant and subsequent operations; or if it was first wrought in infancy, yet it will (especially when grown to such a lively exer cise as fits for the Lord's Supper) shew itself in effects, renewings and increasings by the word and ordinances, so as a man will he able to hold forth some experience of the opera tions of grace. " 3, That mode of profession which the objection mentioneth, hath been found by plenti ful experience to be a nurse of formality and irreligion. Now, it is a rule concerning the modus agendi or such like circumstances, that when by experience a thing proves inconvenient, and subject to abuse, there ought to be an alteration thereof. " VII. Besides this, from the qualifications requisite to the Lord's Supper, there be other reiisons serving to confirm the necessity of practical confession (viz: by relations, or other. w.iys, as was before said) in those that are admitted unto full communion. "As 1, Let those Scripture examples be considered, wherein the grace wrought in the * Mode of proceeding. 104 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; faithful is evinced, or collected from the Lord's dealings vrfth them in the work of conver- sion, and experiences relative thereto, or to the fruits thereof. See 1 Thes. i. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 9, 10. Let those words be paraphrased according to their obvious sense, they will make up a full relation. And if Paul knew or gathered the grace that was in the Thessalonians from such things as those, does it not show, that such things are a proper and rational ground for us to gather grace from? If they be famously known otherwise (as they were in that case to Paul) it sufficeth, as was above said; but otherways, how should they be known but from the party's own mouth? So Col. i. 4 — 8. Is there not a kind of relation of the work and manner of the conversion of those three thousand in Acts ii. set down in that chapter? And consequently, the substance of such a relation or work was then de facto obvious to the apostles. And so of the conversion of Paul, chap, ix., and of Cornelius, chap. x. Yea, if we look into most of the examples in the Acts, consider, if they be not immediately redu cible to ["a manifestation of a work of grace"] than to that of knowledge, and a blameless life? Paul had little to say for a foregoing blaineless life to the disciples of Damascus ; but a work of conversion he could hold forth to them, and a profession de praisenti thereupon. So Acts ix. 26, 27. "2, Ministers in giving the Lord's Supper to persons, do give a great and solemn testi mony to them ["take, eat, this is Christ's body, that was broken for you];" therefore surely they may take and require a solemn testimony /rom them, and had not need to be slight therein. "3, The power of godliness will soon be lost, if only doctrinal knowledge and outward blamelessness be accounted sufficient for all church-privileges, .and practical confessions (or examinations of men's spiritual estate) be laid aside. For that which people see to be pub lickly required, and held in reputation, that will they look after, and usually no more, but con tent theraselves with that. Consider if this hath not been a reason of the formality and deadness that hath overgrown many churches. — January 4, 1664." Thus did a manuscript of this worthy man's, now in my hands, harmon ize with a notable passage about the Bohemian churches : Demum. quin objiciebatur, fratres non habere ecclesiam apertam cum plena Sanctorum Com- munione, sed Administrare Sacramenta Qui busdam tantum sibi addictis : Eesponsum fuit, Sancta, dare non Sanctis, prohibuisse Christum; Christianismumque aposnitentia, auspicandum, non a Sacramentis; neque Secundum Instituta Christi Absolutionem nunciandam nisi Eesipis- centibus, et Credentibus, quod utrumque {Poen- itentiam et Fidem) ne Superficiarium sit et fallax, Exploratione indigere; Exploratione vero Tempore lusto: et quia Nudis Sacramen tis Salutis Vim adscribere, ex Opere Operato, Errorum in Papain Basis est, Errorem hunc corrigi non posse aliter, quam ut certa proba tione, nee ilia Subitanca, Cordium Arcana Revelentur, Novitiique diu et caute tum Infor- mentur, tum Explorentur. Ratio Discipl. Fatr. Bohem. p. 4, 5. Because it was objected, that the brethren have not an open church with the full commu nion of saints, but administer the sacraments only to some of their own party; it was answered, that Christ hath forbid our giving of holy things unto unholy persons; and that Christianity is to be begun with repentance, and not with the sacraments; and that according to the institu tions of our Lord, absolution is not to be pro nounced upon any but those that repent and believe; both of which {repentance and faith) that it may not be superficiary and fallacious, it must have some exploration; and this explo ration must have a sufficient time for it. And because to ascribe a saving vertue unto the bare sacraments ex Opere Operato, is the bottom of the errors of Popery, this error cannot other wise be corrected, than by this means ; that by a certain, and no sudden trial, the secrets of mens' hearts may be laid open, and novices may be, with a long caution, both instructed and examined. Eeader, if the beating out of truth in controversies that have risen among us relating to our church discipline had not been the special service OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 105 wherein all our churches beheld the Lord Jesus Christ making use of this our learned, able, holy, and no less considerate, than considerable Mitchel, I had not given thee so long an entertainment as'that of these propositions — propositions which, if they should, in the opinion of any, fall short of demonstrations, and contribute nothing to unite and settle the various apprehensions of some very worthy men among us about an important point in our church government, yet they will, in the opinion of all, serve to express the dispositions of mind which the rare spirited author of them did both live and dye withal : they show how- much he was against that rigid, unscriptural, uninstituted, and unwarrantable insisting upon modes, wherein some of our churches had sinned sometiraes against the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; and yet how much he was for all scriptural and rational methods to preserve the churches from sinning against the holiness, which does "become those houses of Grod for ever." § 13. I have said that the life of our Mitchel was in a special manner engrossed by the services of explaining, maintaining and perfecting those principles, whereby the Christian religion must be preserved, witli a true and pure church state among us, and conveyed and secured unto posterity ; and this leads me to that part of his character which distinguished him as much as any one whatsoever; namely, "a care of all the churches." Our Lord Jesus Christ complains, "that the children of this world are" (for so I read it) "wiser for their own generation, than the children of light." But our Mitchel was "wise for his generation," and exercised his wit with much contrivance and much diligence, that his ge7ieration, even the faithful people of God in the world, raight be accoraraodated in all their interests. He was endued with a certain soaring and serious great ness of soul, which Tendered fiy-catching too low a business for him ; though he were one of a very lowly spirit in his disposition to be always condemn ing of himself, yet he nourished in himself a generous disdain of low, little, trifling matters, and was of a leading spirit where hard service was call'd for, and of a public spirit for doing of service to as many as he could : his thoughts moved in a large sphere of usefulness, and he was continually projecting how to do good, in the most extensive manner unto more than an whole country. The Bucholtzerian expression of the apostolical IIAN. TAXOrsiA* might be transferred into our account of Mr. Mitchel : "he was a circle, whereof the centre was at Cambridge, and the circumference took in more than all New-England." Hence, when he set apart his days for secret prayer with fasting before Grod, he would recapitulate in his private papers the humbling occasions for supplication, which he saw not only in afflictive things on his own particular flock, but also in all the sad sights, which in disasters either upon the civil or sacred concerns throughout all our three colonies, and all gradual decays of our glory, occurr'd unto him; yea, and he would then travel so. far, as to observe • Comprehensiveness. IQQ MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEJCANA; the condition of the church throughout Great Britain, and the nations of the European world; and all these occasions of distress and request, he would enumerate before the Lord, with the matters of his own everlasting welfare. From the same heroic vertue (as I may properly call it) in him it was, that in the weekly meetings of the neighbouring pastors, after the weekly lectures in the towns which he could visit and at all other such meetings, he would, with a most becoming discretion and modesty, be still putting forward something or other that might be for general advantage: and when the ministers met at any time so much without advantageous effects of their discourses, that it could be said the tirae had been smoaked away to no purpose, he would be troubled at it; it caused hira once to write this lamentation: "Little done! I have begun to feel the sadness of the present time, and the Lord's withdrawing from us, and our chariot- wheels taken off: I find that in all societies, where I have any thing to do, commonwealth, and church and colledge, things stick, and we draw heavily, and nothing can be gotten forward: all things, and all the spirits of men, seem to be off the hinges ; Oh ! Lord, affect my heart therewithal !" In this lamentation, the reader finds the colledge mentioned, and indeed the colledge was nearer unto his heart than it was to his house, though next adjoyning to it. He was himself an accomplished scholar, and he loved a scholar dearly; but his heart was fervently set upon having the land all over illurainated with the fruits of a learned education. To this end, he became a father to the colledge, which had been his mother, and sought the prosperity of that society with a very singular solicitude ; but among other contrivances which he had for the prosperity of the colledge, one was, "a model for the education of hopeful students at the colledge in Cambridge." His proposals were, for septennial subscriptions by the more worthy and wealthy persons in this poor wilderness ; to be disposed of by trustees (namely, the magistrates and ministers of the six next towns, for the time being, with seven other gentlemen by them chosen out of the said towns, of which any seven to be a quorum, if three ministers were among them), who should single out scholars eminently pregnant and pious, and out of this bounty support thera in such studies as they should by these trustees be directed unto, until they had either performed such profitable services as were imposed on them in the colledge itself, or pre pared theraselves for other services abroad in the world. He was mightily affected with a passage of Luther's: "If ever there be any considerable blow given to the devil's kingdom, it must bo by youth excellently educated. And therefore, Res seria est, Ingens est; 'it is a serious thing, a weighty thing, and a thing that hath much of the interest of Christ and of Christianity in it,' that youth be well trained up, and want no helps for that end; that schools, .and school- in isters, and poor scholars be maintained. It is the flourishing of a common-wealth, to be well furnished with learned, worthy and able men for ay purposes. And God will not give us such men by mir.acle, seeing he hath vouchsafed us other ways and means to obtain them. Learning is an unwelcome guest to the devil, and therefore he would fain st;irve it out. But OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 107 WC shall never long retain the gospel without the help of learning. And, if we should have no regard unto religion, even the outward prosperity of a people in this world would neces sarily require schools and learned men. Alas, that none are carried with alacrity and seii- ousness to take care for the education of youth, and to help the world with eminent and ¦ able men!" 'Twas from considerations, like these of Luther's, that he did with an accurate and judicious pen shape these proposals. But if New-England then had not many persons in it of the same inclination with Pope Paul IL, who pronoanced them, heeeticks that should mention the name of an Academy, and exhorted people that they would not put their children to learning, inasmuch as it was enough if they could but read and write: yet, through the discouragements of poverty and selfishness, the proposals came to nothing. Moreover, the remarkable acuteness, joined with an extraordinary holiness in this renowned man, caused the churches in all quarters, far and near, when their difficult church-cases called for the help of councils, to make their applications unto Cambridge, for Mr. Mitchel to come and help them in their difficulties. And in these councils, as well as when weighty cases have been laid before the elders of the churches, by the general courts, though usually most of the ministers pres ent were elder than he, yet the sense and hand of no man was relied more upon than his for the exact result of all. With so much humble wisdom and caution did he temper the significant forwardness at well-doing which he still carried about him, that the disproportion of age hindered not the most aged and able and venerable angels in our churches frora their paying a very strange respect unto hira. Yea, as the Jewish Midrash upon that passage in the first Psalm, "his leaf shall not wither;" I remeraber is this, Omnes necessitatem habent Colloquii ejus ;* even such a necessary tree of life was Mitchel accounted in the garden of New-England. However, he encountred with such temptations as must buffet all that have in thera any thing of significancy; for which cause, once particularly, when he had been admirably acquitting himself in an undertaking of great conse quence to the churches, he came home, and wrote these words: "My spirit was carried out in too much forwardness : I see cause to be deeply abased, and loath myself, and hiing down my head before God and men. How do I marr God's work, and raiirr what he gives me therein, by my own folly! Sometimes 1 am ready to resolve to put forth myself no more in publick work, but keep myself silent, and uningaged, as I see others do. Btit then I perceive that this tasteth of frowardness and pride. Lord, give me more wisdom to manage and demean myself! but if thy service and honor may be promoted by my weakness and folly, let me be willing to be vile, that God may be exalted— 2 Sam. vi. 21, 22." Upon the whole, he was unwilling to affect such an unserviceable privacy, that they who passed by his house, might say, Hic situs est MiTCHELLUS.f § 14. I know not how far that learned Frenchman, who writes, "the conformity of the Congregational church-government unto that of the * All have need of his society. t Here lies Mitchel. 108 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; ancient primitive Christians," hath seen verified his observation, "all dis interested persons may easily be perswaded that the Congregational com munion retains most of the Apostolick, because it is not only the cream and and best of the others, but also because it hath more charity. 'Tis very rarely seen (saith he) that any one of the Congregational way does not love all good men, of what communion soever they be, and that they dp not speak of them as of the true churches of Jesus Christ: whereas even the most sober and honest party of the Episcopal men, and some of the Presbyterians, are so strongly possessed with prejudices against those of Congregations, that they are in their account no better than hypocrites, schismaticks, and men of strange enthusiasm." If any of the Congrega tional way do not answer this character, let these words condemn them ; as I know those of the Presbyterian way in this country have by their charitable temper much confuted that part of the discourse by which they are here characterized. But the observation, I ara sure, was verified in our Mitchel; who was one fully satisfied and established in the Congre gational way of church government, and yet had a spirit of communion for all godly men in other forms, and was far from confining of godliness unto his own. It was a frequent speech with him, "the spirit of Christ is a spirit of comraunion !" And I can tell what he would have said, if he had lived to see the books of so ridiculous a schismatick as he that has made himself infamous by attempting to prove, "that where there is no Episcopal ordination, there is no true church, minister, sacrament, or sal vation." His great worth caused hira to be called forth several times with an early and special respect from the general court of the colony, to preach on the greatest solemnity that the colony afforded ; namely, " the anniver sary election of Governour and Magistrates:" And one of the sermons which he preached on those occasions was, after his death, published unto the world, under the title of "Nehemiah on the Wall." In that sermon, reader, take notice of the discovery which he gave of his own Catholic charity, when he says: "Do not wrong and marr an excellent work, and profession, by mixing and weaving in spurious principles or practices; as those of sepakation, Anabaptism, Morellian (anarchial) confusion. If any would secretly 'twist in and espouse such things as those, and make them part of our interest, we must needs renounce it as none of our cause, no part of the end and design of the Lord's faithful servants, when they followed him 'into this land, that was not sown.' Separation and Anabaptism are wonted uitruders, .and seeming friends, but secret fatal enemies to reformation. Do not, on pretence of avoiding corruption, run into sinful separation from any true churches of God, and wh.at is good therein; and yet it is our ' errand into the wilderness ' to study and practice true Scripture-reformation, and it will be our crown, in the sight of God and man, if we find it and hold it, without adulterating deviations." Thus, though he were a reformer, yet he had nothing in him of a Dona- tist: for which cause Mr. Baxter, hearing of him, said, "if an oecumenical council could be obtained, Mr. Mitchel were worthy to be its moderator." And this disposition of charity in hira was rewarded with the respects OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 109 which he found from learned and pious men, that were in many things not of his own perswasion: such, holiness and patience, and sweet conde scension, were his incomparable abilities accompanied withal, that good men, who otherwise differed from him, would still speak of hira with rev erence. To give one particular instance: 'Tis well known that the rever end Charles Chancey, President of the Colledge, and a neighbour in the town and church with our much younger Mitchel, at the time of the Synod, zealously and publickly opposed the Synodalian principles whereof Mr. Mitchel was no small defender : But so far was the dissent between them, in the very heat and heighth of all the controversie, from causing the reverend old man to handle his antagonist, in any measure as the angry Dioscorus did the dissenting Flavian, in the council of Ephesus, that he would commonly say of hira, "I know of no man in this world that I could envy so much as worthy Mr. Mitchel, for the great holiness, learning, wisdom and meekness, and other qualities of an excellent spirit, with which the Lord Jesus Christ hath adorned hira." § 15. And shall we a little more particularly describe that holiness of this excellent man, which we have so often mentioned? It is an aphorism of a Machiavel, [and, reader, was it not worthy of a Machiavel!] "that he who writes an history, must be a man of no religion." By that profane rule, the first and the best historian in the world, the most religious Moses, was ill accomplished for a writer of history. But the history which we are now writing, does professedly intend nothing so much as the service of religion, even of that religion whereof our Mitchel made an exemplary profession. Wherefore we go on to say: know, reader, that he was a great example of a "walk with God;" and of religion he was much in prayer, much in fasting, sometimes taking his virtuous wife, therein to make a consort with him; and sometimes also he kept whole days of thanksgiving privately with his family, besides what he did more pub licly ; devoting himself as a thank-offering to God for his mercies, with a reasonable service. In his diary, he betimes laid that rule upon himself, "Oh! -that I could remeraber this rule, never to go to bed until I have had some renewed, special communion with God!" He kept a strict watch over not only his words, but also his very thoughts ; and if by the reflection, which he was continually making on himself, he judged that his mind had not been always full of heaven, and his heart had been, what he called, hard and slight, that he had been formal in his devotions, that he had not profited abundantly by the sermons of other men, that he had not made conscience of doing all the good he could, when he had been in any company, he would put stings into his reflections, and rebuke and reproach himself with an holy indignation. Severe might seem the rule of R. Hanina: "If two sit together, and there be no discourse of the law, 'tis the seat of the scornful;" severe might seem the rule of R. Simeon: "If three do eat at one table, and say nothing about the law, they are as 110 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; if they eat the sacrifices of the d^ad;" and severe might be the rule of R. Hananiah: "He that wakes in the night or walks by the way, and lets his heart lie idle, sins against his own soul." But our Mitchel reckoned it no severity unto himself to impose upon himself such rules as these for his conversation. I have read, that five devout persons being together, there was this question started among them: how, in what ways, by what means, " they strengthened themselves in abstaining from sin against the God of heaven?" The first answered, "I frequently meditate on the cer tainty of death, and the uncertainty of the time for my death, and this makes me live in the fear of sin every day as my last." The second answered, "I frequently meditate on the strict account of sin that I am to give at the day of Judgment, and the everlasting torments in hell, to be inflicted on them that can give no good account." The third answered, "I frequently meditate on the vileness and filthiness and loathsomeness of sin, and the excellency of grace, which is contrary unto so vile a thing." The fourth answered "I frequently meditate on the eternal rewards and pleasures reserved in heaven for thera that avoid the pleasures of sin, which are but for a moment." The fifth answered, "I frequently meditate on the Lord Jesus Christ, and his wondrous love to miserable sinners, in dying a cursed and bitter death for our sin ; and this helps me to abstain from sin, more than any other consideration whatsoever;" and the answer of this last was indeed the greatest of all. Now, all these were the sub jects which our holy Mitchel obliged himself to an assiduous meditation upon; and by meditating on these it was, that he became very holy. Moreover, he was, as holy men use to be, very solicitous to make a due improvement of all afflictions that the providence of Heaven dispensed unto hira. He would say, "When God personally afflicts a man, it is as if He called unto the man by name, and jogged hira, and said, 'Oh! repent, be hurabled, be serious, be awakened :' " Yea, he could not so much as be kept a little from the labour of his ministry by an hoarse cold arresting him, without writing down this improvement of it: "My sin is legible in the chastisement: cold duties, cold prayers (my voice in praver, i. e. my spirit of prayer fearfully gone), my coldness in my whole conver sation, chastisement with a cold: I fear that I have not improved my voice for God formerly as I might have done, and therefore He now takes it from me." But the affliction which most of all exercised him, seems to have been in the successive death of many lovely children, though all of them in their infancy. 