The life of Thomas Shepard

LIVES

OP THB

CHIEF FATHERS OF NEW ENGLAND.

The Lord our God "be -witli us, as he -was with our fa-
thers : let him not leave us, nor forsake us.

1 Kings 8: 57.

VOL. IV.

THE LIFE

OF

THOMAS SHEPARD.

BY JOHN A. AI,BRO.

Written for the. Mdssachtisetta Sabbath School Society, and
approved by the Committee of Publication.

BOSTON:

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY,

Depository, No. 13 Cornhill.

1 847.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847,

Bt CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

3X'

LIBRART . .

n ^LO UWIVE;RSITY of CALIFORIfMr

^ ^ SAISTA BARBARA

c

S3 A4

PREFACE.

The materials for the ensuing Life of Thomas
Shepard, have been gathered from his own writings,
and from all accessible cotemporaneous sources. Be-
sides his printed works, which exhibit his views of
religion and the church, and aid us in forming a
judgment respecting his mind and character, Mr.
Shepard left in MSS. an Autobiography, containing
brief notices of the principal events in his personal
and domestic history, which was first published to the
world by Rev. Nehemiah Adams, in 1832, and more
recently by Rev. Mr. Young, in " The Chronicles of
Massachusetts." The Life of Shepard, as it is called,
in Mather's Magnalia, the only one that has ever
been written, is but little more than an abridgment
of this Autobiography, (the third person being used
instead of the first,) with a few quaint, general obser-
vations interspersed, which, together, constitute but a
meagre and unsatisfactory view of the character and
influence of this eminent man. In the present work,
Mr. Shepard's account of himself has, of course, been
relied on, as far as it goes, for facts and dates ; but a
vast amount of matter, essential to the illustration of
his labors, and to a just view of his position in New
England, has been drawn from other sources. Sev-
1*

▼1 PREFACE

eral interesting MSS. Letters, never before published,
which throw much light upon Mr. Shepard's domestic
and public life, have, by the permission of Mr. Felt, the
accomplished Librarian of the Mass. Historical Society,
been kindly transcribed for the Author by Mr. David
Pulsifer, the only man, it is believed, who could have
deciphered the chirography in which they have been
locked up for more than two hundred years. The
work is, doubtless, very imperfect, notwithstanding all
the pains which have been taken to render it com-
plete ; but, as a sincere tribute to the memory of one
of New England's best as well as chief Fathers, and
an attempt to vindicate the principles of those men to
whom we owe our civil and religious liberty, it is
commended to the children of the Puritans, in the
hope that it may be regarded as not entirely destitute
of interest, and contribute somewhat to the success of
the cause in which we are engaged.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

CHAPTER I.

The shield of faith General character and different classes of early N
E. ministers. Mr. Shepard one of the first class. His birth. Wil
liamShepard. A mother's influence. Sent to reside with his grand
parents. Removed to Adthrop. Whitsun-Alea. Returns home
Changes in the family. Unkind Step-mother. Welch schoolmas
ter. Death of his father. Education neglected by his Mother-in'
law. His brother John offers to educate him. Goes to a new school
Diligence in study. Fitted for college.

Virgil, in the eighth Book of the JEneid, tells
us that the shield which Vulcan, at the request
of Venus, made for jEneas, contained in sixteen
compartments, or pictures, a prophetic represent-
ation of the Roman history from the birth of
Ascanius to the battle of Actium.

" The brethren first a glorious shield prepare,
Capacious of the whole Rutulian war.
Some, Orb in Orb, the blazing buckler frame,
Some with huge bellows rouse the roaring flame :

With joy the weighty spear the prince beheld;
But most admired the huge mysterious shield;
For there had Vulcan, skill'd in times to come,

a LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Displayed the triumphs of immortal Rome ;
There all the Julian line the god had wrought,
And charged the gold with battlea yetunfought." *

A device which must have been as terrible to
the enemies of the Trojan hero, as it was en-
couraging to the bearer.

What Virgil here presents as a beautiful poet-
ic idea, the Redeemer of the church has actual-
ly realized for us. We have the shield of faith,
wherewith to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked, emblazoned with the mighty history,
past and prospective, of his stupendous victories.
On one part of its flaming disc, we see the story
of the ancient dispensation ; written for the ad-
monition and encouragement of those who have
inherited " the covenants, and the promises, and
the service of God : " on another portion, there
appears the memorable history of our own New
England Patriarchs, from the birth of Puritan-
ism to the permanent and quiet settlement of a
pure church in this land, exhibiting the trials,
sufferings, conflicts, and triumphs of those christ-

* Ingentem clypeam informunt, unum omnia coaira

Tela Latinorum, septenoacjue orbibus orbes

Impediunt.

Illlc res Italaa, Rumanorumque triumphos

Haud vatum ignarus, renturique Inscias aeri,

Fecerat ignipotens : illic genus omne futurs

Stirpit ab Ascanio, pupiataque in ordine bella.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 9

ian heroes who turned this wilderness into a
fruitful field ; a history which should be kept in
perpetual remembrance, and constantly held
forth to the world for the purpose of animating
their and our posterity in the labors and conflicts
that are before us.'*'

The ministers and christians by whom New
England was planted, as one of our early histo-
rians has remarked, were a chosen company of
men, drawn from nearly all the counties of Eng-
land, not by any human contrivance, but by a
peculiar work of God upon their spirits, inspir-
ing them as one man to retire into the wilderness,
they knew not where, and to suflTer in that wilder-
ness they knew not what, for the glory of God,
and for the good of their children.! " God sift-
ed three nations," says Stoughton, " that he
might bring choice whedt into this wilderness."

These early ministers of New England, are
divided by Mather, into three classes ; 1. Those
who were ordained and in the actual exercise of
the ministry when they left England ; and were
the first to preach the gospel, and to establish
churches according to the scriptural model in
this country. 2. Young scholars, who came
over from England with their parents and friends,

* See Letters on the Puritans, by J. B. Williama,
t Magnolia, B. IIL

10 LIFE OP THOMAS SHEFABD.

and completed their education, — already begun
at home, — in this country, before the college was
in a condition to bestow its honors. 3. Those
who came over to New England after the re-
establishment of Episcopacy in the mother coun-
try, and the revival of that persecution which
was designed as James I. declared, to force the
Puritans to conform, or to " harry them out of
the kingdom."

To these, Mather adds a fourth class, which
he calls, fitly enough, the " Anomalies of New
England," that is, a few ministers from other
parts of the world, who proved either so errone-
ous in their principles, or so scandalous in their
lives, or so hostile to the order of the churches,
that they cannot be classed among our " worthies,"
and deserve no honorable notice from us.*

Mr. Shepard, whose life we here attempt to
delineate, belonged to the first class of ministers,
who were instrumental in laying the foundation,
and in settling the order of the first churches in
Massachusetts : and although his humility ever
constrained him to take the lowest place, yet in
learning, talents, piety and influence, he was not
a whit behind the " verychiefest of the apostles
of Congregationalism, in the New world. He

*Magaalia,B. III.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAKD. 11

was one of those " wise master builders " — few
in number, but great in all that constitutes true
excellence, — to whom we owe whatever of sim-
plicity, strength, or solidity belongs to our eccle-
siastical system, and, we may add, to our civil
state. His name may not be so often pronounced
in discourse respecting the original constitution
of our churches, as that of John Cotton, who
has been called, and not improperly, the " Fa-
ther of Congregationalism " in New England ;
but the part he acted, and the influence he ex-
erted in fashioning these churches according to
the " pattern shewed in the mount," entitled him
to equal honor. Not inferior to Norton, Hooker,
or Davenport, in intellectual strength and logical
acuteness, he perhaps excelled them all in that
fine, beautiful, practical spirit, which was at that
time more needed than even genius, and in con-
templating which, we become insensible to the
greatness of his talents and the extent of his
learning. Although he was a prominent and an
efficient actor in scenes of controversy and pub-
lic disorder, which stirred up all the fountains of
bitterness, such were his candor and tenderness,
that the odium of persecution was never attached
to his memory; and while subject to like passions,
and exposed to the same temptations as other
men, his reputation -has descended to us without

12 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

a blot from the hand of friend or foe. It is not
too much, therefore, to say, that Mr. Shepard
was a man whom Massachusetts and New Eng-
lan'd ought to hold in profound respect ; and
his life, if it receives any thing like justice
from his biographer, will be read with interest
and profit by all classes of the community.

Thomas Shepard was born at Towcester, near
Northampton, in Northamptonshire, England,
on the fifth day of November 1605. His own
statement, in his Autobiography, is, that he
/ was born " in the year of Christ 1604, upon
the fifth day of November, called the Powder
Treason day, and at that very hour of the
day wherein the Parliament should have been
blown up by popish priests ;" which induced his
father to g^ve him this name, Thomas, " because,
he said, I would hardly believe (an allusion to
the skepticism of the apostle Thomas) that ever
any such wickedness should be attempted by
men against so religious and good a Parliament."
As it is certain that the famous Powder Plot was
contrived, if contrived at all, in 1605, and was to
have been executed on the fifth day of November,
we are obliged to place Mr. Shepard's birth in
this year, and on this day, notwithstanding the
contradictory date with which he begins his ac-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 13

count of himself; for it is more likely that he
should have forgotten, at the moment of writing,
the exact date of the Powder Plot, than the fact, — '
so indissolubly associated with his name, — that
according to the family record and tradition he
was born at the very hour when the Parliament
was to have been blown up by gunpowder.

The father of the subject of this memoir,
William Shepard, was born in Fossecut, a small
town near Towcester. He was bred to the busi-
ness of a grocer by a Mr. Bland, whose daugh-
ter he married, and by whom he had nine chil-
dren ; three sons, John, William, and Thomas ;
and six daughters, Ann, Margaret, Mary, Eliza-
beth, Hester, and Sarah. He seems to have
been a wise, prudent, and peace-loving man ;
and, towards the close of his life, very prosperous
in his business. That he was also a godly man, in
the sense in which the Puritans used that phrase,
appears from the fact that he removed to Banbury,
in Oxfordshire, for the sole purpose of enjoying
the light of an evangelical and effective minis-
try, a blessing, which, it seems, could not be had
at Towcester. A worldly man, or a mere formal-
ist in religion, was not likely to sacrifice his
temporal interests in order to promote the wel-
fare of his soul, nor leave a quiet and respecta-
ble establishment, like the English church, for

VOL. IV. 2

14 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

such preaching as was at that time heard from
Puritan pulpits.

In the early training and ultimate develop-
ment and formation of a man's mind, the charac-
ter and influence of his mother are of preemi-
nent importance. The seed that is to germinate
and bear fruit in mature life, is ordinarily plant-
ed by the maternal hand during the first years
of childhood. The influence which is to sur-
round the growing intellect like an atmosphere,
and act upon it at every stage of its progress,
flows most frequently from the heart near which
the young immortal has been nourished ; and
happy is the child who can remember nothing
earlier than those looks, tones, prayers, and tears,
which are the natural expressions of maternal
piety. They can never be forgotten ; and amidst
the most powerful temptations, and the wildest
conflicts of passion, they throng around the
soul with warning and beseeching voice, to with-
draw it from danger, or to awaken it to repent-
ance. Augustine acknowledged that he owed
his ' conversion, under God, to the tears and
prayers of his mother ; and Cecil says that he
should have been an infidel if it had not been
for the quiet, but perpetual influence of her
whom he loved above all other beings. Mr.
Shepard was blessed with a pious mother. She

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAKD. 15

was a woman of a tender and affectionate dispo-
sition, and " much afflicted in conscience, some-
times even unto distraction," but she was " sweet-
ly recovered," and passed her latter days in the
enjoyment of mental serenity, and religious
peace. She prayed much for her children, and
especially for Thomas, " her youngest and best
beloved," upon whose mind she seems to have
left the impress of her gentle and pious spirit, as
well as of her tender and scrupulous conscience,
which were its most distinguishing characteris-
tics in after life. She died when Thomas was
about four years old ; but young as he was, he
was sensible of the " exceeding love " which she
felt for him, and during the darker season which
followed, he remembered her with a correspond-
ing afiection.

When Thomas was about three years of age
he was sent to reside with his grandparents at
Fossecut, in order to avoid an epidemic disease
which had begun to prevail at Towcester, and
soon swept away several members, sisters as well
as servants, from his father's family. Fossecut
was a small, obscure, and wicked place, — " a most
blind town and corner." The aged grandfather
and grandmother, though in comfortable circum-
stances as to temporal matters, were " very igno-
rant," and, as we should naturally infer from the

§ LIFJ£ OF THOMAS SHEFABS.

manner in which they dealt with the little boy
committed to their care, very irreligious people ;
for here he was " put to keep geese, and other
such country work," all the while " much neg-
lected " by those who should have watched over
him. It was not long, however, before he was
removed from the influence of his grandparents,
probably in consequence of this neglect, to the
family of his uncle, at Adthrop, an adjoining
town. The change seems to have been not much
for the better; for Adthrop was "a little blind
town ; " and while he there received more atten-
tion, and was somewhat happier and more con-
tented, he learned to " sing and sport as children
did in those parts, and to dance at their Whit-
son-Ales," — amusements which were far more
pernicious to childhood than "keeping geese, and
other such country work." For these sports
were not the innocent plays and recreations of
children among themselves, which all persons,
even the Puritans, morose and gloomy as they
are (falsely) represented to have been, must have
approved ; but those demoralizing wakes, morris-
dances, may- games, revels, &c., recommended
and sanctioned by that abomination, " The Book
of Sports," which James I., and after him Charles,
" out of a pious care for the service of God,"
and desiring with filial reverence to " ratify his

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARB. 17

blessed father's declaration," ordered to be read
in all the churches, for the " encouragement of
recreations on the Lord's day." The common
people were fond of these sports ; but the Puri-
tans, and the more serious portion of the com-
munity generally, regarded them with strong dis-
approbation, not only as grossly profaning the
Sabbath, but as being the fruitful source of drunk-
enness, debauchery, contempt of authority, quar-
rels, and even murders ; and efforts were made
from time to time by the justices of peace, to
have them suppressed as highly prejudicial to
the peace, and good government of the coun-
try."^ It is not strange, therefore, that Shep-
ard, in mature life, should have looked back
upon his early childhood, in which he was ex-
posed to the corrupt influence of these sports, as
a season of peculiar danger, from which he was
mercifully delivered by a kind providence.

When Thomas returned again to his father's
house, which he did after the cause of his re-
moval from home had passed by, he found all
things changed, or fast changing for the worse.
His " dear mother " was dead, or died very soon
after his return. His sister Margaret, who was
very fond of him, married her father's clerk. His
sister Ann, was married to " one Mr. Farmer."

* Neal, Hiat. Purit. 2. 249.

2#

18 LIFE OF THSMAI SHSPAED.

And to fill up the measure of his griefs, his fa-
ther married a second wife, who soon made him
aware of the difference between his " own mother
and a step-mother." She evidently did not love the
little motherless boy, and endeavored to incense
his father against him ; " it may be," says Shep-
ard, meekly, " that it was justly so, for my child-
ishness." The neglect at grandfather's, and the
" Whitson-Ales," at the " blind little town " of
Adthrop, may have rendered the forlorn child
somewhat wayward and troublesome ; but th«
probability is, that the step-mother magnified
and misrepresented every fault of the orphan,
that her own little Samuel might enjoy a larger
share of his father's affection.

After suffering under this domestic tyranny
for some time, he was sent to the free school in
Towcester. But this was to him the school of
" one Tyrrannus," or of " Ajax Flagellifer."
The master whose name was Rice, a Welch-
man, was very severe and irritable ; and he
treated the poor boy with such harshness and
cruelty, as to extinguish, for the time, all love
of learning, and to make him often wish that he
might be a " keeper of hogs " rather than a schol-
ar. "Bears," says Pliny, "are the fatter for
beating." But this is not always or altogether
true of boys, especially of such boys as Thomas

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 19

Shepard, who, it is presumed, rarely needed
chastisement, and was more likely to be injured
than benefited by severity. " The fierce, Orbil-
ian way of treating children, too commonly used
in schools, is a dreadful curse of God upon our
miserable offspring, who are born " children of
wrath." It is boasted now and then of a school-
master, that such and such a brave man had his
education under him. There is nothing said,
how many that might have been brave men,
have been destroyed by him ; how many brave
wits have been dispirited, confounded, murdered
by his barbarous way of managing them. If a
fault must be punished, let instruction, both unto
the delinquent and unto the spectator, accompa-
ny the correction. Let the odious nature of the
sin that has enforced the correction be declared ;
and let nothing be done in a passion ; let all be
done with all the evidence of compassion that
may be."*

William Shepard, — the father, — died when
Thomas was about ten years of age. During
his last sickness, which was short and very dis-
tressing, the oppressed and dispirited child, to
whom life had begun to present its sternest re-
alities, prayed passionately for his recovery;
and he made a solemn resolution to serve God

* Eawys to Do Good, pp. 172, 173.

20 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

better than he had done, if his prayers might be
answered ; " as knowing that I should be left
alone if he were gone. Yet the Lord took him
away by death, and I was left fatherless and
motherless, when I was about ten years old."
It is not to be inferred from these prayers, that
at this early age he entertained any hope that
he was a christian ; for children who have been
religiously educated, will often, under the press-
ure of affliction, pray very earnestly for relief;
but from the fact that he made a solemn cove-
nant " to serve God better" if his father might
recover, we may presume that he had been under
very serious impressions, and had tried to
maintain a kind of religion in his life.

Upon the death of his father, he was committed
to the care of his mother-in-law, who, in consid-
eration of his portion of £100, agreed to main-
tain and educate him. But he was still doomed
to be " much neglected," and to feel more keen-
ly than ever the difference between his " own
mother and a step-mother." She, as was to
have been expected from her previous conduct,
proved faithless to her trust ; and at last his
brother John, — William being now dead, — of-
fered to take him, and for the use of his portion,
to bring him up as his own child. " And so I
lived with this my eldest brother, who showed

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED. 21

much love unto me, and unto whom I owe
much ; for him God made to be both father and
mother unto me."

About this time the cruel Welch schoolmas-
ter died, and was succeeded in the school by
a man of talents and of reputed piety, who
was also employed to officiate as the minister
of the town. Although he disappointed the
expectations of the people with respect to his
piety, and afterwards became an " apostate and
an enemy of all righteousness," he seems to
have been an able teacher : for he succeeded in
reviving or awakening in the mind of young
Shepard, — who had conceived such a disgust
of study that he had rather " keep hogs or
beasts, than to go to school and learn," — a love
of application, and a strong desire to be a scholar.
Under this new stimulus, he applied himself
with great diligence to the Latin and Greek lan-
guages, in which he made rapid progress. He
was studious, because he was " ambitious of be-
ing a scholar," and of enjoying •' the honor of
learning." At the same time he seems to have
been, to a certain extent, influenced by some
higher, if not a truly religious motive : for once
when he was unsuccessful in taking notes of the
sermon, he was troubled about it, and " prayed
the Lord earnestly," for assistance in this exer-

22 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFAED.

cise ; a fact which, at least, indicates a deep
sense of his dependence upon God for success in
his studies, and a feeling that he was bound to
seek the honor which cometh from above, as
well as the " honor of learning." But what-
ever his ruling passion might have been, and
whatever maybe inferred as to his religious
state at this time, from his general seriousness,
we know that he devoted himself to the necessa-
ry studies with such diligence, and was enabled
to make such progress in them, that before he
had reached the age of fifteen, he was pro-
nounced by competent judges to be fit for the
University,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 23

CHAPTER II.

Mr. Shepard enters Emmanual College, Cambridge. Devotes himself
to hard study. Neglects religion. Becomes proud of a little learn-
ing. Has the small-pox. Effect of Dr. Chadderton's preaching.
Associates with dissipated young men. Remonstrated with by
religious friends. Falls into a gross sin. Effect of this sin upon hia
conscience. Dr. Preston. Deep Convictions. Distressing tempta-
tions. Despair. Dawning of light. Letter to a friend. Increasing
light. Change of life. Peace of mind. Application to study.
Graduates with honor.

The brother of Mr. Shepard, having undertaken
the care of his education, was anxious to send
him to College. But probably the expense of a
collegiate course, exceeded, at that time, his pe-
cuniary means ; and the portion of £100, of
which he had the use, would hardly defray the
charges of a residence at either of the Universi-
ties. At this moment, so critical and decisive
in the life of the almost friendless scholar, Mr.
Cockerill, a fellow of Emmanuel College, Cam-
bridge, and a native of Northamptonshire,
came to Northampton upon a visit to his
friends ; and, having satisfied himself by a per-
sonal examination that Shepard was worthy of
patronage, encouraged his brother to send him

24 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

to Cambridge, promising to use his influence
there in his behalf. Other persons, connected
with the University, interested themselves in
this application, and although he was, in his
own opinion, " very raw and young," he was ad-
mitted to Emmanuel College as a pensioner in
the year 1619. During the early part of his
College course, Mr. Cockerill, who had so
kindly encouraged and befriended him, was his
Tutor. Thus this chosen vessel, forsaken of
father and mother, and cast helpless upon the
world, was by " a secret hand of providence,"
taken out of " that profane and ignorant town of
Towcester," the " worst town, I think, in the
world," and graciously provided for in Cam-
bridge, " the best place for knowledge and
learning," where he was to be prepared, by a
various discipline, for an arduous and important
service in the church of God.

Up to this period, although he seems to have
been at times deeply serious, and to have been
in the habit of praying frequently under the
pressure of affliction, he was evidently destitute
of a saving knowledge of the truth. During
the first two years of his College life, he devoted
himself to hard study, greatly neglecting relig-
ion and the practice of secret prayer, which he
had hitherto observed, except at times, when his

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 25

early religious impressions revived with consid-
erable force, and he was induced to pay some
attention to the concerns of his soul. The effect
of a little learning was what is often witnessed
upon minds of his order. When in his third
year, he became Sophister, he began to be
" foolish and proud," and to exhibit himself ia
public as a disputer about things which he after-
wards saw he " did not know then at all, but
only prated about them." Time and more
learning corrected this folly, and made him one
of the humblest, as he was one of the devoutest
of men. It would be well if he had more im-
itators in the feelings with which he looked
back upon this stage of his intellectual develop-
ment. " There is nothing more lamentable,"
says Luther, in his Table Talk, " than the pride
and ambition of many young preachers, who
wish to shine as logicians, rhetoricians, &c., and
become so finical and obscure in their preaching,
that neither the people nor themselves know
what they are about. A young lawyer, in his
first year, is a Justinian ; in his second year,
he is a doctor ; in the third a licentiate ; in the
fourth a bachelor ; in the fifth a student."

But Mr. Shepard was not left to neglect the
interests of his soul in his ambitiori to shine as
a scholar, and a "disputer of this world." In

VOL. IV. 3

S6 LIFE OF THOMAS SHBFARD.

his second year he was brought near to the grave
by the small-pox, which had awakened him, in
some measure, to a sense of his guilt and dan-
ger. The preaching of Doctor Chadderton, the
Master of Emmanual College, especially upon
" a sacrament day," also produced a deep im-
pression upon his mind. And a few months af-
terwards, he heard Mr. Dickinson, in the Chap-
el, discourse upon the words, ' I will not destroy
it for ten's sake,' with a powerful effect upon his
conscience. But these serious impressions grad-
ually disappeared, and he unfortunately fell into
the society of some dissipated young men, who
endeavored to counteract and destroy all the in-
fluence of those pious preachers. He even, for
a time, went with them in their time-wasting,
and soul-destroying amusements and pleasures,
and seemed fast making shipwreck of faith and
a good conscience. But he was not suffered to
continue long in this thoughtless state. Upon
one occasion, a pious student, with whom he
chanced to be walking, described to him »' the
misery of every man out of Christ," and faith-
fully admonished him of his guilt and danger.
This awakened, and for a time checked him in
his course of folly and sin. At another time he
happened to be present when several pious per-
sons were conversing upon the wrath of God,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 27

revealed from heaven against all unrighteous-
ness and ungodliness of men, which they spoke
of under the figure of a consuming fire, intoler-
able and eternal. This conversation revived
and strengthened the solemn impressions which
had been previously made upon his mind, and
led him to resume the practice of secret prayer,
as a means of escaping from that wrath to come
which he so much feared.

But he had not yet seen the evil of his heart,
nor felt that conviction of sin which prostrates
the soul before the throne of Grace in godly
sorrow that worketh repentance unto life. The
effect of the conversations referred to, soon wore
off, as other serious impressions had done ; until
an event occurred which revived them all with
overwhelming force, and made him feel, as he
had never felt before, the need of atoning blood
to cleanse him from all sin. The sin of Peter,
and its immediate effect, are left upon the sacred
record to show us the depth to which men may
fall if left to themselves, — to encourage the
penitent sinner to return with tears to the Sav-
iour against whom he has sinned, — and to exhibit
the riches of divine grace which can rescue the
soul from the deepest degradation ; and for the
same reasons, we record the fact which follows,

28 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFABD.

earnestly admonishing the reader to beware of
using it as an encouragement to sin, lest his
" bands be made strong," and repentance be hid
from his eyes. As the fears which had been
awakened by the solemn addresses of his pious
friends gradually subsided, Shepard again associ-
ated with the loose and dissipated students of his
own and of other colleges, and frequently joined
them in their intemperate carousals : until at
length, upon a Saturday night, he drank so
freely that he became grossly intoxicated, and
was carried, in a state of insensibility, to the
chambers of a student of Christ's College, where
he awoke to consciousness late on Sabbath
morning, sick and completely prostrated from
the effects of this debauch.

The moral impression of a fall like this, is
very different upon different persons. Some of
those dissolute young men, probably, thought of
that night's excess, only as a matter to be laughed
about at their next convivial meeting. Not so
with Shepard. Filled with confusion and shame
by the recollection of his " beastly carriage," he
hurried away into the fields, and there hid him-
self, during the whole of that dreadful Sabbath,
from every eye but that of God. The particu-
lar sin, however, which made him afraid, and
drove him, like Adam, into concealment, not

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 29

only awakened him to pungent sorrow for this
act, but opened his eyes to see the exceeding
sinfulness of his whole life, and the necessity of
repentance for all his sins. It was a day long
to be remembered, for it was the commencement
of a new life. In that solitude, where he lay
trembling like a culprit, *' the Lord, who might
justly have cut me off in the midst of my sin, did
meet me with much sadness of heart, and trou-
bled my soul for this and other sins, which then
I had leisure to think of, and made me resolve
to set upon a course of daily meditation about
the evil of sin, and my own ways." Let those
who are disposed to speak lightly or scornfully
of the early transgressions of eminent Christians,
remember the bitter tears with which they were
lamented and abandoned.

But with all this trouble of mind, and com-
punction on account of actual sins, he had not
yet obtained a true self-knowledge, nor seen the
hidden evils of his heart. To this deeper and
clearer view of himself as a sinner, he was led
by the preaching of Dr. Preston, one of the
most able theologians and preachers of his times,
who became master of Emmanuel College in
1622. Shepard, hearing the preaching of Dr.
Preston spoken of as " most spiritual and excel-
3*

30 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

lent," by Samuel Stone and others, listened
attentively to the instructions of this celebrated
divine, hoping to find here that guidance in the
way of righteousness which he so much needed.
The first sermon which he heard from Dr. Pres-
ton was upon the words, " Be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind," Rom. 12 : 2 ;
in which the nature of a change of heart was
clearly unfolded. Under this discourse " the
Lord so bored my ears, as that I understood
what he spake ; the secrets of my soul were laid
open before me, and the hypocrisy of all the
good things I thought I had in me, as if one had
told him of all that ever I did, — of all the turn-
ings and deceits of my heart." So clearly was
he made to see himself, — his secret sins, — the
whole frame and temper of his mind, — that he
thought Dr. Preston " the most searching
preacher in the world ;" and wiih profound
gratitude to God, and love for the preacher, he
began in earnest to seek for that radical conver-
sion and renewal, the nature of which had been
so clearly exhibited to him.

This new birth, however, was not to be for
Shepard, as it appears to be in some cases, a
speedy or an easy work. Many pass from a
state of sin and condemnation, to the light, lib-
erty and hope of the children of God, in such

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 31

a way that their whole experience in relation to
this change may be expressed in the words
of the blind man whom the Saviour suddenly
and by a miraculous touch, restored to sight :
" Whereas I was blind, now I see." But Shep-
ard's conviction of sin had been exceedingly
pungent and distressing, and his progress to a
state of reconciliation and peace with God, was
rough, protracted, and painful. He was beset
with fears of death and " the terrors of God's
wrath." In his daily meditation "constantly
every evening before supper," he found the Lord
ever teaching him something concerning him-
self, or the divine law, or the vanity of the
world, which he never saw before, and which
filled him with perplexity and overwhelming
solicitude. He was also assaulted by sharp
temptations. At one time he felt " a depth
of atheism and unbelief in the main matters
of salvation," — whether the Scriptures were the
word of God, — whether Christ was the Messiah,
— whether there was a God. At another time
he t;" felt all manner of temptations to all
kinds of religions, not knowing which to
choose." At last he " heard of Grindleton,"
and was in danger of falling into perfection-
ism, familism, antinomianism, or whatever
that system was called, which afterwards made

32 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

such havoc in the infant churches of New
England. He did not really adopt or believe
any of the absurd doctrines ot the familists,
but only went so far in these " miserable fluc-
tuations and straits of his soul," as to ques-
tion " whether that glorious state of perfection
might not be the truth, and whether old Mr.
Rogers' *♦ Seven Treatises," and the ♦' Practice of
Christianity," — books which were then esteem-
ed as containing very sound theology, — " might
not be legal," and these writers " legal men ;"
a singular hallucination, from which he was
soon delivered by reading in one of the familist
books the astounding doctrine, that a Christian
is so swallowed up in the spirit, " that what ac-
tion soever the spirit moves him to commit,
suppose adultery, he may do it, and it is no sin
to him." This passage, like an over dose of
poison, operated exactly contrary to its nature
and design. Tempted as he was to " all kinds
of religion," he could not digest this doctrine of
devils ; and the horrible absurdity of the propo-
sition awakened in him an intense abhorrence
of the whole system to which it belonged, which
in after years, and in more critical times, ren-
dered him a most determined and successful op-
poser of antinomianism, as we shall see in the
progress of this biography.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARl). 33

In the mean time the other temptations by
which he was led to doubt the genuineness of
Christ's miracles, and in short, the truth of
Divine revelation, continued with unabated, if
not with increasing severity ; so that at last,
having questioned whether Christ did not cast
out devils by Beelzebub, he conceived the dread-
ful idea that he had committed the unpardona-
ble sin, and was abandoned to hopeless apostasy
and destruction. And now " the terrors of God
began to break in, like floods of fire," into his
soul. He saw, as he then thought, in these re-
bellious doubts, and in this chaotic darkness of
mind, the fruits of " God's eternal reprobation."
He thought of God as " a consuming fire and
an everlasting burning," and himself as a " poor
prisoner led to that fire." And these " thoughts
of eternal reprobation and torment," so distressed
him, especially " at one time upon a Sabbath
day at evening," that be became well nigh dis-
tracted, and was strongly tempted, like Judas, to
anticipate his doom, and by suicide hurry to his
own place.

During eight dark and dismal months these
"fiery darts of satan" were incessantly hurled'
at his peace, and there seemed to be no help for
his poor soul in God or man ; for he was afraid
of God, and was " ashamed to speak of these

34 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

things " to any experienced Christian. Three
things, according to Luther, are necessary to form
a theologian, namely, study, prayer and tempta-
tion. And doubtless Shepard's gloomy passage
through this " slough of despond " was neces-
sary to give him a clear and an affecting view
of his misery and helplessness as a sinner, — to
fix more firmly in his mind those doctrines
which he was subsequently to preach, — to make
him humble under the honor that awaited
him, — and to fit him to apply the promises of
the Gospel judiciously to distressed consciences.
Like Luther, he learned the true divinity by be-
ing " hunted into the Bible," and to the throne
of grace ; and he was eminently fitted to sym-
pathize with the afflicted, by those horrible
temptations which almost broke his spirit and
drove him to despair. At the same time, his
peculiar experience, both in his descent into
these " depths of satan," and in the manner of
his deliverance from them, tended to give to his
preaching and writings that "legal" aspect,
which there will be occasion to speak of more
particularly hereafter.

His conflicts were now drawing to a close,
and light was about to dispel the horror of that
darkness in which his mind had been so long
shrouded. When he was at the worst, not

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 35

knowing what to do, and not daring to disclose
his feelings to any person, it occurred to him
that he should do as Christ did in his agony.
The Saviour prayed earnestly, and an angel
came down to comfort him ; and this seemed to
be the only way of relief. Shut up to this, he
fell down in agonizing supplication, and " being
in prayer, I saw myself so unholy, and God so
holy that my spirit began to sink ; yet the
Lord recovered me, and poured out a spirit of
prayer upon me for free mercy and pity ; and in
the conclusion of the prayer, I found the Lord
helping me to see my unworthiness of any
mercy, and to leave myself with him to do with
me what he would. And then, and never till
then, I found rest ; and so my heart was hum-
bled, and I went with a stayed heart to supper
late that night, and so rested here, and the ter-
rors of the Lord began to assuage sweetly."

To a friend who afterwards inquired of him
how the atheistical thoughts which had tor-
mented him were removed, he thus writes :
*' The Lord awakened me, and bid me beware
lest an old sore break out again. And this I
found, that strength of reason would commonly
convince my understanding that there was a
God ; but I felt it utterly insufficient to persuade
my will of it, unless it was by fits, whenas I

36 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

thought God's spirit moved upon the chaos of
those horrible thoughts; and this I think will
be found a truth. I did groan under the bond-
age of those unbelieving thoughts, looking up,
and sighing to the Lord, that if he were, as his
works and word declared him to be, he would
please to reveal himself by his own beams, and
persuade my heart by his own spirit of his es-
sence and being, which, if he would do, I should
account it the greatest mercy that ever he showed
me. And after g^rievous and heavy perplexities,
when I was by them almost forced to make an
end of myself and sinful life, and to be my own
executioner, the Lord came between the bridge
and the water, and set me out of anguish of
spirit, to pray unto him for light in the midst of
so great darkness. In which time he revealed
himself, manifested his love, stilled all those
raging thoughts, so that though I could not read
the Scripture without blasphemous thoughts be-
fore, now I saw a glory, a majesty, a mystery,
a depth in it, which fully persuaded : and which
light, — I desire to speak it to the glory of his
free grace, seeing you call me to it, — is not
wholly put out, but remains, while I desire to
walk closely with him, unto this day. And
thus the Lord opened my eyes, and cured me of
my misery: and if any such base thoughts

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD..37

come (like beggars to my door) to my mind,
and put these scruples to me, I use to send them
away with this answer ; why should I question
that truth, which I have both known and seen."*
To the period referred to in this extract, the
conversion of Mr. Shepard must be assigned ;
but he did not at once obtain full assurance and
a settled peace. The firm earth upon which he
had at length landed, seemed to heave under
him like the stormy sea where he had been so
long tossed, and for awhile he walked unsteadily
and with fear. When his distracting doubts,
and dreadful apprehensions of God's wrath were
gone, he still felt his unworthiness, — his bond-
age to self and the world, — his unfitness for any
good work, — and was oppressed with the dread
of losing what God had already wrought in him.
But walking, on one occasion, in the fields,
" the Lord dropped this meditation " into his
mind, with a distinctness and force which made
it appear almost like an address ; " Be not dis-
couraged because thou art so vile, but make this
double use of it ; first, loathe thyself the more ;
secondly, feel a greater need and put a greater
price upon Jesus Christ, who only can redeem
thee from all sin." This thought greatly en-

* Select Cases Besolred, pp. 44, 4$.
VOL, IV. 4

38 LIFK OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

couraged him, and he was thus enabled to " beat
satan with his own weapons."

His outward life was now wholly changed.
He abstained from all appearance of evil. He
no longer associated with the g^y and the
thoughtless. And he felt it to be his duty, not
only to exhibit an example of holy living, but to
labor in all appropriate ways for the conversion
of his fellow students. So much progress he had
made, without any direct assistance from human
instructors, and without obtaining any assur-
ance of his pardon and acceptance with God.
He had been working out his salvation with
fear and trembling, alone ; and although his
face was toward Zion, and his feet in the way
of the divine precepts, he needed, like ApoUos,
that some one should expound unto him the way
of God more perfectly, and to lead him to take
those views of Christ and of his redemptive
work, which were necessary to to a cheerful
hope, and an appropriation of the promises of
grace.

At this stage of his experience, and in this
state of mind. Dr. Preston providentially
preached a sermon upon 1 Cor. 1 : 30 ; " But
of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption," in which he

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 39

showed that there is in Christ an ample supply
for all our spiritual wants, and that this treasure
is designed for the benefit of all Christians. " And
when he had opened how all the good, all the
redemption I had, was from Jesus Christ, I did
then begin to prize him, and he became very
sweet to me." Although he had often heard
Christ freely offered by ministers before, if men
would receive him as their Lord and Saviour,
yet he had found his heart " ever unwilling to
accept of Christ upon those terms." But now
Christ became precious to his soul, and he found
it easy to comply with the conditions upon which
all the blessings of redemption were promised.

He was not, however, entirely free from all
fears and doubts. But he found the Lord
constantly " revealing free mercy," and showing
him that all his ability to believe in Christ,
and to accept of him, was in this grace of God.
He saw that Christ obeyed the law, not on his
own account, but to work out, and bring in
" everlasting righteousness " for poor sinners
who had none of their own, — a righteousness
which is sufficient to "justify the ungodly who
believeth in Jesus." He saw also that " to as
many as received him, to them gave He power
to become the sons of God," and he felt that the
Lord had given him " a heart to receive Christ

40 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

with a naked hand." And so, after many con-
flicts, and questionings, he obtained that peace
of God which passeth knowledge, and com-
menced that life of faith, which, as the shining
light, shone brighter and brighter unto the per-
fect day.

Although these religious exercises must have
occupied a considerable portion of his time, and
have rendered all human learning and worldly
honor comparatively worthless, yet he seems to
have maintained a highly respectable standing in
college ; and after the decided change, which
has been described, took place, and religion began
to shed its light and peace upon his soul, a
rapid development of his intellectual powers
became evident. There is nothing that gives
such elevation, strength, and enlargement to the
mind, as the practical reception of the word of
God under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
" The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wis-
dom, and the knowledge of the holy is under-
standing." Shepard, in common with many
others, felt the invigorating effect of that heav-
enly knowledge ; and in after years, when
young men consulted him with respect to their
studies, he was accustomed to refer to this in-
fluence of religion upon his own mind, and to
advise them to spend a considerable portion of

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD, 41

their time in communing with their own hearts
and with God, a practice which he had found
so beneficial in all his intellectual efforts. Thus,
at peace with God, — with a definite object of
pursuit before him, — and in the diligent applica-
tion of himself to all his studies, — he continued
through the remainder of his college life. He
took his Bachelor's degree in 1623 ; — not far
from the time, as we should judge, when he
experienced the radical change in his religious
feelings above described ; and in 1625, when he
had finished his course of study, he left college,
with a high reputation for scholarship, and with
the usual honors of the University.

4*

42 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD

CHAPTER III.

Mr. Shepard goes to Mr. Weld's. Sketch of English Ecclesiastical
history. State of England at the accession of Henry VIII. Doc-
trines of the Waldenaes. Wickliff. Remonstrance of the fol-
lowers of Wickliff. Separation of the English Church from Rome.
Henry VIII becomes head of the Church. Act of supremacy.
Opinions of the i)eople. Edward VI. Origin of the Liturgy.
Mary and Elizabeth. Slate of the nation. Act of Uniformity.
Court of High Commission. Subscription enforced. Era of non-
conformity and separation. Penalty for abs«nce from public
worship. Distinction between Non-conformista and Brownists.
Nature of schism:

Mr. Shepard became Master of Arts in the year
1627. About six months before taking his de-
gree, he went to reside in the family of Thomas
Weld, (then of Tarling, in the county of Essex,
and afterwards ordained the first minister of the
church in Roxbury) where he received much
aid in his theological studies, and encourage-
ment in his Christian course. Here he became
acquainted with Thomas Hooker, who about
that time was appointed a Lecturer at Chelms-
ford, in Essex, from whose able and discriminat-
ing ministry he derived great advantage. While
engaged in his studies and preparation at Tar-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 43

ling, he became " very solicitous what would
become of him," when he had taken his Mas-
ter's degree ; for then his " time and portion
would be spent," and he would be left without
resources, and with small hope of finding any
employment for which he was fitted.

The religious condition of England, at that
time, was very dark and perplexed •, and the
prospects of pious young men, who like Thomas
Shepard, desired to serve God and their genera-
tion in the gospel ministry, were exceedingly
discouraging. Although the picture of those
times has been often drawn, and the circum-
stances which compelled our fathers to abandon,
not only the church in which they had been ed-
ucated, but the country that gave them birth,
have been often and eloquently described, yet it
may not be amiss to give, in this place, a brief
sketch of the history of that gloomy period, that
our youthful readers may clearly understand
what it was that made Mr. Shepard so " solic-
itous what should become of him," and why he
could not devote his talents and piety to the
work of the ministry in protestant England.