'Tis an observation made by some, upon several passages in the Scripture concerning that generous and gracious man • David, that he was Liberorum Amantissimus — fall of affections to his children; and that was to be observed in our Mr. Jonathan Mitchel- for which cause, when his children were sick, his paternal bowels felt more than ordinary wounds; and when they were dead, his humiliations there upon were extraordinary. He wrote whole pages of lamentations on these OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. m occasions ; and one of his infants particularly expiring before it could be brought forth to an orderly baptism, I cannot but recite a little of the meditations then written by him : "It was a further sad hand of the Lord [says he] that it should dye unbaptized. Though I do not think they are orthodox, that hang salvation upon baptism, and not rather upon- the covenant, yet as it is appointed to be a confirming sign, and as it is an ordinance of grace, so to be deprived of it is a great frown, and a sad intimation of the Lord's anger: And though it may be well with the child notwithstanding (that it becomes me to leave unto the Lord!) yet it is to us a token of displeasure. And what construction of thoughts tending to the Lord's dishonour it may occasion, I know not: that after my labours in publick about infarU-baptism, the Lord should take away my child without and before baptism! Hereby the Lord does again and again make me an example of his displeasure before all men, as if He did say openly, that he hath a special controversie with me; thus remarkably taking away one after another. The Lord brings me forth, and makes me go up and down, as one smitten of God: the Lord spits in my face by this thing. See 2 Sam. xii. 12. Numb. xii. 12. Deut. xxviii. 45, 46. 58, 59." Such and many more were the workings of his tender soul under his repeated afflictions. And such were the unsearchable dealings of God, that besides the children which he sent unto heaven before him, when he went unto heaven himself, he left behind three sons and two daughters, all of which lived unto somewhat of youth, yet they have all of thera since dyed in their youth: except only a virtuous young gentlewoman, married unto Captain Stephen Sewal, of Salem ; unto whom (with her off spring, the only posterity of this great man) may the Lord multiply all blessings of that covenant for which their progenitor proved so serviceable a pleader in his generation 1 The last thing that ever he wrote in his reserved papers, after he had bitterly reproached "the sinful deadness, straitness, enraity, andunsavour- iness [as he called it] upon his own heart;" upon which he added this pathetical expression, "I feel I shall fall and turable down into the pit of hell, if left unto rayself." It was June 7, 1668. To quicken his cares of daily raeditation — " First, Far younger than I, some of them now got to heaven, have done much this way. Nulla Dies sine Linea.* " Secondly, Meditation, yea, daily meditation, in general, is an indispensible duty. — Psal. i. 2, and Psal. cxix. 97. And because it is so, there maybe something of meditation in prayer, in reading the word; Josh. i. 8, with Deut. xvii. 19, and in occasional transient thoughts; yet surely some sett meditation daily besides these, is at least to me a duty, who am set apart for tlie holy work of the ministry, wherein it would be helpful, as well as to my own soul. " Thirdly, Heaven is here begun upon earth : shall I be thinking on, and talking with, Christ, to all eternity, and not discourse with him one quarter of an hour in a day now?. "¦Fourthly, The great enemies of all good — flesh, Satan and worid — do of all other things most oppose meditation, which shows that there is much good in it. Flesh, by awkness, giddi ness; worid, by distractions; Satan,by stirring up both. Lord, awaken me, and keep me awake!" § 16. But what and when was the end of this holy walk? The incon gruities and inconsistencies of historians are not more notorious in any * Not a (lay without a Une [of writing]. 112 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; one article, than in that of the deaths of the heroes whose lives they have eternalized. With what varieties are the deaths of Cyrus, of Antiochus, of Alexander, of Hannibal, of Romulus, of Scipio, of Plato, of Aristotle, reported? There is hardly any philosopher, but he dies twice or thrice over in Laertius ; and there is hardly one of Plutarch's worthies, but he dies as many ways. The death of our Mitchel remains now to be related with more of certainty. Though "bodily exercise does profit a little," as the Apostle concedes, namely, to the health of the body ; and Mr. Mitchel had, from a principle of godliness, used himself to bodily exercise ; never theless he found it would not wholly free him from an ill habit of body. Of extream lean, he grew extream fat; and at last, in an extream hot season, a fever arrested him just after he had been preaching on those words: "I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and unto the house appointed for all the living." The fever did not seem to threaten his death; however, in his illness, to thera that visited hira, he said, "If the Lord Jesus Christ have any service for me to do for Him and His dear people, I am willing to do it; but if my work be done, His will be done!" ^ut the distemper suddenly assaulting him with a more mortal malignity, and summoning him to the "house appointed for all the living," he fell to admiring the manifold grace of God unto him, and broke forth into these words: "Lord, thou callest me away to thee; I know not why, if I look to myself; but at thy bidding I come!" which were some of the last words which he spoke in the world: for his friends, who had not for many hours entertained the expectation of any such dismal event, were compelled in floods of tears to see hira dye on July 9, 1668, in the forty- third year of his age : when (as one expresses that raatter) he left his body to be dipped in the river Jordan, that afterwards, in its resurrection, pass ing into Canaan, it may, beyond the story of Achilles, become impenetra ble and invulnerable. Wonderful were the lamentations which this deplorable death fill'd the churches of New-England withal; for as the. Jewish Rabbles lamented the death of R. Jose, with saying, that after his death, Cessarunt Botri, i. e. Viri tales, in quibus omnes, tum Eruditionis, cum Virtutis, cumuli erant:* So, after the departure of our Mitchel, it was fear'd there would be few more such rich grapes to be seen growing in this unthankful wilderness. Yea, they speak of this great man in their lamentations to this day; and what they speak is briefly the same that one of our most eminent persons has writ in those terms: "All New- England shook when THAT PILLAE FELL TO THE GEOUND." EPITAPH. • And now, reader, let us go to the best of poets in the English nation for those lines which may, without the least wrong to truth, be applied as an Epitaph to this best of preachers in our little New-English nation. The incomparable Dr. Blackmore's Orator Tylon shall now be our Mitchel: * Tho Botri (men in whom wore accumulated all knowledge and all virtues) were extinct. OE, THE HISTOSY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 115 *Tis the great Mitchel, whose immortal worth Ratses to heav'n the Isle that gave him birth. A aacred rafin, a venerable priest, Who never epake, and admiration mist. Of good and kind, he the just standard seemM, Dear to the best, and by tho worst esteemed. A gen'rous love, diffused to human kind, Divine compassion, mercy unconflnM, Still reign'd triumphant, in his godlike mind. Greatness and modesty their wars compose, Between them here a perfect ft-iendship grows. His wit, his judgment, learning, equal rise ; Divinely humble, yet divinely wise : Ho seem'd express on heavn's high errand sent, As Moses nieek, as Aaron eloquent. Nectar divine flows from his heavn^y tongue, And on his lips charming perswasion hung. When he the sacred oracles reveal'd, Our ravishM souls, in blest enchantments held, Seem'd lost in transports of immortal bliss; No simple man could ever speak like thisl Arm'd with ccelestial fire, his sacred darts Glide thro' our breasts, and melt our yielding hearts. So southern breezes, and the spring's mild ray, Unbind the Glebe, and thaw the frozen clay. He triumph'd o'er our souls, and at his will, Bid this touch'd passion rise, and that be still. Lord of our passions, he, with wondrous art. Could strike tho secret movements of our heart ; Release our souls, and make them soar above, Wiug'd with divine desires, and flames of heav'nly love. But what need I travel as far as Europe for an Elegy upon this worthy man? Let it be known, that America can embalm great persons, as well as produce them, and New-England can bestow an elegy as well as an edu cation upon its heroes. When our Mitchel was dying, he let fall such a speech as this unto a young gentleman that lodged in his house, and now stood by his bed: "My friend, as a dying man, I now charge you that you don't meet me out of Christ in the day of Christ." The speech had a marvellous impression upon the soul of that young gentleman, who then compos'd the ensuing lines: TO THE MEMORY OF THE REVEREND JONATHAN MITCHEL. Quicquid Agimus, quicquid Patimur, venit ex Alto.*^ The country's tears, be ye my spring; my hill A general grave ; let groans inspire my quill. By a warm sympathy, let feaverish heat Roam thi'o' my verye nnseen: and a cold sweat, Limning despair, attend me : sighs diffuse Convulsions through my language, such as use To type a gasping fancy ; lastly, shroud Religion's splendor in a mourning cloud, Replete with vengeance, for succeeding times, Fertile in woes, more fertile in their crimes. These are my muses; these insv-ire the sails Of fancy with their sighs, instead of gales. Reader, read reverend Mitchel's life, and then Confess the world a gordian knot agen. Read his tear-delug'd grave, and then decree, Our present woe, and future misery. Stars falling speak a storm ; when Samuel dies, Saul'may expect Philistia's cruelties ; So when Jehovah's brighter glory fled The Temple, Israel soon was captive led. Geneva's triple light made one divine: But here that vast triumvirate combine By a blest metempsychosis to take One person for their larger zodiack. In sacred censures Farel's dreadful scroll Of words, broke from the pulpit to the soul. In balmy comforts Viret's genius came From th' wrinkled Alps to wooe the western dame ; And courting Cambridge, quickly took from thence Her last degrees of rhetoric and sense. Calvin's laconicks thro' his doctrine spred. And children's children with their manna fed. His exposition Genesis begun, And fata Exodus eclips'd his sun. * AU that we do and suffer cometh from on high. Vol. il— 8 Some say, that souls oft sad presages give : Death-breathing sermons taught us last to live. His system of religion, half unheard, Full double, in his preaching life appear'd. He's gone, to whom his country owes a love, Worthy the prudent serpent, and the dove. Religion's panoply, the sinner's terrour, Death summon'd hence ; sure by a writ of eiTor The Quaker, trembling at his thunder, fled ; And with Caligula resum'd his bed. He, by the motions of a nobler spirit, Clear'd men, and made their notions Swine inherit The Mimster goblin, by his holy flood Exorcis'd, like a thin phantasma stood. Brown's Babel shatter'd by his lightning fell, And with confused horror pack'd to hell. The Scripture, with a commentary bound, (Like a lost Calais) in his heart was found. When he was sic*^ the air a feaver took, And thirsty PhcBbus quaff'd the silver-brook: When dead, the spheres in thunder, clouds, and rain, Groan'd his elegium, mourn'd and wept our pain. Let not the brazen schismatick aspire; Lot's leaving Sodom left them to the flre. 'Tis true, the Bee's now dead ; but yet his sting Deaths to their dronish doctrines yet may bring. EPITAPHIUM. Here lies within this comprehensive span, The church's, court's, and country's Jonathan. He that speaks Mitchel gives the schools the He; Friendship in him gain'd an ubiquity. F. Draeg. 114 MAGNALIA' CHEISTI AMEEICANA; CHAPTER ¥„ DRUSIUS NOV-ANGLICANUS.*— THE LIFE OF MR. URIAN OAKES 0 Utinam plures similes tibi pectore nossem, Aut in Doctrina, aut Sedulitate pares.f § 1. I EEMEMBEB 'tis the report given by Sylvius concerning Ehodes, "that it is blessed with a perpetual shine of the sun;" imagine that there passes not a day in the year wherein the sun shines not upon it. And methinks our Cambridge had not been much otherwise privileged for more than forty years together; being shined upon by a successive triumvirate of such eminent and heavenly lights, as, first, Shepard, then Mitchel ; and lastly our excellent Ueian Oakes. Those three golden men and very Chrysostoms, have given to Carabridge its golden age. The church of Cambridge had a succession in some sort like that in the church of Ephe sus — a Paul, a Timothy, and a Tychicus. § 2. 'Tis reraarkable that, in the sacred story, at least forty Dukes of Edom have their whole story crouded into one short piece of a chapter; three or four of them are jostled into a line, seven or eight of thera into two ; all but their meer name is buried in a dark vault of eternal oblivion : while above a dozen chapters are employ'd in describing the vertues and relating the actions of one younger son of Israel, the son of a. "plain man who dwelt in tents." If the greatest persons of Edom [that is to say, of Eome] have their history lost, the church of God would have no great loss in it; a son of Israel may more worthily and more usefully have his memory preserved in church-history with the most extended paragraphs: yea, the son of a "plain man, who dwelt in tents," may deserve an ever lasting remembrance araong thera who raost consider what they have most reason to remember. Make room, then, for Urian Oakes, ye records of New-England. He was born in England, and now in his childhood brought over to New-England by his pious parents, who were blessed with several worthy sons, the effects of whose liberal education in our Colledge have rendered the family not the least in our little Israel. While he was yet a child, he was delivered from an extream Hazard of drowning by a miracle, I had almost said, a miracle of divine providence; God reserving him to be a Moses among his people. And the sweet nature, which accorapanied hira all his days, did now so reraarkably recoramend him, that observers have made this reflection: "If good nature could ever carry one to heaven, this youth hath enough to carry hira thither." § 3. His prompt parts adorned and advanced with the grace of God at such a rate, as to make the considerate say of hira, as they said of young • The New-England Oak. t Would there were more like thee ! like thee in sense, In leai'ning, and unwearied diligence. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. Hq Ambrose, " To what will this child grow?" were improved in our Colledge ; where he took his two degrees. Being here yet a lad of small, as he never was of great stature, he published a little parcel of astronomical calculations with this apposite verse in the title page: Parvum parva decent, sed inest sua Gratia parvis.* But here, being furnished with the armour and the treasure of the schools, he went from hence unto the work of building the Temple of God ; preach ing his first serraon at Eoxbury. §4. Eeturning back to England, he there "grew in favor with God and man." After he had been a while chaplain to one of the most noted persons then in the nation, Titchfield was the place where this bright star became fixed; there 'twas that he settled in the charge of souls, which he discharged in such lively preaching and such holy living, as became a minister of the New Testament: there 'twas that, like a silkworm, he spent his own bowels or spirits to procure the "garments of righteousness for his hearers;" there 'twas that he raight challenge the device and raotto of the faraous Dr. Sibs, a wasting lamp with this inscription, Prcelucendo pereo,\ or, "My light is my death." § 5. But the expensive labours of his ministry did not so hasten a nat ural death upon him, as to anticipate a civil death by the persecution, that silenced the Non-conformist ministers throughout the nation. A civil death, I say; because, although the authors of that act, XIV. Car. 2, would not be reckoned among "the slayers of our Lord's witnesses," yet it may surprize the most attentive consideration to read how much oftener than twice or thnce in that act, the silenced ministers -are pronounced as dead, and, as if naturally dead! This act slew the ministry of this "faithful witness" to the truths of the gospel, whereof he was a minister; but that worthy and well-known Colonel Norton, proved the Obadiah who then gave this good man a residence in his house; where his presence and prayers produced a blessing, like that on the house of Obed-Edom. Nev ertheless, when the heat of the persecution was a little abated, he returned unto the exercise of his ministry, in a congregation where Mr. Symmons was his colleague. § 6. Our Carabridge, deprived of their incomparable Mitchel, and lamenting that;, "of all her sons, there were ^o few to take her by the hand;" after solemn addresses unto the "great Shepard of the sheep" for his direction, sent over their agents into England, with a invitation to Mr. Oakes, to "come over and help them." A council, upon that occasion called, approving of the invitation, the good Stork flew over the Atlantick Ocean to feed his dam. Whereupon one wrote, Welcome, great prophet, to New-England shore, Now Twisse's guess too must accomplisht be: The fam'd Utopia of more famous More, That for the New Jerusalem there may Unfabled, for New-England is by thee, A seat be found in wide America. ? Little things become little men ; yet little things have a grace peculiar to themselves, t It is by giving light that I waste away. llg MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA: § 7. The church of Cambridge could now show this orient jewel for divers years before the Almighty would have it made up "among his jewels ;" though the troubles and sorrows of a quartan ague often diverted hira frora his publick services. And here he had the opportunity for which Dr. Preston chose rather to preach at Carabridge than any other place, Dolare non tantum Lapides sed artifices.