At the beginning of the reign of Henry the
Eighth, who ascended the throne of England in
the year 1509, the English church was a branch
of that Papal hierarchy, which had extended its

44 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

power over the civilized world, and like the great
red dragon of the Apocalypse, had swept away a
large part of the stars of heaven, and cast them
to the earth, rendering the skies black, and the
night hideous. During the long and tyrannical
reign of that apostate church, however, there
were a few faithful witnesses for the truth who
testified and were persecuted, like Antipas, even
in the region where " Satan's seat " was. In
the valleys of the Alps, the Waldenses, uncor-
rupted by the errors, and una wed by the power
of Rome, retained the doctrines, and observed
the discipline of the primitive church. The
history of these people is indeed somewhat ob-
scure ; but from their own declarations, corrob-
orated by the confessions of some of their worst
enemies, it appears highly probable that they
could trace the origin of their churches back to
the age of the Apostles, and that their religious
doctrines and practices were substantially those
which long afterwards were adopted and main-
tained by the English Puritans. They rejected
the books of the Apocraphy from the sacred
canon. They kept the Sabbath very strictly.
They were extremely careful of the religious
education of their children. They denied the
supremacy of the Pope, the lawfulness of indul-
gences, auricular confession, prayers for the

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAKD. 45

dead, transubstantiation, invocatioa of saints,
and the worship of the virgin Mary. They ab-
horred the mass, the doctrine of purgatory, and
in short, all the unscriptural ceremonies, super-
stitions, and abominations of the papacy. They
committed the pastoral care of their churches to
ministers freely chosen by themselves, who were
expected, in conformity to the apostolic injunction,
to be examples to the flock, in word, in conver-
sation, in faith, in purity, in charity. Their
whole aim seems to have been to realize in their
form of ecclesiastical government, and in the
lives both of the clergy and of the people, that
sanctity and godly simplicity, which character-
ized the commencement of the church, and
which were so beautifully exhibited in the pre-
cepts and example of Jesus Christ."^

Thus, three hundred years before the Eef-
ormation, we find a company of sturdy reform-
ers, who had never bowed the knee to Baal, — a
remnant according to the election of grace, —
who prepared the way, and furnished the means
for the final overthrow of " that man of sin,"
that " son of perdition," who " exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshiped."
They were the Protestants of the twelfth centu-

* Mosheim, Eccl. Hist. cent. 12, ch. 12,

46 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

ry ; and were called Catkari, pure, on account
of the professed purity of their doctrines and
life, just as our fathers were afterwards in scorn
styled Puritans, for their opposition to the errors
and corruptions of their times.

The Reformation, which many erroneously
suppose to have commenced in the sixteenth
century, was nothing more than the rejection of
doctrines and practices, which men, in the
course of ages had ignorantly or wickedly added
to the religion of Christ. And this work was
commenced by the faithful servants of God as
soon as the evil began. The great Head of the
church had never left himself without a few
witnesses, at least, to testify against the errors
that were constantly mingling with his truth.
The Romanists ask with an air of triumph,
" Where was your religion before Luther's Ref-
ormation ?" We answer, that in the darkest
times of the antichristian apostasy, the true
church, and the doctrines which Luther, and
Calvin, and our fathers preached, were found
among the Waldenses, three hundred years be-
fore the time of Luther ; and they were but the
successors and representatives of still earlier re-
formers, who protested with what strength they
had against the encroachments of the " man of
sin." It was from these people that the doc-

LIFE OP THOMAS SHEPARD. 47

trines of the Reformation were disseminated in
England and on the continent, and had it not
been for them, perhaps neither Wickliflf in the
fourteenth century, nor Luther in the sixteenth,
would have appeared as reformers. During the
fierce persecutions to which they were constant-
ly exposed in the thirteenth century from the
papal church, some of them fled into Germany ;
while others, turning to the west, found refuge
in England. Eaymond Lollard, one of the lead-
ing men among the Waldenses, promulgated their
doctrines in the land of our fathers, where they
were called " Lollards;" and where, from the fact
that so late as the year 1619 there was a tower
standing in London, which inconsequence of its
use as a place of confinement for those who pro-
fessed their religion, was called " The Lollard's
Tower," it would seem that they did not wholly
escape the malice of that antichristian power
which consumed their fathers and brethren as
heretics in Italy.

The doctrines held by the Waldenses, were
received and taught by John Wickliff, the earli-
est of the English reformers. Wickliflf was
born about the year 1324. He was educated af
Queen's College, Oxford, in which he was after-
wards Professor of Divinity, and was for a time
minister of Lutterworth, in the diocese of Lin-

48 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

coin. He was a profound scholar, and an elo-
quent preacher. Though born and educated
amidst all the darkness of popery, he preached,
substantially, the same doctrines which were
afterwards maintained by the Puritans ; and one
hundred and thirty years before the Reforma-
tion, vindicated those great principles, which,
under the preaching of Luther, Calvin, and oth-
ers, enlightened the world, and produced that
movement towards religious and civil liberty,
which must eventually be enjoyed by all nations.
He wrote nearly two hundred volumes ; but his
greatest work was the translation of the New
Testament into English.

"WicklifT died in 1384. After his death, the
University published the following testimony
concerning him : *' That from his youth to the
time of his death, his conversation was so
praiseworthy, that there never was any spot or
suspicion reported of it : that in his reading and
preaching he behaved like a stout and valiant
champion of the faith ; and that he had written
in Logic, Philosophy, Divinity, Morality, and
the Arts, without an equal." Without, howev-
er, supposing that Wickliff was either immacu-
late in life, or absolutely free from theological
errors, we may regard him as a bold defender of

LIFE OF THOMAS SSEPARD. 49

fundamental truths, and the " morning star " of
the Eeformation in England.

In the year 1425, after he had been dead more
than forty years, the council of Constance or-
dered all his works to be collected and burnt,
together with his bones. This diabolical order
was executed by Richard Fleming, bishop of
Lincoln, who caused the remains of the excom-
municated reformer to be dug up, burnt, and the
ashes to be thrown into a brook. " Thus," says
Fuller, "this brook hath conveyed his ashes into
Avon ; Avon into Severn ; Severn into the
Narrow Seas ; they into the main ocean. And
thus the ashes of Wickliffare the emblem of his
doctrine which is now disseminated all the
world over."^ The number of his disciples in-
creased so greatly after hjs death, that new and
more severe laws were made against heretics, in
the hope, vain as all such hopes must be, that
force would prevent the spread of truth, and the
dungeon and the stake put an end to the efforts
of Christians to rescue the people from the
thraldom of error. Fox, the Martyrologist, re-
ferring to the posthumous persecution of Wick-
liff, remarks, " that as there is no counsel against
the Lord, so there is no keeping down truth,

* Church History, B. IV., p. 171.
VOL, IV. 5

60 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARU.

but it will spring and come out of dust and ash-
es, as appeared in this man. For they digged
up his body, burnt his bones, and drowned his
ashes, yet the word of God, and truth of his doc-
trine, with the fruit and success of his labors,
they could not bum, and they remain, for the
most part, to this day."*

About eight years after Wickliff's death, his
followers presented a remonstrance to the Eng-
lish Parliament, in which they speak of Roman-
ism just as Shepard did, two hundred and fifty
years later. They say, that when the Church
of England began to mismanage her temporal-
ities in conformity to the precedent of Rome,
faith, hope, and charity, began to take leave of
her communion ; that the English priesthood,
derived from Rome, and pretending to a power
superior to angels, is not the priesthood which
Christ settled upon his apostles ; that the enjoin-
ing celibacy upon the clergy was the occasion of
scandalous irregularities in the church ; that the
pretended miracle of transubstantiation runs the
great part of Christendom upon idolatry ; that
exorcisms and benedictions, pronounced over
bread and oil, wax and incense, over the stones
of the altar, the holy vestments, the mitre, the

* Acu and Monuments, 1. 606.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 51

cross, and the pilgrim's staff, have more of necro-
mancy than of religion in them ; that the union
of the offices of prince and bishop, prelate and
secular judge, in the same person, and making
the rector of a parish a civil officer, is a plain
mismanagement, and puts a kingdom out of the
right way ; that prayer made for the dead is a
wrong ground for charity and religious endow-
ments, and therefore all the charities of England
stand upon a wrong foundation ; that pilgrim-
ages, prayers, and offerings, made to images and
crosses, have nothing of charity in them, and
are near of kin to idolatry ; that auricular con-
fession makes the priests proud, and lets them
into the secrets of the penitent, gives opportuni-
ty for intrigues, and that this, as well as the
doctrine of indulgences, is attended with scan-
dalous consequences; that the vow of single life
undertaken by women in the Church of Eng-
land, is the occasion of horrible disorders. "=^
These were sound doctrines, and well put to the
reason and conscience of the Parliament ; but
they wrought no change, and rendered it no
safer to preach or practice them. Persecution
raged against the Lollards, — as all who desired
a reformation of the church were now called, —

* Collier, Eel. Hist. 1. cent, 14,

62 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

under Henry the Fifth ; but the more they were
persecuted the more they increased, and they
sowed the whole of England with good seed,
which, nourished by the blood of the martyrs,
has continued to bring forth good fruit to this
day.

The first rupture between the English church
and the papal hierarchy, and the commencement
(^i what has been called the Reformation in
England, were occasioned, not by a change of
religious opinions either in the ruling powers, or
the great mass of the people, but by causes purely
selfish and worldly. Henry the Eighth, a man,
not only destitute of all personal religion, but pos-
sessed of all the vile and abominable passions
which can degrade humanity, wished to obtain
from the Pope a divorce from his queen, Katha-
rine, that he might, with the sanction of the
church, marry Anne Boleyn, who had been an
attendant upon the queen. The ground which
he assigned for this divorce was so absurd
that even the Pope, unscrupulous as he was in
respect to other matters, and strongly as he
was inclined to grant the request of his
powerful subject, could not be prevailed upon
to sanction it. Whereupon Henry, not to be
defeated in his cruel purpose, resolved to make

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 53

himself the supreme head of the English
church.

His first act of retaliation upon the Pope, was
a proclamation, in which all persons were for-
bidden to purchase any thing from Rome, under
the severest penalties. In 1534, being the.
twenty-sixth year of his reign, the Act of Su-
premacy, which took from the Pope all authori-
ty and power over the church in England, and
gave to the king all authority whatever in ec-
clesiastical afTairs, was passed by the Parlia-
ment. This Act declares that " the king, his
heirs, and successors, kings of England, shall be
taken, accepted, and reputed the only Supreme
Head of the Church of England ; and shall have
and enjoy, annexed and united to the imperial
crown of this realm, as well the title and style
thereof, as all the honors, immunities, profits,
and commodities, to the Supreme Head of the
church belonging; and shall have full power
and authority to visit, repress, redress, and
amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, con-
tempts, and enormities, whatsoever they be,
which by any manner of spiritual authority or ju-
risdiction, ought or may be lawfully reformed, re-
pressed, ordered, redressed, counciled, restrained,
or amended, most to the pleasure of Almighty
God, and increase of virtue in Christ's religion,
5*

i54 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

imd for the conservation of peace, unity, and
tranquility of this realm, any usage, custom,
foreign law, foreign authority, prescription, or
any thing or things to the contrary notwith-
standing."

This Act was the commencement of what has
been called the " Reformation " in England.
But it was not such an act as the state of the
church demanded. It was conceived in sin, and
brought forth in iniquity. It gave no relief to
burdened consciences, nor freedom to the souls
that were crying from under the altar. It made
no change in doctrine, nor breathed any new
life into the dead formalities of the old religion.
Jt simply transferred the church, like a flock
of sheep, from a rapacious pope, to a brutal
iind licentious king ; and gave to a civil in-
stead of an ecclesiastical tyrant, the sole power
^ reforming abuses, heresies, and errors, with-
out the slightest regard to the rights of con-
fcience, or the laws of Jesus Christ. It was an
act which in banishing the pope, banished the
King of Zion from his appropriate domain, and
enthroned one who might be called literally, a
" jTian of$i7i" in the church, — for he was one of
the most wicked of men, — authorizing him, as
God, to sit in the temple, and to usurp the au-
thority of God. It was continually fortified, and

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 55

its provisions extended, by subsequent acts of
Parliament. In the thirty-seventh year of this
reign, a law was passed which declares " that
arch-bishops, bishops, arch-deacons, and others,
have no manner of jurisdiction ecclesiastical,
but by, under, and from the king's authority, the
only undoubted supreme head of the Church of
England, to whom, by holy Scripture, all au-
thority and power is wholly given to hear and
determine all manner of causes whatsoever, and
to correct all manner of heresies, errors, vices,
and sins whatever ; and to all such persons as
his Majesty shall appoint thereunto." Under
this law chancelors, commissioners, and other
officers, never heard of in the primitive church,
were appointed; and, to secularize the church
as effectually as possible, the king in the exer-
cise of his unlimited power, committed all the
most important ecclesiastical matters to laymen.
This exorbitant power in the political head of the
church, was confirmed in the reign of Edward the
Sixth, of Queen Elizabeth, of James I., and of
Charles II.; and until the reign of William and.
Mary, all clergymen were compelled to acknowl-
edge it in the oath of supremacy, — an oath which
transferred their allegiance, as Christians, from
Christ to the king of England, and made them
traitors to the cause which all true ministers are

56 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

bound by a more solemn and stringent oath to
defend at all hazards.*

Although the Church of England was thus
effectually separated from the church of Rome,
and emancipated from the authority of the pope,
the great body of the inferior clergy, and of the
people, countenanced and encouraged by many
leading men both in church and state, adhered
firmly to the old opinions and practices ; and
although during the reign of this capricious and
cruel tyrant, there was much confiscation of
church property, and persecution of Roman
Catholics, there was but very little reformation
from the worst corruptions of popery. How
could the church be purified by such a beast as
Henry the Eighth, and by time-serving men like
Cranmer, who were always ready to become
the tools of a power that neither feared God nor
regarded man ?

Edward the Sixth, a youth of very difllerent
disposition and temper from his father, — of visi-
ble piety even, — ascended the throne in 1547.
Under his reign some change for the better was
effected in the condition of the oppressed and
suflfering church. Two of the statutes against
the Lollards, arid several oppressive popish laws,

* Neal, Hiat Purii 2, ch. 1. Pierc«, Viadicalion of Diwenten
7—9. Hume, Hin. Engl. A. D. ISM.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 57

were repealed, and others more favorable to
truth and liberty, enacted jj|y the Parliament
which assembled soon after the accession of the
young king. A committee of divines was ap-
pointed to examine and reform the worship of
the church, who finding the clergy generally
incapable of composing either sermons or
prayers, set forth a book of Homilies, and a
Liturgy for their use. This change in the wor-
ship of the church was the foundation of that
Uniformity which was subsequently established
by the government, and exacted with such un-
sparing rigor by those in power, that many of
the most pious and useful ministers in England,
like Shepard and his associates, who had con-
scientious scruples respecting the propriety of
some of these offices, were obliged to abandon
the ministry, or like the woman of the Revela-
tion, flee into the wilderness where God had
prepared a place for them.

Nothing can be more certain than that in the
first and purest age of the church, there was no
such thing as a uniform Liturgy which all wor-
shipers were obliged to use and conform to.
Very few forms appear to have been used for
three hundred years, and those were not imposed
upon the people by ecclesiastical or civil power.

63 LIFE OF THOMAS EHEPARD.

In those times Christian worship consisted of
hymns, — prayers,-r-(which, as TertuUian says,
were offered sine monitore, quia de pectore,
•without a prompter, because they came from the
heart,) — the reading of the Scriptures, — and the
celebration of the Lord's supper. It was not
until the fourth century that set forms were in-
troduced, and ministers were forbidden to use
any prayers in the churches except such as were
composed by able men, or approved by the Syn-
ods ; and even this innovation, as Shepard re-
marks, grew out of the gross and palpable igno-
rance of the ministry in those contentious and
heretical times, and was enforced in order to
prevent the scandalous scenes which were com-
mon in churches where the pastors were incapa-
ble of preaching or praying to the edification
of the people.

By degrees, however, the worship of the
church, which, from the beginning had been
very simple, notwithstanding the forms that had
from time to time been introduced, began, as
Burnet remarks, to be thought too naked, unless
" put under more artificial rules, and dressed up
with much ceremony," and therefore various
rites and ceremonies, better fitted to please the
eye, and strike the imagination than to promote

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 59

the godly edifying of the worshiper, were con-
tinually added. Still there was no universal
uniformity of worship. Every bishop adopted
that form which he thought best adapted to the
times and to the temper of his own people. And
this diversity continued until the bishop of
Rome, among other acts of usurpation, pretend-
ed that it belonged to the mother church, to fur-
nish a model of doctrine and of worship to
which all the churches in Christendom ought to
conform. But even under the dominion of the
pope, there was great diversity in the forms of
worship, and absolute uniformity was never ef-
fected until it was forced upon the English
church after its separation from Rome.

The committee of divines who prepared the
English Liturgy under Edward the Sixth, found
a great variety of forms, and much diversity in
respect to worship, existing in the church. In
the south of England there was the liturgy of
Sarum ; in the north, that of the Duke of York ;
in south Wales, that of Hereford; in north
Wales, that of Bangor; in the diocese of Lin-
coln, one which was peculiar to that see."* The
committee collected all these offices, — this " cop-
per counterfeit coin," — as Shepard calls it, — " of

* Burnet, Hist. Reform. H. 71, 72.

60 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

a well grown antichrist, whereby he cheated the
churches when he stole away the golden legacy
of Christ," — with the design of forming out of
them a new Liturgy which should be used in all
parts of the country, and by every congregation.
They thought that entire uniformity, both in
doctrine and worship, was necessary to the
purity and peace of the church ; and were de-
termined that the diversity which had been tol-
erated in the darkest times of popery, should no
longer be allowed in protestant England. They
attempted what was at once unreasonable, unne-
cessary, and impracticable ; and forged fetters
for the people, which, if they did not crush the
life of devotion out of the church, would one day
be burst asunder with violence and universal
tumult. Had they drawn up various forms for
those whose feeble piety needed assistance, and
left something to the judgment, discretion, and
conscience of those who had begun to " breathe
the pure air of the holy Scriptures," the church
might have been united, and New England re-
mained for some centuries longer in the posses-
sion of its original inhabitants.

The first service book, or Liturgy of Edward
the Sixth, was gathered from the popish Breviary,
Ritual, and Missal, with but slight alterations or
improvements. They did not, says Burnet,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 61

mend every thing that required it, but left the
office of the mass as it was, only adding to it
that Avhich made it a communion. * While
many of the Romish superstitions were omitted,
some were retained ; the committee going " as
far as they could in reforming the church," and
hoping " that they who should come after, would,
as they might, do more."t They felt, honestly, no
doubt, that it was a great advantage to the people
to hear prayers in their native language, rather
than in an unknown tongue. They wished to
have the people united ; and aimed to convert
papists to the English Church by a form of wor-
ship which should differ as little as possible from
that to which they had been accustomed. Those
who desired a real reformation, did all that they
could ; and those who were papists at heart,
were satisfied to have a Liturgy which made no
fundamental change. Among other things, the
vestments in which the Romish priests officiated,
w^ere retained against the judgment of many
pious persons, who thought that these surplices,
copes, and other rags and symbols of popery,
should be confined to the pope's wardrobe. It
was urged that these garments belonged to the
idolatry of the mass, and had been used to set it

* Hist. Reform. II. 64.
t Preface to the Liturgy of Ed. VI.
VOL. IV. 6

62 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

off with more pomp and show, and ought not,
therefore, to be used in- a church professing to
be apostolical. But to this the Reformers re-
plied, that the priest's garments, under the Mo-
saic dispensation, were white, and this seemed
to be a fit emblem of the purity and decency
becoming priests under the Gospel. JVforeover,
it was said that the clergy were extremely poor,
and could not afford to dress themselves de-
cently ; and as the people, vibrating from the
extreme of blind submission to the clergy, were
inclined to despise them, and to make light of
their sacred functions, if they were to officiate in
their own garments they would bring the Divine
offices into contempt. These considerations
were deemed conclusive, and so it was resolved
that the use of the popish vestments should be
continued, and made obligatory upon all offi-
ciating clergymen. *

A more thorough reformation of the church, —
a reformation which should leave none of the
vain pomp, and foolish pageantry of Romanism
behind, — a reformation which should make all
the rites, ceremonies, and doctrines of the church
conformable to the rules laid down by Christ
and his apostles, and suffer nothing to be re-

* Bumtt, Hi«t. Rflform. II. 76, 76.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 63

quired of men but what was clearly sanctioned
by the authority of God's word, — was needed ;
and by many, even by Edward himself, greatly
desired. And had those in power followed the
light of the Scriptures, which was then begin-
ning to shine upon the church, and purged out
the old leaven of popery, and every thing in
doctrine or worship which they themselves ac-
knowledged was unscriptural, there would have
been no dissent except among the advocates of
an antichristian hierarchy. But, as Edward,
in his vain efforts to realize his idea of a
reformation, sadly complained, those bishops
who ought to carry forward this work, " some
for papistry, some for ignorance, some for age,
some for their ill name, some for all these," were
men " unable to execute discipline" and it was
therefore " a thing unmeet for them to do."*

It was lamentably true, as Mrs. Hutchinson,
in her interesting Memoirs of her husband
finely remarks, " that when the dawn of the
Gospel began to break upon England, after the
dark night of the papacy, the morning was more
cloudy there than in other places, by reason of
the state interest which was mixing and working
itself into the interests of religion, and which in

♦ Neale, Hist. Purit., 1, 53. Burnet Hist. Reform. II. 69, 427.

64 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAHD.

the end quite wrought it out. For Henry the
Eighth, who by his royal authority cast out the
Pope, did not intend that the people of the land
should have any ease of oppression, but only
change their foreign yoke for home-bred fetters,
dividing the pope's spoils between himself and
his bishops, who cared not for their father a
Rome, so long as they enjoyed their patrimony
and their honors at home under another head."*

Under the reign of Mary, the sister of Ed-
ward, the English Church reverted to popery;
and Protestants, indiscriminately, suffered the
most severe and unrelenting persecution.

On the accession of Elizabeth, in 1558, all
real Protestants in the nation entertained strong
hopes that the work of reform, which was
begun, (with whatever motives,) by her father,
— which was promoted to the extent of his
power by her brother, Edward, — and which
had been not only retarded, but reversed by her
sister Mary of bloody memory, — would be
resumed and speedily completed. But all hopes,
founded upon the accession of a professedly
Protestant Queen, were destined to be sadly dis-
appointed.

The nation was, at this time, divided into

* Memoirs of Col. HutchioMn, 1, 105.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 65

three parties of very unequal size ; the Papists,
the State protesiants, and a. small but continually
increasing number of truly Religious people, who
were afterwards branded with the name of Pu-
ritans.* The great body of the people of Eng-
land, says Macauly, had no fixed opinion as to
the matters of dispute between the churches.
" Each side had a few enterprizing champions,
and a few stout-hearted martyrs; but the nation,
undetermined in its opinions and feelings, re-
signed itself implicitly to the guidance of the
government, and lent to the sovereign for the
time being, an equally ready aid against either of
the extreme parties. They were sometimes Pro-
testant, sometimes Catholic, sometimes half Pro-
testants, half Catholics. They were in a situation
resembling that of those borderers, whom Sir
Walter Scott has described with so much spirit.

" Who sought the beeves that made their broth, .

In Scotland and in England both."

The religion of England was thus a mixed
religion, like that of the Samaritan settlers de-
scribed in the Second Book of Kings, " who
feared the Lord, and served their own gods ;"
like that of the Judaizing Christians, who

* Memoirs of Col. Hutchinson, I, 106.

66 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

blended the doctrines of the synagogue with
those of the church ; like that of the Mexican
Indians, who, for many generations after the
subjugation of their race, continued to unite with
the rites learned from their conquerors, the wor-
ship of the grotesque idols which had been
adored by Montezuma and Gautemozin." ^

All the English clergy, who were really prot-
estant at heart, made vigorous exertions, in the
beginning of the reign of Elizabeth, to separate
the church more entirely from the influence of
popery ; but the Queen, who controlled all the
affairs of the church, as well as of the state, was
very differently inclined. Though educated as
a Protestant, and professing, from her early
years, to feel strong dislike of the papacy, and
love to the cause of truth, she was, in opin-
ion, " little better than half a Protestant." She
loved magnificence in religion as well as in
every thing else, and to the last, cherished a
great fondness for those rites and ceremonies of
the Romish church which her father had re-
tained. " She had no scruple about conforming
to that church, when conformity was necessary
to her own safety; and she had professed,
when it suited her, to be wholly a Catholic."

*Macauljr'f Ebmju, 1, I78»^179.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 67

She always kept a crucifix, with wax lights
burning around it, in her private chapel. The
service of the church had been too much stripped
of ornament and display to suit her taste, and its
doctrines were made too narrow for her opin-
ions ; in both, therefore, she made alterations, to
bring them into greater conformity to the pa-
pacy. Instead of carrying the reformation of
Edward farther, she often repented that it had
been carried so far. Accordingly she directed the
committee of divines,who were appointed in 1559,
to review the Liturgy of Edward, to strike out
all passages that could be offensive to the pope,
and to make the people easy about the corporeal
presence of Christ in the sacrament, but to say
not a word in favor of the stricter Protestants, a
respectable body both of the clergy and the laity,
who were anxious to bring the reformation to
that state which Protestants abroad regarded as
the scriptural model. *

In the year 1559, the Parliament passed an
" Act for the uniformity of common prayer and
service of the church, and administration of the
sacraments;" by one clause of which all eccle-
siastical jurisdiction was again given up to the
crown; and the queen was empowered, with

*Neal, Hist. Purit. 1, 55, 81, 91, 117.

68 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

the advice of her commissioners or metropolitan,
to ordain and publish such other rites or cere-
monies as might, in her opinion, be most for the
advancement of God's glory, the edifying of
his church, and the due reverence of Christ's
holy mysteries and sacraments ; without which
clause, reserving to the queen power to make
what alterations she pleased, she told Arch-
bishop Parker she would not have passed the
Act.*' The oppressive use that was made of the
enorrnous power thus conferred upon a queen,
who declared that she hated the Puritans worse
than she did the Papists, we see in the history
of those times. Elizabeth was resolved that all
should conform to her worship, or suffer the se-
verest penalties of the law ; and she persecuted
the conscientious Non-conformists with a cruelty
which proved that her profession of hatred was
sincere. She did not burn them, as her sister
Mary did the heretics of her time, but she sub-
jected them to hardships more terrible than
death.

i In the exercise of her boundless prerogative,
she instituted that engine of persecution, the
court of " High Commission ;" and no less than
five courts of this name were established with

• Neal'i Hift. PurlU 1, 92, 93.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 69

increasing severity."^ The power of these tri-
bunals was brought to bear with terrible effect
upon the Puritans. A great many faithful min-
isters were suspended from their livings, de-
posed, fined, imprisoned, and their families and
interests ruined, for refusing to conform to the
established ritual. They were frequently im-
prisoned without any previous complaint, and
sometimes without any knowledge of the charges
upon which they were arrested; they were re-
fused bail, and often suffered a long and tedious
confinement before they were brought to trial.
They were not only denied the privilege of trial
by jury, but condemned without being confronted
by the witnesses against them. On the most en-
snaring questions, multiplied and arranged in
the most artful manner, they were obliged to
answer instantly upon oath, with the rack or the
prison distinctly in view. The horrible charac-
ter of these inquisitorial examinations is well
described by Lord Burleigh in a letter to Arch-
bishop Whitgift : " I have read over your
twenty-four articles, formed in Romish style, of
great length and curiosity, to examine all man-
ner of ministers in this time without distinction
of persons, to be executed, and I find them so

* Burnet, Hist. Keform. II. 387.

70 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

curiously penned, so full of branches and cir-
cumstances, that I think the Inquisition of Spain
used not so many questions to comprehend and
to trap their priests." *

After the convocation of 1562, had framed
the Thirty-nine Articles, and, by a majority of
one, decided to retain all the ceremonies which
had given so much offence to every real Prot-
estant, the bishops began to enforce upon the
clergy subscription to the Liturgy and Cere-
monies, as well as to the Articles of faith.
The penalty for refusing to subscribe was ex-
pulsion from their parishes. Three hundred
ministers, of pious and exemplary lives, some of
them eminent for their talents and learning, re-
fused to subscribe, and were deprived of their
livings. Unwilling to separate from a church in
which the word and the sacraments were in
substance administered, though disfigured and
defiled by some popish superstitions, some of
these deprived ministers continued to preach, as
they had opportunity, in places where the cere-
monies could be safely dispensed with, though
they were excluded of course from all ecclesias-
tical preferment, t

Many of the common people were as strongly

* Pierce, Vindication of the Diasentera, 100.
t Fuller, Church HieC B. IX. 72, 102.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARU. 71

opposed to the use of the clerical vestments, and
other relics of popery, as the ministers ; and be-
lieving it to be unlawful to countenance such
superstitions even by their presence, would not
enter the churches where they were used. It
now became a question of great interest and
importance, for those who were qualified and
desirous to preach the gospel, as well as for
those who wished to hear it in its purity, what
their duty was in this posture of affairs. In the
year 1572 a solemn consultation was held by
them upon this subject; and after prayer and
earnest debate respecting the lawfulness and
necessity of separating from the established
Church, they came to this result : "That, since
they could not have the word of God preached,
nor the sacraments administered, without idola-
trous gear, and since there had been a separate
congregation in London, and another at Geneva,
in Queen Mary's time, which used a book and
order of preaching, administration, and disci-
pline, which Calvin had approved of, and which
was free from the superstition of the English
service, therefore it was their duty, in their
present circumstances, to break off from the
public church, and to assemble, as they had op-
portunity, in private houses, or elsewhere, to
worship God in a manner that might not offend

72 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

the light of their consciences." Another ques-
tion was discussed at this meeting', namely,
whether they should use so much of the com-
mon prayer and service of the church as was
not offensive ; or, since they were cut off from
the Church of England, at once to set up the
purest and best form of worship most con-
sonant to the sacred Scriptures, and to the prac-
tice of the foreign reformers. They concluded
to do the latter ; and accordingly laid aside the
English Liturgy altogether, and adopted the
service book used at Geneva. This has been
called the epoch of the Separation, as the year
1562 was of Non-comformity. *

In the year 1581, the Parliament passed an
Act imposing a fine of £20 a month on every
person who refused to attend the Common
Prayer ; and it was not long before there was
occasion to inflict this ruinous penalty. The
afflicted Puritans appealed to the Queen, to both
houses of Parliament, to the Convocation, and
to the bishops, but could obtain no relief. Sev-
eral ministers were imprisoned for the inexcusa-
ble crime of asking for a little relief from
the rigor with which they were pursued to ruin.
Members of Parliament were sent to the Tower

• Ncia. Hiat. Parik 1. 1«4.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 73

for speaking in favor of the miserable Puritans.
Bills, passed in the house of commons for their
relief, were sent for by the Queen, and cancelled :
and the Parliament was peremptorily forbidden
to meddle with ecclesiastical affairs.

Wearied out with this unrelenting persecu-
tion which drove so many of the most useful
ministers into obscurity, and discouraged by the
stern rejection of all their petitions for relief, the
Puritans began to despair of any further reforma-
tion of the church by the ruling powers ; and in
one of their assemblies came to this conclusion,
" That, since the magistrate could not be induced
to reform the discipline of the church by so many
petitions and supplications, therefore, after so
many years waiting, it was lawful to act without
him, and to introduce a reformation in the best
manner they could." *

That portion of the Puritan party, however,
to which our Fathers belonged, did not vol-
untarily and schismatically separate from the
church, like Brown and others, who renounced
all communion with the establishment, not only
in ceremonies and prayers, but in hearing the
word and sacraments, and refused to recognize

♦ Neal, 1. 303.
VOL. IV.

74 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

it as a true church, or its ministers as true min-
isters of the Gospel. The Non-conformists gen-
erally did not deserve the name of Brownists
which they sometimes bore, through the igno-
rance or malice of their enemies. They doubt-
less agreed with the Separatists in opposing the
tyranny and superstitions of the Hierarchy, and
in maintaining their right to worship God
according to the dictates of their consciences
enlightened by the Scriptures ; but they did not
acknowledge him as their father, nor, in fact,
did they agree with him in principle. The final
exclusion of both parties from the parent church
was brought about by the same cause, namely,
the oppression which they suffered from the
bishops ; but sameness of origin is no proof of
identity in doctrine. " No marvel," says Cot-
ton, *' if we take it ill to be called Brownists, in
whole or in part ; for neither in whole nor in
part do we partake of his schism. He separated
from churches and from saints ; we, only from
the world, and that which is of the world. We
were not baptized into his name, and why should
we be called by his name ? The Brownists did
not beget us to God, or to the church, or to their
schism, — a schism, which as we have lamented
in them, as a fruit of misguided, ignorant zeal,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 75

SO we have ever borne witness against it since
our first knowledge of it" *

The truth is, that while the Puritans depre-
cated and dreaded separation from the church,
and labored in all suitable ways to avoid the ne-
cessity of going out of it, there was an evident
determination on the part of the ruling powers
to get rid of those, whom, for fleeing from their
tyranny, they condemned as separatists. It was
the opinion of the stricter reformers generally,
that they might consistently retain their con-
nection with the parent church, which they
acknowledged to be a true church ; — that the
restraint of arbitrary human laws upon their
privileges, and the imposition by such laws of
corrupt members, canons, and ways of worship,
destroyed neither their rights nor their Christian
character ; and that since a separation was not
allowed by the reigning powers, and the organ-
ization of purer churches within the kingdom
was impracticable, they ought to remain in the
church, groaning under their burdens, and la-
boring for her reformation. But the reigning
powers were very willing to have these con-
scientious people excluded from the fellowship
of a church which they loved with all her faults.

* Way of the Congregational Churches, p. 10.

76 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Archbishop Sheldon once said to a gentleman,
who expressed much regret that the door was
made so strait that many sober ministers could
not enter, " It is no cause of regret at all ; if we
had thought so many of them would have con-
formed, we would have made it still straiten"

The sin of schism, therefore, which has been
so often charged upon our congregational Fa-
thers, does not lie at their door. Laud himself,
the greatest enemy the Puritans ever had, lays
it down as a maxim, that " schism is theirs whose
the cause of it is ; and he makes the separation
who gives the first cause of it, not he that makes
an actual separation upon a just cause preced-
ing." " They who talk so much of sects and
divisions," says Locke, " would do well to con-
sider whether those are not most authors and
promoters of sects and divisions, who impose
creeds and ceremonies, and articles of men's
making, and make things not necessary to sal-
vation the necessary terms of communion ; ex-
cluding and driving from ihem such as, out of
conscience and persuasion, cannot assent and
submit to them, and treating them as if they
were utter aliens from the church of God, and
such as were deservedly shut out as unfit to be
members of it ; who narrow Christianity with

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 77

bounds of their own making, which the gospel
knows nothing of; and often for things, by
themselves confessedly indifferent, thrust men
out of their communion, and then punish them
for not being of it."*

* Letters on Toleration.

7*

78 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

CHAPTER IV.

Sketch of English Ecclesiastical history, continued. Accession of
James I. Hopes of the Puritans. Hampton court conference.
No change in the Liturgy. Conformity enjoined by proclamation.
James' speech to his first Parliament. Bishop Bancroft's meas-
ures. Puritans divided into two classes, Conformists, and Non-
conformists. Vindication of non-conformists. Story from Roman
history. John Hampden's refusal to pay ship-money. Grand
result of persecution.

The harrassed and helpless Puritans had looked
forward with hope to the accession of James I.
He was a member of the Presbyterian church of
Scotland, and had often professed much sympa-
thy with them in their afflictions. Not antici-
pating the change that would be wrought in his
theological notions by the prelates' maxim, " No
bishop, no king," nor dreaming of the effect
which would be produced upon his " northern
constitution " by the " southern air of the bish-
op's breath," they expected that he would at
once relieve them of these burdens. He as-
cended the throne of England in 1603; and
whether he had always been a hypocrite, or
whether he became intoxicated by the flattery

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARB. 79

of the hypocritical bishops, certain it is, that all
the cheering expectation of those who regarded
themselves as his brethren in the faith of Christ,
were at once blasted by the contemptuous and
oppressive course which he adopted towards
them. Upon his arrival in England, a petition,
signed by eight or nine hundred ministers of
the gospel, "his majesty's most humble sub-
jects," praying, not for a " disorderly innovation,
but a godly reformation," in the ceremonies and
discipline of the church, was presented to him.

This called forth a bitter attack upon the
Puritans from the bishops and the Universities,
and produced a controversy, which after a few
months was silenced by a royal Proclamation, in
which the king declared his attachment and
adherence to the established church ; but gra-
ciously encouraged the petitioners to hope for a
conference in which the nature and extent of
their grievances would be examined. This con-
ference, or as it should rather be called, the trial
and condemnation of the Puritans, was held at
Hampton-Court, on the fourteenth of January,
1604, and hence called the " Hampton-Court
Conference."

A very full, and graphic account of this con-
ference is found in Fuller's Church History of
England. The king sat as moderator ; but in

80 LIFE OF THOMAS SHBPARO.

the discussion he became the chief speaker in
defence of the oppressive proceeding of the
church, and assailed the Non-conformists with
much coarse, vulgar, and abusive language.
The church was represented by nearly all the
bishops and deans ; and Dr. Reynolds, Dr.
Sparks, Mr. Knewstubs, and Mr. Chadderton,
men eminent for piety and learning, and held in
high respect by the people, appeared in behalf
of the Non-conformists. On the first day of the
conference, the king made a sort of gratulatory
address to the bishops and deans by themselves,
in which he expressed his joy that he had not,
like Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Queen
Elizabeth, to alter all things, but merely to con-
firm what he found well settled ; that he had
been brought by God's good providence, into the
promised land, where religion was purely pro-
fessed, and where he could sit among grave,
learned, and reverend men, not as before, " else-
where," (not deigning to name poor Scotland,)
a king without state, without honor, without
order, where beardless boys would sometimes
brave him to his face ; — and declared his pur-
pose to be like a good physician, to examine
and try the complaints of the people, and fully
to remove the occasions of them if scandalous ;
to cure them if dangerous ; to take knowledge of

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 81

them if but frivolous ; thereby to cast a sop into
the mouth of cerberus, that he might bark no
more ; and if any thing should be found neces-
sary to be redressed, that it should be done
*' without any visible alteration."

On Monday, January 16, the advocates of the
Non-conformists were admitted to the conference,
and the king made a " pithy speech," winding
up with an address to these four opposers of
conformity, whom he had heard were the
" most grave, learned, and modest of the ag-
grieved sort" professing himself ready to hear
what they had to object, and commanding them
to begin.

Dr. Reynolds. " All things disliked or ques-
tioned may be reduced to these four heads ;

1. That the doctrine of the church might
be preserved in purity, according to God's word.

2. That good pastors might be placed in all the
churches to preach the same. 3. That the
church government might be sincerely adminis-
tered according to God's word. 4. That the
Book of Common Prayer might be fitted to more
increase of piety. For the first, may your
majesty be pleased, that the Articles of religion
concluded on in 1562, be explained where ob-
scure, and enlarged where defective." And

82 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

here the doctor referred to Articles 16, 23, and
25, as needing revision.

Bishop of London, (Bancroft.) " May it
please your majesty, that the ancient canon
may be remembered, schismatici contra Epis-
copos Tum sunt audiendi. And there is an-
other decree of a very ancient council, that
no man should be permitted to speak against
that whereunto he hath formerly subscribed.
And as for you Dr. Reynolds, and your sociates,
how much are ye bound to his majesty's clem-
ency, permitting you, contrary to the statute
Primo Elzibethae, so freely to speak against the
Liturgy and discipline established. Fain would
I know the end you aim at, and whether you
be not of Mr. Cartwright's mind, who affirmed
that we ought in ceremonies rather to conform
to the Turks than to the papists. I doubt you
approve his position, because here appearing
before his majesty in Turkey gowns, not in
your scholastic habits, answering to the order of
the Universities."

The King. " My lord bishop, something in
your passion I may excuse, and something I
must mislike. I may excuse you thus far, that
I think you have just cause to be moved, in
respect that they traduce the well settled gov-
ernment, and also proceed in so indecent a

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 83

course, contrary to their own pretence, and the
intent of this meeting. I mislike your sudden
interruption of Dr. Reynolds, whom you should
have suffered to have taken his liberty ; for
there is no order, nor can be any effectual issue
of disputation, if each party be not suffered,
without chopping, to speak at large." ....

Dr. Reynolds. " The catechism in the Com-
mon Prayer Book is too brief, and that by Mr.
Nowell, late dean of Paul's, too long for novices
to learn by heart. I request therefore, that one
uniform catechism may be made, "and none
other generally received."

The King. " I think the Doctor's request
very reasonable, yet so that the catechism may
be made in the fewest and plainest affirmative
terms that may be. And herein I would have
two rules observed. First, that curious and
deep questions be avoided in the fundamental
instruction of a people. Secondly, that there
should not be so general a departure from the
papists, that every thing should be accounted
an error in which we agree with them."

Dr. Reynolds. " Great is the profanation of
the Sabbath, and contempt of your majesty's
proclamation, which I earnestly desire may be
reformed."

This motion was unanimously agreed to.

84 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Dr. Reynolds. " May it please your majesty
that the Bible be new translated ; such trans-
lations as are extant not answering the original."
And he instanced in three particulars.

Bishop of London. " If every man's humour
might be followed, there would be no end of
translating."

The King. " I profess I could never yet see
a Bible well translated in English. I wish
some special pains were taken for an uniform
translation ; which should be done by the best
learned in both universities ; then reviewed by
the bishops ; presented to the privy council ;
lastly ratified by royal authority, to be read in
the whole church, and no other. To conclude
this point, let errors in matters of faith be
amended, and indifferent things be interpreted,
and a gloss added to them. A church with
some faults, is better than an innovation. And
surely if these were the greatest matters that
grieved you, I need not have been troubled with
such importunate complaints." ....

Dr. Reynolds. " And now to proceed to the
second general point, concerning the planting of
learned ministers ; I desire they be in every
parish."

The King. " I have consulted my bishops
ftbout it, whom I have found willing and ready

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 85

herein. But as subita evacuatio is periculoso,
so subita mutatio. It cannot presently be per-
formed, the Universities not affording them." . . .

Bishop of London. " Because this, I see, is
a time of moving petitions, may I humbly pre-
sent two or three to your majesty. First, that
there may be amongst us a praying ministry, it
being now come to pass, that men think it the
only duty of ministers to spend their time in the
pulpit. I confess, in a church newly to be
planted, preaching is most necessary, not so in
one long established, that prayer should be
neglected."

The King. " I like your motion exceeding
well, and dislike the hypocrisy of our time, who
place all their religion in the ear, whilst prayer,
so requisite and acceptable, if duly performed,
is accounted and used as the least part of re-
ligion."

Bishop of London. "My second motion is,
that until learned men may be planted in every
congregation, godly homilies may be read
therein."

The King. " I approve your motion, espe-
cially where the living is not sufficient for the
maintenance of a learned preacher. Also where
there be multitudes of sermons, there I would
have homilies read divers times." ....

VOL. IV. 8

86 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

Lord Chancellor. " Livings rather want
learned men, than learned men want livings ;
many in the universities pining for want of
places. I wish, therefore, some may have
single coals (one living) before others have
doublets, (pluralities) and this method I have
observed in bestowing the king's benefices."

Bishop of London. " I commend your hon-
orable care that way, but a doublet is necessary
in cold weather. My last motion is, that pul-
pits may not be made Pasquils, wherein every
discontented fellow may traduce his superiors."

The King. " I accept what you offer, for the
pulpit is no place of personal reproof. Let them
complain to me, if injured." ....

Dr. Reynolds. "I come now to subscrip-
tions, as a great impeachment to a learned
ministry, and therefore entreat that it may not
be exacted as heretofore ; for which many good
men are kept out, though otherwise willing to
subscribe to the statutes of the realm, articles of
religion, and the king's supremacy." ....

Mr. Knewstubs. " I take exceptions to the
cross in baptism, whereat the weak brethren are
offended, contrary to the counsel of the Apostle,
Rom. 14, and 2 Cor. 8."

The King. " Distinge lempora, tt concor da-
bunt ScripturcB. Great the difference between

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 87

those times and ours. Then, a church not
fully settled ; now, ours long established. How
long will such brethren be weak ? Are not
forty-five years sufficient for them to grow strong
in ? Besides, who pretends this weakness ?
We require not the subscription of laics and
idiots, but of preachers and ministers, who are
not still, I trow, to be fed with milk, being
enabled to feed others. Some of them are
strong enough, if not head-strong; conceiving
themselves able enough to teach him who last
spake for them, and all the bishops in the land."

Mr. Knewstubs. " It is questionable whether
the church hath power to institute an outward
significant sign."

Bishop of London. " The cross in baptism
is not used otherwise than a ceremony." ....

The King. " I am exceeding well satisfied
on this point, but would be acquainted about the
antiquity of the use of the cross."

Dr. Reynolds. " It hath been used ever since
the -Apostles' time. But the question is, how
ancient the use thereof hath been in baptism."

Dean of Westminster. " It appears out of
TertuUian, Cyprian, and Origen, that it was
used in immortalis lavacro.'''

Bishop of Winchester. " In Constantine's
time it was used in baptism."

88 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFAED.

The King. " If so, I see no reason but we
may continue it." ....

Mr. K7iewstubs. " If the church hath such
a power, the greatest scruple is, how far the
ordinance of the church bindeth, without im-
peaching Christian liberty."

The King. " I will not argue that point with
you, but answer as kings in Parliament, Le Roy
s' avisera. This is like Mr. John Black, a
beardless boy, who told me the last conference
in Scotland, that he would hold conformity with
his majesty in matters of doctrine, but every
man for ceremonies was to be left to his own
liberty. But I will have none of that. I will
have one doctrine, one discipline, one religion,
in substance and ceremony. Never speak
more to that point, how far you are bound to
obey."

Dr. Reynolds. " Would that the cross, being
superstitiously abused in popery, were aban-
doned, as the brazen serpent was stamped to
powder by Hezekiah because abused to idola-
try."

The King. " Inasmuch as the cross was
abused to superstition in time of popery, it doth
plainly imply that it was well used before. I
detest their courses, who peremptorily disallow
of all things which have been abused in popery,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 89

and know not how to answer the objections of
the papists when they charge us with novehies,
but by telling them we retain the primitive use
of things, and only forsake their novel corrup-
tions. Secondly, no resemblance between the
brazen serpent, — a material, visible sign, — and
the sign of the cross made in the air. Thirdly,
papists, as I am informed, never did ascribe any
spiritual grace to the cross in baptism. Lastly,
material crosses, to which the people fell down
in time of popery, (as the idolatrous Jews to the
brazen serpent) are already demolished, as you
desire."

Mr. Knewstubs. " I take exception at the
wearing of the surplice, a kind of garment used
by the priests of Isis,"

The King. " I did not think, till of late, it
had been borrowed from the heathen, because
commonly called a rag ofpoperij. Seeing now
we border not upon heathens, neither are any
of them conversant with, or cormorant among
us, thereby to be confirmed in paganism, I see
no reason but for comeliness' sake it may be
retained."

Dr. Reynolds. " I desire, that according to
certain provincial constitutions, the clergy may
have meetings every three weeks."
8^

90 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

The King. " If you aim at a Scottish Pres-
bytery, it agreeth as well with monarchy, as
God and the devil. Then Jack, and Tom, and
Will, and Dick, shall meet and censure me and
my council. Therefore I reiterate my former
speech, Le Roy s'avisera : stay, I pray, for one
seven years, before you demand, and then if
you find me grow pursy and fat, I may per-
chance hearken unto you, for that government
will keep me in breath, and give me work
enough. ... I shall here speak of one matter
more, somewhat out of order, but it skilleth not.
Dr. Reynolds, you have often spoken for my
supremacy, and it is well. But know you any
here, or elsewhere, who like of the present gov-
ernment ecclesiastical, and dislike my supre-
macy ? "

Dr. Reynolds. " I know none."

The King "My Lords, the bishops,

I may thank you that these men plead thus for
my supremacy. They think they cannot make
good their party against you but by appealing
unto it, but if once you were out, and they in, I
know what would become of my supremacy, for
NO Bishop, no King. I have learned of what
cut they have been, who preaching before me
since my coming into England, passed over
with silence my being supreme governor in

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD. 91

causes ecclesiastical. Well, Doctor have you
any thing else to say ? "

Dr. Reynolds. " No more, if it please your
majesty."

The King. " If this be all your party hath to
say, I will make them conform themselves, or
else I will harry them out of the land, or else do
worse."

Here ended the second days' conference. The
third was held on the Wednesday following.
After some discourse between the king, the
bishops, and the lords, respecting the proceed-
ings of the Court of High Commission, the four
Non-conformists were called in, and such altera-
tions in the Liturgy, as the bishops, by the ad-
vice of the king, had made, were read to them,
and to which their silence, was taken for consent.

The King. " I see the exceptions against the
Communion-bopk,aremattersof weakness, there-
fore if the persons reluctant be discreet, they
will be won betimes, and by good persuasions :
if indiscreet, better they were removed, for by
their factions, many are driven to be papists.
From you. Dr. Reynolds, and your associates, I
expect obedience and humility, (the marks of
honest and good men) and that you would per-
suade others abroad by your example."

Dr. Reynolds. " We here do promise to per-

92 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

form all duties to bishops as reverend fathers,
and to join with them against the common
adversary, for the quiet of the church."

Mr. Chadderton. " I request that the vsrearing
of the surplice and the cross in baptism may
not be urged on some godly ministers in Lan-
cashire, fearing, if forced unto them, many won
by their preaching of the gospel, will revolt to
popery."

The King. " It is not my purpose, and I dare
say it is not the bishop's intent, presently, and
out of hand, to enforce these things, without
fatherly admonitions, conferences, and persua-
sions, premised." . . .

Mr. Knewstubs. " I request the like favor of
forbearance to some honest ministers in Suffolk.
For it will make much against their credit in
the country, to be now forced to the surplice and
cross in baptism."

Archbishop of Canterbury. " Nay sir."

The King. " Let me alone to answer him.
Sir, you show yourself an uncharitable man.
We have here taken pains, and, in the end, have
concluded on unity and uniformity, and you
forsooth, must prefer the credits of a few private
men before the peace of the church. This is
just the Scotch argument, when any thing was
concluded which disliked some humors. Let

LIFE OF THOMAS SHETARD. 93

them either conform themselves shortly or they
shall hear."* . . .

After a few words respecting ambuling and
sitting communion, this famous, — if it should not
rather be called infamous, — conference ended ;
and with it, all the hopes which the Puritans
had cherished of relief from the intolerable
bondage in which they were held by the bishops.
Fuller remarks, that in this conference some
thought that James "went above himself ;" that
the Bishop of London, the violent Bancroft, " ap-
peared even with himself;" and that Dr. Rey-
nolds "fell much beneath himself." But we
must remember that the report of those pro-
ceedings was originally^ made by a professed
enemy of the Puritan Divines, who was as
much inclined to flatter the pedantic vanity of
the king, and to glorify the bishops, as he was to
misrepresent the character and the arguments of
those whom he hated. " When the Israelites go
down to the Philistines to whet all their iron tools,
no wonder if they set a sharp edge on their own,
and a blunt one on their enemies' weapons," as
Fuller charitably observes. The Archbishop of
Canterbury went so far as to declare his belief
that his majesty spoke by the especial assistance
of God's Spirit; and Bancroft, "appeared only

* Fuller's Church History, B. x. pp. 7—21.

94 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

even with himself;" when he exclaimed, "I pro-
test that my heart melteth with joy, that Al-
mighty God, of his singular mercy, hath given
us such a king, as, since Christ's time, the like
hath not been." But Sir J. Harrington, who was
present, remarked, in reference to the archbish-
op's blasphemous flattery ,^hat the spirit by which
that king spoke, was " rather foul-mouthed ;"
that he used expressions which it would not
be decent to repeat ; — and that he resorted
to abuse rather than argument, bidding the pe-
titioners, to " away with their sniveling." James
himself, in a letter to some nameless Scotch cor-
respondent, describes the part he played in the
conference in the following style, " We have
kept such a revell with the Puritans here this
two days, as was never heard the like. Quhaire
I have pepered them as soundlie as yee have
done the Papists thaire. It were no reason,
that those that will refuse the airy sign of the
cross after baptism, should have their purses
stuffed with any more solid and substantial

crosses I have such a book of theirs as

may well convert infidels, but it shall never con-
vert me, except by turning me more earnestly
against thaymc."

We can see clearly enough, through all the
clouds of prejudice and passion in which that

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 95

scene has been enveloped, that the demands of
the Puritans were perfectly reasonable, and pre-
sented in the humblest and most unobjectionable
manner ; while on the part of the king and the
bishops, there was not even the appearance of a
desire to heal the divisions of the church by
modifying the arbitrary and tyrannical measures
which produced them ; but on the contrary, a
manifest determination to make the Puritans
conform to every thing contained in a semi-
popish liturgy, or as James himself once called
it, " An ill-said mass in English," by the terror
of fines, imprisonment, and banishment from
their country. This conference seems to have
been a providential opportunity for healing the
distractions of the church, and of establishing a
true Christian union upon the basis of God's
word. But it was wickedly lost through the
worldly policy of the bishops, and the arbitrary
principles and cowardice of the king, who flat-
tered the hierarchy to secure its support of the
throne, and feared the Puritans for their resist-
ance to his sovereign will. Had the ruling
powers at this time followed the advice of some
of the wisest and most pious divines in their
own church, or the example of the Reformers
abroad who took the Scriptures and not a cor-
rupt tradition, for their guide in the work of

96 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

reformation, they might have prevented a divis-
ion as disgraceful as it was disastrous in its con-
sequences to them.

But they, in their blindness, deemed it best to
retain every thing which troubled the conscien-
ces of the mo§t devout portion of the church.
The only good thing done by them at this con-
felrence, was consenting to a new translation of
the Bible, or rather a careful revision and com-
parison of all the translations then in use. A
very few trifling alterations in the prescribed
service were agreed upon by the king and the
bishops ; and then a royal proclamation was is-
sued commanding all the people to conform to
the doctrines and discipline of the Established
Church as the only form to be tolerated in the
kingdom, and admonishing the malcontents
not to expect any farther alteration or relief.
The Common Prayer-book was accordingly
printed with these inconsiderable amendments,
and the proclamation prefixed, like the cherubim
with flaming sword guarding the tree of life.

James opened his first Parliament with a
characteristic speech, in which he acknowledged
the Romish church to be, "our Mother Church,"
— and professed his unwillingness to meet the
papists half way for the sake of bringing about
a union of the two religions, at the same time

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 97

deriouncing the Puritans as a " sect insufferable
in any well governed commonwealth." The
Convocation which sat at the same time, were
very active in laying snares, and preparing
weapons for the unfortunate sect thus placed
under the curse of the realm. They drew up a
book of one hundred and forty canons, accord-
ing to which, suspension and deprivation being
regarded as too light a punishment for the enor-
mous sin of non-conformity, all who refused to
conform were, ipso facto excommunicated and
cast out, as heathen and publicans, from the
fellowship and protection of both church and
state. By these canons all Non-conformists were
rendered incapable of bringing actions at law
for the recovery of their legal debts ; were by
process of the civil courts, to be imprisoned for
life, or until they should give satisfaction to the
church ; were to be exposed to every form of
temporal evil in this world, and to be denied
Christian burial after death ; and if the power
of the bishops had extended into the other world,
would have been eternally excluded from the fel-
lowship of just men made perfect. These canons
were ratified by the king, who at the same time
commanded that they should be diligently ob-
served and executed ; that every parish minister
should read them over once every year in his

VOL. IV. 9

98 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

church before divine service ; and that all per-
sons having ecclesiastical jurisdiction, should see
them put in execution, and not fail to inflict the
full penalty upon every one who should pur-
posely violate or neglect them.*

On the death of Archbishop Whitgift, who,
though an enemy and a persecutor of the Puri-
tans, was comparatively a moderate man, Ban-
croft, Bishop of London, who was the most
irrascible and abusive speaker, next to the king,
in the Hampton Court Conference, succeeded to
the arch-episcopal chair. Bancroft was a man
of a savage temper, and most arbitrary princi-
ples ; and what Whitgift strove to accomplish
by comparatively mild measures, he resolved to
do at once by an exterminating rigor. He re-
vived the persecution with such severity, that in
1605, the year of Mr. Shepard's birth, about
three hundred ministers were silenced, turned
out from their parishes, or otherwise punished
for refusing subscription ; and yet of the suffer-
ers in eight bishoprics, no account was taken.
These ministers had preached in the church
from ten to thirty years ; and in many churches,
the ceremonies had been laid aside for a long
time. Some of these ministers were excommu-
nicated and imprisoned, and others forced into

* Bennet, Mem. ch. 3. Neal Hist. Puriu I, 422.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 99

exile, — " harried out of the kingdom," — as James
insolently threatened they should be, if they did
not conform.

Under the intolerant measures now adopted
and inflexibly adhered to, many good men strove
to conform, — and succeeded in convincing them-
selves that they were doing God's service, in con-
forming to the established order. Hence those
who most earnestly desired to see a thorough
reformation of the church, were divided into two
parties, distinguished at the time, and well
known since, as Conformists and Non-conformists.
Of the first class was Dr. Reynolds, who, at the
Hampton Court Conference, solemnly promised,
" to perform all duties to bishops, as reverend
fathers, and to join with them against the com-
mon adversary for the quiet of the church."
Dr. Sparks, also, another of the representatives of
Puritanism in that unhappy conference, to which
the petitioners were called, " not to have their
scruples removed," but to hear the king's
" pleasure propounded," went home a convert
to the doctrine of the bishops, and soon after
published a Treatise of Unity and Uniformity,
"Henceforward," says Fuller, "many cripples
in conformity were cured of their former halting
therein, and those who knew not their own, till
they knew the king's mind in this matter, for

100 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

the future, quietly digested the ceremonies of
the church." Of the latter class were our con-
gregational fathers, who were willing to suffer
the loss of all things, rather than conform to a
ritual of human origin, imposed with irresistible
human power.

It has been often urged in reproach of the
Non^'Conformists, that while they cordially con-
sented to the doctrines of the church, which
were the only essential things, they obstinately
refused to perform a few ceremonies, which were
in themselves indifferent ; and, professing to
honor the church as their " dear mother,"
blindly fled from her communion, and put her
very existence in jeopardy for the sake of getting
rid of an " airy cross," and some genuflexions
which could do no one any harm.

There would be some appearance of justice in
this charge, if the ceremonies in question had
been regarded, at that time by any party, as
indifferent things. But nothing is more evident
than that both the government and the Puritans,
considered the question of absolute and universal
conformity a question of life and death. The
only ground upon which the church can be in
any degree justified in its unyielding demands,
13, that she regarded every part of the prescribed
Liturgy essential. If those rites and ceremonies

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEl'AKD. 101

were, in the judgment of the government, really
indifferent matters, it was most unjust and cruel
on their part, to command every adult person in
England to practice them against the scruples
of even a weak conscience, upon pain of ruinous
fines, imprisonment, or perpetual banishment.
It is said that Dr. Burgess, once preaching be-
fore King James, and touching lightly upon the
ceremonies, related the following story, by which
he intended to illustrate, in a quiet way, the in-
humanity of the bishops in persecuting the Puri-
tans. Augustus Csesar was once invited to
dinner by a Roman senator, who was distin-
guished for his wealth, power, and magnificent
living. As the Emperor entered the house, he
heard a great outcry ; and upon looking about,
he saw several persons dragging a man after
them with the design, apparently of killing him,
while the poor fellow was begging most piteous-
ly for mercy. The Emperor demanded the
cause of that violence, and was told that their
master had condemned this man to the fish-
ponds for breaking a very valuable glass.
He commanded a stay of the execution ; and
when he came into the house, asked the senator
whether he had glasses that were worth a man's
life ? He answered, being a great connoisseur
in such things, that he owned glasses which he
9*

102 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

valued at the price of a province. The Emperor
desired to see these marvelous glasses, and was
taken to a room where a large number were
displayed. He saw that they were indeed beau-
tiful to the eye, but knowing that they had
been, and might still be, the cause of much
mischief, he dashed them all to atoms, with this
expression, " Better that all these perish than
one man." The bishops, however, for whose
especial benefit this story was told, were greatly
enraged, instead of being convinced by the illus-
tration. They thought the ceremonies worth the
lives of a thousand men ; and they succeeded
in getting the doctor silenced for daring to think
otherwise.

On the other hand, the non-conforming Puri-
tans, if they could have regarded these things as
indifferent in themselves, could no longer regard
them as indifferent when they were imposed by
the State, under severe penalties, as essential to
the acceptable worship of God. They did not
object to the use of forms of prayer ; there were
many things in the Common Prayer-book which
they could use with a good conscience ; and if
any latitude had been allowed, they would never
have separated from the church. But they saw
the mischief of human authority in relation to
religious worship ; and could not acknowledge

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 103

that the magistrate had power to impose a body
of mere ceremonies, upon those whom Christ
had freed from the bondage of the ceremonial
law. " We reject," says one of those Non-con-
formists, " those forms of prayer and of public
worship which are imposed upon the consciences
of men by human power, as essential parts of
divine service. Although as to the matter of
them they might be lawfully observed, yet by
the manner in which they are introduced, they
become the instruments of cruelly, and occas-
ions of outrageous tyranny over the best and
most worthy sons of the church.'"^

And when we remember that this book con-
tained the only form of worship allowed in En-
gland,— that every part of it, without exception,
was made a matter of necessity and not of
choice, — that not only the ministers were re-
quired to use the whole of it, but that every
adult person in the kingdom was obliged to be
present at the celebration of this service, and to
take an active part in the worship by repeating
a certain form of words, and performing certain
rites and ceremonies, — the refusal of our fathers
to conform seems not only defensible, but imper-
atively demanded by their higher relation to
Christ. For, as Shepard well observes, the

* G. Apol. ch. 7. Q. 2.

104 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

vety yielding of conformity to such a service
would " miserably cast away the liberty pur-
chased by Christ for his people, — enthral the
churches to Anti-christ, — and lift up the power
of Anti-christ in his tyrannous usurpation upon
the churches of Christ ! "*

When Hampden, a few years later, resisted
the illegal requirement of Charles I., with re-
spect to ship-money, and for a few shillings was
willing to plunge the nation into a civil war, he
was hailed as a noble champion of civil liberty.
Why then should our fathers be branded as
narrow-minded bigots, and wicked disturbers of
the peace of the church, for refusing obedience
to demands which no human governor has a
right to make, and asserting a liberty guaranteed
by the great charter of the kingdom of God ?

But the Puritans did not consider the Common
Prayer-book, in all its parts, a matter oi indif-
ference in itself and to be resisted only because
it was imposed by the secular power without
warrant from the Scriptures. While they freely
acknowledged that God might be acceptably
worshiped by forms of prayer, they regarded
this particular book as unsuitable for public wor-
ship, and as a grievous burden upon their con-

♦ Treatise of Liturgies, Preface.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 105

sciences. The grounds of their objection to the
use of this liturgy, were, that it was taken from
the Roman Mass-book, which had been the
means, in their opinion, of filling the church
with idolatry and superstition ; and though
purged from some of the greater abominations
of the mass, could not be used without sanction-
ing the idolatrous worship of Rome ; — that it
claimed for human rulers unlimited power to
decree rites and ceremonies for the church, — a
power which obviously belongs to Christ alone
as the Lord and lawgiver of the church ; — that
it set apart many holidays, and instituted feasts
which were enforced in the spiritual courts by
civil penalties ; — that it annexed human ceremo-
nies to certain parts of worship which savored
strongly of idolatry, and therefore not to be toler-
ated in the church, — as the surplice, — the sign of
the cross in baptism, — kneeling before the bread
and wine in the Lord's supper, &c. Kneeling
at the sacrament was especially offensive to
them, because it was a gesture required by the
papists as an act of adoration, the object of which
was the real body of Christ, supposed to be pres-
ent in the bread and wine. " The Mass," says
John Drury, " is the greatest idol in the world,
and the act of kneeling was brought in at the
popish communion to worship that idol. We

106 LIFE OF THOMAS SlIEPAKD.

ought not to symbolize with them in that act of
worship ; we ought not to follow the corruption
of an ordinance when we have Christ's practice
made known to us. It is not lawful to mix the
acts of God's true worship with the chief act of
an idol worship, such as is kneeling at the mass.
For the meaning and purpose of kneeling is
adoration ; the object of adoration is the body
and blood of Christ, supposed to be in the
elements. But if we believe no such real pres-
ence as they have fancied, then we make void
the object of adoration, and consequently the act
intended towards it is disannulled also."*

We see then that conformity was not a ques-
tion of mere expediency, but of right and wrong,
of obedience and sin. " We are not," said our
Fathers, " to dissemble with God nor men. Our
separation were needless and sinful, if we did
not consider conformity sinful in some degree.
And in that case to practice it, is to tell the world,
if sincerity be left among men, that we account
it all lawful or tolerable to us, though not simply
eligible. We therefore dare not by practice, vio-
late our consciences, and so destroy our avowed
principles. Nor will persons of any candor and
christian charily, think this a humor of opposi-

• Model of Church Oovt, pp. 40, 41. I64a

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 107

tion ; for they knew that among us, have been,
and are, men of sober minds, and tried integrity ;
men of good sense and learning; men of great
ability and usefulness in church and state ; men
who relished also the comforts of their life and
families as others do ; men who greatly valued,
an opportunity of serving their generation, and
their dear Redeemer in the gospel ministry-* men
who would not for trifles expose themselves to
poverty, contempt, obscuritj'', prisons, merciless
fines, exile, and death itself. This were an
humor indeed."*

It is sad to contemplate the intolerant and op-
pressive measures adopted by one part of the
church against another, and to witness the ca-
lamitous effects which resulted from the perse-
cuting spirit of those times, — the fines, imprison-
ments, banishments, deaths, — by which the faith
and patience of the saints were so severely tried ;
but at the same time it is instructive and con-
soling to direct our thoughts to what time has
shown to have been the ultimate design of Prov-
idence, in permitting those disastrous scenes to
exist. A new world was to be created. A pure
church was to be planted far away from the
enormous corruptions and abuses of old Christ-

* Letter of Non-Conforming Ministers, p. 7, 170L

108 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

endom ; and persecution was to people the wil-
derness with a chosen generation, — a royal
priesthood, — who should worship God in the
spirit, and magnify the divine law by holy obedi-
ence.

The authors of the Epistle dedicatory to
Shepard's Clear Sun-shine of the Gospel upon
the Indians of New England, have given a
beautiful expression to this thought. " That
God who often makes men's evil of sin, service-
able to the advancement of the riches of his
grace, has shown that he had merciful ends in
the malicious purpose, which drove our fathers
from England. As he suffered Paul to be
cast into prison, to convert the jailor; — to be
shipwrecked at Melita, to preach to the barba-
rians ; — so he suffered their way to be stopped
up here, and their persons to be banished hence,
that he might open a passage for them in the
wilderness, and make them instruments to draw
souls to him, who had been so long estranged
from him. ... It was the end of the adversary
to suppress, but God's to propagate the Gospel :
their's to smother and put out the light, God's
to communicate and disperse it to the uttermost

corners of the earth And if the

dawn of the morning be so delightful, what will
the clear day be ? If the first fruits be so pre-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 109

cious, what will the whole harvest be ? If some
beginnings be so full of joy, what will it be
when God shall perform his whole work, when
the whole earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, and
east and west shall sing together the song of the
Lamb."*

* Clear Sun-shine, Prsface, p, 3, 4.

VOL. IV. 10

1 10 LIFE OP THOMAS SHEPABD

CHAPTER V.

Mr. Shepard at Mr. Weld's. Dr. Wilson's Lecture. Nature of a
Lecture-ship. Mr. Shepard requested by the ministers of Essex to
accept the Lecture. Lecture established for three years at Earlea-
Colne. First Sermon. Method of preaching. Effect of his minis-
try. Opposition arises. Lecture transferred to Towcester. Con-
tinues to preach at Earlcs.Colne. Summoned to London by Bishop
Laud. Interview with the bishop. Silenced. Character and death
of Laud. Studies the subject of conformity at E^rles-Colne. Laud
comes into the County of Essex. Second Interrlew with the
bishop. Commanded to leave the place.

Such, as has been described in the preceding
chapters, was the religious condition of Eng-
land,— and such the prospects of pious young
men who desired to devote themselves to the
work of the ministry, — at the time when Thom-
as Shepard was waiting at Mr. Weld's in Essex
for his Master's degree, " solicitous what would
become of him," But while he was thus wait-
ing in painful suspense, the Lord was in secret
preparing a place and a work for him ; so that
when he was ready and prepared to enter upon
his chosen employment, he was unexpectedly
called to preach the gospel under circumstances

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.lll

most favorable to his usefulness, though not in a
way to gratify a worldly ambition, or to awaken
hope of preferment in the national establishment.
Just at this time Dr. Wilson, a pious physician,
a brother, it is supposed, of John Wilson, after-
wards pastor of the first church in Boston, had
resolved to establish a Lecture in some town in
that county, with an income of thirty pounds a
year for its maintenance ; — a Lecture which Mr.
Weld and several other ministers, with the con-
currence as it appears of Dr. Wilson, urged Mr.
Shepard to accept, and to " set it up in a great
town in Essex, called Cogshall."

In order to understand the position and duties
of a Lecturer at that period, as distinguished
from the office and work of a clergyman, it may
be necessary to give a brief account of the na-
ture of the Lectures here referred to, and of the
circumstances in which they had their origin.
Many parts of the country," says Carlyle, " be-
ing thought by the more zealous among the
Puritans insufficiently supplied with able and
pious preachers, a plan was devised in 1624 for
raising by subscription, among persons grieved
at the state of matters, a fund for buying in such
" lay impropriations " as might offer themselves,
for supporting good ministers therewith in des-
titute places, and for otherwise encouraging the

112 LIFE OF THOMAS SH£FARD.

ministerial work. The originator of this scheme
was Dr. Preston, a man of g^eat celebrity and
influence in those days. His scheme was found
good. The wealthy London merchants, almost
ail of them Puritans, took it up, and by degrees
the wealthier Puritans over England at large.
Considerable funds were subscribed for this ob-
ject, and vested in " Feofees," who afterwards
made some noise in the world under that name.
They gradually purchased some Advowsions, or
Impropriations, such as came to market, and
hired or assisted in hiring a great many Lectur-
ers. These Lecturers were persons not gener-
erally in full priest's orders, being scrupulous
about the ceremonies, but in deacon's, or some
other orders, with permission to preach, or " lec-
ture " as it was called ; whom accordingly we
find lecturing in various places, under various
conditions, in the subsequent years ; often in
some market town, on market-days, on Sunday
afternoons as supplemental to the regular priest,
when he might be idle, or given to white and
black surplices ; or as " running lecturers," now
here, now there over a certain dstrict. They
were greatly followed by the serious part of the
community, and gave proportional offence in
other quarters. In a few years they had risen
to such a height, that Laud took them seriously

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 113

ill hand, and with patient detail hunted them
mostly out ; nay, brought the Feofees themselves
and their whole enterprise into the Star-Cham-
ber, and there, with emphasis enough and heavy
damages, amid huge clamor from the public,
suppressed them."*

The Lecturer of Dr. Wilson, which Mr.
Weld and other Puritan ministers of Essex
were anxious that Mr. Shepard should accept,
was one of the kind here described. Of so
much importance did they deem this Lecture,
and so much confidence did they feel in Mr.
Shepard's piety and ability to render it useful to
the people, that they set apart a day of fasting
and prayer for the purpose of seeking divine di-
rection as to the place where it should be estab-
lished. Towards the evening of that day, they
began to consider whether Mr. Shepard should
go to Cogshall or to some other town in that re-
gion. Most of the ministers were in favor of
establishing the Lecture at Cogshall, because it
was a town of considerable importance, — had
great need of evangelical preaching, — and was,
so far as they knew, the only place where it was
especially desired. Mr. Hooker, however, ob-
jected to this place, on the ground that Mr.

* Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, 1. 50.

10*

114 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Shepard was altogether too young and inexpe-
rienced for such a work at that time ; and more-
over that the clergyman of Cogshall was a cun-
ning, malicious old man, an enemy of the Puri-
tans, who, although he was apparently in favor
of having a Lecture established there, yet would
be likely to give a young and inexperienced
man like Mr. Shepard, a great deal of trouble ;
— remarking in his quiet way, that it was al-
ways '• dangerous and uncomfortable for little
birds to build under the nests of old ravens and
kites."

While the ministers were actually engaged in
discussing this subject, the people of Earles-
Colne, a town in the same county, having heard
that a free Lecture was to be established some-
where in the county of Essex, and believing
that it would be a great blessing to that " poor
town," sent a deputation to Tarling, where the
ministers were assembled, who arrived just as
the question was about to be decided, with an
urgent request that the Lecture might be estab-
lished there for three years, that being the time
to which its continuance in any place was limit-
ed ; because it was presumed by the founders
that if the Lecture was to be the means of doing
any good, its beneficial influence would become
manifest within three years, and then if it was

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 115

taken away the people in a populous town
would be willing to maintain it themselves ; —
but if, on the other hand, no good was accom-
plished in so long a time, it would be a waste of
the funds to continue it in that place any longer.
In view of this earnest, and as it seemed, provi-
dential application, the ministers felt somewhat
as Peter did, when after anxiously meditating
upon the vision he had seen upon the house-top,
the messengers of Cornelius presented them-
selves with a request which he interpreted as a
Divine intimation of his duty. They at once
decided that the Lecture should go to Earles-
Colne ; advising Mr. Shepard to accept this
providential call, and if after preaching there
awhile, he found the people favorably disposed
towards him, and desirous of his services, to re-
main in that place during the time fixed for the
continuance of the Lecture there.

Mr. Shepard saw clearly that it was his duty
to comply with the advice of his friends. This
appointment opened to him a door of usefulness
earlier and more effectually than he had antici-
pated, without, at the same time, subjecting him
to many of those annoyances to which the regu-
lar ministers were constantly liable ; and though
the salary connected with this Lecture was
small, it was sufficient to enable him, for the

116 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARU.

present, to subsist with comparative comfort. It
was a very hopeful undertaking. And it was^
no small honor for one who, in his own opinion,
was " so young, so weak, inexperienced, and
unfit for so great a work," to be called into this
difficult service "by twelve or sixteen judicious
ministers of Christ." He moreover regarded it
as a manifestation of Divine goodness, never to
be forgotten, that when he "might have been
cast away upon some blind place, without the
help of any ministry " about him ; or have been
" sent to some gentleman's house, to be corrupt-
ed with the sins in it," the Lord should place
him in the best county in England, viz. Essex,"
and locate him " in the midst of the best minis-
try in the country, by whose monthly fasts and
conferences " he found much assistance and en-
couragement in his arduous work.

Accordingly he resolved to go to Earles-
Colne. After taking his degree of Master of
Arts, in 1627, and receiving deacon's orders,
"sinfully," as he afterwards thought, of the
Bishop of Peterborough, he repaired to the scene
of his future labors. He was cordially wel-
comed and entertained by a Mr. Cosins, a
schoolmaster in the town, " an aged, but a godly
and cheerful Christian," the only person, indeed,
in the place who seemed to have ^' any godli-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.117

ness," by whose counsel, sympathy, and co-
operation, the spirit of the young and~ timid
preacher was greatly refreshed and strength-
ened. His first sermon was upon 2 Cor. 5 : 19,
and was so acceptable to the people, that they
united in giving him a formal invitation in
writing to remain and lecture to them agreeably
to the terms of his appointment. From this
unanimity and earnestness, so unusual in those
times, he inferred that it was the Lord's will
that he should labor in that place. Still he
was fearful that he should not be suffered by the
superior powers to pursue his work in peace. In
order, therefore, to avoid molestation from that
quarter, he " sinfully," according to his own
subsequent interpretation of the act, procured a
license to officiate as a lecturer, from the Regis-
ter of the Bishop of London, before his name
and character were much known ; a license,
which for a time, enabled him to preach without
hindrance or suspicion on the part of the
bishop and his officers.

Mr. Shepard entered upon his work at Earles-
Colne, with great zeal. His sole object in
preaching, .was, according to the commission
given to the apostle, to turn his hearers " from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan
unto God." In order to accomplish this end

1 18 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARO.

most effectually and speedily, he endeavored
first of all, to " show the people their misery ; "
next, to exhibit " the remedy, Jesus Christ ; "
and finally, to show " how they should walk
answerable to his mercy, being redeemed by
Christ." This course of preaching, accom-
panied as it evidently was, by a sincere, earn-
est, and prayerful spirit in the preacher, — " the
Lord putting forth his strength in my extreme
weakness," — soon began to produce the most
happy results. The people who had walked in
darkness, and among whom there seemed to be
but one man who " had any godliness," were
enlightened in respect to the distinguished doc-
trines of the gospel, and many, both in Earles-
Colne, and in the region around, were converted.
Among the most valuable fruits of his ministry
were the two sons of Mr. Harlakenden, Rich-
ard and Roger ; the latter of whom came to
New England with his spiritual father, and
was of great service to him in his labors here.

Such a ministry as this, lifting up its voice
like a trumpet amidst the smooth preaching and
dead formalism of the church, showing the
people their transgression, and making them
feel their misery, could not, at that period, be
long tolerated by the ruling powers. " Satan
began to rage." " The commissaries, registers.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAKD. 119

and others, began to threaten the faithful
preacher, taking it for granted that he was a
"non-conformable man," whose mouth must be
stopped ; though at that time, not having
studied the subject of conformity, he " was
not resolved either way, but was dark in
these things." But notwithstanding the violent
opposition that arose on all sides, " the Lord,
having work to do in the place," sustained him,
" a poor ignorant thing," against all the threat-
enings of the commissaries, and the " malice
of the ministers round about," and " by strange
and wonderful means," kept him in the field
until the work was done.

When the three years for which the lecture
had been established at Earles-Colne were ex-
pired, the people, having learned to appreciate
the blessing of a faithful ministry, were unwill-
ing to part with the instrument of so much good,
and at once raised by subscription a salary of
about forty pounds a year, to induce him to
remain with them. This unexpected movement
satisfied him that it was his duty to continue
his ministrations in that place ; and, as the
lecture must be transferred to some other town,
he used his influence to have it established at
Towcester, — the place of his birth, — "the worst
town in the world," in his opinion, believing

120 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

that he could confer no greater beTiefit upon
his " poor friends " there, than by sending to
them a faithful preacher of the gospel. Dr.
Wilson consented to Mr. Shepard's proposal,
and Mr. Stone, afterwards the able collegue of
Mr. Hooker, both at Cambridge and Hartford,
was sent with the lecture to Towcester, " where
the Lord was with him," and many souls were
converted by his faithful ministry.

Mr. Shepard continued to preach at Earles-
Colne for about six months after the transfer of
the lecture to Towcester ; when the storm,
which had been long gathering, burst upon him,
and drove him from his work in that place.
Laud, having succeeded Bancroft as Archbishop
of London, began to look sharply after these lec-
turers, and to enforce entire conformity to the es-
tablished ceremonies with a rigor beyond that of
any of his predecessors. It was not likely that
such a man as Shepard could long escape perse-
cution, when a very worthy minister was called
before the Court of High Commission and se-
verely censured for merely expressing in a ser-
mon his belief that the night was approaching,
because ** the shadows were so much longer than
the body, and ceremonies more in force than
the power of godliness." Accordingly on the
I6lh of December, 1630, Mr. Shepard was

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 121

summoned to London, like a culprit, to answer
for his conduct at Earles-Colne. The bishop
did not ask him whether he had subscribed,
or was willing to subscribe and conform, but
taking it for granted that he was an obstinate
Non-conformist, after abusing Dr. Wilson for
setting up a lecture, and the lecturer for daring
to preach in his diocese, forbade the further
exercise of his ministerial gifts in that bishop-
rick ; and moreover threatened the poor man
with a speedy and violent interruption if he
attempted to preach any where else.

This interview between the haughty bishop,
and the humble preacher, is best described in
the language of the sufferer himself. " As soon
as I came in the morning, about eight of the
clock, falling into a fit of rage, he asked me
what degree I had taken in the University. I
answered him that I was Master of Arts. He
asked, of what college ? I answered of Em-
manuel. He asked how long I had lived in his
diocese. I answered, three years and upwards.
He asked, who maintained me all this while,
charging me to deal plainly with him ; adding
withal, that he had been more cheated and
equivocated with by some of my malignant
faction, than ever was man by Jesuit. At the

VOL. IV. 11

122 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

speaking of which words he looked as though
blood would have gushed out of his face, and
did shake as if he had been haunted with an
ague fit, to my apprehension, by reason of his
extreme malice and secret venom. I desired
him to excuse me. He fell then to threaten me,
and withal to bitter railing, calling me all to
naught ; saying, ' You prating coxcomb, do you
think all the learning is in your brain ?' He
then pronounced his sentence thus : ' I charge
you that you^ieither preach, read, marry, bury,
or exercise any ministerial function in any part
of my diocese ; for if you do, and I hear of it, I'll
be upon your back, and follow you wherever
you go, in any part of the kingdom, and so
everlastingly disenable you.' I besought him
not to deal so in regard of a poor town. And
here he stopped me in what I was going on to
say. ' A poor town ! You have made a com-
pany of seditious, factious bedlams ; and what
do you prate to me of a poor town ? ' I prayed
him to suffer me to catechize on the Sabbath
days in the afternoon. He replied, ' Spare
your breath, I'll have no such fellows prate in
my diocese. Get you gone ; and now make
your complaint to whom you will.' So away I
went; and blessed be God that I may go tg
Him."

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 123

Nothing can exceed the shameful violence
and brutality of the bishop, but the meekness
and humility of the defenceless victim. " The
Lord saw me unfit and unworthy to be con-
tinued there any longer, — " this is his own self-
condemning language respecting the oppressive
treatment which he had received from a nar-
row-minded, and unfeeling man, — " and so
God put me to silence there, which did some-
what humble me ; for I did think it was for my
sins the Lord set him thus against me."

The character of Laud, who holds a promi-
nent place in the history of those times when
good men were treated worse than felons for re-
fusing to conform to human ceremonies in the
worship of God, has been very differently drawn
by the friends and the enemies of the Puritans.
In the flattering portrait by Clarendon, he ap-
pears as an angel of light, and with the beauty
of a holy martyr ; in the rough sketch of Prynne
whose colors were mixed up with his own blood,
he is represented as one of the most hateful in-
carnations of the spirit of evil. We must make
allowance for the sweeping expressions of men
whom the bishop had caused to be set in the
pillory, cropped, branded with hot irons, impris-
oned, fined and banished, for the sake of what
they verily believed to be the cause of truth.

m

LITE OF THOMAS 8HBPARD.

But after making all necessary allowance it
seems impossible to regard him with any feeling
but that of detestation. When we read Shep-
ard's description of the manner in which he si-
lenced one of the most pious, humble, and prom-
ising young men in the church of England at
that time, — a description which probably would
have answered for many similar scenes, — we
cannot wonder that Winthrop should call him,
" our great enemy," or that Shepard, forbidden,
like the apostles by the Jewish rulers, to " speak
at all, or to teach in the name of Jesus," should
represent him as " a man fitted of God to be a
scourge to his people." Laud was born in 1573,
at Reading, in Berkshire, and educated at St.
John's college, Oxford, of which he subsequent-
ly became the President, and the munificent
patron. He was made bishop of St. David's, in
Wales, in 1621, — afterwards bishop of London,
— and finally, upon the death of Abbot, in 1633,
Archbishop of Canterbury. There was, indeed,
as Fuller says, '* neither order, office, degree,
nor dignity in college, church, nor university,
but he passed through it," and in every station
he exhibited the same overweening partiality
for the ceremonies of the church, and the same
bitter hostility towards the Puritans who would
not bow down to his idol. If he was not, as

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 125

Shepard calls him, " a fierce enemy of all right-
eousness," he was certainly the avowed enemy
of the most righteous persons in the church, and
a cruel persecutor of every one who showed by
his life that he preferred the power of godliness
to a vain ceremony. He had a zeal for the ex-
ternals of religion which consumed the spirit of
piety ; and an ambition to increase the political
power of the church, which did not hesitate to
trample upon the most sacred rights of man. He
was evidently a man of a narrow intellect and a
bad heart. He was envious, passionate, vindic-
tive, cruel, and implacable. In the Star-Chamber
he always advocated the severest measures, and
*' infused more vinegar than oil into all cen-
sures," against the victims of church authority.
" For this individual," says an eminent writer,
" we entertain a more unmitigated contempt
than for any other character in our history.
His mind had not expansion enough to compre-
hend a great scheme, good or bad. His oppres-
sive acts were not, like those of the Earl of
Strafford, parts of an extensive system. They
were the luxuries in which a mean and irritable
disposition indulges itself from day to day, —
the excesses natural to a little mind in a great
place. While he abjured the innocent badges
of popery, he retained all its worst vices, — a
11*

126 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFASD.

complete subjection of reason to authority, a
weak preference of form to substance, a childish
passion for mummeries, an idolatrous veneration
for the priestly character, and, above all, a stupid
and a ferocious intolerance.* It is only neces-
sary to add that after inflicting upon the defence-
less Puritans all the evil in his power, he died
a violent death, being beheaded, upon a charge
of high treason, on the 10th of January, 1646,
in the seventy-second year of his age. He as-
cended the scaffold, "with a cheerful counte-
nance, imputed by his friends to the clearedness,
by his foes to the searedness of his conscience.
The beholders that day were so divided between
bemoaners and insulters, that it was hard to de-
cide which of them made up the major part of
the company. "t

Having been thus unexpectedly silenced, and
forbidden to preach or to perform any ministerial
act within the realm of England, with no means
of subsistence, with no employment, with m>
hope of being able to promote the cause which
he had most at heart, with the withering sen-
tence of the bishop upon him, Mr. Shepard
seemed to be really in an evil case. But
though persecuted, he was not forsaken ; though

* VlMctaXtj'u Eonya, 1 ; 10, 84.
tFuUer, Charch Hiatorr, Book II, p. Sl«.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 127

cast down, he was not destroyed. The Harla-
kendens, some of whom had been the subjects of
renewing grace under his preaching, showed
their affection and gratitude by affording him an
asylum in their hospitable mansion, and were
" so many fathers and mothers" to him. The
people of Earles-Colne, also, mindful of the good
which had been done among them by his faith-
ful labors, were desirous that he should remain
in the place ; and were ready to contribute to
his comfort, though he could be of no service to
them as a minister of the gospel. Here he re-
mained about six months ; and as he was shut
out from all active employment, he improved his
enforced leisure in looking more carefully into
the order of worship to which he was required
to conform, — a subject respecting which he had
until now been undecided. The more he
studied, the more clearly he saw " the evil of
the English ceremonies, cross, surplice, and
kneeling," and the less disposed to adhere to a
church that made conformity to such things in-
dispensable condition of its fellowship, and used
its power so tyrannically against all who had
conscientious scruples about them.