* Of the divine favour to them, in their enjoyment of such a pastor, the church was now so sensible, that they kept a day of publick thanksgiving for it. At this thanksgiv ing a sermon being expected frora himself, he took for his text those words in 2 Cor. xii. 11: "I be nothing." And the holy endeavours that he used in the sermon to take off the thoughts of the faithful frora any thing in man to every thing in Christ, were very agreeable to a man whom Christ had made something among the people. But the Colledge in Cambridge languishing under somewhat worse than an ague by the want of a President, this accomplished man was invited unto that place: For divers years, he would admit no other title to this place but that of pro tempore, which indeed seems to have been a little proleptical and pro phetical. From this time, and but for a time, he was the Jerom of our Bethlehem ! § 8. Soon after he had accepted his Presidentship, he was arrested with a malignant fever, which presently put an end unto his days in this world. The prayer of some great saints has been contrary to that in the Litany for a sudden death ; and such was the death, of this desirable person, if any death may be accounted sudden to him that was always prepared for it. When he had lain sick about a day or two, and not so long as to give the people of God opportunity to pray for his recovery, his church coming together with expectation to have the Lord's Supper on the Lord's Day administered unto them, to their horror found the pangs of death seizing their pastor, that should have broken to them the bread of life. And, indeed, I have often seen the Lord of heaven taking off his ministers, perhaps to heaven, at that season when the Eucharist should have been celebrated! which is a thing that might admit of some useful reflections. § 9. He was upon all accounts truly an admirable person. Consider'd as a Christian, he was "full of all goodness," and like a full ear of com, he stoop'd with a most profound humility, adorning all his other graces* but though he were low in his own opinion of himself, yet he was high in his attainments; high in his principles. He carried heaven in his name Urianus, [q. xpavios,] but much more in his heavenly mind. Considered as a scholar, he was a notable critick in all the points of learning- and well versed in every point of the great circle. Vast the treasures lodo-ed in the soul of such a scholar ! Considered as a preacher, he was an Orpheus that would have drawn the very stones to discipline ; had Austin been here, he might now have seen "Paul in the pulpit:" indeed, he was as one * To model out, not statues, but artists. OE, THE HISTOEY OP NEW-ENGLAND. H'J said, "an uncomfortable preacher;" why? he drove us to despair, namely, of seeing such another. Finally, I cannot speak more comprehensively of him than Mr. Increase Mather does in his preface to a discourse of this renowned man's, published just after his decease: "There have been several of the same name, heretofore renowned for their rare accom plishments in some particular faculty, wherein they have excelled. Josephus Quereetanus was a learned and famous physician. Johannes Drusias (the Cheek word for Oakes) was a great divine, and eminent for his critical genius. But an age doth seldom produce one so many ways as this author was. If we consider him as a divine, as a scholar, as a Christian, it is hard to say in which he did most excel. I have often, in my thoughts, compared him unto Samuel among the prophets of old; in as much as he did truly "fear God from his youth," and was betimes improved in holy ministrations, and was at last called to the head of the "sons of the prophets" in this New-English Israel, as Samuel was President of the Col ledge of Najoth. And in many other particulars, I might enlarge upon the parallel, but that it is inconvenient to extend such instances beyond their proportion. " ' Heu, tua nobis Morte simul tecum Solatia rapta !'* It may without reflection upon any be said, that ' he was one of the greatest lights that ever shone in this part of the world, or that is ever like to arise in our Horizon.' He is now become a 'royal diadem in the hand of the Lord?' being, as one speaks concerning a great worthy, 'an ornament unto heaven itself.'" § 10. As for his works, 'tis an exceeding pity that the press has given to the light no more of them; for Quicquid tam Docta condidit Manus Caelum est:^ nevertheless, four or five of his published composures are carried about among us, like Paul's handkerchiefs, for the healing of our sick land. We may read something of what he was, in a sermon, called " The Conquering and Unconquerable Christian Soldier," on Eom. viii. 37, preached unto the Artillery Company in Boston, on their election ; and in a serraon preached on the like occasion in Cambridge, from Eccles. ix. 11, showing, that chance is infallibly determined by God; and in a serraon upon a Fast, which, frora Isa. xliiil 22, presses for sincerity and delight in the service of God : but most of all in a sermon on Deut. xxxii. 22, preached unto the General Court of the Massachusetts-colony; wherein, he pleaded with his country, to consider what would be the latter end of the evils then growing in the country; after a manner, so faithful, so solemn, so affectionate, as was hardly to be equalled. Now, that the reader may see some account of this learned man's judgment in the matters of church-discipline, without which we may not say that we have written his life, we will from that sermon only transcribe the few following lines : "I profess I look upon the settlement of the Congregational way as the boon, the gratuity, the largess of divine bounty, which the Lord graciously bestow'd upon his people, that fol lowed him into this wilderness; and a great part of the blessing on the head of Joseph, and of them that were ' separate from their brethren.' Those good people that came over hither shewed more love and zeal, and affectionate desire of communion with God in pure worship and ordinances, and did more in order to it than others, and the Lord did more for them • In losing thee, we lost our comfort too. + The work of a hand so skilled must be divine. 118 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; than for any people in the world, in shewing them the 'pattern of his house,' and the true scriptural way of church-government and administrations. I do not think that they were i.t a ne plus ultra,* and that nothing was left unto the discovery of after-times; but the begin,- ning-work was substantially done by them; they were set in the right way, wherein we are now to proceed, and make 9, progress. It vidll be our wisdom, interest, and duty to follo\v them, as they followed the guidance of the spirit of Christ. The reformation in K. Edward's days was then a blessed work; and the reformation of Geneva and Scotland was a larger step, and in many respects purer than the other; and, for my part, I fully believe, that fhj Congregational-way far exceeds both, and is the highest step that has been tak^n towai'ds refor mation, and, for the substance of it, is the very way that was established and practised in the primitive times according to the institution of Jesus Christ. There is a sweet temperament in the Congregational- way; that the liberties of the people may not be overlaid and oppressed, as in the classical-way, nor the rule and authority of the elders rendered an insignificant thing, and trampled under foot, as in the way of tho Brownists; but that there may be a reconcilia tion, or due concurrence in the balancing of the one justly with the other: and herein, the wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in the frame of church-government (for it is not any poli tick or prudential contrivance of man, but modell'd by the great Law-giver, the Lord Jesus) is greatly to be admired by us.'' § 11. The rest of the report that we will give of this meraorable person, shall be but a transcript of the Epitaph on the tomb-stone in the sleep ing-place at Cambridge, dedicated unto his memory. And know, reader, that though the stones in this wilderness are already grown so witty as to speak, they never yet, that I could hear of, grew so wicked as to lye. URIANI OAKESII, Cujns, Quod Eeliquum est, clauditur hoc Tumulo ; Explorata Integritate, summa Morum Gravitate, Omniumque meliorum Artium insigni Peritia, Spectatissimi, Clarissimique omnibus Modis Viri, Theologi, merito suo, celeberrimi, Concionatoris vere Melliflui, Cantabrigiensis Ecclesite, Doctissimi et Orthodoxi Pastoris In Collegio Harvardina Prasidis Vigilantissimi, Maximum Pietatis, Eruditionis, Facundite, Laudem Adepti; Qui, Sepentina Morte subitd correptus, In JESXI sinum efflavit Animam, Julii XXV. A. D. M. DC. LXXXI. MEMOEI.S. iStatis su!E L. Plurima quid Eeferam, satis est si dixeris Unum, Hoc Dictu satis est, Hic jacit OAKESIUS.t • Point of perfection. + To the memory of Urian Oakes, whose remains are enclosed in this grave : a man of tried inteeritv consum mate dignity of character, remarkable acquirements in all the better kinds of knowledge, most consDicious »nd distinguished in every respect ; as a theologian, deservedly famous ; a truly charming orator : a learned and orlho- dox pastor of a church at Cambridge ; a raost sagacious president of Harvard College ; a recipient of the hiehest commendations for piety, learning and eloquence, smitten by a sudden and deadly disease, he breathed out hi life into the bosom of his Saviour, July 25th, A. D. 1681, at the age of lifty. oreamea out his life What need of epithets ? one name raost dear Expresses all, and tells that OAKES lies here. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. ^g CEAPTEH I?, THE LIFE OF MR. THOMAS SHEPARD. § 1. When we find that passage in the oracles of Heaven, " Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there;" it follows, "and of Sion, it shall be said this and that man was born in her:" and the meaning and the reason of this different expression hath been a matter of some enquiry. It seems, that of Eahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia, it was said, "Behold [as being almost a wonder !] that this man," some one single man of eminency — a rara avis in terris,* was born there. But of Zion it might be said, [t^Ni (?'«] man and man, "this aud that man," that is to say, very many eminent men, Multi pietate, Doctrind, Ingenio, Rerum Bellicarum Olorid. aliquibusque Virtutibus Insignes,-\ were "born in her." That little spot of ground, where God planted his church, affording more excellent men for holiness and other noble accomplishments, in pro portion, than all the world besides. I will now make no odious compari sons between Harvard-Colledge and other Universities, for the proportion of worthy men therein educated : but New-England, compared with other parts of America, may certainly boast of having brought forth very many eminent men; in proportion, more than any of them; and of Harvard- Colledge (herein truly a Sion-Colledge) it- may be said, "this and that man were bred there;" of whom, not the least was Mr. Thomas Shepard. § 2. Eeader, esteem it not prceposterous, if I begin the life of this worthy man with relating that his death fell out on December 22, 1677. When the pestilence raged so much in Alexandria of old, that "there was not an house, wherein there were not many dead," it was the observation of mankind, that while the Pagans cast off all humanity, and inhumanly forsook their dearest friends in the distresses of their sickness, the Chris tians, without any regard unto their own life, boldly ventured into the sick- chambers, and cheerfully assisted and relieved their infected brethren, and very often dyed that they might preserve others from death, or attend them in it. Mr. Thomas Shepard had in hira that spirit of the primitive Christians. He was the pastor of the church in Charlstown; and the small-pox growing as epidemically mortal as a great plague in that place, this excellent man, who had for many years most faithfully done all the duties of a pastor unto his flock, apprehended it now his duty to visit one of his flock, w-ho, lying sick of this distemper, desired a visit frora hira. He went with "his life in his hand," and (which he courageously and undauntedly expected) the contagious disteraper arresting of him, did put • A rare bird. t Many men, remarkable for piety, learning, genius, the glory of warlike achievements and other excellences. 120 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; an end unto his life, and therein, surely, after some sort entitle him unto the crown of martyrdora. Thus, as an Elegy upon his death expressed it: Rather than run from 's work, he chose to dye. Running on death, sooner than duty fly. Behold, a Shepherd, who was (as the emperor Probus had it said of him) Yir sui Nominis 1* , § 3. And now, that the pourtraiture of this person, who was "as great a blessing and glory as ever Charlstown had," may be drawn to the life, it is fit that other pencils than such poor ones as raine should be employ'd; for indeed it was very truly confessed, in an Elegy made upon him, Here's worth enough to overmatch the skill Of the most stately Poet Laureat's quill. We will therefore employ three other testimonies and descriptions to give posterity the knowledge of hira ; whereof the first shall be the Epi taph engraved on his tomb-stone, in such terms as these : D. 0. M. S. Eeposita sunt hic Eeliquice Thomas Shepardi, Viri Sanctissimi, Eruditione, Virtute, Omnigena Moribusque suavissimis Ornatissimi; Theologi Consultissimi, Concionatoris Eximii : Qui Filius fuit Thomas Shepardi Clarissimus, Memoratissimi Pastoris olim Ecclesice Cantabrigiensis ; Et in Ecclesia Caroliensi Presbyter docens ; Fide ac Vita Versus Episcopus; Optime de Ee Literaria Meritus : Qud Curator Collegii Harvardini vigilantissimus ; Qud Municipii Academici Soeius Primarius. Ta la Ifidn Xpic/n x la saulx ZrjTuv In D. Jesu placide obdormivii. Anno 1677, Dec. 22. .^tatis suae 43. Totius Novanglia Lachrymis Defletus; Usque et Usque Deflendus.i Let Fame no longer boast her antique things, Huge Pyi'amids and Monuments of kings: This cabinet that locks up a rare gem. Without presumption may compare with them. The sacred reliques of that matchless one Great Shepai-d, are enshriuM below this stone. Here lies entombed an heavenly orator. To the great King of Kings embassador : Mirror of virtues, magazine of arts, Crown to our heads and Loadstone to our hearts : Harvard's great son, and father too beside, Charistown's just glory and New-England's pride : The church's jewel, Oolledge's overseer. The clergy's diadem without a peer : Tho poor man's ready friend, the blind man's eyes, The wandring, wildrcd soul's conductor wise: The widow's solace, and tho orphan's father. The sick man's visitant, or cordial rather : The general benefactor, and yet rare Engrosser of all good ; the man of prayer: • A man of his own name. + Sacred to the all-good and Omnipotent God. Here repose the remains of Thomas Shepard, a most godly man, possessed of learning, excellence in eveiy virtue, and most charming manners ; a sagacious theologian, an admirable preacher. He was the distinguished son of Thomas Shepard, formeriy a well-known pastor of a church at Cambridge ; he was also a teaching elder in the church at Chariestown, a true bishop both in faith and in life • a writer of divine literary merit ; a very prudent steward of Harvard College ; a fellow of the academical corporation! "Seeking not his own, but the things of Jesus Christ," he slept peacefully in Jesua, December 22 A. D. 167?' aged forty-three : mourned and to be momnied yet more with the tears of all New England. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 121 The constant friend, and the most cheerful giver, In this bed lye repos'd his weary limbs ; Most orthodox divine and pious liver: His soul' s good company for Seraphims. An oracle in any doubtful case, If men be dumb in praising of his worlh, A master-piece of nature, art and grace. This stone shall cry, for shame ! and set it forth. Si, Sheparde, tuo nisi qua sint digna sepulchre Carmina nulla forent,.carmina nulla forent.* § 4. The whole country was fill'd with lamentations upon the decease of the person thus entomb'd, and many bestowed their elegies upon him with resentments like those, which one of them thus uttered : Next to the tears our sins do need and crave, I would bestow my tears on Shepard's grave. But there was none who found a deeper wound at this decease than the reverend president of the colledge, Mr. Urian Oakes; who was his-parti- cular friend. For, as Austin had his Alipius, as Bazil had his Nazianzen, as Jerom had his Heliodorus, as Eusebius had his Pamphilus, or, if you will, as Paul had his Barnabas ; even such was the friendship that una^i- imated our Oakes and our Shepard. He, besides other ways of express ing his value for this his departed Jonathan, took the opportunity of the next Commencement, with no small part of his elegant oration, thus to embalra his memory: " Ref erunt historici Caium Caligulam, monstrum illud hominis, queri palam de conditione iemporum suorum esse solitum, quod nullis calamilatibus publicis insig- nireniur. Quod si nunc in vivis, apud nos ageret, nihil esset illi querela, loci relic- turn, adeo calamitosa sunt omnia, et felicitates honas nobis adversas habemus. Ecquid verd calamitosius, quam quod morbus ille variolum in vicinis oppidis pas sim grassatus fuerit. Heu ! Qucb funera dedit ! Quas strages edidit ! Miserum me ! Hareo, stupeo, vehementer perturbor animo ; neque mens, neque vox, neque lingua consistit, quoties subit animum, quam grave vulnus, vei ex unius viri, interritu, non ita pridem accepimus. Video me, necessitate coaclum, officii, auditores, infan- dum renovare dolorem, vulnusque recens acceptum refricando, retractandoque exacer- bare. Amisimus, amisimus memoratissimum ilium virum, reverendissimum Thomam Sliepardum : respublica civem optimum ; ecclesia theologum clarissimum : academia nonfilium tantum et alumnum clarissimum, sed curatorem etiam vigilaniissimum; municipium scholasticum, socium suum primarium amiserunt; amicum ego singular em et integer rimum. Heu pietas f Heu prisca fides ! Obiil, proh dolor ! ornatissimus Shepardus, vir dignus, si quis alius, qui nunquam agrotaret, nunquam moriretur. Dabiiis veniam, auditores, ut mccsti nos Harvadinates, etiam in ipsisferiis academ- icis, pientissimi Thomce Shepardi manibus, alieno quidem, uti videri potest tempore, et exequalia justa, paremus. Dolemus ianto reipublica vulnere ; mortemque tanti viri, jure optimo, luctu publico esse honorandam, exislimamus ; quifatalis morbi vi ereptus, non ecclesiam solum Caroliniensem, sed totam etiam Novangliam, orbam ac debilitalam reliquit ; quocum defuncto, respublica, ecclesia, academia vacillare certi, si non corruisse videantur. Cum Cuius Casa.r satis se diu, vei natura, vixisse, vei gloria dixisset; satis, inquit Cicero, si ita vis, naturse fortasse; addo etiam, si * Were no songs breathed, save such as match thy praise. For ever huslied had been the minstrel's lays. 122 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; placet glorioe ; at quod maximum est, patriae certe parum : multdprofecto verius et sincerius a me did potest, clarissimum Shepardum, satis diu vixisse sibimetipsi, et glorise suae, cum pi6 adeo vixerit, ut ad cxlestem veri vitalem vitam sincerd fide, viriutum christianarum exerciiio, viam aditumque sibi munierit, nomen suum immor- talitati consecravit ; at reipublicse, non satis diu, at ecclesise, at academiae, parum certe vixit; quocum occubente, titubare ac nutare videntur omnia. Est et illud irce divina: vehemenlir in nos excandescentis argumentum et indicium insigne, qudd gra- vissiinis reipublicce temporibus, academia necessitalibus, ecclesiarum precibus et lachrymis hujus eximii viri vitam noluerit Deus condonare. Amisimus Shepardum, alienissimo reipublicce tempore exlinctum: at quem et qualem virum! theologum profectd non unum i multis, sed inter multos propi singularem ; neminem cum illo conferendum non ausim dicere : neque detrahere quidquam ab aliis necessum habeo, cum encomia defuncto Shepardo debita persolvo. At verd inter Gregarios theologos (quod sine cujusquam injuria did velim) tantum caput extulit Quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi. " Certabat in eo, cum pietate minimi fucatd, eruditio minimi vulgaris ; cum eru ditione verd prudentia modestia, humanitas et industria singularis. Quanta grav itas in vultu ? Quantum pondus in verbis ? Quam nihil non consideratum exibat ex ore? Quam nihil in gestu affectatum, aut indecorum ? Fuit quidem o fAaxapir^jj, animo sedatissimo, candidissimo pectore, fcelicissimo ingenio, acerrimo judicio, suavissimis denique temperatissimisque moribus ornatissimus. Sic autem universam vitam iraduxit, ut aliis illustre quoddam vera pietatis ac virtutis exemplar, ad imi- tandum propositum ; in eoque quasi exempli causa, anliqui officii vestigia remanebant, Non ille inanem occupatus est rumorem, neque ullus umbra falsa gloria conseclatus est, aut insolentius extulit se; sed a supercilio,fastuque omni longe longique abfuit. In summis ejus dotibus, propter quas, honoribus autoritate, gratid floruit, summa animi demissio ei modestia singularis emicuerunt ; et rara quidem (ut did solet) virtus est humilitas honorata. Vetus est verbum, "Eif 'Av)i| xfoj 'Av?)