Mr. Shepard's course in relation to this matter
was not at all singular. Many of the most dis-
tinguished Puritans of that time, and of a some-

128 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFABD.

what later period, were for awhile undecided
respecting their duty as to the ceremonies, —
were willing to conform to many things which
they could not altogether approve, — were greatly
distressed at the idea of separating from their
mother church, which, with all her faults, still
retained, substantially, the true Christian doc-
trine. This was Philip Henry's state of mind.
He was disposed to remain in the church, and
to conform as far as possible ; but the treatment
he received, convinced him that the assumption
of human authority in matters of religion, was
a great evil, and made him practically, though
not nominally, an Independent. * In his Diary
for Feb. 16, 1673, the following passage occurs :
*' Mr. Leigh at Chapel. Discourse at noon not
altogether suitable to the Sabbath, concerning
ceremonies ; but something said in public led to
it, viz., that the magistrate hath power in im-
posing gestures and vestures."\ So Baxter, one
of the most candid and conscientious of men,
was driven farther and farther from the English
church, by the doctrine, so cruelly reduced to
practice, that the State has the right to fix the
mode in which men shall worship God, and by
the impudent plea of " men's good and the order

* Leturt on the Puriums, hj 3. B. WiUiams.
t Life of PhUip Henry, pp. 123, 186, 446, 800, 825.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 129

of the church," in justification of acts of inhu-
manity and uncharitableness.* John Corbet,
the author of Self-employment 'in Secret," who
was turned out of his living at Bramshot, in
Hampshire, was another whom violent and com-
pulsory treatment compelled to study the subject
of conformity with great care and impartiality.
Many parts of conformity, says Baxter, he cT)uld
have yielded to, but not aZZ, and nothing less
than all would satisfy the bishops, t

While Mr. Shepard was thus engaged in ex-
amining this subject, which had become one of
vital importance, and forming his views of duty
in relation to the ceremonies, his old enemy,
Bishop Laud, coming into the country upon a
visitation, and learning that he was still at
Earles-Colne, cited him to appear before the
court at Peldon ; " where I appearing, he asked
me what I did in the place. I told him I studied.
He asked me what ? I told him the Fathers.
He replied I might thank him for that ; yet he
charged me to depart the place. I asked him
whither should I go ? To the University, said
he. I told him I had no means to subsist there.
Yet he charged me to depart the place." It
was at this visitation that Mr. Weld, who had

♦ Baxter's Remains, 131, fol. 1696.
t Sermon at the Funeral of J. Corbet.

130 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARO.

been suspended from his ministry about a month
before, was formally excommunicated, and thus,
to use the bishop's expression, " everlastingly
disenabled." Mr. Rogers, of Dedham, was at
the same time required to subscribe ; and as he
could not conscientiously do this, he was, like a
multitude of other pious and faithful ministers,
suspended and silenced.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD. 131

CHAPTER VI.

Mr. Shepard obliged to leave Earles-Colne. Bishop's visitation at
Dunmore. Mr. Shepard and Mr. Weld talk of going to Ireland.
Scene at Dunmore. Mr. Weld arrested. Mr. Shepard flees from
the place. Invited to act as chaplain in the family of Sir Richard
Darley. Journey into Yorltshire. State of Sir Richard's family.
First sermon at Buttercrambe. Marriage of Mr. Alured. Effect
of his sermon upon this occasioiL Marries Margarelt Touteville.
Removes to Heddon. Effect of his preaching at Heddon. Si-
lenced by bishop Neile. First child born. Motives to emigrate to
New England. Resolves to leave England. Engages passage in
the Hope. Ship detained. Plan to arrest Shepard and Norton.

It was now evident that Mr. Shepard's work at
Earles-Colne, where he had first become ac-
quainted with the burden and the glory of the
cross, was finished ; and that he must prepare for
a speedy departure if he would escape the effects
of the bishop's indignation. But whither should
he go ? There was no means of subsistence for
him at the University. He could no longer
preach in the diocese of London ; and he had
been threatened with persecution if he attempted
to preach any where else in England. But he
was under the guidance of a Providence in
whose wisdom he could implicitly trust ; and

132 LIFE OF THOMAS SHfiPABD.

during this trying scene his mind seems to have
been kept in perfect peace with respect to the
question where he should go, and what he
should do. The situation of chaplain in a gen-
tleman's family, in Yorkshire, had been offered
to him ; but he was unwilling to leave his pres-
ent post until actually forced away by circum-
stances which he could not control. These
circumstances had now occurred ; and he was
watching for the indications of the Divine will
in relation to his future course.

A few days after he had been peremptorily
commanded, by an authority which he could not
resist, to leave Earles-Colne, the bishop was to
hold a visitation in Dunmore, in Essex ; and Mr.
Weld, Mr. Daniel Rogers, Mr. Ward, Mr. Mar-
shall, and Mr. Wharton, all standing in jeopardy
every hour, " consulted together whether it was
best to let such a swine root up God's plants in
Essex, and not give him some check." In what
way they expected to give " a check" to such a
man as Laud does not appear ; but it was agreed
upon privately at Braintree, that they would
speak to the bishop, and, if possible, to arrest
this work of devastation.

Mr. Shepard and Mr. Weld, traveling to-
gether to the place where the bishop was to hold
bis visitation, discussed the expediency of emi-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 133

grating to New England. But, upon the whole,
they concluded that it would be better to go by
the way of Scotland into Ireland, and endeavor
to find there a place where they might safely
and profitably exercise their ministry. When
they came to the church where the bishop was
to preach, Mr. Weld, who had been already ex- _
communicated, stopped at the door, not being
permitted to stand within consecrated walls;
but Mr. Shepard, upon whom the anathema had
not yet been pronounced, went boldly in. Ser-
mon being ended, Mr. Weld drew near to hear
the bishop's speech, supposing that as Divine
service was over, even an excommunicated per-
son might listen to an ordinary address. He
was, however, mistaken. The bishop saw him,
and turning upon him with his accustomed vio-
lence, demanded why he was " on this side New
England," and how he, who by excommunica-
tion, had become a heathen and a publican,
dared to stand upon holy ground. Mr. Weld
meekly pleaded in excuse that if he had sinned
it was through ignorance, and begged to be for-
given. The bishop, however, was not in a for-
giving mood, and Mr. Weld was committed to
the pursuivant, and bound over in the sum of
one hundred marks, to answer before the Court
of High Commission, for the crime of desecrating

VOL. IV. 12

134 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAKD.

a church by his presence, as " an example" and
a warning to all such persons in future.*

While this shameful scene was being enacted,
Mr. Shepard coming into the crowd, heard the
bishop inquiring about him, and found that the
pursuivant, having arrested Mr. Weld, was
anxious to get hold of his companion, as the
worst of the two. Several persons who were
friendly to Mr. Shepard, hearing his name pro-
nounced, and seeing that the bishop had resolved
to make "an example " of him also, urged him
to retire without delay ; but as he hesitated and
lingered upon this dangerous ground, not know-
ing what to do, a Mr. Holbeech, a pious school-
master of Felsted, in Essex, seeing his danger,
seized him, and drew him forcibly out of the
church. This was no sooner done, than the
apparitor called for Mr. Shepard, and as he was
nowhere to be seen, the pursuivant was sent in
haste to find and arrest him. But Mr. Hol-
beech, who seems to have had more energy and
presence of mind upon this occasion than his
friend, " hastened our horses, and away we rid
as fast as possible ; and so the Lord delivered me
out of the hand of that lion a third time."

Mr. Shepard was now a fugitive, not from

• CbroaiclM of Mara. 522, Nou.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 135

justice, but from the savage officers of that
most iniquitous Star-Chamber, in which, if no
fault whatever could be proved, it was ruin
to a man's person and purse to be tried. He
had, as has been said, received an invitation to
act as chaplain to a gentleman's family in York-
shire, which he had declined to accept until the
bishop had actually driven him away from
Earles-Colne, Soon after his flight from Dun-
more, he received a letter from Ezekiel Eogers,
then living at Rowley, in Yorkshire, renewing
this invitation, and urging him to come into that
county, where he would be " far from the hear-
ing of the malicious Bishop Laud," who had
threatened him if he preached any where in his
diocese. The family referred to was that of Sir
Richard Darley, of Buttercrambe, in the north
riding of Yorkshire. As a compensation for his
services, the knight offered to board and lodge
him, and the two sons of Sir Richard, Henry and
Richard Darley, promised, for their part, a sal-
ary of twenty pounds a year. The letters, moreo-
ver, which he received from Yorkshire, presented
an inducement of a higher nature, for they came
" crying with that voice of the man of Macedo-
nia, ' come and help us.' " Under these circum-
stances, Mr Shepard could not be doubtful as to
the path of duty, and he resolved to " follow the

136 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Lord to so remote and strange a place." When
he was ready to depart, Sir Richard consider-
ately sent a man to be his guide in a journey,
which at that time, was not only tedious, but
somewhat hazardous; and with "much grief of
heart," he " forsook Essex and Earles-Colne,
going, as it were, he knew not whither; and
the affectionate people, who had for a season re-
joiced in his light, " sorrowing most of all for
the words which he spake, that they should see
his face no more."

In this journey he had occasion to remember
the Saviour's words, " Pray that your flight be
not in winter." They traveled on horseback,
and were five or six days upon the road. The
weather was cold and stormy. The rivers in
Yorkshire were much swollen by the rains, and
hardly passable. The ways were rough, and
on several occasions the travelers were in great
danger. At last they came to a town called
Ferrybridge, on the river Aire, " where the wa-
ters were up, and ran over the bridge for half a
mile together." Here they hired a guide to
conduct them over the bridge. " But when he
had gone a little way, the violence of the water
was such, that he first fell in, and after him
another man, who was near drowning before my
eyes. Whereupon my heart was so staitten
with fear of the danger, and my head so dizzied

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 137

with the running of the water, that had not the
Lord immediately upheld me, and my horse
also, and so guided it, I had certainly perished."
They had proceeded but a short distance upon
the bridge, when Mr. Shepard fell into the
river, but was able to keep his seat upon his
horse, which, being a very good one, with great
effort soon regained his footing upon the bridge.
Mr, Darley's man, also, in his efforts to save
Mr. Shepard, fell in and was near drowning,
but at last extricated himself from his perilous
situation. After much difficulty they reached a
house upon the opposite side of the river, where
they changed their clothes, and " went to
prayer," blessing God for " this wonderful pre-
servation." He looked now upon his life as a
new existence granted to him, — which he "saw
good reason to give up unto God and his service.
And truly, the Lord, that had dealt only gently
with me before, now began to afflict me, and to
let me see how good it was to be under his
tutoring."

It was late on Saturday evening when they
reached York. Stopping only for some slight
refreshment, they went on to Buttercrambe, the
seat of Sir Richard, about seven miles farther,
where at a late hour, very wet, cold, and weary,
they at last arrived. The reception which Mr.
12*

138 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Shepard met at the house of Sir Richard Bar-
ley, was in one respect all that he could have
anticipated ; for all his wants were promptly
attended to, and he was lodged in the " best
room in the house." But the religious condition
of the family, and the manner in which he
found some of its members employed near Sab-
bath morning when he arrived, must have been
more chilling to his heart than the cold rain
had been to his frail body. To his utter aston-
ishment and dismay, he " found divers of them
at dice and tables," and learned with unspeaka-
ble sorrow that although he was expected to
preach on the morrow, no preparation had been
made to receive him "as becometh saints." He
was hurried to his lodgings, and on the next
day, worn out with the fatigue of a perilous
journey, sad at heart, and almost dead with
despondency, he preached his first sermon in
that place ; with what effect is not known, but
can easily be conjectured. It is not strange
that while he was comfortably provided for in
external respects, he should feel that he had
fallen upon evil days, and that he was " never so
sunk in spirit as about this time." For he was
now far from all his friends. He was in a " pro-
fane house," where there seemed to be no fear
of God. He was in a " vile wicked town and

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARB. 139

country." He was "unknown and exposed to
all wrong-s." He felt "insufficient to do any
work : " and, to render his situation as comfort-
less as possible, " the lady was churlish." Yet
even here he was not altogether forsaken and
desolate. The lady might treat him contempt-
uously, " but Sir Richard was ingenious ; "
and he found in the house three friendly ser-
vants,— Thomas Fugill, who was one of the
principal settlers of New Haven in 1638, — Ruth
Bushell, afterwards married to Edward Mitchen-
son, both of whom came to New England and
were members of the church in Cambridge, —
and Margarett Touteville, a relative of Sir
Richard, — by whose kind attentions the unex-
pected trials to which he was exposed, were in
some measure alleviated. .

Soon after Mr. Shepard became a resident in
this family, the daughter of Sir Richard Darley
was married to " one Mr. Alured, a most pro-
fane young gentleman," upon which occasion,
according to custom, a sermon was required from
the chaplain. This was the commencement of
what may be called a revival in that " profane
house." Under the discourse, " the Lord first
touched the heart of Mistress Margarett with
very great terrors for sin and her Christless
estate." Immediately other members of the

140 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAKD.

family, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Alured,
began to inquire what they must do to be saved.
These convictions resulted in hopeful conver-
sion ; and the whole family, if not savingly re-
newed, were at least thoroughly reformed, and
brought to the regular performance of external
duties. This seems to have been the limit of
Mr. Shepard's success in that place. For
although Mather says that God quickly made
him instrumental of a blessed change in the
neighborhood, as well as in the family, — the
profanest persons thereabouts being touched with
the efficacy of his ministry, and prayer with
fasting succeeding to their former wildness, —
yet Mr. Shepard himself, who best knew the
results of his preaching, declares that while
most of the members of Sir Richard's family
were converted, or at least greatly changed, he
knew of " none in the town or about it who were
brought home."

While Mr. Shepard was thus faithfully labor-
ing to enrich this family with the blessings of
the gospel, the Lord was preparing for him one
of the greatest of earthly blessings, — a pious and
devoted wife. For three years, while he resid-
ed at Earles-Colne, he had made it a subject of
earnest prayer that the Lord would carry him to
a place " where he might find a meet yoke-fel-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 141

low." His prayer was now answered. He
found in Margarett Touteville, — then about
twenty-seven years of age, — a woman every
way suited to aid him in his arduous work.
She was " a most humble wo)nan," — a " very
discerning Christian," — " amiable and holy," —
" endued with a very sweet spirit of prayer," —
and upon the whole, " the best and the fittest
person in the world " for such a man as Shepard.
Sir Richard, with his whole family favored the
connection, not only giving their cordial con-
sent to his union with their kins-woman, but
generously increasing her marriage portion ; and
in 1632, after a residence of about a year in the
family, he was happily married to one, who, in
his " exiled condition in a strange place," and in
his hardships and dangers, was ever to him an
"incomparably loving " and faithful wife.

Mr. Shepard now found it expedient to re-
move from Buttercrambe. His wife was unwil-
ling to remain in Sir Richard's family after her
marriage ; and besides, it soon became impossi-
ble for him to continue his labors in that place,
for bishop Neile, a rigid cereraonialist, coming
to York and hearing of him, peremptorily for-
bade his preaching there any longer unless he
would subscribe, which, with his conscience now
becoming fully enlightened, he could not do.

142 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

At this crisis he received an invitation to preach
at Heddon, a town in Northumberland, about
five miles from Newcastle upon the Tyne. It
was a poor place, and afforded but little prospect
of a comfortable subsistence. But it was the
only field of labor open to him at that time ; and
as the people were anxious to obtain his services,
— especially as there he would be far from the
residence of any bishop, a matter of the greatest
importance to a preacher who could not sub-
scribe,— he resolved to go. Accordingly, ac-
companied by Mr. Alured, he went to Heddon,
not without painful apprehensions of danger
from the efforts of his enemies, and his " poor
wife full of fears." But all his fears were not
realized. He experienced, as he expected, some
hardship and inconvenience ; but he found some
kind Christian friends, among the most valuable
of whom were Mrs. Fenwick, who gave him the
use of a house, and Mrs. Sherbourne, who con-
tributed largely to his maintenance. His labors
in Heddon, and in the adjoining towns, were
abundant, and accompanied by the Divine bless-
ing. Many of his hearers were converted ; and
those who already loved the truth, were greatly
strengthened by his vigorous piety, and enlight-
ening ministry. He found time also to study
more thoroughly the subject of church govern-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED. 143

ment and order, and to form his opinions more
fully in relation to the ceremonies, and the " un-
lawful standing of bishops." He thus became
more and more sensible of the great errors of
the Established Church, and better fitted for the
work of building up the tabernacle of God in
the wilderness, to which he was soon to be
called.

After preaching at Heddon for about a year,
he removed, for what reason is not known, to a
neighboring town. But he was soon forced to
leave that place by a clergyman who came with
authority to forbid his preaching publicly any
longer. In this new and unexpected trouble,
application was made by his friends to Morton,
Bishop of Durham, for liberty to continue his
'ministry among them; but the bishop, although
he seems to have been disposed to grant this re-
quest, acknowledged that he dared not give his
sanction to the preaching of a man whom Laud
had undertaken to silence. Mr. Shepard there-
fore went from place to place, and preached
wherever he could do so without danger, until
at last he was obliged to confine himself to pri-
vate exposition in the house of Mr. Fenwick.
During this dismal and trying season, his first
child, whom he named Thomas, was born, — the
mother having been in great peril for four days

144 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

through the unskillfulness of her physician.
To have been deprived of such a wife in that
" dark country," and when he was struggling
with innumerable difficulties and dangers, would
have broken his spirit, and the Lord mercifully
spared him this affliction. But the shadow of
such an evil falling upon him amidst all his oth-
er trials, humbled him in the dust, — reminded
him of all his delinquencies, and broken resolu-
tions,— drew him nearer to God, and excited
him to greater diligence and faithfulness in his
great work.

Mr. Shepard had now been " tossed from
the south to the north of England," and could
neither go farther in that direction, nor preach
the gospel publicly where he was. He there-
fore began to consider the case of conscience*
frequently put by the martyrs in the bloody
days of Queen Mary ; whether it was not his
duty to abandon his country altogether, and
seek in a new world not only a refuge for
himself, but a place where he might labor se-
curely, and with hope, for the advancement of
the Saviour's kingdom. The thoughts of many
pious persons in England had for some time
been turned towards this country, where, it was
believed, the Lord was about to plant the gospel,
and to establish a pure church. Cotton, Hooker,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 145

Stone, and Weld, the intimate friends of Mr.
Shepard, together with many of their people,
had already fled to New England ; and many
others were preparing to follow them into the
wilderness where they could worship God ac-
cording to his word. Under these circumstan-
ces, Mr. Shepard " began to listen to a call to
New England."

For taking this decisive step he saw many
weighty reasons. He had no call to any place
in England where he could preach the gospel,
nor any means of subsistence for himself and
family. He saw many pious people leaving
their country, and going forth, like Abraham,
they knew not whither, at the call of God and
conscience. He was urged by those who had
already gone, and by many who wished to go to
New England, to abandon a country where he
could no longer be useful as a minister of
Christ, and aid them in their holy enterprise by
his wisdom and piety. He " saw the Lord de-
parting from England when Mr. Hooker and
Mr. Cotton were gone," and anticipated nothing
but misery if he were left behind. He was con-
vinced of the evil of the ceremonies, and of the
inexpediency if not the sin of mixed communion
in the sacraments of the church as then adminis-
tered, while at the same time he deemed it

VOL. IV. 13

146 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

*' lawful to join with them in preaching." He
felt it to be his duty to enjoy, if possible, the
benefit of all God's ordinances, and to seek them
in a foreign land, if they could not be found at
home. He was exposed to fine, imprisonment,
and all manner of persecution, and he saw no
Divine command to remain and suflfer, when the
Lord had providentially opened a way of escape.
He regarded, however, not so much his own
personal quiet and safety, as " the glory of those
liberties in New England," which the people of
God seemed about to enjoy, and the influence
which he might exert in securing and defending
them. It was urged by some who did not wish
to emigrate, that he might remain in the north
of England and preach privately ; but he was
convinced that this would expose him to danger,
and he was not satisfied that it was his duty to
hazard his personal liberty and the comfort and
safety of his family, for what was by all classes
deemed a disorderly manner of preaching, when
he might exercise his talent publicly and honor-
ably in New England. Finally, he considered
how sad a thing it would be, if he should die, to
leave his wife and child in " that rude place of
the north, where there was nothing but barba-
rous wickedness," and " how sweet it would be

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 147

to leave them among God's people," however
poor.

These considerations appeared to him of suf-
ficient weight to justify his speedy departure,
" before the pursuivants came out " to render his
escape impracticable. And afterwards, when
the removal of the New England Puritans was
spoken of by some of their brethren at home as
a treacherous and cowardly flight from the duty
of suffering, the same reasons substantially were
assigned by him in his answer to Ball, as a
complete vindication of their conduct. " Was
it not," he says, " a time when human worship
and inventions were grown to such an intolera-
ble height, that the consciences of God's people,
enlightened in the truth, could no longer bear
them ? Was not the power of the tyrannical
prelates so great that like a strong current it
carried every thing down stream before it ? Did
not the hearts of men generally fail them ?
Where was the people to be found that would
cleave to their godly ministers in their suffer-
ings, but rather thought it their discretion to
provide for their own quiet and safety ? What
would men have us do in such a case ? Must
we study some distinctions to salve our con-
sciences in complying with so manifold corrup-
tions in God's worship, or should we live with-

148 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

out God's ordinances because we could not
partake in the corrupt administration of them ?
It is true we might have suffered ; we might
easily have found the way to have filled the
prisons ; and some had their share in these suf-
ferings. But whether we were called to this,
when a wide door of liberty was set open, and
our witnesses to the truth, through the malig-
nant policy of those times, could not testify
openly before the world, but were smothered up
in close prisons, we leave to be considered. We
cannot see but the rule of Christ to his apostles,
and the practice of God's saints in all ages, may
allow us this liberty as well as others, to fly into
the wilderness from the face of the dragon. The
infinite and only wise God hath many works to
do in the world ; and by his singular providence,
he gives gifts to his servants, and disposes them
to his work as seems unto him best. If the
Lord will have some to bear witness by impris-
onment, mutilation, &c., he gives them spirits
suitable to this work, and we honor them in it.
If he will have others instrumental to promote
reformation in England, we honor them, and re-
joice in their holy endeavor, and pray for a
blessing upon them and their labors. And what
if God will have his church built up-also in
these remote parts of the world, that his name

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED. 149

may be known to the heathen, or whatsoever
other end he has, and for this purpose will send
forth a company of weak-hearted Christians,
who dare not stay at home to suffer, why should
we not let the Lord alone, and rejoice that Christ
is preached howsoever and wheresoever."*"

Having fully resolved to leave England at the
first favorable opportunity, Mr. Shepard took
leave of his friends in the north, where he had
labored for about a year ; and in the beginning
of June, 1634, accompanied by his wife, child,
and maid-servant, he left Newcastle, secretly
for fear of the pursuivants, on board a coal ves-
sel bound to Ipswich, the principal town in Suf-
folk. He remained a short time in Ipswich,
first in the family of Mr. Russell, and then with
his friend Mr. Collins, both of whom were after-
wards prominent members of the church in
Cambridge. From Ipswich he made a journey
to Earles-Colne, where he lived very privately
in the family of Mr. Harlakenden, from whom
he received every attention which his forlorn
situation required. Here, he passed the Sum-
mer of 1634. This period, in which he was
" so tossed up and down," having no -permanent
place of residence, and being obliged to keep

* Treatise of Liturgies, Pref. pp. 4, 5, 6,

13*

150 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

himself concealed from the notice of ^e bishops,
he found " the most uncomfortable and fruitless,
to his own soul especially," that he ever experi-
enced. He therefore longed to be in New Eng-
land as soon as possible : and as a number of
friends, among whom was John Norton, were
preparing to emigrate at the close of that sum-
mer, he determined to accompany them. The
ship in which they expected to sail, was the
Hope, of Ipswich, and the time fixed for their
departure, was the early part of September.
Although the season was so far advanced that
they must arrive on the bleak coast of New Eng-
land towards the beginning of winter, yet as
dangers thickened around them, — as the master,
Mr. Gurling, was an able seaman and very
friendly to the emigrants, — as the ship was a
large and good one, — and as they were assured
by the captain that he would certainly sail at the
time appointed, — they were willing to encoun-
ter the perils of the voyage at that season.

All necessary arrangements having been
made, Mr. Shepard repaired with his family to
Ipswich for the purpose of embarking. The
ship, however, was not ready to sail, and they
were detained six or eight weeks beyond the
time agreed upon. The company were now in
great perplexity and distress. The winter was

LIFE OF THOMAS S HEP ARC. 151

rapidly approaching, and the voyage becoming
every day more dangerous. They were sur-
rounded by enemies, and constantly liable to be
discovered and arrested by the savage pursui-
vants. Some of them feared that this detention
might be a divine chastisement sent upon them
for " rushing onward too soon." Mr. Shepard
was for awhile in great heaviness of soul, and
had many fears and doubts in relation to this
enterprise. He had gone too far to relinquish
the voyage, and the only alternative was to pro-
ceed ; but from that time he resolved " never to
go about a sad business in the dark, unless
God's call within as weJl as without " was
" very strong, and clear, and comfortable."

While the company were thus anxiously and
impatiently waiting for the ship to sail, Mr.
Shepard and Mr. Norton were kindly concealed
and provided for in the house of a worthy man,
who exerted himself nobly, and at some hazard
to himself, in their behalf. Many of the pious
people in the town resorted privately to these men
of God for instruction. At the same time their
enemies were eagerly watching for them, and
using all possible means to entrap and appre-
hend them. These hunters of souls, failing in
all their efforts to draw their prey into the open
field, and being restrained by law from breaking

152 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFAaD.

into the asylum to which they had fled, at last
persuaded a young man, who lived in the house
where Mr. Shepard lodged, by a large sum of
money , to promise that at a certain hour of a
night agreed upon, he would open the door for
their peaceable entrance into this sanctuary. The
youth, who was frequently in the presence of
Mr. Shepard, and heard the words of grace and
the fervent prayers which he uttered, became
deeply impressed with the thought that this was
a holy man of God ; and that to betray him into
the hands of his enemies would be a heinous
crime. He began to repent of his bargain. As
the night in which he was to execute his wicked
purpose drew near, he became greatly agitated
with sorrow, fear, and regret, insomuch that his
master noticed the remarkable change in his ap-
pearance and conduct, and questioned him as to
the cause of his apparent distress. At first he
was unwilling to reveal the truth, and for some
time evaded the inquiries of the family; but at
length, by the urgent expostulations of his mas-
ter, he was brought to confess with tears, that
on such a night, he had promised to let in men
to apprehend the godly minister. Mr. Shepard
was immediately conveyed away to a place of
safety, by his friends ; and when the men came
at the time appointed, the bird had escaped from

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 153

the snare of the fowler. Not finding the door
unbohed as they expected when they raised the
latch, they thrust their staves under it to lift it
from its hinges ; but being observed by some
persons whom the good man of the house had
prudently employed for that purpose, they pre-
cipitately fled lest they should be arrested and
dealt with as house-breakers.^

* Johnson's Wonder-working Providence, ch. 29.

164 LIFB OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

CHAPTER VII.

Mr. Shepard sails from Harwich. Danger of shipwreck upon the
sands. Man overboard. Windy Saturday. Prorideotial deliver-
ance. Goes on shore at Yarmouth. Child taken sick and dies.
Feelings of Mr. Shepard. Thinks of abandoning the voyage.
Embarrassments. Mrs. Corbet furnishes an asylum at Bastwictc
Employment. Writes " Select Cases." Goes to London. Second
child bom. Escape from the pursuivants. Spends the summer in
London. Embarks for New England in the Defence. Ship springs
a leak. Mrs. Shepard providentially saved from death. Arrival at
Boston.

On the 16th of October, 1634, Mr. Shepard
and his friends sailed from Harwich, a seaport
in Essex, at the mouth of the river Stour.
They had proceeded but a few leagues, when
the wind suddenly changing they were obliged
to cast anchor in a very dangerous place. The
wind continued to blow all night; and, on the
morning of the 17th, became so violent that the
ship dragged her anchors, and was driven upon
the sands near the harbor of Harwich, where she
was for some time in the most imminent peril.
To add to their distress, one of the sailors, in
endeavoring to execute some order, fell over-
board, and was carried a mile or more out to

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 155

sea, apparently beyond the reach of any human
aid. The ship and crew were at that moment
in so much danger, that no one could be spared
to go in search of him, if, indeed, the boat could
have lived a moment in the sea that was break-
ing around them ; and v^rhen the immediate
danger to the ship was over, no one on board
supposed that the poor man was alive. He was,
however, discovered floating upon the waves at
a great distance, though it was known that he
was not able to swim ; and three seamen put off
in the boat, at the hazard of their lives, to save
him. When they reached him, though he was
floating, supported as it were by a Divine hand,
he exhibited no signs of life, and having taken
him on board, they laid him in the bottom of the
boat, supposing him to be dead. One of the
men, however, was unwilling to give up his
ship-mate without using all the means in their
power for his resuscitation. Upon turning his
head downward, in order to let the water run
out, he began to breathe ; in a few moments,
under such treatment as their good sense sug-
gested, he was able to move and to* speak; and
by the time they reached the ship, he had re-
covered the use of his limbs, having been in the
water more than an hour. This incident is in-
teresting Tnajrjly on account of the prophetic use

156 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

that was made of it by one of the passengers,
probably either Mr. Shepard or Mr. Norton, in
his efforts to encourage the desponding com-
pany. " This man's danger and deliverance,"
said he, " is a type of ours. We are in great
danger, and yet the Lord's power will be shown
in saving us."

The event corresponded to the prediction, and
the strong faith of the man of God, like that of
Paul, in his stormy voyage to Rome, was re-
warded by the deliverance which it confidently
expected. The ship that was driving rapidly
towards the shore, and actually touching the
sands with her keel, was, by some means,
turned about, and beaten back towards Yar-
mouth roads, " an open place at sea, fit for
anchorage, but otherwise a very dangerous
place." Here they came to anchor, and hoped
to ride out the gale. But on Saturday morning,
October 18, the storm increased in violence, and
the wind from the west blew with such destruc-
tive fury, that the day was long known among
the inhabitants of the coast as the Windy Satur-
day. Many vessels were cast away in this
storm ; and among them the collier which
brought Mr. Shepard from Newcastle, the cap-
tain and all his men being lost. When the wind
arose the anchors were thrown out, but the ca-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 157

bles parted immediately, and the ship drifted
rapidly towards the sands where her destruction
seemed inevitable. The master gave up all for
lost, and the passengers resorted to prayer.
Guns were fired for assistance from the town ;
but, although thousands were spectators of their
danger, and large rewards were offered to any
who would venture their lives to save the pas-
sengers and crew, yet so dreadful was the storm
that no one could be prevailed upon to volunteer
in this service. It was known among the crowd
that gazed from the walls of Yarmouth upon this
terrible scene, that the ship was full of Puritan
emigrants, and therefore a peculiar interest was
felt in the catastrophe which seemed to await
her, — some fervently praying that the Lord
would deliver his people from the danger that
threatened them ; — and others, probably, im-
piously rejoicing in their anticipated destruc-
tion. One man, an officer of some kind, ven-
tured to give expression to the feelings which
were cherished by many. With a spirit of
prophecy, somewhat like that of Balaam, when
he was constrained to bless with his mouth the
people whom he cursed in his heart, he scof-
fingly exclaimed, that he " pitied the poor collier
in the road," — referring to the coal vessel in
which Mr. Sliepard had sailed from Newcastle, —

VOL. IV. 14

158 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

" but for the Puritans in the other ship, he felt no
concern, for their faith would save them."

And their faith, — or rather the Lord in whom
they trusted, and for whose glory they had en-
countered perils by sea as well as by land, — did
save them, in a remarkable way and by unex-
pected means. The captain and the sailors had
lost all presence of mind ; and believing that the
storm was preternatural, and that the ship weis
bewitched, they made use of the only means of
escape they could think of, which was nailing
two red hot horse-shoes to the mainmast as a
charm. * But there was on board a drunken
fellpw, "no sailor, though he had often been
to sea," w^ho had taken it into his head to
accompany these pious people to New Eng-
land, to whose cool judgment they now, under
God, owed their deliverance. Instead of nailing
horse-shoes to the mast, he advised that it
should be cut away, as the only possible method
of saving the ship. The captain and the crew,
bewildered by terror, were incapable of listen-
ing to advice ; and at last Cock, — for that was
the man's name, — assuming the responsibility,
called for hatchets, and encouraging the com-
pany and the seamen who were " forlorn and

••■Johnson. Hi«t. N. Eng. ch. 29.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 159

hopeless of life," they cut the masts by the board,
just at the moment when all had given them-
selves up for lost, expecting "to see neither New
nor old England, nor faces of friends any more."
When the mast was down, a small anchor
which remained, was thrown out; but it being
very light, the ship dragged, and continued to
drift rapidly towards the shore. The sailors,
supposing that the anchor was gone, or that it
would not hold, pointed to the devouring sands
where so many vessels had been engulfed, and
bid the passengers behold the place where their
graves should shortly be. The captain declared
that he had done all that he could, and desired
the ministers to pray for help from above. Ac-
cordingly Mr. Norton, with the passengers, two
hundred in number, in one place, and Mr. Shep-
ard, with the mariners upon deck, " went to
prayer," and committed their " souls and bodies
unto the Lord that gave them," Immediately
after prayer the violence of the wind began to
abate, and the ship ceased to drift. The last
anchor was not lost, as they thought, but was
dragged along, ploughing the sand by the vio-
lence of the wind, which abating after prayer,
though still violent, " the ship was stopped just
when it was ready to be swallowed up of the
sands," They were still, however, in great

160 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

danger ; for the wind was high, and though the
anchor had brought the ship up, yet the " cable
was let out so far that a little rope held the ca-
ble, and the cable the little anchor, and the little
anchor the great ship in this great storm."
When one of the company, whose faith was
stronger than cable or tempest, saw how
strangely they were preserved, exclaimed,
" That thread we hang by" — for so he called
the rope attached to the cable, — " will save us."
And so, indeed, it did, " the Lord showing his
dreadful power, and yet his unspeakable rich
mercy towards us, who heard, nay helped us,
when we could not cry through the disconsolate
fears we had, out of these depths of seas and
miseries." This deliverance was so great, and
so manifestly wrought in answer to prayer, that
Mr. Shepard thought, if he ever reached the
shore again, he should live like one risen
from the dead, and he desired that this
mercy, to him and his family, might be remem-
bered to the glory of God, by his " children
and their children's children," when he was
dead, and could not " praise the Lord in the
land of the living any more."

They remained on board during the night in
comparative safety, — the storm continuing to
abate, — but in a very comfortless condition.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 161

Many were sick, " many weak and discouraged,"
and there were "many sad hearts." On Sab-
bath morning, October 19th, they went on shore.
The Puritans were very strict in their observ-
ance of the Sabbath ; and Mr. Shepard thought
that they were in too much haste to leave the
ship, and that they ought to have spent the day
on board in praising the Lord for his signal in-
terposition in their behalf. But there were
many feeble persons among them who were
unable to engage in religious exercises, and had
need of refreshment on shore ; and besides, they
were " afraid of neglecting a season of provi-
dence in going out while they had a calm;" for
they were held as it were by " a thread," and
if the wind should rise again, they might all find
their graves in the sands. Mr. Shepard and his
family left the ship in the first boat that was sent
from the town to take off the passengers. And
here they were visited by a new and more bitter
affliction. They were saved from the devouring
waters to be smitten by the sudden and myste-
rious death of their only child, now about a year
old. In the passage from the ship to the shore,
he was seized with vomiting, which no means
they could use, — lalthough they had all neces-
sary medical aid at Yarmouth, could check.
After lingering for a fortnight in great distress
14*

162 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

he died, and was buried at Yarmouth. The
funeral was conducted very privately; and it
was no small aggravation of the sorrow which
they felt for the loss of their first-born, that Mr.
Shepard dared not be present, lest the pursui-
vants should discover and apprehend him. For,
as soon as they were ashore, says Scottou, " two
vipers designed not only to leap upon the hands"
of Shepard and Norton, " but to seize their per-
sons. But how strangely preserved, is not un-
known to some of tLS."*^

It is interesting to learn what were the feel-
ings and exercises of such a man as Mr. Shep-
ard under afflictions like these ; for the inward
experiences of such minds furnish great lessons
for us. There was no murmuring under the
rod. The feeling of his heart was that of a lov-
ing child kindly chastised by a tender father ;
and he saw in every blow a manifestation of
divine love, and a corrective of his wayward-
ness. As if the Lord " saw that these waters
were not sufficient to wash away my sinfulness,
he cast me into the fire. He showed me my
weak faith, pride, carnal content, immoderate
love of creatures, of my child especially, and
begat in me some desires and purposes to fear

* CAironiclM of Maaa. 540, Note.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 163

his name. I considered how unfit I was to go
to such a good land (as New England) with
such an unmortified, hard, dark, formal hypo-
critical heart ; and therefore no wonder if the
Lord did thus cross me." He even began to
fear, — such was his tenderness of conscience,
and desire to walk in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blameless, — that his
affliction came, in part, for " running too far in
a way of separation from the mixed assemblies
in England," though this, of all his sins, must
have been the smallest, for he did not forsake
the church until he was driven from it by arbi-
trary force ; and he always believed and de-
clared,— what none of the Puritans ever denied,
— that there were " true churches in may par-
ishes in England," and also true ministers of
the gospel, whose preaching he never refused to
hear when he had opportunity.

One effect of these afflictions, — the sudden
death of his only child, and the tremendous
storm which seemed like a frown of providence
upon their voyage, — was to diminish very much
his desire of emigrating to New England, and
to make him almost willing to remain and suffer
at home. This state of mind, however, did not
continue long. When he remembered that he
had been tossed from one end of England to the

164 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

Other, — that there was no place in his native
land where he could preach the gospel, — that so
long as he refused conformity to the errors and
corruptions of the church, nothing but " bonds
and afflictions " awaited him, — that a "door of
escape " was providentially opened, — and that
in this distant land he should not only be beyond
the reach of the bishops, but find a place where
he might labor for the cause of Christ, — his de-
sire to emigrate revived, and he resolved that as
soon as practicable, he would make another at-
tempt to place the ocean between him and his
persecutors.

In the mean time he was in great distress,
not knowing where to go nor what to do. The
Philistines were upon him. There seemed to
be no place of safety. He could neither labor
for a subsistence, nor could his friends, without
great danger, minister effectually to his neces-
sities. In this time of need, — the most trying
and apparently hopeless he had ever experi-
enced,— Roger Harlakenden, and his brother
Samuel, having heard of his escape from the
dangers of the sea, and of worse dangers to
which he was still exposed upon land, visited
him, and refreshed his spirit by their sympathy
and assistance. While casting about where
to spend the winter that was approaching, Mr.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 165

Bridge, minister of Norwich, kindly offered
him an asylum in his family. But a Mrs.
Corbet, an aged, and eminently pious wo-
man, who lived about five miles from Nor-
wich, fearing that Mr. Bridge might hazard his
liberty by harboring the fugitive, invited him to
occupy a house of hers, then vacant, at Bastwick,
a small hamlet in the county of Norfolk. And
she not only furnished him with a house which
"was fit to entertain any prince for fairness,
greatness, and pleasantness," but in various
ways endeavored to render the season of his
detention and confinement as comfortable as pos-
sible. Here with his wife and a few friends, —
Mr. Harlakenden defraying the whole expense of
house-keeping, — he passed the winter of 1634-5,
far from the notice of his enemies, and solaced
by " sweet fellowship one with another, and also
with God." Nor was he idle in this comfortable
retreat. For although he could not preach pub-
licly, he could employ his pen for the instruc-
tion and consolation of his afflicted friends, and
by diligent study prepare himself for that ser-
vice to which he was soon to be called in the
new world. It was during this season that he
wrote the little work, first published at London
in 1648, entitled " Select Cases Resolved," in
a letter to a pious friend, who had fallen into

166 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

doubt and difficulty respecting the questions
therein discussed. In the Title pages of the
first two editions, this letter is said to have been
sent from New England ; but from several ex-
pressions at the commencement and at the close,
it is evident that it was written in England, and
upon the eve of his departure from that country;
for he says " It may possibly be my dying letter
to you before I depart from hence and return to
Him, as not knowing but our last disasters and
sea-straits, of which I wrote to you, may be but
the preparation for the execution of the next ap-
proaching voyage." And again in the conclu-
sion, " I thank you heartily for improving me
this way of writing, who have my mouth stopped
from speaking" — a calamity which certainly
never befell him in New England, — " and re-
member when you are best able to pray for
yourself, to look after me and mine, and all that
go with me on the mighty waters ; and then to
look up and sigh to heaven for me, that the
Lord would out of his free grace but bring me
to that good land, and those glorious ordinances,
and that there I may but behold the face of the
Lord in his temple," — a request which he never
had occasion to make after landing on these
shores. Of this letter, vnritten in a time of
great trial, and coming from a mind itself need>

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 167

ing all the consolations of friendship and relig-
ion, it is only necessary to say in the language
of those who first gave it to the public, that
it is " so full of grace and truth, that it needs
no other epistle commendatory than itself," and
no one who desires to walk comfortably with
God in his general and particular calling, can
study these answers, in which acuteness, depth,
piety, and Christian experience are so eminently
and happily blended, without becoming a wiser
and a holier man."^

Early in the spring of 1635, Mr, Shepard,
accompanied by his friend Harlakenden, went
up to London, in order to make all necessary
preparation for another attempt to leave Eng-
land. During the journey, which seems to have
been somewhat protracted, he was nearly de-
prived of his faithful and devoted wife. At the
house of Mr. Burroughs, a puritan minister,
where they stopped about a fortnight, Mrs.
Shepard, being near her confinement, "fell down
from the top of a pair of stairs to the bottom ;
yet the Lord kept her, and the child also, from
that deadly danger." Upon their arrival at
London in the very neighborhood of their "great
enemy " Laud, and not knowing where to hide

* Prefaces to Select Cases Resolved, by Adderly, Geree, and Green-
hill.

168 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

themselves, a Mrs. Sherbourne provided a ** very
private place " for them ; where, on Sunday,
April 5, 1625, their second son was born, whom
they named Thomas, after his brother who died
at Yarmouth. The mother soon recovered, but
the child was sickly, and at one time they
thought he would have died of a sore mouth.
Mr. Shepard had more confidence in prayer than
in the physician's skill ; and in the night he was
" stirred up to pray " for the life of the child,
and " that with very much fervor, and many
arguments;" and thus after a sad, heavy night
the Lord shined upon him in the morning, and
he found the sore mouth, which was thought to be
incurable, " suddenly and strangely amended."
They had not been long in London before their
hiding-place was discovered by their enemies,
and in order to escape from the " vipers " that
were ready to fasten upon them, they re-
moved by night to a house belonging to Mr.
Alured, which providentially stood empty. The
pursuivants, who were sent to apprehend Mr.
Shepard, were a little too late; for upon enter-
ing the place where he had been secreted, they
found that the whole family had gone no one
knew wither ; and thus once more the Lord de-
livered his faithful servant from the snares which
had been laid for him.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 169

In the closest retirement, but not without much
sympathy and many tokens of love from Christ-
ian friends, Mr. Shepard and his family passed
the summer of 1635 in London. Towards the
close of the summer, — Mrs. Shepard and the
child having recovered their strength in some
measure, — they began to prepare again for their
removal to New England. The reasons which
had led them to this decision the year before,
still existed with perhaps increasing force ; and
it became more and more evident every day
that there was no longer any place or duty for
them in England. Several " precious friends "
were resolved, and waiting to sail with Mr.
Shepard, among whom were Roger Harlaken-
den, Mr. Champney, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Jones,
afterwards colleague with Mr. Bulkley at Con-
cord, besides many pious people who were
ready to follow their persecuted ministers to the
ends of the earth, in order to enjoy the gospel
in its purity. All necessary arrangements hav-
ing been made, on the 10th of August, 1635, —
a day to be remembered by the people of this
commonwealth, — the company embarked on
board the ship Defence, of London, commanded
by Capt. Thomas Bostock, and commenced their
voyage ; " having tasted much of God's mercy

VOL. IV. 15

170 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

in England, and lamenting the loss of our na-
tive country, when we took our last view of it."
Mr. Shepard, it has been said, embarked in dis-
guise, and under the assumed name of his brother,
" John Shepard, husbandman." The authority
for this statement is found in a list of passengers
who came over in the Defence, taken from a
manuscript volume, discovered in the Augmen-
tation Office, so called, by Mr. Savage, in the
year 1842, which contains the names of persons
permitted to embark at the port of London, be-
tween Christmas 1634, and the same period in
the following year. In this list we have, among
others, the names of John Shepard, husband-
man, aged thirty six, — Margarett Shepard, thirty
one, and Thomas Shepard, three months. Sam-
uel Shepard appears as a servant of Roger Har-
lakenden. Neither Mr. Wilson nor Mr. Jones
are mentioned, though they were certainly on
board ; but Sarah Jones, aged thirty-four, with
her children, is named among the passengers.*
It is probable that Mr. Shepard did embark un-
der the name of his brother John, though as he
was born in 1605, he could have been but thirty
years of age when he came to this country, and
Margarett seems to have been somewhat young-
er. We know that great efibrts were at that

*Maaf. Hi*U CoU. zxriii. 268, 269, 273.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 171

time made to prevent the ministers from leaving
England. As early as 1629, Mr. Higginson,
writing from Salem, exhorted his friends to come
quickly, for if they lingered too long " the pas-
sages of Jordan, through the malice of Satan,
might be stopped." Cotton, Hooker, and Stone,
who came in 1633, with great difSculty eluded
the vigilance of the pursuivants, and escaped
from the country. Richard Mather was obliged
to conceal himself until the vessel was at sea.
In April, 1637, a proclamation was issued " to
restrain the disorderly transportation of his maj-
esty's subjects to the colonies without leave,"
commanding that " no license should be given
them, without a certificate that they had taken
the oaths of supremacy and allegiance, and had
conformed to the discipline of the Church of Eng-
land."^ The danger, therefore, to which Mr.
Shepard, in common with others, was exposed,
was great enough to render concealment desira-
ble and necessary. How far any one is justifia-
ble in assuming the name of another for the
purpose of avoiding danger, or of doing a good
work, is a question of casuistry which every
reader will decide according to his light : but all
candid persons who become familiar with the

* See Chronicles of Massachusetts, pp. 260, 428, notes.

172 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

character of Shepard, and with the circum-
stances in which he was placed, must be con-
vinced that he intended to act conscientiously ;
and that if he did not, as he confessed, belong
to that class of Martyrs to whom God gave " a
spirit of courage and willingness to glorify him
by sufferings at home," he was at least a sin-
cere lover of truth, and foremost among those
holy men who were prepared to " go to a wil-
derness, where they could forecast nothing but
care and temptation," for the sake of enjoying
Christ in his ordinances, and of propagating the
gospel in its divine purity. If any think that
he erred in not boldly facing the terrors of the
Star-Chamber, " let him that is without sin
among them cast the first stone at him."

The ship in which they embarked was old,
rotten, and altogether unfit for such a voyage.
In the first storm they encountered, she sprung
a leak which exposed them to imminent peril ;
and they were on the point of returning to port,
when, with much difficulty, they succeeded in
repairing the damage. They had a stormy and
rough passage. The infant Thomas, who, at
their embarkation was so feeble that the parents
and friends feared he could not live until they
reached New England, was much benefited by

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 173

the sea ; but the mother, worn out by constant
watching, hardship, and exposure, at last took a
cold, — terminating in consumption, — which in a
few months consigned her to an early grave.
Among other incidents of the voyage, Mrs.
Shepard's miraculous preservation from " immi-
nent and apparent death," ought not to be passed
over in silence. In one of the violent storms
which they experienced, she was, by the sudden
lurching of the ship, thrown head foremost,
with the child in her arms, directly towards a
large iron bolt ; and " being ready to fall, she
felt herself plucked back by she knew not
what," whereby both she and the child escaped
all injury, — a wonderful interposition which Mr.
Shepard and others who witnessed it, could as-
cribe to nothing but " the angels of God who
are ministering spirits for the heirs of life."

On the second day of October, 1635, after
fifty-four wearisome days upon the sea, they
came in sight of the land where they hoped to
find rest both for the body and the soul ; and on
ihe third, they landed safely at Boston, " with re-
joicing in God after a longsome voyage," and
amidst the hearty congratulations of numerous
friends whose houses were hospitably thrown
open for their accommodation. Mr. Shepard
15*

174 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

and his family were kindly provided for at the
house of Mr. Coddington, — then treasurer of the
colony, — where they remained until after the
Sabbath: and on Monday, October 5, they
removed to Newtown, which was to be their
future field of labor, and their quiet home.

LIFE OF TUOMAS SHEPARD. 175

CHAPTER VIII.

Sketch of the early history of Newtown. Organization of the second
church in Newtown. Death of Mrs. Shepard. Sickness of Thomaa.
Antinomian controversy. Mr. Shepard's position and influence in
this controversy. First Synod in Newton. Mr Hooker's objec-
tions. Result of Synod.

Newtown, afterwards called Cambridge, was
selected as the site of a town which the set-
tlers intended to fortify and make the metropolis
of the Massachusetts colony. In the spring of
the year 1631, Winthrop, who had the year pre-
ceding been chosen Governor, came to this
place, and set up the frame of a house upon the
spot where he first pitched his tent. The Deputy
Governor, Dudley, completed a house for him-
self, and removed his family, with the expecta-
tion that this was to be the seat of government.
The town was laid out near Charles river in
squares, the streets intersecting each other at
right angles. It soon became evident, however,
that Boston was to be the chief place of com-
merce ; and the neighboring Indians, having
ceased their hostility and made overtures of per-

176 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

petual friendship with the colonists, Governor
Winthrop removed the frame of his house to
Boston, and the scheme of a fortified town here
was abandoned.

But though the design of making Newtown
the capital of the colony was given up, it re-
mained still under the especial care and direc-
tion of the government. The annual election
of Governor and Magistrates was, for some time,
held here ; and in 1632, the General Court appro-
priated sixty pounds, to be raised by the several
plantations, towards erecting a Palisade about it.
The first settlers of the town, though few in
number, were generally in good circumstances ;
and they soon received a valuable accession by
the arrival of a company, recently from England,
who had commenced a settlement at Brain-
tree, but who, by direction of the General
Court, removed to Newtown in August 1632.
Winthrop calls them *' Mr. Hooker's Company,"
from which it may be inferred that they were
from that part of the county of Essex, where Mr.
Hooker was settled. Mr. Hooker, however, did
not come over with this company, and the people
of Newtown had as yet no minister ; but they
erected a meeting-house preparatory to the set-
tlement of the ministry and the ordinance of the

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 177

Gospel among them, feeling, as one of the early
Fathers remarks, that a country however beauti-
ful and prosperous, without a Gospel ministry
is, "like a blacksmith without his fire."

Mr. Hooker, in company with Mr. Cotton and
Mr. Stone arrived in the month of September
1633, and on the 11th of October following, he
with Mr. Stone for his assistant, was ordained
over the people of Newtown, many of whom
had sat under his ministry in England, and af-
ter their settlement here, had never ceased to
importune him to come and take the pastoral
charge of them. In May 1634, the people of
Newtown, being as they alledged straitened for
room, and having obtained leave of the General
Court to look out a place either for extension or
removal, sent several of their number to Aga-
wara, and Merrimack, to find if possible a more
suitable location for their growing community.
Not succeeding to their satisfaction in this at-
tempt, they petitioned for leave to remove to the
banks of the Connecticut river, where they were
certain of finding ample territory, and a fruitful
soil. The subject was earnestly discussed in the
General Court for several days. The principal ar-
guments in favor of granting the petition were —
that the people, without more land for their cat-

178 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

tie, could not maintain their minister, or receive
any more of their friends who might be disposed
to come and assist them ; — that if the fertile coun-
try upon the Connecticut were not speedily oc-
cupied by a colony from Massachusetts, the
Dutch or the English might take possession of
it, which would be very undesirable ; — that the
towns in the colony were located too near each
other ; — and finally, that they were strongly in-
clined, and in fact had made up their minds to
go, — a reason as conclusive, perhaps, as any
other. To what they avowed as the grounds of
their desire to remove so far from the parent
colony, some have ventured to guess at one which
they never avowed, and probably never thought
of, namely, that Mr. Hooker's light would shine
more brightly, and be more conspicuous, if it
were farther from the golden candlestick of the
church in Boston.

On the other hand a variety of reasons were
urged against their removal. It was said that
being united in one body with the Massachusetts
colony, and being bound by oath to seek the
good of the Commonwealth, it would be wrong,
in point of conscience, to allow them to separate
from their brethren ; — that the colony was weak
and constantly in danger of being attacked by

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 179

its enemies, and therefore could not afford to
spare so large a number of their most influen-
tial citizens ; — that the departure of Mr. Hooker
would not only draw away many from the
colony, but divert to a distant part of the coun-
try friends who would otherwise settle here ; —
that by removing they would be exposed to
great danger, from the Dutch, who claimed the
Connecticut country, and had already built a
fort there, from the Indians, and from the
English government, which would not permit
them to settle without a patent in any place to
which the king laid claim ; — that they might be
accommodated at home by enlargement from
other towns, or by removal to any other place
within the patent; — and finally, that it would be
the removal of a candlestick out of its place,
which was a calamity by all means to be avoided
if possible.

When the question was taken, the Governor
and two Assistants voted in the affirmative, — the
Deputy Governor, together with the other As-
sistants and all the Deputies, in the negative.
At this stage of the business a controversy arose
between the Court of Magistrates and the
Deputies respecting the legal effect of this vote,
not necessary to be described here. It is suffi-
cient to say that the proceedings of the Court

180 LIFE OF THOMAS S itVT A ft » .

were brought to a stand ; and so great, in their
opinion, was the importance of the question
respecting " the negative voice," which divided
them, that a day of fasting and prayer for
Divine direction was set apart, by public
authority. Accordingly the 18th day of Sep-
tember was observed by all the churches in
the colony. On the 24th of the same month
the Court again met at Newtown. Mr. Hooker
was requested to deliver a discourse upon the
important occasion ; but he declining on the
ground that his personal interest in the question
rendered him unfit for this service, the delicate
and difficult task was, by desire of the whole
Court, performed by Mr. Cotton. He chose for
his text Haggai 2 : 4, from which he took occa-
sion to describe the nature, or the strength, as
he termed it, of the Magistracy, of the Ministry,
and of the People. The strength of the Magis-
tracy, he asserted to be their authority, — of the
Ministry, their purity, — and of the People, their
liberty ; — shewing that each of these had a nega-
tive voice in relation to the other, and yet the
right of ultimate decision was in the whole body
of the people, — answering all objections, — and
exhorting the people to maintain their liberties
against all unjust and violent attempts to take
them away.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 181

This discourse gave great satisfaction to all
parties. The court resumed its discussions in a
better and more forbearing spirit ; and although
the deputies were not satisfied that the negative
voice should be left to the magistrates, yet the
subject was by common consent dropped for that
time. The result was that the people of New-
town, seeing how unwilling their brethren were
that they should remove to Connecticut, came
forward and accepted such lands as had been
offered for their accommodation, by Boston and
Watertown. This arrangement, however, was
not long satisfactory. The people of Newtown,
having fixed their eyes and their minds upon
the fine country upon the Connecticut, soon be-
gan to revive the project of removal, and many
in the neighboring towns being desirous of join-
ing them in this enterprise, the General Court
at length gave them leave to remove whither
they would, on condition of their remaining
under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.

The place selected by the agents of New-
town, was called by the natives Suckiaug,
where, towards the close of the year 1635, a
plantation was commenced by a few of their
number, the great body of the people with their
ministers intending to follow them during the
ensuing year. Accordingly, early in the sum-

VOL. IV. 16

182 LIFE OF THOMAS SHBPASD.

mer of 1636, Messrs. Hooker and Stone, with
about one hundred persons, composing the whole,
or very nearly the whole of the congregation, left
Newtown and traveled through a pathless wil-
derness to the place which they had chosen as
their inheritance. They had no guide but their
compass. Like the Patriarchs, they drove be-
fore them their flocks and herds, and fed upon
the milk of their kine by the way. After a long
and tedious journey they reached Suckiaug on
the Connecticut, and laid the foundation of the
city of Hartford.

Upon the removal of Mr. Hooker's congrega-
tion, Mr. Shepard and those who accompanied
him, about sixty in all, purchased the houses
thus left vacant, to dwell in until they should
find a more suitable place for a permanent set-
tlement. The majority, however, soon became
desirous of remaining at Newtown, and were
unvirilling to remove farther, •' partly because of
the fellowship of the churches ; partly, because
they thought their lives were short, and remov-
als to new plantations full of troubles; partly,
because they found sufficient for themselves and
company." They therefore resolved to remain,
and without further delay, to organize them-
selves into a church for the enjoyment of those
gospel privileges which they had suffered so

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED. 183

much to secure. The necessary arrangements
were accordingly made, and on the first day of
February, 1636, corresponding to Feb. 11th,
new style, a public assembly was convened, and
a church, the first permanent one in Cambridge,
and the eleventh in Massachusetts, was duly
organized. The following account of this sol-
emn transaction, given by an eye witness, is
exceedingly interesting for the light which it
throws upon the manner of constituting church-
es in the time of our Fathers.

" Mr. Shepard, a godly minister come lately
out of England, and divers other good Christ-
ians, intending to raise a church body, came and
acquainted the magistrates therewith, who gave
their approbation. They also sent to all the
neighboring churches for their elders to give
their assistance, at a certain day, at Newtown,
when they should constitute their body. Ac-
cordingly, at this day, there met a great assem-
bly, where the proceeding was as followeth :
Mr. Shepard, and two others, — who were after
to be chosen to office, — sat together in the elders'
seat. Then the elder of them began with
prayer. After this Mr. Shepard prayed with
deep confession of sin, &c., and exercised out of
Eph. 5 : 27, " That he might present it to him-
self a glorious church," &c., and also opened

184 LIFE OF THOMAS SHBPARD.

the cause of their meeting. Then the elder de-
sired to know of the churches assembled, what
number were needful to make a church, and
how they ought to proceed in this action.
Whereupon some of the ancient ministers, con-
ferring shortly together, gave answer : That the
Scripture did not set down any certain rule for
the number. Three, they thought, were too few,
because by Matthew 18th an appeal was allowed
from three ; but that seven might be a fit num-
ber. And, for their proceeding, they advised,
that such as were to join should make confes-
sion of their faith, and declare what work of
grace the Lord had wrought in them ; which
accordingly they did, Mr. Shepard first, then
four others, then the elder, and one who was to
be deacon, — who had also prayed, — and anoth-
er member. Then the covenant was read, and
they all gave a solemn assent to it. Then the
elder desired of the churches, that, if they did
approve them to be a church, they would give
them the right hand of fellowship. Whereupon
Mr. Cotton, upon short speech with some others
near him, in the name of their churches, gave
his hand to the elder, with a short speech of
their assent, and desired the peace of the Lord
Jesus to be with them. Then Mr. Shepard
made an exhortation to the rest of his body,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 185

about the nature of 'their covenant, and to stand
firm to it, and commended them to the Lord in
a most heavenly prayer. Then the elder told
the assembly, that they were intended to choose
Mr. Shepard for their pastor, (by the name of
the brother who had exercised) and desired the
churches, that, if they had any thing to except
against him, they would impart it to them be-
fore the day of ordination. Then he gave
the churches thanks for their assistance^ and
so left them to the Lord."^ Mr. Shepard's
ordination, or rather installation, took place soon
after, but the exact date of it is not known. It
was probably deferred, as Mather suggests,
on account of the lateness of the hour, and for
the purpose of having ample time for the per-
formance of those solemnities which they thought
suitable to such an occasion.

Mr. Shepard's ministry in Newtown com-
menced under the pressure of heavy domestic
affliction. Within a fortnight after the organi-
zation of the church, his wife Margaret, whose
health had been for some time rapidly failing,
was taken from him by death. It had been her
great desire to see her husband in a place of
safety among God's people, and to leave her

* Winthrop's Journal, 1. 179, 180.

16*

186 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFAED.

child under the pure ordinances of the gos-
pel. Her desire was granted. Having been
received into the fellowship of the church, —
having g^ven up her dear child in the ordinance
of baptism, — and having witnessed the hopeful
beginning of the work for which she had sacri-
ficed all the comforts of life, and even life itself,
she was enabled to say, with Simeon of old,
•' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."
The precious ordinances for which she had
pined amidst the privations and dangers of their
wandering life, were the means of greatly cheer-
ing her under the wasting power of disease, and
of filling her soul with a sense of God's love
which continued until the last breath. Nothing
can be more beautiful or touching than Mr.
Shepard's reference to the baptism of his
son, and to the early death of his " incompara-
bly loving," amiable, and pious wife, — a passage
which many a baptized child may read with tears.
" On the seventh of February, God gave thee
the ordinance of baptism, whereby God is be-
come thy God, and is beforehand with thee, that
whenever thou shalt return to God, he will un-
doubtedly receive thee ; tHis is a most high and
happy privilege, and therefore bless God for it.
And now, after this had been done, thy dear

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 187

mother died in the Lord, departing out of this
world to another, who did lose her life by being
careful to preserve thine ; for in the ship thou
wert so feeble and froward both in the day and
night, that hereby she lost her strength and at
last her life. She hath made also many a
prayer and shed many a tear for thee ; and this
hath been oft her request that if the Lord did
not intend to glorify himself by thee, that he
would cut thee off by death rather than to live
to dishonor him by sin. And therefore know
it, that if thou shalt turn rebel against God, and
forsake him, and care not for the knowledge of
him, nor believe in his Son, the Lord will make
all these mercies, woes ; and all thy mother's
prayers, tears, and death, to be a swift witness
against thee at the great day."*

The child to whom this affecting appeal was
made, was afterwards brought very low by a
humor which filled his mouth, lips, and cheeks
with blisters, so that it was difficult for him to
take sufficient nourishment to sustain life.
When the humor left his mouth it seized upon
his eyes ; and in a short time he became quite
blind, " with pearls upon both eyes and a white
film, insomuch that it was a dreadful sight unto
all the beholders of him, and very pitiful."

* Introduction to Autobiographhy.

188 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

None but a father can realize the distress which
Mr. Shepard felt at the prospect that his only
son was to be blind through the remainder of
his life. But he was mercifully spared this
severe affliction. When he had become con-
vinced that he must have " a blind child to be a
constant sorrow to him till his death," and was
made contented to " bear the indignation of the
Lord because he had sinned," resolving now to
" fear nor grieve no more, but to be thankful,
nay to love the Lord, — suddenly and strangely,
by the use of a poor weak means, namely, the
oil of white paper," the child was restored to
sight again, to the great joy of the father, who
regarded the cure as a gracious answer to his
earnest prayers. The manner in which Mr.
Shepard used this event to awaken the gratitude
of his child, when in after years he should learn
how wonderfully he had been preserved from
one of the greatest temporal calamities, is wor-
thy of remembrance. " Now consider, my son,
and remember to lift up thine eyes to heaven,
to God, in everlasting praises of him, and
dependence upon him ; and take heed thou dost
not make thine eyes windows of lust, but give
thine eyes, nay thy heart and whole soul and
body to him that hath been so careful of thee
when thou couldst not care for thyself."

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 1S9

These domestic afflictions were soon followed
by trials of another sort, which, to a minister of
Christ so deeply interested in the prosperity of
the church as Mr. Shepard was, were perhaps
more difficult to be borne with patience, and
called for a larger measure of grace. He found
that the people of God are exposed to " perils in
the wilderness," as well as in the crowded
thoroughfares of the world ; and that Christ
may be as deeply wounded in the house of his
friends, as among the armies of the aliens. The
church at Newtown had been organized but a
short time, and had but just begun to enjoy the
liberty and the rest for which so many sacrifices
had been made, when the peace of all the
churches in the colony, was violently disturbed
by the opinions and practices of the Antinomi-
ans, which were first promulgated in this part
of the world by Mrs. Hutchinson. As Mr. Shep-
ard bore a distinguished part in that controversy,
and exerted no small influence in bringing it to
a triumphant conclusion, a few words respecting
its origin and effects may here be expected.

Mr. Hutchinson, who had been an intimate
friend and a great admirer of Mr. Cotton in
England, came to Boston in company with
Henry Vane, in 1633. His wife was a woman

190 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARS.

of a masculine understanding, and of fiery zeal
in religion. Mr. Cotton, whom she held in the
highest estimation and respect, said of her, at an
early period of her residence here, that " she
was well -beloved," and that " all the faithful em-
braced her conference, and blessed God for her
fruitful discourses," — a commendation, which,
if she ever deserved, she soon forfeited by her
gross heresies in doctrine and in practice. At
Boston she was treated with great respect, not
only by Mr. Cotton, but by other distinguished
persons, among whom was Mr. Vane, who in
1636 was chosen governor of the colony, in the
room of Winthrop. It was natural that the
high consideration in which she was held by
the leading men in the church and state, should
awaken her vanity and give her great influ-
ence with the people. In imitation of the breth-
ren of the church of Boston, who held weekly
meetings for religious conference, she soon
established a meeting of women at her house,
in obedience, as she pretended, to the apostoli-
cal precept that " the aged women should be
teachers of good things ; " and especially that
they should •* teach the young women to be so-
ber." The novelty of this proceeding among the
Puritans, who, in obedience to another apostol-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 191

ical injunction, never suffered " a woman to speak
in the church," together with the reputation of
the innovator, soon collected an audience of sixty
or eighty women at her house every week, to
hear her prayers, her exhortations, and her ex-
planations,— seldom probably correct, — of Mr.
Cotton's sermons.

In these meetings, held professedly for the
purpose of promoting the edification of the
younger women, but designed to diffuse a new
light among the men also, Mrs. Hutchinson was
not long satisfied to be the humble expositor of
Mr. Cotton's doctrines, but soon ventured to
broach some opinions of her own, which, how-
ever, she pretended to confirm by an unfair and
fraudulent use of Mr. Cotton's authority. The
fundamental position which she assumed, and
maintained with a fierce enthusiasm, was that a
Christian should not look to any Christian
graces, or to any conditional promises made to
faith or sanctification, as evidence of God's
special grace and love towards him, — this being
a way of works ; but, without the appearance
of any grace, faith, holiness, or change in him-
self, must rest upon an absolute promise made
in an immediate revelation to his soul. In con-
nection with this doctrine, and as the legitimate

192 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.*

results of it, she taught that the Holy Ghost
dwells personally in a justified person; that the
command to work out our salvation with fear
and trembling, is addressed to none but such
as are under the covenant of works; that
personal holiness is not to be regarded as a
sign of a justified state ; that there is no such
thing as inherent righteousness ; that immedi-
ate revelations respecting future events are to
be expected by believers, and should be received
as equally authoritative and infallible with the
Scriptures ; together with many other absurd
and foolish notions, which, it would seem, that
none but persons extremely ignorant or partially
insane, could possibly believe.

That Mrs. Hutchinson received these opinions
from Mr. Cotton, as she and her followers pre-
tended, is not credible. It is true that Mr. Cot-
ton at one time entertained a too favorable opin-
ion of the piety and talents of this enthusiastic
innovator ; and for awhile bore no decided
testimony against the errors that were dividing
and distracting the church. The consequence
was that he was claimed by both parties in this
controversy ; the Antinomians declaring that
their doctrines were legitimate inferences from
his preaching, and had his sanction, — the ortho-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 193

doxonthe other hand, affirming that he adhered
to the common faith, and disavowed their hereti-
cal sentiments. This state of the public mind
called for an open and explicit declaration of
his sentiments, which, as soon as he fully under-
stood the use made of his authority by the Anti-
nomians, he made, to the satisfaction of his
brethren, and to the dismay and discomfiture of
the heretics. He at once, as is usual in such
cases, became the object of the hatred and re-
proaches of the party which he had seemed, —
and only seemed, — to favor. They called him
a coward, who dared not avow his real princi-
ples ; a double-minded man, who taught one
thing in the pulpit, and another in private con
ference ; a blind guide, who had lost all insight
into the spirit of the gospel ; and so bitter, and
at the same time so vulgar was the hatred with
which they persecuted the good man, that one
of the party sent him a pound of candles, with
the impudent intimation that he was in " great
need of light."

It has been sometimes said, in later times,
that this Antinomian controversy was a strife, —
a mere jargon of words while the parties were
really of one mind respecting justification and
sanctification. But a careful examination will
show that it was a strife between two different

VOL. IV. 17

194 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

and opposite gospels, and exhibited totally dif-
ferent grounds of hope to sinners. The Anti-
nomians were heretics of the worst and most
dangerous sort. By their mode of advancing
free grace, says Shepard, they denied and
destroyed all evidence of inherent grace in us ;
by crying up Christ, they destroyed the use
of faith to apply to him ; by advancing the
spirit and revelations by the spirit, they de-
stroyed or weakened the revelation by the Script-
ures ; by depending on Christ's righteous-
ness and justification without the works of the
law, they destroyed the use of the law, and
made it no rule of life to a Christian ; by im-
agining an evidence by justification, they de-
stroyed all evidence by effectual vocation and
sanctification. Their opinions were " mere fig
leaves to cover some distempers and lusts lurk-
ing in men's hearts;" and hence it was that
after they regarded themselves as once sealed,
and consequently in Christ, and had received
the witness, they never doubted, though they
fell into the foulest and most scandalous sins ;
and to renew their repentance, they spoke of is
a sign of great weakness.*

Absurd, licentious, and destructive as these

* N«w England's Linientaiiona for Old England's Errora, p. 4.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 195

opinions were, they spread among the people
with astonishing rapidity ; and wherever they
took root they produced the bitter fruits of
alienation, hatred, and slander. The converts
to the new opinions were, as Shepard justly
called them, " the scourges of the land, and the
most subtle enemies of the power of godliness."
By their clamor " the ancient and received truths
came to be darkened, God's name to be blas-
phemed, the churches glory diminished, many
godly persons grieved, many wretches harden-
ed, deceiving and being deceived, growing worse
and worse." They labored to destroy the repu-
tation of all those ministers who held the com-
monly received doctrines, stigmatizing them as
legal preachers who were under a covenant of
works, — who never knew Christ themselves, —
and who could not be the instruments of bringing
men into the light and liberty of the gospel.
They encouraged ignorant men and women to
become preachers, and applauded their minis-
trations as more effectual than that of any of the
*' black coats," — as they contemptuously styled
the regular ministers, — who had been at the
<' Ninneversity." They opposed the marching of
the troops that had been raised to assist the
people of Connecticut against the Pequods, upon

196 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

the ground that the officers and soldiers were
too much under a covenant of works.

In an incredibly short time, this fanatical
spirit divided not only the church of Boston, but
a large number of the churches of Massachusetts
and Plymouth. The people became disaffected
towards the ministers, and prejudiced against
all their public and private instruction. Many
who had been converted, apparently by the in-
strumentality of these ministers in England, —
who had followed them into this wilderness to
sit under their ministrations, — who had been,
like the Galatians, ready to pluck out their own
eyes, and give them to their pastors, — now for-
sook their parish churches, and greedily listened
to the ravings of insanity or ignorance. Some
of the leading men in the colony, among whom
were Vane, Coddington, and others, took sides
with these disturbers of the peace. Fami-
lies, as well as churches, were divided and
alienated. It became common, says Winthrop,
to distinguish men by being under a covenant of
grace or a covenant of works, as in other coun-
tries, between protestants and papists. The mis-
chief spread into all associations, civil as well
as religious, " insomuch that the greater part of
this new transported people stood still, many of

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 197

them gazing one upon another, like sheep let
loose to feed on fresh pasture, being stopped and
startled in their course by a kennel of devouring
wolves. The weaker sort wavered much, and
such as were grown Christians hardly durst dis-
cover the truth they held one unto another.
The fogs of error increasing, the bright beams
of the glorious gospel of our Lord Christ in the
mouth of his ministers, could not be discerned
through the thick mists by many; and that
sweet, refreshing warmth that was formerly felt
from the Spirit's influence, was now turned, in
these errorists, to a hot inflammation of their own
conceited revelations, ulcerating, and bringing
little less than frenzy or madness to the pa-
tient." ^

In the midst of all this excitement and con-
fusion, Mr. Shepard continued steadfast in the
faith ; and through his vigilance, faithfulness,
and discriminating ministry, the church of
Newtown was preserved from the least taint of
this heresy. He had been somewhat familiar
with the doctrines and spirit of the Antinomians
in his younger days in England, and he had
sufficient " light to see through these devices of

* Wonder-working Providence, p. 100.

17*

198 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

men's heads," which many of his brethren, able
as they were, wanted ; and though it was a sad
disappointment to him to be called so soon into
the heat of controversy, and " a most uncom-
fortable time to live in contention" with those
who professed to be disciples of Christ, yet it
was a duty he could not shun ; and he had the
satisfaction and the honor of being a principal
instrument in bringing this unhappy excitement
to an end.

One of the means by which he destroyed the
influence of the heretics in his own congrega-
tion, was the delivery of that admirable course of
Sermons upon the Parable of the Ten Virgins,
which, after his death, were published by his son
Thomas, assisted by his successor, Mr. Mitchel.
They were commenced in 1636, when the leaven
of Familism or Antinomianism was most pow-
erfully at work among the people, and finished
in 1640, when it was mostly purged away ; and
were designed to refute the impudent heresy of
that time, and establish the assaulted truth.
They constitute the largest, and, in some respects,
the most valuable of his works, and are emi-
nently adapted to expose all false religion, while
real Christians will find in them abundant in-
struction and encouragement. In the celebrated
•' Treatise on the Religious Afiections," Pres-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 199

ident Edwards makes a freer use of this book
than of any other. His whole work is pervaded
by its spirit, and he acknowledges, by nearly a
hundred quotations, his obligations to Mr. Shep-
ard for some of his profoundest thoughts. He
rendered another important service to the colony
during that stormy season, by his Election Ser-
mon.

By the help of the pious Johnson, we obtain
a glimpse of Mr. Shepard in the pulpit, as
well as of his mode of handling this knotty
subject. In the course of this " dismal year
of 1636," a pious man, who like many others,
had left his native land to enjoy the liberty of
the gospel here, arrived in New England, ex-
pecting to find the wilderness blossoming as the
rose under the labors of the able ministers who
had preceded him ; but, to his amazement, he
found the whole country in a state of confusion,
and was at once addressed in a new theological
language which was entirely unintelligible to
him. " Take here," says Johnson, in his rude,
quaint manner, referring to this man, " the sor-
rowful complaint of a poor soul in miss of its
expectation at landing, who being encountered
with some of these errorists at his first landing,
when he saw that good old way of Christ re-
jected by them, and he could not skill in that

200lIFE of THOMAS SHEPARD.

I

new light which was the common theme of
every man's discourse, he betook him to a nar-
row Indian path, in which his serious medita-
tions soon led him where none but senseless
trees and echoing rocks make answer to his
heart-easing moan. ' Oh,* quoth he, ' where am
I become ? Is this the place where those rever-
end preachers are fled, that Christ was pleased
to make use of to rouse up his rich graces in
many a drooping soul ? Here have I met with
some that tell me I must take a naked Christ.
Oh, woe is me ; if Christ be naked to me where-
with shall I be clothed ? But methinks I most
wonder they tell me of casting off all godly sor-
row for sin as unbeseeming a soul that is united
to Christ by faith. And there was a little
nimble-tongued woman among them, who said
she could bring me acquainted with one of her
own sex that would show me a way, if I could
attain it, even revelations, full of such ravishing
joy, that I should never have cause to be sorry
for sin, so long as I live, and, as for her part,
she had attained it already. ' A company of
legal professors,' quoth she, ' lie poring on the
law which Christ hath abolished, and when you
break it, then you break your joy, and now no
way will serve your turn but a deep sorrow.'
These, and divers other expressions, intimate

LIFE OF THOMAS S H E P A R D . 201

unto me that here I shall find little increase in
the graces of Christ, through the hearing of his
word preached, and other of his blessed ordi-
nances. O cunning devil, the Lord Christ
rebuke thee, that, under the pretence of a free
and ample gospel, shuts out the soul from par-
taking with the divine nature of Christ, in that
mystical union of his blessed Spirit, creating and
continuing his graces in the soul. My dear
Christ, it was thy work that moved me hither
to come, hoping to find thy powerful presence in
the preaching of the word, although adminis-
tered by sorry men, subject to like infirmities
with others of God's people ; and also by the
glass of the law, to have my sinful, corrupt na-
ture discovered daily more and more, and my
utter inability to any thing that is good, magni-
fying hereby the free grace of Christ, who of
his good will and pleasure worketh in us to will
and to do, working all our works in us, and for
us. But here they tell me of a naked Christ.
What is the whole life of a Christian, but
through the power of Christ, to die to sin and to
live to holiness and righteousness, and to that
end to be diligent in the use of means.'

" At the uttering of this word he starts up
from the green bed of his complaint, with reso-
lution to hear some one of these able ministers

202 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

preach, whom report had so highly valued, be-
fore his will should make choice of any one
principle. Then, turning his face to the sun, he
steered his course toward the next town ; and,
after some small travel, he came to a large plain.
No sooner was he entered thereon, but hearing
the sound of a drum, he was directed toward it
by a broad beaten way. Following this road, he
demands of the next man he met, what the sig-
nal of the drum meant. The reply was made,
they had as yet no bell to call men to meeting,
and therefore made use of a drum. ' Who is it,'
quoth he, ' lectures at this town?' The other
replies, ' I see you are a stranger, new come
over, seeing you know not the man : it is one
Mr. Shepard.' ' Verily', quoth the other, * you
have hit the right. I am new come over, in-
deed, and have been told since I came, that
most of your ministers are legal preachers;
only, if I mistake not, they told me this man
preached a finer covenant of works than the
others. But, however, I shall make what haste
I can to hear him. Fare you well.' Then
hastening thither, he crowdeth through the
thickest, where having stayed while the glass
was turned up twice, the man was metamor-
phosed ; and was fain to hang down the head
often, lest his watery eyes should blab abroad

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 203

the secret conjunction of his affections, his heart
crying loud to his Lord's echoing answer, to his
blessed Spirit, that caused the speech of a poor,
weak, pale-complexioned man, to take such im-
pression in his soul at present, by applying the
word so aptly, as if he had been his privy coun-
cillor ; clearing Christ's work of grace in the
soul from all those false doctrines which the
erroneous party had affrighted him withal ; and
he resolves, — the Lord willing, — to live and die
with the ministers of New England, whom he
now saw the Lord had not only made zealous
to stand for the truth of his discipline, but also
for the doctrine, and not to give ground one
inch."=^

The Antinomian excitement reached its great-
est height towards the close of the year 1636,
and the beginning of 1637. Though defeated
at the annual election in their attempt to con-
tinue Vane, — the head oi their party, — in the
office of Governor, the Antinomians were pow-
erful enough to menace the safety of the State
as well as of the churches. They were every
where bold, impudent, and restless. When
they were complained of in the civil courts for
misdemeanors, or summoned before the church

* Wonder-working Providence, pp. 100, 104.

204 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

for question or censure, they had many respect-
able and influential persons to defend them,
and to protest against any sentence, civil or ec-
clesiastical, which might be passed against
them; and when they were condemned, there
were enough to raise a mutiny against the gov-
ernment on their behalf. Great efforts were
made, both by magistrates and ministers, to heal
this plague in the church. Innumerable ser-
mons were preached against the erroneous doc-
trines. Conferences were held with the leaders
of the fanatics, sometimes privately before the
elders, sometimes publicly before the whole con-
gregation, where they had liberty to say all that
could be said in defence^of their sentiments, and
were heard with great patience. Every thing
which individual influence could do, was done
to root out these pestilent opinions, and to re-
store peace to the distracted colony.

At length, when all hope of removing this
evil by the usual means was given up, the Gen-
eral Court, in consultation with the ministers,
determined to call a synod of all the churches in
New England, for the purpose of settling this
controversy, agreeably to the example of the
primitive church, referred to in the Acts of the
Apostles. Three things were judged expedient
as a necessary preparation for this great meas-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 205

ure. A general fast to seek the Divine Pres-
ence with the synod ; — a collection of all the
erroneous opinions, amounting to above eighty,
which it might be necessary to discuss ; — and a
friendly conference with Mr. Cotton, respecting
any expressions of his which might have seemed
to give countenance to the errors that were
troubling the country.

These preparatory steps having been taken,
the proposed synod was convened at Newtown,
August 30th, 1637. That Mr. Shepard was a
prominent agent in procuring this synod, and a
very influential member of it, is evident from
many circumstances, particularly from the fact
that Mr. Hooker, in April preceding, addressed
to him a letter dissuading him from using his
influence in its behalf. " Your general synod,"
says Mr. Hooker, "I cannot yet see either how
reasonable or how salutary it will be for your
turn, for the settling and establishing the truth
in that honorable way as were to be desired.
My ground is this : they will be chief agents
in the synod who are chief parties in the cause,
and for them only, who are prejudiced in the
controversy, to pass sentence against cause or
person, — how improper ! How unprofitable !
My present thoughts ran thus : That such con-
clusions which are most extra, most erroneous,

VOL. IV. 18

206 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

and cross to the common current, send them
over to the godly learned to judge in our own
country, and return their apprehensions. I sup-
pose the issue will be more uncontrollable. If any
should suggest this was the way to make the
clamor too great and loud, and to bring a preju-
dice upon the Plantations, I should soon answer,
there is nothing done in corners here but it is
openly there related; and in such notorious
cases, which cannot be kept secret, the most
plain and naked relation ever causeth the truth
most to appear, and prevents all groundless and
needless jealousies, whereby men are apt to
make things more and worse than they are."*
We have no letter of Mr. Shepard in reply to
this : but it cannot be doubted that he did answer
these arguments against the propriety of deter-
mining the disputed points by a synod, and it
was his answer, probably, that changed Mr.
Hooker's thoughts in relation to this matter.
However that may be, it is certain that the Con-
necticut pastor afterwards took a different view
of the subject, and judged it expedient to attend
the s]mod, and to take a leading part in all its
proceedings.