?, unus vir, nullus vir. Ego vero non minus vere possum dicere "5is 'sfjioi (jtu^iov. Unus mihi fuit instar decem millium. Prorsus assentior Nazianzeno dicenti cpikavvnTi xx Ei(j,ai' AvraXXayfjta ruv ovruv sSsv. Amicitiam unicum esse vitae condimentum. Miserum me ! Quam trisie nobis sui desiderium reliquit ! Qui mihi ita charus, ita jucundus fuit, ut ejus aspectu dolor omnis fuerit abstersus, et omnis, qua me angebal, cura plani consederit. Probi memini, quam me olimfrons ejus tranquilla, vultusque (ut Ovidius loquitur) plenus gravitate seren&, inter dicendum animadverT tit. Ille horum comitiorum (ut mea tulit opinio) pars adeo magna fuit, ut quemad- modum (autore Cicerone) Aniomachus Clarius poeta, cum convocatis auditoribus redtaret iis ingens volumen, quod conscripserat, eumque legentem, omnes prater Platonem reliquissent, Legam, inquit, Nihilominus; Plato enim mihi unus, instar est omnium: ltd profectd, alter Plato (absit verbo invidia) fuit mihi Shepardus et instar omnium. Did non potest, quam me perorantem, in comitiis, conspectus ejus, multd jucundissimus recrearit, et refecerit. Al non comparet hodie Shepardus in his comitiis : oculos hue illuc torqueo ; quocunque tamen indderint, Platonem meum in tanta virorum illusiriumfrequenlia requirunt; nusquam amicum ei pernecessariwu meum, in hac solenni panegyri, inter hosce reverendos theologos, academia curatores, reperire aut oculis vestigare possum. Amisimus virum ilium sanctissimum strenuum, OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 123 orihodoxa fidei propugnatorem, non hominibus solum gratum et acceptum, sed, et Deo ipsi charissimum ; divinse familiaritalis virum, sicuti Teriulhanus nuncupat Abrahamum, Quamohrem, honoratissimi viri, lugete amissum civem plane TSrpayovov, optimarum semper, in republica, partium et in rebus opiimis, constaniissimum virum ; columen atque ornamentum reipublica vestra ; cujus unius funere, propi dixeram, elatam esse rempublicam. Lugete, reverendissimi preshyieri, amissum charissimum fratrem et symmistam ; ordinis vestri decus et lumen singulare. Lugete, carolinen- ses, sublatum, ex oculis vesiris, eximium episcopum vestrum, delicias olim et amores vestros. Lugeie, academici amissum curatorem vigilaniissimum, cujus interritu, collegii dignitatem, immane quantum diminutam, salutem ipsam pericliiatam esse, quis non inielligii ? Lugete, quotquot adesiis, auditores, amissum ilium virum, con- summatissimum, currum et equites Israelis, dignissimumprofectd, qui Nov- Anglia lachrymis usque et usque defieatur. Qudd si nimius in hoc argumento, et longius, quam par est provectus esse videor, qutrso obtestorque ut veniam aliquam dolori meo et mcBrori animi iribuendam putetis. Videtis me, in amplissimas charissimi Shep ardi laudes, tanquam in oceanum descendisse, et difficile quidem esse, dim laudandi, tiim lugendifinem reperire."* • Historians say of Caius Caligula, — that monster in human shape, — that he used to deplore the condition of his age, because it was signalized by no public calamities. But if he lived in these times and among ns, he would find no more room for such a complaint, so abounding are our misfortunes, and to such an extent does even our hap piness turn into poignant sorrow. What more fearful calamity can be conceived of than the prevalence of the small pox through all this region ? How death and destruction have followed its march I Alas ! I shudder— nay, ara stunned, as I contemplate it : I seem to lose intelligence, voice and language, whenever my mind recurs to that terrible stroke, which we all experienced in the death of one man. I find myself compelled, my heai-ers, by the very necessity of my position, to " Renew the grief no words can e'er express," and tear open afresh the wound which we have all so lately felt. We have lost — we have lost that praiseworthy man, the revered Thomas Shepard ; in whom the state loses an excellent citizen ; the church, a distinguished theo logian ; the college, not only a beloved son and alumnus, but also a watchful steward ; the academic board, its own chief fellow j myself, a special and sincere friend. " Alas ! for piety and faith well-tried.* How dreadful is it to be reminded, that the accomplished Shepard has left us — a man too good, if mortal could be 8l>, ever to sicken — ever to die I Pardon me, my hearers, if even on so happy an occasion as a college anniversary, we sorrowing sons of Harvard oflTer a funereal tribute to the shade of the pious Shepard ; we grieve over the wound indicted on the state ; and we believe that public mourning may, with unquestionable propriety, signalize the decease of so great a man. Torn from us by the force of a mortal disease, he has left, not only his church at Charlestown, but all New England, in a bereaved and disabled condition. By reason of his departure, the com monwealth, the church, the college, seem to shake almost to their fall. Caius Caesar once said, that he had lived long enough to satisfy nature, and long enough for his fame. Cicero adds : " long enough, if you will, to satisfy his nature, and long enough (if you require me to think so) for his fame ; and yet (alas ! a matter far raore important) not lon<' enough for his country." Surely, I can say, with superior truth and sincerity, that the renowned Shepard had lived long enough for himself and for his fame. For he led a Hfe so religious, that the practice of Christian virtues bad, through tho power of an unfeigned faith, opened heaven itself before him, while it secured to his name immortality on earth. And yet he did not live long enough for the state, for the church, and for the college. His death seemed to threaten every thing with downfall, and to be a signal proof and demonstration of the severity of the divine wrath against us : inasmuch as neither tho crisis of the republic, the necessities of the college, nor the prayers add tears of the church, could prevail with Heaven to spare him. We have lost our Shepard— torn from us at a time most unpropitious to the stale- and such a man ! He was a theologian, not one out of many, but among many almost alone— incomparably superior to almost all others ; although I have no wish, in saying so, to detract any thing from the merits of others in order to render due honors to the departed Shepard. Among the common mass of theologians, (I speak without malice) he reared his lofty head " As 'mid the reeds the cypress lifts its crest." In him unfeigned piety was matched by no mean share of learning ; and with his learning were blended prudence, modesty, generosity, and remarkable diligence. How much dignity in his countenance ! how much weight in his words ! to what an extent was it true, that nothing ill-considered escaped his lips— that nothing affected or ungrace ful appeared in his gesture ! He was indeed blest— with a calm spirit, a clear conscience, a fine intellect, keen judg ment and gentle aud chastened manners. Such was the tenor of bis whole life, that It was held up to othei-s for 124 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; This was one paragraph in a commencement-oration pronounced by the Lactantius of New-England. And that stroke, which this very person had in an elegy, by hira coraposed on the death of his dearest Shepard. They that can Shepard's goodness well display, Must be as good as he : but who are they? He did himself make a near essay towards the doing of it, and in my thought, he was, according to his own rule, well qualified for the doing of it. § 5. But if the reader must have one in all things, as good as he, to dis play his goodness, behold then he shall effectually, and not improperly do it himself. Let the reader peruse his elaborate serraon, preached at the anniversary election of the governour and magistrates in Boston, May 5, 1672, and afterwards printed ; and he will there see constellated so much learning, wisdom, holiness and faithfulness, that he will pronounce the author to have been a person of more than coraraon talents for the service of our churches. imitation, as an illustrious pattern of true piety and virtue ; in him, as for example's sake, remained the imprint of bis ancient office. He did not follow empty applauso, or permit himself to be led astray by a delusive phantom of glory, or insolently magnify himself. Far, far was he from all pride aud disdain of others. With all his wonderful gifts, which yielded him so much honor, authority and favor, he yet shed around him tho soft light of extreme humility : and a rare virtue (it is claimed) is honored lowliness. It is an ancient saying, that " one man is no man." With no less truth can 1 assert, that to me "one man was ton thousand men." I assent in full to the testimony of Nazianzen, that " apart from friendship, there is no zest to life." Alas for me 1 how melancholy a void has he left me ! He was so dear to me— so pleasant— that at the sight of him eveiy grief was forgotten, and every care that touched me utterly dissipated. Well do I remember how, iu the midst of his discouree, that calm face and mien, « so full (to quote Ovid's expression) of serene dignity," would fix its gaze on me ! In my view, he appeared so great a feature in these college festivals, that he brought to my mind what Cicero states of Antomachus Ciavius, the poet ; who recited to his assembled auditory from a large volume which he had composed, until all left him in the midst of his reading except Plato. " I will still read on," said the poet, " for Plato alone is to me equal to them all." In Uke manner was Shepard (I would speak without offence) to me another Plato— the equal of all the rest. Letters cannot describe how, at Commencement, his pleasant countenance cheered and refreshed me, toiling through my concluding remarks. But Shepard will not appear to-day to grace this occasion. I turn my eyes hither and thither ; wherever they fall, they still search, even amid this reverend assembly, for my Plato : yet no where can I trace out, on this solemn occasion, among these venerable theologians, these supervisors of Uie college, my friend and intimate. We have lost that most saintly man and ardent defender of the orthodox faith, who was not only pleasing and acceptable to men, but dear to God ; " a man intimate with his Maker," as Tertullian describes Abra ham. Wherefore, most honored friends, mourn the loss of a citizen who was always true to the best parly and the best measures ; the crown and ornament of your commonwealth ; by whose death, I might almost say, your commonwejllth itself is swept away. Mourn, reverend elders, the loss of a dear brother and fellow, the honor and chief light of your order. Mourn, citizens of Charlestown, for your excellent bishop, once your delight and love ravished from your gaze. Mourn, sons of Harvard, your most watchful supervisor, by whose decease, as all under stand, the dignity of this institution is immensely diminished and its safety endangered. Mourn, all who hear nie for the loss of a perfect man—" the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof "—most worthy to be mourned evci^ more with the tears of New England, _ If I seem to dwell tuo long and be carried too far in discussing this theme, bear me witness that you think some license should be granted to grief like mine. You see me plunge into the praises of our dear Shepard as into an ocean, and that it is hard for me to find bounds either for praise or for sorrow. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 125 CEAPTEH ?IL ST. STEPHEN'S RELIftUES. MEDITATIONS, AWAKENED BT THE DEATH OF THE REVEREND MR JOSHUA MOODEY j WITH SOME SHORT CHARACTER OF THAT EMINENT PERSON : Who slept in Jesus 4d. 5m., 1697, in the 65th Year of his Age. BY COTTON MATHEK. — THE SECOND EDITION. Josh. xxiv. 22, 23. 29. — Joshua said unto the^people, ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve Him. Now therefore, incline your heart tmto the Lord. And it came to pass, after these things, that Joshua, the servant of the Lord, dyed. Eeadee, tell me not that the people's being taken with Publicola's funeral oration in praise of the dead Brutus, or the decree of the Eoman Senate, that it should be lawful to make a funeral oration on such as deserved well of the commonwealth, made Polydore Yirgil say, Hinc mor- tuos laudandi mos Jluxit, quem nos hodie servamus.* The book of Lamenta tions, on the death of Josiah, is of an elder date ; the Eoll of Lamentations on the death of Jonathan, is of yet an elder; and certainly to be imitated among the faithful people of God. Tell me not that some erainent Non conformists have therefore scrupled the preaching of any funeral sermons: that in some Eeforined churches, the practice of them is wholly omitted ; that in the Priraitive churches they were not practiced until the apostacy began; and that there have been decrees of councils against them. I readily grant that the custom of praising the dead, has been scandalously abused; but I cannot grant that the abuse is best corrected by taking away all publick meditations on the funerals of those in whose deaths God from heaven speaks great things unto the living. We do but wisely fulfil our ministry by watching, to suit the words of God unto those works of his which occur to our notice when men of note are taken away. Behold, according to the laudable usage in the churches of New-England, the med itations which have been awakened by the falling asleep of an eminent person, who was "a memorable servant of those churches!" I am out of measure astonished, when I read in an author as old and as great as Aus tin, the wonderful effects which the pretended reliques of the Martyt Stephen had upon those who repaired thereunto for the cure of maladies. Howbeit, when I find that great man, in his epistle to the clergy of Hippo, denying that any miracles were then done in Africa, (which he also again said in his book, {De Utilitate Credendi,-f) and in his book of True Beligion, affirming that God permitted not miracles to continue until then, lest the minds of men should be too much taken up with visible matters, I per swade rayself, that the story of the reliques of Stephen was foisted into his * Hence originated the custom of eulogizing the dead, which we still observe. t On the Utility of Faith. 126 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; book, De Givitate Dei,* by some later hand. The best sort of reliques, .after all, are those which we have here preserved and proposed; and it will be no superstition to hope, that a cure of spiritual maladies too gen erally prevailing, may be promoted by repairing unto them. And I do not more question the opinion of a very learned man concerning the angels, whom we find mentioned in the Scriptures as doing very humane actions, Yeros homines fuisse, qui a Spiritu Messice, et a spiritibus angelicis agebantur: et movebantur ad ea agenda, quce ipsi non inielligebant, phantasia eorum obsessa, et a cogitationibus consuetis abducta: Qui homines, negotio peracto, ad quod fuerant a Deo adhibiti, discusso veterno, et cessante ecstasi, ad consueta munera reversi sunt, immemores eorum, quae impulsore Spiritu Divino aut angelica egerant:\ than I do believe thai, in our actions, there is an imita tion of the holy angels to be endeavoured, by which a man may become another Stephen. THE WAY TO EXCEL. Acts vi. 15. — Looking steadfastly on him, they saw his face, as it had been the face of an Angel. Since the oracles of Heaven have (with a most significant admonition !) allowed a well-served church to call its pastor by the name of its angel, we may now say, "the angel of the church of Portsmouth has newly taken wing !" Yea, not the least of the " angelical chariots and horsemen " of New-England, have departed from us, in the withdrawing of one, after whom that bereaved church is crying, "My Father, My Father!" To preserve the idea and memory of his face, as far as the infirmities of this mortal state permitted any approaches to the angelical character in it, is that whereto not only nature does invite us: 'Twill be but a com pliance with that edict of heaven, "Eeraember them who have spoken to you the word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." 'Tis well known, that among the chief works of the Most High, created by the Son of God, at the first beginning of time, there were his "good angels:" Angels, which are spiritual and rational substances, created by the Lord for his own iramediate service and honour. None deny, none dispute, the existence of those good angels, but men that are under a more than ordinary possession of evil ones. Our Lord Jesus Christ has given it, as a description of that future state, wherein he will make us happy for ever, (Mat. xxii. 30,) "They are as the angels of God in heaven." And if we hope to be happy in that future state, we must endeavour to anticipate it, by being very holy in our pres- * Concerning the City of God, + These have been real living men, who were acted upon by the spirit of the Messiah and by angelic intelli gences ; and also were moved to actions, which they did not themselves comprehend, originating in .a sort of hal lucination, and apart from their usual course of thought. Those men, when they have fulfilled the special mission to which God has called them, have shaken off their lethargy, come out of their ecstatic state, and returned to their ordinai7 duties ; entirely unconscious of what they had done, while under the influence of the Divine Spirit and the angelic agency. OE, THE HISTOEY OE NEW-ENGLAND. 127 ent state. But the way for us to be very holy, is to resemble and imitate the "angels of God in heaven," while we are on earth, as far as we are able. Every holy man does a little of this: and how much of it was done by that holy man who is now gone to live and praise, and see Chbist among the angels for ever, may be proposed with some advantage unto the exhortation, wherein I have a "few things to preach unto the people." But my exhortation must be introduced with a report of that glory, which the Martyr Stephen, while he was yet on earth, attained unto. There being occasion to choose deacons in the priraitive church; that so they who were to give themselves continually unto the "ministry of the word" might be released, by the faithful cares of those deacons, from secular encumbrances ; one of them was the blessed Stephen ; who being the first that arrived unto the "crown of martyrdom" for our Lord Jesus in the New-Testament, had in the name of Stephen, which signifies, a crown, a notable specification of the event and reward which will attend all our sufferings for the Lord. It was then an age of many miracles wrought by the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ; and such a measure of that Spirit possessed this excellent man, that by the impulse of that Spirit, he could with all assurance per ceive when the Spirit was going to work miracles, and apply himself to accompany the miracles of the Spirit, by some wonderful actions of his own. This illustrious worker of miracles was accused before the Council at Jerusalem for saying that it was the design of Jesus to destroy the temple and the city, and alter the rites which Moses had from God com manded unto Israel. When he appeared before the Council to answer this accusation, 'tis here said : " They saw his face, as it had been the face of an angel." Concerning the "face of an angel," we have a remarkable account in what we read about one of the angels in Mat. xxviii. 3: His "counten ance was like lightning." And we read concerning a great man, who had got the '"face of an angel" by being much with the angels, in Exod. xxxiv. 10: "Behold, the skin of his face shone." If we carry the passage now before us unto the highest sense which it would lay claim unto, we are to suppose, that such a splendor was discernible upon the face of Stephen: And surely, if they who discerned it had not the heart of a devil in them, they durst not have gone on to abuse a man that appeared before them with the "face of an angel." Alas, the raore of an angel there is in any man, the more stones will the devil procure to be thrown at such a man ! But behold the agreeableness of the matter: Stephen was persecuted for villifying of Moses ; and, behold, at this very time, he is vindicated with a shine upon his face, like that once upon- the face of Moses. The things here spoken by Stephen, were those very things which the angel Gabriel had formerly spoken unto the prophet Daniel ; and, behold, the aspect of an angel adorns him in his discourse. 128 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; We may from hence take leave to observe, "that a saint on earth, may arrive to those attainments that shall raake him look like an angel of heavenP There are angelical excellencies, a degree whereof, poor man, sorry man, sinful man, even while such, may very much attain unto. But now, this case calls for our attention: "What are those excel lencies that would make a saint look like an angel?" And fhe general answer hereunto is, "the excellencies of holiness." For— First, The angels of God have many excellencies, the imitation whereof cannot by men, in this life, be reasonably proposed. The angelical ma jesty, as a mortal eye would not be able steadily to behold it, much less, in this mortal state may we affect it. A man may not wish to shine like Stephen in this world, and have a face that may dazzle the spectators. Or, what would it avail, if a man could make a glare on his face, hy smearing it with some of the noctilucds invented by the modern chym- istry ? A devil has, before now, pretended unto such a face, 'Tis not the face, but the grace of an angel, which is here to be aspired after. It were a foolish and a faulty thing for any man to be ambitious of wearing in this world such a figure as that in Dan. x. 6: "His body like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire." Iramortality itself is one of the angelical excellencies. But, while we are araong mortals here, we must submit unto the laws of mortality, and be willing to dye when and how the Sovereign God shall order it. There are also those flights of luisdom, and those heights of power among the angelical excellencies, wherein 'tis not for us to dream of being like them, until we are become "the children of the resurrection." It was the ruine of our first parents to imagine in Gen. iii. 5, they "might be as Elohim!" No, this cannot be, until our Lord Jesus Christ, has by a new birth brought us into that ivorld to come, where the "wise converters of many to righteous ness," will be those who shall "shine as the brightness of the firmaraent, and as the stars for ever and ever!" Our Lord Jesus Christ will make us the angels of the new world. Indeed, the angels now turn and move all the wheels of the "kingdoms of this world^" but we are they that shall "receive the kingdom that cannot be moved." But, secondly. The excellencies of holiness [for, the saints are the excel lencies!] These are they, wherein the imitation of the angels by men, may be very far proceeded in. The angels of God, are styled in Mat. XXV. 31, "The holy angels;" and in Dan. iv. 17, "The holy ones." 