The synod, consisting of all the ministers and

* HutchiDson'* Hist. Maw. roL 1.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 207

messengers of the New England churches,
together with a few who had recently arrived
but were yet unsettled, was organized by the
choice of Mr. Hooker, and Mr. Buckley, joint
moderators. The first session was opened by
Mr. Shepard with one of his " heavenly
prayers." After the organization of the synod,
the erroneous opinions which had been spread
through the country, some of them, as Cotton
declared, blasphemous, some incongruous, and
all unsafe, together with the texts of Scripture
"which had been perverted in support of them,
and certain "unsavoury speeches," that had
been used in the heat of dispute, were read and
fully discussed, — and finally unanimously con-
demned. The synod continued in session about
a month, and all the Antinomians, who desired
it, had liberty to be present, and freedom of
speech, restrained only by the laws of order and
decency. There was, says Shepard, " a most
wonderful presence of Christ's spirit in that as-
sembly," and the general result of its delibera-
tions was, that through the grace and power of
Christ, the pernicious errors which had well
nigh brought the church to desolation, " were
discovered, — the defenders of them convinced
and ashamed, — the truth established, — and the
consciences of the saints settled." The pub-

208 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

lie condemnation of these errors, and the testi-
mony of the synod against them, were subscribed
by nearly all the ministers and messengers pres-
ent; but some, among whom was Mr. Cotton,
while they reprobated the leading doctrines of
the Antinomians, and all the monstrous inferen-
ces from them, as sincerely and as deeply as
any members of the synod, declined subscribing
the Result, because subscription was a word of
ill omen among the Puritans. The doings of
the synod, sustained by the zealous cooperation
of the ministers and the uninfected portion of
the churches, finally resulted in the restoration
of sound doctrine and of good order among the
people. All the churches accepted the result,
and generally with entire unanimity, with the
exception of the church in Boston. Mr. Wheel-
right and Mrs. Hutchinson, the leaders of the
Antinomian party, together with a few of their
followers, after civil and ecclesiastical process,
were excommunicated, banished, or at least
forced from the colony, (Mr. Vane having pre-
viously returned to England), not for their errors
of opinion alone, but on account of the disorgan-
izing and destructive influence which the public
maintenance of those errors exerted upon the
peace and welfare of the community. Many of
the ignorant and enthusiastic people, who had

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 209

been misled by the appearance of eminent piety in
their new guides, — when those who had seduced
them into error were gone, — returned penitently
to the churches and the ministry which they
had abandoned, and were received by their
brethren into renewed fellowship, with joy and
gratitude to God for his healing mercy ; and
Mr. Wheelwright himself, after seven years of
banishment, publicly confessed and renounced
his errors, and was restored to his former stand-
ing in church and state which he enjoyed for
nearly forty years, with the reputation of a
humble and worthy minister of Christ, Thus
terminated the first great temptation of our fa-
thers in the wilderness ; an event, which
through the ignorance of some, and the perverse
spirit of others, has been frequently spoken of to
the reproach, not of the guilty tempters, but of
those wise and holy men, who by the word of
God and prayer affectually resisted the evil, and
preserved the churches from one of the worst
and most destructive forms of errors. " And so
the Lord," says Shepard, " within one year,
wrought a great change among us, having deliv-
ered the country from war with the Indians and
Familists, who rose and fell together."

18*

210 LIFE OF THOMAS SUEPARD,

CHAPTER IX.

Mr. Shopard's vigilance with respect lo iho manner of organizing
churches. Gatheringof the church at Dorchester. Letter to Rich-
ard Mather. Interest in education. Commencement of Harvard
College. Why the college was placed at Newtown. Diflicully with
Mr. Eaton. Marries Joatina Hiioker. Death of Mr. Harlukenden.
Mr. Shepard's work interrupted by sickness. Letter of Mr. Bulk-
ley. How employed at this time.

While Mr. Shepard was thus watchful over the
interests of his own flock, and zealous in the
public vindication of the true doctrines of grace
against the abominable errors of the Antinomi-
ans, his advice and assistance were often sought
in the organization of new churches in the colo-
ny ; and in such cases, as a wise master builder,
he was careful to see that the materials with
which he built were of the right kind, and that
they were securely placed upon the " foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ him-
self being the chief corner-stone." One instance
will serve as a specimen of his wisdom and
fidelity in this respect. In the early part of this
" dismal year " of 1636, while a multitude of
" chaffy hypocrites," and ignorant fanatics were

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 211

thronging into the country, and many of the
churches were suffering under the deadly influ-
ence of unsound members, he was called to at-
tend a council for the organization of the second
church in Dorchester, a great part, if not the
whole of the first, having removed to Connecti-
cut.

The confession of faith, laid before the coun-
cil by Mr. Mather, was found to be orthodox and
satisfactory ; but when the persons, who were
to constitute the church, came to relate their ex-
perience, the elders refused to organize them, on
the ground that they were " not meet, at pres-
ent, to be the foundation of a church." Many
of them built their hope upon " dreams and
ravishes of the spirit by fits ;" or upon mere
" external reformation ;" or "upon their duties
and performances ;" wherein they discovered
" three special errors : 1, That they had not came
to hate sin because it was filthy, but only left it
because it was hurtful. 2, That they had never
truly closed with Christ, or rather Christ with
them, but had made use of him only to help the
imperfection of their sanctification and duties,
and had not made him their wisdom, righteous-
ness, sanctification and redemption. 3, That
they expected to believe by some power of their

212 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAHD.

own, and not only and wholly from Christ."*
Mr. Shepard, whose experience of God's work
of grace in the heart, was widely different from
this, deeming their evidences unscriptural and
delusive, successfully opposed their organization
into a church at that time. After his return
home he wrote the following letter to Mr. Ma-
ther, vindicating the course which he pursued
at the council, and exhibiting his views respect-
ing the materials of which churches should be
formed. It is a letter which is not without deep
significance and interest at the present day,
when the same errors of experience are common,
and many churches have a far greater propor-
tion of wood, hay, and stubble, than of gold and
precious stones, in their composition.

" Dear Brother, —

As it was a sad thing to us to defer the
uniting of your people together, so it would add
affliction to my sorrow, if that yourself, (whom
the Lord hath abundantly qualified and fitted for
himself) and church, and people, should take to
heart too much so solemn a demur and stop to
the proceedings of those that were to be united
to you. For what would this be but a privy

* Wiathrop'fl Journal, I. 184.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 213

quarreling with the wise providence of our God,
who knows what physic is best to be given, and
a grieving indeed for that good hand of God, in
which we ought abundantly to rejoice : for I am
confident of it that there is nothing in this cup
so bitter, but by waiting awhile, yourself and
people will find such sweetness in the bottom and
conclusion of it, as shall make you and them a
double amends.

" David had a great desire to build the tem-
ple, and he was content with the sad message
of the prophet, he must not do it, his son should.
It was quite honor enough unto him to provide
stuflT for it. I persuade myself the Lord intends
to do more for you, and by you, in the place
where the Lord hath set you, and that he will
honor you with a more glorious service than
that of Solomon ; to build him a temple, not of
stones, but of saints elect and precious. Yet
you know how many years Solomon waited be-
fore the temple came to be erected.

"All the stones of it were hewn and ham-
mered out in Mount Lebanon, so that no axe or
hammer was heard knocking while the temple
was a building. 1 Kings 6:7. O let not a lit-
tle waiting be sad or grievous to you, while
your people are preparing themselves, or the
Lord, rather, is preparing them, to be built on

214 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

the foundation-stone ; that when you meet again
together, there may not be any hammer heard,
any doubt made, any pause occasioned, by any
neglect of them in not seeking to gather their
evidences better, both to quiet their own souls
before the Lord, and to satisfy the consciences
of other men.

"As for myself, I was very loth to speak, but
I thought, — and I have found it since, — that 1
should neither be accounted faithful to the
church that sent me, neither should I manifest
the tenderness of the good of your people, if I
had not spoken what I did. I did confess, and
do confess still, that although there were divers
weaknesses in most, which I did and do willing-
ly with a spirit of love, cover and pass by, as
knowing what I am myself, yet there were three
of them, chiefly, that I was not satisfied scarce
in any measure with their profession of faith.
Not but that I do believe upon your own trial of
them, — which I persuade myself will not be
slighty in laying a foundation, — but that they
might have grace, yet because we came not here
to find gracious hearts, but to see them too.
'Ti3 not faith, but a visible faith, that must
make a visible church, and be the foundation of
visible communion ; which faith I say, be-
cause my weakness could not see in some of

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 215

them by their profession, I therefore spake
what I did with respect to yourself and tender-
ness also to them, that so they might either
express themselves more fully for satisfaction of
the churches, — which I did chiefly desire, —
or if there were not time for this, that they might
defer till another time, which you see was the
general vote of all the churches. Which course,
I have thought, and do think, hath this three-
fold good wrapt up in it.

" 1. That if your people, then doubtful to us,
be indeed sincere, this might make them more
humble, and make them search themselves more
narrow^ly, and make them cast away all their
blurred evidences, and get fairer and show bet-
ter, and so find more peace, and keep more close
to God than ever before. And on the contrary,
if they be unsound, that this might be a means
to discover them ; for either you will find them
proud, passionate, and discontented at this, —
which I believe is far from all of them, — or else
you will see that this doth little good, and works
little upon them ; which unto my own self
would be a shrewd evidence of little or no grace,
if the majesty and presence of God in so many
churches so ready to receive you, should work
no more awe nor sad laying to heart such a sen-
tence as this hath been. For believe it, brother.

216 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

we have been generally mistaken in most men
and in great professors ; these times have late-
ly shown, and this place hath discovered more
false hearts than ever we saw before. And it
will be your comfort to be very wary and very
sharp in looking to the hearts and spirits of
those you sign yourself unto, especially at first,
lest you meet with those sad breaches which
other churches have had, and all by want of
care and skill to pick forth fit stones for so glori-
ous a foundation as posterity to come may build
upon and bless the Lord.

" 2. By this means others will not be too for-
ward to set upon this work, who, after sad
trial, will be found utterly unfit for it. For it is
not a work for all professors, nor for all godly
men, to lay a foundation for a church, for many
godly men may have some odd distempers that
may make for the ruin of the building, therefore
not fit for a foundation ; many godly men are
weak, and simple, and unable to discern, and so
may easily receive in such as may afterward
ruin them, hence unfit to lay a foundation. Not
that I judge thus of your people. I dare not
think so ; but if those that be fit, have been thus
stopped in their way, how will this make others
to tremble and fear in attempting this work, less
able than yourselves.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 217

" 3. By this means, I believe and hope, that
the communion of saints will be set at a higher
price, when it is seen that it is not an honor
that the Lord will always put on nor bestow and
give away unto his own people. I do therefore
entreat you in the Lord, that you would not
hang down your head, but rejoice at this good
providence of the Lord, which will abound so
much to his praise and your future peace.
Neither let it discourage you, nor any of your
brethren, to go on in the work for after times ;
but having looked over their own evidences a
little better, and humbled their souls for this,
and thirsting the more after the Lord in his
temple and ordinances, while with David they
are deprived for a season of them ; that hereaf-
ter you would come forth again, (it may be
some of your virgins have been sleeping, and
this may awaken them,) with your lamps
trimmed, your lamps burning, your wedding
garments on to meet the bridegroom. And if
others will fall and sleep again, and not get their
oil when they have had this warning, what do
they do but discover themselves to be but foolish
ones, who, though they knock hereafter, and
cry Lord, Lord, it may be Christ nor his spouse
will ever let them in.

" Thus with my unfeigned love to all your

VOL. IV. 19

218 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

brethren, whom I honor and tender in the Lord,
with my poor prayers for you and them that in
his time he would unite and bring you together,
I rest, in great haste.

Your brother in Christ,

Thomas Shepard.*"
From Newtown, (Cambridge)
April 2, 1636."

The answer of Mr. Mather to this faithful and
truly apostolical letter, was worthy of a Puritan
and a Christian. Instead of that self-sufficient
and insubordinate spirit with which adverse de-
cisions of councils are now frequently met by
ministers and churches, Mr. Mather acknowl-
edges the justness of the rebuke, — cordially
submits to the authority of the council, — and
expresses the deepest gratitude for the faithful-
ness of his brethren. "As for what you spake
that day," he says to Mr. Shepard, " I bless the
Lord for it. I am so far from any hard thoughts
towards you for the same, that you have by
your free and faithful dealing that day, endeared
yourself in my esteem more than ever, though
you were always much honored and very dear
to me. And blessed be the name of the Lord
for ever that put it into your hearts and mouths,
all of you, to express yourselves as you did ; for

♦ Transcribed from the Original MSS. in Vhe Mass. Hi»t. Soc., by
R«v. N. Adams.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 219

we now see our unworthiness of such a privi-
lege as church communion is, and our unfitness
for such a work as to enter into covenant with

Himself, and to be accepted of his people

If the counterfeiting Gibeonites were made hew-
ers of wood and drawers of water, because they
beguiled Israel to enter into league and covenant
with them, when they were not the men that
they seemed to be, it is as much as we are wor-
thy of, that we may be hewers of wood, &c., for
the churches here, because we attempted a
league and covenant with the churches, and
were not worthy of such a matter, nor meet to be
covenanted with, though, — blessed be the Lord
for it, — the heads of the congregation of the
Lord's Israel here, were not so hasty and rash
and credulous as they were in the days of Joshua.

But you will say. Why, then, did you

present yourself with the people before the Lord
and the churches ? I will tell you the truth
therein. They pressed me into it with much
importunity, and so did others also, till I was
ashamed to deny any longer, and laid it on me
as a thing to which I was bound in conscience
to assent to ; because if I yielded not to join,
there would be, — said they, — no church at all in
this place, and so a tribe, as it were, should per-
ish out of Israel, and all through my default.

220 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

This kind of arguing, meeting that inward vain-
glory, which I spake of before, was it that drew
me forward, and prevailed against the conscious-
ness of my own insufficiency, and against that
timorousness that I sometimes found* in my-
self. ... It was pride that induced me to yield to
their importunity, because I was desirous to have
the praise and glory of being tractable and easy
when entreated, and not to be noted for a stub-
born and of a stilfT spirit But why, then,

did we bring stones so unhammered and un-
hfewn, — evidences of faith no fairer, &c.? In
this, sir, you lay your finger upon our sore di-
rectly ; neither can we here put in any other
plea but guilty. The good Lord pardon, saith
Hezekiah, every one that prepareth his heart to
seek God, though he be not cleansed according
to the purification of the sanctuary. Let us beg
the help of your prayers for pardon herein, as
Hezekiah did pardon for that people, and for
more grace and care that if we ever come forth
again for the same purpose, — which, for my
part, I am much afraid to do, — we may not come
to the dishonor of God, and grief of his saints,
as at the last time we did. The Lord render
you a rich and plentiful reward for your love and
faithfulness."

" T* my dear friend and loving brother, Mr. Thomas Sbepard, at
Newtown."

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 221

Nothing can be more beautiful than the tem-
per exhibited in these letters. We hardly know
which to admire most, the Christian faithfulness
and love of the pastor of Cambridge, or the
meekness, humility, and thankfulness for re-
proof, expressed by the pious minister of Dor-
chester. "Let the righteous smite me;" says
the Psalmist, " it shall be a kindness ; and le*
him reprove me ; it shall be an excellent oil
which shall not break my head ; for yet ■ my
prayer also shall be in their calamities." Mr.
Shepard, upon receiving Mr. Mather's reply,
must have felt as Paul did when he witnessed
the effect of his Epistle upon the Corinthians.
" Though I make you sorry with a letter, I do
not repent, though I did repent ; for I perceive
that the same epistle hath made you sorry,
though it were but for a season. . . . For ye
were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye
might receive damage by us in nothing." It is
necessary only to add, that the people of Dor-
chester, humbled and instructed by the opinion
and faithful dealing of the council, " came forth
again," in the month of August following, for
the purpose of being organized into a church,
not now " to the dishonor of God," or "to the
grief of his saints," but with the approbation and
sanction of their scrupulous brethren, and to the

222 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

glory of the Redeemer. Mf. Mather was im-
mediately ordained pastor of the church, and
continued to preside over it with distinguished
ability and success, until his death in 1669, in
the seventy-third year of his age.

But Mr. Shepard did not confine his care and
labors to the churches. Among the institutions
which he regarded as of preeminent importance,
and which it was his earnest desire to see estab-
lished in the colony, was a College to be, as he
expresses it, " a nursery of knowledge in these
deserts, and a supply for posterity." The great
object of our Fathers in coming to this country,
was not merely to escape fines and imprison-
ment for non-conformity. They wished, it is true,
for liberty to worship God according to the dictates
of their own consciences, and they shrunk with
a natural dread from the severe penalties of
laws which they could not obey without sin ;
but they had a nobler object than personal safety.
They had conceived the idea of a Christian
commonwealth, widely different in its form and
principles, from any that then existed in the
world, and this idea they began to realise as
soon as they set foot upon these shores. Be-
sides, therefore, the instruction which their chil-
dren received at the fireside, and in the primary
schoob, they wanted an institution for the edu-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 223

cation and training of young men for the learned
professions, and especially for the Christian min-
istry, without which all their labor and sacrifices
would be in vain. The important stations occu-
pied by the able and learned founders of the
church and state, would soon be vacant; and
even if a sufficient number of scholars could be
procured from the parent country to fill them,
yet those who were educated abroad, under an
entirely different religious and political constitu-
tion, could not be so thoroughly acquainted with
the grounds of the civil and religious institutions,
nor so much attached to the interests of the
colony, as children who were born and educated
here. As soon, therefore, says one of the early
settlers, as " God had carried us safely to New
England, and we had builded our houses, pro-
vided necessaries for our own livelihood, reared
convenient places for God's worship, and settled
the civil government, one of the next things we
longed for and looked after, was to advance
learning and to perpetuate it to posterity ; dread-
ing to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches,
when our present ministers shall lie in the
dust."=^

The plan of founding a College in Massachu-

* New England's First Fruits, p. 12,

Lift Of ^rfdtfir %tfJlPAED.

setts, was brought before the General Court at
its session at Newtown in September, 1636. It
was then resolved that such an institution should
be immediately commenced, and the sum of four
hundred pounds was immediately appropriated
as the beginning of a fund for its endowment; —
a grant, which, inadequate as it confessedly was,
yet considering the poverty of the colony, and the
distractions produced by the " war with the In-
dians and the Familists " which was then rag-
ing, must be regarded as very liberal.

The place selected for the college was New-
town, which, in honor of the University where
most of the early New England Fathers were
educated, was thenceforth called Cambridge. For
this choice of Newtown as the seat of the new
University, there were two weighty reasons.
One was, that through the influence of Mr.
Shepard, under God, the congregation in this
place had been preserved from the contagion of
Antinomianism, which was then threatening the
utter dissolution of the Boston church, and had
begun to contaminate many other churches in
the colony. The other is thus staled by John-
son ; " To make the whole world understand
that spiritual learning was the thing they chiefly
desired, to sanctify the other, and make the
whole lump holy, and that learning, being set

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 225

upon its right object, might not contend for error
instead of truth, they chose this place, being
then under the orthodox, and soul-flourishing
ministry of Mr. Thomas Shepard ; of whom it
may be said, without any wrong to others, the
Lord by his ministry hath saved many a hun-
dred souls. "^

The fund created by the grant of the General
Court, was in 1639 enlarged by the donation of
between seven and eight hundred pounds from
John Harvard of Charlestown, — being half of his
estate, — together with the whole of his library of
two hundred and sixty volumes ; and in honor of
him, as the chief benefactor, the institution was
named Harvard College. t Nathaniel Eaton,
brother of Theophilus Eaton of New Haven, was
the first instructor in this infant seminary. He was
intrusted with the management of the funds, as
well as with the instruction of the students. The
funds he squandered, and towards his pupils he
manifested a disposition at once cruel and mean.
For his abusive treatment of his usher, Mr.
Briscoe, and for some other sins as great,
though not so notorious, he was dismissed from
office, — fined twenty pounds for the satisfaction
of Briscoe, — excommunicated by the church of

* Wonder- Working Providence, IG-l.
t Winthrop'g Journal, 11.81, 342.

226 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Cambridge, — and finally compelled to leave the
colony.* In this unhappy and disgraceful af-
fair, Mr. Shepard, at first, innocently enough
took the wrong side. Eaton professed, " emi-
nently, yet falsely and most deceitfully " to be a
Christian ; and the good pastor of Cambridge,
who knew no guile, was for a long time igno-
rant of his great wickedness. On one occasion
he beat poor Briscoe with " a walnut-tree plant,
big enough to have killed a horse," until the
whole neighborhood was alarmed by the cry of
murder. Mr. Shepard rushing into the house
at the outcry, and seeing Briscoe with his knife
in his hand, took it for granted that the usher,
and not the master, was to blame, and immedi-
ately complained of him to the Governor, " for
his insolent speeches, and for crying out mur-
der, and drawing his knife ; demanding that he
should be required to make a public acknowl-
edgment of his violence. And when Eaton,
after much labor with him in private, had re-
luctantly confessed his guilt, Mr. Shepard and
several of the elders, " came into court, and de-
clared how, the evening before, they had taken
pains with him to convince him of his faults," —
that he had " freely and fully acknowledged
his sin," — that they " hoped he had truly re-

* Winlhrop'i Journal, I. 308.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 227

pented,'' — and therefore *' desired of the Court
that he might be pardoned and continued in his
employment ; alleging such further reasons as
they thought fit."* But Mr. Shepard was not
long deceived in respect to Eaton's real charac-
ter. He soon saw things in their true light, and
cordially assented to the sentence by which the
hypocrite was expelled from office, and cut off
from the fellowship of the church ; mourning
deeply over this great scandal to the cause of
truth, and especially lamenting his own " igno-
rance, and want of wisdom, and watchfulness "
in relation to the guilty man. Eaton fled
from the colony; and afterwards sent for his
wife and children to come to him in Virgin-
ia. Her friends in Cambridge urged her to
delay the voyage for awhile, but she resolved
to go, and the vessel in wliich she sailed was
never heard of afterwards.! This disaster
deeply affected Mr. Shepard; and though he
was in no sense chargeable with the sad fate
x)f this unhappy family, he called himself to
account as if he were in some measure guilty
of their blood. In his diary, under date of
June 3, 1640, he says ; " When tidings came
to me of the casting away of Mrs. Eaton I did

* Winlhrop'8 Journal, I. 311.
t Winlhrop'3 Journal, II. 22.

228l1FE of THOMAS SHEPARD.

learn this lesson ; whenever any affliction came,
not to rub up my former, old, true humiliation,
but to be more humbled ; for I saw I was very
apt to do the first. And I blessed God for the
light of this truth."

Mr. Shepard's first wife, who had shared
with him the dangers of persecution in Eng-
land, and the hardships of his flight to the asy-
lum which had been providentially prepared for
him in this country , died, as has been already
stated, in February, 1636 ; and his son Thomas,
then about ten months old, was placed under the
care of a Mrs. Hopkins, who was probably one
of the company that came over with them. For
a season, therefore, while he was engaged in
these public labors, amidst the distracting con-
troversies, and other evils which, as a leading
man in the colony he could not avoid, his
own house was left unto him desolate ; and he
was obliged to encounter afflictions abroad, with-
out those comforts of home to which he had
been accustomed in his former trials, and which
his usually feeble health rendered necessary.

It was natural, therefore, that he should think
of another connection, and endeavor to rekindle
the fire upon his own hearth. " A prudent wife,
the sacred writer tells us, " is from the Lord;" and
Mr. Shephard soon obtained this great blessing.

LIFE OF THOMAS 8HEPARD. 229

In the month of October, 1637, he married
Joanna, the eldest daughter of his early friend
and counselor, Mr. Hooker, with whom he
had been long acquainted, and whose extraor-
dinary fitness for the station she was required to
fill, he fully understood. This connection proved
to be eminently suitable ; and all the expecta-
tions which he and his friends had formed
respecting her as a wife, as a mother, and as a
helper in the great work which was at that time
tasking and exhausting his energies, were much
more than realized.

The year after his marriage, he suffered a
great loss in the death of his early and devoted
friend, Roger Harlakenden. The family of
Harlakenden, as the reader will remember, had
been the protectors and supporters of Mr. Shep-
ard, when, in England, he was hunted from
place to place by the pursuivants, and obliged to
hide himself from the wrath of the bishops.
The two brothers, Richard and Roger, having
been converted under his preaching, were ever
among his warmest friends ; and Roger, unwill-
ing to be separated from the powerful and
" soul-flourishing ministry" which had been so
highly blessed to his soul, came and settled v/ith
his pastor in Cambridge. Mr. Shepard calls
him a " most dear friend, and precious servant

VOL. IV. 20

230lIFE of THOMAS SHEPARD.

of Jesus Christ." He was of such reputation
in the colony that he was three times chosen
assistant ; and his influence must have been of
the greatest service to the church and its minis-
ter. He died of small pox, November 17, 1638,
being only twenty-seven years of age. " He
was," says Winthrop, " a very godly man, and of
good use both in the Commonweahh and in the
church. He was buried with military honors,
because he was lieutenant colonel. He left be-
hind a virtuous gentlewoman and two daughters.
He died in great peace, and left a sweet memo-
rial behind him of his piety and virtue." *

Soon after the death of Mr. Harlakenden, Mr.
Shepard himself was brought to the borders of
the grave by a disease, which was probably
brought on by over exertion, hardship, and grief.
The manner in which he himself speaks of it
leads us to this conclusion. " I fell sick," he
says, " after Mr. Harlakenden's death, my most
dear friend, and most precious servant of Jesus
Christ ; and when I was very low, and my
blood much corrupted, the Lord revived me ;
and after that took pleasure in me, to bless my
labors, so that I was not altogether useless nor
fruitless." That his sickness, whatever might

♦ Winihrop's Journal, I, 2~«.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 231

have been its nature, was so severe as to bring
death very near, apparently, not only to his own,
mind, but also to awaken painful apprehensions
in the public mind respecting his danger is evi-
dent from a letter addressed to him by Mn
Bulkley, one of the moderators of the late Synod,
soon after his recovery.

Dear Sir:

I hear the Lord hath so far strength-
ened you, as that you were the last Lord's day
at the Assembly, The Lord go on with the
^ work of his goodness towards you. Being that
now the Lord hath enabled you thus far, I de-
sire a word or two from you, what you judge
concerning the Teachers in a congregation,
whether the administration of discipline and
sacraments do equally belong unto them w^ith
the Pastor ; and whether he ought therein
equally to interest himself. I would also desire
you to add a word more concerning this, —
viz ; what you mean by the execution of disci-
pline, when you distinguish it from the power.
We have had speech sometimes concerning the
church's power in matters of discipline, wherein
you seemed to put the power itself into the
hands of the church, but to reserve the execution
to the Eldership. I would see what you com-

232lIFE of THOMAS SHEFASD.

prehend under the word execution. I would
gladly hear how the common affairs of the
church stand with you. I am here shut up, and
do neither see nor hear. Write me what you
know. Let me also know how Mr. Phillips
doth incline, whether towards you, or other-
wise ; and what way Mr. Rogers is like to turn,
whether to stay in these parts, or to go unto
Connecticut. I wrote to you not long ago ad-
vising you to consider quid valent huvieri ; 1
know not whether you answered that letter.
The Lord in mercy bless all your labors to his
church's good. Remember my love to Mrs.
Shepard, with Mrs. Harlakenden.
Grace be with you all.

Yours in Christ Jesus.
P. BULKLEY. *
Feb. 12, 1638.

From this letter, it is evident, not only that
Mr. Shepard's illness had been such as to inter-
rupt his public labors, and excite some degree of
alarm among his friends ; but also, incidentally,
that his labors in the pulpit, and with the pen,
were so great as perhaps to retard his complete
recovery, and to render necessary some fraternal

* Hutchinaon's MSS. Papers, Vol. I., in Mbm. Hist. Soc. Library.

LIFE OF THOMAS S H E P A R D . 233

advice that he should spare himself a little.
" I wrote you not long ago, — advising you to
consider, quid valent humeri" — what your
shoulders are able to bear ; a caution which he
seems not to have laid to heart, for he continued
to labor beyond his strength, and to take upon
his shoulders a weight which they were not able
to sustain. His laborious preparation for preach-
ing, and his public labors for the good of the
churches and the prosperity of the common-
wealth, were probably the burden which Mr.
Bulkley feared he would not be able to bear.

As to those points of ecclesiastical order upon
which Mr. Bulkley asks for information, no
reply from Mr. Shepard has been preserved;
but his opinions in relation to them are fully ex-
pressed in his published works. What they
were will be seen when we come to speak of the
services which Mr. Shepard rendered in settling
the principles upon which the early congrega-
tional churches were organized.

20*

234 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD

CHAPTER X.

Mr. Staepard on the point of reraoying to Matabeseck. Cause of his
embarraBsments. Letter from Mr. Hooker. State of Mr. Shep-
ard'a mind during this season. ExtractsJrom his Diary. Diffi-
culty removed. Birth of children. Samuel Shepard. Letters
from Mr. Hooker.

In the year 1640, Mr. Shepard, in addition to
his other afflictions, was plunged into almost
inextricable embarrassment with respect to his
affairs, which had well nigh compelled him
to remove to some other plantation, or to
return to England. This embarrassment was
occasioned by the depressed state of the col-
onists with respect to the means of meeting
their pecuniary obligations. The influx of
settlers had ceased in consequence of the
change of affairs in England ; and this sud-
den check to immigration had an immediate
effect upon the price of cattle, &c. While
the inhabitants continued to multiply, a far-
mer, who could spare but one cow in a year
out of his stock, used to clothe his family with
the price of it at the expense of the new comers ;

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 235

when this failed, they were put to great difficul-
ties. * Some of the colonists, in the prospect of
a thorough reformation in England, began to
think of returning to their native land. " Others,
despairing of any more supply from thence, and
yet not knowing how to live there, if they should
return, bent their minds wholly to removal to
the south parts, supposing they should find better
means of subsistence there, and for this end put
off their estates here at very low rates. These
things, together with the scarcity of money,
caused a sudden and very great abatement of the
prices of all our commodities. Corn was sold ordi-
narily at three shillings the bushel, a good cow at
seven or eight pounds, and some at five, and other
things answerable, whereby it came to pass that
men could not pay their debts, for no money nor
beaver were to be had ; and he who last year,
or but three months before, was worth £1,000,
could not now, if he should sell his whole es-
tate, raise £200, whereby God " taught us the
vanity of all outward things !" . . . " The scarcity
of money made a great change in all commerce.
Merchants would sell no wares but for ready
money. Men could not pay their debts, though
they had enough. Prices of cattle fell soon to

* Hutchinson, Hist. Mass., I, 92.

236 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

the one-half and less, yea to a third, and after, to
one fourth part." * For the relief of the people,
at this season of unexpected trial, the court, in
October, 1640, ordered that, for all new debts,
corn should be a legal tender ; Indian corn to be
received at 4s., summer wheat at 6s., rye and
barley at 5s., and pease at 6s. per bushel ; and
that upon all executions for old debts, the officer
should take land, houses, corn, cattle, fish, or
other commodities, and deliver the same in full
satisfaction to the creditor at such prices as
should be fixed by three intelligent and indiffer-
ent men, to be chosen, one by the creditor,
another by the debtor, and the third by the mar-
shal; the creditor being at liberty to make
choice of any goods in the possession of the
debtor, and if there were not sufficient goods to
discharge the debt, then he might take house or
land, t

What the exact amount of Mr. Shepard's
nominal salary was at this time, is not known ;
but from the report of a committee, appointed a
few years later to make inquiries in relation to
the maintenance of ministers in the vicinity of
Cambridge, a tolerably accurate idea may be

* Wlnthrop'8 Journal 11. 21, 18.

t Wiothrop'* Journal, IL 7. Fell'* MMsacbiuwlU' Cumuty,
p. 23.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED. 237

formed as to his means of subsistence. Mr.
Hobart of Hingham, received ninety pounds a
year, one-third in wheat, one-third in corn, and
the remainder in peas. Mr. Mather of Dor-
chester, received one hundred pounds, payable
in corn, and in work as he might have occasion
for it. Mr. Eliot and Mr. Danforth of Rox-
bury, sixty pounds each, in corn. Mr. Allen
of Dedham, sixty pounds, in corn and work.
Mr. Flint and Mr. Thompson, of Braintree,
fifty-five pounds, each, in corn. Mr. Wilson
of Medfield, sixty pounds, in corn. Mr. Shep-
ard's salary was not, probably, greater than that
of his friends in the neighboring towns', nor paid
in a different manner. And when the scarcity
of money became so great that the corn, in which
his salary was paid, could neither be sold for
cash, — nor exchanged at the merchant's for the
various other necessaries of life, nor, (until the
order of court above referred to,) made a legal
tender for any debt, his situation, as well as
that of all the ministers in the colony, who
had no means of subsistence, except their
stipulated amount of corn, must have been
well nigh desperate. And if, in addition to the
unavoidable pressure which had come upon him,
any of the people, — before the price of corn as
part of the circulating medium had been fixed

238 L I F E OF THOMAS SHEFABO.

by the court, — unfairly charged their minister the
price which this commodity bore the year before,
when it had suddenly fallen to one-third, or to
one quarter of its former value, and, as Winthrop
says, "would buy nothing," the evil would, of
course, be greatly aggravated. Reduced to great
extremity, with respect to his maintenance, Mr.
Shepard contemplated a removal to Matabeseck,
a settlement upon the Connecticut river, which
was afterwards called Middletown. To this step
he was urged by Mr. Hooker, his father-in-law,
in the following interesting letter, never before
published, which strongly fnsinuates that there
had been* some injustice and unfair dealing as
well as poverty, among the people, with respect
to the payment of their debts.

" Dear Son,

Since the first intimation I had
from my cousin Samuel, when you was here
with us, touching the number and nature of
your debts, I conceived and concluded the con-
sequences to be marvelous desperate in the view
of reason, in truth, unavoidable, and yet insup-
portable, such as were likely to ruinate the whole.
For why should any send commodities, much less
come themselves to the place, when there is no
justice amongst men to pay for what they take,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 239

or the place is so forlorn and helpless, that men
cannot support themselves in a way of justice,
and therefore there is neither sending nor
coming, unless they will make themselves and
substance a prey. And hence to weary a
man's self to wrestle out an inconvenience,
when it is beyond all possibilities which are
laid before a man in a rational course, is alto-
gether bootless and fruitless, and is to increase a
man's misery, not to ease it. Such be the mazes
of mischievous hazards, that our sinful depart-
ures from the right and righteous ways of God
bring upon us, that, as birds taken in an evil
net, the more they stir, the faster they are tied.
If there was any sufficiency to make satisfaction
in time, then respite might send and procure
relief; but, when that is wanting, delay is to
make many deaths of one, and to make them all
more deadly.

" The first and safest way for peace and com-
fort, is to quit a man's hand of the sin, and so
of the staying of the plague. Happy is he that
hath none of the guilt in the commission of evils,
sticking to him. But he that is faulty, it will be
his happiness to recover himself by repentance,
both sudden and seasonably serious ; and when
that is done in such hopeless occasions, it is
good to sit down under the wisdom of some

240 LIFE OF THOMAS 8HEPARD.

word : That which is crooked nobody can make
strait, and that which is wanting none can sup-
ply ; Eccl. 1 : 15; and then seek a way in
heaven for escape, when there is no way on
earth that appears. You say that which I long
since supposed; the magistrates are at their
wit's end, and I do not marvel at it.

" But is there, then, nothing to be done, but
to sink in our sorrows ? I confess here to reply,
and that upon the sudden, is wholly beyond all
my skill. Yet I must needs say something, if
it be but to breathe out our thoughts, and so our
sorrows. I say ours, because the evil will reach
us really more than by bare sympathy. Taking
my former ground for granted, that the weakness
of the body is such that it is not able to bear the
disease longer, but is like to grow worse and
more unfit for cure, — which I suppose is the case
in hand, — then I cannot see but of necessity this
course must be taken :

" 1. The debtors must freely and fully tender
themselves and all they have into the hands,
and be at the mercy and discretion of the credi-
tors. And this must be done nakedly and
really. It is too much that men have rashly and
unjustly taken more than they were able to re-
pay and satisfy; therefore they must not add
falsehood and dissimulation when they come to

LTFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 241

pay, and so not only break their estate but their
consciences finally. I am afraid there be old
arrearages of this nature that lie yet in the
dark.

" 2. The churches of the Commonwealth by
joint consent and serious consideration, must
make a privy search what have been the courses
and sinful carriages which have brought in and
increased this epidemical evil : pride and idle-
ness, excess in apparel, building, diet, unsuita-
ble to our beginnings or abilities ; what tolera-
tion and connivance at extortion and oppression ;
the tradesman willing the workman may take
what he will for his work, that he may ask
what he will for his commodities.

" 3. "When they have humbled themselves un-
feignedly before the Lord, then set up a real
reformation, not out of politick respects, attending
our own devices, but out of plainness, looking at
the rule and following that, leave the rest to the
Lord, who will ever go with those who go his
own way.

*' Has premises ; I cannot see in reason but if
you can sell, and the Lord afford you any com-
fortable chapmen, but you should remove. For
why should a man stay until the house fall on
his head; or why continue his being there where
in reason he shall destroy his substance ? For

VOL. IV. 21

242 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

were men merchants, how can they hold it,
when men either want money to buy withal, or
else want honesty and will not pay ? The more
honest and able any persons or plantations be,
their rates will increase, stocks grow low, and
their increase little or nothing. And if remove,
why not to Matabeseck ? For may be the gen-
tlemen will not come, and that is most likely ;
or if they do, they will not come all ; or if all,
is it not probable but they may be entreated to
abate one of the lots ; or if not abate, — if they
take double lots, — they must bear double rates :
and I see not but all plantations find this a main
wound, they want men of abilities and parts to
manage their affairs, and men of estate to bear
charges. I will tell thee mine whole heart : con-
sidering, as I conceive, your company, must
break, and considering things ut supra, if you
can sell, you should remove.

" If I were in your places, I should let those
that must and will, transplant themselves as they
see fit, in a way of providence and prudence.
I would reserve a special company, — but not
many, — and I would remove hither. For I do
verily think that either the gentlemen will not
come, or if they do, they may be over entreated
not to prejudice the Plantation by taking too
much. And yet if I had but a convenient spare

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 243

number, I do believe that would not prove preju-
dical to any comfortable subsistence ; for able
men are most fit to carry on occasions by their
persons and estates with most success. These
are all my thoughts; but they are inter nos ;
use them as you see meet. I know to begin
plantations is a hard work ; and I think I have
seen as much difficulty, and come to such a
business with as much disadvantage as almost
men could do, and therefore I would not press
men against their spirits. When persons do
not choose a work, they will be ready to quarrel
with the hardness of it. This only is to me
beyond exception ; if you do remove, consider-
ing the correspondence you have here of hearts
and hands and helps, you shall never remove to
any place with the like advantage. The pillar
of fire and cloud go before you, and the Father
of mercies be the God of all the changes that

pass over your head."

Totus tuus,

T. H00KER.*=

Nov. 2, 1640.

Sint mutua preces in perpetuum."

In a subsequent letter, but without date, Mr.

* Hutchinson's MSS. Papers, Vol. I. pp. 37-40.

244LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

Hooker refers again to the subject of Mr. Shep-
ard's removal. " Touching your business at
Matabeseck ; this is the compass of it : Mr.
Fenwick is willing that you and your company
should come thither upon these terms : Provided
that you will reserve three double lots for three of
the gentlemen, if they come ; that is, those three
lots must carry a double proportion to that
which your's take. If they take twenty acres of
meadow, you must reserve forty for them; if
thirty, threescore for them. This is all we
could obtain, because he stays one year longer
in expectation of his company, at the least some
of them ; and the like hath been done in Quin-
ipiack, and hath been usual in such beginnings.
Therefore we were silent in such a grant, for the
while. Consider, and write back your thoughts.
I am now weary with writing, and I suppose
you will be with reading. The blessing of
Him that dwelt in the bush, dwell with you for
ever. Totus tuus,

T. Hooker."*

The general state of Mr. Shepard's mind in
view of this contemplated removal, and the
painful circumstances which had brought him

*Hutchiiiwn'i HSS. Papers, VoL I.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 245

into these straits, may be inferred from some re-
marks found in his Diary during this gloomy
season.

" February 14, 1640. When there was a
church meeting to be resolved about our going
away, viz : to Matabeseck, I looked on myself
as poor, and as unable to resolve myself or to
guide others or myself in any action, as a beast :
and I saw myself in respect of Christ, as a brute
is in respect of a man. And hence I left my-
self on Christ's wisdom."

It is a peculiar feature in all Mr. Shepard's
references to his trials, that he never complains
of outward difficulties, — never manifests any
impatience under his losses and privations, —
never blames those by whom he has been made
to suffer, — but always condemns himself, and
makes every untoward event in his life, a means
of humbling and bringing him nearer to God.
When he was silenced and driven forth as a fu-
gitive by Bishop Laud, he thought it was " for
his sins " that the Lord thus set his adversaries
against him.

It is, indeed, impossible to discover by reading
his Diary how great, or of what kind, his exter-
nal trials were ; or even whether, at this time,
there were any particularly trying circumstances
in his condition ; and it was not until after long
21#

246 LIFE OF TUOMAS SHEPAED.

examination, and a very fortunate accident as it
might be called, that the extract above, standing
as it does without any explanation, was found to
relate to embarrassments which threatened the
very existence of his congregation in Cambridge.
As illustrations of this feature, the following
passages, taken almost at random from his Dia-
ry during this season, may be given.

"December 1. A small thing troubled me.
Hence I saw, that though the Lord had made
me that night attain to that part of humiliation
to see that I deserved nothing but misery, yet I
fell short in this other part, viz : to submit to
God in any crossing providence or command,
but had a spirit soon touched and provoked. I
saw also that the Lord let sin and Satan prevail
there, that I might see my sin, and be more
humbled by it, and so get strength against it."