'Tis not as they are mighty angels, but as they are holy angels, that we must propound our coraing to look like unto them. These holy angels never did and never will sin against their God; but are continually servino- of him: "They serve him day and night in his temple!" And it may be the "bright garments," wherein these "angels of light" have appeared, OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 129 may be an emblera of their holiness and their purity. Now, it hath been the "will of God in our Lord Jesus Christ concerning us," that there should be set before us the greatest examples of holiness for our imitation. And hence, as we have the greater example of our Lord Jesus Cheist hiraself given unto us, to direct and excite and promote our holiness, with a charge, "tabe holy, as he that hath called us is holy ;" so we have also the example of the holy angels given unto us, that we may strive, as far as -may be, to be like unto them in their holiness. Hence, when the Psalmist of old saw the angels praising of God, he cried out, " 0, my soul, do thou so too." Yea, sorae interpreters judge, that when the face of Stephen looked like an angel, it was no more than what you and I may, "through Christ who strengthens us," reach unto; q. d., the consolations of the Holy Spirit of God so filled him, that he discovered not the least con sternations in his face : His face was as joyful and serene as if he had stood free frora all the sorrows of this world, among the angels of God. I remeraber the apostle enjoins the woraan in the church to have a cov ering on her head in token of subjection to her husband: "because of the angels," (2 Cor. xi. 10.) Why, if you turn to the beginning of the sixth chapter of Isaiah, yo.u'll find the angels before their superiour, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the teraple, assuraing a covering, out of the reverence which they pay unto him. Hence then, says the apostle, it becomes women to take example by the angels ; let them consider, how the angels behave themselves in the presence of the Son of God, who is the grand representative of the image and glory of God; and let them in their habit show sorae analogy to the habit of the angels, betokening their subjection to the raan, who is under the Lord Jesus Christ, the image and glory of God, while they, the women, are so of the man. But I only touch on this gloss by the by. What I insist on is, that the angelical example is to be iraitated. Indeed, we shall, as long as we live in this world, corae far short of the original, when we go to write after the angelical example. In this present evil world, we cannot approach near to the holiness of the good angels: Much of sin, and fault, and folly, will unavoidably cleave unto us: That leprosie will never wholly out of the walls, until the clay-house be utterly demolished; There will be as much distance between the blessed spirits and us,' as between giants and children, as between stars and gloWorms, as between the cedars of Lebanon and the hysop that grows out of the wall : Thus it will be, until we come at length to dwell (and. Oh ! why do we no more long for it!) with the "innumerable company of angels," in another world. However, to attempt the imitation, is the ready way to be excellent. Particularly in the ensuing instances: I. If a man could have his eye upon the face of God continually, would not that procure the face of an angel for him? It would make a man look YoL. IL— 9 130 ¦ MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; like an angel, if he were looking unto God, in the Lord Jesus Christ con tinually. Of the angels, there is that account given, in Mat. xviii. 10: "In the heavens, they do always behold the face of my Father which is in the heavens." The angels do converse with God continually. And why may not we press after a converse with God, a little emulating the angelical ? To be heavenly-minded, by having the God of heaven almost always in our minds, and by being "in the fear of God all the day long," this were to be as the angels are! Oh! that we were thus "filled with the fullness of God." First, We may have a continual apprehension of God in our minds. In every place, we may apprehend God. Wherever we are, we may subscribe to that article of the ancient faith, in Psal. cxxxix. 7: Lord, "Whither shall I flee from thy presence?" What if we should never be from under the awe of such a thought as that, "The omnipresent God observes all my ways." And we may apprehend God in every thing. We need not stay at any second causes; but we may, with a spiritualized soul, soar up to some notice of God in all. Upon all the works of creation, we raay say, "the finger of God is here!" And we may make the positions of the Pau line philosophy, in Acts xvii. 24. 28, "God made the world, and all things therein: In Him we live, and move, and have our being." Upon all the works of Providence, we may say, "this comes from that God whose kingdom ruleth over all." And we raay make the conclusions once taught by our Lord, no doubt alluding to the two birds, whereof one was to be killed, the other to be let loose into the open field, at the cleansing of the leper, in Mat. x. 29, "Two sparrows, one of thera shall not fall to the ground without our Father." To be led into sorae notice of God con tinually, this, 0 this, it is angelical. 'Tis godliness. What is holiness, but godliness? This were a little of the angelical holiness. Secondly, Our continual apprehension of GoD may bring a continue dedication to GoD upon all that we have and all that we do. If we glance at inferior ends, yet we may not stop there : All our ends are to be swal lowed up in God. We should not, with any patience, consent unto it, that any but God should have our strength, our time, our all. Whatever possessions are bestowed upon us, we may put them under thatconsider- ation which the house of David had, in Psal. xxx. Tit. "Dedicated things." All oiir possessions, all the powers of our spirits, all the members of our bodies, our estates, our credit, our desirable friends; we may contrive with our selves, "What acknowledgments may God have out of these things!" And improve them no farther, than as instruments, whereby God may be acknowledged. Yea, and our daily actions; may we not be driving a trade for God in all? As 'tis said in 1 Cor. x. 31, "Whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God:" So, our eating, our drinking, our sleeping, what is it for? We may distinctly say, "I do this, that I may be supported in the service of God:" thus, our labours, our travels, our visits, and our OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 131 exercises of religion, we may thus ennoble thera, "I do this, I will do it carefully and cheerfully, because God hath coramanded my doing of it." A dedication to God, is the proper meaning of holiness: And very angelical would be our holiness, if we could be frequent and constant in such acts of dedication. Thirdly, Our continual apprehension of God, raay produce our continual satisfaction in God, under all His dispensations. Whatever enjoyments are by God conferred upon us, where lies the relish, where the sweetness of them? Truly, we may come to relish our enjoyments, only so far as we have something of God in thera. It was required, in Psal. xxxvii. 4, "¦Delight thyself in the Lord." Yea, and what if we should have no delight but the Lord? Let us ponder with ourselves over our enjoyments: " In these enjoyments I see God, and by these enjoyments, I serve God!" And now, let all our delight in, and all our value and fondness for our enjoyments, be only, or mainly, upon such a divine score as this. As far as any of our enjoyments lead us unto God, so far let us relish it, affect it, embrace it, and rejoyce in it: "0 taste, and feed upon God in all;" and ask for nothing, no, not for life itself, any further than as it may help us, in our seeing and our serving of our God. And then, whatever aflftictions do lay fetters upon us, let us not only remeraber that we are concerned with God therein, but let our concernraent with God procure a very pro found submission in our souls. Be able to say with him- in Psal. xxxix. 9, "I open not my mouth, because thou didst it." In all our afflictions, let us reraark the justice of that God, before whom, "why should a living man complain for the punishment of his sin?" The wisdom of that God, "whose judgments are right:" the goodness of that God, who "punishes us less than our iniquities do deserve." Let us behave ourselves, as having to do with none but God in our afflictions: And let our afflictions make us more conformable unto God: which cofiformity being effected, let us then say, "'Tis good for me that I have been afflicted." Sirs, what were this, but a pitch of holiness, almost angelical ! Oh ! Mount up, as with the wings of eagles, of angels : be not a sorry, puny, mechanick sort of Christians any longer ; but reach forth unto these things that are thus before you. But, in fine, 'tis our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the face of God. That is his name, frequently in the Old Testament; and in this hint, I have given you a golden key to come at the sense of many passages in the sacred pages, about "the face of God," and "the light of that face:" 'Twas the Messiah. , 'Tis then our Lord Jesus Christ, who is to be the more immedi ate object of our apprehensions when we would become angelical: 'tis God in our Lord Jesus Christ : Whenever we entertain any thing of God in our minds, it should be with a Christ, and through a Christ. Those who do all they can to forge a Christianity without a Christ, are so far from being like angels of the Lord, that they are traitors to the King of heaven. 132 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; II. We may render our selves angelical, by our endeavours of a present, and a pleasant, and an universal obedience unto the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of angels. Whose are the angels, but the angels of the Lord!- And (in 1 Kings xviii. 12, and Acts viii. 39,) "the spirits of the Lord." Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord General of all the angels : He is the Lord of hosts ; and all those hosts of heaven are under his command ; we read in Psal. ciii. 20, 21, "They do his comraandments, hearkening unto the voice of' his word: They are his ministers, which do his pleasure." The very highest angel in heaven desires and studies to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ: The great God would soon strike him down from heaven with hot thunder-bolts if he did not so. Even Michael the archangel has received that charge from God, concerning our Lord Eedeemer: "do thou worship him !" Gabriel himself must give this account of himself, " I stand in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ;" namely, as a servant standing in the presence of his Master. Come, then; let every one of us become the servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. By consenting to the methods of grace in the new cov enant, let us yield our selves unto our Lord Jesus Christ, as unto our Lord; and say with him in Psal. i. 19. 38, "Lord, I am thy servant, devoted unto thy fear." Let us reckon it the highest pleasure unto our selves to be always pleasing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Let us esteem it the highest honour unto our selves, to be always honouring of him. To be a man of God, is to be like an angel : an angel was called in Judg. xiii. 8, " The man of God." We are men of God, when we become the devoted servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sirs, the bright angels of heaven invite us to become their fellow servants, by giving our selves up unto the work of witnessing to the truth and ways of their heavenly Lord. When we have solemnly consecrated ourselves unto this work, then whatever commands our Lord Jesus Christ lays upon us, let us readily, joyfully, universally yield obedience there unto. Be upon the wing as the angels, to do every thing that our Lord Jesus Christ would have to be done. Delay none, despise none, refuse none of the commandments which our Lord Jesus Christ shall give unto us; but say, as in 1 John v. 3, "His commandments are not grievous." And whatever we shall know to be acceptable unto our Lord Jesus Christ, let us imraediately do what we know : Let this be argument enough unto ^s for any thing, though flesh and blood [body and soul] be never so much against it: "My Lord Jesus Christ would have me to do this thing!" Thus our labour should be according to our prayer, that "the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven." III. To be very serviceable is to be angelical : To do good, is the dis position of a good angel. Those men, whose perpetual business 'tis, "to go about for the doing of good," as they are like the Lord Jesus Christ, (Acts X. 38,) so they are like the angels that wait upon our Lord Jesus OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 133 Christ. The angels are always eraploy'd in sorae service for our Lord Jesus Christ, and for those that belong unto hira. 'Tis said in Heb. i. 14, "Are they not all rainistering spirits?" Oh! let it, in like sort, be our ambition to rainister some way or other for the good of them that are to be the "heirs^of salvation;" and let us be much and oft in studying with our selves, "What good raay I do with those talents, wherewith ray Lord Jesus Christ has betrusted me?" How many good offices does the Bible report, as done by the angels of God for the people of God? And how many such good offices are still done for the people of God by the angels of God, which "encamp as a host about them that fear him?" Christians, if we are advised of any opportunity to do good, let us be as ready to do as the angel that came down to the pool of Bethesda was to help the miser- ables assembled there. Yea, though they should be never so poor, never so small, never so mean people, that we may do good unto, let us be ready to do it with all our hearts. The first apparition of an angel that we read in Scripture, was to relieve a poor maid in trouble of spirit. The Martyr Bradford, that man had the face of an angel, concerning whom it was noted, "he was always, either with purse or tongue, or pen, doing of good." Whatever company we fall into, 'tis easie for us ordinarily to think, "What good raay I do in this corapany before I leave it?" That raan "speaks with the tongue of angels," who will never dismiss his company without some conscientious essay to speak what shall be profitable unto them. And inventions to do good, and be benefactors to all that are about us, the more upright we are, the raore we shall "seek out many such inventions." There is an angelical air upon them ! IV. Near approaches to God in devotions and communions, full of inti macy with him, will give a raan, if not the ^ace, yet the heart of an angel. — When was it that the face of Moses had an angelical, and an extraordi nary lustre upon it? It was when he had been with "God in the mount." We read in Exod. xxxiv. 29, "When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tables of testimony, the skin of his face shone." They that are very much with God in those exercises, wherein the "power of godliness" does mainly consist, will contract a lustre therefrom, and be somewhat like the angels, made "partakers of the divine nature." To be often in secret prayers and secret praises, with raised strains of heavenly zeal before the Lord, this is to be as it were of the angelical frtiternity! Yea, 'tis a o-olden passage of Chrysostom, that "the very angels themselves cannot but honour the man whom they see familiarly and frequently admitted unto the audience, and as it were discourse with the divine Majesty." Truly, whether the angels raay reverence these men or no, these men do resem ble the angels. It becomes more notably thus, when men do often- set apart whole days for their prayers and their praises, and are with God in the mount for whole days together. Great things did the angels do for Moses, great things for Elias, who often spent whole days alone with the 134: MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; Lord; and what said an angel unto Daniel, when he had been spending whole days at such a rate?— "Thou art a raan of desires, and an an gel thinks not much to fly down from heaven unto thy conversation !" Such days do leave an angelical savour upon the souls of men; they leave our souls, for many days afterward, under such a gracious, and .generous, and serious, and watchful, and useful bias, as has the face of an angel thereupon. And therefore the Lord's days; let us keep them with a pecuhar solici tude — a singular elevation of sanctity. It was the priviledge of John in Eev. i. 10, "to be in the spirit on the Lord's day." Sirs, if we are so, we shall be with the angels on the Lord's day, and if with them, then like them. To be wholly under the confinement [I mistook the word, I should say liberty .'I of religious applications, throughout our whole Christian Sabbath, let us not count it, as a ceremonious person once call'd it, "a being on the rack an whole day together." Angels have strangely visited and comforted sorae on the rack, but never such as coraplain'd that a strict Lord's day put 'em on a rack. During the whole day let our thoughts be full of God, and Christ, and heaven : during the whole day let our words be few, and fit, and savoury, and such as may "minister grace unto the hearers :" during the whole day let our earthly defilements be banished from us ; let our hearts be every hour sallying forth with numberless ejac ulations to the Lord. Such Lord's days will ripen men into angels at the last! But on the Lord's day there sometiraes does recur a most special and signal opportunity to "draw near unto God," namely, the Lord's Sup per; an ordinance of the nearest fellowship with heaven; an ordinance wherein a Christ suffering for us is, by the symbols of bread and wine, so tendered unto the faithful, that in their obeying his appointment thereof, they do with ineffable advantage partake of him. Well, then, let our preparations for this great ordinance be with as much of solemnity, as if we were to dye ourselves at the time when we do annunciate here the death of our Lord. Let us examine ourselves, and supplicate our God before we come to the table of the Lord, as if we were to dye when we some. And at this holy table, where "man eats angels' food," let us fix our meditations on our Lord Jesus Christ, with all possible attention, with all suitable affection. Thus, "beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, we shall be changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the spirit ctf the Lord." Now, 'tis that glory that makes an angel! V. An heart much affected with the Lord Jesus Christ will procure the "face of an angel " unto the man who hath an heart so affected. Unto the angels there is nothing so precious, and nothing so glorious, as the Lord Jesus Christ; yea, 'tis our Christ that makes the best part of their heaven for them. Our Lord Jesus Christ is, as the Apostle enumerates it among the mysteries and evidences of our faith, in 1 Tim. iii. 16, "Seen of angels." But how seen? Truly, seen with wonders, and seen with raptures, and seen with endless hallelujahs. Would we be like the angels? OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 135 Then let our Lord Jesus Christ be seen by us, as the lest thing in heaven and earth, and as infinitely better than the very angels themselves. At tlie incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, what were the songs of angels? In Luke ii. 14, "There was a multitude of the heavenly host, praising of God, and saying, glory to God in the highest!" Would we be like the angels? Let us then join in a concert with those "morning stars," and "sons of God." It was with "joy unspeakable and full of glory," that the angels attended upon our Lord Jesus Christ, first throughout his humiliation, and thfen unto his exaltation,. Let the whole of that be the most ravishing subject of our contemplation; let us love to see our Lord Jesus Christ, first suffering, and then entering into his glory. And let our acclamations be like those of the angels upon those marvellous dis pensations of the grace of God! When the angels do look on Jesus Christ, they are covered with astonishment, and cry out, "0, holy, holy, holy Lord of hosts," all "heaven is full of thy glory!" And shall not we so look on that our "Lord of glory?" When the angels do speak of our Lord Jesus Christ, they make a most reverent mention of his holy and reverend name, and say, "Oh! there is none among the sons of the Mighty, that may be compared unto this Lord." And shall not we so speak of that great King, with a "tongue like the pen of a ready writer?" Something of Christ the angels raust have: they would think themselves to be starved, if they had not this manna to feed upon ! Sirs, let the meat of our souls be t!he fruit growing on this tree of life; and let the drink of our souls be, the honey of this rock: this is the daily repast of angels; this nourishment will angelifie us in a little while. What shall I say? The mystery of Cheist is the most grateful contemplation of the angels : Those cherubims about the ark of God, we are told in 1 Pet. i. 12, "They desire to look into these things." I say then, "go and do likewise." VI. If we would always behave ourselves as before the face of angels, we should at length obtain the face of an angel by the exactness, the cir cumspection, the accuracy of our behaviour. It was a good memento, writ ten upon a study wall, angeli adstant; or "the angels of God stand by!" Did men remeraber the eye of the invisible angels upon thera in all their ways, how grave, how cautious, how pious would they be? and at last, how like unto those angels? If a man were as bad as Balaam himself, yet the bare suspicion of having the eye of some angel upon him would be enough to stop him from rushing on to sin. " Why shouldest thou sin, " says the wise man, in Eccl. v. 6, "before the angels?" If we are wise, we should often think, " I am now before some angel !" and that thought would make us wise. The aged Apostle said unto a younger minister, "I charge thee before the elect angels:" from whence 'tis infallibly sure that the elect angels take notice how we acquit ourselves, each one, in his charge. Said the Psalmist, in Psal. cxxxviii. 