*' January IL In the morning the Lord pre-
sented to me the sad state of the church ; which
put me upon a spirit of sorrow for my sins as
one cause, and to resolve in season to go visit
all families. But first to begin with myself and
go to Christ, that he may begin to pour out his
ointment on me, and then to my wife, and then
to my family, and then to my brethren."

" January 30. When I was in meditation, I

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 247

saw, when Christ was present, all blessings were
present; as where any were without Christ
present, there all sorrows were. Hence I saw
how little of Christ was present in me. I saw I
did not cease to be and live of myself, that
Christ might be and live in me. I saw that
Christ was to do, counsel, and direct, and that I
should be wholly diffident of myself, and careful
for this that he might be all to me. Hence I
blessed Christ for showing me this, and mourned
for the want of it."

" February 1. When I was on my bed a
Monday morning, the Lord let me see that I
was nothing else but a mass of sin, and that all
I did was very vile. Which when my heart
was somewhat touched with, immediately the
Lord revealed himself to me in his fullness
of goodness, with much sweet affection. The
Lord suddenly appeared, and let me see there
was strength in him to succor me, wisdom to
guide, mercy in him to quicken, Christ to satis-
fy ; and so I saw all my good was there, as all
evil was in myself."

" February 9. I considered, when I could
not bring Christ's will to mine, I was to bring
mine to his. But then it must be thus : 1 .
That if ever he gives my desire, it will be

248lIFB of THOMAS SHEPARD.

infinite mercy, and so his will is good. 2.
If he doth not, yet I deserved to be crossed, and
to feel nothing but extremity."

It is probable that at the church meeting, re-
ferred to Feb. 14, the plan of removing to Mat-
abeseck was thoroughly discussed, and in view
of expected relief finally given up. For on the
next day, February 15, we find the following
entry in his Diary : "I was in prayer, and in
the beginning of it, that promise came in, ' Seek
me, arid ye shall live.' Hereupon I saw, I had
cause to seek him only, always ; because there
was nothing else good, and because he was
always good. And my heart made choice of
God alone, and he was a sweet portion to me.
And I began to see how well I could be without
all other things with him ; and so learnt to live
by faith." Again under date of March 2, 1641,
he says, " I was cast down with the sight of our
unworthiness in this church, deserving to be
utterly wasted. But the Lord filled my heart
with a spirit of prayer, not only to desire small
things, but with an holy boldness to desire great
things for God's people here, and for myself,
viz : that I might live to see all breaches made
up, and the glory of the Lord upon us : and

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 249

that I might not die, but live, to show forth
God's glory to this, and the children of the next
generation. And so I rose from prayer with
some confidence of an answer. 1. Because I
saw Christ put it into my heart to ask ; 2. Be-
cause he was true to hear all prayer."
Still later we find the following passage :
" October 29. I was much troubled about
the poverty of the churches ; and I saw it was
such a misery as I could not well discern the
cause of, nor see any way out. Yet I saw we
might find out the cause of any evil by the
Lord's stroke. Now he struck us in outward
blessings, and hence 'tis a sign there was our
evil ; 1. In not acknowledging all we have
from God, Hos. 2:8. 2. In not serving God
in havin'g them. 3. In making ourselves se-
cure and hard-hearted : for lawful blessings
are the secret idols, and do most hurt ; and 'tis
then a sign our greatest hurt lies in having, and
that the greatest good lies in God's taking them
away from us. Whereupon I considering this,
did secretly content myself that the Lord should
take all from us, if it might be not in wrath, but
in love, hereby to glorify himself the more, and
to take away the fuel of our sin. I saw that if
the Lord's people could be joyfully content to part
with all to the Lord, prizing the gain of a little

250 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

holiness more than enough to overbalance all
their losses, that the Lord then would do us
good."

One more extract from his meditations at this
time will suffice. " July 23. As I was riding
to the sermon, (lecture at Charlestown) my heart
began to be much disquieted by seeing almost
all men's souls and estates out of order, and
many evils in men's hearts, lives, courses.
Hereupon my heart began to withdraio itself
from my brethren and others. But I had it se-
cretly suggested to me, that Christ, when he
saw evils in any, he sought to amend them, did
not presently withdraw from them, nor w^as not
perplexed and vexed only with them. And so I
considered, if I had Christ's spirit in me, I
should do so. And when I saw that the Lord
had thus overcome my reasonings and visited
me, I blessed his name. I saw also, the night
before this, that a child of God, in his solitari-
ness, did wrestle against temptation, and so
overcome his discontent, pride, and passion."

This event in the life of Mr. Shepard is ex-
ceedingly interesting, not only as throwing light
upon the trials and hardships to which our
fathers in the ministry were subjected in the
early days of New England, but especially as it
brings out in a striking manner, a prominent and

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 251

beautiful feature of Mr. Shepard's piety. The
purity of gold is tested by the crucible ; and this
trial of a faith, " more precious than of gold that
perisheth," developed a state of mind which,
amidst the abounding hypocrisy and selfishness
of the world, it is most delightful to contemplate.
The manner in which he stayed himself upon
God, and rebuked his discontent, and quietly
continued his labors, under a burden of debt and
of want, which, upon ordinary principles would
have justified his removal, may serve as a model
of ministerial patience and faithfulness for us at
the present day. Ministers are doubtless sub-
jected to many trials growing out of an insuffi-
cient maintenance ; and the people may be more
or less in fault for the embarrassments which
distract their pastors! But a hasty removal to
Matabeseck is not the only cure ; nor will impa-
tience, and discouragement, and complaint make
the burden any lighter. If in such circum-
stances a minister can, like Shepard, make the
troubles of his outward estate the means of ren-
dering him more humble, more prayerful, more
submissive to the will of God, more desirous of
glorifying Christ by a faithful service, he may
live to see " all breaches made up, and the glory
of the Lord upon him." He will not die of star-

252 LIFE OF THOMAS 8HEPARD.

vation, but " live to show forth God's glory to this,
and the children of the next generation." More
of the spirit of our fathers under the unavoida-
ble pressure of providence, or the injustice and
selfishness of the people, would in the end pro-
duce a great change in the state of things ; would
render the ministry more permanent and more
respected, and the people more just and benevo-
lent;— would give the lie to the charge that
ministers labor merely for hire, and produce in
the public mind a deep conviction that those
who preach the gospel are really the servants of
Him " who though rich, for our sakes became
poor, that we through his poverty might be rich."
The injustice of the people in withholding an
ample support when it is in their power to give
it, is not hereby justified, but rebuked in the
most effectual manner ; and perhaps nothing
would be so likely to make the altar rich enough
in external offerings to supply all the wants of
those who minister at it, as that supreme regard
to the interests of the church and the honor of
Christ, of which Shepard gives us such a beau-
tiful example.

Of Mr. Shepard's domestic afl^airs subsequent
to the period referred to above, little is known,
except what he has incidentally told us in his

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 253

invaluable but too brief account of himself.
That he suffered many privations in conse-
quence of the general poverty of the people, is
probable ; and that amidst all his afflictions he
labored with a zeal that consumed him, is cer-
tain. In October 1641, he says, " I was very
sad to see the outward wants of the country ;
and what would become of me and mine, if we
should want clothes and go naked, and give
away all to pay our debts. Hereupon the Lord
set me upon prizing his love, and the Lord made
me content with it. And there I left myself, and
begged this portion for myself, and for my child,
and for the church." Again, " Oct. 2. On Satur-
day night and this morning I saw, and was much
affected with God's goodness unto me, the least
of my father's house, to send the gospel to me.
And I saw what a great blessing it would be to
my child, if he may have it, that by my means
it comes to him. And seeing the glory of this
mercy, the Lord stirred up my heart to desire
the blessing and presence of his ordinances in
this place, and the continuance of his poor
churches among us, looking on them as means
to preserve and propagate the gospel. And my
heart was for this end very desirous of mercy,
outward and inward to sustain them, for his own
VOL. IV. 22

2o4 LIFB OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

mercy's sake. And so I saw one strong motive
to pray for them, even for posterity's sake, rather
than in England, where so much sin and evil
was abounding, and where children might be
polluted. And I desired to honor the Lord bet-
ter, that I might make him known to this gener-
ation." Again, " Oct, 9. On Saturday morning,
I was much affected for my life ; that I might
live still to seek, that so I might see God, and
make known God before my death." These ex-
tracts from his Diary, a book of choice thoughts,
worthy to be the daily companion of every min-
ister, show that with respect to his appropriate
work he was diligent, and notwithstanding his
outward trials, contented.

During the nine years which elapsed between
Mr. Shepard's second marriage and the death
of his excellent wife, three children were born
to him. The first, a boy, died " before he saw
the sun, even in the very birth." The second,
Samuel, was born October 18, 1641, at the time
of Mr. Shepard's greatest domestic privation
and difficulty. The third was also a son, named
John, who, after a brief and sickly life of four
months, " departed on the Sabbath morning, a
day of rest, to the bosom of rest."

With respect to Samuel, we find the follow-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD. 255

ing reference in the Diary from which several
passages have been already quoted.

" October 18. On Monday morning my child
was born. And when my wife was in travail,
the Lord made me pray that she might be de-
livered, and the child given in mercy, having
had some sense of mercy the day before at the
sacrament. But I began to think, What if it
should not be so, and her pains be long, and the
Lord remember my sin ? And I began to imag-
ine, and trouble my heart with fear of the worst.
And I understood at that time, that my child
had been born, and my wife delivered in mercy
already. Hereupon I saw the Lord's mercy,
and my own folly to disquiet my heart with fear
of what never shall be, and not rather to submit
to the Lord's will ; and come what can come, to
be quiet there. When it was born, I was much
affected, and my heart clave to the Lord who
gave it. And thoughts came in that this was
the beginning of more mercy for time to come.
But I questioned, will the Lord provide for it ?
And I saw that the Lord had made man, (es-
pecially the church and their posterity) to great
glory, to praise him, and hence would take care
of him. . . . And I saw God had blessings for
all my children ; and hence I turned them over
to God."

256 LIFE OF THOMAS SHBPABD.

This son, whom Mr. Shepard and his friends
were wont to call "Little Samuel," was brought
up in the family of his grandfather Hooker at
Hartford. We catch a glimpse of him by means
of a delightful letter from Mr. Hooker to Mr.
Shepard, without date, but written, as we should
judge from a passage in it, just before the sec-
ond meeting of the Synod which agreed upon
the Platform, and probably after the death of
Samuel's mother.

" Deab Son :

This being the first messenger which I
.understand comes into your coasts, I was glad
to embrace the opportunity that I might acquaint
you with God's dealings and our own condition
here. The winter hath been exceeding mild
and favorable above any that ever yet we had
since we came into these ends of the earth.
Thus the Lord is pleased to cross the conceits of
the discontented, and accommodate the comforts
of his servants beyond their expectations, and is
able to do the like in other things, were we as
fit to receive them as he is willing to dispense
t&fem to us. Myself, wife and family, enjoy our
wonted health. My little Sam : is very well,
and exceedingly cheerful, and hath been so all this

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 257

time, — grows a good scholar. The little crea-
ture hath such a pleasing, winning disposition,
that it makes me think of his mother almost
every time I play with him. . . .
Totus tuus

T. Hooker.*
Saluta Salutanda
Mr. Cotton, Mr. Dunster, &c."

In another letter, apparently subsequent to
the preceding, Mr. Hooker again speaks with a
grandfather's tenderness of his " Little Sam :"
" My little bed-fellow is well. I bless the Lord,
and I find what you related to be true ; the
colder the weather grows, the more quiet he lies.
I shall hardly trust any body with him but mine
own eye. Young ones are heavy headed, and
if once they fall to sleep, they are hard to awake,
and therefore unfit to help. My wife wishes
you, by advice, to give something to little John,
to prevent the jaundice. Preventing physic is
best. By this time I am weary with writing,
and I suppose you may be so with reading.
My eyes grow dim, and my hand much worse,
though never good, and therefore my pen is

* Hutchinson's MSS. Papers, vol. I. p, 90.

22*

2^LIFB OF THOMAS SHBPARD.

very unpleasant, yet I could not but communi-
cate my thoughts with you according to my cus-
tom. ' ^'^

My wife and friends salute you. Sam re-
members his duty : is very thankful for his things
you sent which are received.

The blessing of heaven be with you.
Totus tuus

T. HOOKEE."*

Sept. 17, 1646.

It is only necessary to add, that Samuel Shep-
ard graduated at Harvard College in 1658, —
was ordained the third minister of Rowley in
1662, and died April 7, 1668, at the early age
of twenty-seven. " He was," says Mr. Mitchel,
" a pious, holy, meditating, able, choice young
man, — one of the first three. He was an excel-
lent preacher, and most dearly beloved at Row-
ley. The people would have plucked out their
eyes to have saved his life."

* Huuhiaaoa's MSS. Papers, roL L p. 100.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 259

CHAPTER XI.

Mr. Shepard's plan for procuring funda for the support of indigent
students. Defence of the Nine Positions. Letter from Mr. Hook-
er. Character of the Answer to Ball. Mr. Cotton's opinion of
the work. Influence of Mr. Shepard in procuring the Cambridge
Platform. Letter from Mr. Hooker. Character of the Platform.
Commendation of Higgiuson and Oakes. Birth of son, and sudden
death of Mrs. Shepard.

In consequence of the general poverty and des-
titution of the colony, referred to in the fore-
going chapter, which had almost driven Mr.
Shepard from Cambridge, the college in whose
prosperity he felt the deepest interest, was in a
languishing condition. Its funds were alto-
gether insufficient to accomplish the purpose
for which it was founded ; and such was the scar-
city of money that many young men, who were
desirous of obtaining a liberal education, were
utterly unable to meet the expense of a resi-
dence at Cambridge. At this crisis, Mr. Shep-
ard, ever foremost in promoting the cause of
religious education in the colony, conceived
the plan of procuring voluntary contribu-
tions of corn, — money being out of the ques-
tion,— from all parts of New England, for the

260 LIFE OF THOMAS SHBPARD.

maintenance of indigent students. When the
Commissioners of the United Colonies of Massa-
chusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New
Haven, met at Hartford in 1644, Mr. Shepard,
heing in Connecticut, laid his plan before that
body, in the following noble Memorial :

" To the honored Commissioners :

" Those whom God hath called to attend the
welfare of religious commonwealths, have been
prompt to extend their care for the goo^, of
public schools, by means of which, the common-
wealth may be furnished into knowing and
understanding men in all callings, and the
church, with an able minister in all places ;
without which it is easy to see how both these
estates may decline and degenerate into gross
ignorance, and consequently into great and
universal profaneness. May it please you,
therefore, among other things of common con-
cernment, and public benefit, to take into your
consideration some way of comfortable mainte-
nance for that school of the prophets that now is.
For although hitherto God ha^h carried on the
work by a special hand, and that not without
some evident fruit and success, yet it is found
by too sad experience, that, for want of some
external supplies, many are discouraged from

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 261

sending their children, though pregnant and fit
to take the least impression thereunto ; others
that are sent, their parents enforced to take
them away too soon to their own homes too oft,
as not able to minister any comfortable and
seasonable maintenance therein. And those
that are continued, not without much pressure,
generally, to the feeble abilities of their parents,
or other private friends, who bear the burden
therein alone. If, therefore, it were recom-
mei^ded by you to the freedom of every family
that is able and willing to give, throughout the
plantations, to give but the fourth part of a
bushel of corn, or something equivalent there-
to ; — and to this end, if every minister were
desired to stir up the hearts of the people, once
in the fittest season of the year, to be freely
enlarged therein ; — and one or two faithful and
fit men appointed in each" town to receive and
seasonably to send in what shall be thus given
by them; — it is conceived, that, as no man
would feel any grievance hereby, so it would be
a blessed means of comfortable provision for the
diet of divers such students as may stand in
need of some support, and be thought meet and
worthy to be continued a fit season therein.
And because it may seem an unmeet thing for
this one to suck and draw away all that nourish-

262 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

ment which the like schools may need in after
times in other colonies, your wisdom may there-
fore set down what limitation you please, or
choose any other way you shall think more
meet for this desired present supply. Your
religious care hereof, as it cannot but be pleas-
ing to him whose you are, and whom you now
serve, so fruit hereof may hereafter abundantly
satisfy you that your labor herein hath not been
in vain."*

This Memorial was received by the Qpm-
missioners with much favor. They cordially
approved of Mr. Shepard's plan, and ordered
that it should be recommended to the Deputies
of the several General Courts, and to the Elders
within the four colonies, to call for a voluntary
contribution of one peck of corn, or twelve
pence in money, or its equivalent in other com-
modities, from everjT family ; a recommenda-
tion which was adopted by the courts, and very
generally responded to with great alacrity by
the people, — suitable persons being appointed
in all the towns to receive and disburse the
donations. t

Thus through the influence of Mr. Shepard,
the first charitable provision for the support of

« Hazard'* Slat« Papers, Vol. 11, p. 17
t Wiitthrop'a Journal, II. 214

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 263

indigent scholars in New England, was made
at Cambridge ; and a noble example of zeal for
the advancement of learning was exhibited,
amidst poverty, hardship, and sufferings, that
might easily have been pleaded in excuse for the
indefinite postponement of this work. Massa-
chusetts, in later times, has produced many
liberal benefactors of Harvard and other col-
leges ; but none deserving of higher honor than
Shepard, and those public-spirited men whom
he inspired with a zeal in behalf of this institu-
tion, which carried them to the extent of their
power, " yea and beyond their power," in sup-
plying its wants.

At this period of his life, Mr. Shepard was
equally zealous and successful in the work of
establishing and vindicating those principles,
and that ecclesiastical polity which have ever
distinguished Massachusetts as a religious
commonwealth. In connection with Cotton,
Hooker, and Norton, he exerted a controling
influence in organizing and settling the Congre-
gational churches upon that foundation where
they have stood until this day.

In the year 1636, a number of Puritan minis-
ters in England, having been informed that the
churches of New England had adopted a new
mode of discipline, which many deemed errone^

264 LIFE OF TH O M AS SH£PAED.

ous, and which they themselves had formerly
disliked, addressed to them a letter containing
Nine Questions or Propositions, upon which their
mature opinion was requested ; at the same
time assuring them, that if their answer was
satisfactory, they should receive the right hand
of fellowship ; if otherwise, their error should
be pointed out and condemned.

The propositions which the New England
ministers were understood to have adopted, and
which they were now required to defend or to
renounce, were the following, viz : That a
prescribed form of prayer and set Liturgy, is
unlawful ; that it is not lawful to join in prayer,
or to receive the sacrament, where a prescribed
Liturgy is used ; that the children of godly and
approved Christians are not to be baptized until
their parents become regular members of some
particular congregation ; that the parents them-
selves, though of approved piety, are not to be
received to the Lord's supper until they are
admitted as members ; that the power of excom-
munication is so in the body of the church that
what the major part shall decide, must be done,
though the parties and the rest of the assembly
are of another mind ; that none are to be ad-
mitted as members unless they promise not to
depart or to remove without the consent of the

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 265

congregation ; that a minister is so the minister
of a particular congregation, that if they dislike
him unjustly, or leave him, he ceases to be
their minister; — that one minister cannot per-
form any ministerial act in another congrega-
tion ; — that members of one congregation may
not communicate in another.

This letter was immediately answered in a
pamphlet containing the views of the New
England ministers upon these points, which
were the same, in substance, as those main-
tained in Cotton's " Way of the Congregational
Churches," and afterwards more fully unfolded
and vindicated in " The Power of the Keys."
To this answer, a reply was, at the request of
the English brethren, drawn up by Mr. John
Ball, minister of Whitmore, near Newcastle, in
Staffordshire, entitled " A Trial of the New
Church-Way in New England and in Old."
The first copy of this reply, sent in 1640,
having miscarried, another was prepared,
which, after much delay, finally came to hand
about the year 1644. The manifold errors
respecting the ecclesiastical polity of our Fa-
thers, and the gross misrepresentations of the
principles and practices of these churches,
which this book contained, induced Mr, Shep-
ard, with the cooperation of Mr. Allen of Ded-
voL. IV. 23

266 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD.

ham, to attempt a thorough discussion of these
points, which he did in an elaborate Treatise
entitled, " A Defence of the Answer made unto
the Nine Questions or Positions sent from New
England, against the Reply thereto by that
reverend servant of Christ, Mr. John Ball,
entitled ' A Trial of the New Church-Way in
New England and in Old;' wherein, besides a
more full opening of sundry particulars concern-
ing Liturgies, Power of the Keys, Matter of the
Visible Church, &c., is more largely handled
that controversy concerning the Catholic Church ;
tending to clear up the old way of Christ in
New England churches." The first edition of
this book was printed at London in 1648. In a
subsequent edition, printed in 1653, this long
and cumbrous title was abridged and the name
of Mr. Allen omitted, while the Preface is sub-
scribed with both names as in the first edition.*
The book was, without doubt, substantially the
work of Mr. Shepard.

In this Treatise Mr. Shepard explains and
defends the views of our New England Fathers
respecting the worship and discipline of the
church, wii!i extraordinary learning, ability, and
acuteness. Mr. Hooker, in a letter to Mr.

* Hanbury'tt Hi.'«u>rical Memorials, IIL 33.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD, 267

Shepard, written about the time that the Ques-
tions made their appearance, had expressed the
fear " that the first and second Questions touch-
ing a stated form of prayer," would " prove very
hard to make any handsome work upon ;" and
that " a troublesome answer might be returned
to all the arguments." The answer to the Nine
Positions had admitted that a form of prayer is
not in itself unlawful ; and Mr. Hooker feared
that in defending this admission, Mr. Shepard
would expose himself and his brethren to the
charge of inconsistency.

Notwithstanding Mr. Hooker's fears, and
forebodings, Mr. Shepard succeeded in making
very " handsome work " upon all the points
respecting which the author of the letter required
satisfaction ; and gave an Answer to Mr. Ball's
Reply, which so far from involving the Congre-
gationalists in difficulty, was the means of
silencing the objections which had been made
against them, and of satisfying the English
brethren that their position was impregnable.
He shows clearly that what Mr. Ball had stig-
matized as " A New Church-Way," was in
truth no other than the " Old Church- Way of
godly reformers," that " the mending of some
crooks in an old way," does not make a new
road, — and that in the constitution of the New

268lIFE of THOMAS SHEPARO.

England churches, both with respect to worship
and discipline, the true Scriptural model had
been constantly kept in view.

On the subject of a Liturgy, there was a
slight shade of difference between Mr. Shepard
and his father-in-law. Mr. Hooker thought it
would be better to maintain that " all set forms
are unlawful, either in public or in private,"
than to defend Mr. Cotton's position. In a
letter to Mr. Shepard, he says, "Mr. Ball,
I suppose, hath a right and true cause to
defend in the former part of his book, and
handles it well ; and though I think it may re-
ceive another return, -because there is some
room for a reply, yet if he hit it in that, I sup-
pose the next rejoin will silence. Only I con-
fess, I had rather defend the cause upon this
supposal ; that all set forms are unlawful either
in public or in private than to retire to that de-
fence of Mr. Cotton's : That it is lawful to use
a form in private, or occasionally in public, but
not ordinarily ; for to my small conceit, he doth
in such a distinction tradere causam, and that
fully. For if I may use a form in private, then
a form hath not the essence of an image in it,
against the second commandment, for that is not
to be used at all ; then a stated form is not op-
posite to the pure worship in spirit and truth,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 269

for then it should not be used in private : then
to bring in a book for the performance of this
duty, is not to bring in an altar, for that would be
unlawful in private. Again, if lawful 4o use a
printed prayer in private, then hath it the essen-
tials of true prayer ; then it is not of the same na-
ture with preaching a printed sermon, or reading
an homily, because neither of these have the es-
sentials of preaching : hence a man may exercise
the gift of prayer, and the graces of the spirit in
so praying, because it is a lawful prayer.* . . .
Mr. Shepard, without discussing the question
whether all forms of prayer, under all circum-
stances, are unlawful, declares that this was not
the question upon which the Congregationalists
separated from the Church of England : It was
the particular Liturgy of that Church, — ^which
" was the same that was in popery for substance,"
having been " gathered out of the Mass-book,"
which required many unscriptural ceremonies
and idolatrous gestures, — which was never com-
manded by God, but imposed upon the church
by the " insolent tyranny of the usurping pre-
lates,"— which had been " greatly abused unto
idolatry and superstition," — which made every
part of its complex service a matter of life and

* Hutchinson's MSS. Papers, vol. I.

23*

270 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFABD.

death, — which was upheld and enforced by the
whole physical power of the state, — it was this
Liturgy that they renounced and condemned as
a corrupt service-book, which had been too long
tolerated in the English churches. Mr. Ball
had made a false issue in discussing the lawful-
ness of forms of prayer in general, while the
whole controversy turned upon the lawfulness
of submitting to this particular Liturgy. " All
of us could not concur," says Mr. Shepard, " to
condemn all set forms as unlawful ; yet we
could in this, namely, that though some set
forms may be lawful, yet it will not follow that
this of the English Liturgy is." It became
necessary, therefore, to " distinguish of forms,
and so touch the true Helena of this controversy ;
and therefore if any shall observe Mr. Ball's
large defence of set forms in general, they shall
find those wings spread forth in a very great
breadth to give some shelter and warmth to
that particular Liturgy then languishing, and
hastening, through age and feebleness, towards
its last end."*

With respect to the discipline of the New
England churches, Mr. Shepard clearly distin-
guishes Congregationalism from Brownism, (or
Independency,) on the one hand, and from Presby-

* Defence of Nine Poeitlona, ch. 11. pftMim.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.271

terianism, on the other. Brownism, he shows,
places the entire government of the church in
the hands of the people, and drowns, the voice
of the pastors in a major vote of the brethren, who
were content, as Ward of Ipswich wittily ob-
served ; that the elders should " sit in the sad-
dle, if they might hold the bridle." Pres-
by terianism, on the contrary, commits the whole
power of discipline to the presbytery of each
church, or to the common presbytery of
many churches combined together by mutual
consent, thus swallowing up the interests of the
people of every congregation in the majority of
the presbyteries. While in the organization of
the Congregational churches, both extremes are
here shown to be avoided by a wise and judi-
cious distribution of power into different hands, —
which neither subjects the people to the arbitrary
decision of the pastors, nor merges the authority
of the pastors in the will of the majority.^

Mr. Shepard here distinguishes between the
povjer and ih.e execution of discipline, — the point
upon which Mr. Buckley requested information
in the letter which has been already referred to.
It belongs to the brethren or body of the church,
to censure an offending brother by admonition,

* Defence of Nine Positions, ch. XIV.

272 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

suspension, or excommunication, as his offence
may require ; but in handling offences before
the church it is the prerogative of the pastor to
declare the counsel and will of God respecting
the matter, and to pronounce sentence by the
authority of Christ with the consent of the
brethren. * " We distinguish," says Mr. Shep-
ard, "between power and authority. There is
a power, right, or privilege, which is not au-
thority properly so called. The first is in the
whole church, by which they have right to
choose officers, receive members, &c. Author-
ity, properly so called, we ascribe only to the <
officers, under Christ, to rule and govern, whom
the church must obey."t

It was falsely imputed to the Congregation-
alists, he says, that they " set up a popular gov-
ernment, making the elders of the church no
more but moderators, and that ministers received
their power from the people, were their servants,
and administered in their name, when we oft
profpss the contrary, that all authority, properly
so called, is in the hands of the elders, and the
liberty of the people is to be carried in a way of
subjection and obedience to them in the Lord." I

• Caojbridgc Platform, ch. X.

t Defence of Nine Positions, p. 129.

I Preface to Defence of Nine Poeitions, p. 13.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAKD. 273

The office of the pastor, as he describes it in
another place, " is the immediate institution of
Christ ; the gifts and the power belonging thereto
are from Christ immediately, and therefore he
ministers in his name, and must give account to
him ; and yet his outward call to this office,
whereby he hath authority to administer the
holy things of Christ to the church, is from
Christ by his church ; and this makes him no
more the servant of the church than a captain, —
by leave of the general, — chosen by the band of
soldiers, is the servant of his band." " If," he
goes on to say, " the power, privilege, and lib-
erty of the people be rightly distinguished from
the authority of the officers, as it ought, a dim
sight may easily perceive how the execution of
the keys, by the officers authoritatively, may
stand with the liberties of the people in their
place, obediently following and concurring with
their guides, so long as they go along with
Christ their king and his laws ; and cleaving in
their obedience to Christ, and dissenting from
their guides, only when they forsake Christ in
their administrations. If there need any occular
demonstration hereof, it is at hand in all civil
administrations wherein the execution of laws
and of justice is in the hands of the judges, and
the privilege, power, or liberty of the people in

274 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

the hands of jurors. Both sweetly concur in
every case, both civil and criminal. Neither is
the use of a jury only to find the fact done, or
not done, — as some answer this instance, — but
also the nature and degree of the fact in refer-
ence to th^ law that awards answerable punish-
ments ; as, whether the fact be simple theft or
burglary, murder or manslaughter, &c. ; and so
in cases of damages, costs in civil cases, &c. ;
whereby it appears, that although the power and
privilege of the people be great, yet the execu-
tion, authoritatively, may be wholly in the offi-
cers." * From these principles it followed, as
the Platform afterwards declared, that all church
acts proceed after the manner of a mixed admin-
istration, in such a way that no church act
can be regarded as valid without the consent of
both, t

Every thing, in short, necessary to a clear
understanding of the discipline and order of the
early New England churches, is explained and
vindicated in this Treatise, with a degree of
learning and ability unsurpassed in any work of
our Puritan fathers ; and no one can read it at-
tentively without assigning to its author a high
place among the controversial writers of that

« Defence of Nine Poaitiona, pp. 130, 131.
t Cambridge Platform, ch. X.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 275

age. The estimation in which this work was
held by Mr. Shepard's cotemporaries, may be
inferred from a single sentence in Cotton's elo-
quent Latin Preface to Norton's Answer to Ap-
pollonius, written in 1645, and printed at London
in 1648. After speaking of the labors of Hooker,
Davenport, and Mather with high commendation,
he refers to Shepard and Allen, as men of emi-
nent piety, — distinguished for erudition, and pow-
erful preachers, — who had accomplished a great
work for the church by happily solving some of
the abstrusest points of ecclesiastical disci-
pline in the answer to Ball ; and whose argu-
ments, uttered in the spirit of piety, truth, and
the love of Christ, were adapted to conciliate
opposers, and recommend the order of our
churches to all readers. *

* Sepharedus (qui vernaculo idiomate Shepardus) unacum Allienio
fraire, fralruni dulce par, uti eximia pielate florent ambo, et erudi-
tione non mediocri, alque etiam mysteriorum pietatia praedicatione
(per Christ! graliam) efficaci admodum, ita egregiam navarunt ope-
rain in abstrusissimis disciplinsE nodis feliciter enodandis : et dum rei
sponsum parent, atque nunc etiam edunt Domino Baleo, non illi qui-
(lem satisfactum eunl (qui satis jam aperte yidet in beatifica Agni
visione, introitus omnes atque exitus, 'formas et leges coelestis
Hierusalem) sed iis omnibus, qui per universam Britanniam in
ecclesii.^ Clirisli peregrinaiitur, et rei disciplinariae studiosius appel-
lerimt. Verba horum fratrum uti suaviler spirant pietatem, verita-
tem, charilatem Christi ; ita speramus fore (per Ctiristi gratiam,) ut
mulii qui a didcipliua Christi alieniores erant, odore horum unguen-
toriim Christi effiisorum delibati atque delincti, ad amorem ejus et
pellecti et perlracti, earn avidius accipiant, atque amplexentur.

276 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Upon the principles so ably unfolded and de-
fended in Mr. Shepard's treatise, and in others
already referred to, although not digested into a
system, nor formally adopted, the churches of
Massachusetts were founded, and all ecclesiasti-
cal afiairs conducted, from the time of Mr. Cot-
ton's arrival in 1633, until the adoption of the
Cambridge Platform in 1648. Mr. Shepard's
personal agency in the production of this digest
of the principles and uses of the churches, does
not appear very clearly in the history of those
times, but there are several circumstances from
which we may reasonably infer that it was very
great. It has already been stated that Mr.
Shepard was at Hartford in 1644, and laid
before the Commissioners for the United Col-
onies, who met there at that time, a memorial
touching some provision to be made for indi-
gent students in Harvard college. Now it so
happened that at that meeting of the Com-
missioners, jhe idea of a public confession of
faith, and a plan of church government, to be
approved by the churches in a general synod,
and published as a book of doctrine and disci-
pline, was, so far as we know, first suggested and
discussed. * Nothing is more probable than

* Hazard's State Papers, TI. 24.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 277

that Mr. Shepard, or Mr. Hooker, then minister
of Hartford, or both together, suggested this
plan to the commissioners, and urged them to
adopt some measure by which it could be prop-
erly brought before the court and the churches.

Be this, however, as it may, the Commission-
ers at that time took the first step towards the
convocation of the Synod which produced the
Cambridge Platform, by agreeing to lay this
subject before the General Court of Massa-
chusetts. Accordingly, in the year 1646, a bill
was brought into the General Court for calling a
Synod, to accomplish the end proposed by the
Commissioners. The magistrates readily passed
the bill ; but there was a question among the
Deputies whether the court could legally require
the churches to send their pastors and delegates
to such a synod ; and a fear was expressed that
if the civil authority should thus interpose in
ecclesiastical matters, a precedent might be es-
tablished which would justify the court in at-
tempting to enforce upon the churches a uni-
formity entirely subversive of Christian liberty.
It was also objected, that the sole purpose of the
proposed Synod was to construct a Platform of
Discipline for all the churches, to be reported to
the General Court for its approval, which
seemed to imply that either the Court or the

VOL. IV. 24

278 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Synod had power to compel the churches to
practice what should be thus established and
recommended. In view of these objections, and
from deference to the fears of those Deputies
who offered them, it was finally ordered that
the Synod should be called by way of a recom-
mendation, and not of a command addressed to
the churches. *

Mr. Hooker, writing to Mr. Shepard respect-
ing the great object of this Synod, expresses his
views of the plan, and his fears lest the author-
ity of the magistrate and the binding power of
synods should be pressed too far.

"Dear Son, —

" "We are now preparing for your Synod.
My years and infirmities grow so fast upon me,
that they wholly disenable to so long a journey ;
and because I cannot come myself, I provoke as
many elders as I can to lend their help and
presence. My brother Stone and my cousin
Stebbings come from our church ; and I think
the rest of the elders of the river will accompany
them. The Lord Christ be in the midst among

you by his guidance and blessing I have

returned and do renew thanks for the letter and

♦ Httbbard't Hist. N. Eng. ch. 63.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 279

copy of the passages of the Synod. I wish
there may not be a misunderstanding of some
things by some ; or that the binding power of
synods be not pressed too much. For, I speak
it only to yourself, he that adventures far in that
business will find hot and hard work, or else my
perspective may fail, which I confess may be :
my eyes grow dim. I could easily give way
to arguments that urge the help of a synod to
counsel, but as for more, I find no trouble in my
thoughts to answer all I ever yet heard pro-
pounded. I find Mr. Rutherford and Appollo-
nius to give somewhat sparingly to the place of
the magistrate to put forth power in the call-
ing of synods ; wherein I perceive they go
cross to some of our most serious and judi-
cious writers ; and if I mistake not they cross
their own principles sometimes. I confess I am
apt to give too much to the supreme magistrate
in some men's thoughts, and I gdve not much to
the church's authority. However, I shall not
trouble you with my thoughts ; qui bene habuit,
bene vixit. I could have wished that none of
the copies sent to us, had been sent to England:
the reason my brother Stone will relate when he
sees you; for it is too large, and not so safe to
commit to paper. The blessing of heaven be
with you.

280 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFAKD.

•' Entreat Mr. Eliot to send me some grafts
of a great yellow apple he hath, which I liked
exceedingly when I was with him the last
time. Totus tuus,

T. Hooker."*

The Synod met at Cambridge in the autumn
of the year 1646; but so late in the season, and
so few of the Pastors invited from the other colo-
nies were able to be present, that after a session
of fourteen days, it was adjourned to the eighth
day of June of the following year, 1647.

They met according to adjournment ; but at
the time of meeting a great sickness was prevail-
ing in the country, and it was again adjourned
to the 30th of September, 1648. At this meet-
ing of the Synod, the Confession of Faith, and
Platform of church government, after thorough
discussion, were adopted and laid before the Gen-
eral Court for their approval ; and the Court at
its next session formally accepted and approved
the Platform, declaring that it was what the
churches had hitherto practiced ; and, in their
judgment, as to its essential principles, altogether
in accordance with the word of God. Thus the
Cambridge Platform became a part of the laws
and usages of the Commonwealth of Massachu-

« Hutcbinaon'i MSS. Papers, VoL I.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 281

setts, and, for substance, is still followed by the
Congregational churches throughout New Eng-
land.

Of this work it is scarcely possible to speak
too highly. It was the production of men dis-
tinguished for preeminent talents, learning, and
piety, — for their sacrifices and sufferings in the
cause of religious liberty, — and for their untiring
zeal for the prosperity of the church : and, as a
whole, may be pronounced the most Scriptural
and excellent model of church government
which has been framed since the time of the
apostles. The Fathers of New England, both
civil and religious, regarded it, and the authors
of it, with extraordinary respect ; and if in these
days there are any who profess to hold it in
slight estimation, it is because they are either
unacquainted with its real character, or have
forsaken the faith and order of the Puritans.
*' We who saw the persons, who, from our fa-
mous colonies assembled in the Synod that
agreed upon the Platform of Church-Disci-
pline,"— such is the language of Higginson and
Hubbard near the close of that century, — " can-
not forget their excellent character. They were
of great renown in the nation from which the
Laudian persecution exiled them. Their
learning, their holiness, their gravity, struck all
24*

282 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

men with admiration. They were Timothys
in their houses ; Chrysostoms in their pulpits ;
Augustines in their disputations. The prayers,
the studies, the humble inquiries, with which
they sought after the mind of God, were as
likely to prosper as any men's on earth. And
the sufferings wherein they were confessors for
the name and the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ,
add unto the arguments which would persuade
us that our gracious Lord would reward and
honor them with communicating much of his
truth unto them. The famous Brightman had
foretold, that God would yet reveal more of the
true church state to some of his faithful servants,
whom he would send into the wilderness, that he
might have communion with them; and it was
eminently accomplished in what was done for
and by the men of God that first erected church-
es for him in this American wilderness."*
If the EcclesiasticalPrinciples, so clearly devel-
oped in the Platform, were solemnly re-affirmed
by a body, which, like the Synod that formed
it, should represent the Congregational churches
of New England ; and this book, — with such
modifications as time and change have rendered
necessary, — were universally received as au-

♦ Higginson's and Hubbard's TesUmony to the Order of lh«
Churches.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 283

thoritative in respect to Church-Discipline, ma-
ny growing evils might, perhaps, receive a
check, and the unity and strength of our denom-
ination be greatly promoted. Such a move-
ment, devoutly to be wished by all who love the
institutions of the Puritans, may possibly find
favor with the churches ; and Cambridge, the
ancient place of synods, may again witness a
gathering like that of 1648. In the mean time,
the more closely we adhere to the scheme of
ecclesiastical polity set forth by that venerable
assembly, the more confidently may we expect
that Congregationalism will maintain its ascend-
ency in New England, and commewd itself to
the consciences and the hearts of intelligent
Christians throughout our country.

While Mr. Shepard was thus engaged in la-
bors abundant and fruitful for the advancement
of the great work which he and his noble asso-
ciates came into " these ends of the earth " to do,
he was visited by an unexpected and grievous
calamity. On the second day of April, 1646,
the Lord gave him another son, but took away
his " most dear, precious, meek, and loving wife
in child-bed, after three weeks lying-in, " leaving
nim again desolate in his trials. Mrs. Shepard,
from all that can be learned of her, seems to
have been worthy of the tender epithets which

284 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

her bereaved husband here bestows upon her.
She was evidently a woman of superior mind
and attainments, — of great prudence,— of an ex-
ceedingly amiable disposition, — and of eminent
piety. "This affliction," says Mr. Shepard,
" was very great. She was a woman of
incomparable meekness of spirit, towards my-
self especially, and very loving; of great
prudence to care for and order my family
affairs, being neither too lavish nor sordid in
any thing, so that I knew not what was under

her hand The Lord hath made her a

great blessing to me to carry on matters in the

family, with much care and wisdom She

had an excellency to reprove for sin, and discern
the evils of men. She loved God's people
dearly, and was studious to profit by their fel-
lowship-, and therefore loved their company.
She loved God's word exceedingly, and hence
she was glad she could read my notes, which
she had to muse on every week. She had a
spirit of prayer, beyond ordinary of her time and
experience. She was fit to die long before she
did die, even after the death of her first born,
which was a great affliction to her. But her
work not being done then, she lived almost nine
years with me, and was the comfort of my life
to me ; and the last sacrament before her lying-

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 285

in, seemed to be full of Christ, and thereby-
fitted for heaven. She did oft say she should
not outlive this child ; and when her fever first
begun, by taking some cold, she told me that
we should love one another exceedingly, be-
cause we should not live long together. Her
fever took away her sleep ; want of sleep
wrought much distemper in her head, and filled
it with fantasies and distractions, but without
raging. The night before she died, she had
about six hours' unquiet sleep. But that so
cooled and settled her head, that when she
knew none else, so as to speak to them, yet she
knew Jesus Christ, and could speak to him ;
and therefore, as soon as she awakened out of
sleep, she broke out into a most heavenly, heart-
breaking prayer after Christ, her dear Redeem-
er, for the spirit of life, and so continued praying,
to the last hour of her death, ' Lord though I
am unworthy, one word — one word,' &c., and
so gave up the ghost. Thus the Lord hath vis-
ited and scourged me for my sins, and sought to
wean me from this world. But I have ever
found it a difficult thing to profit even but a
little by the sorest and sharpest afflictions."

386lIF£ of THOMAS SHBFARD

CHAPTER XII.

Indian Mission. Establishment of an Indian Lecture at Cambridge.
Mr. Shepard's interest in the Indian Mission. " Clear Sunshine."
Mr. Shepard marries Margarett Boradel. Sickness and death.
Last will. Mr. Shepard's preaching. Opinion of colemporarie«
respecting his usefulness. Ctiaracterof Mr. Shepard's writings.
Objections against some of his practical works answered. Letter
to Giles Fermin. Opinion of several Divines respecting Mr. Shep-
ard's works. Personal religion. Conclusion.