1, "Before the gods I will sing praise unto thee:" The LXX. translate it, "I will sing praise unto thee, before 136 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; the angels." Christians, the angels take notice of us in all our employ ments; yea., in our closest retirements. We give no praises to God, we perform no duties, we endure no troubles, we resist no temptations, but the angels of God are the witnesses of what we do; we are a spectacle to angels in all our encounters. Well, now let our deportment be mightily under the infiuence of this consideration: "the angels take notice; what report will the angels of God give of my behaviour?" It has been pro pounded as a rule of prudence for a man, wherever he comes, to imagine that there is present some erainent, wise, and good man, to see and hear all that passes. Man, there is an angel to see and hear all that passes, wherever thou comest; this is no meer imagination. Could we, like the servant of the prophet in the mount, see the unseen regiment of the world by the subordinate government of angels, what an awe would it strike us with ! The angels of the Lord see how men are disposed and employed for the service of their Lord, and gladly contribute their unknown assist ances unto that service. But it cannot be any other than a grief unto those angels to see enormities in those for whose welfare they are con cerned. If they have joy over a penitent, they must needs have some sort of grief over a transgressor. Yea, in all probability, the miscar riages of such offenders work in them a sort of distaste, which inclines them, on many accounts, to withdraw from the offenders, until they have washed themselves over again, in the fountain set open for sin and for uncleanness. Now, let this consideration accompany us in all our walk; and let the eye of an angel be more to i-is, than the eye of a Cato could be to any Eoman. The "face of angels" will at last be gain'd by such a consideration. VII. Let us beware of every sin ; for sin will turn a man into a devil. Oh ! vile sin, horrid sin, cursed sin ! or, to speak a more pungent word than all of that. Oh, sinful sin ! how pernicious art thou unto the souls of men! 'Tis said, in 1 John iii. 8, "He that committeth sin, is of the devil." Holiness will raake men incarnate angels; but wickedness will make thera devils incarnate. An irapenitent sinner, hath he the face of an angel? No, but the heart of a devil in him. Let your zeal against all sin then be like that of the seraphim. The angels are seraphims, or burn ing, ones; they burn (and so let us!) against all sin, because of its "being so contrary and provoking to their most holy Lord. Sirs, mark it: if any of you wittingly and willingly sin against God, you do as the devils do, and as the devils would have you to do, and as our Lord Jesus Christ speaks, in John viii. 44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." Dreadful words! There is the image of the devil, and there is the practice of the devil in every sin. To commit sin is humane; to indulge it, will be diabolical. But especially there is much of the devil in apostacy from good beginnings. Of the devils, we find, in Jude vi. "They kept not their first estate:" they once joined,'it seems! in OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. I37 praising of God with the angels of the blessed regions; but they left\i all. You that have left the societies, and the exercises of Christianity, wherein you were at first engaged, behold, who your leader is ! The first and great apostate, the devil, is your leader in this desertion; and, alas! whither will he had you? There is much of the devil also in hypocrisie under good professions. When there was a secret, rotten hypocrite among the disciples of our Lord, our Lord said, in John vi. 70, "He is a devil." Indeed, the devil is never so much a devil, as when transformed into an angel of light.. When strict pretenders and pleaders, and, it may be, preachers of the gospel, shall yet cloak " some hidden practices of dishon esty " tinder their fair pretences, behold, men playing the devil horribly. What shall I say more ? The devil is an unclean spirit, a lying spirit, a proud spirit, a spirit full of envy. Oh I take heed lest you be of such a spirit, and so, lest you perish "with the devil and his angels" throughout eternal ages. Thus, the rules of becoraing angelical have been set before us. But if we do now humbly reflect upon ourselves, for our not living up to these rules, we cannot easily be more humble in such reflections, than was that MAN OF God, the Eeverend Joshua Moodey, who frora his essays to obtain the face of angels, is now gone unto the place of angels. All the churches of New-England considered him as a person whom an eminency, both in sense and in grace, had made considerable. All the churches of Boston enjoy'd and admired his accomplishments for the evangelical ministry many years together. The church of Portsmouth (a part of the country that very much ow'd its life unto him!) crys out of a deadly wound in his death; and is ready to cry out " Our breach is great like the sea; who can heal it?" His labours in the gospel were frequent and fervent; whereof the press hath given some lasting, as the pulpit gave many lively testimonies: yea, if it were counted one of the most meraorable things in St. Francis de Sales, that he made four thousand sermons to the people, I can relate as memorable a thing of our Moodey : at the beginning of his sermons he still wrote in his notes (which were fairly and largely written) how the number of them advanced ; and before he died, he had numbered some hundreds more than four thousand of them. And unto his cares to edifie his flock by sermons, he added more than ordinary cares to do it by visits: no man perhaps being a kinder visitant. He was not only ready to do good, but also to suffer for doing it; and as he was exemplarily zealous for a scriptural purity in the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ, so he cheerfully subraitted unto an imprison ment, for that "cause of God and this country;" wherein, like Stephen, he had the honour to be the first that suffered in that way for that cause in these parts of the world. Briefly, for piety, for charity, and for faith fulness to the raain interests of our churches, all that knew him, and know the worth of these things, wish that among the survivors he may have many folbwers. 138 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; He was of a very robust and hardy constitution, and a notable excep tion to the general remark, raro solent ingenia insigniter foelicia, rohusta sortiri corpora;* and, it may be, too prodigal of his athletick strength, in doing the service whereto a good Master called him. Nevertheless, when a complication of distempers was divers raonths before his dissolution brought thereby upon hira, he exceedingly lamented "his neglect [as he accounted it] of his past opportunities to be serviceable." At length, coming to Boston for advice about the recovery of his lost health, his dis tempers here so grew upon hira, as to threaten a quick period unto his pilgrimage. His distressed church at Portsmouth now importunately raade their prayer with fasting before the "Great Shepard of the sheep," that they might not be deprived of so rich a blessing; and he was himself exceedingly desirous to have returned unto Portsmouth, that he might establish his flock yet further against all temptations to forsake the "right ways of the Lord." But Heaven determined otherwise. When the last summons of death came to be served upon hira, he had neither time nor strength to speak very ranch ; and they that have spoken much while they live, sometimes must not speak very much at their death. His discourses were generally full of self-condemnation; and, indeed, that man knows not how to dye, who thinks to dye otherwise than condemning of MmseZ/" exceedingly. The most of what he said was, I suppose, unto a minister who visited him the day before his expiration. Unto that minis ter he signified, that he was "rejoycing in the hope of the glory of God;" that he was "longing to go to the precious Christ, whom he had chose and serv'd;" that "the Spirit of Christ had comfortably taken away from him the fear of death." When that minister urged him to leave with him any special desire that he should judge proper to be mentioned, he said, "The life of the churches! the life of the churches! and the dying power of godliness in them; I beseecb you to look after that;" the raini.s- ter at last said, "The Lord Jesus Christ is now, sir, going to do for you, as once for Joshua (your names-sake!) He is just going to take from you you old, sorry, ragged garraents, those of your flesh, and cloath you with change of raiment, with the garments of heavenly glory, and give you a place among his angels:" whereto he replied, with some transport, "I believe it! I believe it!" After this, he said little, but lay in an uneasie drowsiness until the afternoon of the day following; which was the Lord's- day; and then, even on the day whereon he had so often been "in the spirit," he went unto the blessed "world of spirits;" on the day, which he had so often sanctified in a sacred rest, he went unto his eternal rest. A fatal day was this unto our land! It is an omen of a sad fate to a land when the angels d(5 say, migremus hinc — "let us be gone!" How far he had the face of an angel while he sojourned here, no doubt envy may cavil; and I have sometimes with wonder seen it, in the -poor Fnergumens * Extraordinary mental endowments are seldom associated with a robust frame. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 139 among us, that when the minister, who might be the most likely to do them good, came unto them, the fiends that possessed them would make the minister's /ace look so dirty and swarthy, that they must by no means acknowledge him. This I raay venture to say without flattery : it is long ago that, in another sense than Aquinas, we call'd him "an angelical doc tor;" and he has now attained the "face of an angel," without the least wrinkh in it. He is, with Stephen, and the angels of God, gone to behold the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and bear a part with the "many angels round about the throne, saying, 'Worthy is the Larab that was slain!'" I cannot but recoramend hira to you, as one that was, "a candi date of the angelical life;" and solicit you to rera ember, not only the les- ^ sons, and counsels, and warnings, which you have had from hira, in private or publick dispensations, but also his example, to follow him wherein he followed (and in many things he followed!) the Lord Jesus Christ. finis. CHAPTER YHL GEMINI.*— THE LIFE OF THE COllIHS'S. § 1. When several sons of Diagoras had so acquitted themselves as to merit and obtain applause in their publick actions, he that brought the old man the report of it, gave hirn that salutation, "Dye quickly, or, I am going to tell you that which will keep you out of heaven!" There was a good old man, called Collins, the deacon of the church at Cam bridge, who is now gone to heaven ; but before he went thither, had the satisfaction to see several most worthy sons become very famous persons in their generation ; sons that, having worthily served their generation, are now gone thither as well as he; two of thera are found among the graduates of Harvard-Colledge. § 2. Mr. John Collins in his youth received a wound by a fall, which had like to have cost him his life ; but whilst he lay gasping, the renowned Mr. Thomas Shepard came to him with this consolation: "I have just now been wrestling with the Lord for thy life, and God hath granted me my desire; young man, thou shalt not dye, but live; but remember, that now the Lord says, surely, thou wilt now fear hirn, and receive instruction." The life then continued unto that young man, afterwards proved so very considerable among the congregational divines of Great Britain, and espe cially in the great city of London, where he mostly spent his days of publick service, that it well deserves a room in our account of worthies. • Twins. 140 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; His abilities as he was a preaclier, did chiefly signalize him; for such Aras the life and charm which atcompanied his exercises in the pulpit, that none but persons of the same humour with him who wrote certa-in things like hoohs to prove that "Cicero wanted eloquence," went away unmoved or unpleased from them. Nevertheless, being under disadvantages to come at the more perfect story of his life^ my reader shall have oiily the contracted report which his epitaph has thus given of it. Eeader, the stones will speah^ if his friends do not celebrate him ! JOHANNES COLLINS. Jndolis optimm puerulus, patrem pietate insigiiem^ Castiorem Dei cultum, et limatiorem EcclesitB disciplinamf anhetantemi . In Americanum MnglamLm secutus est colonium. Ubi qua gymnasiisj qua Cantahrigiensi isthic Collegia^ (Deo indefessis adspirante studiis) Scribaf actus ad regnum cmlorum instructissimus , Antiques cumfanore repcnditur Anglim. Scotia etiam celebrium ministrormn gens fcrtilis, Ut audivitj et mirata est concionantem, M. Diia Die 111°. Anno ]&x& Utrohique multos Christo lucrifedt ; Plures in Christo asdificavit. PrtBsertim. hac in Metropoli, gregis gratissimi pastor^ J^il segnis otii gnavo indvlgens animo^ JVec laboribus mor bisque fracto par cens corpori; JHeditayido^ prmdicando, conferendo., votaque faciendoj Vitam insumpsit fragUem^ Ut mternm aliorum vitce consulerei ; Quo ecclesiarum vitaque nulla pastorem optimum^ Aut vivum magis venerata estf Aut magis indoluit morienti, Christianae M DC LXXXVII.* This is the language of the epitaph, the truth-speaker. And as I have thus found the story of his life, so I can, in a yet more unsuspected quarter, now find a sermon on his death. In the third volume of the " Morning-Fxercises," published by that good man, the very Barna bas of London, that very reverend and excellent man. Dr. Annesly ; there is a serraon, wearing the name of no other author, but N. N. on that case, "how the religious of a nation are the strength of it?" Now, the author of that sermon was this Mr. John Collins, who tho' he thus reckoned himself a no body, yet was by others esteemed so considerable a part of the "strength of the nation," that at the affectionate prayer of the reverend Mr. Mead, poured out before God for his recovery when he lay sick, ^I have been told there was hardly one dry eye to be seen in the great congregation of the lecture at Pinner's-Hall, where he also had been a lecturer. Let the reader but make the application of that sernion to the author of it ; and read this as the running title, " The English nation weakened by the death of Mr. John Collins:" thus a funeral sermon upon hira will not be wanting! § 3. A younger brother, but yet a broilier to hira, was Mr. Nathaniel Collins, at whose death, December 28, 1684, in the forty-third year of his age (wherein he got the start for heaven !) there were more wounds given * John Collins ; while yet an ingenuous boy, he followed to England's American colonies his pious father, who was then panting for a purer worship of God and a more exact church discipline. Here the youth, bm-ning with undiminished zeal for God's service, became fitted, at school and at Harvard College to be a shining light in the liingdom of heaven, and was then given back with usury lo Old England. Scotland, though proliflo in eminent divines, heard and wondered at his public ministrations. Every where he gained many to Christ ; more he built up in Christ. Especially in this metropolis, did he, as a pastor of a loving flocit, refrain from indulging his great intellect in sluggishness or ease, and bore up against toil, disease, and a shattered frame. In meditation, in preach ing, iu personal remonstrance and in prayer, he spent his own frail existence, that he might secure the eternal life of his rellow-morlals. No pastor, however great his excellences, ever called forth from the living church more ven eration in life or deeper grief for his death. He died December 3d, iu the one thousand six hundred and eighty-seventh year of the Christian Era. OE, THE HISTOEY OE NEW-ENGLAND. 141 to the whole colony of Connecticut in our New-England, than the body of Caesar did receive, when he fell wounded in the senate-house. Eeader, I would have made an essay to have lamented the fate of this our Collins iu verse, were it not for two discouragements: not because Annatus the Jesuite reckon'd it a thing worthy of a scoff in our Dr. Twiss, to be guilty of a little flight at poetry — for the noblest hands have scann'd poetical measures on their fingers — but because my mean faculties Would not carry me beyond the performances, whereof the gentleman in Thuanus was afraid, when he made it a clause in his last will, that "they should not burden his hearse with bad funeral verses;" and because that sacred thing, verse, hath been by the licentious part of mankind so prostituted, that now the truth of whatever is therein offered, therefore thus becomes suspected. Nevertheless, his merits were such, that his life must be writ ten, or at least so much of it as this, that he merited highly to have his life written. But our history of him is to be abridged into this brief account, that the church of Middletown upon Connecticut-river, was the golden candlestick frora whence this excellent person illuminated more than that whole colony; and that all the qualities of most exemplary piety, extraordinary ingenuity, obliging affability, join'd with the accom plishments of an extraordinary preacher, did render hira truly excellent. In saying this of him, I may confirm what I say, in words like those of Jerom on a like occasion, Testor, Christanum de Christiano, vera proferre:* and for his character add this epitaph : Ille plus pastor, quo non prosstantior unus. Qui faciendo docet, quce facienda docet.i But indeed, as the mother of Brasidas bravely comforted herself upon the death of her much lamented son, Vir bonus est Brasidas et forth, sed habet multos Sparta similes :X even such was the consolation of Connecticut, by the special favour of Heaven to the colony; "that though in the death of Collins, they lost an excellent man, yet he was not the only excellent man they had among thera." In the acknowledgments of worth, there may- corae in for a great share with hira several most worthy men, v/herewith the Connecticut colony has been singularly favoured. Whiting of Hart ford, Woodbridge of Wethersfield, Wakeman of Fairfield, will never 'be forgotten, till Connecticut colony do forget itself and all religion. • I bear witness, that a Christian is telling the true stoiy of a Christian's life. t The pastoral work with holy zeal he wrought ; | Teaching by doing— doing what he taught. X Brasidas is a good and brave man, but Sparta has many such. 142 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA: THE LIFE OF MR. THOMAS SHEPARD. Cur prcematuram, Mortemque queramus Acerham ? Mors Matura Venit, cum Bona Vita fuit.