The labors and influence of Mr. Shepard, and
of those good men with whom he was associated,
were directed chiefly, as has been seen in the
foregoing chapters, to the accomplishment of
their first great undertaking, which was to found
a truly Christian commonwealth in New Eng-
land, where they and their posterity might en-
joy civil and religious freedom. But they did
not forget or neglect another important work,
which was to preach the gospel to the natives of
this country, and to bring these poor outcasts to
the knowledge of God. Many persons, ignorant
of the history of those times, and disposed to find
fault with our Fathers, not only with, but with-
out cause, have severely censured them for

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 287

what has been called their unjust and cruel
treatment of the poor Indians, — their utter neg-
lect of the wants both temporal and spiritual, of
the original owners of the soil whom they vio-
lently expelled, — and the selfishness which char-
acterized all their treatment of those to whom
they owed their comfortable home on these
shores. This is not the place for the defence of
the colonists from this charge, or for the history
of early Indian Missions in New England.
That work belongs appropriately to the Life of
Eliot the " Apostle to the Indians." The only
object in referring to the subject here, is to show
how deeply Mr. Shepard was interested in all
efforts to civilize and Christianize the natives of
Massachusetts. It will suffice to say, — and the
facts will warrant the assertion, — that the gov-
ernment and the churches of this State, in their
deep poverty and innumerable hindrances, did
very much, — more probably in proportion to
their ability, — for the propagation of the gospel
among the Indians on this part of the continent,
than is done now with all our means, for the
conversion of the heathen abroad or at home. It
is a fact, which will ever be remembered to the
glory of God, and to the praise of our Fathers,
that the first Protestant mission to the heathen
since the time of the Apostles, was commenced

288L1FE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

among the Indians in the town of Cambridge in
Massachusetts ; and that the first translation of
the Bible by an Anglo-Saxon into a heathen
language, was made by John Eliot, pastor of the
church in Roxbury, and printed at Cambridge,
where the first Protestant sermon in a Pagan
tongue was delivered. Legal provision was made
by the government for the support of preaching
among these Indians. Schools were established
for the instruction of their children. Courts were
established for the especial purpose of protecting
their rights, and of punishing trespasses against
them. Great and good men, among whom El-
iot and Shepard stand preeminent, devoted
themselves to the difficult work of establishing
the institutions of the gospel amongst them, and
leading them to obedience to the laws of Christ.
A college building was erected at Cambridge
expressly for the purpose of giving to Indian
youth a liberal education, that they might be-
come teachers, ministers, and magistrates among
their countrymen ; and although this design
proved abortive, the failure was owing not to
any want of zeal in those who commenced it,
but to the inherent and insurmountable difficulty
of the work itself. Not a foot of land, for which
an owner could be found, was ever taken by the
early settlers without ample remuneration ; and

LIFE OF THOJJAS SHEPARD. 289

if we hear of Indian wars, they were wars in
which the colonists were compelled to defend
their lives and their lawful possessions against
the unprovoked attacks of- savage and relentless
foes. It was one part of their original design,
as we have said, to " advance the honor of God,
of their king and country, by this settlement,
without injury to the native inhabitants." They
meant " to take nothing but what the Indians
were willing to dispose of; nor to interfere
with them, except for the maintenance of peace
among them and the propagation of Christian-
ity."

Mr. Shepard, if not the most prominent agent
in this good work, was nevertheless a most
zealous and faithful promoter of it. There was
probably no one, except Mr. Eliot, to whom the
Indians were more indebted for those measures
which concerned their civil or their spiritual
welfare. The first missionary station where
Mr. Eliot statedly preached to them, was fixed
at Nonantum, in Cambridge, in the year 1646.
Mr. Shepard watched over the infant church
gathered there with parental solicitude and kind-
ness. He frequently attended the weekly lec-
ture held by Mr. Eliot ; and although he could
not preach in the Indian language, yet several
tracts written by him for this purpose, were

VOL. IV. 25

290 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

translated by his friend, and he was thus ena-
bled to teach them the rudiments of the oracles
of God. And thus Cambridge has the honor of
furnishing the first Protestant Tract in a heathen
language, as well as the first heathen mis-
sion, and the first Protestant translation of the
Bible.

Mr. Shepard has given an interesting ac-
count of the progress of the work in and
about Cambridge, in a letter to a friend in
England, which was afterwards published under
the title of " The Clear Sunshine of the Gospel
breaking forth upon the Indians in New Eng-
land," designed especially to describe the effect
of Mr. Eliot's labors, but incidentally exhibiting
his own interest and agency in the mission.
During the winter he was confined at home,
but on the 3d of March, 1647, he attend-
ed the Indian Lecture, " where Mr. Wilson, Mr.
Allen, of Dedham, Mr. Dunster, beside many
other Christians, were present, on which day
perceiving divers of the Indian women well
affected, and considering that their souls might
stand in need of answers to their scruples
as well as the men's, we did therefore desire
them to propound any questions they would be
resolved about, by first acquainting their hus-
bands or the interpreter privately themselves ;

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 291

whereupon we heard two questions thus orderly
propounded. At this time there were sundry
others propounded of very good use ; in all
which we saw the Lord Jesus leading them to
make narrow inquiries into the things of God,
that so they might see the reality of them. I
have heard few Christians, when they begin to
look towards God, make more searching ques-
tions that they might see things really, and not

only have a notion of them From this

third of March until the end of this summer, I
could not be present at the Indian lectures ; but
when I came the last time, I marveled to see so
many Indian men and women and child renJn
English apparel; — they being at Noonanetum
generally clad, especially upon lecture days,
which they have got partly by gift from the Eng-
lish, and partly by their own labors, by which
some of them have very handsomely appareled
themselves, and you would scarce know them
from English people. . . . There is one thing
more which I would acquaint you with, which
happened this summer, viz : June 9, the first
day of the Synod's meeting at Cambridge, where
the forenoon was spent in hearing a sermon
preached by one of the elders, (Ezekiel Rogers,
of Rowley,) as a preparation to the work of the
Synod. The afternoon was spent in hearing

292 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

an Indian lecture, where there was a great con-
fluence of Indians from all parts to hear Mr.
Eliot ; which we conceived not unseasonable a
such a time, — partly that the reports of God'
work begun among them, might be seen and
believed of the chief who were then sent, and
met from all the churches of Christ in the coun-
try, who could hardly believe the reports they
had received concerning these new stirs among
the Indians, — and partly hereby to raise up a
greater spirit of prayer for the carrying on of the
work begun upon the Indians, among all the
churches and servants of the Lord. . . . When
the sermon was done, there was a convenient
space of time spent in hearing those questions
which the Indians publicly propounded, and in

giving answers to them That which I

note is this, that their gracious attention to the
word, the affections and mourning of some of
them under it, their sober propounding of divers
spiritual questions, their aptness to understand
and believe what was replied to them, the readi-
ness of divers poor naked children to answer
openly the chief questions in the catechism
which were formerly taught them, and such like
appearances of a great change upon them, did
marvelously affect all the wise and godly minis-
ters, magistrates, and people, and did raise their

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 293

hearts up to a great thankfulness to God ; very
many deeply and abundantly mourning for joy,
to see such a blessed day, and the Lord Jesus
so much known and spoken of among such as
never heard of him before." ....

Towards the latter part of this year, 1647,
Mr. Shepard, together with Mr. Eliot and Mr.
Wilson, were invited by the inhabitants of Yar-
mouth to meet with some of the elders of Ply-
mouth colony, for the purpose of settling, — if
possible, — a difficulty which had been of long
standing among them, and which threatened to
divide and destroy the church in that place.
" Wherein," says Mr. Shepard, "the Lord was
very merciful to us and them, in binding them
up beyond our thoughts in a very short time, in
giving not only that bruised church, but the
whole town also, a hopeful beginning of a settled
peace and future quietness. But Mr. Eliot, as
he takes all other advantages of times, so he took
this, of speaking with and preaching to the poor
Indians in those remote places about Cape Cod."
" Thus you have a true but somewhat rent
and ragged relation of these things ; it may
be most suitable to the story of naked and rag-
ged men If any in England doubt of

the truth of what was formerly writ, or if any
malignant eye shall question or vilify this work,
25*

294 LIF*E OF THOMAS SHKPARD.

they will now speak too late ; for what was<
here done at Cambridge was not set under a
bushel, but in the open sun, that what Thomas
would not believe by the report of others, he
might be forced to believe by seeing with his
own eyes, and feeling Christ Jesus thus risen
among them, with his own hand."*

On the eighth of September, 1647, Mr. Shep-
ard married, for his third wife, Margaret Boradel,
by whom he had one son, Jeremiah, born Aug.
11, 1648, and who, after his death, became
the wife of Jonathan Mitchell, his successor in
the church at Cambridge.

Mr. Shepard's work upon earth was now al-
most finished, and his useful life was rapidly
drawing to a close. His health had at no period
of his life been very vigorous, and he was liable
to frequent attacks of illness. He was, as John-
son tells us, " a poor, weak, pale-complexioned
man, whose physical powers were feeble, but
spent to the full ; " and be says of himself, that
he was ** very weak, and unfit to be tossed up
and down and to bear persecution." It is as-
tonishing that with such a feeble body he was
able to endure so many " afflictions and tempta
tions," and to perform such an amount of intel

*(3aar SunshiiM, itc., fiassiin.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 295

lectual and other labor. In August, 1649, upon
his return from a meeting of ministers at Row-
ley, he took a severe cold, which terminated in
quincy, accompanied by fever, and in a few
days " stopped a silver trumpet from whence the
people of God had often heard the joyful sound
of the gospel." He died August 25, 1649, in
the forty-fourth year of his age, universally
lamented by the whole colony in whose service
he had exhausted all his powers. " The next
loss," says Johnson, " was the death of that
famous preacher of the Lord, Mr. Hooker, pastor
of the church at Hartford, and Mr. Phillips, pas-
tor of the church at Watertown, and the holy,
heavenly, soul-affecting, soul-ravishing minister,
Mr. Thomas Shepard, pastor of the church at
Cambridge, whose departure was very heavily
taken by all the people of Christ round about
him ; and now New England, that had such
heaps upon heaps of the riches of Christ's tender,
compassionate mercies, being turned from his
dandling knees, began to read their approaching
rod, in the bend of his brow and frowns of his
former favorable countenance towards them.""^

The words of the dying are generally regarded
as deeply significant ; and the last expressions
of a soul on the verge of heaven are treasured

* Wonder- Working Providence, p. 213.

2%LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD.

up and repeated by the living as revelations
from the inner sanctuary of truth. The nature
of the disease of which Mr. Shepard died, per-
haps prevented him from speaking much upon
his death-bed ; and many things which he may
have said have not, probably, been reported to
us. A few precious sayings, however, have
been preserved, and coming across the gulf of
two hundred years, sound like a voice from
heaven. " 0 love the Lord Jesus Christ very
much," said he to those who stood by his bed-
side watching his ebbing breath, " that little part
which I have in him, is no small comfort to me
now." The pious Baily of Watertown has pre-
served in his Diary a sentence from those dying
lips, which is worthy to form the practical
maxim of every minister. To several young
ministers who visited him just before his de-
cease, he said, " Your work is great, and calls
for great seriousness. As to myself, I can say
three things; that the study of every sermon
cost me tears ; that before I preached a sermon,
I got good by it myself; and that I always
went up into the pulpit, as if I were to give up
my account to my master." " O that my soul,"
adds Baily, " may remember, and practice ac-
cordingly."*

* Extract from Baily's Diaiy, in Mather'* Mafnalia.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 297

Among his dying words, and perhaps not less
indicative of his spiritual state than those al-
ready quoted, we may place his last will. It
was dictated to his friends Daniel Gookin, and
Samuel Danforth but a few moments before his
spirit departed ; and in the calmness with which
he disposed of all his worldly substance for the
benefit of the living, while he gave up his soul
to God in the assurance of a glorious immor-
tality, through the merits of Jesus Christ, we
see the true character and the all-pervading in-
fluence of his personal religion. It had been his
aim through life to do all things to the glory of
God ; and when he came to die, it seemed to
him as much an act of piety to take thought for
the welfare of those whom he was to leave be-
hind, as to meditate upon the crown that awaited
him in heaven.

*' On the 25th day of the 6th month (August)
1649. Mr- Thomas Shepard, Pastor of the
church at Cambridge, being of perfect memory,
and having his understanding clear, made his
last will and testament in the presence of Daniel
Gookin and Samuel Danforth.

Upon the day and year above written, about
two o'clock in the morning, he feeling his spirits
failing, commanded all persons to avoid the

298 LIFE OF THOMAS SH£PARD.

roome except those before named, and then
desiring their attendance, spake distinctly unto
them as folio weth, or words to like effect :

I desire to take this opportunity to make my
will, and I intreat you to observe what I speak,
and take witnesses to it.

1 I Believe in the everlasting God the
Father, and his eternal son Christ Jesus, and
communion of the Holy Spirit ; and this God I
have chosen for my only portion : and in the
everlasting mercies of this same God, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, I rest and repose my
soul.

2 All my whole temporal estate (my debts
being first paid) I leave with my dear wife,
during her estate of widowhood ; that she may
with the same, maintain herself and educate my
children in learning, especially my sons Thomas
and Samuel.

3 In case my wife marry again, then my
will is that my wife shall have such a proportion
of my estate as my Executors shall judge meet.
And also I give unto her the gold which is in a
certain box in my study.

4 The residue of my estate I give and be-
queath to my four children as followeth, viz :
(1) A double portion to my eldest son Thomas,
together with my best silver tankard, and my

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEFARD. 299

best black suit and cloak, and all my books,
manuscripts and papers : which last named, viz:
books, manuscripts and papers, although the
property of my son Thomas, yet they shall be
for the use of my wife and my other children.
(2) To my son Samuel a single portion, together
with one of my long silver bowls. (3) To my
son John I bequeath a single portion, with the
other long silver bowl. (4) To my son Jere-
miah a single portion, and my other silver
tankard.

5 I give and bequeath as a legacy to my
beloved friend Mr. Samuel Danforth my velvet
cloak and ten pounds.

6 I give unto the elders to be equally di-
vided, five pounds that Mr. Pelham oweth me.

7 I give unto my cousin Stedman five
pounds.

8 I give to Ruth Mitchenson the elder, ten
pounds.

Lastly I do hereby appoint my dear friends
and brethren, Daniel Gookin, Edward Collins,
Edward Goffe, and Samuel Danforth, to be execu-
tors of this my last will and testament.
DANIEL GOOKIN.
SAMUEL DANFORTH.=^

*The inventory of Mr. Shepard'.s estate, consisting of lands, fur-
niture, and library, amounted to £810,09,01. His books,— about

300 LIFE OF THOMAS SH£PARD.

Thus died Thomas Shepard, in the peace of
God that passeth all understanding, which kept
his mind and his heart through Jesus Christ.
There is something in this dying scene which
reminds of one of the most beautiful and affect-
ing incidents in the life of that Saviour whom
Shepard so much resembled. " When Jesus
therefore saw his mother, and the disciple stand-
ing by whom he loved, he saith to his mother,
Woman, behold thy son ! Then saith he to the
disciple, Behold thy mother ! And from that
hour that disciple took her unto his own house."

Mr. Shepard was buried at Cambridge amidst
the regrets and the tears of a congregation and
a college that owed, under God, their existence
and their prosperity to his devoted labors and
sacrifices. But " no man (now) knoweth of his
sepulchre." Such have been the changes which
time and accident have produced, that no stone
remains to mark the place of his rest, nor is it
possible to identify the grave that holds his pre-
cious dust. His friend, Mr. Buckley, as an ex-
pression of his love and grief, wrote a latin
elegy upon the occasion of his death, of which
Mather has preserved two lines, as a compre-
hensive epitaph, descriptive at once of his faith-
fulness and of his success in his ministry.

two bundret] and sixty in num'wr,— together with leveral MSS,
were valuad at £I'I0.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 301

" Nominis, officiiq : fuit concordia dulcis ;
Officio Pastor, nomiuie Pastor erat.

His name and office sweetly did agree,
Shepard by name, and in his ministry."

That Mr. Shepard must have been a powerful
and an efficient preacher, might be inferred from
what we know of his spiritual preparation for
the ministry, — of the purity and elevation of his
personal religion, — of his close and hurpble
walk with God, — of his devotion to the interests
of his flock, — if we had not the testimony of co-
temporaries who were eye-witnesses and heart-
witnesses of the effects which his preaching pro-
duced. When we are told that he always
finished his preparation for the pulpit by two
o'clock, on Saturday afternoon, believing " that
God would curse that man's labors who goes
lumbering up and down in the world all the
week, and then upon Saturday afternoon goes
to his study, whenas God knows that time were
little enough to pray in, and weep in, and get
his heart into a frame fit for the approaching
Sabbath, — when we know that he wept in the
composition of his sermons, — that he went into
the pulpit as if he expected there to give up his
account of his stewardship, — that he always de-
rived some spiritual benefit from his discourses
before he delivered them to his people, — and
VOL. IV. 26

302 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

that the conversion of his hearers was the great
end of his preaching, — we are sure that his ser-
mons must have been effective, and, like the
word of God, of which they were but the echo,
quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of
the joints and marrow, and laying bare the
thoughts and intents of the heart. That intense
zeal in the service of God, — that unreserved
self-consecration to the work of turning man
from darkness to light, — that holy patience in
tribulation, — that baptism of sermons in tears, —
those " heavenly prayers," — could not but ren-
der him

" A ion of thunder, and a shower of rain."

\

And this inference is justified and confirmed
by those who saw and felt the power of his
preaching. " This year," 1649, says Morton,
" that faithful, and eminent servant of Christ,
Mr. Thomas Shepard, died. He was a soul-
searching minister of the Gospel. By his
death, not only the church and people of Cam-
bridge but also all New England sustained a
very great loss. He not only preached the
gospel profitably and very successfully, but also
hath left behind him divers worthy works of
special use in reference to the clearing up of

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPABD. 303

the State of the soul to God and man ; the bene-
fit whereof, those can best experience who are
most conversant in the improvement of them,
and have God's blessing on them therein to their
soul's good.'"^ There is a tradition, received
by Mr. Prince from the old men of his day, and
by him handed down to us, that he " scarce ever
preached a sermon but some one or other of his
congregation were struck with great distress,
and cried out in agony, ' What shall I do to be
saved;' and that though his voice was low, yet
so searching was his preaching, and so great a
power attending, as a hypocrite could not easily
bear it, and it seemed almost irresistible."!
Johnson cannot find epithets enough to express
his personal excellence, nor language to set forth
the wonderful effects of his public ministrations :
" that gracious, sweet, heavenly-minded, and
soul-ravishing minister," being the common, and
apparently inadequate terms in which he speaks
of the pastor of Cambridge. " In whose soul,"
says the enthusiastic eulogist, " the Lord shed
abroad his love so abundantly, that thousands of
souls have cause to bless God for him, even at
this very day, who are the seal of his ministry;
and he a man of a thousand, endued with abund-

* Morton's New England Memorial, p. 169.
t Prince's Sermons published by Erskine, p. 60.

304 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

ance of true, saving knowledge for himself and
others.

But perhaps the most discriminating and com-
petent witness to Mr. Shepard's power in the
pulpit, is Jonathan Mitchel, who, if not convert-
ed, Avas certainly greatly enlightened and aided
in his inquiries after truth, by his ministry.
Mr. Mitchel, as Mather tells us, kept a journal
of his inward life, a few extracts from which are
preserved in the Magnalia. On one occasion
he made this entry : " I had hardly any savour
on my spirit before God ; but a terrible and
most excellent sermon of Mr. Shepard, awakened
me. He taught me that there are some who
seem to be found and saved by Christ, and yet
afterwards they perish. These remarks terrified
me. I begged of God that he would have
mercy on me, and accomplish the whole work of
his grace for me." On another occasion he thus
writes : " Mr. Shepard preached most profitably.
That night I was followed with serious thoughts
of my inexpressible misery, wherein I go on from
Sabbaih to Sabbath without God and without
redemption."! Mr. Mitchel succeeded Mr.
Shepard, and his first sermons were full of lam-
entations over the loss which he and the people

• Magn&lla, B. IV. pp. 163, 169.
tib.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 305

had suffered in the extinction of"that light of New
England." On one occasion, when referring to
the few years which he had lived under Mr.
Shepard's ministry, he said, " Unless it had
been four years living in heaven, I know not
how I could have more cause to bless God with
wonder than for those four years." * After all,
perhaps the general impression which he pro-
duced upon the people to whom he preached, —
the character of the piety which grew up under
his ministrations, — and the spiritual state of the
church, — furnish the best proofs of his power.
Mr. Mitchel was at first very reluctant, even
when urged by Mr. Shepard upon his death-bed,
to occupy the pulpit of his illustrious teacher;
and the only consideration which finally induced
him to accept the pastoral charge of that congre-
gation was, as he himself declared, " that they
were a gracious, savoury-spirited people, prin-
cipled by Mr. Shepard, liking an humbling,
mourning, heart-breaking ministry and spirit :
living in religion, praying men and women."
A preacher who could make such a man as
Mitchel feel that he was living for four years in
heaven, and leave such an impression upon a
whole people, must have been, to use the Ian-

* Magnalia, B. IV. p. 172.

26*

306 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

guage of the venerable Higginson, — a " Chrys-
ostom in the pulpit," and a " Timothy in his
family," and in the church.

As a writer, Mr. Shepard deservedly holds a
high rank among the most able divines which
Puritanism, — fruitful in great men, — has ever
produced. His works are controversial, doc-
trinal, and practical. He was '* an Augustine
in disputation," as well as a Chrysostom in the
pulpit ; and like a scribe well instructed, he pro-
duced several works which are of permanen
value for doctrine and instruction in righteous-
ness. His " Theses Sabbatic^," or " Doctrine
of the Sabbath," is a masterly discussion of the
morality, the change, the beginning, and the
sanctification o{ i\\e Sabbath. It is the substance
of several sermons upon the fourth command-
ment, and was thrown into the scholastic form
of theses, or short propositions, at the earnest
request, and for the particular use of the stu-
dents in the college. Afterwards, at the desire
of all the Elders in New England, the work was
somewhat enlarged, and published in its present
form, in 1649. It is now very rare, not more
than two or three copies being known to be ex-
tant. With respect to the precise time at which
the Christian Sabbath begins, he differed slightly
from some of the elders ; and Mr. Allen, together

LIFE OF THOMAS SHBPARD. 307

with several others, wrote friendly, argumenta-
tive letters to him upon that point ; but the ques-
tion seems to be of too little interest or impor-
tance to call for any remark in this place. Of the
*' Answer to Ball," we have already spoken.
The Preface to that book contains an admirable
exposition of the grounds upon which our Fa-
thers proceeded in their great great enterprise in
New England, and if republished by itself, as it
was a great many years ago, would be an in-
vahiable Tract for the times.

About three months before his death, he wrote
a letter to a friend upon the subject of Infant
Baptism, in which he felt a deep interest. It
was published in 1663, at the earnest request of
many who had heard of its effect upon the per-
son to whom it was addressed, under the title
of The Church Membership of Children, and
their Right to Baptism, according to that holy
and everlasting covenant of God, established be-
tween himself and the faithful, and their seed
after them in their generations." Of all the
works upon Infant Baptism, — and they are
many, — which have been written in New Eng-
land, this letter of Shepard's may be regarded
as one of the most able and satisfactory.

Mr. Shepard's style is often rugged, but full
of passages of sweet and quiet beauty, which

308lIF£ of TUOVIAS SHEPARD.

makes the reader think of pure water gushing
from some craggy rock, or of flowers springing
up on the side of a rough pathway. He utters
great thoughts without any apparent preparation
or effort, as if they were ever present and most
familiar to his mind ; and amidst his most ele-
vated or abstruse reasoning, continually sur-
prises and delights the reader with utterances
which seem to come from the heart of a little
child. In his polemics there is no bitterness.
He never takes an unfair advantage of an op-
ponent ; nor uses abusive language in the place
of argument. He is always serious, candid,
frank, and charitable. He held, and taught the
distinguishing doctrines of grace, which Calvin
before him had discussed ; but he never presents
them as dry dogmas, nor uses any language
respecting them which is calculated to wound,
unnecessarily, a serious mind. He always ap-
pears lovely in the most terrible passages ; and
makes one feel the influence of his gentle spirit,
while he sends the truth with overwhelming
power to the conscience. He was a Puritan and
a Congregationalist ; bat in maintaining and de-
fending his position against those whose words
were " drawn swords," his spirit is always un-
ruffled, and his remonstrances, though uttered

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 309

with earnestness, convey no venom into the
wound which they produce.

There is a class of persons, who, while they
do ample justice to Mr. Shepard's talents, learn-
ing, and piety, yet complain much of what they
term the severe, legal, discouraging aspect of
some of his Practical writings, — particularly
those in which he exhibits the conditions of sal-
vation, and endeavors to lead a sinner to Christ.
The remarks of a recent English author upon
this alledged characteristic of Shepard's works,
exhibit all the objections that have ever been
made against them. " The Treatises of S. and
D. Rogers, Th. Hooker, and the New England
Shepard," says he, " cannot be read without
grave exceptions. For in these valuable wri-
ters,— and others might be named, — amidst
much that is super-excellent, there are state-
ments as to the constitution of a Christian
which look austere ; — which, by checking the
freeness of salvation, become, though contrary
to intention, stumbling blocks, and the occasion
of mental trouble. Instead of at once directing
sinners, as the apostles did, to the finished
atonement, — to the propitiatory work of Christ,
— of urging them to take God at his word, — to
receive the testimony given of his Son, and so
to possess joy and peace in believing, these good

SIOlIFK of THOMAS 8HEFARD.

men seem to have been infected with the an-
cient errors, which confined evangelical teaching
to the initiated. They evidently thought a rou-
tine of tedious preparation needful before coming
to the Saviour. Qualifications, therefore un-
known to the word of God, were prescribed, and
rules laid down, which not merely concealed
great and precious promises, but savored of a
legal spirit, and kept out of view that death unto
the law, which is the life of evangelical obe-
dience." *

In this general charge of austere and legal
teaching, which, as this writer says, obscures
the promises and grace of the gospel, we do not
distinctly perceive the points w^herein Mr. Shep-
ard is supposed to be erroneous. But in Giles
Firmin's " Real Christian," a book which was
written expressly for the purpose of correcting
the errors of the " Sincere Convert," — one of Mr.
Shepard's most practical works, — the dangerous
doctrines are set forth, and controverted at
length. In this book Mr. Shepard teaches
that the preparatory work which every sinner
must experience before he can receive the grace
of God in Christ, includes conviction of sin, —
compunction, — and humiliation; — that the sin-

• LsUen on the FuriUns, by J. B. Williamt. p. 170.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 311

ner must be satisfied with the will of God,
though his suit should be unsuccessful ; — that
the soul must be so humbled as to be willing
that Christ should dispose of it according to his
pleasure ; — that the sinner must seek the glory
of God's grace above his own salvation ; — and
that in this work of conviction, compunction,
and humiliation, we must be so thoroughly di-
vested of all self-confidence and disposition to
dictate to God, that he shall appear supremely
excellent, though we may never partake of his
love.

Firmin thought that a person under such a
preparatory work, was as good a Christian as
he could be if he were actually united to Christ.
In a letter to Mr. Shepard, he expressed his
surprise at the doctrine that an act of grace or
of obedience should be required of a person
under a 'preparatory work, than which, he con-
ceived none greater could be performed by a
real Christian ; and he declared that he knew
no act of self-denial in the gospel like this quiet
submission to the justice and sovereignty of God,
irrespective of any assurance of pardon and
acceptance ; and this too, under the preparatory
work of humiliation !

This doctrine, Mr. Firmin thought, must be a
great stumbling block in the way of sinners, and

312 L I F E OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

occasion great perplexity in all readers, who
believed it to be true. And he seems to have
known one serious person, besides himself, who
was much troubled by this "constitution of a
Christian." " Preaching once abroad," he says,
•' I closed up the point in hand, by applying it
to what Mr. Shepard had delivered, to see how
these doctrines agreed. A gentleman and a
scholar meeting me sometime after, gave me
thanks for the close of my sermon. I asked
him why ? He told me that he had a maid-
servant, who was very godly, and reading of
that particular in Mr. Shepard's book which I
opposed, she was so cast down, and fell into
such trouble, that all the Christians who came
to her, could not quiet her spirit."* That is,
this poor, godly servant-maid, could not be freed
from trouble of mind, occasioned by the doctrine
that she must be truly convinced of sin, — be
deeply humbled, — and submit implicitly to the
will of God, — until she was convinced by Mr.
Firmin that Shepard, though an eminently
learned and holy man, was mistaken in rela-
tion to that matter !

Before attempting to suggest an answer to
these objections, it may be well to remark that

* Raal Christian, Prefoca, pp 4, 5.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 313

the book called the " Sincere Convert," was,
perhaps, of all Mr. Shepard's works, the least
satisfactory to himself; not because its funda-
mental doctrines were doubtful to his own mind,
but because it had not received that revision
from his own hand, which every work requires,
and was, moreover barbarously printed. " It
was," says Mr. Shepard, in a letter to Mr.
Firmin, " a collection of notes in a dark town in
England, which one procuring of me, published
without my will or privity, I scarce know
what it contains ; nor do I like to see it, con-
sidering the many typographical errors, most
absurd, and the confession of him that published
it, that it comes out mutilated and altered from
what was first written. "*= And this was said
in October, 1647, a year after the English pub-
lisher, in his fourth edition, declared that the
book had been " corrected and much amended
by ihe Author ! "

Mr. Shepard, however, while he thus almost
disowned the " Sincere Convert," did not dis-
avow, but vindicated the doctrine here called in
question. Though it was a " ragged child," as
he sometimes called it, it spoke upon this point
at least, the sentiments of its author. In a letter

* Real Christian, p. 215.

VOL. IV. 27

314lIFB of THOMAS SH£PARD.

to Mr. Firmin, he says, " I do not think this
(that is, unconditional submission to the will of
God) is the highest measure of grace, as you
hint, any further, than as any peculiar work of
the Spirit is high ; for upon a narrow inquiry,
it is far different from that readiness of Paul
and Moses, out of a principle of love to Christ,
to wish themselves anathematized for Israel's
sake ; which is a high pitch indeed." And he
closes his letter thus : " Let my love end in
breathing out this desire ; preach humiliation.
Labor to possess men with a sense of wrath to
come and misery. The gospel consolations and
grace, which some would have dished out as the
dainties of the times, and set upon the minis-
try's table, may possibly tickle and ravish some,
and do some good to them that are humbled
and converted already. But if axes and wedges
withal, be not used to hew and break this rough,
uneven, bold, yet professing age, I am confident
the work and fruit of those men's ministry will
be at best mere hypocrisy ; and they shall find
it, and see it, if they live to see a few years
more."*

Mr. Shepard here touches the root of the
matter. A ministry to be truly fruitful, must

* BmI CbriAiam, pp. 19, 56.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED. 31^

show to the people their transgressions; an(J
that doctrine that does not humble the sinner
and require unconditional submission while it
offers redeeming grace, though it were preached
by an angel from heaven, is anathematized by
the gospel. " Some souls can relish none but
mealy-mouthed preachers, who come with soft,
and smooth, and toothless words (byssina verba,
byssinis viris). But these times need humbling
ministries, and blessed be God that there are
any. For where there are no law sermons,
there will be few gospel lives ; and were there
more law-preaching by the men of gifts, there
would be more gospel- walking both by them-
selves and the people. To preach the law, not
in a forced, affected manner, but wisely and
powerfully, together with the gospel, as Christ
himself was wont to do, is the way to carry on
all three together, viz. sejise of misery, — the ap-
plication of the remedy, — and the returns of
thankfulness and duty. Nor is any doctrine
more comforting than this humbling way of
God, if rightly managed. "*=

Mr. Shepard had an able defender of his
doctrines, as well as a worthy successor to his
ministry, in Jonathan Mitchel, who drank into

* Preface to Shepard's Sermons on Ineffectual Hearing of the Word,
bj W. Greenhill and S. Mather.

316 LIFE OF THOMAS 8HEFARD.

the spirit of that theology which exalts God
while it abases man ; and carried out in his
preaching the views of his master. " I have,"
he says, " no greater request for myself and for
you, than that God would make us see things
as they really are, and pound our hearts all
to pieces, and make sin most bitter, and Christ
most sweet, that we might be both humbled and
comforted to purpose. An imperfect work of
the law, and then an imperfect work of the gos-
pel, is the bane and ruin of these days. Some
fears and affections, and then some hopes of
mercy, without finding full rest and satisfac-
tion in Christ alone, men rest in, and perish."*

Whatever may be said of the legal tone of
Mr. Shepard's writings, by those who think
that " the God of terror, the Thunderer from
Sinai, must fold up his lightnings prettily, and
muffle his thunder in an easily flowing, poetical
measure," they doubtless exhibit in a masterly
manner those distinguishing doctrines of grace
which have ever been, as they will ever be, the
true and only foundation of the sinner's peace.

It may be interesting to the reader to learn
in what light these writings were regarded when
they were more known than they are now, by

* Letter to an Anzioui Enquirer, 1649.

LIFE OF THOMAS S H E P A R D . 317

men most competent, by profound acquaintance
with the Scriptures, to judge correctly of their
merits. And first, hear how William Greenhill
speaks of that " ragged child," in the edition of
1692. " The Author is one of singular piety,
inward acquaintance with God, skilled in the
deceits of men's heart's, able to enlighten the
dark corners of the little world, and to give satis-
faction to staggering spirits. The work is
weighty, quick, and spiritual ; and if thine eye
be single in perusing it, thou shalt find many
precious, soul-searching, soul-quickening, soul-
enriching truths in it ; yea, and be so warned
and awakened, as that thou canst not but bless
God for the man and the matter, unless thou be
possessed with a dumb devil. '"^ White, in his
" Power of godliness," mentions, among the best
means and helps for acquiring a holy charac-
ter, together with other books, Shepard's " Sin-
cere Convert," and " Sound Believer." Steele,
in his "Husbandman's Calling," advises the
Christian farmer to purchase some choice books,
and read them well, and recommends Shepard's
*' Sound Believer," as one of peculiar value. t
Hugh Peters exhorts his daughter to read,
among other books mentioned in his letter,

* Preface lo Sincere Convert, p. 9.

t Letters on the Puritans, by J. Bi Williaraa,

27*

318 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

Shepard's " Sincere Convert," for the purpose
of having her " understanding enlightened with
the want of Christ and his worth."* Rev.
James Frazier, of Scotland, in 1738, thus
speaks of Shepard's writings : " The Lord hath
blessed the reading of practical writings to me,
and thereby my heart hath been put into frame,
and much strength and light gotten; such as
Isaac Ambrose, Goodwin, Mr. Gray, and very
much by Rutherford's above others ; but most of
all by Mr. Thomas Shepard, of New England,
his works. He hath, by the same Lord, been
made the * Interpreter, one of a thousand ;' so
that under Christ, I have been obliged to his
writings as much and more than to any man's
whatever, for awakening, strengthening, and
enlightening my soul. The Lord made him a
well of water to me in all my wilderness
straits."! Our own Edwards, a man whose
religious experience was as genuine and as deep
as that of any divine whom New England or
the world has produced, was more indebted to
Shepard's Sermons on the Parable of the Ten
Virgins, in the preparation of his " Treatise con-
cerning the Religious Affections," than to any
other human production whatever, as is shown by

• Hanbury'i Memorials, 111, 673.

t Pre&C* to Select Caaea, jk., by T. Prinea, 1774.

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 319

the fact that out of one hundred and thirty -two
quotations from all authors, upwards of seventy,
five are from Mr. Shepard. To finish this cat-
alogue of eminent men who have borne testimony
to the truth and power of Mr. Shepard's practi-
cal writings, we repeat what old Mr. Ward of
Ipswich once said to Giles Firmin, his son-in-
law, respecting one of the prominent character-
istics of his preaching and writing. " When
Mr. Shepard comes to deal with hypocrites, he
cuts so desperately, that men knew not how to
bear him ; he makes them all afraid that they
are all hypocrites. But when he comes to deal
with a tender, humble soul, he gives comfort so
largely that we are afraid to take it." And
Mr. Firmin himself, says that the book which he
so severely reviews, is, for the most part, " very
solid, quick, and searching, cutting very sharp-
ly," and by no means a book for "an unsound
heart to delight in."*

Of the character of Mr. Shepard's personal
religion, after what has been said in the forego-
ing account of his life, it is unnecessary to speak
at length. The best moral portrait of him
that we have, is drawn, unconsciously, by him-
self in his Diary, to which more than one refer-

* Real Christian, p, 216.

320 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD.

ence has been made. It is a journal, as David
Brainard justly remarks, in which true religion
is delineated in a very exact and beautiful man-
ner ; and in reading this expression of his most
secret feelings, — never, certainly, designed to be
made public, — we may see what he regarded as
the religion of a minister of Christ, — the state
he endeavored to attain, — and the difficulties he
encountered in his way to heaven. The humil-
iation,— the submission to the will of God, — the
deep sense of unworthiness, — the desire to ad-
vance the glory of God above all selfish consid-
erations,— which he preaches to others in his
works, he here shows that he himself experienced,
the joys which from time to time sprang up in his
soul in view of redeeming mercy, were evident-
ly not the self-created comforts of a deceived
heart that had never been truly broken for sin,
but the peace of God which came to fill a heart
purified as a temple for the Most High. It is a
journal which every minister might study with
profit; and anyone who should find his mind
responding to these profound utterances of a
heavenly mind might, without much danger of
disappointment, hope to be made an instrument
of promoting the glory of God in the conversion
of sinners.

Upon the whole, when we cwisider the rich

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 321

Christian experience which Mr. Shepard at-
tained, the sacrifices which he cheerfully made
for the sake of Christ and the gospel, the great
amount of ministerial and other labor which he
performed, with feeble health and manifold
hindrances, the attainments which he made in
sanctity and the knowledge of divine things,
the able theological works he produced, and the
influence, felt even now, which he exerted in
building up the churches of New England, —
and all this ere he had passed the meridian of
life, — we must regard him as one of the bright-
est ornaments of the church, and hold his mem-
ory in profound and grateful remembrance.

" A sacred man, a venerable priest,
Who never spake and admiration mist.
Of good and liind, he the just standard seemed,
Dear to the best, and by the worst esteemed.
His wit, his judgment, learning, equal rise,
Divinely humble, yet divinely wise;
He triumph'd o'er our souls, and at his will,
Bid this touch'd passion rise, and that be still ;
Releas'd our souls, and made them soar above,
Wing'd with divine desires, and flames of heavenly love."

322 LIFE OF THOMAS 8HEPAKD.

The following is a very brief account of Mr.
Shepard's Family and Writings.

Mr. Shepard left three sons :

Thomas, bora April 5, 1635, at London ;
graduated at Harvard College 1653 ; ordained
Eastor of the church in Charlestown April 13,
1659; died of small pox, December 22, 1677,
aged 43.

Samuel, born at Cambridge, Oct. 18, 1641 ;
graduated at Harvard College, 1658 ; ordained
over the church at Rowley, as its third Pastor,
1665 ; died April 7, 1668, in the 27th year of
his age.

Jekemiah, born Aug. 11, 1648; graduated at
Harvard College, 1669 ; ordained at Lynn, Oct.
6, 1679 ; died June 2, 1720, aged 72, after a
ministry of forty-one years.

Mr. Shepard's third wife, Margaret Boradel,
after his death, married Jonathan Mitchel, his
successor in the church of Cambridge.

Anna, the daughter of Thomas Shepard of
Charlestown, was married, in 1682, to Daniel
Quincy. They had one son, named John
Quincy, born July 21, 1689. Elizabeth, the
daughter of John Quincy, married William
Smith, the minister of Weymouth. Abigail,

LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPARD. 323

the daughter of William Smith, married John
Adams, afterwards President of the United
States ; and was the mother of John Quincy
Adams, who is thus a descendant in the sixth
generation, from Thomas Shepard of Cam-
bridge.*

Of Mr. Shepard's books, the children of his
mind, the following is believed to be a tolerably
correct list, with the dates, so far as known, of
their respective editions.

3 Theses Sabbatic^ ; Quarto, London, 1649.
2 Answer to Ball ; Quarto, London, 1648.

9 Select Cases Resolved, London, and
Edinburgh, 1648.

7 New England's Lamentation for Old Eng-
land's Errors ; London, 1645.

6 Church Membership of Children ; Cam-
bridge, 1663.

10 Caution against Spiritual Drunken-
ness, Sermon.

11 Subjection to Christ in all his Ordi-
nances, &c., the best way to preserve liberty.

12 Ineffectual Hearing of the Word.

4 Sincere Convert, London. Several edi-
tions,— the last, London, 1692.

5 Sound Believer.

1 Sermon on the Parable of the Ten
Virgins, Folio, London, 1695.

* Chronicles of Massachusetts, p. 558. Not«.

324 LIFE OF THOMAS SHEPAED.

13 Singing of Psalms a Gospel Ordinance,
1647.

8 Cleae Sunshine of the Gospel beeaking
UPON THE Indians, London, 1648.

Select Cases Resolved ; London, 1648.

14 Meditations and Spiritual Experiences.

A Diary from November, 1640, to December,
1641.

First Principles of the Oracles of God.
London and Edinburgh, 1648.

The Saint's Jewell, 16mo., London, 1692.

9 The Liturgical Considerator ; in reply
to Dr. Gauden, London, 1661.

Tlie Bible used by Mr. Shepard is in the pos-
session of the Rev. William Jenks, D. D. It
has the Hebrew of the Old Testament, without
points, and the Greek of the New. It exhibits
marks of use. On the title-page, at the bottom,
after the name of a previous possessor, is Shep-
ard's name, an autograph thus : Thomas Shep-
ard. if jirotf 'i'adi.. Immanuel. For this account
of Shepard's Bible I am indebted to the kind-
ness of Rev. Dr. Jenks.

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