* § 1. If it were accounted a great honor to the family of the Curii in Eome, that there arose from that stock "three excellent orators," one succeeding another; we may account it a greater honor signalizing the family of the Shepards of New-England, that no less than "three excellent ministers" have successively issued from it. The eldest son of Mr. Thomas Shepard, the ever memorable pastor to the church of Cambridge, was Mr. Thomas Shepard, the pastor of the church of Charlstown ; and the only son of Mr. Thomas Shepard, that pastor of Charlstown, was our last Mr. Thomas Shepard, Paternce Virtutis ex asse Hoeres,\ his grandfather's and his father's genuine off-spring. The lives of those his predecessors make a figure in our Church-history, and though this our third Mr. Thomas Shep ard raust have it said of hira, "that he did not attain to the days of the years of the life of his fathers in the days of "their pilgriraage;" neverthe less his life had that in it which raay justly render it observable and exem plary. Yea, such a similitude of spirit, there was descending from the father to the son, and from the son to the grandson in this holy generation, that albeit, they were all of thera severally short-lived, the two first not living much more than forty, and the last not so much as thirty years in the world, yet there might a sort of jointed longoivity be ascribed unto the generation; for when the father went away, Non totus recessit,X ^e had him still surviving to the life in the posterity. As the name of Abner may be taken both ways, either Pai£r Lucerna, or Lucerna Patris; either the father was the brightness of the son, or the son was the brightness of the father: such a lustre did father, and son, and grandson mutually reflect upon one another in this happy family. It might be said of them as Nazianzen, I remember, speaks about the family of a Basil ; the parents were such that, if they had not such blessed children, they had been of themselves re nowned ; and the children were such, that, if the parents had not been so of theraselves, yet for the sake of these they had been famous in the church of God. Or, they may make us think of the glory with which the most illustrious family in the oracles of God is usually set off when Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, are so often together introduced, where the root gives a verdure to the branches, and the flourishing branches again com mend the root. * Why should untimely dcjith evoke our grief? Death must bo timely, though the life be brief, •Whene'er the life is holy. + Heir to the enth-ety of his father's virtues. X He did not wholly deparU OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. I43 §-2. When Mr. Thomas Shepard, the second of New-England, and the first of Charlstown, died, he left behind him such a picture as that which Tully mentions of Sextus Sulpicius: Nullum unquam Monumentum clarius, S. Sul- pidus relinquere potuit, quam Effigiem Morum suorum, Virtutis, Constantia;, Pietatis, Ingenii Filium;* a son that was the lively picture of his virtues. And now that son also is dead without any male off-spring, we will make an essay at the drawing of his picture after another manner ; even by such a narrative of his life, as may be indeed his picture to the life: in the doing whereof perhaps the children of Godly and worthy ancestors may find the encouragement of a confirraation to that observation, that as the snow-ball, the further it rolls, the greater it grows, thus the further that the grace of God is continued, and received, and valued in any faraily, the greater effects of that grace will be still appearing. Eor there were some singular circumstances of early blessedness, attending this our youngest and latest Shepard, wherein it might be said of him, as it was of the well-known grandson, of whom this was indeed a true son, "His blessings exceeded the blessings of his progenitors." And we raay the rather take notice of this raatter, because there was hardly one consideration which oftner pos sessed the raind of this our Shepard, or more powerfully operated upon him to make him eminent, than "the obligations laid upon him from his ancestors to do worthily." As the famous Boleslaus always carried about with him the picture of his father in his bosom, upon which often look ing, he would say, "Let me never do any thing unworthy the son of such a father!" this was the very spirit of our Shepard, who always bore about with him the image of his father, and as often as perhaps almost any one thing, thought on this, "how he might approve himself the son of such a father." § 3. Descended from such ancestors, our Thomas Shepard was born at Charlstown in New-England on July 5, 1658. How he was in his earliest years disposed, I choose to relate by reciting some of the words, after wards used by hiraself, when he addressed the church of Charlstown for adraission to their sacred communion : "As to the thing of that which is commonly called 'first conversion' or 'regeneration,' 1 have had many thoughts about it; but have been afraid, and am still, to determine it unto this or that particular. What I have found by myself, hath made me oftentimes to question whether the former operations of the spirit of God about me, were any more than common; or whether such and such sins were consistent with saving grace; that whion hath helped me in this case, hath been partly what I have heard from a reverend man of God, 'that such as are from time to time disquieted with such thoughts, the best, if not the only way to put it out of doubt that they have true faith, is by exercising faith, to convert again unto God. And putting my soul in the way of the breathings of God's spirit, and then observing the actings thereof, I have, by the help of the same spirit, found something of relief under those doubts. On my childhood and youths I have too much cause to say (as Solomon of the * Sestus Sulpicius could not leave any more notable monument, than that image of his character, his virtues. his fldelity and his piety— his own son. 144 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; things of this world) 'vanity of vanities, all is vanity!' Yet, by the blessing of God on the faithful endeavours and fervent prayers of my religious parents; especially on my honoured, blessed, and most exemplaiy father, who, of all, as the most able to further, so was most solicitous, studious, and tenderly careful, always about the everlasting well-being of a son, from the very beginning of my days, to the end of his, I do think I was, by precept and holy example, imbued with a natural love and liking to the word and, ways of God; though not saving, yet such as whereby a pr^udice against religion was prevented." Now, as God blessed the religious cares of his father to tinge him with such a savour of religion in his childhood; and he would not only on the Lord's days, while he was yet a boy, so notably repeat by heart in his father's family, all the heads of the longest sermons preached in the pub lick, that it might have served for a sufficient repetition, instead of using the notes usually produced on such occasions, but also his virtuous car riage on the week days, he show'd that the sermons had indeed their impressions on his heart: so his childhood was reraarkable for the dili gence of it and his love of his book. And such was the effect of this diligence, that though he had not in his attainments the prcecocity of Jacobus Martini, the Venetian boy, who not many years agoe, when he was but seven year's old, publickly disputed at Eome on Theses which he published of theology, law, physio and the other disciplines, unto the astonishment of all the orders there, yet he did attain unto such learning, as gave him an early admission into the Colledge, and rais'd great hopes in good men concerning him. § 4. Being admitted into the Colledge, never was father more careful of his Ascanius, than the father of this our Shepard was of this his only son. And the care of his father for his welfare caused hira then, in iraita- tion of what the grandfather had once done for him, to give him, in writ ing, a paper of golden instructions, directing his behaviour while he should continue a student in that society. The sum of those instructions was — ¦ "I. To remember the great end of his life, even the glorifying of God through Christ, and the end of this turn of his life, even the fitting him for the most glorious work of the holy ministry. For this end (wrote that excellent man) your father hath set you apart with many tears, and hath given you up to God that He might delight in you. And (he proceeded) I had rather see you buried in your grave, than grow light, loose, wanton or profane: God's secrets in the holy Scriptures are never made known to common and profane spirits ; and (added he) therefore be sure you begin and end every day, wherein you study, with earnest prayer to God : reading some part of the Scripture daily, and setting apart some time ev'ry day (though but one quarter of an hour) for meditation of the things of God. "II. To remember that these are times of much knowledge, and therefore one had almost ¦t^ good be no scholar, as not to excel in knowledge; wherefore (said he) abhor one hour of idleness, as you would be ashamed of one hour of drunkenness. Though (as he also said) I would not have you neglect seasons for recreation a little before and after meals, and though I would not have you study late in the night usually, yet know that God will curse your soul, while the sin of idleness is nourished, whjcft hath spoiled so m.any hopeful youths in first blossoming in the Colledge. Hence (he ^1d likewise) don't content yourself to do as much as your Tutor sets you about, but know that you will never excel in learning, unless you do somewhat else in private hours, wherein his care cannot reach you. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. I45 "III. To make his studies as pleasant, and aa fruitful as could be, first by singling out two or three scholars, the most godly, learned, and studious, and such as he could love best, and such as would most love him, of any that he could find among his equals, as also some that were superiours, and often manage discourses with them on all subjects which he had before him; and mark diligently what occurred remarkable in every one's conferences, disputations and other exercises, but, by no means letting too much leak away in visits. Next, by having a variety of studies before him, that when he should be weary of one book or theme, he might have recourse to another. Then, by prosecuting of studies in some order and method; and therefore, every year at least, if not oftener, fixing the course thereof, so as he might not allow himself to be ordinarily therein interrupted. Fourthly, by giving of difficult .studies the flower of his thoughts, and not suffering any difficulty to pass him, till by industry or inquiry, he had mastered it. Fifthly, by keeping an appetite for studies, by intermixing med itation, and at fit seasons recreation, but by such as might moderately stir the body, and render the spirit more lively for its duties. Sixthly, by making of choice collections from what authors he perused, and having proper indices to his collections; and therewithal con- triving still how to reduce all unto his own more peculiar service in his exercises or otherwise. Seventhly, by taking pains in preparing for his racitations, declamations, disputations, and not upon any pretence whatever hurry them off indigestedly. (Said he,) reading without meditation will be useless ; meditation without reading will be barren. But here I would not have you forget a speech of your blessed grandfatlier to a scholar that complained to him of a bad memory, which discour.iged him from reading. Lege, lege, aliquid ha:rebit.* That sentence [he added] in Prov. xiv. 23, deserves to be written in letters of gold on your study-table, 'In all labour, there is profit.' But, lastly, by praying much not only for hea venly, but also humane learning; For (said he) remember that prayer at Christ's feet, for all the learning you want, shall fetch you in more in an hour, than possibly you may get by all the books and helps you have otiierwise in many years. " IV. To be grave and kind in his carriage towards all the scholars ; but be watchful against the two great sins of many scholars. Whereof his words were these: 'The first is youthful lusts, speculative wantonness, and secret filthiness, for which God hardens and blinds young men's hearts, his Holy Spirit departing from such unclean styes. The second is, malignancy and secret distaste of holiness, and the power of godliness, .and the professors of it.' Both of these sins (said he) you will quickly fall into, unto your own perdition, if you be not careful of your company: For there are and will be such in every soholastical society, for the most part, as will teach you how to be filthy, and how to jest, and scoff, and scorn at godliness, and at the professors thereof; whose company, I charge you to fly as from the devil, and abhor: And that you may be kept from these, read often that scripture, Prov. ii. 10, 11, 12. 16. "V. Remember (so wrote he) to intreat God with tears before you come to hear any ser mon, thctt thereby God would powerfully speak to your heart, and make his truth precious to you. Neglect not to u^ite after the preacher always in handsom books, and be careful always tb preserve and peruse the same. And upon Sabbath days make exceeding con science of sanctification; mix not your other studies, much less vain and carnal discourses, with the duties of that holy day, but remember that comm.and. Lev. xix. 30: 'Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary, I am the Lord.' "VI. Remember (so likewise wrote he) that whensoever you hear, read, or conceive any divine truth, you study to affect your heart with it, and the goodness of it. Take heed of receiving truth into your head, without the love of it in your heart, lest God give you to strong delusions. If God reveal any truth to you, be sure you be humbly and deeply thankful." These excellent instructions ihis father concluded with these word's : "My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoyce even mine."" * Read, read I somothing will remain in the memory, Vol. IL— 10 146 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; And I may now abridge the whole accademical life of our young Shep ard, even until he proceeded Master of Arts, into this brief account of him, that he did make the heart of his worthy father to rejoice by his con scientious and exemplary attendance unto these instructions. Yea, when he had occasion to raention thera, it was in these terms: "My, next to Christ, most beloved father's advice." Nor was there any one part of his character more conscientious than this, "A reverence for the person and advice of his father." § 5. But before he could proceed Master of Arts, a terrible hand of God upon (more than) Charlstown, put an end unto the days of his father in the world. And albeit that very considerable church, under this bereave ment, had now a prospect of a supply frora several quarters, yet, after much praying and fasting before the " Great Shepherd of the sheep " for his direction, they could fix no where but upon this hopeful son of their former pastor. Indeed, for the most part, "a prophet is without honour in his own country;" nevertheless, in this country, as well as among some of the primitive churches, there have been more than two or three instances of sons that have happily succeeded (yea, and assisted) their fathers in the evangelical prophesie. And Charlstown particularly (not altogether unlike the magistrates of Basil, who, from their esteem of the excellent Buxtorf, chose his very young son to succeed hira in the Hebrew Professorship) knowing the prayers, the tears, the faith, which their first Shepard had used for this only son, concluded that, like the son of Monica, "it was irapossible that he should not be blessed, and raade a blessing;" and seeing also the early disposition of our young Shepard, in all things to iraitate his excellent father, they believed that nothing would more con tinue "day -light after sunset" unto them, than for them hereto raake their choice. Accordingly, at their desire, he preached his first sermon among them, while he was yet little more than twenty years of age ; and with a very charming, solid and serious gravity, he discoursed on Exod. xv. 2: "He is my father's God, and I will exalt him." Upon this, and other such experiments of his alpilities, his father's flock were at no rest until they had obtained his establishment, with ordination, to be their feeder; which was consummated on May 5, 1680, and the last words used in the sermon by a reverend person, who then preached on that passage in Ezek. xxxiii. 7, "Son of man, I have set thee a watchman," will, by being here transcrib'd, help to finish the picture which we have undertaken : "Be much in prayer for your watchmen, and particularly for him who is this day to be established in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ among you; You have honoured yourselves in thus expressing the love and honour which you had for his excellent father; and as it was said in Ruth ii. 20, 'Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead;' so I will say to you, 'Blessed be this church of the Lord, that you show kindness unto your dead pastor and to his living son.' As for him that is now to become your watchman, he needs your prayers; I may say of him, as David of Solomon, 'My son is young and tender, and the house is magnificent !' I know not whether any so young OE,. THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. ^47 as he, was ever left alone with such d charge. Now, though the 'work be great,' yet the Lord Jesus Christ is able to carry him well through it all; but it must be through the help of your prayers that he comes to have such a ' supply of the Spirit;' pray for him in particular, and that ev'ry day! Who knows what God msiy do for you, in him, and by him, as in and by his fiither before him 1 Let it be your prayer that he would take of the spirit that was in his father and his grandfather; who were both of them great men in their generation, and bestow thereof a double portion upon him. And let that word encourage you, 'My Spirit which is upon thee, and my word which I hiive put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed; saith the Lord."' Thus did he become the pastor of Charlstown, and herein he did not leap from a vain, lewd and unsanctified youth into the pulpit, as into a shop, where to earn a living, and there suddenly put on just so much external devotion as may serve to recomraend one's performances unto an auditory of the faithful. Evan, the heathen moralist, observed the great mischief done in the world by the mercenary masters of precept, who endeavoured more to talk just things, than to do thera: tk Sixaia, (i.ev Xiysiv ifparlen Ss xSa-it-ug.* Our Shepard was none of these. But after long prepar ations of a renewed heart and a rehgious life, and with awful apprehensions of the account which he was to give unto the "Lord of the flock," and of the worth and charge of the immortal souls in his flock, he was thrust forth into public labours. And the Lord encouraged his holy labours by making of such additions unto his church, as few churches in the country for the time had the like ; but yet, as when Peter had a mighty draught of fishes, he cryed out, "Lord! I am a sinful man!" thus the mighty draught of souls, which this young disciple found in his gospel-net, was indeed so far from lifting of him up, that he sensibly grew in his humility, and in his low and vile thoughts of his own attainments. § 6. Although he were a young man, yet might be applied unto him a stroke in the epitaph on one of Mr. Henries children: Prceterquam cetatem, nil puerile fuit:\ And he made the most judicious of his people pass this judgment on him, that he was no novice: And such an example was he in word, in conversation, in civility, in spirit, in faith, in purity, that he did "let no man despise his youth." Such indeed was his whole conduct of him, that he made one think of those words of Origen: Senum estpro- phetare; etiamsi videos aliquando juvenem prophetantem, non dubites dicere de eo, quid secundum interiorem hominem senuit, proptered propheta est.X ^7 the gravity of his deportment he kept up his authority among all sorts of tiersons, and by the courtesie of it he won their affection. He set hiraself to do good unto all among his people, and the charity of his purse, as well as of his tongue and heart, was felt on all just occasions. But there were none dearer to him than the "good old people;" those holy, devout, aged souls who had grown well towards "ripe for heaven" under his blessed • To say what ia just, but by no means to do it. t There was nothing youthful in him, except his years. t It is for old men to prophecy ; and yet you may at tiraes see a youth, of whom you do not hesitate to say, that he ia old inwardly, and therefore ia a prophet. 148 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA. father's ministry: He was much in their company, and he valued thoir prayers for hira, and their serious and savoury and heavenly coraraunica- tions at no ordinary rate. Nor shall I ever forget the consolation which hc told me he had received frora the words which one of those plain old saints used unto hira, when he was under discouraging fears how he should go through his work: "Sir (said he) if you'll give up yourself to do the work of' the Lord Jesus Christ, never fear but he will help you to do yours." When he carae to have a family of his own, it was a well-ordered one: He raorning and evening read in it a portion of the Scripture, and then pray'd out of what he read: But on the Saturday nights, he chose to repeat a serraon, coramonly what had been preached on some Lecture the foregoing week, or one of his deceased father's; and on Lord's-day nights he repeated the sermon of the day foregoing. And while he made his house a Bethel, for the devotion therein performed, he made it a Bethesda, for the hospitable entertainment which he gave unto those that repaired unto him : And munerarius pauperum et egentium, candidatus sic festinavit ad cailum.* For all other things he so raade the hundred and first Psalm the rule of his house, as to give therein a demonstration of his ability to "rule the church of God." From hence, if we follow him unto his beloved study, there we shall find him affording yet a more notable and eminent instance of an holy walk. Here, besides his daily supplica tions, he did one thing which had a mighty tendency to keep his own spirit in an healthy, vigorous, thriving temper, and bring down the mani fold blessings of God upon all the weighty concerns, which he had in' his hands; and a thing it was, without which he thought he could never prove either a watchful Christian or a very useful minister; this was that he scarce permitted one month to pass him, without spending at least one day in the exercises of a secret-fast before the Lord. It is remarkable that ev'ry one of those three who are famous in the book of God for mira culous fasting, were honoured by God with the miraculous feeding of other men. Our Shepard thought that he should never do any great things "in feeding of his flock, if he did not great things in fasting by himself. The commendations given to fasting by Basil and Cyprian, in their orations about it, and by Ambrose in his book of Elias, were believed by our Shepard; his holy heart could subscribe unto the words of Chrysostom concerning this duty, who in his homily says: "Fasting is, as much as lies in us, an imitation of the angels, a contemning of things present, a school of prayer, a nourishment of the soul, a bridle of the mouth, an abatement of concupiscence: it mollifies rage, it appeases anger, it calms the tempests of nature, it excites reason, it clears the mind, it disburthens the flesh, it chases away night-pollutions, it frees from head-ach. By fa.st- ing, a man gets composed behaviour, free uttetance of his tongue, richt apprehensions of his mind." Wherefore he still would set apart a day * Abounding in charity to the poor and needy, ho became a fit candidate for the heaven to which ho hastened. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 149 every month, wherein he would strictly examine the error of his heart and life, and confess and bewail those errors, and obtain the "sealed pardon" thereof, by a "renewed faith" in the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ; and then wrestle with Heaven for new supplies of grace, to carry hira well through the whole service incumbent on him ; and therewithal implore the smiles of Heaven on all the souls that were under his charge, and on the land and world. And this his piety was accompanied with proportionable industry, wherein he devoured books even to a degree of learned gluttony ; insomuch that, if he might have changed his name, it raust have been into Bibliander. Whence, tho' he had a fine, and large, and a continually growing library, yet, that he might avoid the disgrace of that salutation, salvete, libri sine doctore* he took a very particular course, to make himself master of the learning, which was lodg'd in so rich a treasury : for so little did he deserve to be numbered among the chaplains of K. Lewis XI. the French king, who, seeing their learning to bear no proportion unto their libraries, wittily said of them, "they were like such as had crooked backs, carrying a burden about with thera, which they never saw in their lives," that he had hardly left a book of consequence to be so used, in his library (shall I now call it, or his laboratory) which he had not so perused as to leave with it an inserted paper, a brief idea of the whole book, with memorandums of more notable passages occurring in it, written with his own diligent and so enriching hand. He might say, with Seneca, Nullus mihi per otium exiit dies; partem etiam noctium studiis vindico ;-\ and it is well if he were not a little too much of a Seneca, in hurting "of his health by so spending his life. § 7. He faithfully set himself to discharge the whole duty of a pastor; and as he walked humbly under the awe of that word in Heb. xiii. 17, "They watch for your souls, as those that must give an account;" so, methinks, I hear hira give up this account unto the Judge of all : " Gracious Lord, I waicVd, that I might see what special truths, from time to time, were most proper to be inculc;ited on my flock, and I thoroughly preached those truths. I watch'd, that I raight see what sort of temptations did most threaten my flock, and I set myself to strencrthen them against those temptations. I watch'd, that I might see what sort of afflic- tions'did most assault my flock, and I set myself to comfort them under those afflictions. I did watch to learn wh.at sort of duties were most seasonable to be recommended to my flock and I vigorously recommended them in the seasons thereof I did watch, to see what souls of my flock did call for my more particular addresses, and I often address'd one or other of them. 'Yet not I, but the grace which was with me!'" But if we consider him yet more particularly as a preacher, he did thus acquit himself. In the writing of his discourses for the pulpit, he did, as they say Aristotle did when he wrote one of his famous books, " dip his pen into his very soul !" When he was going to compose a sermon, he began with prayer; thinking, bene orasse est bene studuisse.X He then read over * All hail, boolts without a master ! t I lose not a day in indolence ; I even devote a portion of the night to my studies. X To have prayed well, is to have studied well. 150 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; his text in the original, and weigKd the language of the Holy Ghost. If any difficulty occurr'd in the interpretation, he was wary how he ran against the streara of the most solid interpreters, whom he still consulted. He was then desirous to draw forth his doctrines, and perhaps other heads of his discourse in the beginning of the week, that so his occasional thought might be useful thereunto. And he would ordinarily improve his own meditations to shape his discourse, before he would consult any other authors who treated on the subjects, that so their notions raight serve only to adorn or correct his own. Lastly, having finished his composure, he concluded with a thanksgiving to the Lord, his helper. And then for the utterance of the sermons thus prepared, though his pronunciation were not set off with all the advantages that "itching ears" would have asked for, yet he had the divine rhetorick, recommended by Dr. Stoughton in that speech of his, "this I know and dare avouch, that the highest mystery in divine rhetorick is, to feel what a man speaks, and then to speak what he felt." In thus "fulfilling his ministry," he went through a variety of sub jects; but there were especially two subjects that were singled out by him towards the close of it: First, it being a time when a conjunction of ini quity and calamity raade but an ill aspect upon the countrey, he did in one part of the Lord's day choose to insist upon the prayer of Jonas ; which he handle(I in forty-five sermons, whereof the last was uttered about a month before his end. Secondly, a synod of churches having discovered and condemned a number of provoking evils, by degenerating whereinto the land was exposed unto the judgments of Heaven, he did on the other part of the Lord's days insist on those provocations ; and having dispatch'd what he intended hereof also, he took two texts ; the one to awaken the obstinate — namely, that in Jer. xiii. 17: "If you will not hear, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride." The other to encourage the penitent — namely, that in Mat. xi. 28: "Come to me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And he was never after heard speaking in the name of the Lord. *¦ § 8. A while before his death, he preached thirteen sermons on that pas sage, Eccles. xii. 5, "Man goeth to his long home." And he had a strange and strong prcesage on his own mind, that he was himself to be not long from that home. I find the patriarch Isaac, in Gen. xxvii. 2, fill'd with many thoughts about "the day of his death" at hand; and enquiring after some special reason for it, I find that Isaac was now come to that age at which his brother Ishmael died, fourteen years before. This probably now, above any other time, awakened hira to think of his own death as near unto him. It may be, the prcesage of our Shepard, that he should not outlive the age of twenty seven, might be somewhat excited by his calling to mind the age at which his uncle expired. Our first Shepard of Carabridge had three sons, whereof, if the eldest OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. 151 namely, Thomas (the father of our Thomas of Charlstown) — were one sin gularly enlarged in his endowments and improvements, I ara sure the second was one whose heart was a tent in which the Lord remarkably chose to dwell: it was Mr. Samuel Shepard, of whose holy life and death I may here interweave a distinct account, by but reciting the words which I find written in a private manuscript of our excellent Mr. Mitchel concerning him. His words are these: "On April 7, 1668, dyed Mr. Samuel Shepard, pastor of the church of Rowly (just two months after his wife), a very precious, holy, meditating, able and choice young man; one if the first three. His attainments in communion with God, and in daily meditation and close walking, may shame those that are elder than he. He was but twenty six years of age in October last. He was an excellent preacher, most dearly beloved at Rowly, and of all that knew him; but just settled among them. The people would have 'plucked out their eyes' for him, to have saved his life. But he was ripe for heaven, and God took him thither ; a gain to him, but an invaluable loss to us." New this our Thoraas had an alraost unaccountable apprehension that, in his early death, he should be like his uncle Sarauel; and under the influence of this apprehension, he so liv'd, and so preach'd, as to avoid the danger of a sudden death, by being always prepared for it. Accordingly, it came to pass that about June 5, 1685, on Friday, being indisposed in his bowels, he yet continued his pains and hopes, all the Saturday follow ing, to be ready for the exercises of the Lord's day, when the Lord's-Sup per also was to have been administred. But on the Saturday night his illness grev/ so much upon him, that he said unto his wife, "I would gladly have been, once more, at the table of the Lord; but I now see that I shall no raore partake thereof until I do it after a new raanner "in the kingdom of heaven." On Lord's day noon I visited him, and at my parting with him, he said, "My hopes are built on the free mercy of God and the rich merit of Christ, and I do believe that, if I am taken out of the world, I shall only change my place; I shall neither change my company, nor change itiy communion: And as for you, sir, I beg the Lord Jesus to be with you unto the end of the world!" After this, he spoke little to his attend ants; but was often over-heard pouring out prayers, especially for the widowrchurch (as he often expressed it) which he was to leave behind hirn. And in the night following, to the extream surprize of his friends on earth, he went away to those in heaven ! If his age be now enquired after, it is remarked that, altho' the Scripture doth mention the particular age of many .heroes eternized in its oracles, yet after the Lord Jesus Christ came, and continued in this lower world no longer than thirty two years and a half, tho Scripture does not mention the age of any one person whatsoever, as if the time of any one's continuance in this world, more or less, were not worth minding, since the Son of the Most High tabernacled so little a while among us. However, we will here raention the age of our Shepard: it was a month short of twenty-seven. But, 152 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; An miserum dices, citd qudd terrena reliquit! Fcelicem certe, qudd meliorem tenet.* § 9. "Wisdom, gravity, prudence, temperance (as one speaks) are not always confined unto them that have wrinkled faces, furrowed brows, dim eyes, and palsey hands, leaning on a staff;" nor is a young man uncapable of being a divine. Although our Shepard had not outlived the years of youth, when he went from hence, yet he had outgrown the airs of it; and araong all the vertues of an old man which adorn'd him, not the least of his ornaments was, his being well established in the study of divinity. To accomplish himself in that study, he did not apply himself unto the read ing of those authors who, pretending to describe unto us, "the whole duty of man," and the ."condition of our obtaining the benefit purchased by Christ," are careful to insist on any thing rather than that a reliance on the righteousness of the obedience, yielded by the Lord Jesus Christ as our surety unto God for us, which is the "one thing needful," or that faith, whereby we come to have the union with our Lord Jesus Christ, from which alone all good works arise: and those who, amidst their voluminous harangues upon moral virtue, are very careful to avoid the least insinuation that a man cannot be truly virtuous, until the Spirit of God, by a supernatural opera tion, infusing a new principle into him, hath regenerated him, and that a man can do nothing truly virtuous without the supernatural aids of that spirit. He look'd upon many late books, written to undermine the orthodox " articles of the church of England," in these matters, by persons who per haps had got into preferment by subscribing those very articles, as books that indeed betray'd the Christian religion, under the pretence of upholding it. And the mercy of God having preserved the mind of this our young student from the wrong schemes which might have afterwards entailed such an eternal unsuccessfulness upon his ministry, as uses to attend the ministry wherein the "grace of the gospel" is not acknowledged, he chose to read those authors which have the truer "spirit of the gospel" in them. I find therefore, nnder his own hand, a list of such authors as these, to be considered by hira, as indeed worthy to be perused and considered : Mr. Perkins, Dr. Preston, Dr. Usher, Dr. Manton, Mr. Jeans, Mr. Strong, Mr. Caryl, Mr. Swinnock, Dr. Jacomb, Dr. Owen, Mr. Polbill. And however he saw a Sherlock, after a very unevangelical manner, abusing the writings of his grandfather Shepard, his value for those writings, and the writings of such men as Mr. Hooker or Dr. Goodwin, was thereby not abated ; but his detestation of the new-divinity, wherein he saw the mysteries of " union with Christ" confounded, "acquaintance with Christ" reproached, and "living by faith" and "coming to Christ with nothing for all things,"'made a ridicule, was more than a little augmented. And as it was a principal endeavour with him to settle himself in the true "protestant, New-English Anti-Arminian points of truth," so on all occasions he prov'd himself one * Call him net wretched ; though he thus resign | These earthly things— to speed to Joys diviuo. OE, THE HISTOEY OF NEW-ENGLAND. I53 able to maintain the truth against all opposers : Whence the iraraature death of so accomplish'd a divine, cannot but be a sensible wound unto our churches. But he that "holds the stars in his right hand," can, if we address hira for it, upon the setting of some, cause others to rise; yea, it is possible, and it is indeed proposed, that by writing the lines of sorae such, others may be excited and assisted, in shining like unto them. This was the short life of my dear Shepard. I confess ray affection unto him to have been such, that, if I might use the poet's expression of his friend, animce dimidium meoe, I must say, "I am half buried, since he is dead," or, "he is but half dead, since I am alive." Nevertheless, this affec tion hath not bribed my veracity in any part of the character which I have given of him ; for as, on the one side, I count it base to throw dirt on the face which dust hath been cast upon ; so, on the other side, I think, that painting becomes dead people worse than living. A line or two of Emanuel Thesajirus, upon that first and young Shepard Abel, we may now leave upon hira for his EPITAPH. Conditur sub hoc cespite, virgineus pastor, Qui mortem, omnibus, vitam nemini flendam transegit.* OR this: Great minds must, lilce new stars, but look about, I Dear Shepard, sm-e we dare not call thee dead : Be wondred at a little, and go out. | Tho' ffone, thou'rt but unto thy kindred fled. EARLY PIETY, EXEMPLIFIED IN THE LIFE AND DE.iTH OF ME. NATHANIEL MATHER; WHO HAVING BECOME, AT THE AGE OF NINETEEN, AN INSTANCE OF MORE THAN COMMON LEARNING AND VIRTUE, CHANGED EARTH FOR HEAVEN, OCTOBER 17, 1U88. Si species Annas, Annis Puer ille videtur : Si Mores species, Moribus esse Senex.f THE FOURTH EDITION. WITH A PREFATORY EPISTLE BY MATTHEW MEAD. TO THE EEADER. Of all reading, history hath in it a most taking delight, and no history more delightful than the lives of good men, it being not only pleasant, but profitable; and so while other pleasures become a hail to vice, this becomes a motive to virtue. It may be said of such lives, as that excellent Mr. Herbert s.aid of Verses, A life may find hira who a sermon flies. And turn delight into a sacrifice. Thou hast here a rare history of a youth, that may be of great use and advantage both to old and young; that the aged, seeing themselves out-done by green years, m.ay "gird up • Iten: the young Shepherd lies, with life o'erworn : I t Look at his face ; 'tis childhood's, young and fair: Whose death, we all— whose life, not one can mourn. | Look at his soul ; and manhood's slrength is there. 154 MAGNALIA CHEISTI AMEEICANA; their loins,'' and mend their pace for heaven; and that young ones may be so wrought into the love of religion, as it is exemplified in this holy person, as to endeavour with all diligence to write after his excellent copy. It is a great work to dye, and to dye well is a greater; and no work calls for greater dili gence than this, because the errours of the first work can never be corrected in a second. One great reason why this duty is seldom well done, is because we grudge time to do it in, and leave it to be done at once. It is never like to be well done, unless it be always doing; and therefore we should, in conformity to that great Apostle, die daily. This was the practice of this young disciple, who among all his other learning (wherein for his time he excelled most) had in nineteen years so perfectly learned his lesson, that the wise God saw it fit he should take out. About fourteen .years old he did dedicate himself wholly to God and his service, and entered into a solemn covenant with God to that pui-pose; which as he did not begin rashly, and without great deliberation, so he did not transact it slightly, but with great sense and seriousness ; the matter and form of which covenant you have in this ensuing narrative, signed with his own hand, according to that word of the prophet, (Isa. xliv. 5,) " One shall say, I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall sub- soiibe with his hand to the Lord." And with what care and conscience he performed this covenant in fasting, in prayer, in watchings, in self-examination, in meditation, in thanksgiv ing, in walking with God in all, is fully witnessed in what follows, which shows that he is a true Nathanael, "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Not like those Israelites which the prophet reproveth, for that "they flattered God with their mouth, — lied to him with their tongues, their hearts not being right with him, nor stedfast in his covenant." For h.aving once given up himself to God, "he kept the ways of the Lord, .tnd did not wickedly depart from his God." When his worthy father (my dear friend) was pleased to send this narrative to me, I con fess I could not read it without great reflection and shame: thought I, God will not gather his fruit till it is ripe, and therefore I live so long; nor will he let it hang till it is rotten, therefore Nathanael dyed so soon. We are not sent into the woi-ld meerly to fill up a num ber of years, but to fill up our measures of grace, and whenever that is done, our time is done, and we have lived to matui-ity, and so did this youth, and therefore "came to his grave in a full age [though at nineteen] like as a shock of corn comes in his season." The following history is written by his own brother, (a worthy minister) the fittest of any for such a province, the nearness of relation occasioning that intimacy which others could not easily have. In what he hath done herein, he hath deserved highly of all who love goodness and virtue, having used great faithfulness and great modesty : great faithfulness, and that both to the dead and to the living; to the dead, in raising up the name of such a brother; and to the living, in giving us a narration of his life, without .an oration in his praise; which indeed was altogether needless, when it was so fairly written by himself, for his own works praise him in the gates. And he hath used great modesty, in speakino' for the most part out of the Journal of the deceased, so that it is the dead who speaks while the living writes. And since his end is more to provoke to imitation than to bespeak admi ration, how greatly doth it concern them in whose hands this narrative shall happily fall, to joyn earnest prayer and diligent endeavour together in following this great example; other wise he that gave it, and he that writes it, will both rise up in judgment against an unteaeh- able gener.ation. Matthew Mbad. London, June 17, 1689. OK, THE HISTOEY OF NEV7-EN GLAND. 155 TO THE HEADER. It is not for me to say much of the person who is the subject of the ensuing history, for that I am his younger brother. I have read a letter (dated October 25, 1688,) written to his and my ever honoured father, wherein are these expressions: '' Never could parent have cause of more comfort in a ohild, than you have in that son of yours. I have seen his private papers, and in them such an instance of a walk with God, as few ancient ministers perhaps have experience of, especiaUy for the three last years of his life. I find that he maintained a course of wonderful devotion, supplication and meditation every ^ayj that solemn humiliations and thanksgiving* in secret, were no strangers to his practice ; that he would be often thinking- with himself, ' what shall I do for God V And, in a word, that Dr. Owen's book about 'spiritual mindedness,' has been in a very rare manner transcribed into his conversation. " He has bin for his years a great scholar, but a better Christian. The life of the famous young Janeway, I think, has not more of holiness illustrious in it, than that of your dear Nathanael's. " I write these things, because I judge you have no greater joy. Some eminent ministers here, have maintained a pleasant, intimate, familiar conversation with him, and the character which they gave him, is very extraordinary." Thus that letter. — I have likewise heard my father say, that he was more grieved for the loss which the church of God has sustained in the death of that my brother, than for his own loss thereby. When I parted from him, not a year ago, I hoped that would not have been my VUimum Vale;* but I now lament my unhappiness, in that I gain'd no more by him: and yet must acknowledge, that the little understanding which God has given me in the Hebrew or Greek tongues was by that my brother as the instrument: so that I have cause whilst I shall live to honour his memory. His death makes me remember the poet's words: Ov (piXsi ©SOS Tifo6vri